Unspoken Rules, Competitors, Questioners
Qiao Geliman, who had returned to his seat, looked somewhat solemn. Lin Qi's reminder had initially given him a feeling of... embarrassment and anger.
He's gone completely insane right now. Everyone in the bank knows that those who were fired lost their jobs because they took the wrong side in the fight between Qiao Geliman and his opponents.
What's even more alarming is that the bank's president also strongly supports Qiao Geliman, and all the management is on his side, making him incredibly popular and further reinforcing the notion that he will stay in Sabine City as the bank's president.
But then he felt a slight tingling on his scalp and immediately realized that there was something wrong with his attitude.
He began to reflect on whether he had done anything foolish during this period, and he began to calm down.
In fact, this situation is not an isolated case; it often occurs with dictators.
No one dared to question the authority of the dictator, which made the dictators arrogant and eventually led to their downfall. Fortunately, Lin Qi reminded him in time, which made him realize the truth.
As time went on, the auction began, and this closed-door auction seemed somewhat... abnormal from the start.
Unlike most auctions, the hall was not very lively; no one was whispering to each other, and everyone was sitting in their own seats.
The assets being auctioned included everything belonging to Listoan's light industry enterprise: real estate, land, production machinery, raw materials stockpiled in warehouses, and things that Lin Qi and his ilk didn't care for, such as cars.
Cars have many values for businesses. Some companies purchase an astonishing number of luxury cars every year at an astonishing price, and many ordinary people simply cannot understand why these companies have such a demand.
Of course, some people will offer explanations, such as that in order to maintain a company's image, luxury cars have gradually become the face of a company, which is actually one of the distorted social cultures in the context of the times.
Whether a company has the capability and strength cannot be demonstrated by its managers or presidents carrying hundreds of thousands or millions in savings when negotiating business deals. So how can they prove it? This is where luxury cars come in; they indirectly reflect the strength and power of a company.
More importantly, these cars can be used as collateral to banks to pay the interest that companies need to pay or the principal of loans that are due. They only spend a small amount of money to obtain long-term usage rights, and they can even be resold at the original price. This is why companies are happy to buy a large number of luxury cars.
Today's auction featured many luxury cars, exquisite sofas, works of art, and other items for enjoyment, all of which were looted from a light industrial enterprise under the Listoan Group.
The auction got right to the point right away. A nearly new car, manufactured two years ago and priced at 32,800 yuan, was successfully auctioned off to an ordinary bidder for a low price of 4,200 yuan. What was even more surprising was that he had no competitors.
If anyone had paid a little attention, they would have noticed that this bidder only raised his paddle once before becoming a spectator. He didn't raise his paddle again after that, and at that moment, he became just a backdrop to the auction.
Next came the second car, the third car... the first sofa... the first modern oil painting... the first artwork...
The items at the auction were sold for very low prices, about one-eighth of the original price. Sometimes they would be a little more, such as for works of art, but the prices would not be too high, about two-thirds of the original price.
Overall, the entire auction operated in a way that many people find hard to understand. Many people may not know how these people ensured that when one person raised their paddle, others would not raise theirs. Everyone tacitly refrained from competing, keeping the price at the starting bid.
Did they plan this beforehand? Yes, they did. All the bank's employees were involved, from tellers in the lobby to managers in their offices. Everyone qualified to participate in this closed-door auction was involved.
Even before this auction, a small auction had already been held to price some competing items and determine who would get each item.
Everyone follows these rules, and after the auction, the winners will deposit a portion of the money into an account that resembles a slush fund, which can be used for future events.
Hundreds of ordinary items were quickly auctioned off at the starting price. The City Hall was well aware of the situation, as both the City Hall and the court have auction supervisors. However, they tacitly approved of this situation or simply watched it happen.
From the perspective of the entire auction process, it fully complies with the requirements of Federal Law and the Charter. It was a legal, reasonable, and well-founded auction, and no one can find fault with it, which is enough.
Of course, to prevent banks from going too far, the City Hall will have someone assess the value of these assets before entrusting the bank to auction them. Then they will submit a price that they consider appropriate to the bank, which is the City Hall's bottom line.
As long as the bottom line is not crossed, there will be no problem.
The small items sold quickly, and then came the land, which was a big deal.
The factory site is right next to the city cluster. Given the current rate of development in Sabine City, it will be included in the city cluster within ten years at most, at which point its price will inevitably rise significantly.
Some of the entrepreneurs invited by the bank gradually perked up. The bank sent them invitations because they had expressed interest in these things, or because these people had a lot of money in their pockets and the bank hoped they would spend it so that the bank could also get some benefits.
Affected by the domestic and international economic situation, the starting price was not very high, 850,000, which was frankly quite low. Shortly after the auctioneer announced the starting price, people began to raise their paddles, and soon there were competitors.
The first plot of land was eventually sold for 1.11 million, which brought a smile to the face of Qiao Geliman, who was sitting to the side. A higher total transaction amount meant that he had done a good job.
The plots of land sold out quickly after a brief and relatively mild competition, and then it was time for the machinery.
Few people were interested in these machines; there was little point in buying them. Most people showed little interest. When Lin Qi announced the starting price and was about to end the auction and start the next one, someone suddenly raised their paddle to compete with him.
He looked somewhat surprised at a gentleman sitting not far from him. The gentleman appeared to be in his forties, with brown hair and a well-groomed mustache around his lips.
Lin Qi had no recollection of this person; he seemed to have never heard of any famous capitalist in Sabine City with such a beard.
Lin Qi looked at the guy, who also sensed Lin Qi. The guy smiled at Lin Qi and nodded in greeting.
The sudden appearance of a competitor made things spiral out of control. After Lin Qi tried raising the price twice more, the man followed suit, and Qiao Geliman, sitting on the stage, also noticed something was wrong.
After exchanging a brief glance with Lin Qi, Lin Qi said he needed to make a phone call to his investors and hoped the auction could be paused for fifteen minutes.
Qiao Geliman naturally agreed, and surprisingly, Lin Qi's competitor also agreed to the request.
"What's wrong with this guy?" Lin Qi asked, frowning, in the lounge.
Qiao Geliman's expression wasn't good either. The problem had occurred in the least likely place: he hadn't done his job properly.
It's important to understand that Lin Qi provided him with significant support and assistance in his power grab, and he should rightfully repay Lin Qi for his help. This is the nature of interpersonal relationships in Baylor society: if you want others to help you when you're in trouble, then you must first help others when they need help.
Lin Qi helped him, but he didn't help Lin Qi.
"I looked at the invitation card before I came here. Your competitor got the invitation card through the State Bank Branch. We don't have much information about him, but he should be a businessman from the State Capital or other places, and..." Qiao Geliman scratched his head. He rarely did such a gesture, as he felt that it would show his incompetence and helplessness.
But now, he did it instinctively, "And it seems like his purpose in coming here was also for these machines!"
After some maneuvering by Lin Qi, the machinery worth over a million dollars had a starting price of only 150,000 dollars, and even after several rounds of bidding, it is now worth less than 400,000 dollars.
Although Lin Qi could continue to raise the price, he was very unhappy about being inexplicably overcharged.
"So you're saying we don't have any specific solutions?" Lin Qi asked again.
Although embarrassed, Qiao Geliman nodded. "We have no other choice."
Lin Qi paced back and forth a few steps, which was clearly beyond his expectations. He hadn't thought that a problem would arise here, but since a problem had occurred, the only way to solve it was to address it.
"Let it be then. Maybe his determination isn't as firm as I thought!"
Lin Qi returned to the auction and engaged in fierce competition with the gentleman from elsewhere, eventually driving the price up to 957,500, far exceeding Lin Qi's bottom line.
"It seems Mr. Lin Qi is determined to get these things, so..." the man smiled, feigning a nauseatingly generous attitude, "...I will no longer compete!"
When he said these words, it gave the impression that Lin Qi had gotten a good deal, and even more so, it gave people the illusion that he had given these advantages to Lin Qi.
Lin Qi maintained his smile and even said thank you, as if he thought so too.
But the matter did not end there. The two competed again for the raw materials to be auctioned next, pushing the starting price of less than 120,000 to 510,000. In the end, Lin Qi won the bid for these items.
Having spent over a million more to acquire these items, no one would be in a good mood, yet Lin Qi maintained a bright smile, as if there were no secrets behind the auction.
After the auction, he found his competitor and asked, "May I know why you are interested in these things?"