Miao Feifei glanced at Zhuang Rui with mixed feelings. She had known him for several years, but she had never realized that Zhuang Rui was actually a radical young man at heart.
However, Miao Feifei has no intention of pursuing this matter any further.
Just as Zhuang Rui said, those things were all fake, and there was no way to hold the parties responsible. Even if you asked Shan Mu now, Shan Mu would insist that he bought modern handicrafts. After saying goodbye to Miao Feifei at the horse farm, Zhuang Rui first took Jin Pangzi home. The guy was still excited in the car, obviously, the auction had a great impact on him.
"Brother Zhuang, you're amazing! You managed to squeeze nearly 200 million from the Japanese without making a sound..."
After dropping Jin Pangzi off at home, Zhuang Rui didn't return to the courtyard house. Instead, he and Peng Fei went into a quiet teahouse and asked for a private room.
"Hehe, if it's really as they say, taking it back to collect and appreciate, then there's no problem. But if they're trying to cause some trouble, hehe..."
Zhuang Rui smiled maliciously. He had asked Xu Guoqing, and both pieces of porcelain had the character "Xu" on their inner walls, which had become Xu Guoqing's signature.
Furthermore, Master Xu did something that left Zhuang Rui speechless: he engraved the date the porcelain blank was completed on the inner wall. Even without breaking the porcelain, it could be clearly seen with the help of relevant instruments.
"Oh, Mr. Zhuang, you really scared me to death today..."
While Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei were chatting over tea, the door to the private room was pushed open. Boss Li peeked out first, and after making sure that only Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei were in the room, he walked in.
Li Dali was afraid that there were police hiding in the room and that such a big incident would occur, so he was already preparing to go abroad to lay low.
"Mr. Li, this is a matter of mutual consent, what's there to be afraid of..."
Zhuang Rui poured Li Dali a cup of tea. The fact that things turned out this way was all thanks to this Mr. Li.
Chapter 871 Fund
"Mr. Zhuang, aren't you going a bit too far with this?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Li Dali couldn't help but smile wryly. In a small black market for antiques, a single item could fetch as much as 150 million yuan at auction, which is extremely rare even in international auctions.
In the past decade of Chinese art auction records, it seems that only last year's hyped Yuan blue-and-white porcelain jar has exceeded this transaction amount. If it hadn't been auctioned on the black market, it would have been a historic achievement.
Zhuang Rui poured Li Dali a cup of tea and said with a smile, "Mr. Li, this auction is enough to make you famous all over the world..."
"Come on, it's more like infamous. I doubt this black market will be able to continue operating..."
Li Dali was full of complaints. He planned to give the money to Zhuang Rui and then immediately go abroad to avoid trouble. He now realized that playing games with these powerful sons of officials was a very dangerous thing.
"Mr. Zhuang, this is a check for 190 million. Please accept it..."
The reason Li Dali arrived a little later than Zhuang Rui was because he went to deal with the check; he didn't dare to owe Zhuang Rui money.
Zhuang Rui looked at Li Dali strangely and said, "Mr. Li, why are you in such a hurry?"
"I...I was going to stay in the Maldives for two months, but this whole thing has blown up. The police are probably looking for me everywhere right now..."
Li Dali spoke his mind. The older you get in the underworld, the more timid you become. Boss Li knew that if the government wanted to deal with him, it wouldn't be difficult at all. He had done many illegal things in the past ten years, enough to put him in jail for a few years.
"Just because of that?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "Mr. Li, don't worry, no one will come looking for you. This matter is over. No matter who asks, just say that you sold two modern handicrafts. You can stay at home without worry..."
"Mr. Zhuang, are you serious?"
Although the Maldives has beautiful scenery, Mr. Li didn't really want to go on vacation. When he heard Zhuang Rui's words, his eyes lit up.
"Of course it's true. This whole thing started because of me, so we can't let you, Mr. Li, take the blame, can we?"
Zhuang Rui smiled, took out a pen and paper, wrote an account number on the check, then pushed the check back and said, "Mr. Li, according to the auction house's rules, you take a 15% commission on this money, and then transfer the rest into this account..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Li Dali was stunned. After a long pause, he stammered, "Mr. Zhuang...you're too kind. I just helped with a small matter..."
Fifteen percent of 190 million is nearly 30 million RMB, almost a third of Li Dali's wealth. Most importantly, Mr. Li never intended to take a commission from this money.
"Alright, Mr. Li, this is Mr. Qian's phone number from the Kyoto Auction House. You can go see him when you have time. We'll have opportunities to cooperate in the future..."
Zhuang Rui waved his hand, stopping Li Dali from continuing. "The way to go is for everyone to make money. People who try to make money all by themselves won't get anywhere in this society."
Furthermore, Li Dali has indeed put a lot of effort into this matter. He has prepared the ancient kiln site in a very proper manner. Without that groundwork, the auction might not have attracted the Japanese. Based on this alone, it is not unreasonable for Li Dali to take 30 million.
"Alright, Mr. Zhuang, you're so kind, and I, Old Li, will be just as generous. If there's anything else you need in the future, just let me know. If I, Old Li, even flinch, I'm a son of a bitch." Although Li Dali's words were a bit rough, they were sincere. He had been in the underworld for so many years and had seen plenty of people who took money but did nothing and even stabbed him in the back. He had never seen anyone as honest as Zhuang Rui before.
"Alright, Lao Li, go and reassure your men. I have some things to take care of. That's all for today. I'll treat you to dinner another day..."
Zhuang Rui patted Li Dali on the shoulder, his tone becoming warmer. Although he had expanded his business considerably, he didn't have many capable subordinates. While Li Dali's background wasn't exactly clean, he was a decent person.
After leaving the private room, Li Dali insisted on paying the bill. Zhuang Rui smiled but didn't say anything. They got into their cars and drove away from the teahouse.
"Brother, where are we going? Home?"
Peng Fei turned the steering wheel and looked at Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui rubbed his temples. Today's auction was exciting, but the excitement had also left him feeling a bit tired. After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui said, "Let's go to the museum. I want to set up a foundation. It would be better if Huangfu Yun handled this..."
The discovery of the Cizhou official kiln has caused a great stir in the domestic collecting community, and even the government has taken notice. Miao Feifei has also learned the ins and outs of the matter. If Zhuang Rui really spends this money with a clear conscience, it will probably give people something to criticize him for in the future.
Therefore, Zhuang Rui planned to take out all of the 100 million yuan and add another sum of his own money to establish a foundation in the name of the Dingguang Museum to help out-of-school children. The money was ill-gotten, but the spending was aboveboard. He believed that even if people later found out that he had orchestrated the whole thing, they wouldn't say much.
"Hello, is this Grandpa?"
Just as the car was about to reach the museum, Zhuang Rui received a phone call. He looked at the number and saw it was from Yuquanshan.
"Xiao Zhuang, this is your Aunt Wu. The commander wants you to come here immediately..."
The voice coming from the phone was that of the old man's special caregiver. She had been taking care of Ouyang Gang and his wife for more than ten years, so Zhuang Rui usually called her "Auntie" when he saw her.
"Aunt Wu, what's wrong? Is something wrong with Grandpa's health?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback and quickly asked.
"It's nothing, the commander is in good health, he just asked me to notify you to come over..."
Aunt Wu's words put Zhuang Rui at ease. Although there was spiritual energy to help him recover, birth, aging, sickness and death are inevitable. After all, the old man had reached that age, and some unexpected things could happen.
"Okay, I'll be right there..."
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Rui said to Peng Fei, "Let's go to Yuquan Mountain..."
Among the three generations of the Ouyang family, including Ouyang Lei, no one was more favored by the old man than Zhuang Rui. You should know that even Ouyang Long and others who were working in other places might not be able to see their grandfather when they came to Beijing.
As the car entered Yuquan Mountain and turned onto the road leading to the small building, Zhuang Rui immediately saw that the old man was sitting at the entrance of the courtyard, with Aunt Wu standing beside him, seemingly trying to persuade him about something.
Zhuang Rui had Peng Fei stop the car from a distance, then quickly walked over and said with a smile, "Grandpa, what's wrong? Did you and Grandma have a fight?"
In his later years, the old man had become a bit like a child, and he usually had to be coaxed. However, today the old man's expression was different from usual, and Zhuang Rui felt that he was targeting him.
The old man's face tightened. He tapped Zhuang Rui's shoulder with his cane and said, "Who told you to sit down? Stand up. Xiao Wu, stay away..."
"Commander, this..."
Aunt Wu knew that the old man had suddenly become angry after receiving a phone call. She guessed that Zhuang Rui might have gotten into trouble outside, and gave Zhuang Rui a wink before leaving.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?"
Zhuang Rui was truly baffled; the old man's display of power made him a little uneasy.
The old man, leaning on his cane, said angrily, "I heard you sold national treasures? Those things might be a bit of a nuisance, but they're still our country's property. How could you give them to the Japanese?" "Grandpa, who told you that? That's not true..."
When Zhuang Rui heard about this, he was both amused and exasperated. Who was so talkative as to let the old man know about this? But since the old man didn't know it was a setup, it certainly wasn't Miao Feifei who told him.
"Never mind who told me, I just want to know if it's true or not? Let me tell you, your Grandpa Song will come over with his cane and beat you in a minute..."
The old man's words reminded Zhuang Rui that the old man of the Song family was also an antique enthusiast. Perhaps someone had whispered it in his ear, and then it reached his maternal grandfather.
Zhuang Rui now realized that what he thought he was doing so discreetly had not escaped the notice of the relevant departments at all. The auction had only ended a few hours ago, yet the news had already reached the old man.
In fact, Zhuang Rui did not know that after the incident he had last time, Ouyang Gang and the old man of the Song family had paid more attention to him. Such a big matter would naturally be reported to the old man.
"Grandpa, that's not how it is. I did sell something to the Japanese, but it was fake. It wasn't even worth 100,000 yuan, let alone over 100 million. It's not a national treasure at all..."
Zhuang Rui quickly explained to the old man that these old guys were all retired from the battlefield, and each of them had a fiery temper. Maybe that old man Song was looking for a pistol at home. This matter had to be made clear.
Are you telling the truth?
The old man asked with some skepticism.
Zhuang Rui patted his chest and said, "Grandpa, how could I dare to lie to you? I'm telling the absolute truth, it's just that the things are made to look real..."
Zhuang Rui explained the matter of establishing a foundation to the old man again, and the old man's originally serious expression gradually softened.
"Well, that's good. Xiao Rui, your grandfather is getting old. Who knows when he'll be going to meet Marx and Chairman Mao? While he's here, he can protect you, but after he's gone, some things might not be so easy to say... So you must always do the right thing. As long as you do the right thing, you don't have to worry about what others say..."
The old man spoke slowly, and finally, leaning unsteadily on his cane, he stood up and said, "You go ahead and do your work. I'll talk to Old Man Song about this..."
"Grandpa..."
Watching the elderly man being helped into the courtyard by the nurse, Zhuang Rui suddenly felt a lump in his throat. Only now did he realize that the old man had been silently caring for him all along.
Chapter 872 Turmoil (Part 1)
After leaving Yuquan Mountain, Zhuang Rui went to the museum to explain the establishment of the foundation to Huangfu Yun. He also inquired about exchanging collections with the Palace Museum. He didn't return home until evening.
In the days that followed, Zhuang Rui had more and more free time. Apart from attending classes at Peking University, he spent his days at home with his children. Watching his children grow up day by day, Zhuang Rui was filled with the happiness of being a father.
On weekends, Zhuang Rui would visit museums or "Xuanrui Zhai". Two months later, the Dingguang Foundation was established and initially funded children in the impoverished mountainous area of Sanbaimi, building twelve Hope Primary Schools, which received unanimous praise from society.
Huangfu Yun handled all of these matters; Zhuang Rui remained behind the scenes. Apart from a few people within the industry, very few knew that Zhuang Rui had initiated the foundation.
"Dad... Daddy, hug me..."
Little Fangfang swaggered toward Zhuang Rui, clapping his little hands incessantly. His little sister followed closely behind him. The two little ones had just celebrated their first birthday and could already say many words such as "Dad, Mom, Grandma, Uncle".
Perhaps because Zhuang Rui often used his spiritual energy to cleanse their bodies, the little ones were much taller than other children their age, and their skin was especially good, making them look like two porcelain dolls.
Behind the two little ones were two snow-white Tibetan mastiffs. Ouyang Wan was also watching her grandchildren with a nervous expression, afraid that they would fall.
"Here, son, have a taste..."
Zhuang Rui picked up Fangfang and brought his face close to hers. He then picked up his daughter with his other hand and looked at Ouyang Wan, who was anxiously watching her grandchildren, and said, "Mom, you're getting old. Don't run around with them. Isn't Jin Gang watching over them?"
Ouyang Wan glanced at her son and said irritably, "Weren't you the same when you were little? Didn't your mother run around a lot? Hmm, but Jin Gang is sensible; he's helping Peng Fei put up the couplets right now..."
This year's New Year is a bit late, in mid-February. After Zhuang Rui finished decorating the courtyard house, he brought his whole family to the manor. He plans to spend this New Year at the manor.
"Awooo!" Just as Zhuang Rui was talking about King Kong, the big guy ran over. Looking at its clothes, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but burst out laughing.
I don't know who tailored King Kong's clothes, but they actually made him a set of bright red Tang suit cotton-padded jacket and trousers, and he even wore a landlord's hat on his head. If you looked at him from behind, you would really think he was a burly man.
"I want... Jinjin, I want Jinjin..."