The road from Lhasa to Gyantse was very easy to drive on, all paved. Liu Chuan sped up and quickly overtook the Santana, pulling ahead of it. However, the other driver immediately called, telling Liu Chuan to slow down.
"You guys in this line of work don't deserve a nice car. It's easier to run away when the cops are chasing you."
Liu Chuan was on the phone, but he slowed down the car. He let the other party pass him. Given Liu Chuan's unreasonable nature, the other party was probably both amused and exasperated.
The car was traveling at a speed of about 100 kilometers per hour on the asphalt road to Gyantse. After about half an hour, the Santana in front suddenly turned into the grassland, and Liu Chuan quickly followed.
After bumping along the grassland for about half an hour, the people in the Hummer spotted a tent on the flat grassland ahead, though they couldn't see it clearly due to the distance.
Soon, the two vehicles drove up to the front of the tent. Outside the tent, there were already five or six cars parked. Three of them were SUVs, two were Santanas, and one was even a truck with military license plates. However, a vehicle of the Hummer's caliber was unique to Zhuang Rui and his group.
A dozen or so burly young men, each holding a walkie-talkie and a camouflage binocular, formed a circle around the tent. When the Hummer stopped outside the tent, they looked over with wary eyes, though their gazes also held a hint of envy.
The fact that a black market auction was being held in such a place was something Zhuang Rui and the others hadn't expected. However, they couldn't help but admire the organizers of this black market. On this flat grassland, no movement could escape their notice. Even if the police came, they couldn't possibly deploy so many officers to surround the entire grassland.
Besides, by the time the police cars arrive, these people will probably have already packed up their tents and run away, leaving no evidence for the other party.
After the Hummer came to a stop, a young man got out of the Santana in front and walked towards the Hummer.
Liu Chuan pushed open the car door and got out first. With his appearance, he could play a villain in a Hong Kong movie without needing makeup. Zhuang Rui followed closely behind and got out of the car as well.
Zhou Rui walked at the back, carrying a leather bag containing 300,000 yuan in cash. This money was temporarily withdrawn by Zhuang Rui from a bank in Lhasa. For this money, Zhuang Rui not only rushed to the bank to make an appointment yesterday morning, but the bank in Pengcheng also called Liu Chuan's mobile phone to inquire whether Zhuang Rui's account had any large expenditures recently.
"Mr. Liu, I'm sorry to have troubled you all. Please go inside the tent and rest for a while."
Judging from the young man's accent, he should be the one who spoke to Liu Chuan on the phone. However, he didn't seem to be in charge here. After chatting with Liu Chuan for a few minutes, he called over a person guarding the tent and asked him to lead the group to the tent. He then got into his Santana and left. Zhuang Rui guessed that he had gone to the crossroads to keep watch.
The young man who had been guarding the tent led Liu Chuan and the others into the tent.
"Please wait a moment, everyone."
When they reached the tent entrance, a middle-aged man of about forty years old stopped the three of them.
"We were introduced by Boss Song from Beijing. What, you don't trust us?"
Liu Chuan straightened his face and said with obvious displeasure. He was indeed unhappy. After all that trouble, they couldn't even let him into the tent when they arrived at the destination.
"Is that Mr. Liu Chuan?"
The middle-aged man asked a question.
"It's me. These two are my brothers. Should we check them?"
Liu Chuan, who watches too many Hong Kong movies, said this half seriously and half jokingly.
"No need, no need. The people introduced by Boss Song are certainly trustworthy. Please come inside for tea..."
Upon hearing that Liu Chuan had been introduced by Song Jun, the middle-aged man immediately became enthusiastic, lifted the tent flap, and invited the group inside.
"No, let me show you the goods we brought first. If you have any good stuff, don't hold back. I like straightforward people."
Liu Chuan took the purse from Zhou Rui's hand, unzipped it slightly, and dozens of bundles of one-hundred-yuan bills appeared before the middle-aged man's eyes.
Liu Chuan learned this trick from Song Jun over the phone. Sure enough, after the middle-aged man saw the real gold and silver, his attitude became even more enthusiastic. He not only personally led the group into the tent, but also had someone bring them several bowls of hot butter tea.
However, Zhuang Rui and his group dared not drink the tea. Although Song Jun said that the organizers of this black market had a good reputation, they were on someone else's turf, so it was better to be safe.
The middle-aged man didn't insist; offering tea was just a matter of politeness. After inviting a few people to sit down, he returned to the tent entrance to greet the new guests.
Chapter 87 The Grassland Black Market (2)
The tent set up on the grass is quite large, covering an area of about 40 to 50 square meters. It uses an inner support and outer covering method. First, a frame is used to support the inner tent, and then the waterproof outer tent is covered and secured. Ground pegs are also driven into the ground around the perimeter for reinforcement. This method of setting up the tent is relatively convenient, and it is also the easiest to dismantle. Seven or eight people can pack it up at the four corners, and it can be done in a few minutes.
Besides a few tables, chairs, and people, there was only a kettle of boiling water in the tent. There was nothing else, not even a trace of an artifact. Moreover, it seemed that not everyone had arrived yet, and the black market auction showed no signs of starting. Zhuang Rui sat there, bored, and looked around at the people in the tent.
There were now eleven people sitting in the tent, nine men and two women. Sitting about seven or eight meters to Zhuang Rui's right was a middle-aged man around forty years old, extremely obese. His belly was so big it was almost unbelievable; sitting there, he looked like a ball of flesh sunk into the chair. If he stood up, he probably wouldn't be able to see his penis or toes when he looked down.
Next to the fat boss sat a girl old enough to be his daughter. She was wearing a fur jacket, and underneath it seemed to be only a low-cut tank top. Her face was heavily made up, and she was extremely seductive. Everyone in the tent could smell the perfume on her. The girl was almost lying on the middle-aged man. Zhuang Rui, who was facing her, could see the two soft mounds of flesh on her chest that were squeezed and deformed without even looking up.
Behind the fat boss stood a young man in his early twenties, with a strong build, carrying a briefcase. As soon as Zhuang Rui and the others entered the tent, the man's eyes were fixed on Zhou Rui. He was probably the fat boss's bodyguard or something similar.
Sitting to Zhuang Rui's left were two elderly men around sixty years old. Both were rather thin, but sprightly and had sharp eyes, somewhat like seasoned antique dealers. They were carrying bags, indicating that this place only accepted cash. The fat man seemed quite displeased with the two elderly men, giving them a disdainful "humph" as they looked at them.
The remaining six people were also divided into three circles. They all seemed to have come in pairs, and they were sitting rather far apart, talking in hushed tones. In addition to the glamorous woman, there was another woman in the room, wearing large black-rimmed sunglasses, so her face could not be seen clearly. Judging from her skin, she should not be very old. This woman had a laptop on her lap and was looking at the computer screen and talking to a man next to her. Judging from the man's attitude, he seemed to be this woman's follower.
The other men were all well-dressed and appeared to be quite wealthy, but none of them spoke to each other. They even subconsciously avoided each other's gazes, and none of them looked around like Zhuang Rui did.
Only in the right corner of the tent stood two people, dressed the same as those outside. These two remained silent, their eyes filled with vigilance as they watched the people inside the tent.
While Zhuang Rui was rather reserved in observing the people inside the tent, Liu Chuan was staring at them with a blatant, undisguised gaze. Adding to this, his face was full of menacing features, and the way he looked at people seemed to harbor ill intentions. As a result, within a few minutes, the three or four people sitting around Liu Chuan stood up and moved their plastic chairs with backs further away from him.
The fat man, however, didn't seem to care about Liu Chuan's gaze at all. He smirked and exchanged a glance with Liu Chuan before continuing to flirt with the beautiful woman beside him. He was probably relying on his bodyguards and didn't take Liu Chuan seriously. These days, as long as you have money, there's nothing you can't handle and no one you can't deal with.
"Brother Ma, you really have a high alcohol tolerance. You got me drunk yesterday. This is Haiwangjin (preventing advertisement). Drinking a little after drinking is good for your health. No, no, don't move, let me feed you."
The seductive woman's voice rang out in the tent. She took out a bottle of Neptune Gold Health Supplement and tried to feed it to the fat man in a high-pitched voice. The fat man was taken in by her act, his eyes narrowing into slits as he smiled. While drinking the supplement, his large hands were roaming over the seductive woman's plump buttocks.
"Pah!"
One of the two old men couldn't hold back any longer. He spat on the ground and shouted, "Lang Jie, have you taken the wrong medicine today? What kind of people have you invited? They're completely clueless!"
The old man had a bad temper. When he spoke, he glared at Zhuang Rui and the others, leaving them somewhat confused. They hadn't provoked him at all.
Hearing the old man's shout, the middle-aged man who had led Liu Chuan and the others in quickly lifted the curtain and came in, saying, "Boss Xie, what's wrong that made you so angry?"
None of Zhuang Rui and his group realized that this middle-aged man was actually Tibetan. They had all initially thought he was Han Chinese because he didn't have the typical Tibetan ruddy complexion, and his Mandarin was quite fluent with a Beijing accent, suggesting he was someone of importance.
Old Xie was quite arrogant when he called for people earlier, but after Lang Jie came in, his attitude softened a bit. He said, "It's been almost four hours since eight o'clock. It used to start as soon as we arrived. What's wrong today? If it's not working out, let's come back another time."
It's said that people become shrewd with age, and their tempers and edges are almost smoothed out. But this old man's temper seems to be even worse than Liu Chuan's. However, it was indeed the black market organizers' fault in what happened today. As soon as Old Man Xie said this, everyone around him echoed his words, and the tent became lively for a moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet. I did invite you all here today because I have some nice antique items, but a few guests haven't arrived yet, which has taken up your time. So how about this, the final price of all items in today's auction will be reduced by five percent. Consider this my apology to you all. What do you all think?"
Upon realizing he had angered the crowd, Langjie quickly clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed to everyone around him. Moreover, he was decisive enough to immediately come up with a way to quell their anger. You see, the price of an item sold here ranges from several thousand to tens or hundreds of thousands of RMB. If we take 100,000 RMB as an example, five percent is five thousand RMB. This concession was enough to show his sincerity.
"Boss Langjie, I came here because I heard you have some good stuff. Money doesn't matter, just bring out the stuff quickly. We don't care about that 5%."
After hearing Lang Jie's words, no one made a sound. Only the fat boss spoke up, waving his thick, carrot-like fingers with an imposing air.
"Hahaha……"
Liu Chuan finally couldn't help but laugh. This fat guy was a real jerk. His words not only offended everyone in the tent, but also meant he was telling the seller, "We're rich, so when you're going to rip us off, go ahead and do it."
Seeing everyone in the tent looking at him with smiles, even the fat man, if he was stupid, knew they were laughing at him. He immediately opened his eyes and glared at Liu Chuan. Liu Chuan wasn't buying it. He spat at the fat man's feet and glared back defiantly.
The fat man struggled to hold onto the armrests on both sides of the chair, trying to stand up. But halfway up, he saw that there were three of them, all young and strong, and he, as a bodyguard, might not be able to fight them. So he sat back down, saying, "We are cultured people, we won't lower ourselves to the level of some country bumpkin who has never seen the world."
Seeing that the two groups seemed about to fight, Langjie didn't try to stop them. To him, the more they disliked each other, the better. When the auction started, someone would naturally act impulsively.
"Yeah, those people were so rude. Brother Ma, you're so magnanimous, don't stoop to their level. Hey, Brother Ma, look at that puppy in that person's arms, it's so cute! You said you'd buy me one, but you still haven't. I'm lonely when I'm all alone, Brother Ma..."
The glamorous woman was good at coaxing people; she calmed the fat boss down with just a few words. But when her eyes fell on the little white lion in Zhuang Rui's arms, she was immediately captivated. She started to coax the fat boss in a drawn-out tone, which gave everyone goosebumps.
"Alright, alright, it's just a dog. Go ask him to buy it, any price is fine, we're not short of money."
The fat man knew he wasn't very likable, so instead of going to Zhuang Rui to buy a dog himself, he asked the woman who was clinging to him to do it.
As for the little white lion's appearance, it was quite impressive. After being treated by Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy, its long, snow-white fur lay smoothly against its body. Anyone who didn't know the details would mistake it for a pet dog.
"Really, Brother Ma, you're so great! *smack*" The glamorous woman left a loud lip print on the fat man's face, stood up, and swayed her hips as she walked towards Zhuang Rui and the others.
"Hey, you, I'm talking to you. Keep your distance, just stand there. I can't stand this smell."
When the glamorous woman was still four or five meters away from Zhuang Rui, Liu Chuan spoke up. Although the woman was good-looking and had a good figure, the perfume she wore was really overpowering.
"Oh, I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for that guy."
The glamorous woman wasn't buying Liu Chuan's act at all. She approached Zhuang Rui, reeking of a nauseating perfume.
Zhuang Rui wrinkled his nose slightly, looked at the woman with displeasure, and said, "I'm not selling this dog. Do whatever you want with it."
"Brother, you see, I really like small animals. Just name your price, Brother Ma won't even haggle. Just let me have it, okay?"
"Not for sale!"
Zhuang Rui was too lazy to waste words with this woman and coldly uttered two words.
"Ten thousand RMB, how about that, brother? That's not a low price, is it?"
As the glamorous woman spoke, she glanced at the fat man. Seeing that he showed no displeasure, she then looked at Zhuang Rui and leaned her body closer to him. If she weren't afraid of upsetting the fat man, she probably would have pressed her two soft breasts against Zhuang Rui's face.
Chapter 88 The Grassland Black Market (3)
"Ten thousand yuan?"
Zhuang Rui looked up and took a good look at the woman who was dressed in a flamboyant manner. Actually, she should be called a girl. She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. She had a really good figure, with curves in all the right places. If she could remove the few ounces of powder on her face, she could be considered a beautiful young woman.
"Ten thousand yuan, okay..."
Zhuang Rui spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Really? Brother Ma, he agreed. Hurry up and give me the money..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's agreement, the woman shouted excitedly, but was interrupted by Zhuang Rui as soon as she started speaking.
"Ten thousand yuan, and I'll sell you a dog hair..."
His tone remained unhurried, but the meaning behind his words caused everyone in the tent, except for the three fat men who turned pale with shock, to burst into laughter. Even the two old men couldn't help but chuckle, stroking their beards. Liu Chuan even squatted down on the ground laughing.
"You... Brother Ma. I won't stand for this, he's bullying me..."
The glamorous woman had initially been about to pounce on Zhuang Rui with her claws outstretched, but upon seeing Zhuang Rui sitting there calmly and Zhou Rui beside him with a cold glint in his eyes, she immediately stopped and turned to throw herself into the arms of the fat boss, crying and complaining.
In fact, Zhuang Rui is a fairly tolerant person and would not usually embarrass others like this. However, this fat man was indeed a bit arrogant today, and this girl was too shameless. There are plenty of women like this, and Zhuang Rui couldn't possibly manage them all. But since this woman insisted on buying the little white lion, Zhuang Rui would no longer be polite to her. His tongue could be deadly when it was sharp.
The fat boss was helpless against Zhuang Rui and the others. In this desolate place, no matter how rich he was, he was powerless. Taking action would obviously lead to losses. The fat man understood the situation and actually held back. After promising the woman a lot of benefits, the tent finally quieted down.
"What this gentleman said is actually not wrong. Ten thousand yuan is indeed only enough to buy a dog's hair."
To everyone's surprise, Lang Jie, who had been sitting on the sidelines watching the fight, actually uttered such a statement. This immediately shocked everyone present.
"Boss Langjie, I'm here to auction things, not to be bullied. You've gone a bit too far."
Upon hearing this, the fat man couldn't sit still. He didn't dare to provoke Zhuang Rui, but he knew Lang Jie's background well. Even if they broke off relations, Lang Jie wouldn't dare to do anything to him.
The people around him didn't say anything. They all knew that Lang Jie was a very shrewd and calculating person. To be able to run such a large black market, he must be a very shrewd and tactful person who would not easily offend anyone. The reason he said those words must have had his reasons.
In an instant, everyone's eyes in the tent were focused on Langjie, and even the woman wearing sunglasses looked away from the computer screen.
Sure enough, Lang Jie looked at the little white lion in Zhuang Rui's arms and said, "Boss Ma, please don't be angry. Let me finish what I have to say. If I'm not mistaken, what this gentleman is holding should be a purebred Tibetan Mastiff. Hehe, this kind of Tibetan Mastiff is very rare. When one does appear, it is mostly a hybrid and not purebred. But this little Tibetan Mastiff has a pure and shiny coat, bright eyes, a thick neck, and flat shoulders. Although it is still young, it is definitely a purebred Tibetan Mastiff. Bosses, you should all trust my eyes, right?"