"Why don't we just call the police?"
Looking at the billionaires around her, Emma Watson only felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She felt out of place here. After all, she was just a celebrity who barely made it to the top level with the help of Future Group. The old woman sitting next to her looked very calm. Her name was Evelyn Isabella, the president of International Children's Aid Organization.
The reason why she was here was that International Children's Aid Organization received a message from an enthusiastic person that a group of children in urgent need of help would be auctioned on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Emma Watson herself was a member of the International Women's Rights Organization and was a friend of Evelyn Isabella. She accompanied her to the auction this time.
"Don't say that, Miss Watson," Evelyn Isabella said softly. Evelyn Isabella said softly, "The police can't do anything to them, and even the law can't do anything to them."
"Why?" Emma couldn't help but ask.
"All sins are hidden under a glamorous evening gown. You can't accuse a caring tycoon of lending a helping hand to an orphan without evidence. What's more, the money from the auction of the orphanage and the custody of all orphans will be injected into a charity foundation to help more war orphans … The auction is in the name of charity, at least in name. "
Speaking of this, the elderly Lady Isabella sighed softly, and the wrinkles on her face seemed to have deepened a little.
"This is the rule of the game, and neither you nor I have the ability to break it. Think about it, even a former president and her husband are involved. Compared to her, our voice is insignificant. All we can do is try to take a picture of it and entrust it to a trustworthy rescue organization. "
Emma was silent and lowered her head. No one knew what she was thinking.
The auction began.
The first to be exhibited was a piece of art. It was said to be a painting from the Renaissance. The original owner was a collector whose business was not doing well, and he reluctantly gave it up for cash flow. From the perspective of collection value, this painting was still quite collectible.
However, there were enough works of art in the mansion on Coro Island that almost covered the entire wall.
He sat there with his legs crossed. He didn't raise his paddle but just paid attention to the final price.
After a few rounds of intense bidding, the painting was bought by an old man in his fifties at the price of 50 million USD.
The next few exhibits were either old relics or works of art left by famous masters. Because there was nothing he liked, Jiang Chen symbolically raised his card twice. Seeing that the price was already skyrocketing, he didn't continue to join in the fun.
The auction continued.
Halfway through, the light on the rostrum dimmed slightly.
The audience below the stage stopped whispering and sat upright. According to the usual practice, halfway through the auction, there would be an important item on display. Jiang Chen noticed that a lot of people had excitement in their eyes.
Obviously, they already knew what was going to be auctioned.
The host cleared his throat and said.
"… The next item up for auction is a special item. Accurately speaking, it is not a commodity, but our love. An orphanage in the United States Virgin Islands had a total of 100 children from the war zone stranded there. Most of them are from Syria, but some are from the Balkans and Ukraine. "
On the big screen, there was a group of girls as pure and lovely as angels in the photos.
Their complexions were beautiful. Obviously, they had been well taken care of and even received a certain degree of education. There was no trace of refugees or traces of war.
Many people below the stage were whispering and discussing excitedly in low voices.
The host continued to speak.
"Along with the orphanage, the custody of the children and the title deed of the orphanage on the island will also be auctioned. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the War Orphan Relief Foundation to help more people in need. We hope that the winner of the auction can shoulder the responsibility of a parent and raise the children. "
"The starting price is 10 million USD, and the minimum bid increase must be no less than 1 million. Bidding begins!"
"20 million!"
Almost as soon as the auction began, someone raised their paddle, and the price was directly doubled.
A charity auction?
Jiang Chen glanced at the Germanic next to him and saw the excitement in his eyes. He didn't think this thing was that simple.
"20 million going once, is there any more —"
"50 million!"
"50 million going once!"
Jiang Chen's face showed a slightly surprised expression.
After just two rounds of bidding, the value of this orphanage had already exceeded the Renaissance oil painting on display. Why didn't he realize before that the tycoons on Wall Street were so charitable?
Emma, who was sitting not far away, put down the paddle she was about to raise with a complicated expression. 50 million USD was beyond the price she could afford. Lady Isabella, who was sitting next to her, sighed softly and expressed her helplessness in the face of such crazy bidding.
"Aren't you going to raise your paddle?" Leslie looked at Jiang Chen, who was sitting next to her, and smiled. "I thought you would be interested."
Jiang Chen leaned back in his chair and asked casually.
"Why do you think I'm interested in charity?"
"Charity?" Leslie looked at Jiang Chen in surprise and was slightly surprised. "Do you really think this is a charity auction?"
"What else?"
"Do you remember what I told you before?" Leslie smiled. "It's not just works of art and mansions that are on display at the auction."
Jiang Chen paused for a moment, and then a glimmer of realization appeared in his eyes.
Through Leslie's meaningful smile, he immediately read the meaning behind the smile.
"So there's this kind of operation." Jiang Chen looked at the photos displayed on the projector with interest and raised his eyebrows. "Interesting."
The UA Virgin Islands was an unincorporated territory of the UA. The orphanage built on this island was equivalent to a place outside the law. This reminded him of the report that Ghost Agents investigated not long ago, the story about the Clintons and the "Lolita Flight."
After several fierce bidding, the price of this orphanage had been raised to 350 million USD.
This price finally made those who were originally interested start to think about whether it was worth it. Many hands that were ready to raise their paddles also hesitated and put them down. Although many people were worth billions, the liquidity in their hands was not so abundant that they could easily spend hundreds of millions.
At this time, Jiang Chen raised his paddle.
"400 million."
Everyone present sucked in a breath of cold air.
Although there were a lot of rich people, not many rich people were willing to spend one-tenth of their liquidity in this regard.
The eyebrows of the rich man sitting next to Jiang Chen twitched fiercely, and he looked over in surprise. After hesitating for a moment, he painfully wrote the words "500 million" on the paddle.
"500 million!"
The atmosphere of the auction instantly ignited to a climax, and even the host was surprised for two or three seconds before he recovered and continued to shout.
"500 million! Heavens, this price was too shocking! 500 million going once … 600 million! Oh, God will reward you for your good deeds. Thank you, generous friend. "
Looking at Jiang Chen's calm expression, the rich man sitting next to him suddenly lost his composure.
He even couldn't help but wonder if this guy was here to cause trouble. After all, with his young appearance, he really didn't look like a rich man. Ms. Leslie Garcia, who was sitting next to him, might have the financial resources, but her father would never allow her to spend six hundred million dollars at an auction.
Elsa and her male companion, Mr. Berkeley Lewis, also looked over in surprise. Elsa was very clear about Leslie's situation. 600 million USD had long exceeded the scope of funds she could use. They were about the same in this regard.
Did I make a mistake? Her male companion is actually a rich man with a hidden identity? And he's worth tens of billions?
Elsa frowned and thought hard. She really couldn't remember such a young rich man on Manhattan Island.
A faint sense of uneasiness began to emerge in her heart.
Emma Watson, who was sitting not far away, also cast a surprised look at Jiang Chen's seat. She looked at the familiar face blankly. She didn't expect to meet him here. What surprised her even more, or rather, shocked her, was that she didn't expect him to be this kind of person …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
