One Hundred and Twenty-Eight: The Auction

Basha spotted Wei Hua, Ding Peng, and He Xiaoya the moment they entered the banquet hall, but she made no move. Through other channels, she had already learned that Wei Hua had received an invitation to the Sotheby’s auction. However, her intelligence indicated that he disliked attending such events. She had come to the auction partly because of an invitation from a company she was auditing, and partly to try her luck at encountering him, as her reports suggested that Wei Hua rarely involved himself in the management of Snow Pool Company, making it difficult to meet him even with a site visit. Now that he had actually appeared, she felt no rush; she was certain he had seen her and knew she had come to Hong Kong to find him.

Although Wei Hua saw Basha, he did not approach her. Instead, he circulated through the hall with Ding Peng and He Xiaoya. The auction was attended not only by the scions of most of Hong Kong’s wealthy families but also by many heads of British-owned enterprises, including Henry Keswick, the Tai-pan of Jardine Matheson.

Founded in 1832, Jardine Matheson was a multinational conglomerate centered in Asia, employing 150,000 people globally with operations in over 30 countries and regions. Its portfolio included financial services, supermarkets, consumer markets, engineering and construction, automotive trade, real estate, and hospitality. In Hong Kong, the group operated Jardine Matheson & Co., the territory’s largest private employer. Its subsidiaries included Hongkong Land, Dairy Farm, Mandarin Oriental, Jardine Pacific, and Zung Fu, with investments spanning construction, real estate, shipping, retail, investment banking, and insurance. Outside of Hong Kong, it held significant interests in Southeast Asia and the UK. The group’s primary operations were held under Jardine Matheson Holdings, which held a majority stake in Jardine Strategic, while the latter held a cross-shareholding in the former. This structure allowed the management to maintain stable control over the board with minimal equity, insulating the group from hostile takeovers.

In March of that year, Jardine Matheson had announced the relocation of its headquarters from Hong Kong to Bermuda, triggering a localized stock market crash that caused heavy losses for many. Wei Hua knew that the group would continue to shift its assets overseas over the coming years. He was already planning to make his move during the stock market crash of 1987, aiming to seize control of this massive conglomerate.

Just as the auction was about to begin, Miss Basha Kulavlyov and her two companions found Wei Hua as he was networking. Upon meeting, Basha immediately introduced herself.

"Hello, Mr. Wei Hua! I am Eliza Taylor from the Swiss Patek Trading Company, and these are my assistants. We are very interested in the products from your Snow Pool Electrical Manufacturing Company and hope to cooperate with your firm. Your VCRs, cartridge game consoles, and flat-square color televisions are incredibly popular in Europe, and we are eager to secure the agency rights for them in Switzerland."

"Miss Eliza, I apologize," Wei Hua replied, maintaining the tone of a stranger. "I never interfere with the company's management. You should discuss potential partnerships with the president of Snow Pool, Miss Jessie Juliette."

"Miss Jessie is very busy; I heard she has been in mainland China for some time. Our schedule is quite tight, which is why I had to trouble you, Mr. Wei."

"Is that so? Very well. Let’s set a time, and I will introduce you to other executives at Snow Pool. You can discuss it with them; whether you reach an agreement is entirely up to both parties. I will not intervene." Wei Hua gave his word.

"That will do. We will visit Snow Pool tomorrow. I hope you will not go back on your word, Mr. Wei!" Basha left with her two companions. Shortly after, the auction began. Wei Hua and his party collected their bidding paddles and took seats in the front rows. In the very front sat shipping magnate Pao Yue-kong, Li Ka-shing, and Henry Keswick. Rong Zhijian sat in the row directly in front of Wei Hua, accompanied by a young woman he introduced as his niece. The princelings from Beijing sat further back; they were merely there to broaden their horizons. Their personal wealth was a drop in the ocean compared to the tycoons present, and in Hong Kong, their political influence held little sway—the territory was still firmly under British rule. They were content enough to remain in the back.

The auction opened with several jade pieces. Most Chinese people had an affinity for jade, and this time Sotheby’s was auctioning a Tang dynasty jade Buddha, a Song dynasty jade pendant, and a Tang dynasty court jade hairpin. They sold for 1.3 million, 700,000, and 900,000 Hong Kong dollars, respectively. Wei Hua had no interest in these items. Before he had transmigrated, he was just an ordinary writer with no money to spare for such refined hobbies, and he hadn't developed a taste for them since arriving in this world. He knew he was essentially an upstart and couldn't pull off the persona of a connoisseur.

The auction dragged on, and Wei Hua remained indifferent. He had intended to buy something for Jessie, Mary, Kathleen, and Kinoshita Sakurako, but nothing caught his eye. Just then, the auctioneer announced:

"Next, we are auctioning a bronze artifact from China: a bronze dragon head! The starting price is three million Hong Kong dollars!" Wei Hua’s attention sharpened instantly. This was wrong. This piece was supposed to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in the 1990s and later bought to be returned to China. It was one of the Twelve Zodiac Heads—how could it be appearing in Hong Kong now?