72: Offline judicial auction

“Isn’t this tailor-made for me? A large deck fore and aft, a big ice hold, a big live fish hold.”

Yang Qi secretly rejoiced.

He knew that no one would want such a 'neither fish nor fowl' type of boat.

(Dear readers, you might say, I could buy it and modify it. But that would damage the hull structure, and the cost would be considerable. That would defeat the purpose of getting a good deal at an 'auction for seized goods'.)

“Except for me, with my golden finger. I can accurately locate fish schools, so no matter how much fuel it consumes, I’m not afraid. How could I not make money?”

“But who would customize a boat like this?”

Yang Qi was a little curious.

Seeing Yang Qi staring at the boat’s information, with a strange expression on his face, Zhang Long knew he was interested in this boat, so he explained, “This is an instrument of crime confiscated by our Maritime Police comrades last year, in a case involving a transnational smuggling ring.”

“Furthermore, the boat’s manufacturing date was early December. According to the criminals, this was their first operation after taking delivery of the boat.”

Yang Qi immediately understood. Reducing the space for the rest cabins and converting them into a large ice hold and a large live fish hold—wasn’t that just to load more goods when smuggling?

Now it all made sense.

“It was confiscated on its first run, doesn’t that mean this boat might not have even carried a single fish yet!”

“Then for me, it’s practically a new boat!”

Yang Qi thought to himself.

“I’m about to get a huge bargain!”

Zhang Jun also curiously put down his teacup, stretched his neck, and looked at the boat’s pictures.

Zhang Long said, “If you’re interested in this boat, I’ll take you to register. The deposit is 50,000 yuan, which is refundable if you don’t win the bid. Then you can participate in the auction this afternoon.”

“Wait until you finish reading the information about this boat! Once you’ve decided, I’ll take you over. The deposit is 50,000.”

“Hmm, alright!”

Yang Qi nodded.

He flipped to the transaction records and saw that it had been passed over three times already.

The starting bid had dropped from an initial 1.1 million to the current 800,000.

“Damn it, not enough money!”

Zhang Jun had seen the light in Yang Qi’s eyes just now and knew he genuinely liked it.

He took the material from Yang Qi’s hand and said to him, “Go ahead! Follow my brother to register first. I’ll wait for you here.”

Watching Yang Qi follow Zhang Long out the door, he sipped his tea and began to read the boat’s information.

“What the hell is this thing?!”

Then he looked at the transaction records below, saw the starting bid, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Sure enough, it’s not very popular!”

After a while, Zhang Long and Yang Qi both returned.

Fearing they might disturb Zhang Long’s work, the two excused themselves.

Zhang Jun led Yang Qi out of the Maritime Safety Administration and found a teahouse. They found a private room by the side, and the two chatted while drinking tea.

“You’re interested in that ‘neither fish nor fowl’ boat?” Zhang Jun asked Yang Qi.

“Yes! Brother Jun, I feel this boat is perfect for me. The large deck will be good for catching fish after I go out to sea, and the large ice hold, large fuel tank, and long range will allow me to stay at sea longer.”

Zhang Jun thought about it and nodded, “Good, as long as you know it. What suits you best is what’s best.”

“Don’t worry about the funds. I’ve got you. Give me your card number, and I’ll transfer 500,000 to you first. We can add more if it’s not enough.”

“Thank you, Brother Jun. I’m getting more and more in debt,” Yang Qi said gratefully.

“It’s nothing! It’s just that buying a house and a boat all happened at once! I believe in your ability.”

Zhang Jun patted Yang Qi’s arm.

Yang Qi stood up, holding his teacup, and sincerely said, “Brother Jun, I toast you with tea instead of wine. Thank you for your help!”

“Sit down, sit down. What are you doing, making it so formal? I value you as a person, and we get along well.”

“Besides, I’m still hoping you’ll take me out to sea to show off and have fun in the future!”

The two laughed heartily.

Sometimes, the friendship between men is that simple, without any flowery words or flattery. As long as they see eye to eye, they are brothers for life.

“I’ll go with you this afternoon. I’m familiar with that place!” Zhang Jun said.

“That’s great! Brother Jun, this is my first time, like a young bride on her wedding sedan. I don’t even know where to open the door!”

Yang Qi was also overjoyed.

The two then talked idly, jumping from one topic to another, chatting about everything under the sun.

Time flies when you’re bragging. It felt like no time at all, and it was already past lunchtime, almost 12 o’clock.

The two found a small restaurant for a quick bite, then drove two separate cars, one after the other, towards a place called “Tenglong Hotel.”

This Maritime Safety Administration offline auction was arranged on the 18th floor of this hotel.

The two casually walked into the hotel and took the elevator up to the 18th floor.

In the elevator, Yang Qi curiously asked Zhang Jun, “Brother Jun, does a unit like this have to pay to rent a private hotel for an auction?”

“Why do you care if they pay or not? One, they’re not short on money, and the other is eager for people to come.”

Soon, the two arrived on the 18th floor. As they entered the auction hall entrance, Yang Qi showed his deposit receipt and received a small paddle, which was presumably for bidding during the auction.

Number 58, quite auspicious.

Entering the main hall, there were already many people sitting in groups of three or five.

The two found a seat by the side, chatted, and waited for the auction to begin.

After about twenty minutes, the auction officially started.

First, an uncle in uniform went on stage, said a few official words, and then announced the start of the auction.

Behind the auctioneer was a large display screen, which would show pictures of the items and the current bidding price, presumably for those participating in the online auction.

Initially, a few small fishing boats were auctioned. There weren’t many people bidding with paddles on-site; mostly, it was one or two people raising paddles, and it wasn’t very intense.

Bids usually came only during the countdown, and if someone competed with you, the previous bidder would give up.

Occasionally, once or twice, someone would bid, and the person raising the paddle would be wearing headphones, clearly bidding on behalf of someone outside.

Yang Qi knew these were likely pre-arranged. The first person might not know if anyone wanted this item.

They would try to bid during the countdown, just in case no one wanted it. Wouldn’t that be a bargain?

Upon hearing someone bid, they would know it was pre-arranged and quickly shut up. The rules wouldn’t be broken unless they really, really liked the item.

After all, among those who could attend such an auction, how many were ordinary people? They were all as shrewd as monkeys.

The two just quietly watched others’ performances.

Yang Qi noticed that for larger items, very few people participated in online bidding, which was great!

Finally, it was the turn of the "Storm." Yang Qi unconsciously sat up straight.

He didn’t even listen to the auctioneer’s introduction of the boat.

Zhang Jun looked at Yang Qi’s reaction, grinned, and said nothing.

After the auctioneer’s introduction, he finally mentioned that the starting bid for this time was 800,000 yuan, with a minimum increment of 5,000 yuan. Yang Qi looked around to see others’ reactions.

He found that no one raised a paddle, and no one even looked at the auctioneer. Everyone was whispering to the person next to them.

“It seems these people don’t think much of this boat, that’s great, just as I expected!”