"First time …"
"Second time …"
"Third time … Congratulations … Sir, you have won this item!"
The gavel in the auctioneer's hand fell quickly and accurately. A charity auction was not the same as a formal auction.
Generally speaking, during a charity auction, except for a few people who were not used to it or those who attended such a party for the first time, people would not really compete for a certain item.
Everyone would send an item to the auctioneer for auction, and then pay a price to buy the item. There would be no competition, so the auctioneer did not need to arouse everyone's emotions. He just needed to end the whole process quickly.
Penny looked at the items that might be valuable or she could not tell what was valuable being sold at an astonishing price one by one. Gradually, she found some clues.
"Have you guys always been like this?"
She asked in a low voice.
Today, Lin Qi had brought her to this party, which was indeed an eye-opener for her. Apart from the people she rarely saw, this special fundraising auction also made her feel very fresh.
Lin Qi ignored her. She had been talking the whole night, like a curious baby. She would ask why this and why that was.
At first, Lynch could still answer her questions, but soon, he was too lazy to answer.
As soon as she answered one question, she had a new one.
The auction started from the back row and gradually moved forward. The important people were often placed at the end.
Soon, it was Lynch's side. The waiter stood beside Lynch with a red velvet tray in his hand.
Lynch took out a lighter from his pocket and put it on the tray. He briefly explained its use, value, and some of its characteristics. After listening carefully, the waiter quickly left.
"I thought you would prepare in advance."
Penny was still curious. "What if one of you didn't bring these things?"
"Will someone prepare something in advance and send it over? For example, some oil paintings or something?"
"Real estate is actually quite suitable …"
Lynch sighed. He tilted his head and looked at Penny. "You at least wore shoes, right?"
Penny curled her lips. She did not understand the thoughts of these big shots at all. In her opinion, such a party should be handled very seriously. All the preparations should be done a few days or even a few weeks in advance. Everyone was looking forward to this moment.
However … the excitement she had prepared quickly cooled down. No one bid. Instead of an auction, it was more like a boring and ordinary fundraising.
This was different from what she had imagined!
In fact, Penny's understanding of this matter was fundamentally wrong. For such a fundraising charity event, whether it was an auction or charity, it was not the core. Only fundraising was the core.
As for how the fundraising was done, it was not important. The important thing was that the money was in place.
It was meaningless to prepare in advance. Instead, it was better to casually "donate" a personal item and then spend money to buy it back. It saved everyone's time and energy.
As for why they did not directly raise money in the form of fundraising, but instead used an auction, it was because the tax exemption for auctioning and fundraising was different!
Yes, Mr. and Mrs. President were so considerate. When they took money from everyone's pockets to make themselves look good, they did not forget to do enough work for everyone's tax exemption.
"This is an exquisite lighter donated by Mr. Lynch. It is handmade by a famous master. The interior is made of high-purity hand-made brass. It is strong and resistant to corrosion. The outer shell is made of pure gold and inlaid with 88 gemstones of various colors."
The auctioneer opened the lighter as he spoke. The sound of metal vibrating could be heard throughout the venue!
It was a good lighter. At least from the auctioneer's introduction and its performance, it was indeed so.
"The original price of this lighter is about 50,000 Federation Sols. The starting price is 50,000. Everyone can start bidding …"
Penny sat at the side and stuck out her tongue. Her pink tongue flashed between her lips. She didn't expect a lighter to be so expensive!
God, her salary for a movie was about this price. She knew that Lynch had many similar lighters. When she thought of this, her mind was a little dizzy.
She asked herself a question — why are you still working so hard?
Isn't it good to lie down and win?
Of course, no one could answer this question. She couldn't either. Sometimes, it wasn't so easy to lie down and win.
Lynch raised his hand. "One million …" With a warm smile on his face, he continued, "This lighter has been with me for a very long time, and I have a very special feeling for it. At the same time, I'm deeply moved by Mrs. Barbara's suggestion. We indeed need to do something within our means for society. I hope that no one will compete with me. Thank you!"
On one hand, he said these words to make fun of them, and on the other hand, to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
It wasn't that no one had caused trouble at an auction like this. For example, if someone wanted to flatter Lynch or had a favor to ask of him, they would donate the money on behalf of Lynch.
Spending 50,000 yuan to buy this thing in exchange for a favor from Lynch was obviously a good deal!
The purpose of Lynch's words was to prevent such a situation from happening.
If someone really did that, it would be very embarrassing for them to compete with each other.
Fortunately, no one wanted to test Lynch with one million yuan. Those who could come were not poor. After the auctioneer quickly counted three times, the gavel fell.
Lynch had already prepared a cashier's check. When the waiter returned his lighter, he placed the cashier's check on the red velvet tray.
A one million yuan promissory note issued by the Jinhui Bank. This thing could be directly exchanged for one million yuan in cash at any bank.
Besides checks, promissory notes were one of the most commonly used financial instruments by capitalists.
At this point, the price of the auction suddenly increased by a lot. No matter what the people behind did, they couldn't give a lower price than Lin Qi.
The President looked at Lynch and nodded slightly. Lynch knew that he meant to thank him.
Raising one million yuan was also raising money. Raising ten million yuan was also raising money. If the President's wife couldn't raise a big number, the President's face would be lost.
Even if the people behind hovered around one million yuan, this auction could raise almost twenty million yuan. It was enough to make the President and Madam President's face in the media.
Some people in the front row also glanced back at Lynch at this time. Compared to Lynch's previous bid of 100,000 yuan, Lynch raised the price several times in one breath.
Compared to the normal looks in everyone's eyes, the two young people from the Duncan Family were not so polite.
"He called the price too high. This is beyond our plan!"
The one who spoke was the leader of the younger generation of the Duncan Family. After he retracted his indifferent gaze from Lynch's face, he looked at his elder brother next to him and complained in a low voice.
Their original plan was to donate five hundred thousand to six hundred thousand yuan. Now, it seemed that they had to donate at least one million yuan.
As one of the most powerful families in the Federation, the Duncan Family's family glory did not allow them to be confused with those "inferior families".
If Lynch donated one million yuan, they would donate one million and five hundred thousand or even two million yuan to show the status and momentum of the Duncan Family.
The young man who was called "elder brother" sitting next to him had an indecipherable smile on his face. "It's not a lot of money. Let's donate it."
He glanced sideways at the young man next to him. "A big family should have the magnanimity of a big family. Let's donate two million yuan …"
The young man nodded and said no more.
The auction continued at this pace. Mr. Vaudric donated his tie clip and then bought it back for one million and two hundred thousand yuan. Lynch had called the price too high. He did not intend to spend so much money.
Mr. Patu donated Anna's diamond hairpin, which was also bought for one million and two hundred thousand yuan.
Everyone followed a rule that did not require communication. In the upper class, this rule was everywhere. Many people had rashly entered the upper class with some luck, but they could not do anything.
It was as if there was an invisible wall around them, firmly restricting their actions. This was the disadvantage of having no foundation. They could not even grasp some of the most basic rules.
In the end, the normal charity fundraising ended with the Duncan Family spending two million yuan to buy a wristwatch. The President's wife said the total number of funds raised with some excitement. It was an amazing number.
It was at least twice as high as she had expected. And all this was because of Lynch's random shouting. He had directly disrupted the order of the price, forcing the people behind to pay more money.
Two million yuan was more than the donations of more than a dozen people in front of him.
The President's wife knew who to thank, but she did not show it immediately. At this time, if she thanked Lynch too much, or focused on Lynch, it would only attract some potential hostility for him.
After the party ended successfully, Mr. President and Mrs. President sent the guests off. When they sent them to Lynch, they specially communicated with him.
"In two days, on the weekend, I hope you're free. I'll hold a barbecue party in my backyard. Are you free?"
Lynch had helped Mr. President and Mrs. President a lot, so it was only right for them to repay Lynch. For example, it was obvious that they would improve their relationship and contact with each other, and then talk about the distribution of benefits in the future.
"It's my honor. I happen to have a collection of the best wine. I'll bring it with me when the time comes."
He agreed very readily.
The President stretched out his hand and shook Lynch's hand again. "Then I'll wait for you. Come early, we can still talk!"
"Definitely!"
After the two of them bid farewell to Mr. President and Mrs. President, they had just walked out when they bumped into Mr. Vaudric.
He was chatting with the two of them in a low voice. When he saw Lynch coming over, he ended his conversation with the others and looked at Lynch. "Want to talk?"