Chapter 47
47 Grandpa Zhou; The Auction Begins!
Naturally, Lin Fan did not know what Liu Yuhang was thinking.
He just poured a glass of wine for Zhou Guotao and said, “Old man, please.”
Zhou Guotao did not stand on ceremony. He picked up the glass and sniffed it.
Then, he slowly poured it into his mouth.
Instantly, Zhou Guotao’s old face was filled with reminiscence and enjoyment.
“Not bad. This is the taste. It’s rich and mellow, the texture is delicate, and the aftertaste is endless! As expected of Han Emperor Maotai!” Zhou Guotao praised sincerely.
Lin Fan said, “It seems that you really like it. I still have some of it left, so I’ll give it to you.”
“Oh? Kid, are you willing to part with your wine?” Zhou Guotao was surprised. “This is the last bottle of the Han Emperor Maotai in the world.”
Zhou Guotao was silently observing Lin Fan. He realized that his drinking actions were smooth and natural. He even had a bottle of Han Emperor Maotai.
Obviously, he was also a person who liked wine.
The old man knew very well how painful it was for a person who loved wine to give away a bottle of Han Emperor Maotai. It was definitely comparable to cutting his own flesh!
Lin Fan said, “Han Emperor Maotai is indeed rich, full, and complete. It has almost perfected every aspect of what a good wine should be!
“But sometimes, perfection doesn’t mean it’s the best. Sometimes, a slight shortcoming makes the wine more layered.
“From this point of view, Five-Star and Fairy are more distinctive.
“I don’t like the Han Emperor Maotai, so it should go to the people who appreciate it.”
When Zhou Guotao heard Lin Fan’s words, his wrinkled old face was filled with a strange light.
A young man in his 20s actually understood wine to this extent. It was simply too rare.
After a long while, Zhou Guotao laughed and said, “If that’s the case, then I’d be impolite if I refused.”
After a pause, he added, “I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Zhou Guotao. Kid, if you don’t mind, you can call me ‘Grandpa Zhou’. How about it?”
The beautiful woman standing next to him could not hide her surprise.
She rarely saw her grandfather introduce himself to young men. He had even asked him to call her ‘Grandpa Zhou’.
Although Han Emperor Maotai was precious, her grandfather received many more gifts that were more valuable than that.
She had never seen her grandfather like this.
Could it be that this young man had something special about him?
When the beauty thought of this, she could not help but re-examine Lin Fan from head to toe.
“Hello Grandpa Zhou, I’m Lin Fan,” Lin Fan said.
“Good, haha!” Zhou Guotao laughed.
Ring, ring, ring!
At this moment, a light-hearted tune was heard in Xinyue Hotel.
Zhou Guotao said, “The auction is about to start, so I won’t be staying for long. Lin fan, I’ll see you around.”
“Goodbye, Grandpa Zhou,” Lin Fan said.
“See you later, Mr. Zhou,” Liu Yuhang said.
After Zhou Guotao and the beauty left, Liu Yuhang said enviously, “Brother Lin Fan, you can actually call him ‘Grandpa Zhou’!”
Lin Fan said calmly, “He should be close to 80, right? What’s the big deal with calling him ‘Grandpa’?”
“What? The reason why the Zhou family was able to become one of the top families in the country is all due to Elder Zhou’s efforts! If other people know that you can call him ‘Grandpa Zhou’, they’ll definitely be so jealous that their teeth will be ground to dust!” Liu Yuhang shouted excitedly.
Lin Fan looked at Liu Yuhang with a smile.
‘So jealous that their teeth will be ground to dust? Just like you?’
Then, Liu Yuhang poured some water into the wine dispenser. He then grabbed the wine dispenser and drank the water.
“What are you doing?” Lin Fan asked.
“This is the last bottle of Han Emperor Maotai in the world. I can’t waste it!” Liu Yuhang said.
Lin Fan was speechless.
…
In another private room.
The beauty first poured a cup of tea for Zhou Guotao, then could not help but say, “Grandfather, why are you so friendly with that Lin Fan?”
Zhou Guotao took a sip of tea and said, “That kid is magnanimous and profound! His future is limitless, and he’ll turn into a formidable figure!”
The beautiful woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. She rarely heard her grandfather give such a high evaluation of a young man.
She could not help but look at Lin Fan’s room as if she wanted to re-evaluate Lin Fan.
At this time, a beautiful and graceful woman in a long red dress led five beautiful women with lanterns in their hands to the center of the lobby of Xinyue Hotel.
“Welcome to Xinyue Hotel, the beautiful woman said with a smile. “Many treasures have been prepared for this auction. I hope you can buy something you like.
“In addition, 20% of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to charity in everyone’s name…
“Let today’s auction begin!”
The beautiful woman’s voice was full of magnetism. Even though she had spoken in the middle of the lobby for a while, it did not cause any disgust in the crowd.
On the contrary, it gave people the illusion that they were listening to a melodious song, which was very enjoyable.
Soon, a round jade bowl with exquisite patterns was slowly brought up.
“This is the green chrysanthemum bowl from the Ming dynasty’s official kiln,” the beautiful woman introduced. “This bowl once followed Eunuch San Bao to the West. Be it the workmanship, the carvings, or the materials, they were all the best of the Ming dynasty.
“It can even be said to represent the peak of porcelain technology in the Ming dynasty… The starting price is 300,000.”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone immediately raised their paddle.
“500,000!”
“800,000!”
…
When the price reached two million, the bidding slowed down significantly.
In the end, the Ming dynasty green chrysanthemum bowl was sold for 2.3 million yuan.
Following that, the beautiful woman held an auction for two more pieces of porcelain and a painting.
Liu Yuhang and Lin Fan were not interested in these things, so they did not bid.
The two of them ate desserts, drank tea, and occasionally chatted. They were quite relaxed and at ease.
At this moment, another auction item was brought up.
“There’s always a magical introduction to hundred-year-old ginsengs in medical books and legends,” the gorgeous beauty said.
“Thus, many people are tirelessly searching for the whereabouts of a hundred-year-old ginseng. However, real hundred-year-old ginsengs are rarely found.
“Today, we have a real hundred-year-old ginseng. The starting price is 400,000.”
As soon as she finished speaking, an ancient ginseng was brought to the center of the lobby.
A round-faced man with dark circles around his eyes, who was sitting in a private room on the third floor, chuckled and said, “I’ve been feeling a little weak recently. It’s the right time to eat a hundred-year-old ginseng to replenish my energy.
“500,000!” the round-faced man raised his paddle and shouted.
Almost at the same time the round-faced man finished speaking, Lin Fan also raised the bidding paddle in his hand and said, “Five million!”
He directly raised the price by ten times!
Lin Fan was determined to get the hundred-year-old ginseng.
He did not want to bid slowly. It was too troublesome.
Originally, some people wanted to bid for the hundred-year-old ginseng, but after hearing this price, they all let go of their bidding paddles.
Those who were qualified to participate in the auction of Xinyue Hotel were not fools.
They had heard some legends about hundred-year-old ginsengs, but legends were just legends. The true medicinal effects of a hundred-year-old ginseng were actually very limited.
It was barely acceptable to spend hundreds of thousands or even a million to buy a hundred-year-old ginseng.
If one had to spend five million, it would not be worth it.
Moreover, someone had directly called out a bid of five million. It was obvious that he was determined to get it. Once they competed with him, it would be easy for them to be hated by the other party.
It was definitely not a wise thing to offend someone at Xinyue Hotel.