349: The first auction

As the time for the auction approached, the guests in the audience were already seated.

Master Tao pulled back the curtain and glanced at the guests below, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

He admitted to himself that he had never participated in such an occasion, not even knowing the most basic pleasantries.

Looking at Master Tao's somewhat nervous face from afar, Su Yue involuntarily walked up to him and chuckled, "I'll be responsible for the introductions; you just need to show your face."

Master Tao knew that Su Yue wanted to control the stage and reluctantly agreed.

In just a few minutes, Lan Zijun introduced the company on the stage.

Then, Lan Zijun pointed towards the backstage, "Next, please welcome our heavyweight guest for this event, Master Tao."

The audience below all turned their gaze towards the waiting area, as if wanting to see Master Tao's true appearance.

Su Yue was seen slowly walking onto the stage with Master Tao, a smile on his face, "I am Su Yue, the host for this auction. And this is the Master Tao Qingbai you have all been eagerly anticipating."

Hearing that the person before them was Master Tao, everyone took out their phones, as if wanting to record this moment.

Su Yue was not afraid of the camera flashes below at all; his eyes didn't even show the slightest hint of evasion.

In contrast, Master Tao looked displeased and reminded him in the quietest voice, "If you don't cook me several tables of delicious food, this matter isn't over."

Su Yue looked at Master Tao's expression and could only laugh, "No problem. As long as you help me get through this difficulty, you can stay at my place and eat my cooking every day."

The weakness exposed by Muxin Hotel this time was too significant. Without someone who could command the stage, there was simply no way to suppress this matter.

Just then, a reporter from the audience walked to the edge of the stage, holding a microphone in front of them, "Hello, can I ask you a few questions?"

Since this was an auction and not a press conference, there was no reason to answer the reporter's questions.

Su Yue walked up to the reporter and chuckled, "We need to proceed with the auction now, so please be patient. Someone will be available for interviews after the auction ends."

Yuantu Investment Company has a professional public relations department, and they would surely be happy to accept such interviews.

Moreover, Su Yue had discussed the reporter issue with Lan Zijun in advance, so he believed she had already arranged things with her subordinates long ago.

When the reporter heard that Su Yue was unwilling to accept his interview, he quickly shouted, "Excuse me, will the auction proceeds this time be donated to charity free of charge?"

He only managed to ask this one sentence before the Anbao Captain forcibly pulled him out, as if wanting to expel him from the venue.

Because of the precedent set by Muxin Hotel, Su Yue knew they couldn't pretend they hadn't heard anything.

Su Yue glanced at them, took a deep breath, and said, "All the funds we receive this time will be donated to charity, and our funds will be updated in real-time."

Saying this, Su Yue gave Lan Zijun a look, as if wanting her to display the backstage accounts on the big screen.

Lan Zijun and Su Yue had been working together for more than a day or two; a single look was enough to understand what Su Yue was thinking.

Soon, images appeared on the big screen.

The audience below was naturally happy seeing that they could not only bid on their favorite porcelain but also donate a considerable amount of money.

Originally, Su Yue thought they could proceed with the auction, but who knew there was a disturbance at the entrance.

Even the Anbao Captain couldn't stop these people, leaving the surrounding guests looking astonished, not understanding who these people were.

Su Yue narrowed his eyes, looking at the first person who entered the venue, and slightly furrowed his brows, "General Manager Guo, may I ask what brings you here?"

The surrounding guests heard Su Yue mention this person's identity and seemed to recall something, exclaiming in surprise, "I remember now, isn't that General Manager Guo, the Vice President of Huashi Hotel? Why is he here?"

Some of them had received some gossip and immediately responded, "You don't know yet, do you? It seems the money from Muxin Hotel's auction back then wasn't given to charity."

The voices of the guests below were not concealed, and the words instantly spread throughout the venue, making many people unwilling to trust Yuantu Investment Company's auction.

Su Yue saw that the order below was slightly chaotic and stepped forward with the microphone, "General Manager Guo, this is our Yuantu Investment Company's auction. I hope you will not cause trouble here."

If General Manager Guo had appeared at Muxin Hotel's auction, Su Yue might not have said a word.

But this time, the place he appeared was Yuantu Investment Company, which was equivalent to their foundation.

When General Manager Guo heard Su Yue's slightly angry tone, he sneered, "What? Afraid we'll expose your fake charity purpose?"

As his words fell, many reporters around seemed to smell a business opportunity and turned on their cameras.

Originally, these people thought the biggest highlight of the auction was Master Tao Qingbai himself, but who knew General Manager Guo could bring them more explosive news.

Su Yue saw General Manager Guo directly accusing him of being greedy for money and involuntarily looked at Lan Zijun, "Display the notification letter we sent to Muxin Hotel."

Without evidence, the people below might not believe them.

However, the notification letter had been sent out three days ago, so there was no reason for it not to be believed.

General Manager Guo originally thought he had found their weakness, but no one expected Yuantu Investment Company to have already prepared a countermeasure.

When they saw the image on the screen, they were stunned, "Notification letter? You actually made two preparations?"

At the same time, the Anbao Captain had already arrived next to them, as if wanting to drag them out of here.

If he allowed the Anbao Captain to drag him away, General Manager Guo might become the laughingstock of the entire industry, and he certainly didn't want to reach that point.

Suddenly, General Manager Guo seemed to see something and pointed at the date on the big screen, "If I'm not mistaken, the date is today?"

Su Yue looked back at the time on the notification letter and couldn't help but wave to the Anbao Captain, "Take the person away as soon as possible."

An auction should be about auctioning. There was no reason for someone like this to cause trouble.

Lan Zijun was also a bit angry and glanced at the Anbao Captain's direction, making him lower his head in shame.

At such an important occasion, an unwelcome guest like this came from outside, which was clearly their dereliction of duty.

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In less than a minute, General Manager Guo was carried out by several Anbao Captains.

Su Yue scanned the audience below and found that they were still whispering. He couldn't help but say to them, "I believe you should be quite curious about Muxin Hotel, right?"

With such gossip available, he believed they would all be willing to hear what Muxin Hotel's outcome was.

Su Yue looked at their curious expressions and walked to the big screen, "Look at the time above. Later, we can call them in front of you to confirm."

Before the people below could respond, Su Yue's voice came again, "Now, there is only one thing we need to do, and that is to start our auction."

As his words fell, Su Yue gave a look to the auctioneer who had been prepared in advance, signaling him to return to the stage as soon as possible.

Lan Zijun watched Su Yue and Master Tao step down from afar and followed closely behind them immediately, her face full of anger, "I'm furious."

The auction was going very smoothly originally, but no one expected something like this to happen.

In Su Yue's initial plan, he intended to let Huashi Hotel sacrifice a pawn to save the king, allowing them to survive.

But this time, Su Yue no longer had that desire.

Meanwhile, Lan Zijun came to Su Yue's side, her face pale, "I never want to hear the name of Huashi Hotel again."

Su Yue had known for a long time that she had no good feelings towards Huashi Hotel, and he readily agreed, "Let Muxin Hotel be a small warning to them, and let Huashi Hotel disappear."

Su Yue took Master Tao back to the office and called Mu Ruguang, wanting to see if they had raised enough funds.

Now that Huashi Hotel had become their mortal enemy, Muxin Hotel naturally needed to be supported by them.

Mu Ruguang heard Su Yue wanting him to fill the void as soon as possible, his tone very helpless, "I also plan to fill the void as soon as possible, but I have already sent out that money, and there is no money in the account."

It wasn't that he was unwilling to invest that money, but because he no longer had enough funds in his pocket.

When Su Yue learned that Mu Ruguang's Muxin Hotel had no money left, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face, "No money? That's easy."

Muxin Hotel was a relatively important part of their plan, and Su Yue was still planning how to control them.

Now, the opportunity was right in front of him, and he had no reason to pretend he didn't know anything.

Su Yue took a deep breath and asked casually, "If I remember correctly, you should hold sixty to seventy percent of the shares, right?"

Mu Ruguang was about to respond when his mind immediately reacted, and he asked back uncertainly, "You're not planning to take over our hotel using this opportunity, are you?"

Without the shares in his hand, Mu Ruguang would certainly have no way to control the hotel.

Su Yue heard that Mu Ruguang had understood his meaning and said indifferently, "It's alright, I've said what I needed to say. You have three hours left."

They had sent out the notification letter long ago. If Muxin Hotel didn't handle it according to their content, Yuantu Investment Company would surely use more ruthless methods.

Soon, Su Yue hung up the phone and threw it on the desk, sneering, "Giving me such a good opportunity, I really don't know if he's stupid or not."

With such a rare opportunity, Su Yue would take a batch of their shares no matter what.

Of course, the shares would not end up in his hands, as he now represented Yuantu Investment Company.

Just then, Master Tao's voice came, "You merchants are truly shrewd; you can even calculate such things."

If it weren't for Master Tao's trust in Su Yue, he probably wouldn't be willing to deal with someone like Su Yue.

Su Yue saw Master Tao looking at him, immediately changed his expression, and leaned closer to him, "Don't worry, I am definitely sincere towards Master."

Strictly speaking, if it weren't for Yuantu Investment Company, he definitely wouldn't do such a thing.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Both of them looked at the door at the same time, wondering who would be looking for them at this hour.

Su Yue walked to the door, opened it casually, and saw Lan Zijun standing there at a glance.

Lan Zijun pointed at the person behind her, her face pale, "I brought him. You two can talk."

Su Yue glanced at the person behind Lan Zijun, his face showing displeasure, and stepped aside, signaling for the two of them to come in.

General Manager Guo looked awkward and walked in reluctantly, wanting to see what Su Yue had to tell him.

Su Yue pointed to the seat opposite, "Tell me, why did you cause us trouble? I don't think I've offended you, have I?"

Now that Huashi Hotel was in this state, Su Yue was still willing to help them and point them towards a clear path.

No one expected General Manager Guo to do such a thing, making them lose face in front of everyone.

General Manager Guo looked at the two of them coming here just to cause him trouble, his face full of helplessness, "I couldn't help it. Our Huashi Hotel could only rely on such things to turn things around."

In his eyes, if Muxin Hotel didn't have help from Yuantu Investment Company, Muxin Hotel would have no time to help.

Su Yue heard that the people from Huashi Hotel came here for this reason and chuckled, "Doing this will only deepen our hatred towards you. Do you think we will forgive you?"

General Manager Guo was about to say something else, but Su Yue immediately pointed outside, "You are not welcome here. Please leave."

Lan Zijun saw that Su Yue was unwilling to talk to him and walked to Su Yue's side, lowering her voice, "Su Yue, I think you should clear up the misunderstanding?"

No matter what, General Manager Guo's current hatred was directed at Su Yue.

If Huashi Hotel's hatred remained on Su Yue, Yuantu Investment Company might find it difficult to cope.

Su Yue heard Lan Zijun wanting him to clarify things with Huashi Hotel and involuntarily walked up to Lan Zijun, pulling her aside.

To ensure no one else was eavesdropping, Su Yue involuntarily looked behind him, and only felt relieved when he saw no one else following.

Then, Su Yue told her about Muxin Hotel.

When Lan Zijun learned that Su Yue wanted to absorb Muxin Hotel's shares, her face was full of surprise, as if she hadn't expected Su Yue to do such a thing.

Instantly, Lan Zijun patted Su Yue's shoulder, "Then I'll leave this matter to you."

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