Hotel.
Banquet Hall.
Most charity events were more or less the same, without many new twists. This one also carried some political significance, so the procedure was even more rigid. They would first talk about the losses caused by the earthquake and the hardships faced by the people, then collect donations or auction off items to raise charity funds. Reporters from various television stations and newspapers stood in several corners of the hall, snapping photos nonstop.
After an opening speech, the fundraising officially began.
Sure enough, this time they were using an auction format.
The beautiful host said, "Now, please welcome our first auction item: the original manuscript of writer Teacher Zhang's second novel."
Teacher Zhang was seated below. Dong Xuebin glanced at him. He had never read Teacher Zhang's novels, but he had heard the name before. Teacher Zhang was not particularly famous, though he was doing fairly well. He was probably also from Fenzhou City and had likely been invited here to contribute.
"I bid one thousand." A businessman made an offer.
"Five thousand." Another businessman called out.
"Ten thousand." A third person joined the bidding.
"I bid twenty thousand." This time, it was Municipal Party Secretary Wan Fanglei.
The manuscript was clearly not worth twenty thousand. After all, the book itself was ordinary. But auctions like this were mostly for donations, so no one cared what the item actually was. Even if Wan Fanglei tossed a cigarette pack up there, it could probably sell for tens of thousands. After Secretary Wan made his bid, several businessmen exchanged smiles and did not raise the price again. Bidding was just for show anyway; if they could win something, fine, but since Secretary Wan had made his move, no one would dare compete with him.
Sold for twenty thousand. Wan