"Yellow Crane also has to proactively auction an opportunity to have lunch with himself!" Everyone present was stunned upon hearing this news, and then they sighed that this Yellow Crane was truly good at playing.
Mr. Buffett auctions an opportunity for lunch with him and can receive guidance, but what can you get from having a meal with Yellow Crane?
A business opportunity?
That doesn't seem impossible to buy. If you could strike a deal with a billionaire like Yellow Crane, you could make millions of dollars at least.
Thinking of this, many fund managers genuinely started to feel tempted.
"Sir, I'm sorry to be so presumptuous. If you don't mind, then forget it. I'll just donate some money!" Yellow Crane was quite perceptive and asked Buffett proactively.
"Of course, there's no reason for me to refuse if someone is willing to contribute to public welfare like me!" Buffett said very generously. How could he refuse? Didn't he see reporters filming?
"Then I will be so bold!" Yellow Crane smiled and stood in the spot where Buffett had stood earlier. Without waiting for the host to speak, he smilingly said, "Come, let's auction an opportunity to have me treat you to a meal. Since Mr. Buffett is treating lunch, I will treat dinner. The duration will also be two hours, and you can ask me any questions you want. However, I can only guarantee to answer questions that do not involve personal privacy or the business operations of Jiangnan Group, but I can guarantee that all answers will come from my heart, and I will give you the honest truth. I also guarantee that I will not agree to any requests other than your questions."
"In other words, if you ask me about the future business development plan of my Jiangnan Group, I will definitely not answer you. But if you ask me how I view the development of the chip industry, or what the future prospects of Lehman Brothers are, then I will definitely tell you that the future chip industry will have 10 times its current scale, and Lehman Brothers will go bankrupt in the future!"
Yellow Crane's words caused an uproar in the entire venue. The future scale of the chip industry being 10 times its current size was already an exaggerated statement, but saying that Lehman Brothers would go bankrupt in the future was simply too absurd. How could this person talk so much nonsense?
"The starting bid will be $10,000!" After Yellow Crane finished speaking, he happily tapped the table with a small hammer, signaling the start of the auction.
Seeing Yellow Crane's casual and decisive actions, everyone present was surprised, and then they pondered whether to participate in the bidding.
Then, they quickly made up their minds. Only a fool would participate in this auction. This Yellow Crane was clearly a loose-lipped fellow who spoke nonsense.
If participating in his dinner could lead to discussing ways to list Jiangnan Group, then not only $10,000, but even $100,000 could be spent. But since Yellow Crane had clearly stated that any business development related to Jiangnan Group was not allowed, this lunch was almost meaningless.
Not to mention, the protagonist of this charity gala was actually Buffett. Although Mr. Buffett had behaved very generously just now, if you directly participated in the bidding now, who knows if Buffett would hate you to the bone one day.
And once Buffett developed an aversion to him, he would likely be completely unable to work in the financial industry.
Therefore, something quite awkward happened to Mr. Huang. One minute after he dropped the hammer, no one bid. Although Mr. Huang still had a smile on his face, the stiffness was undeniable.
"I miscalculated, I've lost a lot of face this time!" Well, Mr. Huang, who was always resourceful, had stumbled this time. He originally thought that with his net worth, he would at least get some bids.
Even if the price couldn't surpass Buffett's, he could at least sell the opportunity for dinner and slightly annoy Buffett.
However, he seemed to have overestimated his own status and underestimated Buffett's influence, so Mr. Huang had put himself in a very awkward position.
If no one bid, wouldn't he become a laughingstock?
As Yellow Crane was pondering how to step down, and whether to give Little Swift a look to find a plant bidder, someone finally spoke up, "I bid $32,000!"
"Whoosh!" All eyes in the venue focused on the person who had spoken, and that person seemed a bit timid, but his back was straight.
However, his appearance seemed to explain why he participated in the bidding, as he looked like a Chinese person.
"Who is he?" Buffett asked softly.
"Sorry, he's the Chinese translator I brought. I didn't expect him to participate in the bidding!" Bill Ackman, who was standing beside him, quickly said with a wry smile.
"This translator of yours is remarkable!" Buffett smiled slightly. "His ambitions are quite big!"
"I'll fire him as soon as I get back!" Bill Ackman said indignantly. Buffett beside him had a nonchalant expression, and no one knew what the old man was thinking.
And as this Chinese person made the bid, Mr. Huang, who had been left hanging, finally landed. Without waiting for anyone else, he directly brought down his hammer himself, announcing the successful auction.
Of course, this scene was also captured by the reporters present.
"Mr. Yellow Crane, where will you be hosting the meal? Will it also be at this steak restaurant?" a reporter asked curiously, putting down his camera.
"No, I don't know any good places to eat in New York yet, but I think it should be at a Chinese restaurant!" Yellow Crane said.
Hearing this, the owner of the steak restaurant's face immediately fell. Yellow Crane's implication was that his steak restaurant was not delicious?
Didn't he know that he ran a high-end steak restaurant?
"Okay, then may I ask Mr. Huang, will the charity funds you raise also be donated to the church fund like Mr. Buffett?" the reporter asked again.
"No! Please note it's not a donation, it's a sharing!" Yellow Crane shook his head again and said, "It's not that I have any opinions about the church fund. I just believe that this money should be shared with those who need it more, such as Black people in the United States. Due to the prejudice of some people in society, they face difficulties in life and are unable to utilize their intelligence and talents."
"So I want to specifically share this money with my Black friends. I will probably give this money to a foundation that serves Black people exclusively, and they will be responsible for operating this fund."
"I see!" The reporter's expression was very strange, and the expressions of the onlookers around were even stranger. Did this Yellow Crane fall in love with Black people?
He kept mentioning Black people, did he have any Black blood in him?
"What do you guys know?" Yellow Crane sneered in his heart. "In another ten years or so, Black people will be your daddies."
Putting aside the various thoughts and ideas of everyone present, Hu Jing found the person who had bought the dinner and said, "Sir, do you have a business card? If not, please leave me your contact information, and I will contact you as soon as the dinner time is set!"
"Okay!" The person quickly took out a business card from his pocket. It was shining golden. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a gold-plated business card, which made Hu Jing somewhat surprised.
Although she was wealthy, this was her first time seeing a gold-plated business card. After all, someone with such a vulgar taste usually wouldn't have the opportunity to interact with Huang's secretary, Hu Jing.
"Um... Secretary Hu, can you do me a small favor?" Just as Hu Jing was about to leave with the business card, the other person suddenly spoke softly.
"What favor?" Hu Jing asked curiously.
"That is, I only have less than $5,000 on me, and the auction payment needs to be made on the spot. Can you lend me $30,000? I promise I'll return it all to you on the day of the dinner!" the person said in a low voice.
"You came to bid without money!" Hu Jing was slightly surprised. $30,000 was not a small amount; it was 210,000 RMB if converted.
Although those who went abroad to study were generally not poor, 210,000 was enough for a wealthy family to consider carefully.
"We can't let our Chinese idol of wealth embarrass himself!" the person said with a smile.
"I think you're counting on me to definitely lend you the money!" Hu Jing complained. Boss Huang had already lost a lot of face. She even saw her boss's thigh involuntarily shaking... Leg shaking was something her boss only did when he couldn't control the situation and felt flustered and out of control. This indicated that her boss had been extremely embarrassed just now.
If it weren't for this translator suddenly appearing, Hu Jing would have arranged for two security guards who had sneaked in to act as plants.
Of course, it was unlikely she would stand by and watch the awkward situation of the bidder being unable to pay, so she very readily handed over a credit card to the other person. "You can use this credit card to pay directly. The password is six 8s."
Hu Jing always had several such credit cards ready to deal with situations where money was urgently needed. The upper limit was $100,000, so even if it was lost, there wouldn't be too much loss. Moreover, she could directly report it through a VIP channel by making a phone call to lose it or freeze the funds, which was very convenient.
"Thank you!" The person nodded, then unostentatiously put the credit card into his pocket, while Hu Jing shook her head and handed the business card to Yellow Crane.
"Hao Jianguo, that's quite a patriotic and good name!" Yellow Crane nodded upon seeing the business card and put it into his pocket.
"It seems I've won my bet!" Seeing that Yellow Crane had accepted his name, Hao Jianguo clenched his fist tightly. If nothing else, just having his name remembered by Boss Huang was a huge profit for this Mr. Hao Jianguo.