Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Two Tycoons Compete Here Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Two Tycoons Compete Here The precious daughters from various families all sat together, and when they had nothing to do, they began to gossip.
When the host ntioned Bai Wei, Tang Yiyi sighed, “At the dinner hosted by the Fu Family, Old Mr. Li personally made an appearance, and even Second Miss Bai specially sent a gift over. She really gave Old Mr. Fu a lot of face.”
Soone unfamiliar with the Bai Family asked about Bai Wei, and Tang Yiyi took the initiative to explain: “This is all from what I’ve heard when my mom chats with her friends.”
“Bai Family used to be the second most powerful family in Beijing, only behind the Huo Family. Too bad they are not prolific. By Bai Fuyu’s generation, both his deceased first wife and the second wife he remarried had only given birth to daughters.”
“Moreover, ten years ago, Bai Qiang, the elder daughter of the Bai Family, disappeared while traveling in the UK. Afterward, Bai Fuyu got cancer and was bedridden. Now Bai Wei is the one calling the shots in the Bai Family.”
Tang Yiyi curled her lips, “This Bai Wei, despite being born to a concubine, her mother didn’t even have a formal status, but now she has beco the only heir of the Bai Family, and everyone outside has to respectfully call her Second Miss.”
“However, I heard that Bai Qiang didn’t just disappear, she actually committed suicide by jumping into the sea in the UK.”
Seeing everyone’s surprise, Tang Yiyi whispered mysteriously, “I also heard sothing even more baffling. They say when soone found Bai Qiang and dragged her ashore, she had already stopped breathing.”
“But then that person went out to get help, and by the ti they ca back, Bai Qiang was gone, and she was never seen again. Only then did the Bai Family publicly claim that Bai Qiang had disappeared.”
“…A person who had already died suddenly disappeared?” Lin Ya couldn’t help expressing her astonishnt, “That’s too mystical.”
“Yes, and it’s said that it happened at night, besides the man who rescued her, there were no other people by the sea.”
“But it’s not possible that the already dead Bai Qiang ca back to life and left on her own, right? So just thinking about it gives the creeps.”
With those words, Tang Yiyi touched the goosebumps on her arms.
On the other hand, many guests participating in the auction had already started bidding.
The host hadn’t exaggerated; Red ginseng naturally grows in crevices on cliffs and cannot be cultivated artificially.
Being rare as it is, those over twenty years old are even scarcer and hard to co by; to say that money can’t buy them isn’t an overstatent.
And the Red ginseng in that brocade box, although only half the size of a palm, both the body and roots were red like blood, clearly of the highest quality.
This stuff, when steeped in alcohol, can have imdiate effects on the sick and even extend life for the healthy. At the very least, keeping it as a collectible or gifting it is highly valuable.
So in less than ten minutes, the bidding had reached three and a half million.
ng Lin had no interest at all in this so-called Red ginseng.
She ca to this auction dinner mainly as a business social engagent. The bidding paddle was always in her secretary’s hands; she was too lazy to even hold it.
However, at that mont, ng Lin’s secretary suddenly bent down and handed her her mobile phone.
“President ng, you’ve received a ssage on your private phone, please have a look.”
“…My private phone?”
ng Lin had two phones; one was for work, and all calls and text ssages usually get screened by her secretary before being reported to her for handling.
The other was for personal use.
But ng Lin was an orphan from an impoverished background; her parents died early, and over the years, she hardly had friends without mixed interests, with only one person knowing her private number.
—Only that person, who hadn’t contacted her for over a year.
ng Lin took a deep breath and imdiately took the phone to unlock it.
Sure enough, there was a new text ssage from a masked number, with only one line of text.
[Linlin~ I want that Red ginseng, no matter the cost, help to buy it.]
Seeing the familiar tilde, ng Lin’s hand trembled, and a surge of bitterness rushed to her nose. Instinctively, she raised her head to search the room but did not see the figure from her mory.
Before she could continue searching, a second ssage ca.
[Linlin, I’m not at the venue; I saw there was Red ginseng at the auction from soone else. You don’t need to look for .]
[I want to gift it to soone, help buy the Red ginseng, and just hand it to that person after the dinner ends.]
ng Lin looked down to type, having many questions to ask, but she typed and deleted, deleted and typed again, and in the end, she only replied with one word: [Okay.]
Yet the person on the other end of the text seed to be able to see through her thoughts across the screen, sending another quick ssage.
“[Rest assured Linlin, a reclusive life suits very well. Don’t worry about , I’m doing just fine.]
[Take care of yourself and Bailin, after all, I’m just an unemployed vagabond totally reliant on you for support~]”
Reading the latter part, ng Lin couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle, though her eyes beca even more moistened.
“President ng…”
The secretary, witnessing such an expression on the usually stoic ng Lin for the first ti, couldn’t help but feel surprised.
However, as soon as ng Lin lifted her head, the previous expression vanished in an instant, replaced once again by the guise of a powerful businesswoman.
“Xiao Zheng, hand the bidding paddle.”
By this ti, the bidding in the room had already reached three million eight hundred thousand.
Without hesitation, ng Lin directly raised her paddle and bid: “Five million.”
Hiss—
Everyone else had been increnting bids by one hundred thousand; who was this, jumping straight from three million eight hundred thousand to five million?
The crowd turned to look and saw that it was ng Lin from Bailin Group. Ah, then there’s no problem.
ng Lin might not be from the affluent circles of Jiang City, but she is indeed a bona fide rich second generation.
The market value of Bailin Group is several tens of billions, far richer than so of the old but nominally prestigious families that are actually running at a loss, giving her the confidence to bid such an amount.
And judging by the look of determination on ng Lin’s face, it seed she was set on winning. Red ginseng is rare, but to bid upwards of five million requires so thought.
The room fell silent montarily when the auctioneer was just about to ask if anyone else would like to bid higher, a voice from the back called out— “Eight million.”
Who is this now?
From three million eight hundred thousand straight to five million before, and now from five million directly to eight million?
Looking back, they saw the bidder was Chen An, the assistant of Li Muchen—then there was definitely no issue.
There was no one in the whole of Jiang City richer than Li Muchen.
The Li Family controlled the economic lifeline of the entire city, with investnts in various industries—saying they can turn their hands to clouds and cover their hands with rain wasn’t an overstatent.
ng Lin was sowhat surprised to see that she was competing against Li Muchen.
During ordinary auctions, if Li Muchen wanted an item, she definitely wouldn’t compete against him. After all, the Li Family and Bailin Group had always had business dealings, and it was crucial for her to maintain a good relationship with the Li Family.
But this ti, Ah Qiang wanted it, so she had to secure it for her.
So ng Lin raised her paddle again: “$10 million.”
Chen An followed with: “$12 million.”
ng Lin clenched her teeth: “$15 million.”
By now, no one else was participating in the bidding; it was down to these two tycoons.
Having reached $15 million, Chen An looked down to consult Li Muchen’s opinion: “Boss, should we continue bidding?”
“Rarely does ng Lin show off without reason; she must have her reasons for needing it. Let her have it,” Li Muchen said indifferently.
Thus, Chen An did not raise the paddle further.
The auctioneer asked three tis and then brought down the hamr definitively.
Having successfully secured the item, ng Lin finally relaxed and happily took out her phone to send a text.
[Ah Qiang, I’ve secured the item. Who do you want to give it to? I’ll deliver it to him after the banquet.]
[I saw, Linlin,] the reply ca back swiftly, [That, um, give it to Li Muchen, the one who just bid against you.]
ng Lin: “…”
So what was she fighting for in the end…
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