When Lang Jie said this, everyone except Zhuang Rui and the other two, who already knew the origin of the white lion, looked at the little guy in Zhuang Rui's arms in shock.
These people are all well-known figures once they leave this tent. Even the fat man, though uncouth, operates several large mines in Shanxi and other places. With the coal market booming in recent years, his net worth has skyrocketed. In terms of economic power alone, few among those present can compare to him.
The reason Langjie's words surprised these wealthy and powerful people was that they knew the price of a purebred Tibetan Mastiff. If it were just about money, it wouldn't have made them lose their composure. The key was that this was something that money couldn't buy.
There was a person in the circle who once offered ten million to buy a purebred Tibetan Mastiff puppy, but several years have passed and he still hasn't succeeded. I'm afraid that even if he offered 20 million now, he would agree without hesitation. Moreover, that person is quite influential, and if someone could really bring him such a Tibetan Mastiff puppy, he would definitely have a smooth life for the rest of his days.
Of course, given the status of those present, there was no need for them to curry favor with that person. However, the appearance of a purebred Tibetan Mastiff, even more precious than breeds like Iron-Clad Gold, was enough to tempt them. While spending 10,000 yuan on a dog's fur might be an exaggeration, it wasn't far off.
"Boss Langjie, you certainly have a good eye! Haha, I admire you, I admire you..."
Zhuang Rui had no intention of hiding the white lion's identity. He genuinely admired this seemingly unremarkable middle-aged man. Liu Chuan had been playing with cats and dogs for so many years, and Zhou Rui had spent so much time in Tibet and had even raised Tibetan mastiffs, yet neither of them could tell the difference. But Lang Jie had only glanced at him a few times and was able to make such an accurate judgment. This insight alone was worthy of Zhuang Rui's respect.
"Sir, would you be willing to transfer ownership of your Tibetan Mastiff? I am personally very interested in it. Rest assured, if you transfer it to me, the price is absolutely negotiable, and I will not resell it."
There is no doubt that Tibetans love Tibetan mastiffs. Although Langjie does not live in Tibet often, the habits and preferences of Tibetans cannot be changed. After he accidentally recognized this Tibetan mastiff, he thought about how to make it his own.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Langjie, but you Tibetans treat Tibetan mastiffs like family, and I treat them like family too. Would anyone sell their own family?"
As Zhuang Rui spoke, he picked up the little guy, and the white lion was very cooperative, affectionately licking Zhuang Rui's face. The interaction between the man and the dog gave everyone an indescribable sense of harmony.
Langjie, still somewhat unwilling to give up, continued, "I'm sorry, I misspoke. It's clear this gentleman really likes this Tibetan Mastiff, but do you know the current value of a purebred Tibetan Mastiff?"
"I heard someone offered 10 million, but I won't sell."
Zhuang Rui immediately cut off what Lang Jie was about to say. He was now worth several million, although he couldn't compare to the people in the tent. But Zhuang Rui hadn't even figured out how to use those few million yet.
Langjie fell silent. Although he had some assets, this business wasn't easy; he needed to appease everyone involved, from all walks of life. He might be able to buy the Tibetan Mastiff for 30 million or more, but that would definitely be a losing proposition.
"Young man, I really like your Tibetan Mastiff too. 10 million is too low a price. How about this, I'll give you 30 million, and you sell it to me, how about it?"
The fat man, disregarding Zhuang Rui's earlier offense, affectionately called him "little brother" and struggled to stand up from his chair, seemingly about to go over and be affectionate with Zhuang Rui.
Thirty million?
Upon hearing the number, Zhuang Rui was immediately startled, and the thought of selling the little white lion really crossed his mind. However, at this moment, the old lama of Jokhang Temple's words, which told Zhuang Rui to treat this mastiff king well, seemed to echo in his ears again, instantly shattering the greed in his heart.
“Mr. Langjie, we’re here to participate in an antique auction, not to sell my Tibetan Mastiff. If the auction isn’t going to continue soon, I think we can take our leave.”
Zhuang Rui didn't answer the fat man's offer. Instead, he looked at Lang Jie. To be honest, the price the fat man offered was too tempting. Thirty million! That's enough to buy dozens of Hummers just for the price outside the tent. Even Liu Chuan secretly nudged Zhuang Rui several times, urging him to agree. Zhuang Rui was afraid that his willpower wasn't strong enough, so he simply said goodbye.
"Yes, Langjie, why don't we reschedule for another day? There are so many of us, waiting here isn't going to solve anything."
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Old Man Xie also spoke up, saying that their actions were not legal to begin with. Although they knew Lang Jie had a good reputation, if things dragged on for too long, there was no guarantee that something unexpected might happen.
“Hey young man, I really want to buy your Tibetan Mastiff. Whether you sell it or not, just say so. If 30 million isn’t enough, then 40 million is fine. Money is no object.”
Seeing that Zhuang Rui completely ignored him, the fat man felt he was losing face and offered Zhuang Rui another price. To be honest, although he had a net worth of over a billion, it was still a bit difficult for him to come up with forty million in cash.
"Not for sale."
Zhuang Rui gave a curt reply with two words, stood up, picked up the little white lion, and walked out. Although Zhuang Rui often saw scenes in Hong Kong and Taiwan dramas where the female lead rejected the pursuit of a billionaire and married a poor boy, it wasn't until this moment that he realized just how great the temptation was when millions of dollars were placed in front of you and you could take them at will. This kind of temptation cannot be described in words. All those scenes on TV are nonsense.
Just as Zhuang Rui lifted the tent flap, several braking sounds came from outside. Lang Jie, who had been anxiously trying to persuade everyone to stay, also breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly, the last guest of the day had arrived.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is about to begin."
Lang Jie wiped the cold sweat from his brow and shouted loudly. After hearing his words, everyone quieted down. After all, they hadn't achieved their goal of coming here today, and no one wanted to leave empty-handed. Zhuang Rui, holding the little guy, also retreated.
As soon as Lang Jie finished speaking, three men walked in. Everyone knew that it was these men's lateness that caused the auction to be postponed, and they all looked at them with unfriendly expressions.
"Synchronization, Synchronization..."
A short man entered and bowed to the people in the tent, saying "I'm sorry" in Japanese.
"Langjie, have you forgotten the rules of our line of work?!"
Old Xie suddenly stood up and shouted at Lang Jie. If you asked Old Xie if he was being a little pretentious when he was angry last time, this time he was really furious.
Chapter 89 The Grassland Black Market (4)
Every profession has its own rules.
It's like before filming a Hong Kong movie. People need to worship Guan Yu (a legendary figure associated with tomb raiding), and tomb raiders also need to place a lamp in the southeast corner of the tomb. To put it more bluntly, it's like wanting to get a job transfer requires giving gifts to the boss, wanting to get a construction contract requires giving kickbacks, wanting to become famous requires sleeping with the director, and wanting to open a shop requires maintaining good business and tax records.
Similarly, the black market auction business also has its established but unwritten rules: those who participate in the auction must be people in the industry, or more specifically, Chinese. This is the principle of keeping the profits within the family. However, the sudden appearance of a Japanese person means that Lang Jie has broken the rules.
The black market that Langjie ran was essentially a way to sell items that couldn't be sold through legitimate channels, through black market auctions. The sellers were mostly poachers, tomb raiders, and all sorts of other individuals.
The buyers who come here are mostly antique collectors, many of whom have certain social connections and status. They are not afraid of the unclear origin of these cultural relics, and naturally have ways to launder them.
As for the black market itself, it only acts as an intermediary, buying low and selling high to earn profits. However, the prices at which they resell their goods are often dozens or even hundreds of times higher than the prices at which they buy from other people. In addition, Lang Jie has many sourcing channels and often finds some good items. Therefore, he is considered a prominent figure in the domestic antique black market and often attracts many collectors to come here to hunt for treasures.
“Mr. Jiang, this isn’t your first time participating in this kind of auction. You should know our rules, right? I’m in a difficult position because of what you’re doing.”
Judging from Lang Jie's appearance, he didn't seem to know beforehand that a Japanese person was coming. He then spoke to a middle-aged man of about fifty years old standing next to the Japanese person, and his tone was not very polite.
From the moment these three people entered the tent, only a minute or two had passed, and everyone's attention was drawn to the Japanese man. Only after hearing Lang Jie's words did they shift their gaze to Boss Jiang.
No matter how Zhuang Rui looked at the man, he felt that he looked very familiar. Suddenly, he remembered that he had seen this man on the cover of a magazine. He seemed to be the CEO of a large enterprise in Sichuan. The annual profit of that enterprise was in the billions. He just didn’t expect that he would come to this kind of event. Judging from Lang Jie’s words, it seemed that this was not his first time here.
"Brother Langjie, bosses, this matter was due to my poor handling of things. I hope you can forgive me. Mr. Takeuchi has always been an anti-war figure in Japan and a friend of the Chinese people. I hope you can give me some face. I will give you an explanation in the future."
Actually, Mr. Jiang had his own difficulties. His company's technological transformation involved a core technology that hadn't been developed domestically yet, requiring cooperation with a Japanese company. The Japanese man who accompanied him was Takeuchi, the vice president of that Japanese company, who was also the representative in charge of the negotiations. Takeuchi was very fond of Chinese culture and had collected many Chinese antiques, making him practically a China expert.
Takeuchi overheard that President Jiang knew about the places where these black markets were held, so he specifically asked to come and see for himself. He promised President Jiang that if he could take him along when he participated in the black market auction, he would make some concessions in the negotiations. President Jiang couldn't refuse such a condition, which is why the scene in the tent happened.
Upon hearing Mr. Jiang's words, everyone in the tent fell silent. In truth, they all knew that many items on the black market, driven by the lure of high profits, ended up overseas, in the hands of international collectors. Some of those present might have even engaged in such activities. Furthermore, given Mr. Jiang's considerable status, it would be unreasonable to humiliate him with such a humble request. Therefore, most tacitly agreed.
Liu Chuan, however, was not buying it. He had no idea who this Jiang was. He stepped forward and was about to speak when Zhuang Rui stopped him, and he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
"Wood, why are you pulling me like that? Don't you know I've hated the Japanese devils since I was a child?"
Liu Chuan muttered something loud enough for everyone in the tent to hear. They were too embarrassed to speak up, and Liu Chuan's intervention suited their needs perfectly.
"Sir, I am also strongly opposed to my country's militarism. As for the crimes my country committed in your country, I am willing to apologize to you all in my own capacity..."
Unexpectedly, Takeuchi was a China expert, having heard every word Liu Chuan said. He even walked up to Liu Chuan and bowed deeply, not lifting his head again. It seemed he would remain bowed as long as Liu Chuan didn't agree to let him participate in the black market auction. It was just puzzling why Takeuchi spoke Japanese as soon as he entered the tent; given his level of Mandarin, if he hadn't spoken a few words, probably no one would have been able to recognize him.
Liu Chuan's personality was such that he would respond to gentle persuasion but not force. Takeuchi's behavior left him speechless. Moreover, his grandfather had personally killed many Japanese devils during the war. Although he had a few bullet holes in his body, he had still gained a lot. Thinking of this, Liu Chuan waved his hand and said, "If you want to participate, then participate. Why ask me? Go find Boss Langjie."
The implication in his words was that he did not object.
"Thank you, young man. If you need any help from me in the future, I will do my best to help you."
After hearing Liu Chuan's words, President Jiang felt relieved. Apart from Zhuang Rui and a few others who were strangers, the people in the tent were all people he knew to some extent, and they would probably give him face. Now that Liu Chuan had agreed, no one would object anymore.
Mr. Jiang turned to a young man next to him and said something. The man immediately came out, holding a box of business cards, and handed them out to everyone in the tent with both hands.
"Hehe, that's really extravagant."
Liu Chuan took the gold-embossed business card and chuckled softly. This time, his voice was much quieter, since he no longer objected to the Japanese man participating in the auction, and there was no need to offend this seemingly influential General Manager Jiang.
"Can't you just say less?"
Zhuang Rui nudged Liu Chuan in the ribs, urging him to sit back down. Zhuang Rui had other plans in mind; with his sharp eyes, he could cause trouble for the Japanese later, so why pretend to be the villain?
"Alright, I've taken up a lot of your time today, let's get started now."
Seeing that the commotion had subsided, Langjie waved his hand, and several young men immediately came over. They set up a square table in the middle of the tent, and then the two men who had been standing in the corner were brought out. One of them lifted the curtain behind them, took out an object, placed it on a plate, and brought it out.
Only then did Zhuang Rui realize that this was where the auction items were placed, no wonder there had been people guarding it all along.
"As everyone knows, although I personally strongly oppose the hunting of Tibetan antelopes, there are always some people who will do it. Some time ago, through some channels, I managed to keep this shahtoosh shawl that was being shipped overseas. However, I'm a businessman, and I still need to sell my goods. Today's first item for auction is a shahtoosh shawl. As everyone knows, shahtoosh means 'King of Cashmere'!"
The starting bid for this shawl is 10,000 RMB!
Langjie's voice rang out in the tent as he explained the origin of the auction item to everyone present. Normally, the origin of auction items here doesn't need explanation, but for Tibetans, the reputation of slaughtering Tibetan antelopes isn't very good, so he said a few more words. The young man carrying the plate walked around where everyone was sitting, showing everyone a folded shawl with beautiful patterns on it.
When the young man returned to the center of the tent, Langjie took off a ring from his hand, picked up a shawl from the plate, and threaded one corner of the shawl through one end of the ring. Langjie gently pulled on the other end of the ring, and the entire shawl, about 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, was as soft as a ball of silk and as smooth as water, as it passed through the ring.
This shawl was incredibly attractive to women. Even the woman in sunglasses, who hadn't spoken until now, took a deep look at the shawl and quickly started typing on her notebook, seemingly looking up something.
"Brother Ma, this shawl is so beautiful! Please buy it for me, okay..."
The seductive woman's trembling voice rang out again.
"Okay, my little darling, we'll buy it. Boss Langjie, I'll offer ten thousand."
The fat man, having just lost face in front of Zhuang Rui, seemed eager to regain it and made the first offer.
To everyone's surprise, the woman in sunglasses didn't make a bid after looking away from the computer screen. The others in the room also showed little interest in the shawl. After waiting a few minutes, Langjie said, "Since no one else is bidding, then this shawl is..."
"I'll offer 15,000..."
Zhuang Rui's voice interrupted Lang Jie's words, which also excited Lang Jie. The seller naturally wanted someone to bid higher for his item, so he immediately shouted, "Boss Liu offered 15,000 yuan, so it's 15,000 yuan now. Are there any other friends who would like to make an offer?"
At this moment, the woman in sunglasses turned her head and glanced at Zhuang Rui. Although she was wearing sunglasses, Zhuang Rui could see a hint of disdain in her eyes.
"Hey, you've got a lot of money, kid. What are you buying this thing for? Oh, I see..."
Liu Chuan was initially puzzled, but he quickly realized what was going on and chuckled lewdly.
Chapter 90 The Grassland Black Market (5)
Liu Chuan guessed correctly. Zhuang Rui did want to buy it as a gift for Qin Xuanbing. After that kiss the night before last, even if Zhuang Rui was a blockhead, he could feel Qin Xuanbing's affection. Seeing such a beautiful shawl, he decided to buy it as a gift for Qin Xuanbing.
"Twenty thousand..."
Boss Ma quickly called out the price. In his opinion, the kid who refused to sell the dog was deliberately going against him. The others in the tent were obviously not interested in the shawl and were just watching from the sidelines.
"Mr. Ma has offered 20,000. Mr. Liu's friends, are you still interested?"
Although the shawl was just a small item worth tens of thousands of yuan, Lang Jie still valued it highly as the first item in the auction. After all, it was a good start, so he was now shouting enthusiastically, hoping that Zhuang Rui would bid again.
"Brother Zhuang, you shouldn't buy this. Such price gouging will only encourage those who hunt Tibetan antelopes."
Zhou Rui nudged Zhuang Rui with his arm and whispered something in his ear.
At that time, the famous film "Kekexili" had not yet been released, and the Chinese people did not know much about Tibetan antelopes. Zhuang Rui also thought that Tibetan antelopes were just ordinary animals, not much different from cattle and sheep. After hearing Zhou Rui's words, he asked with some curiosity, "Brother Zhou, are there very few Tibetan antelopes? How come that Lang Jie just said that people who hunt Tibetan antelopes have a bad reputation?"
"Nonsense! In 1990, there were about 1 million Tibetan antelopes. By 1995, the number had dropped to 75,000. And now, there are probably not even 70,000 left. Do you know that just this one shawl requires the killing of at least three adult Tibetan antelopes? Some people call this shawl a shroud. How can you feel comfortable wearing this thing?"
Zhou Rui glared at Zhuang Rui with annoyance before explaining the current situation of the Tibetan antelope. Upon hearing the words "shroud," Zhuang Rui shuddered. When he looked at the shawl again, all he could think of were the bloody corpses of Tibetan antelopes, and he lost all interest in the shawl.
After watching Zhuang Rui whisper to someone for a while, Lang Jie was a little disappointed that he didn't raise the price further. However, this was just an appetizer. He had spent a lot of effort setting up the black market, so it was naturally not for selling this shawl. He immediately announced the sale at a price of 20,000 yuan.
To be fair, the fat man actually got a good deal. A shahtoosh shawl like that would fetch at least tens of thousands of dollars in Europe. The difference between 20,000 RMB and tens of thousands of dollars is huge, which is one of the reasons why black market auctions are so difficult to eradicate.
Although the fat man won the bid for the shawl, he wasn't very happy. He had been eager to compete with Zhuang Rui, but Zhuang Rui stopped after bidding once, leaving him feeling like he had thrown a punch into thin air.