Chapter 70: The Resolve of the Sacred Tang Group

Zhu Lan returned but did not go on stage; instead, he took a seat below, leaving the proceedings to be hosted by Lan Tianxin.

This time, there was no interference from anyone, and the bidding went exceptionally smoothly.

The Italian agency rights were successfully acquired by the Mafia, though the price was only three hundred and forty million. Italy’s market was not large, but its smuggling operations were infamous, especially under the Mafia’s banner, where nothing was impossible. Thus, Zhu Lan had separated Italy as an independent case.

Next, France was taken by Tulip for less than two hundred million. The UK went to Shield for four hundred and ninety million. Germany was acquired by Saint De Bibo for three hundred and twenty million.

“Now, we move on to the competition for the American market. Let’s see who will be the lucky one this time?” Lan Tianxin gestured, and the first card was flipped.

“My goodness! Seven hundred million—from Bai Sheng Group. What a surprise!” Bai Sheng had bid in previous rounds, never offering more than one hundred and forty million, and in Germany, their lowest bid was only thirty-four million, hardly serious. Now, for the American agency rights, they had made an astonishingly high bid, revealing their true target was the US market.

In recent years, Bai Sheng’s acquisitions of several energy companies in the US had been blocked by the federal government, citing national security concerns. Bai Sheng was not alone; many Chinese companies faced obstruction in their US acquisitions.

Many American conglomerates frowned; the price had clearly exceeded their expectations. The CEO of Str Group, in particular, looked pale—his bid was likely lower.

The Bai Sheng president noticed the expressions of the American companies and smiled slightly.

Indeed, among the subsequent cards, the highest was only five hundred and sixty-three million dollars. Many US companies bid over five hundred million, but they still fell short of Bai Sheng.

“What a pity!” Lan Tianxin remarked upon seeing the newly revealed price from Str Group—six hundred and forty million, sixty million less than Bai Sheng, thus losing the US agency rights.

“A new bid! Eight hundred million—from Mount Fuji Group!” The new price instantly surpassed Bai Sheng by a hundred million.

“You—” The Bai Sheng president was incredulous; he had kept his eyes on the American companies, never expecting the Japanese to intervene.

When all cards were revealed, Mount Fuji Group secured the US agency rights for eight hundred million—a result no one had anticipated.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we now proceed to the final bidding for the Chinese agency rights. Let’s see who made the first offer!”

“Eight hundred thousand dollars?” Lan Tianxin had expected eight hundred million, but upon seeing the actual price, he was stunned.

He wasn’t alone; many were dumbfounded. In the hundreds of previous bids, the lowest had been six million, but this price of eight hundred thousand dollars was nothing short of a joke.

“The bid from Hu Group truly surprises us!” Lan Tianxin glanced at the Hu Group representatives, whose manager wore a broad smile, as if eight hundred thousand was a princely sum.

Lan Tianxin shook his head and moved on to the next price.

Yet, the situation that followed left everyone helpless: for seventeen consecutive bids, none exceeded Hu Group’s offer, with the lowest reaching just one hundred and thirty thousand dollars.

Zhu Lan remained expressionless, though fury roiled within him. Bidding in the millions—did they think they could rely on local influence to secure the rights? How naïve.

“The new bid is—” Lan Tianxin paused upon seeing the amount. This time, it wasn’t a lowball but a figure as high as could be imagined.

One billion dollars.

Yes, the new bid reached a staggering one billion, surely from Sakura Group.

The representatives from the more than thirty Chinese companies were thrown into panic, many turning pale.

Because this bid came from Japan’s Black Dragon Group.

Black Dragon Group was the notorious Black Dragon Society of Japan, leveraging their influence in Asia’s drug, arms, and other industries to amass immense wealth, especially in narcotics, cooperating with the Japanese military to ship drugs worldwide under the guise of naval exercises. Rumor had it several prime ministers backed Black Dragon Group.

“Astonishing, truly!” Zhu Lan smiled, glancing at several tables nearby where Lu Zheng sat.

At this moment, Lu Zheng was frozen like a block of ice.

The others may not know, but Lu Zheng was acutely aware: if Black Dragon Group took the agency rights, he would have no choice but to step down, and the government would be powerless to reclaim the rights.

Lu Zheng was troubled; it had become not just a personal matter between him and Zhu Lan, but a national issue.

Zhu Lan felt no concern at all. Though many were not earnest about the bidding, plenty of companies still sought the Chinese agency rights.

In fact, Zhu Lan already knew that before the bidding began, several companies had united, hoping to use their combined influence to secure the rights.

Originally intended to pressure Zhu Lan, they hadn’t expected the military to openly declare its protection of Zhu Lan, nullifying their scheme.

But they had a second plan.

These companies were among the top in China; united, only the state could rival them. Their plan was to buy the agency rights at low prices, reasoning that even if others won, in such a powerful context, no one would dare oppose them and would naturally hand over the rights.

Unfortunately, their vision was limited to domestic affairs.

Zhu Lan had anticipated this, so he invited numerous renowned international companies to participate, aiming to counterbalance them. Yet, they remained arrogant, believing themselves invincible with unmatched connections.

The earlier laughable bids faded away, and the subsequent prices soared higher and higher.

Nineteen companies in succession offered bids of over eight hundred million.

Seven companies bid between nine hundred million and nine hundred and eighty million.

The faces of the leaders of Canglong Group and others paled, for these were foreign companies beyond their influence—Tulip, Mercedes, and American giants like General and Str, all bidding over nine hundred million.

Canglong was respectable domestically, but ultimately run by a group of second-generation elites. In contrast, Tulip, Mercedes, General, and Str all had senators or government officials backing them. Canglong Group may dominate their patch in China, but beyond the borders, they were insignificant; a single report to the Foreign Ministry would leave them battered, if not destroyed, under China’s policy of avoiding trouble.

“Flying Eagle Group bids one billion three hundred million dollars!”

Wow—

This bid exceeded Black Dragon Group’s one billion, and Flying Eagle was a Chinese new energy company, specializing in solar and wind power. In numerous first- and second-tier cities, many government energy projects were won by Flying Eagle.

It could be said that thirty percent of the country’s wind and solar power was manufactured by Flying Eagle Group.

In recent years, Flying Eagle’s advancements in solar technology had led to a research agreement with the national space program, making them a partner in China’s aerospace industry.

During the construction of Tiangong, Flying Eagle Group was responsible for developing the solar panels, and they had secured many orders for satellite panels as well. Their background was mysterious—few knew the group existed, not even government officials, as it was based in Xixia.

“Damn it, why did they get involved?” Flying Eagle focused on new energy and had no sales channels—why participate? Canglong and other companies couldn’t understand.

“Li Group bids one billion one hundred million dollars!”

“Su Group bids one billion ten million dollars!”

“New Farm Group bids one billion dollars!”

“Divine Rhythm Group bids one billion two hundred million dollars!”

The new bids left everyone astounded; the competition for China was fierce beyond imagination.

Moreover, companies from Hong Kong and Taiwan, previously inactive, had now joined the fray.

Even Lee Chaoren’s company participated.

How interesting.

“Ice Lake Group bids one billion four hundred million dollars!”

“Qinghai Development Group bids one billion three hundred seventy million dollars!”

“Regional Energy Group bids one billion four hundred sixty million dollars!”

“East Sea New Energy bids one billion four hundred forty million dollars!”

Lan Tianxin’s mouth went dry as he read out the prices, feeling as though in a dream.

The new bids came from Chinese companies, all in the new energy sector.

It was strange—these companies were not particularly profitable, often suffering losses, so why would they spend six or seven billion to bid for a market as obscure as genetic optimization fluid?

The bids kept coming in, and though the information was transmitted, it was so overwhelming that Zhu Lan’s mind could not process it. He decided to wait for the results before looking into the details.

“A new record—Saint Tang Group bids one billion eight hundred million dollars!”

Wow—

That price shocked everyone.

Saint Tang Group had sent only an investment manager, no senior executives. Many familiar with Saint Tang assumed they were just here to gain experience and show Zhu Lan respect.

Many of the buildings of Fantasy Technology were constructed by Saint Tang’s real estate subsidiary, and they were the strongest company in the province, so their presence was expected.

Yet the bid was unexpected—one billion eight hundred million dollars, nearly one hundred billion RMB, an unimaginable sum. Saint Tang was impressive, but their liquid assets were at most around eight billion.

“Congratulations to Saint Tang Group for winning the Chinese agency rights. Agency specifications have been issued; please review them carefully. Now, will the representatives of the winning companies please gather on the second floor, where our chairman will personally explain some important matters. For those who did not succeed in the bidding, we have prepared a sumptuous dinner. Thank you all again for your participation!”

(To be continued.)