Two living pigs. Two actual, breathing pigs. Nobody had seen something like that in ages. Pigs were basically limited editions now. Anyone who got to see one could brag about it for a year.
The professionals finished inspecting the goods pretty fast. Once they confirmed everything was correct, they tagged both pigs with tracking codes and numbers. From that moment on, the two pigs officially belonged to Jin Baba.
"Baba, your dad's the boss of Wu City. No offense, but isn't this whole place basically your backyard? You can get whatever you want whenever you want. Why're you bidding on pigs? Isn't it easier to just intercept them?"
"Yeah, exactly."
Jin Baba snorted in disdain. "My family is my family. Wu City is Wu City. What, you think we're tyrants?" Even so, he still felt proud. He glanced over at Jing Shu, who sat steady and unmoved like a mountain. Didn't she see him throwing money like water? Wasn't he impressive?
His people and the staff went outside to handle the transfer. The pigs were left in their cages, snorting and squealing nonstop. A thoughtful staff member held some feed and tossed a few pellets in from time to time. Everyone's attention drifted toward the pigs.
"Baba, can I touch them?"
"Baba, can I take a picture with the Jinhua sow?"
Jin Baba lifted his chin smugly. "Be gentle. These pigs are pretty particular."
A cheer went up and the whole group crowded around the pigs.
The auction continued.
The host, Xiao Shuai, cleared his throat. "Alright, here comes the main event of the day. See those three mobile mansions on display? These will be our next auction items!
These were built by Wu City's largest real estate group, Green Land. Fully furnished, move-in ready, and you can trust the quality. All materials were inspected by town officials and are the best available under current conditions. Green Land owed the town too much money and couldn't pay back, so they handed over these mansions as collateral.
I don't need to explain the mobile mansion features, right? They were advertised clearly back then. With disasters everywhere and no one knowing what'll hit next, tons of people lost their homes. Owning a mobile mansion gives you an extra layer of protection.
Now, we have ten mobile mansions up for auction. The town will only accept food items as payment. No other resources qualify. Starting bid: three hundred thousand virtual coins in food. The auction begins!"
Trading houses for food. Before the apocalypse, no one would've believed it even if someone beat them over the head with the idea. But it was reality now. Wu City's town officials were squeezing every corner they could think of just to gather more food.
No one realized next year would get even worse. But this life had Jing Shu. She'd already done so much behind the scenes. Things wouldn't be as tragic as her previous life. People wouldn't starve in masses again.
Down below, plenty of people were quietly sighing. The mansions were great, sure, but first, their current homes were already decent. They didn't need to trade such a huge amount of food just for a mobile mansion. Food was extremely scarce. Second, the requirement of food only directly killed the chances of many bidders. People who had other valuable resources couldn't do anything. Food had become the real hard currency, more precious than gold ever was.
In other words, anyone still bidding on mobile mansions must be seriously rich.
And apparently, Wu City had more rich folks than expected. Within moments, all ten mansions rose to five hundred thousand each. Compared to the Jinhua sow, the mansions had far more long-term value. Being able to move whenever danger came was an incredible advantage. It gave people an enormous sense of security.
Even the people in the private box stopped playing with the pigs and turned to watch. They were shouting nonstop. Since their box was close to the display area, they could see everything clearly when Xiao Shuai opened the mansions for public viewing.
Luxurious interior. Beautiful design. One glance and it felt like stepping into a mansion. If someone could own a moving mansion in the apocalypse, what else would they even ask for?
Xiao Shuai read from his script little by little. It didn't affect the group of bumpkins at all. They stared with sparkling eyes, completely mesmerized. The price climbed steadily.
"Baba, aren't you thinking of getting a mansion too?"
"Yeah, Baba, they look incredible. No matter what disaster hits, with one of these, you can go anywhere you want."
Jin Baba scoffed. His dad hadn't given him permission to touch this category. Like he'd dare? He snapped impatiently, "Lan Shao isn't here yet? How hard is it to bring some snacks?"
The atmosphere instantly froze. No one dared say another word.
Xiao Liu took out his calculator and started tapping furiously. Then she leaned close and whispered, "Boss, I calculated based on the final expected price and the supplies we brought. Buying five mansions isn't a problem. But some were already booked beforehand. And some were privately reserved. So I suggest we just take three."
Jing Shu lifted a brow, about to reply, but Xiao Liu spoke again, "Boss, I'll bid first and use up the three allowed bidding chances. After that, you can follow up."
So thoughtful. She even planned that out for her.
Her voice was soft, but the private box was dead silent, so of course some people overheard.
"Tsk tsk tsk. Five mansions? Who does she think she is with that tone?"
"Seriously. I couldn't listen anymore. Didn't mean to eavesdrop, but damn."
"No movie would dare script something that outrageous. What a blowhard."
Whispers spread quickly. Saying you wanted one mansion was normal. Saying you wanted all of them was just posturing.
Then, right at that moment, three mansion prices suddenly shot up to one million. Half again higher than the rest.
Someone had made a move.
Two more mansions were immediately pushed to one million. In the blink of an eye, only five lower-priced mansions remained.
Jing Shu didn't bother acknowledging the brats behind her. Something else shocked her more. The bidder looked familiar. Wasn't that Qian Duoduo's steward?
And the one who bought two mansions was someone she knew too. That meticulous seventy-something old man was none other than the obsessive housekeeper from Su Mali's household.
Great. Those were the real big players.
Jing Shu decided she wouldn't hide anymore. She waved her hand. "Xiao Liu, start. No need to wait."
Go ahead and show me what you've got.
Behind her, a whole group covered their mouths, choking back laughter. They couldn't wait to see how this supposed "performance" was going to play out.