Chapter 13 Fell Apart

  Ding Dawei picked up a bottle of red wine and shook it: "This is an '82 Lafite, I paid a high price to buy it from a foreign merchant."

  "'82 Lafite?" Gu Changfeng was taken aback: "This is a rare treasure indeed."

  "It's absolutely a treasure." Ding Da skillfully opened the bottle and poured a cup for Hu Lao and Gu Changfeng respectively.

  Gu Changfeng raised his wine cup and placed it under his nose, taking a sniff: "The aroma is so rich, I wonder what it would taste like in my mouth."

  Ding Dawei laughed and said: "If you want to know what it feels like, just try it directly."

  Gu Changfeng nodded, brought the wine cup to his lips, took a light sip, closed his eyes and savored it for a moment: "Mmm, good wine, indeed good wine."

  Old Hu also took a sip and praised: "The taste is indeed good."

  Ding Dawei raised his wine glass: "Old Hu, Director Gu, let's have a drink."

  "Right, cheers!" Old Hu raised his wine cup.

  Gu Changfeng also raised his wine glass and clinked it with Hu Lao and Ding Da, then tilted his head back and took a sip. A look of extreme enjoyment appeared on his face. Gu Changfeng loved drinking red wine, especially those that were aged for a longer period of time.

  Three people sipped red wine while chatting, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

  The wine has gone around three times.

  Ding Dawei put down his cup and took a glance at Gu Changfeng, smiling: "I heard that Chairman Gu's business is doing very well."

  Gu Changfeng smiled: "It's okay."

  "The former chairman is really too modest. You are now the richest man in Lanzhou and one of the top ten entrepreneurs in the province." Ding Da praised for a few sentences.

  "What's the use of being a billionaire or one of the top ten entrepreneurs? It's all just empty fame, it can't be turned into real substance." Gu Changfeng waved his hand, to be strict, Gu Changfeng is a very low-key person, never showing off his wealth, and when it comes to interviews with newspapers and TV stations, he would decline if possible, rarely appearing in public.

  Gu Changfeng is a legend in Lanzhou, a small person with no background, who started from scratch and became a billionaire, astonishing many people. In recent years, Gu Changfeng has also done a lot of good deeds and has a good reputation among the people.

  "To be honest, I've wanted to meet Chairman Gu for a long time, but never had the chance. Today, thanks to Old Hu's introduction, I finally get to meet Chairman Gu, it's really an honor." Ding Dawei said with a smile.

  "It's my honor to meet Mr. Ding as well." Gu Changfeng smiled and said, to be honest, this was the first time he had heard of Ding Dawei's name, there were many rich people in this world, and it was impossible for Gu Changfeng to know them all.

  "Come on, Director Gu, I'll toast you a glass!" Ding Dawei raised his wine cup.

  "Cheers!" Gu Changfeng raised his wine glass and clinked it with Ding Dawei's before tilting his head back to take a swig.

  "You two are both business geniuses, you should keep in touch more often." Old Hu said with a smile.

  "Definitely, I will definitely keep in touch with Director Gu more often from now on." Ding Dawei nodded.

  Gu Changfeng also nodded slightly: "I very much hope to become good friends with Boss Ding."

  Ding Dawei turned around and picked up a bag, unzipped it, took out a small box from inside, and handed it to Gu Changfeng: "Chairman Gu, this is our first meeting, this is my little gift."

  Gu Changfeng took the small box, opened it and was immediately stunned. Inside the box was an expensive watch. Gu Changfeng looked up at Ding Dawei with a puzzled expression: "Boss Ding, what's this?"

  "Oh, this is a Rolex watch, and it's a limited edition one too. It's suitable for successful people like Director Gu to wear." DIng Dawei introduced.

  Gu Changfeng shook his head and returned the small box to Ding Dawei: "Such a valuable thing, I'm afraid I can't accept it." Gu Changfeng was a connoisseur, and with just a few glances, he knew that this Rolex watch was worth a fortune. Ding Dawei and Gu Changfeng didn't have much interaction before, but on their first meeting, Ding Dawei gave Gu Changfeng such an expensive watch, making Gu feel uneasy - after all, there's no free lunch in this world.

  Ding Dawei was taken aback and pushed his watch back to Gu Changfeng: "Chairman Gu, I didn't mean anything else, I just wanted to make friends with you."

  "I'd also be happy to make friends with Boss Ding, but there's no need for gifts." Gu Changfeng said calmly.

  "Ding Dawei looked at Old Hu with some difficulty..."

  Hu Lao smiled and said, "Since Zhang Feng won't take it back, you can have it."

  "Alright, I didn't think this through. I'll take the Rolex back for now." Ding Dawei was also a decisive person and seeing Gu Changfeng's firm refusal to accept the Rolex, he didn't force the issue either.

  "That's right, come on, let's have a drink." Gu Changfeng raised his wine cup.

  Hu Lao and Ding Da also picked up their wine cups and lightly touched them against Gu Changfeng's before downing the liquor in one gulp.

  Gu Changfeng put down his wine glass and stood up: "Excuse me, I'll go to the restroom." After saying that, he turned around and left the private room.

  Ding Dawei looked at Hu Lao: "Hu Lao, this Gu Changfeng..."

  "Ah, don't mind him, Gu Changfeng has always been a bit eccentric, you don't need to take it to heart. Besides, with his current status, a Labor watch wouldn't even catch his eye." Hu Lao stroked the wine cup lightly, a faint smile on his face.

  "Does Old Hu mean that the gift I gave was too light?" Ding Dawei raised an eyebrow, the limited edition Rolex watch he gave to Gu Changfeng was worth over a hundred thousand RMB.

  Old Hu shook his head: "I didn't mean that, Gu Changfeng is very cautious and won't easily give people a handle to gossip about." Old Hu's meaning was simple: your relationship with Gu Changfeng was too shallow, he wouldn't accept your gift.

  "My business..." Ding Da furrowed his brow slightly.

  "When Gu Zhangfeng comes back later, you can just tell him directly." Hu Lao picked up his wine cup and took a light sip.

  "Huh? Speak directly? Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Ding Da hesitated for a moment.

  "With me here, what are you afraid of? Although Gu Zhangfeng has been invincible for years, he should still give some face to his seniors like me." Hu Lao said confidently.

  Ding Dawei nodded: "With Old Hu's words, I can rest assured."

  After a while, Gu Changfeng pushed the door and walked in. Seeing Hu Lao and Ding Da chatting happily together, he couldn't help but smile: "What are you talking about, so happy?" As he spoke, Gu Changfeng pulled out a chair and sat down beside Hu Lao.

  "What about you?" Old Hu asked with a smile.

  Gu Changfeng was taken aback: "Talk about me? What's there to talk about?"

  Hu Lao glanced at Ding Dawei and said: "Actually, Boss Ding came to Lan Zhou this time to discuss a business deal with Chang Feng."

  "What business? What kind of business?" Gu Changfeng asked in puzzlement.

  Old Hu smiled and didn't say anything.

  Ding Dawei chimed in from the side: "Chairman Gu, I heard that you have a private auction house, and it's not small in scale?"

  Gu Changfeng nodded: "Yes, I opened an auction house." It's estimated that the whole city of Lanzhou knows that Gu Changfeng has opened an auction house, and business is not bad, with a considerable annual profit. At first, Gu Changfeng opened this auction house purely out of interest, without expecting to make money from it. Who would have thought that after opening the auction house, business would be surprisingly good, with almost every month holding an auction.

  "I'd like to entrust Chairman Gu with auctioning off an item for me." Ding Dawei said, pulling out a necklace from his pocket and handing it over to Gu Changfeng.

  Gu Changfeng took the necklace and examined it carefully, praising: "What a great thing! This necklace is inlaid with 18 diamonds, especially the red gemstone in the middle, which is very valuable. The workmanship is also extremely exquisite, and at first glance, it's clear that it was made by a master craftsman."

  "This necklace was bought back from abroad at a high price a few years ago, and it's absolutely a treasure." Ding Dawei once went abroad on business and happened to see the necklace in a jewelry store. He liked it immediately and after some bargaining, he finally spent $1 million to buy it.

  Gu Changfeng raised his head and looked at Ding Dawei: "Do you plan to auction off this necklace?"

  Ding Dawei nodded: "Yes."

  "Mr. Ding, forgive me for being presumptuous, but although this necklace is exquisitely crafted and has a considerable number of diamonds, it doesn't have much fame. If we were to auction it off, I estimate it wouldn't fetch a very high price." The value of an item is secondary; what's most important is its reputation. As long as the reputation is great, it can be sold for a sky-high price. Take, for example, the recent auction of two items by a certain auction house: one was a pure gold chain that sold for 5 million RMB, while the other was a pair of smelly socks worn by a world-renowned superstar, which sold for 10 million RMB. The result caused quite a stir - a golden chain couldn't compare to a pair of stinky socks; it's truly unbelievable.

  There are many things in this world that are unfair and unbelievable.

  Ding Dawei smiled: "Prices are all set by people, I say this necklace is valuable, and it's valuable."

  Gu Changfeng furrowed his brow: "Boss Ding, I don't quite understand what you mean."

  "I plan to set the reserve price for the necklace auction at 100 million." Ding Dawei said slowly.

  "What? A billion? Old Master Ding, you're not joking, are you? This necklace is worth at most tens of millions, no matter what it's definitely not worth a billion." Gu Changfeng laughed as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke.

  Ding Dawei shook his head: "Didn't I just say that? The price is set by people, and if I say it's worth 100 million, then it's worth 100 million, or maybe even more."

  "You..." Gu Changfeng was now somewhat confused. Generally, the reserve price of auctioned products would be set a bit lower to attract more bidders.

  "Old Chairman, I've also heard about the rules of your auction house, taking 20% of the transaction price of each item. This necklace has a reserve price of 100 million, and you can get at least 200 million in commission." Ding Dawei did some calculations for Gu Changfeng.

  Gu Changfeng nodded: "That's right, my auction house will deduct twenty percent of the transaction price of the auction item, but what I want to say is that this necklace is priced so high, it has already exceeded its cost price. What if no one comes to buy it on the day of the auction..." The implication of Gu Changfeng's words was clear: who would be responsible for the loss if there were no bidders on the day of the auction?

  Ding Dawei waved his hand: "Director Gu, please rest assured, at that time there will be someone to bid at the auction house, and at that time the transaction price may not be limited to 100 million yuan."

  Gu Changfeng was taken aback: "The more I listen, the more confused I become?"

  Ding Dawei turned his head to look at Old Hu.

  Old Hu's almost imperceptible nod.

  Ding Dawei hesitated for a moment, then said: "Chairman Gu, let me put it more bluntly. I didn't entrust you to auction this necklace in order to make money..." He paused at this point.

  "Not for the money? Then what for?" Gu Changfeng retorted.

  Ding Dawei took a deep breath and slowly spat out two words: "Money laundering."

  "Money laundering?" Gu Changfeng's eyebrows rose.

  "Yes, when it comes to auction, I will spend a lot of money to bid for this necklace." Ding added.

  "Gu Changfeng narrowed his eyes: 'This necklace was originally yours, you can spend money to auction it back... transferring the money from your left hand to your right hand, do you want to launder black money?!' Gu Changfeng finally understood."

  "The old chairman is indeed knowledgeable and experienced. That's right, I want to launder some of my dirty money." Ding Dawei nodded.

  "Sorry! I won't be able to help you with this." Gu Changfeng directly returned the necklace to Ding Dawei, his face looking extremely unpleasant.

  Ding Dawei was stunned: "Chairman Gu, what are you...?"

  "Mr. Ding, I'm doing legitimate business, and I absolutely won't do anything illegal like money laundering." Gu Changfeng said in a low voice.

  "If the former chairman feels that the remuneration is a bit low, we can still negotiate..." Ding Dawei thought Gu Changfeng was deliberately putting on airs and trying to get more benefits.

  "You can give me a mountain of gold, I won't help you launder money. Sorry, I have something to do, I'll leave first." After finishing speaking, Gu Changfeng stood up, nodded at Old Hu, and walked out of the private room.

  "Ah, Director Gu..." Ding Dawei stood up and chased after him.

  Gu Changfeng pretended not to hear Ding Dawei's shout and walked into the elevator with big strides, going downstairs.

  Ding Dawei failed to catch up with Gu Changfeng and could only return to the private room with a disappointed face.

  Hu Lao put down his wine cup and glanced at Ding Dawei: "Didn't catch up?"

  Ding Dawei nodded and walked over to the dinner table, picked up his wine glass and downed it in one gulp: "I really didn't think that there were still people in this world who don't want to make money."

  "Alas..." Old Hu sighed: "I miscalculated, I didn't expect Gu Changfeng to be so principled."

  "What's next, Old Hu?" Ding Dawei asked with a frown.

  "Hu Lao sighed: "It seems that Gu Changfeng's ship is beyond hope."

  "If we can't find Gu Changfeng, then who else can we find?" Ding Dawei had never been so speechless since his debut. Today, Gu Changfeng's attitude really made the proud and arrogant Ding Dawei furious. If it weren't for Hu Lao being present, Ding Dawei would have probably slammed the table and scolded Gu Changfeng for being ungrateful and hypocritical.

  "For a moment, I couldn't think of anything either." Old Hu slightly shook his head.

  "Hu Lao, I'm really sorry. It's all because of me that your relationship with Gu Changfeng has been damaged." Ding Dawei said with some guilt.

  Hu Lao waved his hand: "It's nothing, Gu Changfeng and I weren't close to begin with. At worst, we'll just see less of each other in the future."

  Actually, Old Hu didn't want to fall out with Gu Changfeng either, but Old Hu and Ding Dawei's father were comrades-in-arms. Back then, Ding Dawei's father had even saved Old Hu's life once. Both emotionally and rationally, Old Hu wanted to help Ding Dawei out.