Recap
A nouveau riche like Zhang Wenfan, who has just emerged this year, cannot catch the attention of the upper class and is not even qualified to receive an invitation. But he was always good at smooth talking and socializing, so he managed to coax a wealthy man’s daughter to work with him. The woman’s father is a genius, so naturally he does not allow his daughter to be with such a person. Zhang Wenfan wants to prove that he is worthy of her.
If he can marry into the family, when the old man dies, and this stupid woman is stuck with him, won’t the family property belong to him? Zhang Wenfan’s abacus was very good. This was not the first time he had embezzled someone else’s property, and he had no psychological burden.
His current restaurant chain is still in its infancy. If he wants to enter the high-end market, he must acquire shops in wealthy areas. That piece of land belonged to the Gu family, and it was hard to find land because the location was so good. If he could please Mr. Gu, this problem will be solved.
He was intent on getting that Pisces jade pendant.
___
The Mystical Goods Auction House holds an auction every quarter, and there are already a variety of luxury cars parked in the parking lot. Almost all the dignitaries of Zhanghua City gathered here, and there were also many foreign license plates.
There were not a few heavyweight treasures this time, but more people came than in the previous seasons, and most of them came for the Pisces jade pendant.
Except for real jade lovers and antique collectors, few people here are really interested in a piece of ancient jade. But they all knew that Gu Minghuai was very interested in it.
And they were very interested in working with Gu Minghuai.
Not everyone is qualified to discuss business with Gu Minghuai. Spending money to buy jade is a stepping stone to a conversation with Mr. Gu.
Gu Minghuai has such a superior position.
In the magnificent hall on the first floor, bidders entering the auction hall were seated in an orderly manner according to their status. A quick glance at the front row shows some of the big guys who often appear on local financial news channels. Each one of them has a net worth of over billions. They are figures that Zhang Wenfan usually finds unattainable.
Zhang Wenfan’s heart beat faster when he saw so many big guys sitting in the front row.
This is the upper class in Zhanghua City.
What he has to do is break into this class and become a member of the upper class.
Ding Weiwei pulled him to the last row: “Come here, let’s sit here.”
Ding Weiwei is the only daughter of the Ding family, and the Ding family is also well-known in the city. If it was her father who came today, he will definitely have a seat in the first row. Ding Weiwei can still call the big guys sitting in the front row ‘uncle’.
However, Father Ding had always disapproved of her association with Zhang Wenfan. She can’t be too public about bringing him into the auction today, otherwise the uncles she knew will definitely tell her dad, so she chose the corner of the last row in a low-key manner.
Zhang Wenfan sat down awkwardly. Being in the same place with so many big guys made him feel surreal and extremely nervous. If it weren’t for Ding Weiwei, he wouldn’t even be able to get through the door on this occasion.
He tried not to show his timidity and said with envy: “Weiwei, I have seen the people in the first row on TV before, they are all amazing.”
“As long as you work hard, you will be able to sit in the front row sooner or later.” Ding Weiwei encouraged, “I don’t know what my dad is dissatisfied with. You can start a business from scratch, in my eyes, you are better than some rich second-generation who are just waiting to die.”
Zhang Wenfan forced a smile and tightened his grip on the armrest of the chair slightly.
Of course, he did not start this business on his own, nor was he good at management. The wealth given by Chi Yu was his greatest asset. The carp brought good luck, and his business prospered even if he did nothing at that time.
But no one knows this. They all praised him for his precise vision and extraordinary abilities. They praised him so much that he really thought he was a genius. They completely forgot that he was forced to commit suicide by jumping into a river due to previous investment failure, but he was rescued from the river.
Now that Chi Yu is dead and his good luck has disappeared, Zhang Wenfan’s restaurants are operating tepidly, and many stores are even unable to make ends meet. But his ambition is not willing to stop at being a small restaurant owner and becoming a nouveau riche.
But relying solely on his own ability, he will never be able to climb the ladder again in this life.
So he decided to use Ding Weiwei as a springboard.
Of course, this kind of thinking cannot be discovered by this innocent young lady. Zhang Wenfan said modestly: “I am far behind them.”
“Actually, they are not the most powerful.” Ding Weiwei whispered, “The really powerful ones are up there.”
The second floor is a box, and the glass is one-way. Looking down from the inside, you can have an unobstructed view of the entire auction hall. People below can’t see anything above when they look up. The privacy protection is quite thoughtful.
“The people sitting in the front row are the upper echelons of Zhanghua City.” Ding Weiwei pointed upward, “The people sitting on the top are the top ones. Only those with assets of over 10 billion US dollars are eligible to go to the second floor.”
Zhang Wenfan looked up to the second floor and could only see the reflective glass mirror, with the figures sitting behind him who was currently out of reach.
There was yearning and jealousy in his eyes.
One day, he’ll be sitting there too.
___
Rong Yu ate the grapes on the plate with a fork, the treatment of the guest worthy of the supreme VIP membership. The fruits that are served are washed cleanly, the grapes are peeled, and the seeds in the watermelons are removed. It is effortless to eat.
Gu Minghuai said: “Slow down, no one will compete with you.”
Rong Yu picked up an orange and handed it to him.
Gu Minghuai smiled and said, “Are you giving it to me?”
Xiao Yu’er is so domineering, of course he does not take the initiative to share his food. It is touching for him to share an orange with him.
Rong Yu said: “Peel it for me.”
Gu Minghuai: “…”
“How are you so lazy to even peel an orange? Truly unbelievable.” Gu Minghuai said, peeling off the orange skin and stuffing a piece into Rong Yu’s mouth.
Rong Yu opened his mouth to hold it and swallowed it in small gulps. He licked the orange juice from his lips: “I have to use my hands to pick up the grapes, it’s very difficult.”
Gu Minghuai: “That’s really hard work.”
He has never seen anyone more delicate than this little fish.
Rong Yu opened his mouth again: “Ah——”
Gu Minghuai was speechless and inserted another piece.
Half of the oranges were fed piece by piece, and the remaining half went into Gu Minghuai’s mouth.
Rong Yu stopped when he saw it: “Why did you eat my orange?”
Gu Minghuai took another slice and said, “I ordered this room, and so are the oranges.”
Rong Yu: “What’s yours is mine.”
Gu Minghuai threw the last orange into his mouth and said like a rogue, “Then you come and grab it – ugh!”
Rong Yu leaned over and bit the orange piece Gu Minghuai held between his teeth, and rolled the orange into his mouth with a roll of his tongue.
Rong Yu: “No one can take away my oranges.”
Gu Minghuai: “…”
Compared with this fish, he lost.
___
While playing around, the auction item that everyone was most looking forward to was put on the stage to be auctioned off.
“This auction item is a piece of jade unearthed from the ancient tomb in the western suburbs of Zhanghua. It is red in color and shaped like two carps entwining their tails with their mouths holding each other, so it is called the Pisces Jade Pendant. There is no ancient corpse in the coffin of the unearthed ancient tomb. It is inferred to be a tomb. Experts have detected that the ancient tomb is around two thousand years old. Miraculously, the written records on the tombstone do not belong to any known dynasty in history. This means that another dynasty that has never been discovered before has surfaced, which is of great significance. Besides that, carps symbolize wealth and good luck, and Pisces means good things come in pairs, so they are the best choice as gifts to anyone.” The auctioneer said, “Without further ado, the base price is five million, and each follow-up bid must not be less than one hundred thousand. Let’s start bidding now!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the lobby on the first floor began to compete for the item.
“Five million and one hundred!”
“Five million and two hundred!”
“Five and a half million!”
Six million, seven million…
Prices are rising. The jade pendant itself may not be worth the price, but the benefits of befriending Gu Minghuai are definitely more than this.
The second floor is as motionless as a mountain. These big guys usually take action at the end, and there is no need for them to rush to please Gu Minghuai. Everyone is on the same level.
Zhang Wenfan felt cold sweat dripping from his forehead as he listened to the prices rising again and again. These people didn’t regard money as things of significance when they bid, and now the price has reached seven million. He was simply cannon fodder in this kind of gold den.
Zhang Wenfan gritted his teeth and shouted: “Ten million!”
Zhang Wenfan just hopes that there will be no more bids. His total net worth was only 30 million, and this asking price directly evaporated one-third of his assets. Zhang Wenfan’s heart was bleeding when he made the offer.
But as long as you can have a relationship with Gu Minghuai, you can definitely earn more than 30 million in the future. He can’t bear to let other children catch the wolf.
In the private room on the second floor, Rong Yu squinted: This person seems familiar.
Blood Jade Bracelet: It’s Zhang Wenfan ah. That person you once called extremely ugly. Have you forgotten?
Rong Yu: How could I let ugly things stay in my mind?
Rong Yu: I remember that his total net worth is only 30 million. Spending 10 million to buy jade…is he mentally ill?
Blood Jade Bracelet: He wants to curry favor with Gu Minghuai.
Rong Yu: Can he also receive an invitation letter? The threshold to enter this auction seems kind of low.
Blood Jade Bracelet has given up on the rule of not providing any help to the big devil, and answers all of his questions: Came in with Miss Ding, the Ding Group ranks among the top five companies in the city.
Rong Yu: Oh, another silly innocent victim. Do you believe it or not? In the mind of that person surnamed Zhang, the Ding Group is already the Zhang Group.
Blood Jade Bracelet: ……
This inference is incisive and irrefutable.
Zhang Wenfan suddenly raised the price by three million, and for a while no one really bidded for more.
Everyone understands that a piece of jade pendant cannot make them and Mr. Gu a life-or-death companion. Perhaps it will aid their business in the short-term, but there is no need to hurt themselves. Ten million is not a small amount for many small businesses. As for the big bosses in the front row who are not short of money and already have business dealings with Gu Minghuai, this little thought is not needed.
Zhang Wenfan is different. He is ambitious but has no brains.
“Wow, the bid from No. 99 is 10 million!” the auctioneer said in an excited tone, knowing exactly how to heat up the atmosphere at the scene. “Is there anyone with a higher bid?”
Rong Yu was chomping on melon seeds and lazily took the microphone: “10 million and one hundred thousand.”
This young and melodious voice came out from the box overlooking the first floor and instantly attracted the attention of the entire audience.
“No. 1 bids 10,100,000, is there anyone who wants to increase the price?”
Zhang Wenfan retreated for a moment, worried that it was someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
Ding Weiwei murmured in confusion: “It’s strange. I’ve never heard this voice before. Is that a foreigner?”
There are only a few supreme VIPs in total, and everyone is already familiar with them, but this person has never been heard of.
Foreign…Zhang Wenfan no longer held back. A strong dragon will not overwhelm a local snake*, and even if he confronts the opponent, he will not be afraid of retaliation in the future.
*(difficult for a capable person to deal with the evil forces entrenched in the local area.)
The difference was only 100,000, so he was not willing to give up like that.
Zhang Wenfan shouted: “I will pay 10.2 million!”
The young voice said again: “10 million, 3 hundred thousand.”
Zhang Wenfan: “10 million and 4 hundred thousand!”
“Ten and a half million.”
Zhang Wenfan hesitated for a moment, but continued to bid: “…10.6 million.”
“10 million, 7 hundred thousand.”
As they went higher, Zhang Wenfan remained silent for a longer time, and his tone of bidding became more uncertain. He made every bid with great determination. But Rong Yu immediately picked it up and easily added another hundred thousand, which was obviously far from his limit.
There was even the background sound of eating melon seeds coming from the radio, indicating that the other party didn’t take him seriously at all.
The tone was frivolous and casual, and it came out through the announcer. Zhang Wenfan didn’t notice that the voice sounded familiar at all. He only felt angry.
“Are you going against me?” Zhang Wenfan said angrily, feeling seriously slighted.
He was so cautious, but the other party increased the bid so easily, which made him very embarrassed.
The other person’s tone was surprised: “Does this gentleman have delusions of persecution? If you can’t outbid others, you feel that others are targeting you. I like that jade and want to buy it back and throw it around for fun. Why do poor people attend auctions? Really.”
The two sides were sniping at each other from a distance, and the disdain in those words were unconcealed, and others also agreed. That is, the one with the highest bid gets it, it’s really ugly to look like one can’t afford to lose.
Zhang Wenfan’s eyesight went dark, so he is intending to buy it and throw it around for fun?
The thing that carries all his hopes is just something that others can easily break. This disparity made Zhang Wenfan feel even more unfair. He was arrogant and prideful. When he was ridiculed like this, his blood immediately surged and he just wanted to fight for himself.
“Be bold. The diamond necklace around the lady next to you is worth 30 million yuan. Are you trying to make your female partner look down on you by haggling over the price like this?” The voice was still fanning the flames.
Being looked down upon by women – this pokes at the second weakness of Zhang Wenfan, who is deeply chauvinistic.
He tried to seize the family property by marrying a woman which was, to put it bluntly, he wanted to live a comfortable life by relying on others and wanted the inheritance, but Zhang Wenfan still firmly believed that he was better than women and that women should be under the control of men.
Then he thought about it, yes. Thirty million is his entire asset now, but to the Ding family it is just a drop in the bucket. After Ding Weiwei marries him, everything in the Ding family will naturally belong to him. What does a mere 30 million mean then?
Just thirty million…
At this moment, Rong Yu said in the same casual tone as before: “Twenty-nine million, nine hundred.”
“Thirty million!” Zhang Wenfan blurted out.
“…”
Zhang Wenfan turned pale.
What did he say?
It was okay to just treat the Ding family’s assets as his own in his head, yet, in reality, 30 million was all that he has. How could he lose his cool and bid everything like this?
He doesn’t have 30 million in working capital. Even if he can ask Ding Weiwei for help… Mr. Ding has never agreed to him and Ding Weiwei being together. In order to maintain a good impression on Mr. Ding, he has always acted like a gentleman and is not greedy for the Ding family’s single penny.
If Mr. Ding learns that the two are still together and he has asked Ding Weiwei for 30 million, there is no way he and Ding Weiwei will get married!
This is to say that after getting the jade pendant, he might not even be able to reach Mr. Gu before this money tree that is the Ding family is cut down.
At this moment, Zhang Wenfan was extremely hopeful that the other party will continue to challenge him; he would give up immediately!
But this time, the other party didn’t say anything.
Rong Yu put the microphone on the table casually and continued to eat melon seeds leisurely.
The Blood Jade Bracelet actually felt a little relieved. Another person who had been deceived by the devil was so enthusiastic to lose everything.
The Blood Jade Bracelet said happily: He’s worse than me.
Rong Yu: It’s rare to see someone stupider than you.
Blood Jade Bracelet: ……
Gu Minghuai asked: “Did he offend you?”
Rong Yu chewed melon seeds and said, “No, I don’t know him.”
Zhang Wenfan had offended Chi Yu, the original owner.
Gu Minghuai shook his head: “It’s not good to play with others like this.”
It’s okay for Xiao Yu’er to like to play, but he still doesn’t agree with letting innocent people go bankrupt. What’s more…
He was originally going to give this Pisces jade pendant to Xiao Yu’er as a token of love. The carp comes in pairs, one is the little fish and the other is him. There’s also a reason why Rong Yu is not allowed to smash it – won’t they be separated once it is smashed?
With such a good meaning, Gu Minghuai couldn’t bear to give it to others.
Gu Minghuai took the microphone and was about to quote 30.1 million when a slender hand reached out and snatched the microphone away from his hand. At the same time, it also took away Zhang Wenfan’s last way of survival.
“Shh-” Rong Yu muted the microphone, “I’m not playing with him.”
“I want him dead.”
…
Downstairs, the auctioneer shouted excitedly: “Thirty million once, thirty million twice, thirty million three times! Congratulations to No. 99 for winning the Pisces Jade Pendant!”
“Boom!”
The final nail in the coffin.
Zhang Wenfan recovered from the excitement and slumped against the chair, his body cold.
___
T/N: Reap what you sow.
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