Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1445 - 699: Auction

Chapter 1445: Chapter 699: Auction

After the wheat harvest, it was time for the cattle farm to supply premium beef to Jiang City, which was a major celebration for the farm. However, this celebration paled in comparison to another event.

Boss Yan’s paper had finally caught the attention of an editor at a world-renowned journal, who had called to communicate, all thanks to Professor Qi’s efforts on behalf of Yan Fei, who was now just waiting for the result.

The paper, which discussed the discovery of a new species, was unlike Yan Fei’s previous articles. Those could be mailed out for publication in local journals that required only a bit of substantial content. This paper, however, was not so easy to publish, as it needed further verification. Professor Qi had targeted a top-tier journal for Yan Fei, and publishing a significant paper in such a journal involved layers of scrutiny and could be delayed for up to six months.

But this was already good news. For Yan Fei, he feared direct rejection of his paper. As long as it caught someone’s attention, he believed there would be no further issues.

Next, Yan Fei faced a challenge—an auction.

Before the auction, he needed to collect some auction documents, submit an application, and pay a deposit to officially participate.

Because he had arrived in Provincial City the afternoon before the auction, when Yan Fei reached the auction venue, he was a bit late—he didn’t blame himself, as it was entirely due to the slow public transport in Provincial City.

By then, the auction venue was already filled with many people. Most of those prepared to bid had arrived early, including those who came just to observe the situation and the reporters from newspapers and TV stations; hardly anyone arrived later than Yan Fei.

Once inside, Yan Fei realized that despite the crowd outside, only a dozen groups could enter. In total, the seated attendees didn’t even number a hundred, fewer than a class at Sancha River Middle School.

With so few people in such a large venue, if it weren’t for the few reporters and cameramen milling around, it would have looked quite deserted.

Some attendees were there simply as observers and to ensure fairness, leaving even fewer participants in the land auction.

Most bidders brought assistants, but Yan Fei came alone—he thought it unnecessary to disturb his wife’s classes, although due to his oversleeping, his wife was late for school anyway.

Land auctions weren’t common in Provincial City until now; this was evident from the transaction volumes, with only two plots auctioned off last year. Therefore, the opening lacked lengthy speeches. Someone read some rules, highlighted the principles of fairness, openness, and transparency, and after some ceremonial greetings, it began.

The first two plots were unrelated to Yan Fei, who initially found the auction exciting but soon lost interest.

Previously, he had seen auctions on TV that were thrilling, where bidders continuously gathered information and strategized. However, he saw none of that here.

Except for the plot Yan Fei was interested in, which was added at the last minute, the other two had been announced in advance. The developers in Provincial City knew each other and were clear about their land needs, so only a few companies bid to set the mood, leaving just two or three in actual competition.

Upon announcing the third plot, the audience began murmuring.

First, because this plot was added later, some were even unaware of any "inside information." Second, the conditions for this plot were lower. The previous plots had specific plans post-purchase, but the third plot, treated like regular merchandise, had vague requirements, seemingly allowing any use.

Moreover, the starting bid was low at five million.

The insiders present knew the real estate game and had various connections; a random high bid would have turned into a farce.

Perhaps due to the genuinely low price, several companies started bidding, quickly raising the price to 8.5 million.

At this point, some companies withdrew. While others were still consulting, Yan Fei raised his bid card for the first time: "Nine million!"

His words immediately drew everyone’s eyes.

Some looked enlightened, others curious, and still others confused.

Yan Fei felt quite helpless. Being young was a mistake at this auction; even the assistants brought by company heads weren’t very young. He, unusually youthful and silent until now, made many suspect a "backroom deal."

"Wancheng City Morning Glory Company bids nine million!" the auctioneer announced. "Any other bids?"

After asking, the auctioneer dutifully continued, "This plot covers 402 acres, adjacent to the zoo, backed by the technology market, and near museums, as well as Agricultural University, the School of Finance and Economics, and other institutions, including the newly established Military Information Engineering University in April..."