Chang Chi’s arm was suddenly gripped, and Chang Mei seemed to be unsteady on her feet, her gaze immediately shifted from the stage to Su Qingzhang below.
Having completed his mission, Su Ziceng could now retire with honors. Su Qingzhang had chosen to attend today because of the additional information he was notified of, stating that an auction item had been arranged at the last minute. If nobody really showed up, in the worst scenario, Su Ziceng could only turn to him for "funds circulation".
Su Qingzhang was not aware of Su Ziceng’s arrangements beforehand, he merely didn’t want to lose face in front of guests. However, his gain today turned out to be something more than he had expected; he witnessed an exquisite performance by his own daughter. What he did not expect was that his gain would be much more than anticipated. He not only saw a side of Su Ziceng that he had never seen before; he also saw those dream-haunting eyes.
Yang Wuxu on the stage was wearing a snow-colored trailing gown by Dior, and given the winter cold, she had a light brown fox fur shawl over her shoulders which slightly bared them, embellished with a ruby brooch, her black hair swept up high. The otherworldly white set off her beautiful features even more ethereally, and her slender neck gave the illusion of a swan descending from a song.
"The next item is still a set of alcoholic beverages, consisting of three limited-edition Black Spade K spirits and ten boxes of Lafite." Yang Wuxu suddenly became the center of attention, her voice timid at first, but after receiving an encouraging look from Su Ziceng, her voice grew louder.
"The starting bid is... one million," the auctioneer announced the price from the newly delivered price list, and even he himself was dumbfounded after realizing the price he had just called out.
The Black Spade K series is considered a treasure, which should be around three hundred thousand. As for the ten boxes of Lafite, no, considering that one box was damaged, now there are nine boxes of Lafite that amazingly fetched a price of seven hundred thousand.
"Might as well go rob," Mr. Fei was already grinding his teeth in frustration. He was here today specifically for the ten boxes of Lafite listed in the auction. Aside from him, the only other person who knew the peculiarities of these wines was Su Qingzhang, who was sitting next to him. Subi Auction House belongs to the Su Family, and the wine was provided by Su Ziceng, needless to say, this play was directed by Su Qingzhang playing good cop, bad cop.
What was most infuriating was that someone had already raised their paddle, declaring, "One million."
Zhou Dagen, sitting among the crowd, was growing restless. His eyes swept through the audience - originally, quite a few people were competing for that batch of Lafite. It seems that he and Su Ziceng did not put their efforts to waste after all.
Qiu Zhi was also somewhat surprised, his "threatened" shill hadn’t even started to shine, and he could already stand down.
The nine boxes of Lafite were far more popular than Chang’s mother and daughter had imagined. By the time Su Ziceng returned, the bid had already been raised to two million.
Yang Wuxu standing on the stage was already stiff with a smile, the three bottles of wine in her hands had completely become a backdrop, and the still sealed boxes of Lafite had become the main characters.
"Lafite is not very famous in the country, how could it fetch such a high price?" Zhou Dagen voiced the same question that many, including Chang’s mother and daughter, had.
In the last few years before Su Ziceng’s rebirth, Lafite had already become a nationally renowned wine brand. Counterfeit Lafites large and small swept the wine market, and this "self-promotion" by Su Ziceng and Zhou Dagen prematurely started the trend of Lafite’s popularity in Mo City.
"Uncle Zhou, do you understand what fashion is?" the phoenix eyes of Su Ziceng, sitting next to Zhou Dagen, narrowed into slits, reminiscent of a look similar to her father Su Qing, especially when he made significant decisions.
"That thing is for you womenfolk," Zhou Dagen, gazing at the small paddles being raised one after another beside him, felt as if a cat had scraped across his heart, "How could a rough man like me understand it."
"So-called fashion is but a man-made game," Su Ziceng spoke cryptically: "Drinking wine is also a trend." The initial popularity of Lafite originated when a high-ranking official in China returned from a study visit to Lafite’s estate in France with a box of Lafite. The political culture gradually took on the trend of drinking Lafite to stay fashionable. At this time, Mo City had not yet embraced the "Lafite craze"; Su Ziceng’s role was merely to provide a push.
The roughly one hundred boxes of wine sent by Shang Yin were authentic Lafite products, and in terms of quality, not on the same level as domestically produced wines. Su Ziceng and Zhou Dagen had canvassed Zone 1 of Mo City, using the Su Family’s name, focusing on inviting leaders including the mayor and the secretary of the municipal party committee.