As the monkey spoke, he took out his phone and got up to make a call. Not forgetting to slip a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes that Zhuang Rui had left on the table into his pocket.
"Old Zhao, business has been good lately, you guys have worked hard..."
Zhuang Rui toasted Zhao Hanxuan. Although Monkey and Da Xiong had grown up, the shop still couldn't function without Zhao Hanxuan. He had been in this business for over twenty years and knew far more people than Monkey and Da Xiong could.
"Why bring that up? If you hadn't given me a hand back then, I, Old Zhao, would be begging for food somewhere right now..."
Zhao Hanxuan waved his hand. He was living a good life now, earning two to three million yuan a year. He was making just as much money as before, and without any risks. Old Zhao had long since given up on the idea of starting his own business.
"Hehe, Lao Zhao, even without me, you would have made a comeback. A temporary setback is nothing..."
With Zhao Hanxuan managing "Xuanrui Zhai," Zhuang Rui hardly had to worry about anything. In the past few years, Xuanrui Zhai has generated nearly ten million yuan in profit for Zhuang Rui. Now, Xuanrui Zhai's stationery and writing implements are renowned throughout Beijing.
Just then, Monkey walked in with his phone and said, "Brother Zhuang, it's all arranged. They'll be at the restaurant at 1:30. Have we almost finished eating?"
Zhuang Rui glanced at his watch; it was almost one o'clock. He stood up, picked up his wine glass, and said, "Drink this."
"Uncle, I want one too..."
When Niu Niu saw a group of adults stand up, she broke free from her mother's arms and said in a childish voice, which made everyone burst into laughter.
Looking at Da Xiong and the monkey, Zhuang Rui's thoughts drifted. When he first met these two guys a few years ago, they were just thugs who would stage accidents and set traps. Now they've changed their ways and become respectable people.
Before leaving, Zhuang Rui ordered a lot of food to be packed up from the restaurant, since there were still two waiters working there. ...
Panjiayuan seemed even more lively than before, with bargaining voices in various languages rising and falling, which made Zhuang Rui, who had lived in the suburbs for a long time, feel a bit novel. He started looking around at the stalls.
However, his luck was clearly not good today. He looked at more than ten antique-style and exquisitely crafted items, but they were all modern imitations. Moreover, the stall owner was asking for prices that were even higher than the real items. Zhuang Rui shook his head repeatedly, realizing that the antique business was getting harder and harder to do.
After returning to "Xuanrui Zhai" and having a cup of tea, two short young men walked into the shop.
"Boss, the things are here..."
The young man in front spotted the monkey at a glance, went up and slammed the object wrapped in a floral cloth onto the counter in front of the monkey with a dull thud.
The person behind the young man was also carrying a package. Both packages were about a meter long and wide, and it was clear that they were filled with a lot of things.
"Hey buddy, can we be a little gentler? Your things won't break, but my cabinet is made of glass..."
The monkey picked up the package and looked at the glass case with a pained expression. Actually, he was pretending. The case, which contained pirate gold coins and jewelry, was made of specially made bulletproof glass.
Zhuang Rui obtained far too many gold coins and jewels from the Klaus Treasure; a batch was placed in the museum, and many more remained at home.
These antique items certainly couldn't be sold at the price of gold, so Zhuang Rui simply displayed them in part of "Xuanrui Zhai". And sure enough, some discerning foreigners bought quite a few at high prices.
"Sorry, brother, we're just country folk, please don't take offense..."
The young man behind quickly pulled his companion aside and carefully apologized to the monkey.
Zhuang Rui frowned as he looked at the two men's attire and demeanor.
These weren't the professional tomb raiders he'd ever seen before! They were just two farmers. Zhuang Rui didn't mean to discriminate against farmers, but compared to the Yu family's tomb raiding gang from back then, these two were incredibly unprofessional.
Putting everything else aside, the way the two of them casually brought the antiques into the store left Zhuang Rui speechless. Weren't they practically asking the police to arrest them?
You should know that there is a police station in Panjiayuan specifically targeting these antique dealers.
Zhuang Rui didn't know if these two guys were just lucky or what, but after wandering around Panjiayuan for so long, they hadn't been taken in by the police yet.
Zhuang Rui couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to ask, "Gentlemen, what are your names?"
The hothead who started it all sized up Zhuang Rui and asked, "Who are you?"
"This is our boss..."
The monkey said from the side.
"Your boss? So you're not the boss? Then why did we waste so much time talking to you?"
That hothead almost made Monkey choke on his own words. That guy's words were so hurtful. No matter what, Monkey is now the head manager of the antique shop, the third manager of "Xuanrui Zhai", and a well-known figure in Panjiayuan.
"Erniu, will you die if you don't talk? Damn it, I'll teach you a lesson when we get back. Sorry, boss, he's just a troublemaker, he didn't mean it..."
Fortunately, there was a sensible person following behind this man, otherwise Zhuang Rui really wouldn't know how to deal with them.
The person behind them introduced them, and it turned out they were brothers. The elder brother was called Zhang Daniu, and the younger brother was called Zhang Erniu. Both of them were from Henan. It was their first time in Beijing. After getting off the train, they asked where to buy antiques and were directed to Panjiayuan.
"Da Niu, Er Niu, you two should eat something first..."
After exchanging a few simple words, Zhuang Rui could tell that the two brothers were quite down-to-earth. Although Da Niu had a bit of a farmer's cunning, he was much more honest and simple than city people, which made Zhuang Rui feel good about the two brothers.
Moreover, Erniu's eyes had been fixed on the two waiters eating ever since he entered the shop, and he kept swallowing, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Judging from this, Zhuang Rui knew that the two of them probably hadn't eaten yet.
"Great, great! Things in Beijing are damn expensive. A bowl of rice and a few vegetable leaves cost twenty yuan. Isn't this just ripping us out-of-towners off?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Er Niu's eyes lit up, and he walked unceremoniously toward where the two waiters were eating.
Da Niu quickly grabbed his brother and looked at Zhuang Rui, saying, "Boss, this...this is so embarrassing. How about I give you a discount on the items later..."
Although Da Niu was more sensible than his brother, he was also reluctant to spend the money to eat out. The two brothers had a total of three hundred yuan in their pockets. If a meal cost forty yuan, should they still go home?
Zhuang Rui smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's alright, you guys eat first. The food won't taste good if it gets cold. We can talk after you finish eating..."
Zhuang Rui ordered four dishes and a soup from the restaurant, which was quite a generous portion, more than enough for six people.
However, Zhuang Rui clearly underestimated the Erniu brothers. As soon as the two brothers sat down at the table, they devoured the food in no time. Erniu seemed to still be hungry, and he picked up the soup bowl and drank the last bit of soup.
"Sorry, brothers, you're still not full?"
Da Niu looked at his two dumbfounded colleagues and felt a little embarrassed.
"No...it's nothing, I'm full, I'm full..."
In the antique trade, it's crucial to avoid judging people by their appearance. So, although the two shop assistants only ate about three-tenths of their fill, they didn't show any displeasure, since these two were customers of the shop after all.
Erniu patted his stomach. He had never eaten such delicious food in his life, but the portion was a bit small. Although Erniu was a scoundrel, he knew how to repay kindness. He lowered his voice and said to Daniu, "Brother, this boss is a nice guy. Why don't we give him the smallest one?"
Although he lowered his voice, Erniu's voice was still loud enough for everyone in the store to hear. Zhuang Rui couldn't help but laugh and said, "Da Niu, Erniu, come in when you're full, let me see your stuff..."
Zhuang Rui went into the back room first, stopped at the door, and said to Monkey, "Order a few more dishes. I don't think Xiao Yu and Xiao Li are full..."
When Erniu heard that there was still food to eat, his eyes widened and he blurted out, "I...I'm not full either..."
"Can't you be a little more dignified? I'm not taking you out next time..."
Da Niu, embarrassed by Er Niu's words, turned bright red and kicked Er Niu in the butt.
"It's alright, it's alright, everyone who comes is a guest, having a meal is no big deal..."
Zhuang Rui caught Er Niu, mainly to prevent the package in Er Niu's hands from falling to the ground. He had just used his spiritual energy to scan the contents of the package, and the items inside were no ordinary items; they exuded a rich purple-gold spiritual energy in Zhuang Rui's eyes.
These two brothers are really something else. They're carrying such a treasure, yet they're so careless. There are several terracotta figurines in that package; even the slightest bump or scratch would greatly reduce its value.
After entering the private room, Zhuang Rui asked the two to sit down and said, "Gentlemen, let's not look at the things yet. I need to ask you something first..."
"We don't know you, how would we know what you're asking?"
Erniu, that rascal, is a bit clueless and always likes to interrupt. One sentence from him almost made Zhuang Rui forget what he was going to ask.
Chapter 881 Funerary Objects (Part 2)
"Boss, please don't be angry. He's just a scoundrel who doesn't know how to talk..."
Zhang Daniu kicked his younger brother in the butt, apologized to Zhuang Rui, and then said, "Boss, feel free to ask me anything. As long as we know the answer, we'll tell you..."
"I...I..."
Zhuang Rui was so angry at that scoundrel that he almost forgot to ask what he was supposed to ask. He had initially suspected that the two brothers were putting on an act, but now it seemed unlikely. Zhang Erniu was just a bit slow on the uptake.
"Not asking anymore? Then let's look at the things..."
Erniu put the package he was carrying on the table and said, "We're just here to sell things, why ask so many questions?"
"You may dare to sell, but do you expect me to dare to buy?"
Zhuang Rui smiled wryly to himself, thought for a moment, and then said, "Erniu, I'll talk to your brother. You go out to eat; the food delivery will be here soon..."
Zhuang Rui simply couldn't get anything out of Zhang Erniu; with Zhang Erniu interrupting him, Zhuang Rui couldn't get anything out of him either.
"Okay, okay, brother, I'm going out now..."
Upon hearing that there was food to eat, Zhang Erniu's eyes lit up, and he turned and ran outside. In his mind, regardless of whether the goods could be sold or not, just being able to eat such delicious food made the trip worthwhile.
After Erniu left, Zhuang Rui breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhang Daniu, asking, "Daniu, can you tell me where these things came from?"
"Is this all the boss is asking about?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Daniu grinned and said, "Where else could these come from? We dug them up from the ground, of course. Erniu and I dug them all up. Don't worry, they're definitely our own..."
Zhuang Rui was stunned when he heard this. He had prepared himself to hear a story, but he didn't expect Zhang Daniu to admit that it was obtained by tomb raiding. This made it impossible for Zhuang Rui to ask any further questions.
Zhuang Rui paused for a moment, then asked, "Da Niu, where are you from?"
"We're from Mengjin County in Henan Province, which is near Luoyang. But our village is in the mountains, and this is the first time we've ever traveled this far..."
Zhang Daniu didn't know why Zhuang Rui was asking these questions. However, he had a very good impression of this boss and told him everything, including the fact that his parents had given birth to a younger sister last year.
Zhuang Rui now understands that these two brothers are not setting a trap, nor are they putting on a show; they are genuine farmers from Mengjin County, Henan Province.
Da Niu was a little better off, having attended primary school for two years. Er Niu, on the other hand, couldn't even write his own name and was completely illiterate. The two brothers had originally gone out to work, but Er Niu was too straightforward and beat up the contractor, so they went back home to farm.
However, farming doesn't bring in money these days. Seeing that some of their neighbors were robbing tombs, the two brothers followed suit. They were lucky enough to dig up a large tomb that no one had ever touched and found a lot of good stuff.
Other tomb raiders usually have buyers, but these two brothers didn't know anyone. They showed the items to people in their village, but people were only willing to give them a few hundred yuan. So the two brothers decided to go to Beijing to find buyers, and now... they're sitting in front of Zhuang Rui.
"They've practically told you everything, even your parents, so what else is there for Zhuang Rui to ask?" he said. "Alright, Da Niu, open the package, let me see what's inside..."
"Alright, I just went to an antique shop, and the guy there said they were fake. But there was another shop where an old man told us to come back this afternoon. If you like these things, I'll sell them to you. You're more honest than that old man..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Da Niu happily spread the package out on the table. He wasn't saying this to deliberately show off that his item was so good that someone was scrambling to buy it, but because he had just been to another store and hadn't even gotten a sip of water. When the young man saw his item, he actually said it was fake.
But when it came to Zhuang Rui, he treated them to food and drink, a completely different level of treatment. Farmers are honest and straightforward; when they receive favors from others, they feel uneasy and always think about how to repay them.
"This...this..." Zhuang Rui was stunned as he watched Da Niu take the items out of the package. He had only sensed them with his spiritual energy, but now that he saw the actual items, he was dumbfounded.
The first thing Da Niu took out was a bronze candlestick that was about 30 centimeters tall.
The entire candlestick is covered with bronze rust and is exquisitely designed. It depicts a woman with her hair tied up in a bun, kneeling on one knee, holding a lotus eight-petal tray aloft with both hands. There is a small hole in the tray that connects to the woman's body, which is probably where the lamp wick is inserted.
The candlestick is hollow, and the fuel inside has long since evaporated over the years. However, the exquisite craftsmanship of this candlestick is something Zhuang Rui has never seen among the loot of the Yu family's tomb-robbing gang. Putting aside everything else, this bronze candlestick alone can be called a national treasure.
However, to Zhuang Rui's dismay, the bottom of the candlestick was damaged. There should have been a fixed support, but it was gone, obviously broken off by force.
Zhuang Rui asked Da Niu, and sure enough, the candlestick was originally embedded in the wall of the tomb passage, but Er Niu had pulled it off by brute force.