76: Chapter 76 Sprouting Ambition

"Next, I will distribute gifts based on the bids everyone just made. I forgot to mention that what I showed you earlier was just the most ordinary version. I've classified these small knives into ten levels: Ordinary and One-Star through Nine-Star. The Ordinary knife is twenty centimeters long, One-Star is thirty centimeters, Two-Star is forty centimeters, and so on; Eight-Star is one meter, and Nine-Star is one point two meters long. Anyone who placed a bid just now, regardless of whether a deal was struck, will receive one Ordinary knife. Those who bid over ten million will receive a One-Star knife, and those who bid over one hundred million will receive a Two-Star knife. As for the Three-Star level, it can be obtained by spending a cumulative total of one billion at the auction—note that this is spending, not just bidding! An Ordinary knife only grants the qualification to participate in the auction alone. A One-Star knife allows you to recommend one person to attend, and a Two-Star knife allows two people. Customers with Star-level knives not only have the right to attend auctions but also gain access to higher-level auctions and corresponding services provided by Tianxing Company. Of course, those services don't exist yet, but in the near future, I believe the significance of a Star-level knife will be no less than an Amex Black Card. Also, today's auction was only at the Ordinary level. Finally, I would like to apologize to the friends present who did not place a bid; I haven't prepared gifts for you. The banquet will begin in two minutes. I hope everyone enjoys the meal! Now, I ask the staff to help deliver the gifts to everyone."

Since yesterday's crisis of trust, he had realized many things. He possessed the super-technological products of an extraterrestrial civilization; the path he was to take would be extraordinary. Out of fear of exposure, he had always acted with extreme caution, believing he lacked the foundation and strength and had to hide as much as possible. However, even the wisest can make mistakes, and he didn't consider himself particularly brilliant anyway. This had led to him having a powerful 'cheat' yet still being restrained, fearing that attracting the covetous eyes of others would bring trouble to his family that he couldn't handle. But today, he was awakened by He Yueyou. He finally understood that it wasn't external things restraining him, but himself. Through the industrial mother machine, he could obtain endless resources. As long as he managed things slowly, he would eventually build a vast network of contacts and a powerful force. If someone coveted his things, he would simply strike back. As long as he set up his security forces quickly, he could ensure his family's safety. Even if he suffered a crushing defeat, he could start over! What was there to fear in repeated failures?

Today's auction had also given him some ideas. By using precious resources to draw people to his side, he would no longer be fighting a lone battle in the future, and things would become much more convenient. Of course, he would provide these people with high-quality services, but it wouldn't be without a price; they wouldn't be able to refuse when he needed their support. That was the reason for the display just now.

Cao Xiao ignored the reactions of the crowd below and didn't respond to the questioning looks from his teacher and other close associates. He had the waiters deliver the wooden boxes containing the knives to the corresponding people according to his instructions. Once the distribution was finished, he had the banquet arranged.

"Xiao Xiao, what kind of stunt are you pulling? Everyone here is a person of status from all over the country. If you disappoint them at the next auction, it won't do you any good!" Elder Chen said with a bitter smile as he saw Cao Xiao walking over.

"Teacher, don't worry! I have the confidence to do this. You'll understand after the next auction." Cao Xiao was unwilling to say more. It wasn't that he was being headstrong, but rather that too many words lead to slips.

Cao Xiao observed the guests' reactions to the knives. Some held them, unable to put them down; most were indifferent but still put the knives away; a few were dismissive but didn't throw them away. He didn't care about their contempt; after the next auction, everyone would have a new understanding of these knives.

Father He approached Cao Xiao with Liu Guitang and several other Hongdu shareholders. Coming close to him, he whispered, "Take us to see those things!"

Cao Xiao didn't speak; he simply nodded and led them outside. He Yueyou followed as well; she was also one of the shareholders of Hongdu.

"Both warehouses here are full, totaling 152,000 tons. I've packed them all in fruit crates, so they can be transported directly." Cao Xiao opened the warehouse doors and let the group inside to inspect.

"Phew! Only after seeing the goods can we truly be at ease! We'll have the fleet come to transport them tomorrow. By the way, let me introduce you. This is Lu Zhengyuan, this is Xiao Guoqiang, and this is Hu Shuofang. They are all shareholders of Hongdu and have been my good friends for many years. You can just call them Uncle."

"Hello, Uncles!" Cao Xiao greeted them politely.

Xiao Guoqiang said with a smile, "Good. We've all received your gifts. Yueyou is the pearl of our Hongdu; in the future, if you have good things, you must not forget us uncles."

"If there are good things, I will definitely send them to you, Uncles," Cao Xiao replied.

Lu Zhengyuan looked at Cao Xiao with satisfaction and said, "You're very good. My son, Lu Dong, is about your age. You two should communicate more in the future. You need to help me look after him, so he doesn't spend all day doing nothing productive."

"We will definitely communicate more in the future," Cao Xiao responded. He didn't quite understand what Lu Zhengyuan meant. He himself was somewhat 'unproductive'—communicating more with another person who didn't do anything proper? Communicating about how to waste time?

Hu Shuofang, however, said with a stern face, "You kid, you quietly snatched away my daughter-in-law. Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?"

"Uh!" Cao Xiao was a bit dazed by the question. What was going on? Did Yueyou have some emotional entanglement with Hu Shuofang's son? For a moment, he didn't know how to answer and looked at He Yueyou in confusion.

"Don't listen to Uncle Hu's nonsense. His son, Hu Lai, is only thirteen this year. He's a little rascal who used to follow me around all day saying he'd marry me when he grew up! I've given him plenty of spankings on the bottom." He Yueyou gave Hu Shuofang a reproachful glare and spoke to Cao Xiao.

"Alright, this isn't the place to talk. Xiao Xiao, lock the doors, and we'll talk as we walk," Mother He interrupted the conversation.

Walking back to the villa, Father He spoke to Cao Xiao. "Xiao Xiao, you're now considered half a Hongdu person. Let me tell you about Hongdu. Hongdu Group was co-founded by us over twenty years ago. It grew from a small workshop back then into today's Hongdu International Group; there's no need to recount the hardships during that time. This is the crystallization of the hard work of our half-lives. Hongdu Group is not listed, but if we were to go public, we would definitely have a place among the Fortune Global 500 companies, and not at the bottom. Last year, we achieved a revenue of sixty billion us dollars and a profit of four billion us dollars. Hongdu's business is spread all over the world; you can find general information online, so I won't say more. I'll tell you about the shareholding structure of Hongdu: I hold thirty percent, Yueyou's mother holds twenty percent, and Yueyou has ten percent. Old Liu, Old Lu, Old Xiao, and Old Hu each hold ten percent. I only have two daughters, Yueyou and Yueshuang. After we pass away, our shares will be divided between the two sisters. After you and Yueyou marry, I will give you ten percent of the shares. We shareholders have discussed it and decided to arrange a position for you as a Group Consultant. You need to start slowly getting in touch with Hongdu's business and learn to manage the group's affairs alongside Yueyou. Regarding this batch of goods, we also had a meeting this morning and decided not to pay you in cash. We currently need a large amount of capital, so we will exchange it for half the shares of our Africa branch. The current market value of the Africa company is about twelve billion huaxia currency. What do you think?"

Cao Xiao hadn't expected Yueyou's family to hold sixty percent of Hongdu Group, and even Yueyou had ten percent. Furthermore, his future father-in-law was prepared to give him a tenth of the shares after he and Yueyou married. Hongdu wasn't listed, so he didn't know its exact market value, but a ten percent stake was definitely a massive fortune. It felt like he was bringing a gold mountain home! As for exchanging this batch of sponge titanium, worth about nine billion, for half the shares of a branch company with a market value of twelve billion, he had no objections. This batch of sponge titanium was hard for him to handle, and once Father He and the others used it to manipulate international futures, the price of sponge titanium would surely plummet; it would be hard to even sell it for six billion. Besides, half the shares of an industrial company weren't something money alone could buy. He had long wanted to visit Africa, as it contained the fuel minerals he needed for his atomic energy reactor. Without much thought, he nodded and said, "I have no objections. We'll do as you say, Uncle."