Yan Hongyun now understood that his father was acting in his best interest. However, Yan Hongyun's curiosity had already been piqued.
Yan Hongyun said, "Dad, since we're already here, there's no turning back for me. Let me go in and see for myself!"
General Manager Yan stated plainly, "No. Once inside, it's classified information of the highest level. I'm afraid you might do something foolish while under the influence of alcohol. And with all your hangers-on..."
Yan Hongyun interrupted his father, "Dad, you can rest assured. I'm not that stupid. Look, have I ever leaked any company secrets? No, right? This proves I can keep a secret. Besides, I'm already here. If you send me back, I'll constantly bother you at home. You won't have peace even at home, will you?"
At this moment, Zhou Heze, standing by the conference room door, asked, "How is it? Have you two father and son finished discussing?"
General Manager Yan finally agreed to let his son accompany him inside.
"Alright, you can go in. As you said, if I don't let you in, you'll likely be probing for secrets at home constantly."
Yan Hongyun quickly signed the confidentiality agreement.
A staff member standing by the door opened it and said, "Please come in."
The three of them walked into the conference room.
This conference room looked like an ordinary debriefing room. However, both Zhou Heze and General Manager Yan noticed as they entered that the walls were thicker than ordinary walls. A conference room with such walls was capable of withstanding a bomb.
Many people were already seated in the conference room.
General Manager Yan looked at these people and realized they were all general managers of large Chinese conglomerates. Most of them were general managers of state-owned enterprises, primarily in sectors like infrastructure, mineral resources, and metallurgy.
At this moment, these general managers were gathered in small groups, conversing.
General Manager Yan looked around and first went to greet three familiar general managers.
"Old Zhang, Old Zhao, Old Li, you're here too?"
"General Manager Yan, we knew you'd be here. Besides us three state-owned telecommunications enterprises, you're the only private telecommunications-related company here."
General Manager Yan observed that only four telecommunications industry general managers were present, and he was the only one from a private enterprise.
General Manager Yan asked, "Do you know what this auction is for?"
Old Zhang, Old Li, and Old Zhao all shook their heads and said, "We don't know either."
Then, General Manager Yan called his son over and said, "Old Zhang, Old Zhao, Old Li, this is my son, Yan Hongyun."
Yan Hongyun immediately acted like a young junior and greeted the three general managers, "Greetings, uncles."
...
Afterward, General Manager Yan took Yan Hongyun to greet general managers from other companies one by one.
Although the other general managers were not in the telecommunications industry, it was always better to have more friends in the business world.
General Manager Yan had quite a reputation in China, so the general managers of those companies were eager to befriend him when he came over to greet them.
After spending twenty minutes there, it was finally time for the auction to begin.
Everyone found a seat. However, after sitting down, they waited for another ten minutes, and the auction still hadn't started.
As everyone wondered, a high-ranking Chinese official walked in and said, "Please be patient, everyone."
...
After another twenty minutes of waiting, the doors opened, and several bodyguards entered the auction hall, protecting two individuals.
The protected individuals were a middle-aged man and a young man.
These two were Li Chengfu and Su Han.
As soon as Su Han entered, he noticed that everyone in the auction hall was looking in their direction. Su Han thought to himself, "It seems the bodyguards around me have drawn their attention."
Seeing these two latecomers, the general managers below began to whisper amongst themselves.
Yan Hongyun quietly asked, "Dad, who are those two?"
General Manager Yan also shook his head quietly and said, "I don't know. Listen to what the general managers next to you are saying."
Yan Hongyun listened attentively to the conversations of the general managers beside him.
"That middle-aged man is Lieutenant General Li Chengfu of China. As for the young man, I don't know who he is. Do you know who the young man is?"
"I don't know either. But that person's identity must be extraordinary."
"None of us have bodyguards, and he even has bodyguards? His identity must naturally be extraordinary."
"..."
They exchanged hushed words, but no one knew the identity of the young man accompanying Li Chengfu.
Guided by a staff member, Su Han and Li Chengfu were seated in the very center of the first row of the auction hall, with bodyguards standing guard around them. The bodyguards were positioned to protect Su Han.
At this moment, the Chinese official standing on the podium finally spoke, "It's time. The auction is ready to begin. Staff, please distribute the number plates."
At this point, these shrewd general managers realized that the twenty-minute delay in the auction was to wait for these two individuals.
Staff members standing nearby began distributing number plates.
General Manager Yan received number 58.
His colleagues in the telecommunications industry, Old Zhang, Old Zhao, and Old Li, received numbers 55, 56, and 57 respectively.
General Manager Yan noticed that general managers from the same industry received adjacent numbers.
The general managers who received their number plates couldn't help but cast their eyes on the young man, as he held number plate 1. Everyone else's number plates started from at least 11. The only single-digit number plate was in the young man's hand.
What surprised them even more was that the young man looked at his number plate and then took out a phone to take a picture.
These general managers were even more astonished. Their phones had been collected upon entry. Yet, this young man was able to bring his phone in.
Yan Hongyun whispered, "Dad, look, that person even brought his phone in."
General Manager Yan took one glance and recognized that the man's phone was different from those on the market. "Son, look closely at that phone. Do you see anything?"
Yan Hongyun looked and said, "It seems thicker than an ordinary phone."
General Manager Yan nodded and said, "That's right. A phone that can be brought in must not be an ordinary phone."
At this moment, Su Han was unaware that the people behind him were discussing his phone.
This was Su Han's first time receiving an auction number plate. Out of curiosity, he took out his satellite phone to take a selfie.
After taking the photo, Su Han wanted to post it on Moments but found there was no signal.
"There's no signal here. I wanted to post on Moments."
Li Chengfu was first taken aback, then quickly reacted and said, "The signal here is blocked, so you can't post on Moments. Furthermore, this auction is top secret. The photo you just took should just stay on your phone."
Su Han asked curiously, "Top secret? I didn't know that. Why didn't you tell me?"
Li Chengfu played dumb and said, "Huh? Did I really not tell you?"
Su Han said affirmatively, "That's right, you really didn't tell me."
Li Chengfu said, "Don't worry about it. The auction is about to start. Let's watch the auction."