"Yes!"

A young woman in a black ladies' suit entered, followed by two men, each carrying a tray. On the first tray lay two invitations. On the second was a solid gold bank card engraved with a city wall winding like a dragon. Behind the wall was a natural landscape of forests and rivers.

"Mister Xu, my name is Lin Fang. We're staff from the auction house. We are here to verify the invitation Mr. Zhou Hongsheng gave you and to exchange it." Lin Fang bowed slightly and presented her identification.

After Xu Ke confirmed it was authentic, he nodded, took out Zhou Hongsheng's invitation, and handed it over. She retrieved a verification tool, and after confirming it, handed Xu Ke an invitation bearing his own name. This verification process was meant to prevent people from using fake invitations and to save Xu Ke some trouble when entering the auction the day after tomorrow.

After exchanging the invitations, Lin Fang produced another one. "Mister Xu, this is an invitation to the banquet being held tonight on the second floor of the Deyun Hotel."

"A banquet?" Xu Ke asked in surprise. "Who will be attending?"

"All the family representatives participating in the auction," Lin Fang replied with a slight smile.

Xu Ke pondered for a moment, then agreed, "Okay!"

Well, that settles my dinner plans.

He took the invitation and had Tang Yingchang put it away safely.

"There's one last item, Mister Xu. This is the Shanhe Card, a bank card used specifically for verifying funds for this auction. It has been registered using the personal information you provided. Please transfer your auction funds into it."

"You can use this card for regular transactions as well, not just for the auction." Lin Fang finally presented the bank card engraved with majestic mountains and rivers.

Xu Ke was puzzled. "Is this auction so grand that it requires a special card?"

"Not particularly grand, but we do this for every auction!"

"Does everyone participating have to do this?"

"That's correct!"

"Why?" Xu Ke asked.

He recognized the issuing bank of the Shanhe Card. The powers behind it were the Bai and Xie Families. Of course, the nature of the bank's cooperation was different from that of the Deyun Hotel. The hotel collaboration was a balance that neither family wanted to upset. This bank, however, was the result of a higher authority forcing the two families to work together to prevent them from opening competing commercial banks and throwing Sui City into chaos.

Xu Ke pondered. The two families organized an auction, funneling the vast funds of so many other families into this one card. They're incredible businessmen! If the Wang Family hosted this kind of auction, it would probably do very well...

"If a bid is successful, the fund transfer will also be faster," Lin Fang explained patiently. "We have no ulterior motives. It's merely for social decorum and to maintain fairness at the auction."

It was an eye-opener for Xu Ke. "How does this relate to social decorum and fairness?"

He had not anticipated such an answer. It seemed Lin Fang was used to explaining these things, as she replied smoothly, "The sums of money involved in the auction are substantial. If a problem arises, the investigation is very troublesome. If we proactively cooperate and centralize the funds in our bank, it clarifies the money trail, which aids regulatory tracking and helps with anti-money laundering efforts."

"That is what we mean by social decorum."

Xu Ke chuckled. "I see, so that's how it is..."

Lin Fang nodded with a smile.

That's what he said, but inwardly he was thinking, Did the Xie or Bai Family get caught using the auction for money laundering in the past? Why else would they come up with a reason like this?

"Then, Miss Lin, what about the auction's fairness?" Tang Yingchang also asked, his curiosity piqued.

Instead of answering directly, Lin Fang took a roundabout approach. "Once the auction begins, all the participating families can only use the funds available in this bank card for bidding. The amount can be less, but not more."

"Why is that?" Xu Ke and Tang Yingchang exchanged a look of surprise.

It can be less, but not more? Aren't auctions held for the express purpose of selling items at the highest possible price? With this rule, wouldn't some people be unable to spend more money even if they wanted to? Why not just hold a trade fair then?

Lin Fang explained, "It's simple. Without this restriction, what if someone runs out of money mid-auction and offers their car as collateral to continue bidding? Should we accept it?"

Xu Ke was taken aback. "I suppose you could. A car is valuable personal property, after all. You could appraise it and just take the car."

"But what if the car has an undisclosed lien or other debts attached to it? If someone came to us demanding payment because of that car, we'd have to take them to court."

"Ah," Xu Ke uttered. "That would indeed be a hassle. But with your influence, who would dare to deceive you like that?"

Lin Fang smiled. "The Bai and Xie Families are law-abiding."

Xu Ke was left speechless. Who would believe that?

Unperturbed, Lin Fang continued, "Furthermore, Mister Xu, if personal property could be used to cover auction funds, what about real estate? And if we count real estate, what about a bidder's outstanding collectible debts? Should those be accepted as well?"

Xu Ke waved his hand. "I understand!"

He understood Lin Fang's point. It's all about cash being king. These other assets all carry settlement risks. In layman's terms, not using cash for payment is a huge hassle when it's time to collect. The Xie and Bai Families don't want hassles; they just want to rake in money!

Lin Fang laughed. "Most importantly, if we didn't have this restriction, someone who runs out of money could just pull a large amount of cash from their company or borrow from others to keep bidding. Wouldn't the auction become never-ending? It would also push out the smaller families who don't have access to such funds. And what if we planted a few shills in the audience to get into bidding wars and blindly inflate the prices? Wouldn't that be detrimental to everyone?"

"This measure is our way of maintaining a healthy trading environment! If we let the big families crush everyone else with their immense wealth, we would certainly make more money, but in the long run, the smaller families would refuse to set foot in our auction ever again. No one wants to show up just to be bullied. Then, the auction would just become a game for a few major families, and that's not interesting."

Xu Ke raised an eyebrow. Lin Fang had a point. If the auction became an exclusive event for a few fixed families, what kind of auction would it be? But... 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Xu Ke considered it for a moment. "But if a big family is bullying others, couldn't the target just trick them into paying an exorbitant price for an item?"

He thought about it. If the Huang or Ye Families tried to use their formidable funds to stop me from bidding on the Imperial Tomb Relic, I could just trap them into overpaying for it... That way, whether I win or lose the bid, I don't really lose.

As soon as he said this, the expressions of the people in the room froze.

Lin Fang gave an awkward chuckle. "What if the big family that was tricked then pressured our auction house? If they used a force we couldn't resist and demanded we not accept so much money, should we comply?"

"With your strength, you'd be afraid of that?" Xu Ke asked with a laugh.

"There is always a higher heaven beyond the heavens."

Xu Ke smiled. "Understood. Thank you for the explanation. I'll take this Shanhe Card."

The Xie and Bai Families certainly had their own interests in mind for creating this card, but Xu Ke found the reasons acceptable and decided not to probe any further. All things considered, it was a relatively fair measure.

Seeing that Xu Ke had accepted the card after her explanation, Lin Fang breathed a sigh of relief and took her leave. "Mister Xu, we'll be going now."

"Alright!"

Xu Ke took the card. Just as Lin Fang was leaving, he suddenly called out, "Oh, one last question. Are these auctions held often?"

"Regularly!"

"I see." Xu Ke smiled. "Please close the door on your way out."

"Of course."

BANG.

The door was closed.

Xu Ke looked at the Shanhe Card with a grin. "They really know how to do business."

No wonder the Bai and Xie Families went to such lengths to maintain fairness at the auction, allowing even smaller families to buy things they wanted. If the auction was held regularly and smaller families could acquire items, they would become regular attendees. To attend regularly, they had to use this card. To use this card, they had to deposit their funds into the Bai and Xie Families' bank. And if you thought you were losing out by keeping your money in their bank and wanted to stop using the card, the Xie and Bai Families would tell you—

Without this card, you'll be bullied by the big families.

Connecting all the dots, Xu Ke couldn't help but laugh. The Xie and Bai Families... so considerate of them!

Just as he was pondering this for a couple of seconds, there was another knock on the door.

"Lin Fang?" Xu Ke was surprised, thinking she had left something behind.

But the voice outside was male. "Mister Xu, hello! I'm that follower of Miss Qianqian's!"

Xu Ke froze for a second before it clicked. That was definitely not Fang Caizhe's voice. It had to be the man in the hat. But what did he want? Did Bai Qian'er send him?

Puzzled, Xu Ke opened the door. "What can I do for you?"

The man in the hat entered, glanced around, and then deliberately shut the door.

BANG.

Xu Ke instinctively took a few steps back, his eyes gleaming. He thought the man intended to harm him.

But what happened next was completely unexpected...

After closing the door, the man in the hat dropped to one knee and declared loudly, "Greetings, Seasoned Envoy!"

Xu Ke and Tang Yingchang's eyes widened instantly. "What the hell?!"