Winning the championship
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that one of them was Li Fuqiang's shill; after all, if no one else was bidding, he couldn't very well raise the price for himself, could he? But the other was none other than Mr. Xu. That's where things get interesting.
This item is about to break the 8 million mark, clearly aiming for the top spot. Traditionally, the top bid is won by the gentleman who provided the item. It seems Mr. Li from Fumao is aiming for first place this year.
So, is someone going to challenge the salon chairmanship that he has held for four years? It turns out that because the gathering was nearing its end, the bosses, big and small, who were feeling a bit sleepy, suddenly perked up, and even the wives stopped their casual conversation and started paying attention.
Mrs. Xu glanced at Zhiwei with a hint of annoyance. Had she already tried to provoke her so soon after joining the club? Zhiwei, while politely turning to watch the auction unfold like everyone else, appeared relaxed. After all, she was just a tool; she didn't care who won the salon chairmanship.
The bidding quickly surpassed 8 million, clearly making it the new champion of the night. A buzz of discussion arose in the room. Li Fuqiang's shill had already withdrawn from the bidding, leaving only Mr. Xu and Li Fuqiang continuing their leisurely auction.
The business owners present couldn't help but wonder with great interest: if it really was Mrs. Li's item, and Mr. Xu took a picture of it, who would be the chairman and organizer of the salon next year?
Everyone watched with expressions of anticipation, as if watching a show. After the price reached 9 million, Li Fuqiang immediately raised it by 1 million, bringing the total to 10 million. Mr. Xu raised his glass slightly in Li Fuqiang's direction, but didn't raise his paddle again. This left the onlookers, who had been eagerly awaiting the spectacle, feeling quite disappointed.
The atmosphere at the auction was rather subdued, with most people chatting amongst themselves and no longer paying attention. At Zhiwei's table, another lady, dressed in jewels, said with a smile, "It seems Mr. Xu prefers Mrs. Li's item, offering a higher price than the Suzhou embroidery of the horse from earlier."
Zhiwei remembered that the information Lin had given her indicated that this lady was the wife of Zhao Kede, the CEO of Shun'an Real Estate, and that she and Madam Xu were not on good terms. Was she being used as a pawn?
Madam Xu was both angry that Zhiwei had snatched the title and angry that her husband was carrying someone else's sedan chair. Upon hearing this, she glared at her fiercely, then turned her gaze to Zhiwei, looking at her with an inscrutable expression.
After a moment, she smiled and said, "I heard that Madam Li just married Mr. Li this year. Now she's doing very well, finally climbing the social ladder and can wear gold and silver. It's just a pity that this stone is a bit too small. But Madam Li probably has never seen such fine clothes and jewelry before, has she?"
Zhiwei thought to herself that the two ladies were right when they were whispering. Madam Xu's speech must have been written by a ghostwriter.
Originally, she only intended to watch from the sidelines as Madam Zhao and Madam Xu battled it out, but now she had no choice but to join in.
She smiled and said, "Mrs. Xu is right. Before I married Mr. Li, my most expensive dress was only two hundred US dollars."
The ladies at the table were all shrewd. They could tell from Mrs. Li's tone that she was setting a trap. Even a working girl owning clothes and bags worth ten thousand yuan wasn't unusual, let alone someone as beautiful as Mrs. Li—how could she only have such inexpensive clothes?
Mrs. Xu let out a sneer without any attempt to hide it, turning her face away with obvious disdain. Zhiwei continued leisurely, "But it took me two years and hundreds of thousands of US dollars to earn the right to buy that dress. It's still carefully kept in my wardrobe."
Madam Zhao glanced at Madam Xu and asked enthusiastically, "Oh my, what kind of clothes are so precious? Madam Li, tell us so we can broaden our horizons."
Zhiwei smiled and nodded at her, saying, "It's Columbia University's graduation gown."
Seeing that they were exchanging glances and not taking her seriously, Madam Xu sneered, "What do you mean by 'big brother' and 'big sister'?"
Zhiwei smiled at the ladies present and said softly, "Columbia University is my alma mater, Columbia University in the United States. The Imperial College London that Mrs. Xu mentioned is also an excellent university."
Several ladies covered their mouths and chuckled. Everyone present knew that Mrs. Xu had been working at home since she was just graduating from junior high school, yet she became the chairperson of the salon and still liked to show off. She loved to quote classical texts in her articles and often mispunctuated them.
Just as Madam Xu was about to get angry, Li Fuqiang and Mr. Xu walked over hand in hand, chatting amiably. He put his arm around Zhiwei's shoulder from behind and asked her, "What are you talking about? It sounds so lively."
Zhiwei smiled and said, "Mrs. Xu knows a lot about universities, we're chatting about it right now."
The two men chuckled and continued toward the stage, not wanting to get involved in the ladies' squabbles.
It turns out that the two of them were going to go on stage to give speeches as the top donors of the two terms.
Li Fuqiang first thanked Mr. Xu for his appreciation of the item provided by his wife and for helping to elevate its value. Then, with a touch of humor, he said, "Of course, I also want to thank Mr. Xu for parting with this item. It was made by my wife herself and modeled after her own hand. If I hadn't been able to get this for the photo, I would have been in for a lot of trouble when I got home."
Everyone present let out good-natured laughter, and Zhiwei also put on a shy face to cooperate. The ladies at the same table couldn't help but feel envious when they saw that Zhiwei had won first place in her first year of joining the club, and that her husband had given her such face.
"My wife and I are delighted to have this opportunity to contribute to public welfare. In the new year, we hope to work closely with all our colleagues to further enhance the social influence of Zhejiang entrepreneurs. Cheers to a better life!"
On stage, Li Fuqiang raised his glass in a toast, and everyone below followed suit. The ladies also raised their glasses with Zhiwei. Zhiwei specially raised her glass to Mrs. Xu from afar, saying, "This is my first time here, and I will certainly need to learn a lot from Mrs. Xu about how to operate the salon. I have heard that the charitable donations in previous years have been excellent, and I will need the ladies of the council to put in a lot of effort in the future."
Madam Xu had assumed that since she was a new official, she would definitely start from scratch, but she was surprised that Madam Xu intended to continue with the previous arrangements. She didn't say anything more.
The banquet concluded, and waiters brought coats to the ladies, giving them a chance to socialize. The ladies around Zhiwei approached her to chat. One of them, Mrs. Zhang, pointed to Zhiwei's dress and said, "Madam, this dress is truly beautiful, so unique and elegant. I've never seen one like it before. Which brand is it?"
Zhiwei covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "Anyone who didn't know better would think that Mrs. Zhang was a shill I hired. This dress was custom-made for me by my own clothing brand. I studied fashion design before, and now I'm just getting back into my old hobby."
Although her outfit wasn't extravagant, the designer clothes, accessories, shoes, and gloves were all perfectly coordinated. This dress looked stunning on her, demonstrating her immense confidence in wearing her own design to such an occasion.
Madam Zhang replied cooperatively, "I'll definitely have to see it for myself when I have the chance. I'm just afraid I won't be able to achieve the same effect as Madam Li."
Zhiwei smiled and said, "How could that be? Madam Zhang has an extraordinary bearing. Clothes should be able to bring out the temperament and charm of their owner."
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