Chapter 221: I Want That Tooth
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
The valuation of this tooth gave rise to a lot of online disputes. To back their evaluation, those appraising masters quickly gave their e xplanations and analysis to justify their opinion.
Planet Baiji's online auction had a significant meaning and a political agenda. Anyone could see planet Baiji's situation just from browsing the news a little. In a commercial sense, planet Baiji was now a treasured ground, and that was not an exaggeration. Lots of parties wished to get a piece of this pie, but even if they used all their effort, they would not necessarily be successful.
In fact, this auction was just a subtly disguised donation drive for planet Baiji's military district. It was also a chance for people to spend money to get a spot on planet Baiji. Nobody felt this wrong, as it had always been this way.
Therefore, for Baiji's auction, there would be exorbitant bids.
There was a prerequisite—the items had to be from Baiji military district. For example, the items put forward by certain high-ranking officers within planet Baiji's leadership. How could such a good chance for bootlicking and fostering better relations be missed? Businesses and merchants would all fight for the chance to throw money in.
Fang Zhao was far from that status and was not considered core personnel of Baiji, so businesses would not target him for bootlicking.
But any money garnered through the auction went to Baiji's construction fund. With such a large backing, the value would be jacked up, thus the appraisers giving such a high valuation. The range was reasonable and not excessively high.
A song score might be valuable, but without listening, who could know the quality? Fang Zhao might be really popular in the eyes of netizens, but his status in composing circles was not yet at the level where his name alone would be approved by everyone.
Listening to the appraising masters explain their reasoning, everyone was convinced.
Although Fang Zhao would not receive any money his item made from the auction, his social status would invariably be raised and he would be mentioned in a wave of news. It was worth it!
For a moment, there were people envious of Fang Zhao's good luck, and there were also people who were jealous and had sour words.
When Kevin Lin saw the quoted valuation online, he spent the whole night laughing heartily.
"Fang Zhao, if your auctioned item can fetch 50 million, your social status will swell!" Using his many years of professional experience, Kevin Lin gave Fang Zhao a lowdown on the pros and cons and imparted a number of appropriate responses.
Fang Zhao appreciated Kevin Lin's kind intentions and listened attentively to his suggestions. Fang Zhao had seen the valuations and analysis online and thought the same as well. Given the factors from all angles and parties, it was indeed within that range.
"However, we still have to see how the auction plays out on the actual day itself. How about this, I can help you jack up the bids." Kevin Lin did a mental calculation of his savings. Although he couldn't raise the bid by much, even if it did not hit 50 million, it wouldn't be unsightly.
"There is no need," Fang Zhao replied.
Kevin Lin thought about it. "Makes sense. Your company will surely do something. Silver Wing is a large and rich company in Yanzhou. Even if those investment firms do not throw money in, your company can also raise the price up. They won't let such a good opportunity slip by."
Fang Zhao smiled but did not elaborate. He was actually thinking that even if Silver Wing did not do anything, there were others who would surely help jack up the bids.
Kevin Lin posted new information on this topic, and in no time, people starting sharing his social platform's status. They were gaming celebrities from Silver Wing—Jinro and the others shared the status one after another. Schwarzer continued with his ass-kissing: "Boss is really, really mighty!"
Silver Wing's virtual projects department had also held an internal meeting and prepared to jointly raise money to take part in the bidding. After all, the valuation had been hyped up already. When the time came, if it did not hit those heights, wouldn't that be losing face? That would make Fang Zhao's situation awkward.
Because of this auction, these underlings of his worried for Fang Zhao.
Besides the internal members of Silver Wing's virtual projects department, there were a number of gaming stars that showed their support for Fang Zhao. Even Ma Xier, who had just finished a shooting competition, posted a rare status update: "See you at the auction."
This meant that the former runner-up on the global individual leaderboards, Ma Xier, would be participating in this auction.
When Kevin Lin saw this news, the worry in his heart lessened. It was already night in the outpost. Normally, at this time, Kevin Lin would already be preparing for bed, but today, he got more and more excited as he browsed.
While browsing, Kevin Lin suddenly exclaimed, "The f*ck, this idiot is making trouble again!"
Fang Zhao was feeding the "rabbit" in the water tank. Hearing Kevin Lin's exclamation, he asked, "What happened?"
"That senior master from Leizhou is criticizing others again. He even gets unsettled from eating a watermelon!" Kevin Lin did not have a favorable impression of this senior master from Leizhou's aristocratic Renault family. In front of outsiders, he would rarely express his disdain, but having been with Fang Zhao for so long, he knew that Fang Zhao was not a person to talk irresponsibly, so Kevin Lin let his remarks fly.
"Senior Master Renault posted a status on his social platform earlier ridiculing the watermelon he flew over from Muzhou today because it was seedless."
That's right. Over this matter, after Zaro's outburst, he received joint abuse from netizens.
"You even want to criticize seedless watermelons. Isn't having a watermelon without having to spit out the seeds a good thing? Doesn't it save you the trouble? So g*ddamn hard to please!"
"Isn't the main point him transporting the watermelon from Muzhou?"
"Having fresh watermelons is already not bad. You are being picky! Why don't you fly to the heavens and stay there!?"
Despite being the agricultural continent, there were not many places suitable for growing watermelons in Muzhou. Every year, the land used for growing watermelons was limited. Furthermore, with weather conditions or other factors that affected it, there were not a lot of watermelons produced every year.
There were people that had employed methods to grow watermelons indoors but had afterward discovered that the costs were too high and the taste of the watermelons varied greatly. Unable to control the risk, they had quickly given up on this idea.
The rarer something was, the greater its value. In the New Era, only those with extravagant lifestyles were able to eat watermelons from Muzhou.
Thus, from the viewpoint of many people, Zaro had too much time on his hands and was asking for trouble.
However, Zaro's reply was full of conviction. "How can it be considered eating a watermelon without spitting seeds? I might as well just have some watermelon juice! Having a watermelon and spitting seeds go hand in hand. That is the sentiment of having a watermelon!"
This reply gave rise to netizen's discontent.
"Ostentatious dog!"
"Go on pretending! If you weren't a Renault, you would be nothing more than a fart!"
For his reply, Zaro took a screenshot of his own ID with a close-up of the name Zaro Renault. "Sorry, but that's just the name my mum and dad gave me. I'm stuck with it."
His surname was all the backing he needed.
Kevin Lin did not know what to say after watching the matter.
Watching so many online users get hopping mad, Kevin Lin turned to Fang Zhao and sighed. "How is this guy such a piece of work? Can't he live properly? Can't he be content with what he has? Hey, Fang Zhao, what do you think?"
Fang Zhao chuckled, as if he had thought of something. "He's tolerable. At times, that little fellow seems like he needs some sorting out and deserves a spanking, but he isn't all that loathsome."
Back then, old Renault had loved these sorts of lively children. Fang Zhao still remembered that old Renault's grandchildren had been especially naughty. Although old Renault had normally been fuming with anger, he had always had a soft spot for his mischievous grandchildren and had pampered them. The current Leizhou governor was the same. The reason why Zaro dared to be so arrogant in Leizhou correlated to the Leizhou governor's bias. If Zaro caused any trouble, he just had to act pitiful in front of his governor grandfather and all would be well.
What many others saw as a big deal would only be a trivial matter in the eyes of the Leizhou governor and similarly ranked persons. Nothing more than some kids being noisy.
This was also another reason people disliked Zaro. Did having a grandfather as the governor make you a big deal?!
"If his surname wasn't Renault and he didn't have a governor grandfather and that family background..." Although Kevin Lin was older than both Zaro and Fang Zhao, every time he saw Zaro's online shenanigans, he could not remain calm and would get pissed.
"Actually, you can think of it this way," Fang Zhao suggested. "If it were you who had such a family background, what would you be like?"
Kevin Lin followed Fang Zhao's words and mused. If his ancestor had been a great general of the founding era, if his family had great power and influence in Leizhou, if his own great-grandfather was the former governor, his grandfather the current one, and his own dad possibly the next in line, if his mum was from a rich and powerful Leizhou family, and if he had an extremely large allowance every month...
Kevin Lin's expression was dreamy. When he recovered, he took a deep breath and sighed. "If I was in his position with such a background, I would surely... be even more troublesome!"
So much for being content with what one had or being honest and upright. Kevin Lin clearly knew his own character.
However, putting himself in Zaro's shoes, Kevin Lin now felt that the little fellow was not that bad. After all, these things did not cross a line. How many people who did not have a status comparable to Zaro did immoral deeds such as murder and arson every day?
Zaro did not know that there were people looking upon him at this moment. Right now, he was p*ssed. In a fit of fury, he decided that he would rent a plot of land in Muzhou to specifically plant sweet watermelons with large black seeds like he liked.
Zaro's assistant rolled his eyes. So d*mn picky!
Glancing at Zaro's agent, the little assistant felt a little better. The agent's face seemed drab and on the verge of tears, as if he was mulling over a crisis.
In Muzhou, it was very difficult for foreigners to purchase a farm. However, there were some farm owners who had no interest in working the land or had no time and would rent out their own farm's fields for exorbitant rates.
His agent's tone was ice-cold. "Senior Master, we don't have enough funds at hand."
Zaro did not give a d*mn about his agent, who seemed to be in a bad mood. "Don't treat me for a fool. I just checked the bank account yesterday. Stop pretending. Hurry up and ask around for a suitable piece of land in Muzhou to plant melons!"
Zaro's agent took deep breaths and tried to make his tone as gentle as possible. "Senior Master, you should learn from the other Renaults of your generation. From what I know, they are already preparing to invest in planet Baiji."
Zaro shook his legs. "Didn't you say that Baiji was closed already?"
Zaro's agent tried to divert this senior master's attention so he would not waste money. "There was surely no way of squeezing into the first batch—that was the business of the Renault elders. However, for you younger generations, you can use your own means and participate in the auction to obtain a project."
Zaro's interest was piqued. "Auction, what auction?"
Zaro's agent had anticipated that Zaro would be interested in this. Thus, after analyzing the political and commercial importance, he explained it as simply as he could to Zaro. Zaro would not understand overly complicated matters.
Zaro nodded his head in approval. "Ssssso there is this sort of method. Participate! I will surely participate in it!"
"This is the name of a lieutenant general who holds considerable power on Baiji. I have already arranged for it already. During the auction, when you see these few names, you can bid..."
Zaro's agent had not finished speaking when Zaro, who was browsing the news excitedly, slammed his hands down on the table. "Bid for this! It is being hyped up all over the internet!"
Zaro's agent stretched his neck over to take a look and nearly puked out blood.
"Fang Zhao's auction item is not within our plan! There is no use bidding for it!"
Zaro did not listen. He felt that, with all the online hype, if he won the bid, it would be glorious. "This is it. Prepare the cash; I want that tooth."