Ouyang Zhenwu did not answer Zhuang Rui's question. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stared intently at his nephew. Zhuang Rui's confidence when he made the bet with Director Guo earlier was suspicious.
Zhuang Rui was startled by these words and quickly coughed twice, vehemently denying it, "How could that be? Uncle, if I had that ability, I would have secretly dug up the imperial seal myself. What would you have to do with it? I could just say it was unearthed abroad, and even the country couldn't do anything to me, right?"
"Then how can you be so sure?"
Ouyang Zhenwu stared at Zhuang Rui for a while, then shook his head. "Forget it, I won't ask about it. But regardless of whether this Imperial Seal is real or fake, it should be presented to the public in the name of the state. Handing it over to your private museum is a bit inappropriate..."
Besides the Palace Museum, there are at least five national-level museums in Beijing. Considering all that, it's really not appropriate for Zhuang Rui's small private museum to hold an exhibition of something as important as the "Imperial Seal of the State".
“Uncle, this won’t do! You can’t do this! What’s wrong with a private museum? It hasn’t missed a single penny in taxes. The government should also promote the development of private museums, right? If I had known you would do this…”
In his haste, Zhuang Rui almost let something slip, but thankfully he reacted quickly and shut his mouth, then looked at Ouyang Zhenwu expectantly.
"Why didn't you know sooner?"
Ouyang Zhenwu glanced at Zhuang Rui with a half-smile and said, "Don't play the victim. Here's what we'll do: you contribute some funds to jointly develop the Genghis Khan Mausoleum project with the National Tourism Administration. The jade seal will then be temporarily stored in your museum under the project team's name. But remember, the timeframe is only three months."
Zhuang Rui had originally thought that his uncle couldn't do anything about this, but upon hearing Ouyang Zhenwu's words, he jumped up excitedly and asked loudly, "Uncle, this...this...are you telling the truth?"
With the Genghis Khan theme, this tourism project in Inner Mongolia is guaranteed to be a winner. Zhuang Rui never expected that he could get involved. Compared to the fame that the "Imperial Seal of the State" brings to the museum, this is a huge and tangible benefit.
"Nonsense, why would I joke with you?"
Ouyang Zhenwu glared at Zhuang Rui with annoyance. Among the younger generation in the family, this kid was the only one who was disrespectful and had never been afraid of anyone.
"Don't get too excited yet. This project is expected to cost 2 billion yuan, with the government contributing 500 million yuan, holding a 60% stake. You'll contribute 1.5 billion yuan, but only a 40% stake. Think it over before you agree..."
"Fifteen billion? That much money?"
Ouyang Zhenwu's words calmed Zhuang Rui down. Putting aside the amount of shares, it seemed that he simply didn't have that much money on hand right now.
"What do you think? The country wants to use this discovery of Genghis Khan's mausoleum as an opportunity to vigorously develop the grassland economy. Is 2 billion yuan a lot? If you can't come up with the money, that's fine. There are plenty of people eager to do this..."
Ouyang Zhenwu really didn't know what to say to Zhuang Rui. This was clearly a situation where Zhuang Rui was getting a good deal, and he actually complained that the investment was too much? You should know that the higher the investment, the greater the return.
The grasslands are vast and sparsely populated, so the tourist area that will be built in the future will not have a problem with the number of visitors. Just based on this alone, the annual income can be said to be limitless. If managed well, it is even possible to surpass the Palace Museum.
Even without considering service revenue, the Palace Museum's ticket sales alone amount to between 600 million and 1 billion yuan annually. It's easy to imagine that the Genghis Khan Mausoleum, once completed, will be a golden goose. Involving Zhuang Rui in the management of the Genghis Khan Mausoleum is also a strategic move by the Ouyang family. Such a large family needs a certain economic foundation. Within the Ouyang family, only Ouyang Jun is involved in business. Although his business is not small, his vision is somewhat narrow.
Therefore, the Ouyang family seized this opportunity to win the contract for the Genghis Khan Mausoleum project. On the one hand, it was to compensate Zhuang Rui and his mother, and on the other hand, it was out of consideration for the development of the family.
"Uncle, let me calculate first, and I'll give you an answer later..."
Although Zhuang Rui studied finance, he was really clueless about how much wealth he had, especially in the last two years when he focused on his studies and didn't pay much attention to his businesses.
According to Zhuang Rui's estimate, Dingguang Museum was a major gold producer, but it probably doesn't have much money left now, because the money it earned in the past two years has been used for the expansion and maintenance of the museum.
Now, a third of the area of the residential complex that Ouyang Jun developed has been turned into exhibition halls for the Dingguang Museum, and Zhuang Rui doesn't want to use the museum's development funds.
Other industries have brought in about 200 million in the past two years, mainly thanks to the jewelry store given to them by their father-in-law. As for the funds invested in Africa, since the political situation there has only recently stabilized and infrastructure construction is still underway, it is estimated that the funds will not be available for the time being.
Originally, the gold mines in Myanmar could have provided 1.5 billion, but when Zhuang Rui spoke with Hu Rong on the phone some time ago, he said that all of that money was used for the development of that Caribbean island. Zhuang Rui has already spent nearly 1 billion on airport construction and preliminary infrastructure alone.
Because of the gold mining, the jade mine was not sold, and they were still arguing with the British mining company. Otherwise, a billion RMB would not have been a lot of money for Zhuang Rui.
As for the jade mines in Xinjiang, they were already nearing the end of their mining operations two years ago. Even if some funds could be allocated, it would be a drop in the ocean for the current project.
Upon realizing this, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. He was still a poor guy. However, he was also somewhat unwilling to give up this project for nothing.
"Damn it, at worst we can sell off those last few pieces of top-quality jade, borrow a little from here and there, and that should be enough..."
Zhuang Rui felt a pang of heartache thinking about the last few pieces of jadeite rough in the warehouse, but considering the future profits from the Genghis Khan Mausoleum, he gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle, I'll lend you this job. Give me a month, and I'll raise 1.5 billion." "What? You really have 1.5 billion?"
Zhuang Rui agreed, which surprised Ouyang Zhenwu. He only knew about Zhuang Rui's businesses in China and had no idea about Zhuang Rui's financial resources. He never expected that his nephew could actually come up with so much money.
According to Ouyang Zhenwu and others' plan, Zhuang Rui wouldn't need to put up a single penny. He could simply use the Dingguang Museum as collateral to borrow 1.5 billion yuan from the bank, and then slowly repay the money with the museum's profits in the future.
Of course, Ouyang Zhenwu couldn't say these things to Zhuang Ruiming. He planned to have Ouyang Jun communicate with Zhuang Rui after Zhuang Rui returned to Beijing. However, Ouyang Zhenwu realized at this moment that he had underestimated Zhuang Rui's wealth.
Chapter 1196 Returning to the Capital
Zhuang Rui, unaware of Ouyang Zhenwu's ulterior motives, honestly replied, "If I scrape together the rest and sell a few pieces of jade, I can probably raise 1.5 billion. Uncle, that's all my savings..."
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Zhenwu gasped. As the Minister in charge of the cultural department, Ouyang Zhenwu handled far more than 10 billion yuan in funds every year. 1.5 billion yuan was a small number for him, but it was quite astonishing when it came to Zhuang Rui.
Ouyang Zhenwu still remembers that when Zhuang Rui first came to Beijing, he only had a net worth of a few million. In just three or four years, he has managed to build such a large business.
Compared to Zhuang Rui, Ouyang Jun, who had been making waves in Beijing for over a decade or two, paled in comparison. Of course, this was partly due to his family's restrictions on his development; otherwise, Ouyang Jun wouldn't have set up a club and spent his days doing such impractical things.
"Zhuang Rui, you should keep all your wealth for yourself. You don't need to contribute the money to the Genghis Khan Mausoleum investment..."
After thinking for a moment, Ouyang Zhenwu decided to discuss the issue with Zhuang Rui himself, since their relationship was that of an elder and a junior.
However, in terms of ability, even Ouyang Zhenwu felt inferior to Zhuang Rui. Even without his status as a veteran second-generation red, he wouldn't dare say that he could have amassed a fortune of billions in just three or four years without the help of his family.
"Hmm? Uncle, I don't need to pay?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned when he heard this. He had just been thinking about how to get the money, but now he didn't have to pay for it himself. Could it be that a pie had really fallen from the sky and hit him?
Zhuang Rui didn't really believe that Ouyang Zhenwu was abusing his power for personal gain. Although his younger uncle was easier to talk to than his older and second uncles, he would never use state funds to help himself.
In fact, Ouyang Zhenwu wasn't really helping Zhuang Rui, but rather for the sake of the entire family. This was common knowledge within certain circles, and as long as one didn't cross someone else's territory, most people would turn a blind eye.
Furthermore, the Ouyang family is not greedy. Compared to families that control the country's power and various energy projects, the Ouyang family has almost no involvement in commercial ventures, which is one of the reasons why they were able to successfully acquire the Genghis Khan Mausoleum.
"Well, all you need to do is apply for a bank loan in the name of the Dingguang Museum. After you get back to Beijing, go find Xiaojun; he'll handle the rest..."
Ouyang Zhenwu gave Zhuang Rui a brief explanation. Given his status, it wasn't appropriate for him to elaborate, but he did mention the reason for investing in the Genghis Khan Mausoleum.
The reason for using Zhuang Rui's Dingguang Museum for the loan is that the Dingguang Museum is worth so much money. At the level of Ouyang Zhenwu and others, policies can be biased, but the rules of the game must be followed. Otherwise, people will inevitably bring up old grievances in the future.
"I've learned something new! I've really learned something new. I never knew money could be made this way!"
Even after Ouyang Zhenwu returned to the command post, Zhuang Rui was still in a daze. The huge sum of 1.5 billion that had troubled him for half a day had actually been resolved by Ouyang Zhenwu with just a casual remark.
Zhuang Rui could easily guess that any loan would come with various preferential policies, and whether or not interest would be charged was another matter entirely.
In this way, it's like taking the bank's money to invest in the Genghis Khan Mausoleum, and then returning the money to the bank in installments after the Genghis Khan Mausoleum becomes profitable. Once the money is repaid, the 40% will belong entirely to him... no, to the Ouyang family's assets.
In fact, Zhuang Rui was not unaware of this method of capital operation. Many real estate developers do this nowadays: first, they sign a land purchase and sale contract, then use the land as collateral to borrow money from the bank to build houses. After the houses are built and sold, they repay the bank. From beginning to end, the developer doesn't spend a single penny.
Zhuang Rui never expected that such a thing would happen to him one day. He felt a little awkward for a moment, after all, he had earned his money honestly and had never used such methods before.
"Whatever, let Fourth Brother do what he wants..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head, dismissing the matter from his mind. He was already content as long as the Imperial Seal of the State remained at the Dingguang Museum for three months. As for the Genghis Khan Mausoleum, let whoever wanted to deal with it do so; it saved Zhuang Rui the trouble. ...
After the Imperial Seal of the State was unearthed, Zhuang Rui never went down into the underground mausoleum again, because he received a notice from Director Yun, whom he had tricked, that he should return to Beijing the next day to prepare for the press conference.
Having been away from home for more than two months, Zhuang Rui missed his wife and children very much, but before leaving, he had one more thing to do.
"Brother Zhuang, wait for me! I know you're fast, okay?"
Two fine horses, one red and one white, galloped swiftly across the grassland. The one in front was naturally Zhuang Rui, while the one shouting loudly behind was Peng Fei, riding a horse named "White Rabbit."
For the past two months, Zhuang Rui could only spend about half an hour a day with Zhui Feng, which had been holding back Zhui Feng for a long time. Now, Zhui Feng had completely unleashed his speed. If Zhuang Rui hadn't intentionally controlled it, Peng Fei would have been nowhere to be seen.
After riding for four or five hours, Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei arrived at the gathering place of Batel and others. Although the archaeological team had agreed to let Batel and others join, Batel, who was concerned about the horse farm, returned to their gathering place with Timur after staying with the archaeological team for two days.
During the past two months, Batel has visited the archaeological site several times and offered suggestions to the archaeological team regarding the burial customs of the Mongol royal family. Batel has come to terms with the opening of the ancestral tombs.
Upon seeing Timur standing in front of his yurt, Zhuang Rui jumped off his horse and shouted, "Timur Anda, I've arrived..."
The straightforward Timur was overjoyed to see Zhuang Rui. He greeted Zhuang Rui with a hug and said, "Zhuang Rui, I was just thinking of visiting you these past few days. It's perfect that you're here. Let's have a bonfire party tonight..."
"Timur Anda, the bonfire party will have to wait until next time. I came here to take you and Uyunqiqige to Beijing. We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning; we need to head to Ordos now..."
Zhuang Rui actually felt quite guilty towards this simple and honest Mongolian sworn brother. He had promised to take them to Beijing for a trip long ago, but the excavation work had delayed it. Zhuang Rui had come today to take them back to Beijing together.
"Haha, good brother, I knew you would remember..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Timur laughed happily, "I'm going to find Qiqige, that little girl has been talking about her for almost two months..."
"Temur's aunt, let me go with you..."
Zhuang Rui mounted his horse and, together with Peng Fei, followed Timur to Batel's ranch. Sure enough, Uyun Qiqige was there.
Hearing that they were going to Beijing, Qiqige was very happy. She immediately went home, packed some things, and then, escorted by Batel, rode their horses to a military airfield in Ordos. ...
"Brother Zhuang Rui, can't I take my little white car to Beijing?"
A military transport plane was already waiting on the tarmac. When the little girl saw that Zhuang Rui's "Chasing Wind" and Peng Fei's "White Rabbit" could be loaded onto the plane, she couldn't help but beg Zhuang Rui.
Mongolians have lived with horses since childhood, spending long periods of time on horseback almost every day. Although going to Beijing was a very happy occasion, Uyunqiqige did not want to be separated from her horse.
"Qiqige, when you go back to the grasslands, you'll have to take a commercial flight. Horses can't be on the plane..."
Zhuang Rui was powerless to help Qiqige with her request. He only managed to get the plane because of the Imperial Seal and Ouyang Zhenwu. He didn't think he had the ability to arrange another military plane for Qiqige to return to the grasslands.
Moreover, judging from Wuyun Qiqige's words, it seems that once she arrives in Beijing, she intends to use Xiaobai as a means of transportation. It is estimated that this will not work, and the police in the capital will probably not allow a situation where cars and horses race on the main roads of Beijing.
"Qiqige, when we get to Beijing, I'll let you ride the Chasewind..."
Seeing that Qiqige already had tears in her eyes, Zhuang Rui had no choice but to betray Zhuifeng. He knew that this little girl had been wanting to ride Zhuifeng for a while.
Although the flight from Inner Mongolia to Beijing was only a little over an hour, it took Zhuang Rui quite a while to get through it. This was because Zhui Feng and Peng Fei's white horse were extremely unaccustomed to the feeling of going from the ground to the sky. Even though Zhuang Rui tried his best to comfort them with his spiritual energy, they still got kicked several times.
However, it is probably rare in the world for someone like Zhuang Rui to transport horses directly by plane.
It's not that horses haven't flown before; on the contrary, with so many equestrian competitions now, horses traveling by plane is quite common. However, many procedures are involved before loading a horse onto a plane, and horses that are severely unsuited to the conditions may even require deep anesthesia. ...
When Ouyang Jun and Huangfu Yun, who had parked two container trucks at the military airport on the outskirts of Beijing designated by Zhuang Rui, saw Zhuang Rui leading two tall horses off the plane, their eyes widened in astonishment. Last time he had brought an African gorilla, and now it was horses. What in this world would Zhuang Rui not dare to bring home?
"Zhuang Rui, I have to say... are you really opening a zoo? But these horses are really nice..."
Although Ouyang Jun was not as good as the Eight Banners descendants of the former Qing Dynasty, his skills in walking birds and playing with horses were not bad either. When Zhui Feng came in front of him, his eyes lit up.
"Fourth Brother, didn't your estate used to have a horse farm? I figured we couldn't let it go to waste. My Chase is a purebred Akhal-Teke, you can't buy it for any amount of money..."
Zhuang Rui chuckled, turned around and pulled Huangfu Yun aside, whispering a few words in his ear.
"What did you say? The Imperial Seal of the State?"
Huangfu Yun was so shocked that Zhui Feng, who was standing next to him, almost kicked him.
Chapter 1197 Zhuang Rui's Companions
"Zhuang Rui, which dynasty made this Imperial Seal of the State? Was it a Tang or Song dynasty copy?"
Having managed the museum for several years, Huangfu Yun is now considered an expert in cultural relics. When he heard Zhuang Rui say that the Imperial Seal of the State should be exhibited in the Dingguang Museum, he immediately made a decision.