The woman in red was quickly swallowed by the jubilant crowd after entering the venue. I was busy wrapping up the event and didn’t pay much attention to her, striding toward the performance stage.
I took the microphone from the host and announced to the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, it might rain heavily soon. I’m afraid we’ll have to end today’s event a bit earlier than planned.”
Someone from the crowd immediately responded, “So what if it rains? It won’t kill us to get a little wet. Ending such a great event so soon is really a shame!”
Another voice chimed in, “Boss, are you worried about the free food and drinks you’ve offered us today? Don’t worry—we can pay!”
I smiled and replied, “You’ve misunderstood. The event was arranged too hastily, so we didn’t prepare any rain protection. Much of the equipment and kitchenware on site can’t get wet. Please bear with us this time. Events like this will happen often in the future. We welcome everyone to visit Xitang often.”
People looked up at the sky and indeed saw thick dark clouds gathering. Eventually, they gave in.
After I instructed the vendors to distribute the remaining food and drinks among the tourists, I gestured for A Feng to bring the poor child onto the stage. Standing beside me, the child looked somewhat timidly at the crowd that had just been celebrating.
His timid and insecure gaze made me sad. Sighing softly, I raised the microphone and said to the crowd, “Today’s event was not only for celebration, but also to ask for your kindness and support for this child who comes from a very difficult background…”
Before I could finish, a loud voice from below interrupted me, “So it’s just about donating some money, right? No big deal. Just for the boss’s generosity, I’ll donate 100 yuan. Come on, everyone, let’s be more enthusiastic!” Saying this, he pulled out a 100-yuan bill from his wallet and handed it to me.
The crowd agreed and began pulling out their wallets—ten, twenty, one hundred, two hundred… notes of various denominations. In that moment, the beauty of humanity seemed infinitely magnified by the passing wind.
With gratitude, I declined the money they offered. They looked at me in confusion.
I continued, “I’m truly moved by your willingness to help, but I still hope to raise this donation in a paid way, so that our Yuanlai Inn can also contribute to this child.”
I took out six room cards from my pocket and continued, “Here are six room cards I’ve carefully selected from our inn. We will auction them off to you. I think this method works well—it allows our inn to contribute to this child and gives your kindness a small return.”
The crowd nodded in agreement and asked, “What’s the starting bid?”
“It varies depending on the room type.”
“Then go ahead.”
I nodded and held up one of the six cards, “This is a standard king room on the second floor. It’s fully equipped, and the biggest highlight is a two-square-meter balcony at the back. It’s quite pleasant to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee there at dusk. The starting bid for this room is 20 yuan.”
Immediately, someone shouted, “I’ll bid 100!”
As soon as the words fell, another voice followed, “100? Come on, I’ll bid 200!”
“200 is just the normal price for this room. That’s not showing any sincerity. I’ll bid 500!”
The bidding price kept rising, and finally this room was sold for 1,200 yuan. The tourist who won immediately took the room card and went with a staff member to register at the inn.
The second room sold for 800 yuan, the third for 1,500, and the fourth for 2,000.
This outcome completely exceeded my expectations, further reinforcing my belief in the beauty of humanity. I took a deep breath and finally pulled out the fifth room card, saying, “This is one of the few suites we have at the inn. The living room and bedroom are spacious, with a simple yet elegant decoration. The highlight is a floor-to-ceiling panoramic window, and when you open the curtains, you can enjoy the picturesque view of Xitang. The starting bid for this room is 200 yuan. Please start bidding!”
After introducing the room, I quickly scanned the crowd and found the woman in red standing in the corner. I believed she would definitely bid for this room because she loved suites.
A voice from below shouted, “I’ll jump straight to 3,000!”
Such a high opening bid surprised me slightly. I looked at the man. Sure enough, he looked like a wealthy businessman, especially with that thumb-thick gold chain around his neck.
The crowd fell silent. After all, 3,000 yuan was equivalent to half a month’s salary for many working people. Even for charity, people needed to consider their own financial situations.
I glanced at the woman in red from the corner of my eye. Seeing no further bids, she spoke as I had expected, “I bid 5,000.”
All eyes immediately turned to her, clearly shocked by her generosity, especially the man who had previously bid 3,000.
The businessman clearly struggled for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll bid 6,000!”
The woman in red replied calmly, “8,000.”
This time, the businessman finally gave up, slapping his head and saying, “I’m just a chef. No need to compete with you rich folks. But nowadays, even doing something good is this hard?”
Everyone chuckled kindly at the businessman’s honesty and complaint. I also sincerely thanked him because his willingness to offer 3,000 yuan despite his modest means showed a rare and precious quality that could overshadow any flaw.
Just as everyone thought the woman in red would surely win, Leyao, who had been standing at the edge of the crowd without leaving, finally spoke up. She raised one finger and said, “I bid ten thousand.”
A new wave of murmurs spread through the crowd. I was also surprised by Leyao’s bid, but considering that ten thousand was nothing to her, I joked, “Thank you, mysterious beauty in sunglasses, for your generous bid.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I could tell from Leyao’s lips that she muttered, “Drop dead.” A Feng beside her also smiled and shook his head, clearly thinking I was being too pretentious.
All eyes turned back to the woman in red, curious whether she would continue bidding, especially since the price had already reached ten thousand.
The woman in red remained calm and said, “Fifteen thousand.”
I exclaimed loudly, “This lady in red is really generous! I wonder if the mysterious beauty will keep going?”
Leyao showed no hesitation and immediately said, “Twenty thousand.”
The woman in red remained indifferent, “Twenty-five thousand.”
At this point, I truly began to worry for Leyao. An increase of five thousand each time was terrifying. The woman in red had always appeared so relaxed. Yet in such a public setting, I couldn’t warn Leyao directly. I could only pray she wouldn’t keep raising the bid. This was not worth turning into a contest of pride!
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