Two living pigs. Two actual, breathing pigs were standing right there on the platform. Nobody had seen something like that in ages. In this era, pigs were basically limited editions, a sight rarer than pre-apocalyptic luxury cars. Anyone who got to see one up close could brag about it for a whole year to their neighbors.
The professionals finished inspecting the goods in a flurry of paperwork and handheld scanners. Once they confirmed that the warehouse manifests were legitimate and the quality met the standards, they tagged both pigs with shimmering tracking codes and yellow ear numbers. From that moment on, the two pigs officially belonged to Jin Baba.
"Baba, your dad is 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 are you bidding on pigs? Isn't it easier to just intercept them before they even hit the market?" One of the lackeys whispered, leaning in close.
"Yeah, exactly. A single phone call should have done it."
Jin Baba snorted in disdain, though he didn't pull his eyes away from the livestock. "My family is my family. Wu City is Wu City. What, you think we are tyrants?" Even as he said it, he still felt a swell of pride. He glanced over at Jing Shu, who sat steady and unmoved like a mountain in the front row. Didn't she see him throwing wealth around like water? Wasn't he impressive?
His people and the hall staff went outside to handle the logistics of the transfer. The pigs were left in their cages for a few more minutes, snorting and squealing nonstop, the smell of damp straw and animal musk filling the front of the box. A thoughtful staff member held some feed in a bucket and tossed a few pellets in from time to time. Everyone's attention drifted toward the animals as they fought over the food.
"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 quite particular about who handles them."
A cheer went up and the whole group crowded around the cages, their phones out and glowing in the dim hall.
The auction continued, the host's voice cutting through the excitement.
Xiao Shuai cleared his throat into the microphone. "Alright, here comes the main event of the day. See those three mobile mansions on display in the center? These will be our next auction items! These were built by Wu City's largest real estate group, Green Land."
They are fully furnished, move-in ready, and you can trust the engineering. 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 it back, so they handed over these mansions as collateral.
He paused for effect, letting the words sink in. "I don't need to explain the mobile mansion features, right? They were advertised clearly back when the district was first developed. With disasters everywhere and no one knowing what will 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 for these specific units. No other resources qualify. The starting bid is three hundred thousand virtual coins worth in food. The auction begins!
Trading houses for food was the new standard. Before the apocalypse, no one would have believed it even if someone beat them over the head with the idea. But it was the harsh reality now. Wu City's town officials were squeezing every corner they could think of just to gather more food for the central reserves.
No one realized next year would get even worse. But this life had Jing Shu. She had already done so much behind the scenes, ensuring that things wouldn't be as tragic as her previous life. People wouldn't starve in massive numbers again if she could help it.
Down below in the other sections, plenty of people were quietly sighing. The mansions were great, sure, but there were hurdles. First, their current homes were already decent enough to survive. They didn't need to trade such a massive amount of their food hoard just for a mobile mansion. Food was extremely scarce. Second, the requirement of food only directly killed the chances of many eager bidders. People who had other valuable resources like fuel or metal 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 had to be seriously, dangerously 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 in an unstable world.
Even the people in the private box stopped playing with the pigs and turned to watch the screens. They were shouting nonstop, caught up in the rhythm of the numbers. Since their box was close to the display area, they could see everything clearly when Xiao Shuai opened the doors of the mansions for public viewing.
The interior was luxurious, with polished wood and soft lighting. The design was beautiful, and one glance made it feel like stepping into a mansion from the old world. 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, his voice reaching a fever pitch. It didn't affect the group of bumpkins in the back at all. They stared with sparkling eyes, completely mesmerized by the wealth on display. The price climbed steadily as more bids flashed on the monitor.
"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 eyes narrowing. His father hadn't given him permission to touch this category. Like he would dare cross that line? He snapped impatiently, "Lan Shao isn't back yet? How hard is it to find and bring some snacks?"
The atmosphere instantly froze. No one dared say another word as the tension settled over the row.
Xiao Liu took out her calculator and started tapping the keys furiously, the light from the small screen reflecting in her glasses. Then she leaned close to Jing Shu and whispered, "Boss, I calculated based on the final expected price and the total weight of the supplies we brought today. Buying five mansions isn't a problem for our current budget. But some were already booked beforehand by the officials. And some were privately reserved for the elite tier. So I suggest we just take three of the available units."
Jing Shu lifted a brow, ready to reply, but Xiao Liu spoke again. "Boss, I will bid first and use up the three allowed bidding chances. After that, you can follow up if we get outbid."
She was so thoughtful. She even planned that out to maximize their chances.
Xiao Liu's voice was soft, but the private box was dead silent at that moment, so of course some of the people behind them overheard the conversation.
"Tsk tsk tsk. Five mansions? Who does she think she is with that tone?"
"Seriously. I couldn't listen anymore. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but damn, the arrogance. No movie would dare script something that outrageous. What a blowhard."
Whispers spread quickly through the group. Saying you wanted one mansion was normal. Saying you wanted all of them was just posturing for attention.
Then, right at that moment, the prices for three of the mansions suddenly shot up to one million. It was half again higher than the rest of the field. Someone had finally made a real move.
Two more mansions were immediately pushed to the one-million mark by other bidders. In the blink of an eye, only five lower-priced mansions remained on the board.
Jing Shu didn't bother acknowledging the brats behind her. Something else shocked her more. The bidder for the first three 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 in the room.
Jing Shu decided she wouldn't hide anymore. She waved her hand. "Xiao Liu, start. There's no need to wait for them to finish. Go ahead and show me what you have 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.