Of course, Ma Xiong wouldn't be so bored as to care about Xia Ruofei's gossip. However, he attached great importance to Xia Ruofei, so he personally instructed the hotel to provide good service and report to him in a timely manner.
The hotel naturally didn't dare to neglect the fact that Xia Ruofei had directly crippled Blake in the gym. They immediately reported it to Ma Xiong because it was a small conflict after all.
In addition, when Monica went up on stage, she made eye contact with Xia Ruofei a few times and even smiled at each other. Even Lu You was sharp enough to notice it. Naturally, the experienced Ma Xiong also saw it clearly.
Xia Ruofei smiled bitterly and whispered to Ma Xiong, "Mr. Ma, I have nothing to do with Monica. It's none of my business how Blake is in the limelight. You don't have to waste this money."
Ma Xiong said with a smile, "It's just a few hundred thousand dollars. It's nothing! Xia Sheng, I also have a use for this truffle. The French restaurant on the top floor of Jiahua is going to have a truffle feast. It just happens to come in handy. "
Xia Ruofei smiled bitterly and closed his mouth.
He knew that Ma Xiong was just making an excuse. It might be true that the French restaurant needed truffles, but they could wait for Xia Ruofei's truffle to participate in the auction. There was no need to spend so much money to compete for this truffle now.
However, since Ma Xiong had decided to participate in the competition, Xia Ruofei also knew that he couldn't persuade him to withdraw at this time.
When Blake heard Ma Xiong's bid, the muscles on his face visibly twitched.
He naturally knew Ma Xiong, a world-class tycoon. What made him even more nervous was that he looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xia Ruofei sitting next to Ma Xiong. The two of them were constantly whispering to each other.
In terms of financial resources, the Blake Group was far inferior to the Hengfeng Group. Moreover, Blake wasn't the leader of the group. He couldn't offer as high a price as he wanted. If he bought this truffle with money that was far beyond its actual value, he wouldn't be able to explain it when he went back.
Ma Xiong, on the other hand, did not have such concerns. He was the boss of the group. As long as he was willing, even if he took out 100 million dollars to buy it, no one would dare to say anything.
Of course, this was only an extreme example. It was impossible for such a situation to occur in reality. Ma Xiong was not a fool.
"Thank you for your generosity, Chairman Ma of Hengfeng Group! Chairman Ma bids 320,000 USD! " The auctioneer was so excited that his face turned red. "Is there anyone else who would like to bid a higher price? If not, the biggest truffle of the year will belong to Chairman Ma! "
Blake's expression kept changing as he struggled with his thoughts. After a long time, he gritted his teeth and raised the sign. "330,000 USD!"
This price was basically the same as the price of the 49 kilograms of white truffle from 2007.
However, Ma Xiong didn't hesitate at all. Just as Blake finished speaking, he immediately raised his paddle and said, "350,000 USD!"
A one-time increase of 20,000 dollars, and at such a high price, Blake immediately sat back in his seat like a deflated balloon. This price was already beyond his authority.
And he was very clear that even if he continued to increase the price, if Ma Xiong was determined to buy it, he couldn't compete at all.
In fact, Blake didn't think about increasing the price again. Of course, the increase in price was not to buy the truffle, but purely to make Ma Xiong spend more money. But in the end, he still didn't have the courage, especially when he saw Xia Ruofei and Ma Xiong whispering. He didn't dare to take the risk. If Ma Xiong gave up as soon as he increased the price, he would really lose it.
When the auctioneer saw that Blake had given up competing, he simply began to count down.
Without any suspense, this 45-kilogram giant white truffle was bought by Ma Xiong at the sky-high price of 350,000 USD.
There was a warm applause in the audience. Ma Xiong also stood up with a smile and waved to the guests behind him.
Monica got up and walked to the front of the stage. She said with a smile, "Thank you, Chairman Ma of Hengfeng Group, for your generosity!"
Although Monica was thanking Ma Xiong, her eyes were looking at Xia Ruofei. She even revealed a smile that wasn't a smile.
Xia Ruofei returned her a wry smile.
With this sky-high price of the white truffle, the Grasso family's truffle auction was over.
Monica then expressed her gratitude to all the guests who had participated in the auction. At the same time, she also previewed several business exchange activities of the Grasso Group in the next two days and invited everyone to participate. As the third heir of the Grasso family, she naturally didn't come to Huaxia just for the auction with a total turnover of 600,000 to 700,000 USD. The Grasso Group's trip to Huaxia also arranged other business activities.
At the same time, Monica also announced on the spot that she would donate 5% of the total turnover, which was about 50,000 USD to the Huaxia Charity Foundation. This was also a tradition of the Grasso family.
Although the money wasn't particularly large, the charity was no small matter. The audience still responded with warm applause.
After the auction was over, Ma Xiong and the others got up and left the banquet hall. They went to a medium-sized banquet hall of about 200 square meters on the same floor. Everything had been prepared there for Xia Ruofei's truffle auction.
All the guests who had been notified in advance also went to the banquet hall. Naturally, no one would refuse Ma Xiong's invitation.
At this time, Monica walked over quickly.
She first looked at Xia Ruofei with a smile, and then said to Ma Xiong, "Mr. Ma, I heard that you are going to hold an auction soon. I wonder if I have the honor to participate?"
Ma Xiong was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Miss Grasso, to be honest, this auction I prepared for my friend is also for truffles. I don't think you have any need to buy them, right? However, if you wish to participate, we will naturally welcome you with open arms! "
Monica was slightly stunned. Obviously, she didn't expect that the auction would also be for truffles, but she soon giggled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Ma!"
After that, she naturally walked side by side with Xia Ruofei and walked toward the medium-sized banquet hall.
Lu You couldn't help but frown slightly when she saw this, but she gently bit her lower lip and didn't say anything. She just followed silently.
When they arrived at the medium-sized banquet hall, the guests took their seats.
The invited guests were about one-third of the previous auction's guests.
When Ma Xiong and Xia Ruofei saw that Blake was also sitting, they couldn't help but be stunned.
But the two of them quickly returned to normal.
The invitation of guests was handled by Ma Zhiming. Except for a few people who had similar status in the business world as Ma Xiong, Ma Zhiming made the list based on the other party's economic strength and social status.
Blake Group was a little famous in the global food and beverage industry, so it wasn't surprising that Blake was invited.
In fact, except for Ma Xiong, Xia Ruofei, Ma Zhiming, the chef of the French restaurant on the top floor, Mark Lawrence, and Monica, who had just learned of the situation, the others, including Tian Huixin and Lu You, didn't know the specific content of the conference.
Ma Xiong and Xia Ruofei looked at each other and walked to the stage together.
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