Jiang Yujing looked hurt. "Little Zhuo, I know you were upset after Dad criticized you yesterday."
"But Little Zhuo, you're still too young. Managing Grand Prosperity might really be a little too difficult for you..."
"I told you to shut up!"
Jiang Yuzhuo enunciated every word, his face livid.
Ugh, he's too good at playing innocent. Yuzhuo can't handle him.
Ji Hanxing turned to look at Yan Jinyue.
Won't Yan Jinyue help Yuzhuo out? Didn't they say they were close friends?
Yan Jinyue looked at Jiang Yuzhuo. "Enough."
"Uncle Jiang wasn't wrong about those issues. I'll be keeping an eye on how you run and manage the hotel from now on."
Of course Jiang Yuzhuo could tell Yan Jinyue was helping him. He immediately said loudly, "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Yan. I'll be sure to study hard."
With Yan Jinyue backing him, Jiang Yuzhuo was like a victorious rooster as he looked provocatively at Jiang Yujing. "No need for you to worry about it. After all, you've never managed the Grand Prosperity Hotel either."
At that blatant jab, the smile on Jiang Yujing's face stiffened.
The charity auction officially began.
Ji Hanxing finally grew interested too. This was his first time attending an auction, and he toyed with the bidding paddle in his hand.
[Acceptance assessment two issued: Host, please spend a fortune at the charity auction! A qualified domineering CEO should have the extravagant generosity to spend a fortune!]
The system had finally issued the second acceptance assessment for this mission.
Ji Hanxing thought this assessment was practically free points. Spending money-who couldn't do that?
Who didn't know how to spend money on things?
Yet Ji Hanxing was proven wrong.
He really didn't know how to spend money!
Looking at the sale prices of the first few auction lots, Ji Hanxing felt like he was suffocating.
What kind of teapot could fetch ninety million? Could the tea brewed in it extend your lifespan?
That painting of a fat bird actually fetched a hundred million! They even said the bird was a crane, but Ji Hanxing thought it looked like a chicken.
And that bodhi-bead bracelet actually sold for two hundred million! He'd once been able to buy a whole handful for five yuan at a night-market stall, without even getting any duplicate colors!
Spending a fortune on these items would only make Ji Hanxing feel like a sucker. Poverty had limited his imagination, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Nothing you liked?"
Yan Jinyue lowered his head to ask.
Ji Hanxing said, "Are you seriously asking me that?"
His eyes held disbelief and shock.
Yan Jinyue chuckled. Rather than answer Ji Hanxing's question, he said, "There's another lot coming up later. That one's genuinely good."
Soon, the lot Yan Jinyue had mentioned appeared. Even without a reminder from Yan Jinyue, Ji Hanxing knew it was a treasure.
It was a dazzling piece of purple jadeite, an uncarved rough stone. It was crystal clear, as though water were flowing inside it. Even someone like Ji Hanxing, who knew nothing about jadeite, knew it had to be worth a great deal.
That shade of purple truly did have a captivating allure, and the rough purple jadeite stirred the emotions of everyone present.
"Caught your eye, President Ji?"
Ye Chongyun suddenly asked Ji Hanxing.
Ji Hanxing remembered that the Ye Family mainly dealt in jewelry and luxury goods. "Did you provide this, President Ye?"
But Ye Chongyun shook his head. "No."
He raised his hand and pointed at Yan Jinyue. "It belongs to Jinyue."
"But I can give you a rough stone similar to this one."
Ji Hanxing said, "No, thank you."
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Yan Jinyue gave Ye Chongyun an impassive glance.
Ye Chongyun clicked his tongue softly. "What a shame..."
Ji Hanxing stopped paying attention to Ye Chongyun and began bidding.
Quite a few people had their eyes on this piece of purple jadeite. They bid eagerly, driving the price higher and higher.
Watching the bids climb toward astronomical figures, Ji Hanxing felt his heart rise along with those strings of numbers. Gradually, he held his breath.
"Five hundred million!"
He raised his paddle again, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned a little white.
Once that price was called, no one bid again. Although this rough purple jadeite was of excellent quality, it was only the size of a fist. It might not even be large enough to carve out a jade bangle. Five hundred million was already the limit.
"Five hundred million, going once!"
"Five hundred million, going twice!"
"Five hundred million, going three times!"
"Bang! Sold!"
The moment the auction hammer fell, Ji Hanxing's heart dropped sharply too, and he let out a hard breath.
[Ding! Acceptance assessment two completed. Congratulations, host, on earning the "Inhumanly Wealthy" and "Spending a Fortune" achievements and completing the basic domineering CEO skills course-clothing and jewelry module. Reward received: one day of life.]
Ji Hanxing stared fixedly at the bidding paddle in his hand. He had just... spent five hundred million!
Five hundred million! He'd never seen that much money in his entire life! It was an astronomical figure he didn't dare imagine.
Ji Hanxing felt his heart aching. Five hundred million had bought him a fist-sized stone, although the stone was beautiful and he really did like it.
"You just made five hundred million, just like that..."
Ji Hanxing gazed at Yan Jinyue with a mournful look.
Yan Jinyue took a small sip of tea. "This money will be donated to orphanages."
At those words, Ji Hanxing instantly felt better. Right, it was going to be donated to the children at orphanages.
Speaking of which...
Ji Hanxing stole a glance at Yan Jinyue and asked with seemingly casual interest, "When I came into the venue, I looked at some of the information about the Tomorrow Charitable Foundation's projects in the hallway."
"I saw a photo of you with a little girl from an orphanage?"
Yan Jinyue thought for a moment and still had a vague recollection. "I think that did happen."
"Do you still remember the girl in the photo?"
Yan Jinyue gave Ji Hanxing a puzzled look. "Do you know her?"
Ji Hanxing hastily denied it. "No."
"I was just curious."
Yan Jinyue looked deeply at Ji Hanxing. "The Tomorrow Charitable Foundation originally belonged to my mother. I've participated in plenty of its projects since I was little, and I've visited plenty of orphanages too. I don't remember anymore."
Ji Hanxing said sheepishly, "I was just asking."
As for Yan Jinyue having participated in many charity projects, Ji Hanxing knew that. In the hallway he'd passed through on his way in, Yan Jinyue appeared in many of the event photos.
Yan Jinyue looked around at everyone bidding and suddenly asked Ji Hanxing, "How do you view charity auctions?"
"Huh?"
The topic had changed so quickly that Ji Hanxing hadn't caught up.
Yan Jinyue said, "What do you think of charity auctions?"
Ji Hanxing considered it briefly. "I think they're great."
"Why do you ask?"
Yan Jinyue tapped the table lightly with his hand. "A lot of people think it's very hypocritical for rich people to do charity work."
"Most of the people here today may have come with other goals in mind."
"Charity offers legal ways to reduce taxes, and it also lets people build connections. Everyone has their own motives."
"As for those who genuinely came to help people, there aren't many."
Yan Jinyue gazed straight at Ji Hanxing. "Don't you think doing this is hypocritical?"