Chapter 1351: Another Setback

The auctioneer's wooden gavel fell heavily onto the table: "Sold! Congratulations to Mr. James, bidder number 250, for winning the ruby from the hat of a first-rank official during the Kangxi reign for ninety million."

James was very happy, thinking he had picked up a treasure.

But soon he could no longer be happy, because that bead was far from worth this price.

James felt he had been cheated and was very unhappy; he pushed all the blame onto Black Widow!

He flew into a great rage at her.

He cursed her as an idiot, the stupidest woman in the world, for causing him to spend so much extra money.

Black Widow whispered into James's ear: "Have you forgotten? The top three spenders at this auction are eligible to compete for the Jiangzhou landmark Architecture qualification."

"My dear sweetheart, I was just joking with you earlier, you wouldn't mind, right? This bead is a gift for you, you can set it in a brooch..."

James changed his face faster than turning a page, and Black Widow didn't care.

The two of them each had their own ulterior motives, but their goal remained the same!

Next were several pieces of jewelry; the quality was quite good, and the prices were not very expensive.

Everyone was bidding casually for fun; Shi Ran had not made a move, so Black Widow had also remained still!

Soon, a "Ten Thousand Shrimp Painting" arrived!

It was called "Ten Thousand Shrimp," but in reality, there were nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine!

The Chinese people value longevity and permanence, and the number nine is considered to have an extremely auspicious meaning in their hearts.

This painting was also extremely meticulous; every shrimp had a different posture, and not a single one was exactly the same. Meticulous brushwork painting itself is not very complex, and it doesn't take many strokes to paint one shrimp.

But to paint simple shapes so vividly and lifelike, not to mention ensuring so many of them were all different, really tested the artist's skill.

The starting price for this "Ten Thousand Shrimp Painting" was one hundred million.

Everyone gasped when they heard the price.

One hundred million is not considered a high price in the auction market, but this painting didn't look like an authentic work.

The introduction didn't say it was an authentic work either.

The artist was anonymous.

Although the businessmen present were all very wealthy, none were willing to be a sucker and spend one hundred million on a fake painting.

As for the qualification to bid... it was also too expensive!

Black Widow kept her eyes on Shi Ran; since Shi Ran hadn't moved, she hadn't made a move either.

But she didn't expect that at the very last moment, Shi Ran would suddenly raise her paddle: "One hundred million!"

"Sold."

"Clang!"

The auctioneer's gavel fell.

It was sold just like that?

Black Widow was slightly stunned and didn't react for three seconds.

"On what grounds? This doesn't follow the rules."

She protested on the spot.

Later, she was taken to the back to negotiate.

Black Widow was relentless, saying there was a shady deal here and it wasn't according to the rules.

Why did others have to have the hammer fall after three calls, but when Shi Ran raised her paddle, it was sold after just one call?

She was emotionally agitated; the auctioneer tried to speak several times but couldn't get a word in, and only later managed to find an opportunity to speak.

"Miss, please don't be agitated. What you said is correct under normal circumstances, but that 'Ten Thousand Shrimp Painting' was originally Miss Shi Ran's. Since no one else wanted it, she could take it back in one go!"

Black Widow was dumbfounded; how had she not thought of that?

Shi Ran smiled charmingly and said deliberately: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the 'Ten Thousand Shrimp Painting' is an authentic work by the old master Qi Baishi!"

An authentic work?

Then the one hundred million was worth it, and she hadn't wanted it.

Black Widow regretted it to death, and James was so angry on the spot that he suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital.

From the hospital, he gave Black Widow a strict order—she must secure the bidding qualification!

The eighty million could not be spent in vain.

Black Widow used underhanded means to jointly win the project with Shi Ran during the bidding.

"Let us congratulate Miss Shi Ran, and congratulate Miss Yuan Li."

Black Widow's name was Yuan Li.

Shi Ran and Black Widow walked onto the stage, signed their names on the certificate together, and shook hands!

Just after stepping off the stage, Black Widow grabbed Shi Ran and immediately changed her face: "Give the project to me."

"On what grounds?"

How interesting, does she think this project is a piece of clothing, a bag, or a pair of Spring Shoes?

Give it up just because she says so?

Shi Ran knew about the underhanded means she had used, but she couldn't hold it against her.

Black Widow threatened Shi Ran: "You are a smart person; you should know that there won't be any good fruit for you if you work with me."

Shi Ran smiled slightly: "What a coincidence, I was just about to say the same thing to you. Why don't you give it to me? I can give you a five percent profit share; you can earn money without any effort. Think about it."

"No need to think about it, I will not agree."

"Do you have a grudge against money? The money I promised to give is entirely for you, but if you insist on doing this project with me, the money earned will all be James's; you won't be able to get this much at all..."

Shi Ran was very sincere.

But Black Widow was unmoved: "It doesn't matter. I am very willing to appear by your side every day and watch how you become overwhelmed!"

Shi Ran:...

This woman is like a fighting cock.

The project has begun.

Problems arose on the very first day.

The stipulated arrival time was eight o'clock in the morning, but it is already eight-thirty, and Yuan Li still has not arrived.

Shi Ran frowned and announced: "Begin!"

However, the representative from James's side disagreed: "No, our General Manager hasn't arrived, so this project cannot begin; we must wait for her."

"Wait until when?"

"Half an hour has already passed, and we haven't even seen a shadow of her; she isn't here and isn't answering her phone. If she doesn't come all day, does that mean we can't start all day?"

"If it's like this on the first day, what about the second day, the third day... who will be held responsible for delaying the project's progress? Let's clarify the responsibilities right now..."

Shi Ran is never ambiguous when it comes to work; she argues based on reason and refuses to yield an inch!

The deputy representative from James's side was left speechless by the argument and went to the side to call James.

Before the call was finished, Black Widow's car arrived; she stepped out of the car languidly, took off her sunglasses, and apologized nonchalantly: "Sorry, I'm late. We can start now."

"We cannot."

Shi Ran refused and said: "The auspicious time has already passed. We won't cut the ribbon today; let's do it tomorrow."

"No, tomorrow has its own tasks; it must be cut today." Black Widow refused to budge an inch.

"If it cannot be cut today, it is because of you; you have no right to say no."

Shi Ran had someone bring over the rules and regulations, a dense, massive stack of them.

She shoved the regulations into Black Widow's arms: "It's not like you have nothing to do today; go back and memorize these well. Wherever there is a dispute, we will go by what is written here."

After saying this, she left.

Clean and efficient, never dragging things out—this is Shi Ran's strength.

"Crazy, who would want to memorize these ghost things?"

Black Widow said with disdain.

In her concept, a woman should be beautiful every day, go shopping, buy things, or flirt with men and extract reliable intelligence from their mouths... that is what she should be doing!

Not memorizing rules!

The next day, Black Widow was late again.

She did it on purpose; this time Shi Ran did not get angry and directly demanded a replacement, otherwise, the cooperation would be terminated, and all losses would be borne by James.