Chapter 1973: A good start (2) The rich people who had arrived earlier also greeted Li Yifu one after another. Xia ruofei, who was beside him, seemed to be ignored. This made him feel a little scared. Fortunately, he arrived at the arranged seat very quickly. Li Yifu’s seat was naturally in the first row, and it was quite close to the center. MA Xiong was between his and Xia ruofei’s seats. This was the best seat in the auction today. As the host, MA Xiong sat in the middle seat. Feng Rao and the others were seated in the second row, right behind Xia ruofei. Everyone was really here to watch the fun today, leaving only Liu Qian backstage to coordinate. Xia ruofei happened to see Liu Qian’s nervous face on the side of the stage. Their eyes met, and Xia ruofei even gave her an encouraging smile, which made Liu Qian feel more at ease. While Xia ruofei was talking to MA Xiong and the others, he did not forget to look around. There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He had been looking for Monica, but without a doubt, she didn’t come to Hong Kong. In fact, when Xia ruofei was at the entrance, he had already seen everyone who was attending the auction. With his current memory, he would definitely not miss anyone. Xia ruofei realized that Monica was not the only one who did not come. Even the Grasso family that she was from did not send anyone to attend. This was an abnormal phenomenon. The Grao family had been in the truffle business for several generations, and their strength was almost the same as the black family. The Hengfeng auction house must have sent an invitation to the Grao family, but it was unknown why no one came to attend. However, Xia ruofei could only keep his doubts and worries to himself for the time being because the auction was about to start. After everyone was seated, they chatted for a while. The lights in the conference hall slowly dimmed. Of course, they didn’t turn off almost all the lights in the audience like they did in a performance, but they highlighted the stage more so that it would attract everyone’s attention. The video that warmed up the stage also stopped playing. The auctioneer, Lu zhongguang, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, strode up the stage with a warm smile on his face. Lu zhongguang was the gold - medal auctioneer of Hengfeng auction house. He was the one who personally attended the auctions of the Paradise Corporation. "Respected guests! Dear Media friends! Good morning, everyone! I’m lu zhongguang, the auctioneer today!" Lu zhongguang said in a warm voice,"welcome, everyone, to the Hengfeng auction house’s exclusive product auction of paradise Corporation! The Paradise Corporation has prepared a large number of top - notch ingredients and medicinal herbs for this auction. I believe that everyone will return satisfied! Regarding the products of paradise Corporation, I believe those who have attended the previous two auctions should be very clear about it, so I don’t need to repeat it. Let’s directly learn about it through a short video!" After Lu zhongguang finished speaking, the lights on the stage gradually dimmed, and the big screen behind him began to play a short film. This short video was different from the promotional videos that were shown on TV stations, shopping malls, buses, subway stations, and other places before the auction. The introduction of the auction items was more detailed, and many close - up shots were even more beautiful. Although everyone had an exquisite auction manual in their hands, they were still quickly attracted to it. The dubbing for the short film was done in Standard Mandarin, including Lu zhongguang’s speech on the stage just now. His Mandarin was considered standard, unlike the strong accent of many Hong Kong and Japanese people. Since guests came from all over the world today, a simultaneous interpretation system was also adopted in the venue. Each seat had a headset with two options: one in English and one in Cantonese. This was because many Hong Kong guests could only speak Cantonese, and some people even had a hard time listening to Mandarin. After the short video finished playing, Lu zhongguang returned to the stage. The lights on the stage also gradually became brighter. "Let’s cut to the chase and get straight to the point!"Lu zhongguang said with a smile. I’m very honored to introduce today’s first item!" The hostess, who was wearing a cheongsam, walked up the stage with a tray. The tray was covered by a red silk cloth, so no one could see what it was. It maintained a certain sense of mystery. Lu zhongguang stood beside the stage and said with a smile,""The first item up for auction today is a piece of ginseng. After our expert appraisal, this is a wild old ginseng that grew in the Changbai Mountains. It’s at least ... 400 years old!" Lu zhongguang slightly raised his voice when he said the last sentence. In addition, a 400 - year - old ginseng was indeed extremely rare, so everyone’s spirits could not help but rise. Many precious medicinal herbs and food ingredients were actually gifts of nature. However, the entire earth had been in a state of over - Development in recent years. Take old mountain ginseng as an example, not to mention 400 years old, even 40 years old wild ginseng was very rare. The older generation had a special interest in ginseng, and many rich people had ginseng in their homes. In the early years, when medicine was not developed enough, ginseng that was old enough was used as a life - extending medicinal herb. After Lu zhongguang finished speaking, he untied the red silk cloth. Everyone stretched their necks and looked at the stage. The cameraman on the stage also aimed his camera at the old ginseng. The big screen immediately projected the image of the camera, and everyone in the venue could see the old ginseng up close. How could wild ginseng that grew in the spirit map space be bad? This ginseng was perfect in appearance. The guests who knew the good stuff were all amazed, and the media reporters also took a lot of photos of the old ginseng. The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became a lot more lively. In fact, the first item was very important, as it was related to whether the auction could get a good start. Therefore, the first item to be auctioned couldn’t be the item with the lowest value in the entire auction, but the best item couldn’t be the first to appear either. Otherwise, it would be difficult to arouse everyone’s enthusiasm later on. Therefore, the selection of the opening auction item was also quite particular. It was Liu Qian’s idea to choose this old mountain ginseng. This lady was very concerned about the auction and was willing to use her brain to think. This made Xia ruofei very satisfied. On the stage, Lu zhongguang said,"the starting price for this wild ginseng is one million Hong Kong dollars, and each bid must be at least 50000 Hong Kong dollars higher!" Anyone with a blue bidding card or above could participate in the bidding! Now, let the auction begin!" 1.1 million Hong Kong dollars!" "1.15 million!" "1.25 million!" ...... As soon as Lu zhongguang’s voice fell, the bidding began one after another. He needed to concentrate to see the situation clearly. At the same time, he had to repeat the price at the first moment, which was very tiring. However, for an auctioneer, this was a basic skill. What was even more difficult was to stir up the atmosphere and create a tense and intense atmosphere. Whether an auctioneer was worth anything or not actually depended on this quality. Everyone’s professional level might be similar, but a gold medal auctioneer like Lu zhongguang’s salary was several times that of an ordinary auctioneer. In fact, it was because of his ability to control the scene. However, Lu zhongguang was already used to Yingying’s presence at the peach blossom company’s auction. Basically, he didn’t need to stir up everyone’s emotions, nor did he need to use any skills, and everyone would take the initiative and enthusiastically start bidding. This also made Lu zhongguang feel less accomplished. Thump! Following the sound of the hammer, the first item was successfully sold. It was bought by the Hong Kong tycoon, Zheng nanian. For this old ginseng, Nian Zhengjia paid a price of 1.75 million Hong Kong dollars. Although spending two million to buy a ginseng was unimaginable to ordinary people, to a rich man like Zheng jianian, this small amount of money was nothing. To spend this small amount of money to buy something that could only be found by chance, it was very worth it. Zheng nanian was one of the older tycoons in Hong Kong. The older a person was, the more afraid they would be of death. The older people were more traditional, and they believed in the saying that ginseng could extend one’s life. That was why Zheng nanian did not hesitate to bid so much. In the end, he defeated his competitors in Beijing and got the old ginseng. The auction was very tight. After the old ginseng was sold, the second item was immediately put on the table. Lu zhongguang reached out and pulled the red cloth away. Suddenly, there was a burst of praise from the audience in various languages.