Nine o’clock the next morning, at the Jinchuan Auction Hall.
Today was the public auction for the exploration and mining rights to the Qingyan Mountain lithium deposit.
The Qingyan Mountain lithium deposit had an initially verified lithium oxide resource volume of more than one million tons, making it a super-large deposit that ranked among the most significant in the entire East Continent.
Even in 2009, when smartphones had yet to become widespread and electric vehicles had not yet taken off, anyone with a bit of strategic vision could see that the mine was immensely valuable.
Whoever secured it would gain the upper hand in the new-energy sector of the future.
The auction hall was packed.
The VIP seats in the front row were occupied by all the heavyweights of the domestic mining industry.
XN Mining and Chengyu Group, both long-established and powerful companies in the southwest, sat on the local side. They had operated in the region for many years.
Beside them sat representatives from three major mining companies from other provinces. All were well-known enterprises in China’s lithium-mining industry and had come to Jinchuan specifically to compete for the super-large deposit.
At the very center of the front row sat Qi Tianhu, chairman of Tiger Might Group.
Jinchuan was his territory, and Qingyan Mountain was practically right under his nose. Naturally, he was determined to win the mine.
A few seats to his left sat Yang Xin and Xu Shishi of the Wanlong Association Group.
Once everyone had taken their seats, many of the company representatives and media reporters present kept glancing in their direction, either openly or discreetly.
“Those are the people from Wanlong Association Group? They have such an imposing presence.”
“Exactly. I heard the company came from Pearl City and that its strength is unfathomable. After last year’s earthquake, they donated more than two billion yuan in one go. They’re incredibly powerful.”
“But I heard the company isn’t exactly clean. There are rumors that they’re involved in some shady business.”
“It should be fake news. Their company name is certainly easy to misinterpret, but I think those are just baseless rumors. They can’t be true.”
“Still, I heard Wanlong Association Group has some bad blood with Lord Tiger. Apparently, Lord Tiger suffered a loss at their hands.”
“Seriously? Is that true? Looks like today’s auction is going to be quite a show.”
“…”
Yang Xin and Xu Shishi could vaguely hear people discussing Wanlong Association Group, but neither of them paid it any mind.
“President Xu, do you think Qi Tianhu will make a move?” Yang Xin asked.
“He probably will.”
“Didn’t you hear? People have already started saying that Wanlong Association Group is involved in criminal business. That kind of rumor doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It means someone has been building momentum behind the scenes.”
“Otherwise, how would everyone here have heard about it?”
Yang Xin nodded thoughtfully.
That made sense.
Someone had suddenly begun spreading those rumors, which meant there had to be someone behind the scenes fanning the flames. As for who was pulling the strings, even a fool could figure it out.
But they weren’t afraid. They had prepared a contingency plan long ago.
Just as they changed the subject and began discussing their bidding strategy, two middle-aged men in sharply tailored suits entered through the auction hall doors.
Judging by their attire and their distinctly Cantonese-accented speech, they appeared to be from Hong Kong.
“They’re Mr. Zhang and Mr. Xie from Hong Kong!”
“Zhang Ting of Zhang Mining and Xie Jichuan of the Xie Group? What are they doing here?”
“My god, these two are major figures! The Zhang family has mines across the East Continent and Africa, while the Xie family is a venerable Hong Kong clan with an incredibly deep foundation. Have they set their sights on this mine too?”
“This is getting exciting! The competition was already fierce, and now two more tycoons have arrived. The price is going to skyrocket!”
“…”
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Zhang Ting and Xie Jichuan followed the staff’s guidance, smiling as they walked straight through the crowd and took their seats in the empty places at the front.
Xu Shishi and Yang Xin looked at them simultaneously.
Qi Tianhu also stopped rolling the walnuts in his hand and frowned.
None of them had expected anyone from Hong Kong to show up.
This was going to be difficult.
In those days, Hong Kong businessmen were practically synonymous with deep pockets on the mainland.
It seemed they would have to reconsider their budget for today.
At half past nine in the morning, the auction officially began.
The auctioneer, dressed in a crisp formal suit, strode onto the stage. He first read out the auction rules and the basic information about the Qingyan Mountain lithium deposit, then picked up the gavel and brought it down hard.
“Exploration and mining rights to the Qingyan Mountain lithium deposit. Opening bid: 800 million yuan. Each bid must be at least 5 million yuan higher than the previous one!”
“Let the bidding begin!”
The moment the auctioneer finished speaking, someone in the hall raised a bidding paddle.
“805 million!”
“810 million!”
“850 million!”
“…”
The price shot upward without pause.
Within just a few minutes, it had broken through the one-billion-yuan mark.
The atmosphere in the hall instantly caught fire.
Before long, however, the representatives of the smaller companies wisely fell silent and stopped raising their paddles.
The price had already exceeded what they could afford.
By the time it reached 1.2 billion yuan, only four parties were still bidding: XN Mining, Chengyu Group, Wanlong Association Group, and Qi Tianhu’s Tiger Might Group.
The two men from Hong Kong had yet to place a single bid. They simply sat there with cups of coffee in hand, watching the spectacle like outsiders.
“1.3 billion!”
The representative from XN Mining raised his paddle again, though his expression had already grown tense.
The price was now very close to the upper limit of what his company had expected to pay.
After he called out 1.3 billion, no one else bid for more than ten seconds.
Just as the representative of XN Mining began to think the mine was his, Qi Tianhu finally made his move.
“1.4 billion!”
The entire hall erupted.
He had raised the price by a full 100 million yuan in one go!
Tiger Qi was making it crystal clear to everyone present: I am determined to win this mine. No one is taking it from me.
The representatives from XN Mining and Chengyu Group looked utterly defeated and ultimately chose to withdraw.
At that moment, Xu Shishi finally entered the bidding as well. Without the slightest hint of panic, she raised her paddle and called out, “1.5 billion!”
Whoosh!
The eyes of the entire hall instantly focused on her.
Qi Tianhu finally turned his head and looked directly at Xu Shishi for the first time, his expression filled with meaning.
Wanlong Association Group actually dared to challenge him head-on.
“1.6 billion!” Qi Tianhu raised his paddle again, still completely unfazed as he increased the bid by another 100 million yuan.
The crowd collectively drew a sharp breath.
They were insane!
Every last one of them!
The auction had been underway for less than ten minutes, yet the price had already climbed from 800 million to 1.6 billion yuan—doubling outright.
Just as everyone assumed Xu Shishi would continue bidding, she lowered her paddle and stopped.
Yang Xin grew anxious and said in a low voice, “President Xu, why aren’t we bidding anymore? The young lady specifically said we had to secure it.”
Xu Shishi shook her head slightly, then glanced toward the two men from Hong Kong.
“Don’t rush. Those two old foxes from Hong Kong haven’t made a move yet. Let’s make them show their hand first.”
Sure enough, the moment she finished speaking—
The Hong Kong businessman, Zhang Ting, who had remained silent all this time finally lowered his coffee cup after seeing that no one else was bidding. Without the slightest rush, he raised his bidding paddle.
“Two billion!”
Boom!
The entire auction hall erupted.
He had just raised the bid by four hundred million in one go!
He was insane—completely insane!
Even the auctioneer froze for a moment before coming to his senses and hurriedly shouting, “Two billion! Mr. Zhang has bid two billion! Is there anyone willing to go higher?”
Qi Tianhu’s expression darkened.
Damn it, so what if he was from Hong Kong?
What a show-off!
He opens his mouth and adds four hundred million at once—who is he trying to scare?
He was determined to win this mine today!
Since these Hong Kong businessmen wanted to put on a show, he would start by striking down this dragon to intimidate the monkeys!
Weren’t Hong Kong businessmen supposed to be loaded?
He wanted to see whether their nerve was as big as their wallets.
