Chapter 165: The beginning of a good show (1)
Of course, MA Xiong was not so bored as to care about Xia ruofei’s gossip. However, he valued Xia ruofei very much, so he personally told the hotel to provide all the services and to report to him if anything happened. The hotel did not dare to delay the matter of Xia ruofei beating up Blake in the gym. They immediately reported it to MA Xiong as it was a small conflict after all. Besides, when Monica went on stage just now, she made eye contact with Xia ruofei a few times and even smiled at each other. Even Lu You sharply noticed it, and the experienced MA Xiong naturally saw it clearly as well. Xia ruofei forced a smile and whispered to MA Xiong,””Mr. MA, I have nothing to do with Monica. It’s none of my business how Blake is in the limelight. You don’t have to waste this money.” “It’s just a few hundred thousand US dollars, it’s nothing!”MA Xiong laughed. Xia Sheng, I bought this truffle for a reason. Jiahua’s top floor French restaurant is preparing for a truffle feast, and it’ll come in handy. ” Xia ruofei smiled bitterly and shut his mouth. He knew that MA Xiong was just making an excuse. It was true that the French restaurant needed truffles, but they could have waited for Xia ruofei’s truffle to be brought out before they participated in the auction. There was no need to spend so much money on this truffle. However, since MA Xiong had decided to participate in the competition, Xia ruofei knew that he could not persuade him to back out now. On the other side, Blake’s facial muscles twitched when MA Xiong made the bid. He naturally recognized the world – Class tycoon MA Xiong. What made him even more nervous was that he looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xia ruofei sitting beside MA Xiong. The two of them were still conversing in low voices. In terms of financial resources, Blake’s group was far inferior to Hengfeng group. Moreover, Blake was not the head of the group, so he couldn’t offer a high price as he pleased. If he bought the truffle with a price that was far beyond the actual value, he would definitely be unable to explain it to the Hengfeng group when he went back. MA Xiong, on the other hand, didn’t have such concerns. He was the boss of the group, and as long as he was willing, no one would dare to say anything even if he took out 100 million dollars to buy it. Of course, this was just an extreme example. In reality, it was impossible for such a situation to happen. MA Xiong was not an idiot. “Thank you for your generosity, Chairman MA of Hengfeng group! Chairman MA has bid 320000 US dollars!” The auctioneer was so excited that his face was a little red.”Is there anyone who would like to bid a higher price? If not, the biggest truffle of the year will go to Chairman MA!” Blake’s expression kept changing. He was struggling with his thoughts. After a long time, he gritted his teeth and raised the sign, shouting,” 330000 dollars!” This price was basically the same as the final price of the 1.49 kg white truffle in 2007. However, MA Xiong didn’t hesitate at all. He raised his sign as soon as Blake finished his words and said calmly,” 350 thousand dollars!” A one – time increase of 20000 dollars, and it was such a high price at that, Blake immediately sat back in his seat like a deflated ball. This price was beyond his authority. Moreover, he knew very well that even if he continued to raise the price, he would not be able to compete with MA Xiong if he was determined to buy it. As a matter of fact, Blake had thought of raising the price, but he didn’t do it to buy the truffle. He just wanted MA Xiong to spend more money. However, he did not have the courage to do so in the end, especially when he saw Xia ruofei and MA Xiong whispering to each other. He did not dare to take the risk. If MA Xiong gave up after he raised the bid, he would be in trouble. Seeing that Blake had given up, the auctioneer started the countdown. Unsurprisingly, the 1.45 – kilogram giant white truffle was bought by MA Xiong at a sky – High price of 350000 US dollars. The audience burst into a warm round of applause. MA Xiong stood up with a smile and waved to the guests behind him. Monica stood up and walked to the front of the stage. She smiled and said,””Thank you, Chairman MA of Hengfeng group, for your generosity!” Although Monica was thanking MA Xiong, she was looking at Xia ruofei with a faint smile. Xia ruofei returned her a bitter smile. As the gavel fell on the sky – High white truffle, the Grao family’s truffle auction came to an end. Monica then expressed her gratitude to all the guests who had participated in the auction. At the same time, she also gave a preview of several business exchanges that the Grasso group would be having in Shen Cheng city in the next two days. As the third – in – line successor of the Grasso family, she naturally did not come to China just for the auction that only had a total transaction amount of 600000 to 700000 US dollars. The Grasso group had also arranged other business activities during their trip to China. At the same time, Monica also announced that she would donate 5% of the total transaction amount, which was about 35000 US dollars, to the Huaxia Charity Foundation. This was also a tradition of the Grao family. Although it wasn’t a lot of money, there was no big or small difference in charity, so the audience still gave a warm applause. After the auction ended, MA Xiong and the others left the banquet hall and went to a medium – sized banquet hall on the same floor. It was about 200 square meters in size. They had already made all the preparations for Xia ruofei’s truffles. All the guests who had been notified in advance also went to the banquet hall to meet MA Xiong’s invitation. Naturally, no one would reject it. At this moment, Monica walked over quickly. She looked at Xia ruofei with a smile and said to MA Xiong,””Mr. MA, I heard that you’re going to hold an auction soon. I wonder if I have the honor to attend?” MA Xiong was stunned for a moment before he replied,”Miss Grasso, to be honest, this auction I’ve prepared for my friend is also for truffles. I don’t think you’ll need to buy it, right? However, if you wish to participate, we will naturally welcome you!” Monica was slightly stunned. She obviously didn’t expect truffles to be auctioned as well. However, she quickly chuckled and said,””Then, thank you, Mr. MA!” Then, she naturally walked side by side with Xia ruofei towards the medium – sized banquet hall. Lu You, who was at the side, could not help but frown slightly when she saw this. However, she bit her lower lip lightly and did not say anything. She just silently followed them. When they arrived at the medium – sized banquet hall, the guests took their seats. The invited guests were about a third of the people from the previous auction. When MA Xiong and Xia ruofei saw Blake, they were stunned. However, their expressions quickly returned to normal. Ma Zhiming was the one who invited the guests. Except for a few people who had similar status in the business world as MA Xiong, MA Xiong personally greeted them. The rest of the guests were selected by Ma Zhiming according to their economic strength and social status. Blake’s group was quite well – known in the global food and beverage industry, so it was not surprising that Blake was invited. In fact, other than MA Xiong, Xia ruofei, Ma Zhiming, the head chef of the French restaurant on the top floor, Mark Lawrence, and Monica, who had just found out about the situation, the others, including Tian Huixin and Lu You, did not know the specific content of this press conference. MA Xiong and Xia ruofei looked at each other and walked up to the stage together.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆webnovel