Three hundred million, that number was astronomical. The Crown Prince raised his paddle, then looked at us with smug satisfaction.
He was certain we were there just to cause trouble and had no real ability to compete.
Time ticked by, and the auctioneer announced the first call for three hundred million. The three of us remained expressionless. Neither of the other two women raised their paddles again. The auctioneer then called out the second call for three hundred million. Silence fell again in the hall. Everyone was waiting for the final moment, and the outcome seemed to have no suspense.
Just then, Lan Ya raised her paddle and bid three hundred and fifty million!
The hall erupted in an uproar once more, and the Crown Prince leaped to his feet, looking as if he wanted to start a fight.
I stared intently at him. Three hundred and fifty million was our limit. If he bid four hundred million, we would concede.
Four hundred million could be used for many things, including investing in land elsewhere. There was no need to compete with him and become a fool.
Clearly, this figure had exceeded the Crown Prince's budget. He probably intended to suppress us with his immense wealth, forcing us to retreat. He never expected us to drive the price up so high.
After all, this price was over a hundred times the starting bid!
The Crown Prince hesitated again because he wasn't sure if we would follow if he bid again. If we didn't, he would have to buy it at such a high price.
The call for three hundred and fifty million had been made twice. If he didn't bid, this plot of land would become ours.
Suddenly, the Crown Prince's phone rang. The hall was so quiet that his ringtone was piercing.
He pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and decisively hung up. Just as he was about to speak, the auctioneer's third call for the bid sounded. With the hammer's strike, this plot of land was sold for three hundred and fifty million yuan!
The Crown Prince didn't show much regret. He looked at us with complex eyes and remained seated, watching Lan Ya go up to complete the paperwork.
Three hundred and fifty million – this was an unprecedented sky-high price. In an era before the real estate market had fully taken off, this price would have made headlines in the provincial capital.
The Crown Prince probably never understood two things: where we youngsters got three hundred and fifty million, and why we would use that much money to buy a plot of land far from the city.
That's why he didn't bid in the end. Perhaps he himself didn't know how many hundreds of millions were spent and what the land could truly be used for.
He was merely trying to annoy us, to make us spend more money or to make a fool of ourselves.
However, when he saw Lan Ya calmly ascend to handle the procedures, he was a bit taken aback. He realized we genuinely had the ability to acquire the land and were confident in what we intended to do with it.
At that moment, he felt a sense of being tricked and glared at me hatefully, a faint sneer on his lips.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Wen Siqiang. I had a sudden premonition of trouble. I thought of the people at the entrance. Wen Siqiang knew we had important matters to attend to and wouldn't call unless it was an emergency.
Indeed, the first thing Wen Siqiang said on the phone was, "Boss, there's trouble!"
Startled, I quickly asked, "Don't rush, tell me slowly."
Wen Siqiang said, "There are a few people lingering at the entrance. We've had many people watching the gate, fearing they might cause trouble. But then, a lot of people came in through the back wall. As soon as they entered, they started smashing things, even pushing over all the sorted stones with forklifts. Our men can't stop them now, and several have been injured!"
I told Wen Siqiang to let them smash for now, but they had to capture at least one of them, and that I would return.
I hung up the phone, my mind a blank. This incident was most likely the Crown Prince's doing. He hired some thugs to distract us, then had his own men come in to cause destruction, while I was at the auction and couldn't get away. It seemed he had planned all of this.
I put away my phone and looked at the Crown Prince. He was also looking at me triumphantly. He definitely knew what had happened. Seeing me answer the phone, he saw the result he desired and calmly watched how I would handle it.
I whispered a few words to Jing Lei, telling her to stay with Lan Ya here, not to go out alone, and to definitely go out with the staff. I would return to the raw stone base first.
Saying this, I dashed out and hailed a taxi outside, telling the driver to drive to the winery.
The winery was in the old district, not too far, about a ten-minute drive.
In the car, I called Brother Bao. He was on his way back to Ruili from Tengchong and wouldn't arrive for at least half an hour. However, he already knew about the situation and had notified all the security guards at the club to rush over.
Most of the club's security guards were on night shifts, so they should not have woken up yet. The speed of assembly at this hour would be compromised. Even if they arrived, they would likely have done most of the smashing by then.
I urged the driver to hurry. The driver was also excellent, his accelerator almost pressed to the fuel tank. Before long, we arrived at the winery's main gate.
The people at the gate were still there, about fifty to sixty meters away from the main entrance. Some were squatting, some were standing. A few guards were watching the entrance, but they had no intention of entering. The guards couldn't rashly drive them away.
I ignored the people at the gate and had the car drive straight in. The driver hesitated, but I urged him impatiently, "Hurry, charge in!"
The driver had no choice but to step on the accelerator and charge in.
The guards didn't recognize me and tried to stop us, but the car didn't stop and rushed straight in.
The factory inside was a bit chaotic. I saw many figures moving around. I had the driver stop the car near them, took out a few bills from my pocket, handed them to him, and thanked him, telling him to leave. Then I opened the car door and saw several men in black surrounding and attacking a guard in uniform. I bent down, picked up a club from the ground, and swung it wildly.
The men who were being beaten turned and saw it was me. They dropped the guard and walked towards me with clubs in their hands.
Before they could reach me, I lunged forward and struck the man in the middle with a club. The man let out a yelp and fell to the ground. With a sweep, two more men doubled over, clutching their waists. The remaining one hesitated, looking at me warily. Before he could react, I swung another club, hitting him on the head. He instinctively dodged, but his upper arm took a blow, and he cried out in pain.
I heard the commotion in the warehouse was still ongoing and rushed over. I saw our people fighting them, but the numerical disadvantage was too great. Most of them were fighting us.
I saw that the raw stones on the flat ground of the warehouse had been scattered everywhere. These were Bo Gang's stones, sorted by Master Zhang for two days, and now they were in chaos again.
I estimated that other areas were probably no better. It seemed this attack was devastating.
Suddenly, I heard a whistle. The men in black stopped their punches, kicks, and clubs and began to withdraw. Most of our men were injured. There weren't many who could stand, and they could only watch them retreat.