Su Mei

Su Mei

Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao was Wuyi Mountain's most famous tea, hailed as the "King of Tea." It grew on a steep cliff face within the Nine Dragon Nest. Tea masters had determined that Da Hong Pao could be steeped nine times without losing the true flavor of the original leaves—the fragrance of osmanthus. Other famous teas, by contrast, became extremely weak after seven infusions.

The mother Da Hong Pao trees growing in the Nine Dragon Nest Scenic Area of Wuyi Mountain consisted of three trees and six plants, with a history of more than 360 years.

Local workers were specially assigned to guard the mother trees, which were also scientifically managed. Every spring, three or four tender shoots with opened leaves were picked, then processed through sun-wilting, cooling, bruising, pan-firing, initial rolling, re-firing, re-rolling, water-baking, sorting, cooling, picking, re-baking, further sorting, and final firing. Even in its best years, the finished Da Hong Pao tea yield was less than one jin.

Today, the three ancestral Da Hong Pao tea trees still stood at the bottom of the Nine Dragon Nest valley. Their output was exceedingly scarce, with the three trees producing only six or seven liang of finished tea each year. It was therefore simply impossible to buy it on the market.

The first-generation Da Hong Pao was propagated from cuttings taken when the three mother trees were pruned. But that did not mean there was much of it. The mother trees were already extremely old and might not even be pruned once a year, so this first-generation Da Hong Pao was also exceptionally rare.

After everyone below had tasted the tea, the female host finally spoke. "The first item up for auction is the Da Hong Pao everyone has just sampled. It weighs half a jin, and the starting bid is 200,000."

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, many people began calling out bids.

"250,000!"

"300,000!"

"400,000!"

In the end, the Da Hong Pao was bought by a local Hong Kong Island tycoon for 650,000.

The female auctioneer continued, "The next item is Changbai Mountain Wild Ginseng. It is eighty years old, and the starting bid is one million."

Ginseng was clearly more popular than tea, and its price quickly climbed.

1.5 million.

1.55 million.

1.65 million.

2 million.

In the end, a tycoon from Southeast Asia bought the ginseng.

Item after item was auctioned off, and Ye Yuan could see that these tycoons truly spent money like water.

When he saw his Double-Head Abalone appear, Ye Yuan could not help sitting up straighter.

"I don't need to say much about Double-Head Abalone. This time, an unprecedented number of Double-Head Abalone are being auctioned—five in total."

That was right, five of them. During their conversation the night before, Ma Mingyuan had suggested that Ye Yuan not auction too many Double-Head Abalone, as that could easily disrupt their price. Heng Hai Group would buy the extra abalone at the average price of the five auctioned at this event.

As long as someone was willing to buy them, Ye Yuan did not care who he sold them to, so he readily agreed.

The first Double-Head Abalone had already been placed on the auction stage, and the host continued her introduction. "This Double-Head Abalone is supplied by Yuwan Seafood from the mainland and weighs 398 grams."

"The starting bid for the abalone is 400,000."

As soon as she finished speaking, a Hong Kong Island celebrity immediately placed a bid.

"450,000!"

A European tycoon quickly followed with an offer.

"550,000!"

"600,000!"

"630,000!"

In the end, Ye Yuan's first Double-Head Abalone was bought by a European tycoon for 650,000.

One abalone after another was immediately auctioned off. After all five Double-Head Abalone had sold, Ye Yuan calculated that they had fetched 3.5 million in total.

Because the five Double-Head Abalone had all sold for excellent prices, a bit of noise rose in the venue. At that moment, the only One-Head Abalone was brought onto the display stage. The female host cleared her throat and said:

"Now comes the moment everyone has been waiting for. As everyone knows, One-Head Abalone has rarely appeared in Hong Kong Island's history. Today, we are fortunate enough to witness history. This One-Head Abalone is no ordinary One-Head Abalone—its weight has exceeded the standard for One-Head Abalone, reaching 621 grams. The starting bid is one million. Please place your bids!"

The rarity of One-Head Abalone needed no further introduction from the host. Everyone seated here knew its value.

"1.3 million!"

"1.38 million!"

"1.4 million!"

The moment the female host finished speaking, three people bid in succession. Ye Yuan noticed that quite a few tycoons were staring at the One-Head Abalone onstage, eager to make a move.

"1.5 million!"

At that moment, a local Hong Kong Island tycoon called out that price.

"1.8 million!"

A member of a Middle Eastern royal family immediately followed with a bid.

"1.9 million!"

The local Hong Kong Island tycoon continued to raise the price.

"2 million!"

A quiet voice spoke, yet everyone in the venue heard it. The bid came from a blond, blue-eyed European seated farther back.

"2.1 million!"

"2.3 million!"

What had seemed like an extremely high price was soon surpassed as several more people bid one after another. In the end, the abalone was still won by the Middle Eastern royal family, at the astronomical price of 3.05 million.

Ye Yuan did not pay much attention to the auctions that followed. Although 3.05 million was not his largest single income, he still had plenty of abalone like that in his space.

After the auction ended, Ma Mingyuan found Ye Yuan and handed him a check. After Ye Yuan signed the transfer agreement, the remaining abalone from the auction belonged to Ma Mingyuan.

"Pleasure doing business with you. And congratulations, Mr. Ye, on making a fortune at this auction," Ma Mingyuan said, not forgetting to congratulate him.

"May we all prosper," Ye Yuan replied in kind.

Wang Yueshan also walked over at that moment. "Congratulations, Brother Ye. You've made your big brother here green with envy this time—sixteen million in income."

Ye Yuan understood what Wang Yueshan meant. He was worried Ye Yuan would not be able to provide the abalone they had agreed on before.

"Brother Shan, don't put it that way. What I promised you still stands. I'll sell you ten at the lowest price, 600,000 each. Is that enough?"

"Thanks, brother."

Wang Yueshan was in high spirits. Heng Hai Group was paying 700,000 each, after all. Without doing anything, he had saved a whole million.

Just as the two were teasing each other, a pleasant voice drifted over.

"Judging by your accent, are you from Blue Island too, sir?"

Ye Yuan turned around and saw an elegant woman in her thirties standing behind them. She wore light makeup, yet carried an air of nobility.

Wang Yueshan gave a wry smile.

"I didn't expect you to be so capable, Boss Su. You even managed to find us here. Since you're here, let's go have a drink over there." Wang Yueshan knew why Su Mei had come, but he did not say anything harsh. He directly led Su Mei and Ye Yuan to a nearby café.

Through Wang Yueshan's introduction, Ye Yuan learned that this beautiful woman was actually the current person in charge of Blue Island's Fuxiangju Restaurant, and he warmly greeted her as well.

"President Wang, I don't like beating around the bush. I'm rather blunt, so I hope you won't take offense. This younger brother must be the one supplying you with premium seafood, right?"

Wang Yueshan had expected Su Mei's intentions, but he had not expected her to be so direct.

"Yes. His name is Ye Yuan, and his home is in Pinghai County below your Blue Island." Since Wang Yueshan knew he could not avoid it, he directly introduced Ye Yuan to Su Mei.

"Oh? Pinghai County? What a coincidence. A supplier I signed with a few days ago is also from Pinghai County. I heard his family is the strongest in all of Pinghai County," Su Mei said in surprise.

"May I ask who President Su's supplier is?" Ye Yuan became curious as well.

"Don't call me President Su. If you think highly of me, just call me Sister Su." After saying that, Su Mei looked at Ye Yuan with her large eyes.

Ye Yuan awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Then, Sister Su, don't call me Mr. Ye from now on either. Just call me Xiao Yuan. Everyone calls me that."

It had to be said that Su Mei was very skilled at building relationships.

"Alright, then I'll call you Xiao Yuan from now on. I heard my supplier is quite well-known in your area. His name is Zhang Gui. Do you know him, Xiao Yuan?"