Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor
Chapter 307: Hope

Chapter 307: Chapter 307: Hope

However, Fang Bai didn’t immediately harvest the spiritual medicine in the valley. Instead, he let it grow, planning to wait until his strength increased and he had the ability to refine elixirs. He would then establish an alchemy room in that valley to focus on concocting elixirs.

Though directly consuming spiritual medicine could enhance one’s cultivation level, it wouldn’t bring out the maximum efficacy of the medicine; it would be a waste. By refining the spiritual medicine into elixirs, one could fully harness its medicinal effects.

Fang Bai didn’t pick the spiritual medicine from the valley, but he always carried with him the hundreds of spiritual medicines he found in the Mysterious Pit inside his spatial ring. Just casually taking out one of them would far surpass the value of the hundred-year wild ginseng that Hua Yi had offered.

Therefore, while the numerous guests in the hall were eagerly bidding for Hua Yi’s hundred-year wild ginseng, Fang Bai remained unmoved, leisurely sitting there, eating and drinking by himself, occasionally chatting with Ye Wumei beside him.

After fierce bidding, Shen Huanian, who had good relations with Hua Yi, won the hundred-year wild ginseng with a bid of 15 million yuan.

The Belle Group, a subsidiary of the Shen Family, specializes in the production and sale of various beauty products that are bestsellers in Huaxia. Many of their products use formulas provided by Rejuvenation Hall.

Shen Huanian was willing to spend a huge sum, not because he valued the hundred-year wild ginseng, but his main goal was to further strengthen his friendship with Hua Yi, thereby deepening the close cooperation between the Shen and Hua Families.

Shen Huanian’s generous donation of 15 million yuan to charity received a round of warm applause from the guests, allowing him his moment of glory,

And since the item Hua Yi had put up fetched a high price of over ten million, surpassing even the host Jiang Xiaoyu, it made Hua Yi feel quite honored. He nodded towards Shen Huanian and returned to his seat, full of spirits.

Although more than 300 guests came to the event, more than half of them came as couples or even with their entire families. These family-style groups only needed to offer one item for auction, so in reality, there were only a few dozen guests actually participating in the bidding.

Those like Xie Yifeng and Luo Xiaoli, who were just lovers or partners, each needed to provide an item for the auction.

Due to time constraints, the auction proceeded quickly. Unless bidders had strong backgrounds and extensive networks like Jiang Xiaoyu and Hua Yi, which could take a bit more time during bidding, other items could be sold in just a few minutes after being presented on stage.

After Hua Yi, the guests who took the stage to offer their items, whether in terms of background or personal renown, were far less prominent than Jiang Xiaoyu and Hua Yi. The items they offered were mostly of lower value like jewelry, antique gemstones, and autographs of famous people. As a result, there was no commotion in the hall, and the prices reached were not particularly surprising.

Of course, all the guests present were elite figures from various fields. Who among them didn’t have a few friends in the audience? Thus, they didn’t have to worry about the embarrassment of their items going unsold. In the event that no one showed interest in an item, Jiang Xiaoyu, the host, would personally buy it.

It soon came to Dongfang Rushi’s table’s turn to offer their items.

"Look, Dongfang Rushi has gone up to the podium!"

"I remember last time she auctioned a calligraphy written by her grandfather Dongfang Leiming himself, which was bought by a wealthy businessman who has dealings with the Dongfang Family for one million. I wonder what she has brought this time!"

"No matter what it is, as long as the price isn’t too high, I’ll bid for it!"

"Brother Li, I know you’re fond of Dongfang Rushi, but she’s indifferent to you like water flowing past fallen flowers. Why waste your money?"

"I’m donating to charity out of goodwill, not to please Dongfang Rushi!"

"Keep pretending! Continue pretending! Everyone knows Stingy Li is famous for being cheap. If it wasn’t for pleasing Dongfang Rushi, would you be willing to spend a fortune?"

Amid the gossip and attention of the crowd, Dongfang Rushi gracefully walked up to the podium, presenting an oil painting for all to see.

The oil painting was very ordinary; one could tell it was the work of a beginner. It depicted a poor girl from the mountainous region, carrying her book name and walking towards a newly-built, beautiful school in the distance, while facing the morning sun. Joy sparkled in the girl’s large eyes, and her expression was filled with anticipation and hope for a better future.

Dongfang Rushi scanned the guests below the stage and said indifferently, "This oil painting is called ’Hope’ and is the work of my sister, Dongfang Ruhua. The starting bid is ten thousand yuan."

Being economical with her words, Dongfang Rushi briefly spoke two sentences before handing over the painting to the auctioneer on the stage and returning to her seat.

"...Items have a price, but kindness is priceless! This painting may seem ordinary, but it carries a profound meaning, reflecting the author’s care for the children in the mountain areas... If any guests here are fond of this painting, please place your bids!"

The auctioneer passionately stirred emotions before turning his gaze towards the many guests below the stage.

Frankly speaking, the oil painting that Dongfang Rushi brought out couldn’t be more ordinary, and if it were sold on the street, it would be questionable whether anyone would buy it.

However, the artist Dongfang Ruhua is the most beloved granddaughter of Dongfang Leiming, and in addition, it was personally presented by Dongfang Rushi, so it could be anticipated that many guests would support the auction on the spot, and it was very possible for the painting to sell for eighty or a hundred thousand in the end.

"One hundred thousand!"

As expected, just after the auctioneer’s words fell, someone directly called out a bid of one hundred thousand.

The guests followed the voice to see that Jiang Xiaoyu was the one who bid and could not help but smile knowingly.

As the host of this charity auction, whenever there were items that were difficult to auction off or unlikely to fetch a high price, Jiang Xiaoyu would cast the first stone to attract jade, leading with the initial bid. The best outcome would be other guests joining the auction, but if no one else bid, the item would belong to her.

In Jiang Xiaoyu’s opinion, even if the painting was worthless, buying it would still be no loss. Firstly, it would count as contributing her share of kindness, and secondly, it could endear her to Dongfang Rushi, the business prodigy lady, achieving two goals at once.

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

"Two hundred thousand!"

"Three hundred thousand!"

"Five hundred thousand!"

...

Jiang Xiaoyu’s tactic clearly worked, as following her, continuous bids came in, including those from Lu Jianfeng of the Lu Family, Hua Yi of the Hua Family, Wang Dong of the Wang Family, Xie Yifeng of the Xie Family, and Shen Huanian of the Shen Family.

Even Ye Wumei couldn’t hold back and joined in, directly raising the bid to one million.

An oil painting by a novice, with its childish strokes, under the enhancement of the Dongfang Family’s aura, managed to soar from the base price of ten thousand to the staggering sum of one million.

However, after reaching one million, the bidders dwindled significantly.

Although there were many guests present who wanted to curry favor with Dongfang Rushi and cling to the Dongfang Family’s coattails, their money didn’t come from strong winds; if it were a collectible artwork by a famous person, they might have continued to bid, but ’Hope’ had no such collectible value, and it was doubtful anyone would want it even as a gift.

Thus, the price of one million was already the limit for the guests in attendance, and anything more would make them feel a sting.

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