The charity ball was grand and solemn, with a red carpet rolled out in front of the mayor's residence. Celebrities from the Geddes District gathered there, and every time a luxury car stopped and the owner got out, there would be warm applause and a series of flashes.
Many elite representatives and journalists who were fortunate enough to be invited had a rare opportunity to enter the Mid-Levels area. At this moment, they were like fans, gathering in front of the door to welcome the local top wealthy and powerful people. Many of them were extremely excited, hoping that today they would have the honor of talking to a celebrity and try to leave a good impression on them, perhaps with a little help, their careers would be able to move to a higher level.
In fact, in the magnificent banquet hall of the mayor's residence, real celebrities and the elite are clearly distinguished and each has their own chat circles.
Naturally, the closer the table is to the auction table, the more distinguished the guest is.
Lu Ming and his dance partner Eunice were arranged to sit at table number three.
Tables 1-5 are the first row of banquet tables close to the auction table, where the dignitaries and celebrities sit cross-leggedly. It does not mean that table 1 is for the most important guests, otherwise it would be too difficult to arrange.
For example, at table number three, Governor Goering and Chief Justice Valentine of the state supreme court are at this table, but the richest people are at tables number two and four, so the rich people at this table are slightly weaker.
Table No. 1 is mainly occupied by the host, Mayor Hines, and his relatives, which has a bit of the host's table flavor. His wife Mrs. Lillian's cousin Madison is also at Table No. 1.
The charity ball was organized by the local top socialite group - the Yaji Charity Society, and Governor Goering's wife Bridget was the president of the Yaji Society.
Yajihui often organizes charity fundraising activities, but this is the first time to raise funds for the Gad people.
The Gaide people have become a forgotten group for the celebrities in the Gaide region, and it is normal to forget about and keep silent about this group.
But now it is obvious that the First Control has suddenly launched a Guede equal rights plan, which has put pressure on the Rose Party, and their wives have immediately taken action to score touchdowns for their husbands in this area.
The procedure of today's charity ball is that after the grand reception, there will be an auction. Finally, the banquet tables will be cleared and the charity event will end with a social dance for free communication.
Today, Mayor Hines is giving a speech, thanking the guests.
His wife, Lillian, is the vice president of the Yaji Association.
The administrative system of the Geddes Special Administrative Region is different from that of other parts of the United Kingdom. There is no parliament, and the states, cities, counties (towns) are subordinate to each other.
Governor Goering is undoubtedly the number one figure in the administrative system of the Geide region and the ruler of the Geide region.
All city and county officials must be appointed by him.
At the same time, Goering was also the head of the Rose Party's Guesde branch.
Therefore, unlike other regions in the United Kingdom, Governor Goring and Mayor Hines are not in a parallel relationship, but a superior-subordinate relationship.
However, as the central city of the Guede District, the city of Gill is extremely important. The mayor is not appointed directly by Goering, but is appointed by the Rose Party headquarters. Heins is almost the second most important person among the Rose Party members in the Guede region.
Because of this, their status is also reflected in the socialite organization Yajihui, with the governor's wife Bridget as the president and the mayor's wife Lillian as the vice president.
After Mayor Hines gave his speech, Bridget, the president of the Charity Ball, who was the initiator of the charity ball, stood up and gave a speech.
Bridget and Goring are a typical old husband and young wife. Goring has gray hair on his temples and is in his fifties. He looks very dignified. As one of the radical representatives of the Rose Party, he has played an extremely important role in the Rose Party's absolute dominance in the Guede District. He is also one of the most important cadres within the Rose Party. In the political arena of the United Kingdom, he definitely has considerable weight. It is said that two years ago, when the position of Minister of Works was vacant in the Cabinet, the Rose Party wanted to nominate him to the cabinet, but he declined. It seems that he still likes to be the local emperor who has the final say in this Guede area.
His wife Bridget looks much younger than him, with charming red hair, delicate facial features, and a black evening dress that tightly wraps around her hot body, making her look very sexy and beautiful.
According to the intelligence from the First Control, Goering was 52 years old and Brigitte was 27 years old. Brigitte and Goering got married two years ago.
Goering remained unmarried and announced to the public that he had married into the Rose Party and his lifelong ambition was to serve the Rose Party and all Sonyans.
But he didn't expect that he would marry such a beauty at the age of fifty. Because Bridget's father was the late leader of the Rose Party, Mathieu Sr., many people believed that this was a political marriage.
It was Bridget's brother Mathieu Jr. who tried to win over this extremely important hawkish leader in the party in order to consolidate his own position.
Goering, on the other hand, hoped to gain the support of the Mathieu family and eventually become the new generation leader of the Rose Party.
The Rose Party started out by promoting the noble bloodline of the Sonya people and has gained the support of most lower-class Sonya people. This is because for many people, the more unhappy their lives are, the more they like to use the superiority of the group to flaunt themselves. Although I live at the bottom of society, I have noble bloodline. My current unhappiness is caused by the unethical business model used by you, the inferior bloodlines. Only by crushing you, the inferior bloodlines, like bugs, can we have a future.
It is also because of this that bloodline has become an important weapon in factional strife within the Rose Party.
In particular, the Mathieu family was the initiator of the White Rose Movement in the Sonia region a hundred years ago and is the soul family of the Rose Party.
The family sacrificed a lot for the White Rose Movement, and over the past hundred years, many family members have died at the hands of the corrupt Griffinni Kingdom.
Sixteen years ago, a member of the family's branch was involved in the sensational Little Reno case and was hanged in Donghai.
Today, Mathieu Jr., Brigitte's elder brother, is only in his thirties, but he is already the deputy leader of the Rose Party.
While Lu Ming was pondering this information, Bridget finished her speech and the audience burst into applause.
The waiters began to bring delicious dishes.
Table number three was rather quiet, as if no one was interested in talking.
Only Lu Ming sometimes whispered a few words to Eunice beside him, telling her to relax and eat to her heart's content.
"General Bit, you have been in the Western Regions for nine years?" After swallowing a small bite of steak, Bridget put down her knife and fork, and looked at Lu Ming with interest in her blue eyes.
Lu Ming nodded: "Yes."
"After our United Kingdom withdrew its troops, you managed to hold out independently for four years?" Bridget asked again.
"In fact, it can't be considered an independent support. It's because the United Kingdom is strong and can serve as my backing." Lu Ming smiled.
"You are too modest! You should be a legend in the military." Bridget smiled.
"You've praised me again!"
Bridget smiled and said, "No, no, I heard that after you left, the hundreds of thousands of Tu soldiers and police became disobedient. They only listened to your orders."
Lu Ming coughed, "Because of this, I was investigated for a long time..."
Bridget chuckled, "People with abilities are always envied." She then said, "The scenery in the Western Region is beautiful, right?"
Lu Ming nodded: "If we are traveling, then there are many landscapes that we cannot see in our own country. But if we are settling down, except for a few large cities, we who are used to modern life in other areas will not be able to tolerate it for long."
Bridget nodded slightly.
At this time, the waiter came to remove the main course plates and brought vegetables and fruits, and the conversation ended.
When it was time for drinks, Bridget said to everyone, "The auction is about to start. I'll go backstage to take a look." She stood up and said to Lu Ming, "General Bit, I hope you have fun today. Welcome back to your homeland!"
Lu Ming nodded: "Thank you!"
Bridget lifted her gorgeous skirt, turned sideways and gave her husband, Governor Goering, a light kiss on the face, then turned and left.
At the table, everyone was drinking drinks and chatting.
Goering had not said much until his wife left, and then he started chatting with everyone with a smile.
Continuing with the lady's topic, she asked about Lu Ming's situation in the Western Regions. He seemed to be a very kind elder.
If Scarlett hadn't recorded it word for word, no one would have believed how perverted and terrifying this amiable elder was after taking off his mask.
"Eunice, if you don't want hot drinks, can I order some iced drinks for you?" Goring looked at Eunice with a smile, very kind and amiable.
Eunice seemed to know that this man had bullied Aunt Scarlett before. She lowered her head and drank her drink, ignoring him.
There was a sinister flash in Goering's eyes, but it was gone in a flash. No one else noticed it except Lu Ming.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "My goddaughter has a similar personality to her aunt Scarlett. She only recognized me. How rude! I'm sorry, Governor Goering." He smiled again and said, "I'm also very jealous. Now if someone calls Scarlett, I'll be unhappy!"
Apart from the intelligence personnel in the first control, the number of people in the outside world who knew about the relationship between Governor Goering and Scarlett could be counted on one hand. At least no one at Table No. 3 knew about it.
However, Lu Ming moved into Scarlett's Villa No. 167 in a high-profile manner, and many people heard about it.
Naturally, no one knew what Lu Ming meant by this. They thought he was joking and laughed. Some people even said, "A hero deserves a beautiful woman. General, you and Miss Scarlett are a match made in heaven."
Governor Goering smiled without changing his expression.
Eunice drank too much and whispered that she needed to go to the bathroom.
Lu Ming stood up and accompanied her personally.
While waiting in the corridor outside the bathroom, a person came and stood beside him. Lu Ming turned around and saw that it was Goering.
The old man still had a smile on his face, and said calmly, "In fact, I recognize capable young people like you. Scarlett and I broke up a long time ago. She may have said a lot of bad things about me, which made you hostile to me. Young man, don't be confused by her, and don't think you are so great that you scare me. I broke up with her, not after you came. If I call her now, she will still crawl in front of me like a dog!" Patting Lu Ming's shoulder, "Women are sometimes bad. You have to open your eyes and recognize her. She is not a good woman. Don't let her affect your judgment. Think carefully about what I, an old man, say when you go back."
Lu Ming frowned slightly: "I miss your mother! Your tone is very uncomfortable! So, get out of here as far as you can! If we were in the Western Regions, I would shoot you right away, you old dog!"
Goering was stunned.
At this time, Eunice came out. Lu Ming no longer paid attention to Goering and took Eunice back to the banquet hall.
Goering looked at Lu Ming's back, with sarcasm gradually showing in his eyes. It was obvious that this guy was a reckless man who was dazzled by beauty. The First Controller sent him to seize power, and he was simply asking for his life.
…
When everyone came back, the male and female emcees on the auction stage had already announced the start of the auction.
Bridget also returned to the table.
The auction was uneventful. All the items were donated by celebrities, and everyone knew exactly how much they would be sold for.
After more than a dozen items were auctioned for nearly tens of thousands of yuan, the male and female emcees took out the "Hope" photo set. In addition to the big photo of Danny with hopeful eyes, there was also a collection of photos of Eunice and her "friends".
The starting price is 200, and the bid increases by 100 each time.
When the bid reached 900, almost everyone felt that the price was about right.
At this time, Governor Goering raised his hand.
The emcee immediately became excited, as this was the first time that the governor of the Special Administrative Region had taken a fancy to an auction item and bid for it.
"Governor Goering offers 1,000. Is there anyone who would like to bid more?"
Naturally, no one else would bid against this local emperor of the Special Administrative Region.
Lu Ming didn't care at first, but suddenly he remembered that there was a photo of Eunice in the photo album.
This old pervert probably did it for this reason.
Although there is nothing wrong with looking at the photos, but thinking about how this old guy is so psychopathic, he might do something disgusting with these photos.
Lu Ming suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
At this time, the emcee was counting down, "Three, two..."
Lu Ming raised his hand: "I'll give you 2,000!"
"Okay! Specialist Bit bids 2,000! Anyone else want to bid?!"
Governor Goering turned his head and looked at Lu Ming, smiled and shook his head, obviously not prepared to make another bid.
"3000!" Someone suddenly raised his hand. He was also sitting at table No. 3 where Lu Ming was. He was the owner of Zuo Dun Trading Company, a slightly plump middle-aged man named Zuo Dun.
He is not a top-tier billionaire, but he obviously values this opportunity very much. He has been flattering Governor Goring and Lady Bridget just now. Now he is obviously preparing to buy the auction item that Governor Goring has bid for and give it to Governor Goring.
Lu Ming glanced at him, raised his hand and said, "Ten thousand!"
The whole audience was in an uproar and Zuo Dun was also stunned.
As the emcee counted down, Zuo Dun finally raised his hand and said tremblingly, "Twenty thousand!"
Lu Ming raised his hand without hesitation: "I'll pay fifty thousand!"
The whole audience was boiling with excitement. Zuo Dun's face turned slightly pale and sweat began to appear on his forehead.
The host's voice became excited. To them, of course, the higher the price of the auction item, the more successful their hosting was.
"Okay! Specialist Bit has bid up to 50,000. It seems that our collection of art photos is very touching. From an artistic point of view, it is also a priceless treasure! It will be passed down to future generations and truly record our history. It is so precious!" The emcee himself didn't know what he was talking about, but in such a fierce competition, if the other party does not raise his hand, it means to delay time and try to get the other party to raise his hand again. According to their bidding rules, raising their hands one more time will result in an extra tens of thousands of dollars.
However, Zuo Dun's face turned pale and he hesitated again and again. His hands felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds and he just couldn't lift them.
The emcee talked nonsense for a long time, and seeing that this guy obviously didn't have the courage to raise his hand again, he had to start the countdown, and finally announced that the auction item was successfully won by Bit Commissioner.
Eunice whispered to Lu Ming, "Father, why don't you sell it to Uncle Zuo Dun?" Obviously, she was very happy that the photos of her and her friends were auctioned for such a high price. However, she felt a little sad that it was her godfather who took them. It was just a few photos. If her father liked them, she could go and take photos with Dany and the others.
Before Lu Ming could speak, Bridget smiled and said, "Eunice, your father loves you very much!"
She watched the scene with great interest, her deep blue eyes seemed to see through everything.
In the following auctions, the price of the successful bid will inevitably be higher.
After all, a few photos of refugees can be sold at a high price of 50,000 yuan, while the prices of jewelry and the like are very low, which is embarrassing. Therefore, although these wealthy people feel the pain, they will still ask for a higher price.
The emcee was very happy. He was the exclusive emcee for the charity auction held by Yajihui. Today's auction could be said to be the most successful in recent years.
Bridget also smiled at Lu Ming and said, "General Bit, thank you very much. We should be able to exceed the mission this time."
As he was speaking, the emcee's voice suddenly trembled with excitement. It was obvious that the finale had arrived. "Gentlemen! Ladies! The next auction item! It is the precious jewelry donated by Mrs. Bridget - the Blue Flame!"
The dazzling sapphire necklace is so colorful that it seems like there are flames dancing in the gemstone, which is very stunning.
This is Lady Bridget's most cherished necklace, which she was wearing yesterday.
Of course, everyone here knows that in the end the necklace will be bought back by Governor Goering.
Moreover, the person who secretly pays the bill is usually Mr. Ford, the owner of Ford Diamond, who is currently sitting at table 2.
Ford Diamonds almost monopolizes the high-end jewelry market in the Ged area. Ford is one of the richest people in the region, with a net worth of tens of millions.
Of course, there are also legends that he had secret dealings with several gangs such as the Hammer Gang in his early days and made his fortune by selling stolen goods for them.
Even now, we are laundering money for these gangs.
On the auction stage, the MC's high-pitched voice was ringing, "Starting price, ten thousand yuan!"
So, bids came one after another, of course, all for the fun.
When Governor Goering raised his hand and the bid reached 170,000 yuan, everyone knew from Governor Goering's expression that it was almost time and they could not raise their hands anymore.
And if a collection of refugee photos had not been auctioned for 50,000 yuan, this set of jewelry would have been auctioned for about 80,000 or 90,000 yuan. Now, the price can only be raised further, making Mr. Ford spend a little more money.
"Is there anyone else who wants to bid?" the MC asked loudly, feeling a little unsatisfied.
"Two hundred thousand!" Lu Ming suddenly raised his hand.
The whole audience was silent for a moment, then there was a burst of laughter and everyone started talking among themselves.
Governor Goering was startled and turned to look at Lu Ming: "Bit, do you know what you are doing?"
Lu Ming smiled slightly: "Mrs. Bridget's most cherished personal jewelry, how can a mere hundreds of thousands of yuan reflect its preciousness?"
Bridget smiled but said nothing.
Governor Goering looked at Lu Ming deeply and raised his hand: "Two hundred and ten thousand."
Lu Ming raised his hand: "Three hundred thousand!"
At the other table, Ford's expression changed slightly.
Governor Goering took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, raised his hand and said, "Four hundred thousand!"
The whole audience was in an uproar.
Lu Ming raised his hand without thinking, "Five hundred thousand!"
Goering's face turned pale, and he turned to look at Lu Ming, "Bit, you have to know that if the auction ends and you can't pay the money, you will be breaking the law."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Justice Valentine is here to testify. I will not bid illegally."
Goering nodded, his face livid, and he turned around and raised his hand, "Six hundred thousand!"
Lu Ming still raised his hand carelessly: "Seven hundred thousand!"
At the other table, Ford's face turned pale and he was already covering his chest.
Goering stared at Lu Ming, raised his hand and said, "Eight hundred thousand!" But while raising his hand, he made a gesture. Ford noticed it, was stunned for a moment, and then let out a long breath.
Lu Ming looked at Goering and said with a smile: "Governor, you don't want to win the necklace now, but you are raising my price, right? Do you want to see how embarrassed I will be when I can't pay? But be careful, I may not raise my hand next time." He raised his hand and said calmly: "One million!"
Goering looked at Lu Ming quietly with a calm expression, but it was obvious that Lu Ming's words made him hesitate. He was worried that if he raised his hand, he would really have to donate more than one million. Although it was Ford Gold that paid for it, many things have a limit.
The host's heart was pounding at this moment, but he didn't dare to say anything nonsense. "One million! Everyone, is there anyone who wants to bid? The countdown is now!"
"three!"
The place was silent.
"two!"
The host's voice was trembling slightly, and he glanced at Governor Goering with some fear, worrying that if the necklace was really bought by someone else, Governor Goering would vent his anger on him.
For a long time, no "one" sounded and the venue was extremely silent.
Suddenly, the emcee realized something and hurriedly said, "One!" It was obvious that the governor would not bid any more, so the longer it dragged on, the more humiliating it would be for the governor.
"Blue Flame, Mr. Bit's bid of one million is successful!" The emcee slammed the gavel.
Lu Ming looked at Governor Goering and smiled: "Actually, my psychological price is two million!"
No one dared to speak at the table, everyone was silent.
No one knows how much hatred and resentment there is between General Bit and Governor Goering. Even now, he is still ridiculing Governor Goering for not being brave enough and decisive enough.
Governor Goering's face had calmed down. He smiled and said to Lu Ming, "There are not many young people who like to do charity. You are a good person." He turned to Bridget and said, "Liz, we should thank Bit for helping you auction your necklace at a sky-high price. Congratulations to you for donating one million to charity. It is a good story for my husband and I to donate one million to charity with the blessing of Bit!"
Bridget smiled but said nothing.
At this time, some people who didn't know who Lu Ming was were whispering to each other.
Especially those lucky elites at tables far away, few of them knew Lu Ming's identity. But now, word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and soon everyone knew that this was Major General Bit, the First Control, and a commissioner of the newly established Joint Coordination Committee.
It is obvious that General Bit came to the Gaide area to turn the table. Someone above is dissatisfied with the Rose Party's dominance in the Gaide area. Otherwise, General Bit would not dare to do so.
General Bit and Governor Goering have two extreme personalities. One is a legendary military general who was born in the midst of gunfire and rain of bullets. He is fearless and reckless. It can also be said that he is a reckless and impulsive man, a ball of fire. The other is as deep as an unfathomable abyss. Any flame will eventually go out in the abyss. However, what if it is the endless lava of a volcano? Will the abyss be dried up
In any case, there will be something interesting to watch next. Perhaps the situation in which the Rose Party has absolute control over the Geide region will finally change.
Of course, on the surface, it seems that this impulsive General Bit is unlikely to be a match for Governor Goering.