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 mentioned 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.”
Someone 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 become 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 something even more baffling. They say when someone found Bai Qiang and dragged her ashore, she had already stopped breathing.”
“But then that person went out to get help, and by the time they came 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 astonishment, “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 came back to life and left on her own, right? So just thinking about it gives me 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 come by; to say that money can’t buy them isn’t an overstatement.
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 immediate 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.
Meng Lin had no interest at all in this so-called Red ginseng.
She came to this auction dinner mainly as a business social engagement. The bidding paddle was always in her secretary’s hands; she was too lazy to even hold it.
However, at that moment, Meng Lin’s secretary suddenly bent down and handed her her mobile phone.
“President Meng, you’ve received a message on your private phone, please have a look.”
Meng Lin had two phones; one was for work, and all calls and text messages usually get screened by her secretary before being reported to her for handling.
The other was for personal use.
But Meng 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.
Meng Lin took a deep breath and immediately took the phone to unlock it.
Sure enough, there was a new text message from a masked number, with only one line of text.
[Linlin~ I want that Red ginseng, no matter the cost, help me to buy it.]
Seeing the familiar tilde, Meng 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 memory.
Before she could continue searching, a second message came.
[Linlin, I’m not at the venue; I saw there was Red ginseng at the auction from someone else. You don’t need to look for me.]
[I want to gift it to someone, help me buy the Red ginseng, and just hand it to that person after the dinner ends.]
Meng 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 seemed to be able to see through her thoughts across the screen, sending another quick message.
“[Rest assured Linlin, a reclusive life suits me very well. Don’t worry about me, 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, Meng Lin couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle, though her eyes became even more moistened.
The secretary, witnessing such an expression on the usually stoic Meng Lin for the first time, couldn’t help but feel surprised.
However, as soon as Meng Lin lifted her head, the previous expression vanished in an instant, replaced once again by the guise of a powerful businesswoman.
“Xiao Zheng, hand me the bidding paddle.”
By this time, the bidding in the room had already reached three million eight hundred thousand.
Without hesitation, Meng Lin directly raised her paddle and bid: “Five million.”
Everyone else had been incrementing 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 Meng Lin from Bailin Group. Ah, then there’s no problem.
Meng 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 some 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 Meng Lin’s face, it seemed she was set on winning. Red ginseng is rare, but to bid upwards of five million requires some thought.
The room fell silent momentarily 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.”
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 investments in various industries—saying they can turn their hands to clouds and cover their hands with rain wasn’t an overstatement.
Meng Lin was somewhat 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 time, Ah Qiang wanted it, so she had to secure it for her.
So Meng Lin raised her paddle again: “$10 million.”
Chen An followed with: “$12 million.”
Meng 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 Meng 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 times and then brought down the hammer definitively.
Having successfully secured the item, Meng Lin finally relaxed and happily took out her phone to send a text.
[Ah Qiang, I’ve secured the item. Who do you want me to give it to? I’ll deliver it to him after the banquet.]
[I saw, Linlin,] the reply came back swiftly, [That, um, give it to Li Muchen, the one who just bid against you.]
So what was she fighting for in the end…