The press conferences and academic exchange meetings held by Zhuang Rui have generated huge economic benefits. In just two months from April to June, the number of visitors to the museum reached 2 million, and the direct economic benefits amounted to nearly 80 million yuan.
However, this far exceeded the reception capacity of Dingguang Museum. Zhuang Rui bought the green belt and garden area around the museum, and the second phase of the museum is now under construction.
Of course, Zhuang Rui didn't concern himself with the specifics. With Huangfu Yun and others taking care of things, he became a hands-off manager. After he had some free time, Zhuang Rui went back to school to continue his studies.
However, after this unforgettable island trip, Zhuang Rui changed his research direction. He is now working on ancient Chinese and foreign shipwrecks.
The underwater treasures he saw upon returning home had left Zhuang Rui itching to explore them. If it weren't for the worry for his family, he probably would have already organized a treasure hunt in the high seas near the South China Sea.
Zhuang Rui's classes for this semester have ended, and Ya Ya has started her summer vacation. After discussing it with her mother, they decided that the whole family, including Peng Fei, Zhang Ma, and Li Sao, would come and stay at the manor.
The change of environment delighted the children. The little girl was having a water fight with King Kong in the swimming pool. When she lost, she simply climbed onto King Kong's shoulders, creating a stark contrast between the two.
"Sweetie, slow down! You'll be starting school next year, and you're still running around like that..."
Seeing her granddaughter's condition, Ouyang Wan called out repeatedly by the pool, fearing that King Kong might have hurt the little girl.
“It’s okay, King Kong is a good boy,” Nannan replied crisply. Her praise made King Kong very excited. He picked up the little girl with one big hand and walked around the pool. The excited little girl shouted loudly.
In one corner of the pool, there was also a family of white lions. The white lions, who always loved the harsh winter, loved to soak in the water in the summer, along with their two-month-old puppies, who were also splashing around in the water.
The naturally quiet Ya Ya watched from the side, and when the two puppies were exhausted, she took them to the edge of the pool to rest.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Rui's two children, Fangfang and Yuanyuan, were under a parasol by the pool, stretching their arms and kicking their legs as they watched others play. The two little ones were very lively; if they hadn't been strapped to their lounge chairs, they might have climbed into the pool by now.
"My little girl has grown up too..."
Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing sat on lounge chairs by the pool, watching the children play, their faces filled with happiness.
Zhuang Rui now lives a very fulfilling life, even though he gets up in the middle of the night to change his child's diapers, which is also a real experience of being a father.
Sitting to Zhuang Rui's right are Zhao Guodong and Zhuang Min. Their business in Pengcheng is basically stable now, so Zhao Guodong doesn't need to keep an eye on it all the time. The couple missed their daughter, so they came to Beijing to stay for a while.
Sitting to Zhuang Rui's left are Peng Fei and Zhang Qian, a married couple. They got married last month, and Zhang Qian also found out she was pregnant. Peng Fei was so excited that he almost made Zhang Qian quit her job.
"Brother Zhuang, can we talk about this? Can you make sure I don't have to study next semester?"
Peng Fei said to Zhuang Rui with a bitter face.
"Don't even think about it. You don't even have a bachelor's degree. Do you know how hard it was for me to get you into Peking University?"
Zhuang Rui glared at Peng Fei. This kid didn't need to learn any crooked ways; he could understand them at a glance. He could also speak two or three languages, but he just refused to study. Zhuang Rui was planning to train Peng Fei so that he could manage the museum in the future.
"Why should I study so many books? I'll be following you in the future anyway..."
Peng Fei grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"Mom, your godson doesn't like studying. He says studying is useless. Could you go and talk to him about it?"
Zhuang Rui ignored Peng Fei, turned around and shouted at his mother, which startled Peng Fei so much that he stood up and plunged into the pool.
Although Ouyang Wan was his godmother, when Peng Fei talked about her, he felt that even if his biological parents were combined when they were alive, they wouldn't be as powerful as this godmother.
Peng Fei's actions elicited laughter. Zhuang Rui shook his head with a smile, when suddenly the phone that his son was holding like a toy rang.
"Here, play with this..."
Zhuang Rui put a pacifier in his son's mouth and coaxed him to hand over the phone.
Hello, who is this?
Seeing that the phone number was a landline from Hebei, Zhuang Rui felt a little unfamiliar with it. He guessed that it should be the number of Boss Li, who was involved in the black market. Old Li was very good at dealing with people. Some time ago, he sent Zhuang Rui a set of tools for training hawks. Although Zhuang Rui didn't need them, he still appreciated the gesture.
"Brother Zhuang, this is Lao Xu, Xu Guoqing," a cheerful voice came from the phone.
Recently, Zhuang Rui has become increasingly mature, and even Huangfu Yun rarely calls him "brother" in private anymore. Apart from some old friends, only Xu Guoqing calls him "brother" all the time.
"Mr. Xu, I called you three times a while ago, but you didn't answer..."
Last month, Zhuang Rui took Qin Xuanbing on a trip to Hokkaido, Japan. When he saw that a Japanese ceramics company claimed to have reproduced ancient porcelain from a thousand years ago, Zhuang Rui suddenly remembered the Cizhou porcelain. He called Xu Guoqing several times, but the guy was too busy to answer. He was still a bit out of touch with reality, just like before.
"Brother Zhuang, he's out, he's out..."
Xu Guoqing hadn't even remembered Zhuang Rui's phone call. At that moment, he was so excited that he was talking incoherently.
Zhuang Rui frowned and asked, "What came out?"
"I've successfully replicated the Cizhou official kiln porcelain. Although I don't have a physical copy to compare it with, the simulation level is over 99% when compared with the broken porcelain fragments unearthed in Cizhou." Xu Guoqing explained the whole story in one breath, just like a child who got a perfect score and was reporting his report card to his parents.
Although Xu Guoqing was a bit stubborn, he wasn't completely clueless about the ways of the world. Since last year, Zhuang Rui had invested more than 20 million yuan in his laboratory. Xu Guoqing didn't say anything, but he was under a lot of pressure.
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui was overjoyed and quickly asked, "How many pieces were successfully fired?"
Cizhou ware holds a pivotal position in the history of Chinese ceramics, especially in folk ceramics. However, during the wars of modern times, the secret firing recipe of the ancient official kiln was lost, causing its inheritance to be interrupted, which is a heartbreaking thing for many Chinese people.
So even when funds were tightest, Zhuang Rui never cut off Xu Guoqing's research funding. Now that the results have been achieved, Zhuang Rui is naturally happy.
"Brother, this...this...only two exquisite pieces were fired; the others have some flaws. But don't worry, I've now completely mastered the firing process, and I believe the success rate for the subsequent firings will be very high..."
Xu Guoqing felt a little embarrassed when he heard Zhuang Rui's question. He had spent more than 20 million yuan and only managed to fire two items. Even if these were genuine ancient ceramics, they would not be worth this price, let alone modern imitations.
"Two items?"
Zhuang Rui pondered for a moment and said, "Xu Gong, you must keep these two porcelain pieces a secret. Don't tell anyone, and don't continue firing them. I'll send a car to pick you up right away. Please bring these two porcelain pieces to Beijing..."
Hearing Zhuang Rui's serious tone, Xu Guoqing quickly replied, "Brother, don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Even those researchers don't know. Don't bother sending a car. Just give me an address, and I'll go there myself with my things..."
"Okay, take care on your journey..."
Zhuang Rui didn't press the issue. Xu Guoqing was over forty years old; surely he knew his way around? After giving the other party the address, Zhuang Rui hung up the phone.
"Honey, what's up?"
Qin Xuanbing saw that Zhuang Rui looked excited after answering a phone call, and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"It's okay, I'm going to play a game of chess. Anyway, I'm just killing time during summer vacation, haha..."
Zhuang Rui chuckled smugly, then stood up, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.
"Mr. Li? This is Zhuang Rui from Beijing. Yes, that's me. Do you have some time these next few days? I need your help with something..."
Zhuang Rui made this call to Boss Li, who had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The matter he was currently working on could not be accomplished without Boss Li's cooperation.
"Oh, Mr. Zhuang, what are you saying? Just tell me what you need, why are you talking about helping or not?"
Upon hearing that it was Zhuang Rui calling, Li Dali immediately withdrew his large hand, which had been groping a minor celebrity's chest, and stood up. His respect was no less than if Zhuang Rui were right in front of him.
Since that incident in Gao County, Li Dali has actually gotten to know several powerful figures in Shijiazhuang, and his business has been going very smoothly lately.
Chapter 858 Layout (Part 2)
Because black market auctions involve dealing with shady characters from all over the country, one wrong move could lead to disaster. Therefore, Li Dali has always been very cautious, and in recent years he has even considered leaving the black market.
However, the saying "a man in the martial world is not free to do as he pleases" is not without reason. Even if Li Dali wanted to quit, the brothers who relied on him for their livelihood would not agree. In addition, some of the things he did in the past were not clean, so Boss Li has always been drifting in this ambiguous state.
But since meeting Zhuang Rui, Li Dali seems to have seen a completely different path. If he can erase the past, his black market auctions might as well become legitimate.
After getting to know several high-ranking officials in Shijiazhuang and Hebei Province, Mr. Li began to ponder the matter. It wasn't difficult to clean up his act and get back on his feet, but he needed to carefully consider the future developments.
During this time, he also came to Beijing once, hoping to relive the glory of being a minor celebrity in a suburban club, but he never expected that the place had become Zhuang Rui's private estate.
This made Li Dali even more respectful of Zhuang Rui. A high-end club worth hundreds of millions of yuan had been transformed into a private manor in the blink of an eye. This was something that money alone could not accomplish.
So after receiving Zhuang Rui's call, General Manager Li immediately called his driver and drove to Beijing. ...
"Mr. Li, please have a seat. Here, have a cup of tea..."
Zhuang Rui called Li Dali in the morning, not expecting him to arrive in the afternoon. Since he didn't want to entertain him at the manor, he simply invited Li Dali to the courtyard house.
Because the matters he needed to discuss with Boss Li were somewhat shady and the fewer people who knew about them, the better, Zhuang Rui arranged for the meeting to take place in a courtyard house.
When Zhuang Rui goes out now, except for very important matters, he usually takes Hao Long with him. As a result, the security personnel in the courtyard are not enough. Zhuang Rui asked Ouyang Lei for a few special forces soldiers who had retired from the special forces division to serve as the security force for the courtyard.
Not only that, the security at the manor has also been reorganized. Now, these two places are Zhuang Rui's foundation, and he cannot afford to make any mistakes.
"Mr. Zhuang, this courtyard of yours is worth a fortune! Tsk tsk, if I could have a place like this in Beijing in my lifetime, I would have lived a truly fulfilling life..."
Li Dali sat under a big tree in the central courtyard, drinking the Kung Fu tea poured by Zhuang Rui. His eyes looked around, and he occasionally made "tsk tsk" sounds of admiration. Half of his words were flattery of Zhuang Rui, but the other half was genuine shock.
Since the government liberalized the sale of courtyard houses in 2004, the few remaining courtyard houses in Beijing have seen their prices change daily. For a large courtyard house like Zhuang Rui's, with three courtyards and two gardens, you wouldn't even dare to ask the price unless you were worth over a billion yuan.
"Hehe, buying early did give me a bit of a bargain..."
Zhuang Rui smiled upon hearing this; he hadn't expected the domestic real estate market to rise so rapidly in recent years.
Leaving aside this courtyard house, even the property I bought in China Overseas, which was only 10,000 yuan per square meter back then, has now risen to 50,000 yuan per square meter. And it's still a case of having a price but no houses available, with no one willing to sell. As a result, the property manager calls Zhuang Rui every few days, asking him if he's willing to sell.
"That's because you have good taste, Mr. Zhuang..."
Li Dali subtly flattered him again.
"Alright, Mr. Li, let's get down to business..."
Zhuang Rui almost got carried away by this seasoned veteran's flattery. He straightened his face and said, "Mr. Li, I have a few pieces of official kiln porcelain that I'd like to borrow from you. Would that be convenient?"
Given Zhuang Rui's current status, he naturally couldn't directly tell Li Dali, "Brother, I want to set up a scheme and I need your cooperation." Although that was the meaning behind it, he couldn't say it outright.
"Walk around my area?"
Li Dali was stunned when he heard this, and almost doubted that there was something wrong with his ears.
Given Zhuang Rui's standing in the antique trade, if he wanted to determine the authenticity of an item, he could make even a fake seem real, without anyone questioning it. These days, experts still have some prestige, unlike in a few years when they'll be commonplace.
Zhuang Rui pointed to the meat and said, "That's right, we need to visit your place. These are several pieces of Cizhou official kiln porcelain from Hebei. The body color is pure, and the quality is excellent..."
"Wait, Mr. Zhuang, please wait a moment..."
Upon hearing about Cizhou official kiln porcelain, Li Dali almost jumped up. As a native of Hebei and someone who dealt in antiques, he was extremely familiar with Cizhou porcelain.
The so-called Cizhou official kiln only existed for a very short period during the Southern Song Dynasty. It is not recorded in the history of Chinese ceramics, so there is a lot of debate in academic circles.
The theory behind its existence is that some exquisitely crafted porcelain fragments made with high-quality materials were found in the excavated Cizhou ancient kiln site, and some of the fragments bear the marks of the Southern Song Dynasty palace.
Furthermore, some unearthed Song Dynasty documents also record that Cizhou ware porcelain was presented as tribute to the imperial court, so some scholars say that Cizhou once produced official kiln porcelain.
However, the opposition also has a valid argument: no actual porcelain pieces from the Cizhou official kiln have been unearthed since the Southern Song Dynasty. What is scientific research? It is to verify based on unearthed artifacts. Since there are no actual Cizhou official kiln pieces, it can be said that the kiln did not exist.
Just like Zhuang Rui's Dingguang sword, although it is clearly recorded in historical books, people still consider it a legend because none of the so-called Ten Great Swords still exist in the world.
It wasn't until the Dingguang Sword was discovered and carbon-14 dating confirmed that it was indeed a product from thousands of years ago that the consensus was reached, silencing the doubts from the academic community.
So when Li Dali heard the words "Cizhou official kiln", he immediately jumped up. That thing only existed in legends and no one had ever seen it. Zhuang Rui mentioned several pieces, and they were all in perfect condition. How could he not be surprised?
"President Zhuang, this... this is no joke. If Cizhou official kiln porcelain is unearthed, it will definitely fill a gap in the history of ceramics. This... no one will believe it if you tell them..."