The lights in the hall started to dim down. The stage was located at the center, with all the lights focused over. Wearing a purple gown, Lu Shimiao was akin to a fairy while standing in the middle with a smile on her lips. Her voice was clear and gentle, like an oriole. For once, she wore makeup that made her features stand out even more, looking more delicate than usual. Furthermore, her curves flowed well, which made her look graceful.

Her temperament made her stand out like a crane that sparked the imagination of others.

“Distinguished friends and leaders, welcome to the first auction of the Qihuang Charity Funds. The objective of this auction is a channel for us to spread love and warmth. The Qihuang Charity Funds was established centering around the TCM Alliance, and that also means that we are a charity foundation centered on TCM. That being said, we’ve stretched our hands out to thousands of people since the establishment of our charity foundation a few months ago.” Lu Shimiao gave her speech well despite facing the audience.

Looking at her, Qin Meimei inwardly praised her. She had been working with Lu Shimiao for some time, so she understood this woman whose beauty even surpassed her well. Lu Shimiao wasn’t just beautiful, she had a brain as well. She’s a sensitive and meticulous woman, placing all her time in the development of the Qihuang Charity Funds every day. Qin Meimei was a hard-working woman, but even she had to admit that she’s inferior when compared to Lu Shimiao.

After Lu Shimiao gave a complete introduction of the Qihuang Charity Funds, she pursed her lips together and smiled. “Some of you might be in disbelief for our achievements since it naturally makes sense for us to beautify it, so let’s hear it from a heavyweight himself! He’s the Vice-Secretary in the General Office of the State Council, Mr. Xue Tong!”

The audience was teased by Lu Shimiao’s humor and everyone started laughing.

As for Xue Tong, he initially intended to be low-profile in his trip over, but he still caught the attention of the province. Hence, the province dispatched a Vice-Governor to accompany him in this auction. At the same time, it’s truly shocking for a private auction to reach this scale.

Glancing at the script in his hand, Xue Tong smiled. “Firstly, I would like to say something. I’m a patient of Mr. Su Tao, and I’ve once received his help. So since I owed him a favor, I naturally have to be here to show my support. Secondly, I was entrusted by a leader, who is also a patient of Mr. Su Tao, to represent him in this auction. Lastly, I noticed that many people here have also received the help of Mr. Su Tao, like me.”

When he finished, Xue Tong revealed a smile as he purposely paused in his speech, looking at the deep expressions on some of the audience members.

“You must never forget to repay a favor as a gentleman, and this is the reason why I’m willing to advertise for the Qihuang Charity Funds. At the same time, I also hope that everyone can show their support. I believe that with Mr. Su Tao’s medical skills and medical ethics, he will use all the donations wisely to help others.”

As Xue Tong spoke, he grew emotional and continued, “To change others, I have to start from myself. Hence, to attract all of your attention, I will be donating a total of ¥50,000 under my name to Qihuang Charity Finds.”

When he finished speaking, he waved his hand and a youth walked over with a briefcase filled with cash. Looking at the sudden development, Su Tao was shocked since this wasn’t planned.

When Su Tao saw that Xue Tong was waving his hand in his direction, he could only adapt to the changes and swiftly went up to receive the briefcase.

“Mr. Xue, I represent all the staff in the Qihuang Charity Funds to thank you.” Su Tao heartfeltly said.

Waving his hand, Xue Tong smiled. “It’s just a small token of mine.”

A sum of ¥50,000 might be nothing to the enterprises here, but this was a considerable sum for Xue Tong.

Then again, Su Tao was thinking of finding an opportunity to return it to Xue Tong, and this was the reason why he had no qualms about accepting it for now.

The sudden changes added some interest in this auction. After all, it’s rare to see such an esteemed guest giving a donation. Firstly, this was a public auction, and everyone was cautious when it came to money. Secondly, for a person like Xue Tong, he only had to move his lips to get someone to spend money, and he didn’t have to fork out any from his pocket.

Sitting beneath the stage, Lin Kun commented with disdain, “What a hypocrite! I don’t believe that this wasn’t planned.”

Upon hearing his words, Asaka Ochi looked at Lin Kun with a complicated gaze before she asked, “What do you mean by planned?”

“The money that Mr. Xue took out must be something planned by the Qihuang Charity Funds, and he’s only putting on a show.” Lin Kun analysed.

“Lin Kun-san, please don’t be so negative. We have to be more positive in life.” Asaka Ochi sighed after understanding Lin Kun’s meaning.

However, Lin Kun felt that Asaka Ochi was too childish and bitterly smiled. “Asaka, you’re too ignorant when it comes to China’s culture. The waters run deep here, and there are many unspoken rules. I only want to warn you not to be fooled, and you must see the truth in things.”

Hearing his words, Asaka Ochi locked her brows together. Although her lips briefly moved, she did not speak since she didn’t want to start a dispute with Lin Kun.

Then again, there were also many people here that doubted the authenticity of this auction, especially when Xue Tong made a donation from his pocket. Most of the people here all felt that this was an act.

However, that did not affect their mood. Even if it’s an act, it still looked real and did not seem fake.

“Now, we will begin our auction. In this auction, we will follow the principles of impartial, public, and just. Hence, we’ve invited staff from the City’s Notary Office.”

As Lu Shimiao spoke, a woman in uniform walked onto the stage.

The woman swiftly finished reading out the supervising notarisation.

After that, Lu Shimiao announced the rules of this auction, “We will have a total of ten items for auction today, so there will be a total of ten rounds. Every single item has a starting bid, and they will go to the highest bidder. In a while, please scan the QR Code with your phone to enter the website designed for this auction. Everyone can make their bidding through the website, and we will have a real-time update on the bid.”

The addition of technology instantly sparked everyone’s interest.

“Now, let us welcome the first item of the day. The Qihuang Charity Funds centered around TCM to promote it and help others. So naturally, our first item will naturally be related to TCM. This is something from the TCM Grandmaster, Mr. Dou Fanggang, who has the title of Treasure Purse. Mr. Dou Fanggang spent half of his life researching this All-Nourishing Pellet, and it can be used to extend one’s lifespan. It can be used to preserve the life of someone in an emergency situation with just a pellet.”

Along with Lu Shimiao’s voice, an azure porcelain tray was brought out by a woman in cheongsam. There’s a medicine jar on it, to which she proceeded to open the lid.

“There’s a total of ten All-Nourishing Pellets, and the starting bid will be ¥30,000. Now, let us begin our bidding!” Lu Shimiao introduced.

Below the stage, Lin Kun laughed, “What? ¥30,000 for a single bottle of medicine? Doesn’t that mean ¥3,000 for one? A medicine that can extend life? Isn’t it total bull?”

Sitting beside him, Asaka Ochi swept a glance over and sighed. Lin Kun did not know TCM, so, naturally, he hadn’t heard of Dou Fanggang’s name. As someone standing on the pinnacle of the pyramid in the TCM industry, how could something made by Dou Fanggang be bogus?

“I’m interested in it!”

A simple sentence from Asaka Ochi instantly gave an enormous blow to Lin Kun.

Lin Kun instantly felt as if he was a fool before Asaka Ochi due to his words and immediately offered, “Since you’re interested in it, then I’ll bid it for you!”

He wore a confident smile to hide the awkwardness.

“Dou Fanggang is a titan in China’s TCM industry, and he’s also Su Tao’s Master. Medicine made by him is definitely magical. Anyone that knows about TCM will surely fight for it. Since this All-Nourishing Pellet can be used to extend life, ¥30,000 is too low.” Asaka Ochi patiently explained.

When she finished, she took a glance at her phone. Just as she had expected, the bid swiftly rose and soon broke through ¥300,000, reaching ten times the starting bid.

On the other hand, Lin Kun’s face paled. He did not dare to bid since it had exceeded ¥100,000. Taking a peek at Asaka Ochi, who was focusing on the bid, he finally held himself back from raising the bid.

Hundreds of thousands just for a bottle of medicine, isn’t this complete bullshit?

However, Lin Kun still pretended to raise the price as he tapped on his phone. He was putting on an act that he’s trying his best to bid for Asaka Ochi.

Looking at the climbing bids, Lin Kun instantly felt his throat dry once the bid reached ¥1,800,000. The business in his Japanese-styled hotel was decent, but he only earned about that amount annually in profits. For a bottle of medicine to be equivalent to his earning for a year, wasn’t that total bullshit?

This must be a scam!

“Why don’t we forget about it? I think that there’s an inside story to this auction.” Lin Kun smiled as he gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

At the same time, the bid on the screen finally stopped at ¥2,100,000, and the bidder was No. 47.

Verifying that it was her serial number, Asaka Ochi finally felt relieved and smiled. “I finally got it!”

Hearing those words, Lin Kun was stunned. He never expected that Asaka Ochi would bid for it. Hence, he was instantly placed in an awkward position.

Not too far away, a middle-aged man gave a deep glance at Asaka Ochi with disappointment on his face. He came to this auction today for Dou Fanggang’s All-Nourishing Pellet, but he never expected that he would be outbid.

Many people were fighting for it in the beginning, but reaching the end, the competition was only between the middle-aged man and Asaka Ochi.

The middle-aged man ultimately gave up since he planned to talk to Asaka Ochi privately after the auction ends and see if he could buy half of it from her. At least in this manner, they would be able to cut their losses.

As for Lin Kun, the concept of his world had collapsed. He felt extremely complicated inwardly since he realised that he’s a frog in the well. It felt as if he was a dwarf coming to a world of giants.