Power and Wealth

Evening.

Dong Xuebing’s apartment. Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan were celebrating in the living room.

“Here’s to our auction’s success! Cheers!”

“Cheers! Aunt Xuan, don’t drink too much.”

“It’s fine. I am happy today... Here... eat more.”

After a few rounds of drinks and food, Dong Xuebing rests on the sofa as he waits for Qu Yunxuan to finish washing the dishes. After she finished cleaning the dishes, Dong Xuebing patted his lap, signaling Aunt Xuan to sit on it. If it was other days, Qu Yunxuan would ignore him, but today, she only gave him a stare and sat on his lap after taking off her apron. Dong Xuebing hugged her waist and asked. “Has the company settle the accounts? How much did we make from the auction? The Company should have at least 5 million now?”

Qu Yunxuan brushes Dong Xuebing’s fringe and laughed. “5 million? It’s too little.”

“... Then how much is it?”

“The money from the jade hairpin and the wild ginseng is almost 5 million and with the commission from the other items, the total after-tax is around 9 million RMB. Even if it did not exceed 9 million, it would not be lesser than 8.5 million.” Qu Yunxuan smiled. “If we include our company’s physical assets, our company is worth 10 million.”

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed. “We are multi-millionaire now?”

Qu Yunxuan nodded. “This feels like a dream.”

Dong Xuebing seized the opportunity to give Aunt Xuan a slap on her butt. “Is it painful? If it is, then you are not dreaming.”

“Don’t be rude to your elders!” Qu Yunxuan gave Dong Xuebing a stare as she rubbed her butt. “Don’t think I don’t dare to hit you!”

“Can you stop saying you will hit me? You never hit me once.” Dong Xuebing laughed and grabbed Qu Yunxuan’s hand as she tried to hit him. “Ok... I’m sorry... I’m sorry... Oh, didn’t I ask you to buy a car? Have you bought it?”

Qu Yunxuan leans against Dong Xuebing. “I just got the number.”

“Oh, I forgot it is hard to get a number plate in Beijing. Eh, you got a number plate? You are fortunate.”

“I used my mother and relatives’ identification cards to increase the chances of getting the number plate. I got it after two draws.” Beijing’s traffic is a big headache for the leaders, and the relevant ministries come up with this policy. People in Beijing can buy cars, but they must draw lots for the number plate. Without a number plate, the vehicle cannot be driven on the roads. Sometimes the wait for a number plate is 5 to 6 months.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go and buy a car now.”

“What’s the hurry?”

“Let’s go. We got nothing to do anyway, and I can offer you some suggestions. I will be going back to Yan Tai County tomorrow.”

Qu Yunxuan looked at Dong Xuebing. “It will be Labor Day holidays soon. You are not staying in Beijing?”

Dong Xuebing laughed. “There are holidays for Labor Day, but in Public Security, there are no holidays. Even if it is the Lunar New Year and there is an urgent mission, I still got to return to the bureau even if it is in the middle of the night. But if there are no missions, I will spend the holidays here in with you.” Dong Xuebing is worried if something happens in the area under his jurisdiction.

After reaching downstairs, Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan boarded his Buicks MPV.

Qu Yunxuan asked worryingly. “You drank earlier. Let’s walk over there and don’t drive.”

Dong Xuebing replied. “It’s only a few glasses of beer. It’s fine.”

“What if you get into an accident?” Qu Yunxuan can hold her alcohol better than Dong Xuebing. “Let me drive. Move over to the passenger seat.”

Dong Xuebing thought for a while and did not reject Aunt Xuan’s offer.

Qu Yunxuan seldom drives, and after familiarizing with the car, she drove it out of the neighborhood. “This is a good car. The exterior is nice and the performance is good. Is this your bureau’s car?”

Dong Xuebing nodded. “I borrowed it from the bureau.”

“You can drive foreign number plate vehicles into the 4th ring?”

“At most, I will get some fines.” When Dong Xuebing drove into Beijing to get the packaging for his wild ginsengs, he was stopped by the traffic police twice. But he showed his work pass to the traffic police, he was allowed to go. They are all from the same ministry, and the traffic police will not make things difficult for him.

East Bridge, an automobile 4S shop.

Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan asked the staff, and the shop closes at 8 pm.

After walking around the shop, Qu Yunxuan rested her eyes on a Honda MPV. She asked the salesperson about the specs of this vehicle and asked Dong Xuebing. “Xiao Bing, let’s pick this Odyssey. The price is reasonable at around 200,000 RMB, and the specs are good. It is as good as the MPV you are driving, and it is a 7-seater. It will be convenient to use it for work.”

Dong Xuebing shook his head. “This car is too big. You don’t look good if you drive this car.”

Qu Yunxuan replied. “This Odyssey is shorter than your car and has a sleek design.”

Dong Xuebing did not reply and turn to the salesperson. “Where are the Mercedes? Bring us over to take a look.”

“It’s upstairs. This way, please.” The salesperson walked in front to show them the way.

Qu Yunxuan gave Dong Xuebing a stare. “Domestic made Mercedes? Even the cheapest C class cost around 300,000 RMB. If we go for the highest package, it will be almost 400,000 RMB. It is too expensive.”

Dong Xuebing laughed. “Why are we buying the C class? We must at least get an S class.”

Qu Yunxuan pinched Dong Xuebing’s butt. “Are you drunk? We don’t need to get such an expensive vehicle!”

Dong Xuebing pushes Qu Yunxuan’s hand from his butt. “We got money now, and we must spend it. We can just earn it back in the future. Furthermore, our company is worth almost 10 million now and have enough liquid cash. We will not face any cash flow problems now and it’s not a big deal to spend 1 million. You are the boss of Yun De Auction Company and you have an image to keep up with. People will laugh at you if you, as the boss, drive an Odyssey.”

Qu Yunxuan grumbled. “But Mercedes is too expensive. How about Audi? Audi A6 or A4 will do.”

Dong Xuebing refused. “I want Mercedes, and you must listen to me. Haha, I also want to drive it when you are not using.”

Qu Yunxuan was slightly pissed for Dong Xuebing spending money like this.

When they reached upstairs, Qu Yunxuan’s eyes were glued to the Mercedes on display. She ran towards the cars, leaving Dong Xuebing by himself. The exterior designs of Mercedes cars are too attractive. In the end, Qu Yunxuan picked a silver-colored S class Mercedes Benz, S350L, CGI, 3.5L, 7-Speed Automatic transmission, 306 HP, 4 doors 5-seater. The retail price of this car is 1.3 million RMB.

Dong Xuebing looked at Qu Yunxuan. “You like this model?”

Qu Yunxuan sighed and did not say a word.

Dong Xuebing pulled her aside. “What’s the meaning of that sigh? You like this or not?”

Qu Yunxuan loved this model, but she finds it too expensive and would rather spend the money on the company.

Dong Xuebing understand from Qu Yunxuan’s facial expression and called the salesperson over. “Is there any S350L for us to test drive?”

“I’m sorry. We don’t have any S350L available.”

Dong Xuebing thought for a while. “Ok. We shall not test drive this car. Can I drive back the car today?”

The salesperson was stunned. “We do have brand new cars in our warehouse, but I’m afraid you cannot drive it back today. The earliest is the day after tomorrow.”

“Ok. We will take this model.”

“Xiao Bing!” Qu Yunxuan had an angry expression on her face.

Dong Xuebing held her hand. “Didn’t I say this car is a gift to you? You must accept it.” Since Dong Xuebing knows Qu Yunxuan likes this S350L model, he decided to buy it for her. This is a good car and Dong Xuebing also loves it.

10 pm.

Dong Xuebing’s apartment’s bedroom.

Qu Yunxuan was panting and exhausted as she laid on Dong Xuebing. “Thank you.”

Dong Xuebing covered both of their naked bodies with his blanket. “What’s there to thank me for?”

“Thank you for giving me that car. I really love it.”

“I knew it. Your eyes were glued to that car earlier.”

Qu Yunxuan laughed. “Nonsenses. My eyes are not glued to it!”

Dong Xuebing gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. “Good to know you like it. After the paperwork is completed and you got the car on the day after tomorrow, let me drive it.”

“But it is too expensive. It cost more than 1 million.”

“We can earn it in the future.” Dong Xuebing said. “Oh, you don’t need to transfer me the money for the wild ginseng and white jade hairpin. I don’t need to spend the money anyway. If I need it, I will ask you about it. You can use the money on the company’s operations and prepare for our next auction.”

“Ok. We should start preparations for the Spring Auction next month.”

Dong Xuebing asked. “We are also going to organize a Spring Auction.”

“We are not strong enough yet, but I am thinking of ways. If we don’t organize a large-scale auction, people might look down on our company.”

“Then organize one. Today’s auction had increased our reputation, and you can try collecting some items now.”

“I don’t have any prized items for auctions, and large-scale auctions like Spring Auctions needs a main attraction. No one is interested in small collector’s items.”

Dong Xuebing also felt this way. It is not easy to hold a large-scale auction.

“Xiao Bing.” Qu Yunxuan suddenly remembered something. “You know a lot about crystals, and you know whether if there are Chicken bloodstones in the mine. Do... do you know about jade stones? The prices for crystal jade are ridiculously high. A piece of Icy jade can fetch a few hundred thousand. If you can get a few pieces of Icy jade, we will have no problem holding a Spring Auction.”

Does Dong Xuebing know about jade?

Of course! He is an expert!

Dong Xuebing replied happily. “Good idea. If you don’t remind me, I had forgotten about jade stone gambling. But I got to work, and there are limited jade stones in Beijing. Ruili is too far and I can’t fly over... Hmmm.... Xiao Xuan Xuan, how about you ask your staff to buy the uncut jade stones back from Ruili, and we will cut the ones I picked and sell the rest. Even if there are losses, it will not be high. What do you think?”

“Ok! Let’s do this!”