Chapter Forty-Four: The Auction Begins

Time flew by, and in just a few days, Ye Yuan had visited Hong Kong's seafood markets. It was a paradise for foodies, offering all sorts of prized seafood. While browsing, Ye Yuan unexpectedly discovered two small blue lobsters.

Blue lobsters are a rare genetic mutation of the American lobster. They produce a certain excess protein, which reacts to form a blue compound called astaxanthin, giving their shells a bright blue color.

On average, only one in two million lobsters is blue. The blue lobster, a rare marine creature comparable to a living fossil, is easily confused with the blue devil shrimp. The blue devil shrimp is sky-blue, and it's different from the blue lobster. The distinction lies in their claws: blue devil shrimp have oval claws, while blue lobsters have long, slender ones.

Blue lobsters have spots, whereas blue devil shrimp do not. However, blue devil shrimp are larger and more beautiful. The probability of a blue lobster appearing among crustaceans is one in two million.

This cost Ye Yuan 200,000. Blue lobsters cannot be bred; even if they reproduce, their offspring will be ordinary lobsters. Ye Yuan's purpose in buying them was to raise them in his space. Once the lobsters grew, their price would be much higher than this.

The day before the auction, Wang Yueshan introduced Ye Yuan to a highly influential figure in Hong Kong's wealthy circles: Ma Mingyuan, the manager of Heng Hai Group.

Heng Hai Group's headquarters are in Hong Kong. After starting out in the seafood business in its early years, the group diversified, gradually shifting its focus to real estate and other sectors.

Even so, Heng Hai Group's seafood trading company remains one of Hong Kong's leading high-end seafood suppliers.

This Ma Mingyuan is not only the current manager of Heng Hai Group but also the second son of the group's founder, Ma Jiaming. He is primarily responsible for the company's seafood division.

Ma Mingyuan possesses considerable experience in seafood, having been in the industry for nearly 20 years. He is considered an expert in high-end seafood in Hong Kong, and many seafood appraisals are conducted by him.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. Ma. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, Mr. Ye," Ma Mingyuan replied, extending his hand for a warm handshake with a distinct Hong Kong accent.

"I apologize for the presumption in asking to meet you, Mr. Ye. It was rather abrupt of me," Ma Mingyuan said, speaking very politely despite his approaching middle age and his position as manager of the large enterprise, Heng Hai Group.

Ye Yuan waved his hand. "Not at all. I'm very happy to make your acquaintance, Manager Ma. We have a saying in mainland China: 'More friends mean more paths.'"

"Mr. Ye, you've spoken well. That's precisely why I asked Yueshan to introduce us," Ma Mingyuan responded politely.

Ye Yuan didn't understand why Wang Yueshan would suddenly introduce such an industry authority to him. Logically, they were in the same business, so shouldn't Wang Yueshan be wary of him interacting with them?

Sensing Ye Yuan's thoughts, Wang Yueshan smiled and began to explain...

Wang Yueshan's family owns a chain of hotels with branches in Hong Kong. Initially, many of the seafood for his family's hotels was supplied by Ma Mingyuan. Later, when Wang Yueshan started his own seafood trading business, Ma Mingyuan not only didn't resist but also helped him in many ways.

Ma Mingyuan was also the one who helped Ye Yuan's abalone get into the auction.

When Ma Mingyuan learned that Ye Yuan could consistently supply this type of abalone long-term, he became interested in forming a connection.

He had approached Wang Yueshan about it multiple times. Wang Yueshan thought to himself, why not cooperate with Ma Mingyuan since he couldn't handle such a large high-end market alone?

He knew Ye Yuan's business was just starting and would grow, and his own trading company might not be able to handle all the seafood.

Since he needed a partner, it was better to work with someone familiar, which is why he introduced Ma Mingyuan to Ye Yuan.

Wang Yueshan didn't hide anything and frankly explained all his thoughts, which earned him Ye Yuan's respect.

Seeing that Wang Yueshan had finished his explanation, Ma Mingyuan directly stated:

"Our company would like to have the exclusive agency rights for your high-end seafood in Hong Kong. I wonder if you would give us this opportunity, Mr. Ye?"

After a moment's thought, Ye Yuan replied, "Agency is not a problem. My business is just starting, and for high-end seafood, I can currently only offer lobsters and abalone. I will gradually introduce more high-end ingredients in the future, but I have one condition: you must use our Yuwan Seafood logo." Ye Yuan didn't want his hard-earned seafood brand to be exploited by others as a tool for making money.

Ma Mingyuan was very pleased to receive Ye Yuan's promise. He could tell that Ye Yuan had significant ambitions, which was a good thing for him.

He had seen the abalone Ye Yuan brought, and each one was capable of causing a sensation in Hong Kong's seafood industry. How could he not be happy to have secured such a promising prospect early on?

After discussing business, the group chatted over coffee for a while. Finally, Ma Mingyuan offered to take Ye Yuan out to relax, but Ye Yuan declined.

It wasn't that Ye Yuan was overly aloof; he simply didn't know what kind of person Ma Mingyuan was upon their first meeting, so it was better to avoid such activities for now.

The next day was the auction. Ye Yuan changed into his prepared formal wear and went to the auction venue with Wang Yueshan.

The auction was held in the largest conference hall of the Pearl Hotel. Many wealthy individuals were present, with some foreign tycoons flying in from afar specifically for the event. Ye Yuan thought to himself, "I truly don't understand the world of food enthusiasts."

They sat down in a corner, and Wang Yueshan whispered in Ye Yuan's ear, introducing the backgrounds of various wealthy attendees. He hadn't expected so many world-renowned tycoons to be invited to such a small auction.

Wang Yueshan joked, "This is nothing. If you were to go to a truffle auction in Europe, you'd see several of the world's top billionaires."

Not far from them, a beautiful young woman had been intently watching them. She was Su Mei, who had specifically come to attend this auction.

As time passed, fewer and fewer seats were available in the venue, with most of them gradually filling up.

With the sound of elegant music, a host in a sharp professional suit walked onto the stage.

The host, with a confident smile, quickly captured the attention of many men in the audience.

Numerous media reporters also raised their cameras and began taking pictures.

"Before the official start of this auction, we have arranged a small segment that we believe everyone will enjoy." With that, the host gestured to the hostesses on both sides of the stage.

Two rows of tall, beautiful women in qipaos, holding teapots, approached each guest. The auction had prepared teacups for every attendee, and the women proceeded to pour a small cup of tea for each person.

This left many people wondering what it meant. Was this the program the host had mentioned?

Seeing that the teacups in front of everyone were now filled with tea, the host said, "The tea in front of you is brewed from the first batch of Da Hong Pao cuttings taken from the mother tree of Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao. Please enjoy a taste." She finished with a smile to everyone.

Everyone picked up their tea and took a small sip. Ye Yuan wasn't particularly knowledgeable about tea, but he was aware of the fame of Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao.