Chapter 285: The White-Robed Knight (Part 5)

Jiang Yanran, Song Yaxian, Zhang Lekang, Fan Minxue, and the others were completely stunned by the vigorous bid shouted by Tang Xingyu.

"9 Billion!"

"Too ruthless!"

"They can actually afford to bid that much!"

"Are they going all out now?"

Jiang Yanran felt that Tang Xingyu's lobbying alone could never have secured 9 billion in funding.

Unless… Chairman Zhu Hongfu and Lin Chengye were both involved!

"Those two old codgers!"

"Causing trouble behind the scenes!"

After the cocktail party, Jiang Yanran had assumed that the two had completely bowed down to Zheng Qian.

But she hadn't expected them to be unconvinced in their hearts, secretly supporting Tang Xingyu instead.

She hadn't even counted those two in at first.

"Truly insidious."

The four of them looked weakly toward Zheng Qian…

"It's already at 9 billion."

"Even with the money we pooled together, it's not enough to reach 9 billion."

"Maybe… let's just forget it."

"Today's auction has already earned a place in the history books of modern auctions."

"It's not embarrassing."

Just when everyone thought that this drama would end with the local Jiangnan forces represented by Tang Xingyu victorious…

Zheng Qian spoke up again.

"10 Billion."

His voice was very soft, but it was enough to shake the entire venue once again.

Everyone was dumbfounded, looking at Zheng Qian with expressions of disbelief.

The reporters and media personnel wished they could press their shutters until they started smoking.

The videographers wished they could shove their lenses right into Zheng Qian's face.

"10 Billion!"

Does Zheng Qian really have that much cash?

Judging from the expression on his face.

He might actually have it!

That kind of confidence is very hard to fake.

Jiang Yanran, standing beside him, was speechless.

The white knight, which was originally only worth 2.5 billion, was now being bid at 10 billion by Zheng Qian—a direct premium of 7.5 billion!

The premium rate was as high as 400%!

Fan Minxue and Zhang Lekang almost wanted to kneel down and service Zheng Qian right there!

"This isn't just a thigh!"

"This is an elephant leg!"

"A thick, sturdy elephant leg!"

The two swore a solemn oath at that moment: even if this elephant leg of Zheng Qian's were covered in blades, they would still cling to it tightly.

"From now on, we're following Zheng Qian!"

"No, no, no, for the rest of our lives, we recognize Zheng Qian as our Big Brother!"

"If Big Brother says go east, we go east; if Big Brother says go west, we go west."

"From now on, we will go through fire and water for him without hesitation."

Song Yaxian felt very conflicted.

She didn't want to see Zheng Qian lose face, but she also didn't want him to pay such a huge price.

"Is it worth spending an extra 7.5 billion?"

Song Yaxian quietly tugged at the corner of Zheng Qian's shirt.

But Zheng Qian gave her a reassuring look.

Song Yaxian found it hard to understand what Zheng Qian was reassuring her about; could it be that he had his own plans?

Zheng Qian had reached this point today, so he must have a unique vision.

Forget it, no need to worry about him.

Song Yaxian chose to trust Zheng Qian's decision.

It would be a lie to say that Zheng Qian felt no ripples in his heart.

It wasn't because he felt bad about spending money.

It was because Tang Xingyu was just too reliable!

To think he could actually drive the price up to 9 billion!

It far exceeded Zheng Qian's expectations.

He had originally thought 3 or 4 billion would be about right.

If he didn't bid 10 billion now, it would be doing a disservice to all the effort Tang Xingyu had put in behind the scenes!

In the short time of a single auction, he was about to rake in another 100 billion.

If there were a few more auctions like this, Zheng Qian would be the richest man in Kyushu.

Even becoming the richest man in the world wouldn't be difficult.

Zheng Qian was even feeling a bit expectant.

He hoped Tang Xingyu could drive the price even higher.

That way, the cash rebate Zheng Qian would receive would be even more!

The people on Tang Xingyu's side had completely entered unknown territory.

Even that Secretary Ding didn't know what to do.

"Ask Chairman Zhu Hongfu and Lin Chengye for another sum of money?"

"No, look at what time it is now."

"Putting aside whether they would agree."

"Even if they did, there's no way the funds would arrive in time."

"What to do, what to do?"

4 billion turned into 6 billion, then into 10 billion!

Throughout the entire process, Zheng Qian had only made three bids.

Each one was soul-shaking.

After today, all of Jiangnan would remember the name Zheng Qian!

Liu Ruipeng, Jin Changyuan, and even Li Huaan and the others were already starting to get cold feet.

Zheng Qian's bid was simply too high!

It far exceeded their prior expectations.

They had thought that by putting everything into the 9 billion bid, they would secure the win and slap Zheng Qian in the face.

But they hadn't expected…

Zheng Qian would directly bid 10 billion.

This price broke through everyone's psychological defenses.

The expressions on everyone's faces were stiff and indescribable!

Zheng Qian had used a battle-axe to hack away fiercely at everyone's hearts.

Originally full of confidence, these people were now left looking at each other, helpless.

When Tang Xingyu had just bid 9 billion, he had practically roared it out.

But when Zheng Qian bid 10 billion—a shocking price—he was lighthearted and indifferent.

It was as if 10 billion was just pocket money he threw out casually!

This was truly terrifying!

Tang Xingyu's eyes were vacant at this moment.

He had originally looked like he was in control and determined to win.

Now, he was in a sorry state.

He still had 3 billion he could mobilize.

He could absolutely push the price higher by one step!

But this 3 billion was funds his father had allocated from Yuehua Shipping, equivalent to half of the Xingyao Group's assets.

If he just took it out and drove the price up again, it would be purely an act of impulse!

If Zheng Qian didn't continue to bid, all that money would go down the drain!

If his father found out, he would definitely punish him severely.

"Young President Tang, you aren't thinking of bidding again, are you…?"

"President Tang, you must not bid again. This money is my company's three-year profit! If you bid again and Zheng Qian doesn't follow, then all my work for the past three years will have been for nothing!"

"President Tang…"

Tang Xingyu remained silent at this moment, which made Liu Ruipeng, Jin Changyuan, Li Huaan, and the others feel even more uneasy.

They had already admitted defeat!

They were now in a dilemma.

Zheng Qian's three bids had already made a name for him, enough to stun everyone!

If Tang Xingyu added more to the price, their win wouldn't be as impressive as Zheng Qian's!

In this clash of strength, Zheng Qian had already won 7 points.

The reason they had pooled their funds was that they wanted to slap Zheng Qian in the face hard and win with a total victory!

But in this clash of strength, Zheng Qian had already won 7 points.

Even if they raised it above 10 billion, would Zheng Qian not raise it further?

Even if Zheng Qian didn't raise, they would only win by 3 points.

It wasn't worth the loss.

Spending so much money just to get a 3-point victory.

It really didn't have much meaning!

Everyone didn't know how much more funding Tang Xingyu had at his disposal that they weren't aware of.

They all started to persuade him not to raise the bid again.

They knew that Tang Xingyu and Zheng Qian were at odds and had a history.

If Tang Xingyu tried to be brave for the sake of face right now, and Zheng Qian withdrew his funds, their money would all go down the drain!

They hadn't felt bad before.

Now, they felt it.

Tang Xingyu was young, promising, bold, and careful.

But these people weren't all there because of Tang Xingyu's lobbying.

He was just an opportunity.

Some people were truly there for the sake of Jiangnan's reputation, such as Xue Tianhao.

He believed that with Xingyao Group backing Tang Xingyu, he only had to chip in a little money to gain the reputation of a good entrepreneur standing up for Jiangnan—why not?

Others wanted to get to know Tang Xingyu's father, Tang Chuanyan, such as Liu Ruipeng and Li Huaan.

As for Jin Changyuan, he was simply there to get involved; his career was still on the rise, and spending a few hundred million to make a big name for himself was worth it.

As for Chairman Zhu Hongfu and Lin Chengye, they had been dragged in by Tang Xingyu through a mix of coercion and compliance.

At the time, he had found the number one and number two figures, captured their psychological states, and started applying pressure on them.

With so many entrepreneurs in Jiangnan standing up, if the number one and number two figures didn't contribute money, many people would definitely be gossiping behind their backs, they would be branded with infamy, and they wouldn't be able to save face.

Businessmen are businessmen; everything is based on profit.

If there were no profit, I'm afraid only someone like Xue Tianhao, an underworld-adjacent boss, would support Tang Xingyu.

Everyone stood out for the sake of profit.

Things like face are just gimmicks.

And the strength Zheng Qian displayed today was far more valuable than face!

In the business era, cash is king.

The businesses Liu Ruipeng and Jin Changyuan ran had very tight cash flow and often suffered from delayed payments and bad debts.

And Li Huaan, working in the financial industry, was exactly what was missing: a big client with as much cash as Zheng Qian!

They had already started calculating how to befriend Zheng Qian.

As long as they could cling to Zheng Qian's sturdy thigh, future financing and cooperation would be no problem at all!