Chapter Sixteen: Buying a Yacht

At noon, the three found a place to eat.

www..co

M

Originally, Zhao Chuan wanted to buy Ye Yuan a suit. He had to attend an auction that afternoon, and Ye Yuan's casual wear wasn't very suitable. After Ye Yuan insisted on paying himself, Zhao Chuan didn't insist further, as Ye Yuan was now a millionaire himself.

Ye Yuan felt a pang of heartache at the thought of a suit costing tens of thousands of yuan; in his hometown, that was a year's living expenses for his entire family.

Wearing a brand-new suit, he followed Zhao Chuan into the auction house. After a glance at their invitations, a hostess led the three of them to their seats.

Gradually, more and more people filled the auction hall until it was completely packed.

A middle-aged man in a sharp suit and black-rimmed glasses walked out.

This middle-aged man was the auctioneer for this event. As the auctioneer appeared, the noise in the venue gradually quieted down. The auctioneer checked the time and announced the start of the auction.

A hostess walked onto the auction stage, holding a tray covered with a red cloth.

As the auctioneer unveiled the red cloth, it revealed a pair of platinum and jade earrings. After a brief introduction, the auctioneer began the bidding.

"Starting bid is 150,000, with minimum increments of 5,000 yuan."

"155,000."

"160,000."

With repeated bids, the earrings were quickly purchased by a middle-aged woman for 185,000 yuan.

After five or six high-end jewelry pieces were auctioned, Ye Yuan's black pearl was brought to the auction stage by a hostess.

"Ladies and gentlemen. As you all know, black pearls have always been famous for their rarity. The world's largest black pearl has a diameter of 38mm. And this one you see here reaches a diameter of 37mm!" The auctioneer introduced the black pearl with great emphasis, finally announcing the starting bid: "1 million."

"1.5 million."

"1.7 million."

"2 million."

Bids rose one after another. At this moment, to the surprise of both Ye Yuan and Zhao Chuan, Second Brother, sitting beside them, slowly raised his hand. "5 million."

Whoosh! Many people in the hall gasped, their gazes turning towards them.

Seeing his two brothers looking at him, Second Brother leaned in and whispered mischievously, "Aren't I trying to help Fourth Brother raise the price? If we increase it bit by bit, how long will that take?"

Ye Yuan was speechless at Second Brother's words. After hearing him, Zhao Chuan calmly retorted, "If no one else bids, and you really intend to buy it, my family's jewelry store won't just let you off the hook."

Second Brother said nonchalantly, "Even better if no one else wants it. Process it into a necklace for me, and I'll give it to my mom. Maybe Mom will be so happy she'll give me even more."

The two were left speechless.

At this time, the auctioneer also exclaimed loudly, "This gentleman in the front row has bid 5 million. Is there anyone bidding higher than 5 million? Anyone?"

"5 million for the first time."

"5 million for the second time."

Just as everyone thought the black pearl would be bought by Second Brother, a woman from the back row gritted her teeth and called out, "5.5 million."

Hearing the voice, Second Brother turned to look at the woman.

It was a young woman in her thirties, glaring fiercely at Second Brother.

Second Brother made a gentlemanly gesture to her and then turned back.

As the auctioneer counted down, Ye Yuan's black pearl was finally sold for 5.5 million. Combined with the previous sales, Ye Yuan's account now held over 28 million yuan.

Ye Yuan didn't pay much attention to the items sold afterward. Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Chuan stopped him.

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

Seeing Ye Yuan's confused look, Zhao Chuan shrugged and explained, "An old friend of Grandpa's is having some company issues and needs capital injection. His child, like this guy..." He gestured towards Second Brother.

"My uncle wants to use my family's auction to sell off some luxury items and a property that his child bought previously." Zhao Chuan explained why he asked Ye Yuan to stay.

Ye Yuan still didn't understand and asked Zhao Chuan, "What do luxury goods have to do with me?"

Zhao Chuan smiled mysteriously, "There's something in there. I was going to discuss with Second Brother about pooling money to help you buy it, and you could pay us back slowly later. But with your current net worth, buying it yourself is no problem."

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

"Hey Fourth Brother, stop asking. I bet you'll definitely like that thing."

Seeing that both his brothers said so, Ye Yuan didn't press further.

At this moment, the screen behind the auction stage lit up. A sports car appeared on the screen – a limited edition Lamborghini. The car was predominantly blue, with a sleek, fashionable design that was very eye-catching. Even Ye Yuan, who didn't know much about cars, was drawn to it.

The auctioneer on stage introduced the car's performance, model, manufacturing date, and so on. Ye Yuan wasn't particularly interested in these details. Finally, the sports car was sold for 8 million yuan.

A few more sports cars followed, including a stretched RV, all purchased by young people.

Just as Ye Yuan was bored, fiddling with his phone, Zhao Chuan tapped his arm.

"It's here, take a look."

Ye Yuan looked up at the big screen. A photo of a very new yacht appeared on the screen.

As the auctioneer introduced it, Ye Yuan learned about the yacht's general specifications. As the introduction went on, Ye Yuan became deeply captivated by the yacht.

This yacht was a three-deck aluminum alloy vessel, 40 meters long and 15 meters wide, with a carrying capacity of up to 1,000 tons. Two 12-cylinder, 1,500-horsepower engines provided the power, allowing a top speed of 32 knots, and it had a 200-ton fuel tank.

What truly attracted Ye Yuan, however, wasn't these features, but the fact that the yacht had been modified.

The topmost deck housed the bridge and satellite communication system. The two decks below had been stripped of excess studios, reception rooms, studies, entertainment rooms, bars, gyms, and other spaces according to the owner's needs, leaving only a few bedrooms, a medical room, and a dining room.

The yacht's original enclosed swimming pool had been converted into a live-bait well. The yacht also featured a helipad, and the area below the main deck had been refitted into a cold storage room capable of freezing large quantities of seafood. From these modifications, it was evident that the yacht's original owner was an avid deep-sea fishing enthusiast; otherwise, it wouldn't have been refitted in such a manner.

A yacht like this was practically tailor-made for Ye Yuan.

At this point, the auctioneer announced the yacht's reserve price: "9 million."

"9.5 million," Ye Yuan bid without hesitation.

To Ye Yuan's surprise, no one competed with him. Perhaps it was because the yacht, after its modifications, was more suited for fishing, while most of the young masters present bought yachts for leisure cruises.

Ultimately, Ye Yuan acquired the yacht for 9.5 million.

Following the yacht, the auction featured a property in a prime location in Shangjing, which eventually went for 130 million after several bids.

After the auction concluded, Ye Yuan followed Zhao Chuan backstage to sign the relevant agreements. The yacht was now officially Ye Yuan's.

Since the yacht was currently docked in Three Islands City, Ye Yuan wished to take delivery in Blue Island City. The auction house would need to commission someone to sail the yacht to Blue Island, a process that would take a few days.

This was fine, as Ye Yuan also needed to attend Old Master Zhao Chuan's birthday celebration. He arranged with the auction company for the delivery to take place in Blue Island City four days later.

According to the contract, Ye Yuan paid a deposit of 5 million. On the day of delivery, the remaining 4.5 million would be transferred to the auction house's account, with Zhao Chuan acting as guarantor.

Ye Yuan's black pearl had sold for 5.5 million. After deducting handling fees and the down payment for the yacht, Ye Yuan only received 200,000.

As the brothers exited the auction venue, Second Brother immediately said, "I have something else to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. See you the day after tomorrow." The day after tomorrow was the birthday of Old Master Zhao Chuan's family.

PS: Thanks to 08a for the reward. Your continuous support these past few days is greatly appreciated, thank you~!