Chapter 118: Yacht auction
Saturday, July 6, 2019.
At around 8:00 in the morning, Ye Cheng accompanied his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Liu Jia, to the high-speed rail station.
Lin Xuanyu went back to prepare for the wedding.
As for his sister-in-law, Ye Cheng wanted her to stay a few more days, but she insisted on returning.
Ye Cheng had no choice but to buy her a high-speed rail ticket for the same class as her brother-in-law.
As for the two nieces already engrossed in their game, they showed no reaction to their mother's return.
After seeing off the three at the high-speed rail waiting room, Ye Cheng drove to Chenyuan Media Company.
He visited several departments of the company.
In the operations department, Ye Cheng happened to meet his cousin Cheng Shuangshuang, who was holding a stack of documents.
"Mr. Ye," Cheng Shuangshuang called out quickly.
She was always referred to as President Ye in the company, and she preferred to keep her relationship with her cousin confidential.
"After work today, you can come directly to my house. The address is the one I sent last time. When you arrive, just call your sister-in-law."
After Ye Cheng finished speaking, he turned around and left.
Cheng Shuangshuang hurried into the office after seeing her cousin leave.
Due to the large number of anchors in the Xinghai Guild and their busy schedules, they often worked overtime on weekends and holidays.
However, the overtime hours were often staggered.
Cheng Shuangshuang would have to work an extra day this time.
Working overtime on weekends meant double pay, while working overtime on holidays meant double the salary.
Several of Ye Cheng's companies were generous with overtime wages, considering his own past experiences of not being compensated for overtime.
Ye Cheng had lunch at the company, left in the afternoon, and headed straight to the Hairun yacht pier as per Wang Liqun's instructions.
The two had agreed upon a time and place.
At two o'clock, Ye Cheng arrived at the yacht club outside the Hairun Marina.
It was an upscale yacht club, requiring yacht ownership as the basic condition for membership.
In society, such exclusive clubs were abundant, each with high thresholds, forming distinct circles.
Wang Liqun had already arrived early.
Two other individuals were present, evidently affluent members of the same social circle as Wang Liqun.
Mr. Ye," he said, smiling and greeting him.
"Wang Dong, sorry for being late," Ye Cheng apologized.
"We just arrived, Mr. Ye. Let me introduce you. This is Xia Dong, chairman of Gesi Clothing, and this is Liu Dong, chairman of Master Glasses," Wang Liqun began to introduce.
Ye Cheng shook hands with the two of them, one by one.
"Mr. Ye, during this time, I have often heard your legends, but when I saw you today, I didn't expect you to be so young and promising. It really made us feel ashamed," Xia Wenxin said with a smile. He wore a pair of glasses and looked very refined.
"Why, you're the young and promising one here. I have much to learn from my seniors," Ye Cheng laughed.
The group chatted for a while before entering the yacht club house to participate in the yacht auctions.
There are requirements to participate in yacht auctions. Ye Cheng is not a member, but there are three people recommended by Wang Liqun, so there is no problem.
The four entered the auction site with their number plates.
This was an open auction venue, right in the dedicated yacht berthing area of the club house, where yachts of various sizes were parked.
There were eight ships in total, seven of which were leisure yachts mainly for water leisure and sports, ranging in length between 35 feet and 60 feet, or more than ten meters. They were all medium-sized yachts.
The eighth ship was a bit different. It looked much more solid and atmospheric, making other yachts appear small and exquisite in front of it.
Ye Cheng checked the yacht information and knew that it should be a houseboat.
Houseboats do not pursue speed, but rather practicality and comfort. The deck and bedroom area are larger, making the front of the house square in appearance.
Of course, houseboats are also a type of yacht, with water recreation as their main purpose. The production and manufacture of houseboats are also designed and completed by yacht manufacturers, similar to RVs and ordinary cars but with functional differences.
Ye Cheng fell in love the moment he saw the houseboat. For the yacht he wanted to buy in his mind, it should be of this type.
He does not pursue speed because he is not someone who seeks excitement or participates in risky sports. The reason he intends to buy a yacht is to allow his family to enjoy life safely and comfortably on the yacht.
Obviously, this houseboat was his best choice.
"Mr. Ye, have you taken a fancy to that yacht? This is the large yacht I told you about yesterday. The owner of this yacht has just acquired it and has not yet officially used it. I just don't know the price. It shouldn't be cheap. My biggest dream is to be able to buy such a houseboat," Wang Liqun said with a smile.
This houseboat is 100 feet long, which is more than 30 meters, and belongs to a really large yacht.
And the most practical thing about the houseboat is that it has a large interior space and is very comfortable to live in without feeling cramped.
It is said that the houseboat has six bedrooms, as well as a living room, kitchen, dining room, laundry room, computer room, study room, and gym.
"Mr. Wang, you really want to buy it; how could you not be able to afford it?"
Ye Cheng smiled and said, "By the way, I'll go up and have a look first.
"I'll go up and have a look with you. Even if you can't sell it, you can experience it."
Wang Liqun laughed.
Xia Dong and Liu Dong were also very interested in this houseboat, so they walked towards the houseboat together.
Before the yacht auction starts, all those who participate in the auction can get on the yacht to watch.
It is so good to make a choice.
There were obviously a lot of people who participated in the auction this time. It was estimated that there were seventy to eighty people, most of whom were young people, obviously the second generation of wealthy people.
Of course, there are also some rich people like Wang Liqun.
There are not too many people on the boat to watch; basically, all of them are elderly, and there is not a single young man.
After all, the young, rich second generation prefers sports yachts and pursues speed.
The four boarded the houseboat.
It's really a giant; only from the top can you appreciate the size of this boat.
After seeing it inside and out, Ye Cheng completely fell in love with it.
Because this is the most suitable yacht for him, what a pleasure it is for a family to go out to sea on such a yacht!
On this boat, there are also special commentators.
Under his introduction, Ye Cheng had a detailed understanding of the houseboat. In addition to all the functions of the houseboat, the owner also installed sea fishing facilities, such as fish storage tanks, fishing rod brackets, a full set of sea fishing equipment such as bait boxes, pulleys, etc., and even a splitter and fish tracker.
I have to say that the owner of this houseboat really knows how to enjoy it.
Too bad it's going to be sold before it's used.
"Mr. Ye, I have the urge to buy it."
Wang Liqun said it with emotion.
Because of this houseboat, all aspects are impacting his desire to buy.
"It's really good, but I don't know what the price is."
Ye Cheng laughed.
"The price has not been announced yet, but I estimate it will not be lower than $30 million, maybe higher.
Wang Liqun said.
At this price, he is still reluctant to buy it.
After all, this is a consumable item.
And it can't be used every day.
You can't bring your family to blow out the sea breeze every day, right?
In this way, the price-performance ratio is really not high.
Only the super-rich, who are worth tens of billions of dollars, would be willing to spend so much money to buy such a yacht.
"I can't afford it anyway," Xia Wenxin, chairman of Gesi, said with a smile.
"That's right, I'd better go and see those recreational yachts," Liu Xiao, chairman of Master Glasses, also said.
The assets of the two of them are not yet in the group.
Next, the four went to other yachts to take a look.
Once compared, the difference appears.
These yachts look luxurious, but compared with that houseboat, they are far worse.
At 3:30 in the afternoon, the yacht auction finally started.
Everyone sat on the chairs; a simple auction table was placed in the middle, and at the back was a large LCD screen, on which eight images appeared, representing the eight yachts.
"Welcome everyone to participate in this yacht auction. I am auctioneer Li Wuxun. Before the auction, let me explain the rules."
A middle-aged man in a suit walked to the auction table and started talking.
The rules are actually very simple: there are no regrets if you drop the hammer, or you will be expelled from the club and deprived of membership.
If you are not a member of the Yacht Club, the recommended member will also be affected, and all consequences will be borne by the recommended member.
No one present objected to this.
Although there have been similar situations, after all, it is a minority. Those who can participate in the auction are all people with heads, faces, and identities. Naturally, they will not be so faceless.
"The No. 1 yacht to be auctioned next belongs to the recreational yacht of the sea fishing category, manufactured by the famous Italian yacht manufacturer Azman, with a length of 42 feet, and has been used for 4 years and three months... The starting price is $100,000,000, and each increase shall not be less than $50,000.
The auctioneer started the auction of the first yacht.
After some fierce competition, it was finally sold at a price of $2.45 million.
The next yachts were auctioned off.
Wang Liqun also photographed a 49-foot leisure yacht, which cost 4.8 million.
As for Liu Xiao and Xia Wenxin, although they had both bid, they both gave up because the latter price exceeded their psychological price.
Finally, it was Ye Cheng's turn to look at the houseboat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the last houseboat belongs to the Italian ship manufacturer Raffaele Grotti. The total length is 100 feet. It was customized by the owner a year ago. It has just been shipped back to China and has not been used yet. In fact, it is no different from a brand-new houseboat. According to the request of the entrusting gentleman, the starting price is 38 million, and each increase shall not be less than 1 million."
The auctioneer said.
Everyone present couldn't help but whisper.
"The starting price is so high."
Wang Liqun was surprised.
This means that I am afraid that it will take a price of more than $40 million to win the houseboat.
If there are more interested parties, the price may be closer to $50 million.
This houseboat is in stock and does not require a one-year waiting period.
In a sense, the second-hand houseboat may be more expensive than the new custom-made one.
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