40: Go to Private Auction

Chen Xiangbei didn't dwell on the matter; it didn't matter if it was early or late, as long as the reward arrived on time.

Watching his bank balance grow, he was in a great mood and continued to enjoy his shower.

After showering, his excitement was still hard to calm. It was hard to imagine going from penniless to having nearly three million in savings in less than half a month; the contrast was very strong.

He brewed a cup of coffee, sat in the living room, and reminisced about his past hardships. Thinking about the life he lived now, it felt... quite surreal.

He woke up at eight the next morning and realized he had fallen asleep on the sofa last night. It felt quite comfortable; it was certainly worthy of being an expensive sofa costing tens of thousands.

He didn't need to go fishing today; having that Golden Butterfly Koi as a fallback was enough.

He went to the balcony and started practicing the horse stance to strengthen his core, preparing for future sea fishing trips. The giant creatures in the sea were incomparable to those on land.

High-value fish like Tuna and Giant Grouper start at over a hundred kilograms. It often takes several hours for a normal person to reel in a fish weighing around a hundred kilograms, sometimes even requiring multiple people to take turns fighting it.

With his current strength, as long as he improved his core power, reeling in a fish around a hundred kilograms would be stable. But he was worried about those giant fish exceeding a hundred kilograms; he was very aware of the power of the Secret Bait.

After half an hour of horse stance, he laid out his yoga mat and started doing plank. The standard for a normal person doing plank is around 1 minute; those with stronger core power can hold it longer.

He turned on his phone's timer to record his maximum holding time.

1 minute passed, effortlessly.

5 minutes passed, he started sweating.

10 minutes passed, he entered the exhaustion phase.

...

At the 20th minute, his body started trembling.

At the 25th minute, his calves started trembling, which usually indicates nearing exhaustion.

Indeed, in less than half an hour, at 27 minutes and 20 seconds, Chen Xiangbei collapsed.

Scientific exercise yields better results. It's crucial to stretch and relax the body before exercising, otherwise, efforts will be half as effective.

He started exercising as soon as he woke up, without even doing basic warm-ups. If he had warmed up, he should have been able to break 30 minutes.

After exercising and breaking a sweat, the temperature was already 30 degrees Celsius at this time.

He went to the bathroom for a cold shower, and also brushed his teeth and washed his face. Afterward, he shaved his beard, which he hadn't done for many days.

Since he was attending a private auction later, he tidied himself up. After all, he had studied business etiquette in university, and even in informal settings, it was important to be clean and presentable; the first impression was very important.

After his shower, he went to the walk-in closet and found a relatively loose and casual outfit. He fixed his slightly long, messy hair to prevent it from being blown around by the wind.

Dressed and ready, he went to the living room. First, he got a fish tank, filled it with water, turned on the oxygen pump to supply oxygen, and used a net to scoop the Golden Butterfly Koi out of the ecological fish tank and put it into the fish tank.

Back in this confined environment, the Butterfly Koi was extremely uncomfortable and started thrashing around. Chen Xiangbei took a piece of Secret Bait from the bait basin and fed it.

They say a fish's memory is only seven seconds, but it quieted down less than two seconds after eating. Its two soybean-like eyes stared at Chen Xiangbei's hand, which hadn't been withdrawn yet, seemingly waiting for the next piece of bait.

Chen Xiangbei wasn't stingy and fed it another piece; after all, it could bring him high wealth.

After calming the Butterfly Koi, Chen Xiangbei went out.

He went to the parking lot to get his car, navigating to Tiancheng Ornamental Fish Club. The distance wasn't too far, about 20 minutes.

Arriving at the entrance of Tiancheng Ornamental Fish Club, he saw a banner hanging there.

It read: Wishing Tiancheng Ornamental Fish Club's Internal Trading Fair Complete Success!

There were two rows of greeters standing at the entrance. Seeing Chen Xiangbei drive in, one of the ladies immediately guided him to park his car and then waited beside it.

Chen Xiangbei parked the car, got out, took the fish tank from the trunk, and followed the greeter into the club.

Upon arriving at the club's check-in desk, the staff learned he was the main event today and immediately took him to find Xia Weicheng.

When Xia Weicheng saw him, he first asked him to hand the fish over to the staff to arrange it in a dedicated display cabinet for early viewing.

Xia Weicheng then took him on a tour of the club, introducing him to some members of the group and other important attendees.

Among them was the President of the Linhai City Ornamental Fish Development Association. As a top-grade Ornamental Fish produced in Linhai City, the President would certainly grace the event with his presence.

Many people enthusiastically greeted Chen Xiangbei, but he didn't particularly enjoy socializing with older people; he was still young and preferred a more lively and cheerful atmosphere.

He didn't like this kind of large meeting-like setting, but he still politely responded to others and shook hands. Another rule of business etiquette is to politely respond to others' greetings, not to neglect them, and certainly not to give a cold shoulder.

Situations like those written in novels, where people constantly jump out to provoke and disparage the protagonist, only to be slapped in the face, wouldn't happen. Where would you find so many people with holes in their heads in reality?

As the event neared, Chen Xiangbei was arranged in a front-row seat, sitting with some of the most influential people in the industry.

There were a total of 16 items for auction today, all rare Ornamental Fish, both freshwater and saltwater, with prices starting from over 10,000 yuan.

Some fish looked much more beautiful than others, but their price was not as high as the less attractive fish.

This involves the principle of scarcity dictating value; the rarer something is, the higher the price, followed by how good it looks.

Exactly at ten o'clock in the morning, the auction officially began. The beautiful hostess announced the first item.

Hostess: The first item for auction is a White Ghost Alligator Gar. This is an albino Alligator Gar. Bosses who bid on it should note that it must be kept until the end of its life and strictly not released into the wild. The starting price is 10,000 yuan, and each bid increase must not be less than 1,000 yuan.

As soon as the hostess finished speaking, someone immediately raised their paddle and signaled: "10,000."

"11,000."

"13,000."

...

Ultimately, this fish was sold for a price of 22,000 yuan.

Hostess: Next is a Red Arowana. This fish is a fourth-generation purebred Red Arowana, bred strictly according to breeding requirements. It is a top-grade Red Arowana with traceable certification. The starting price is 10,000 yuan, and each bid increase must not be less than 1,000 yuan.

Red Arowanas are quite popular and well-known in the community. Many people who haven't kept fish before have first heard of or seen Arowanas.

Many fish enthusiasts bid, and the price quickly surpassed 30,000 yuan, with three people still competing.

It was finally bought by a Boss who sells fish in the front row for a price of 38,000 yuan.

...

The auction had been going on for half an hour, and the 8th item was just being brought onto the stage.