Chapter 214 Yinghua College (Part )

The next morning, Yinghua College was crowded with people and cars. Rich merchants and gentry from all over the country came from all directions. There were both men and women, all of them were rich and noble, surrounded by jewels and jade, and it was obvious that they were wealthy.

Xu Heng and Tang Cong followed Liu Xunyi's instructions and led the crowd into the Xiyuan Meditation Platform in an orderly manner.

At this time, fifty-six armchairs were placed in a disorderly manner on the meditation platform. The masters and ladies took their seats, while the followers and servants stood on the sidelines quite tactfully, not daring to overstep their boundaries.

There was a square table in front of them, on which was placed a wooden box. At this time, the wooden box had been locked, and Liao Chuan and Liao Hai stood on the left and right, each holding a knife, not allowing anyone to approach.

Without asking too much, others could guess what was in the wooden box. It must be the Pan family's documented deeds.

Pan Yun and Pan Yuyin were busy greeting guests from all directions. Since most of the guests were well-known business figures from Yingchuan, they were not unfamiliar with the "golden boy and jade girl" of the Pan family. They avoided some awkwardness and exchanged casual greetings with each other.

As for Pan Wen, he and Liu Xunyi were waiting in the side hall for the show to begin.

"I never thought that my Pan family would end up like this. Alas!"

Through the window, Pan Wen looked at the bustling guests on the meditation stage. His old eyes were filled with loss, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings, indescribably uncomfortable.

Liu Xunyi comforted him kindly, "Don't worry, Mr. Pan. I will find a good buyer later and negotiate a good price. I will give you enough capital to make a comeback in the future."

Pan Wen sighed again and said with a wry smile, "How can I make a comeback? In the future, I just hope that my family can live a stable life, and I will be satisfied." After that, he looked out the window again and said sadly, "If my father is still alive, he will definitely blame us, his unworthy descendants, for being so cowardly. He worked hard in Yingchuan for decades, but we lost everything overnight. It's really..."

"If Mr. Pan knew about this, he would definitely not want you to continue to suffer here." Liu Xunyi interrupted, "So Mr. Pan, don't blame yourself. Everything is... God's will."

"Everything is determined by fate. We have no control over it." Pan Wen laughed at himself. "I am already half buried in the ground. If it weren't for Yun'er and Yuyin, I would have fought to the death with Long Si. At today's auction, who knows, Long Si might do something weird again."

Liu Xunyi reached out and gently patted Pan Wen's shoulder, and said with a relaxed look: "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything!"

"Master, Manager Pan, almost everyone has arrived." Suddenly, Xu Heng's voice sounded from outside the door.

Liu Xunyi and Pan Wen looked at each other and asked, "Is Long Si here?"

"Not yet." Xu Heng hesitated, "Master, should we still wait for him?"

Liu Xunyi hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said, "No more waiting, let's get started."

"Yes."

After about a cup of tea, Pan Wen, accompanied by Liu Xunyi, slowly came to the meditation platform.

As soon as everyone saw Pan Wen, the noisy scene suddenly became quiet.

At this moment, the expressions on everyone's face are very different, some are sympathetic and compassion, some are gloating, some are disdainful, some are arrogant and proud, in short, all kinds of life are present.

The former richest man in Yingchuan has now fallen to the point of selling off his property. Regardless of the causes and consequences of this matter, today's sale alone is enough to make people all over the world stab Pan Wen in the back and call him a prodigal son.

"Today..." Pan Wen stood in front of everyone, his face was embarrassed, his eyes were hesitant, and even his legs were shaking slightly. He was not nervous, but sad.

"Today I..." Pan Wen wanted to say something several times, as if something was stuck in his throat. He stammered for a long time but still couldn't say anything.

After trying hard for several times, Pan Wen returned in vain, which made the eldest lady and Pan Yun beside him anxious and sad. Pan Yuyin could not help sobbing softly.

At this moment, hundreds of eyes were focused on Pan Wen. Some were confused, some were bewildered, and some couldn't help laughing out loud.

Pan Wen's lips trembled violently. After a long time, he slowly turned his gaze to Liu Xunyi, as if seeking help.

Seeing this, Liu Xunyi stepped forward quickly, blocked Pan Wen behind him, and said loudly: "I believe everyone is very clear about the purpose of today. I am Liu Xunyi, and I was entrusted by the shopkeeper Pan to help him sell part of the Pan family's property in Yingchuan in exchange for cash for other purposes."

Seeing Liu Xunyi coming forward to rescue him, Pan Wen let out a sigh of relief, then slowly stepped aside.

"Young man, may I ask if today's sale only accepts cash?" A fat middle-aged man in the crowd asked loudly.

"Bank notes are also acceptable." Liu Xunyi replied calmly, "But the payment must be made in person. No delay will be allowed."

"Of course." Another jeweled lady looked Liu Xunyi up and down with interest and asked with a smile, "What a handsome and strong young man you are. I wonder what your relationship with the Pan family is? If I pay to buy something from the Pan family, I wonder if you can honor me... and have a meal with me?"

Hearing this, Xu Heng on the sidelines wanted to step forward and scold him, but was stopped by Liu Xunyi with a wave of his hand.

Liu Xunyi smiled and said, "Thank you all for coming to support the great shopkeeper Pan. Those who came today are all friends of the Pan family. Since we are friends, everything can be discussed."

After saying that, Liu Xunyi didn't wait for the woman to continue, and walked to the table, stretched out his hand to press the wooden box, and said with a smile: "Everyone, inside are the documents and deeds of some of the Pan family's properties in Yingchuan, including a Pan family mansion, nine large warehouses, twenty-two small warehouses, four large shops, seventeen small shops, forty cargo ships, and a water and land dock under the command of Pan Huai Ship Merchant. This dock is the largest water and land dock in Yingchuan, with a total of six ferries, which can accommodate twelve cargo ships at the same time."

As soon as Liu Xunyi said this, many people in the field had their eyes shining with greed on their faces.

As we all know, doing business in Yingchuan is mostly inseparable from waterways, and almost all of the Pan family's industries are the best in Yingchuan, whether in terms of location or scale, they are all top choices.

Getting them is like opening up a new path to wealth, which will surely bring a lot of money in the future. Therefore, how can these gentry and wealthy businessmen not covet them?

Liu Xunyi looked around at the people who were whispering, and said, "According to Mr. Pan's last wish, this Yinghua Academy will be donated to the local folks free of charge for the study of the younger generations in Yingchuan."

"Master Pan is truly righteous!"

"Master Pan is kind and generous, and his merits are immeasurable!"

"Eighth Master can be called the greatest good man in Yingchuan, but it's a pity... Alas!"

For a while, the crowd was filled with compliments and condolences for Pan Chuba. The Pan family was once again deeply saddened and couldn't help crying. "Brother, please make an offer!" Suddenly someone shouted, "The Pan family has so many properties, how much do you want to sell them for?"

"The Pan family mansion is priced at 150,000 taels. Nine large warehouses, each priced at 30,000 taels, totaling 270,000 taels. Twenty-two small warehouses, each priced at 10,000 taels, totaling 220,000 taels. Four large shops, each priced at 100,000 taels, totaling 400,000 taels. Seventeen small shops, each priced at 30,000 taels, totaling 510,000 taels. Forty cargo ships, each priced at 5,000 taels, totaling 200,000 taels. Pan's Wharf..." Liu Xunyi said word by word. When he mentioned "Pan's Wharf", the scene suddenly became silent. Everyone stared at Liu Xunyi with nervous and curious eyes.

Liu Xunyi glanced at everyone and slowly said, "Pan's Wharf, asking price is one million taels."

The price Liu Xunyi quoted did not cause anyone to exclaim. Everyone present was a shrewd and experienced businessman, so they were already familiar with the actual value of these things. The price Liu Xunyi quoted today was actually much lower than their original value, so it was definitely a great value for money.

In fact, this was Pan Wen's intention. He did not want to make money, but just wanted to sell these things as soon as possible, and then take his family and leave Yingchuan, this sad place, as soon as possible.

"It only costs 2.75 million taels of silver to buy all the Pan family's assets. Is this true?" Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, someone in the field had already calculated the total and said loudly: "If the documents and deeds are all there, I am willing to sell them all."

"I'll pay three million taels to make it even for Manager Pan." The jeweled woman smiled. After that, she threw a wink at Liu Xunyi and asked with a smile, "What do you think, little brother?"

In a short while, the price had risen to 250,000. Even Liu Xunyi couldn't help but sigh at the wealth of these people.

"I offer three million and two hundred thousand taels." Someone made another bid.

"Three million, two hundred and fifty thousand taels."

"I am willing to pay three million three hundred thousand taels."

"Don't bother fighting with me. I'll give you three and a half million taels!"

"What do you mean by robbing? The bidding is of course based on your ability. Whoever offers the most money gets the item. I'm offering three million seven hundred thousand taels!"

For a while, the bidding sounds on the meditation stage were continuous and uninterrupted.

These gentry and wealthy businessmen competed to bid, and some even joined together to bid together, striving to take all of the Pan family's assets into their pockets.

Seeing this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but look at Pan Wen, both of them with a hint of being at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Pan Yun and Pan Yuyin, who were standing by, felt mixed emotions as they watched their family property being fought over by others, and their faces turned very embarrassed.

In a short moment, the price soared from 2.75 million taels to 5 million taels, almost doubling.

"How is it?" A fat old man with a greasy face and a big smile slowly stood up, looked around, and asked with a smile, "Is there anyone willing to compete with me again?"

"It is indeed Qiu Baiwan." Pan Wen explained to Liu Xunyi with an unexpectedly bitter look, "In the past in Yingchuan, his Qiu Yuan ship merchant was second only to our Pan Huai ship merchant. This man has always been a man who will not give up until he achieves his goal. He spends money like water and it is common for him to spend a lot of money. The local people in Yingchuan jokingly call him 'Qiu Baiwan'. It is not surprising that he has the highest bid now."

Sure enough, after Qiu Baiwan offered five million taels, the place fell into silence. Many people looked at each other, looked around, hesitated for a long time, but no one dared to speak easily.

Qiu Baiwan seemed very satisfied with the result. He proudly bowed to everyone and laughed, "Thank you for giving me this honor. Thank you very much!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately attracted a mixture of true and false compliments.

"In that case, I will take the liberty to accept Mr. Pan Ba's relics and will surely develop them in the future. Haha..." After saying that, Qiu Baiwan walked towards Liu Xunyi and Pan Wen with a smile.

At the same time, a servant following behind him hurriedly took out a thick stack of silver bills from his arms.

Qiu Baiwan brought the banknotes to Pan Wen and said with a faint smile, "Nephew, here are 500,000 taels of banknotes. Please accept them. For the remaining 4.5 million, you can go back to the mansion with me to get them."

Pan Wen looked at the banknote with trembling eyes, an indescribable bitterness emerging between his brows.

"Manager Qiu, do you want to check the documents and deeds first?" Seeing Pan Wen's inner struggle, the eldest lady hurriedly spoke to smooth things over.

Qiu Baiwan waved his hand nonchalantly and laughed, "No need! You are Mr. Pan's family, I trust you." Then he raised the banknote in his hand to Pan Wen and urged, "Nephew, why don't you take it quickly?"

At this moment, Pan Wen's face turned pale. He raised his eyes with difficulty to look at Qiu Baiwan, who was in high spirits, and then looked at Liu Xunyi. Finally, under Liu Xunyi's encouraging gaze, he tremblingly stretched out his hands to take the banknote.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, a loud shout sounded in the distance, instantly interrupting Pan Wen's actions.

Everyone was shocked and turned around to look, only to see Long Si, accompanied by dozens of big men, striding towards the meditation platform.

"Long Si!"

When the Pan family saw Long Si, they immediately showed anger. Pan Yun almost rushed forward with a knife, but fortunately he was stopped by Tang Cong in time.

"Long Si, what are you doing here?" Qiu Baiwan couldn't help but feel angry when his good thing was ruined.

"Are you old and confused?" Long Si sneered, and after entering the meditation platform, he found a chair to sit down, crossed his legs, and smiled contemptuously, "Of course I came here to buy something! Am I here to treat you to a meal?"

"Buying something? You're probably a step too late!" Qiu Baiwan sneered, "I've already offered five million taels of silver. You want to compete with me? Humph! Even if I sell you, I'm afraid I can't raise that much money, right?"

"Five million taels are nothing!" Long Si suddenly snapped his fingers, and Ma Tuzi beside him understood and immediately took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and handed it forward carefully.

Long Si casually threw a thick stack of banknotes on the ground and said jokingly, "I'll pay six million taels!"

……

(End of this chapter)