Buy a Yacht

At noon, the three of them found a place to eat.

Originally, Zhao Chuan had wanted to buy Ye Yuan a suit. They were attending the auction that afternoon, and Ye Yuan's casual clothes were not quite appropriate. But Ye Yuan insisted on paying for it himself, so Zhao Chuan did not press the matter. After all, Ye Yuan was now worth tens of millions.

Ye Yuan still felt pained over a suit that cost tens of thousands. Back in his hometown, that was enough to cover a family's living expenses for an entire year.

Dressed in a brand-new suit, Ye Yuan followed Zhao Chuan into the auction venue. After checking their invitations, a hostess led the three of them to their seats.

More and more people gradually filled the auction hall until every seat was taken.

A middle-aged man in a crisp suit and black-rimmed glasses stepped out.

The middle-aged man was the auctioneer for this event. As he appeared, the voices in the hall gradually fell silent. After checking the time, the auctioneer announced the start of the auction.

A hostess stepped onto the auction stage carrying a tray covered with red cloth.

When the auctioneer lifted the red cloth, a pair of platinum-and-jade earrings was revealed. After a brief introduction, the bidding began.

"The starting price is 150,000. Each bid must increase by no less than 5,000."

"155,000."

"160,000."

After round after round of bidding, the earrings were soon bought by a middle-aged woman for 185,000 yuan.

After five or six pieces of high-end jewelry had been auctioned off, Ye Yuan's Black Pearl was brought onto the stage by a hostess.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as everyone knows, black pearls have always been famed for their rarity. The largest black pearl in the world has a diameter of 38 millimeters. The one before you has reached 37 millimeters." The auctioneer enthusiastically introduced the Black Pearl before calling out the starting price. "One million!"

"1.5 million!"

"1.7 million!"

"2 million!"

Bids rose one after another. Then, to both Ye Yuan and Zhao Chuan's surprise, Second Brother beside them slowly raised his hand. "Five million."

Gasp! Many people in the hall cried out in surprise, and all eyes turned toward them.

Seeing his two brothers looking at him, Second Brother leaned close and whispered with a cheeky grin, "Wasn't I just trying to raise the price for Fourth Brother? If we kept adding bit by bit, how long would that take?"

Ye Yuan was speechless after hearing that. Zhao Chuan merely asked mildly, "What if no one bids higher? Are you really going to buy it? My jewelry store isn't going to let you back out."

Second Brother said carelessly, "Even better if no one wants it. Have it made into a necklace for me. I'll give it to my mom. Maybe if she's happy, she'll give me even more."

The two of them were equally speechless.

At that moment, the auctioneer also shouted excitedly, "This gentleman in the front row has bid five million! Does anyone have a higher bid? Anyone?"

"Five million, going once!"

"Five million, going twice!"

Just when everyone thought Second Brother would win the Black Pearl, a woman in the back row gritted her teeth and called out, "5.5 million!"

Hearing her voice, Second Brother turned to look in her direction.

A young married woman in her thirties was glaring viciously at Second Brother.

Second Brother made a gentlemanly gesture inviting her to continue, then turned back around.

With the auctioneer's countdown, Ye Yuan's Black Pearl was ultimately sold for 5.5 million. Combined with what he already had, Ye Yuan now had more than 28 million yuan in his account.

Ye Yuan did not pay much attention to the items sold afterward. Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Chuan grabbed him.

"There's something good coming up. I think you'll like it."

Seeing Ye Yuan's puzzled expression, Zhao Chuan shrugged and explained, "An old friend of my grandfather's has run into some trouble with his company and needs an injection of funds. His kid is just like this guy here." As he spoke, he jerked his chin toward Second Brother.

"My uncle wanted to use this auction at my family's place to get rid of some luxury goods that kid bought before, along with a piece of real estate." Zhao Chuan explained why he had stopped Ye Yuan from leaving.

Ye Yuan still did not understand and asked Zhao Chuan, "What do luxury goods have to do with me?"

Zhao Chuan smiled mysteriously. "There's something among them that I originally wanted to discuss with Second Brother. We were going to pool our money to help you get it, and you could slowly pay us back later. But with your current worth, getting it yourself won't be a problem at all."

Just as Ye Yuan was about to ask what exactly it was, Second Brother spoke up from beside them.

"I'm telling you, Fourth Brother, stop asking. I'll bet you anything that you'll definitely like it."

Since both brothers said so, Ye Yuan did not ask any further.

At that moment, the screen behind the auction stage lit up. A photo of a very new yacht appeared on it.

As the auctioneer introduced it, Ye Yuan gained a general understanding of the yacht. The more he heard, the more deeply drawn to it he became.

It was a three-deck aluminum-alloy yacht, forty meters long and fifteen meters wide, with a load capacity of up to a thousand tons. Its two twelve-cylinder, 1,500-horsepower engines provided its power, giving it a top speed of thirty-two knots. It also had a two-hundred-ton fuel tank.

But those were not what truly attracted Ye Yuan. The yacht had been modified.

The top deck held the bridge and satellite communications system. Based on the owner's needs, the two decks below had been stripped of surplus rooms such as offices, reception rooms, studies, entertainment rooms, bars, and gyms. Only several bedrooms, a medical room, and a dining room remained.

The yacht's original enclosed swimming pool had also been converted into a live-water tank. It even had a helicopter landing pad, while the space beneath the deck had been modified into a freezer capable of storing a large amount of seafood. It was obvious from the modifications that the yacht's former owner had been a hardcore sea-fishing enthusiast. Otherwise, he would never have altered it this way.

A yacht like this seemed tailor-made for Ye Yuan.

Then the auctioneer called out the starting price. "Nine million!"

"9.5 million!"

Ye Yuan called out the price without hesitation.

What Ye Yuan had not expected was that no one bid against him. Perhaps it was because the modified yacht was better suited for fishing, while most of the young masters present bought yachts to go out to sea for leisure.

In the end, Ye Yuan secured the yacht for 9.5 million.

After the yacht, a piece of real estate in a prime area of Shangjing was auctioned off, eventually driven up to 130 million yuan by several bidders.

After the auction ended, Ye Yuan followed Zhao Chuan backstage and signed the relevant agreements. The yacht was now his.

Since the yacht was currently docked in Three Islands City, Ye Yuan requested delivery in Blue Island City. The auction house would need to hire someone to sail the yacht to Blue Island, which would take several days.

That was not a problem. Ye Yuan still had to attend Zhao Chuan's grandfather's birthday banquet, so he arranged with the auction company to take delivery in Blue Island City four days later.

According to the contract, Ye Yuan paid a five-million-yuan deposit. On the day of delivery, he would transfer the remaining 4.5 million to the auction house's account. Zhao Chuan acted as his guarantor during this period.

Ye Yuan's Black Pearl had sold for 5.5 million. After deducting the handling fee and the yacht's down payment, Ye Yuan only received 200,000 yuan.

As the brothers walked out of the auction house, Second Brother said directly, "I've got something to do, so I'm leaving first. See you the day after tomorrow." The day after tomorrow was Zhao Chuan's grandfather's birthday.

PS: Thanks to 08a for the reward, and thanks, brother, for your support these past few days!