To be honest, Zhuang Rui used to be just a small-time hustler. Although he made a lot of money, he was not good enough to be noticed by some people.
However, Zhuang Rui's trip to Africa this time directly uncovered an ancient foreign civilization site, especially since the civilization described at this site is recorded in the Bible.
It is no exaggeration to say that the largest gang on Earth was founded by God. The number of people who believe in God far exceeds that of any other religion. This is no small matter. Zhou Liang's report at the time caused some debate among the higher-ups.
It's important to understand that the cultural site discovered by Zhuang Rui involves many issues related to religious beliefs, and it also plays a positive role in handling relations with some countries.
Therefore, some people believe that these archaeological discoveries should belong to the state, be organized and published in the name of the state, and of course, Zhuang Rui should be given some material rewards.
However, some leaders pointed out that Zhuang Rui's methods of excavating this site were not so honorable, and that it would certainly be questioned by some countries and organizations, which would damage the country's image.
After some discussion and taking into account various factors, the core leader finally made the decision to return the research work on this ancient civilization to Zhuang Rui.
"Uncle, Fourth Brother is very capable, you don't need to keep him in check all the time. Okay, okay, I won't say anything more, I'll keep an eye on things..."
Zhuang Rui was about to say a few good words for Ouyang Jun when he saw Ouyang Zhenwu glare at him. He quickly raised his hands in surrender. This usually amiable old man was becoming increasingly arrogant as he was about to enter the central government.
Seeing Zhuang Rui's expression, Ouyang Zhenwu stood up with a smile and said, "You kid, go abroad less often and visit your grandfather more often. His health hasn't been as good as before, so spend more time with him. The old man really appreciates seeing you..."
It is said that since Zhuang Rui and the Ouyang family recognized each other, the Ouyang family, which was originally in a precarious situation, has undergone earth-shattering changes.
The old man's improved health put them in an invincible position in the domestic political arena, and the third generation, including Ouyang Lei, gradually took on important positions, and everything became smoother.
Everything that happened seemed to be inexplicably connected to Zhuang Rui, as if some unseen force was guiding it all.
Upon hearing Ouyang Zhenwu mention the old man, Zhuang Rui also became serious. Although the old man was stern and unsmiling towards his children and grandchildren, Zhuang Rui could sense that the old man had a very special concern for him.
However, in the past year, Zhuang Rui seems to have felt that the spiritual energy is not having a significant effect on the old man's body, and the old man's thinking and actions are not as good as before.
Although the old man's physical functions were not problematic, Zhuang Rui had a feeling that the old man was nearing the end of his life, which made him realize that the spiritual energy he had in mind was not omnipotent.
"Uncle, the old man is in very good health. Oh, Uncle, I still have some tea left, please take it all with you..."
Zhuang Rui felt helpless about the old man's health. He didn't want to discuss it further and casually changed the subject. ...
With the support of relevant departments, the land for the reconstruction of Golden City was quickly approved, and Zhuang Rui became busy with that.
Besides having to personally oversee the construction of the Golden City, Ouyang Zhenwu also personally nominated him for his role in archaeological research in Inner Mongolia, including the construction of Genghis Khan's Mausoleum.
After careful research, the government decided to build a national-level tourist attraction directly above Genghis Khan's tomb, and to make it a pillar industry for promoting grassland tourism.
As the discoverer of Genghis Khan's Mausoleum and one of the people in charge of the excavation, Zhuang Rui also became an advisor to the tourist attraction and a member of the preparatory committee.
Although he was only a consultant, these experts still had to conduct feasibility studies on various drawings and data, keeping Zhuang Rui extremely busy. If it weren't for the fact that this was the Ouyang family's business, Zhuang Rui probably would have given up long ago.
The first exhibition of the Imperial Seal of the State at the Dingguang Museum is about to end, and in a few days, the Imperial Seal of the State will be handed over to the National Museum.
Although the Imperial Seal of the State was only in the Dingguang Museum for three months, it brought about a qualitative change to the museum. In terms of both reputation and economic benefits, its impact on the Dingguang Museum was far-reaching.
Putting aside everything else, the number of visitors received in these three months is even more than the usual annual visitor volume, which has greatly tested the Dingguang Museum's reception capacity.
Thanks to this publicity campaign and the immense appeal of the Imperial Seal of the State, the Dingguang Museum's ranking in the relevant industry in China has been rising steadily. Apart from a few well-known national museums, it has become one of the most famous tourist attractions familiar to the public.
At the beginning of the museum's opening, Huangfu Yun and Zhuang Rui had to beg for favors and try to win over travel agencies to bring tour groups. Now, the situation is completely reversed.
Due to capacity constraints, the Dingguang Museum limits the number of visitors each day, and travel agencies often need to book tickets several days in advance to prioritize their tourists' visits.
This kind of treatment would make even some national museums that rely on government funding extremely envious, not to mention those private museums that are struggling to survive. The influence of Dingguang Museum in China has long surpassed that of Mr. Ma's private museum.
Huangfu Yun also made adjustments, upgrading the museum's hardware and software facilities to bring it closer to international exhibition standards. It can be said that, apart from its rich collection, the Dingguang Museum already possesses a solid foundation to become a large-scale international exhibition hall. ...
"Has the stone carving master from Shandong arrived yet? The castle gate must be carved to look exactly like the original... Oh, and Brother Huangfu, could you urge Teacher Jin again to bring those restoration experts from the Palace Museum? The price is negotiable, but the key is that the restoration of those gold wallpaper pieces must be flawless..."
At the construction site next to the Dingguang Museum, Zhuang Rui, wearing a safety helmet, was inspecting the progress of the Golden City with Huangfu Yun. Compared to the Genghis Khan Mausoleum, which was being built in Inner Mongolia at the same time, he was clearly much more concerned about this site.
However, rebuilding and repairing is obviously much more difficult than building a new building. Although Zhuang Rui recorded a lot of film and television images when he dismantled the Golden City, this thing is like playing a jigsaw puzzle, far from being as simple as imagined.
Because the gorilla and the prehistoric python had long used the Golden City as their lair, they had caused great damage to many of the artworks inside. The restoration work alone had given Zhuang Rui a lot of trouble.
In addition to experienced restoration experts from major domestic museums, Zhuang Rui spent a lot of money to invite all the world's most famous cultural relic restoration experts to Beijing, effectively hosting an international cultural relic appraisal and restoration event.
Of course, Zhuang Rui signed confidentiality agreements with all the art restoration experts. Within the stipulated time, these experts could not disclose the artworks they had restored, otherwise they would face huge claims from Zhuang Rui.
"Brother Huangfu, once this golden city is completed, it will surely become one of the most important ancient civilization discoveries of this century. So, do you regret coming back from America?"
As the building gradually took shape, Zhuang Rui vaguely saw a resemblance to the golden city in the Central African forest. This process of discovering and restoring history stirred up Zhuang Rui's emotions, even though he had long since lost all ambition.
"No regrets? I regret it to death! Zhuang Rui, when Golden City goes public this time, you can't push me to the forefront again. You're the boss, kid..."
Huangfu Yun was very dissatisfied with Zhuang Rui's hands-off management style. Although everything in the Dingguang Museum was created by Zhuang Rui, no one would believe that Zhuang Rui had not been involved in a single specific matter even though the museum had been open for several years.
However, looking at the bustling construction site, Huangfu Yun couldn't help but feel emotional. A few years ago, he couldn't have imagined that he could create such a business in China. And the origin of it was just an accidental encounter between him and Zhuang Rui in Panjiayuan.
Upon hearing Huangfu Yun's words, Zhuang Rui smiled dismissively and said, "The capable should do more. With Brother Huangfu here, I don't need to deal with those reporters. Besides, you now own shares in the museum, so you should embody the spirit of ownership..."
Zhuang Rui now gets a headache whenever he talks about dealing with reporters. Because of this, he spends his days like a thief, constantly switching between the courtyard house and the manor.
Chapter 1278 The funding chain broke
Fortunately, Zhuang Rui is not a movie star, so the media's attention to him is relatively rational. In addition, Zhuang Rui has spoken to certain people through Ouyang Jun, and some reporters have given up on interviewing him.
However, if news of Golden City were to break at this juncture, it would likely put Zhuang Rui in the spotlight again, something he absolutely did not want to see.
Huangfu Yun was helpless against Zhuang Rui's shameless behavior, and waved his hand, saying, "You're the boss, so it's up to you..."
Having spent several years with Zhuang Rui, Huangfu Yun still felt somewhat unable to understand this young man who was several years younger than him. His mind was as calm as a high monk who had seen through the ways of the world, and his luck was ridiculously good, with almost every good thing happening to him.
When Huangfuyun first met Zhuang Rui, Zhuang Rui was just a small antique shop owner with a good reputation in the domestic jade industry, owning a few inconspicuous businesses.
In just a few short years, Zhuang Rui has become a well-known collector in China, a leading figure in the museum industry, and an expert scholar in the world of archaeology. These numerous titles have made Huangfu Yun almost unrecognizable to Zhuang Rui.
"What's up, Brother Huangfu? How about I increase your shareholding to strengthen your sense of ownership?"
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this. He really did have this plan. Huangfu Yun and his wife deserve great credit for the development of Dingguang Museum into what it is today.
"Forget it, even if we had shares, we wouldn't get any money. Zhuang Rui, let's talk about something serious. The museum's accounts are completely empty right now. This month's salaries and all expenses have been covered by the month's operating revenue..."
When Huangfu Yun spoke, his expression turned serious. The reason he had followed Zhuang Rui to the construction site today was to discuss funding issues with him.
The Dingguang Museum currently supports over a hundred people, and its monthly expenses are substantial. In addition, there are maintenance, repairs, and security upgrades. If the funding chain were to break, the consequences would be very serious.
Zhuang Rui was taken aback by Huangfu Yun's words and asked in surprise, "No money? How is that possible? The museum's revenue alone has been nearly 200 million in the past few months, right? And you can't even be self-sufficient?"
Zhuang Rui basically doesn't pay attention to the profitability of his various businesses. He only looks at the reports prepared by Yunman every quarter. However, judging from the last report, the museum is the most balanced business in terms of income and expenditure among all his businesses.
Hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Huangfu Yun said with a wry smile, "Ahem, Zhuang Rui, you're supposed to be a finance major, how come you only keep track of income and not expenses? The income was quite good a few months ago, but once you started building this Golden City, it drained all the funds from the museum's accounts..."
"Oh dear, it really is! Brother Huangfu, it's my fault, it's all my fault..."
Upon hearing Huangfu Yun's words, Zhuang Rui finally remembered that it was indeed he who had stirred up this trouble.
It's important to know that as the capital of China, Beijing's land prices are truly exorbitant, especially the location Zhuang Rui chose, which is situated at the intersection of the second and third ring roads, where the land price is unimaginably high.
Moreover, since the Golden City built by Zhuang Rui is not a public exhibition hall, even if the higher-ups intend for Zhuang Rui to gain some advantage, at most they will only sell this piece of land originally intended for urban greening to Zhuang Rui, but the price cannot be reduced by a single penny, after all, this is a market economy.
The land was even larger than the residential complex developed by Ouyang Jun, and the price was naturally not low either, a full 3 billion RMB. Even with a 40% down payment, it would still cost 1.2 billion RMB, which would have been a huge financial burden for Zhuang Rui at the time.
Although Zhuang Rui has acquired many treasures from outside over the years, given his Pixiu-like nature of only taking in and not giving out, he is unable to convert them into economic benefits. Moreover, in recent years he has gradually faded out of the jade gambling circle, thus losing a channel for quick wealth accumulation.
In addition, all of his original little money was invested in the construction and defense of "Xuanrui Island". Zhuang Rui only wanted to acquire that land, but he did not expect that he would run out of money.
Therefore, not only the funds on the books of Dingguang Museum, but also the working capital on the books of "Xuanrui Zhai" and Qin's Jewelry, as well as his several related industries in Pengcheng, were all misappropriated by him.
After much scraping together, Zhuang Rui managed to scrape together 600 million RMB. For ordinary people, this amount would be an unimaginable astronomical sum, but it was still far from the amount Zhuang Rui needed.
Left with no other option, Zhuang Rui approached Ouyang Jun again and used the fixed assets of the Dingguang Museum as collateral to borrow 800 million RMB from the bank, which covered the loan. The remaining 200 million RMB was used for the infrastructure construction of Golden City.
Moreover, in order to repair some of the damaged city walls and buildings of Golden City, Zhuang Rui also took out a batch of gold that he had hidden in the basement of his courtyard house for several years.
Zhuang Rui handed over all the gold to the restoration experts, who melted it down and used it to repair the golden city wall. It was all thanks to Zhuang Rui; if it were someone else, even if they had the money, they probably couldn't buy that much gold in a short time.
It's fair to say that Zhuang Rui is now penniless, except for the inedible antiques in the museum and two properties in Beijing. Moreover, he owes 1.8 billion RMB to the bank, and if he can't make up the debt in six months, his Dingguang Museum will have to change owners.
"Zhuang Rui, the construction of the Golden City is imperative. It will elevate the Dingguang Museum to a new level, making it a truly influential international art gallery..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's worried expression, Huangfu Yun comforted him instead, because Zhuang Rui himself had not done anything wrong. The reconstruction of the Golden City ruins was of profound significance, and its benefits to the Dingguang Museum were self-evident.
"Why don't you make a comeback and take a trip to Myanmar?"
Huangfu Yun gave Zhuang Rui an idea. He knew Zhuang Rui's status in the jade gambling circle. Every time he made a move, he would reap huge profits. His speed of making money was definitely faster than the world's richest man.
"Brother Huangfu, I'd love to, but the Myanmar jade auction isn't until early January, and it's only October now. It's too far to solve my immediate problem. Sigh, I should have taken two trips to Myanmar this year..."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui's face immediately fell. Although Zhuang Rui was confident that the Myanmar jade auction was his ATM, it was too late to pray to Buddha when you don't pray regularly.
In the past two years, Zhuang Rui has become too engrossed in archaeological research. In addition, he gambled on a lot of raw materials in the past few years to sell for his jewelry company, so his demand for jadeite is not that great, and he has basically had no contact with the jade gambling circle.
"How about this, you go to Macau or Las Vegas for a trip, even if those guys blacklist you, they'll probably still give you some tea money, right?"
Huangfu Yun gave Zhuang Rui another bad idea. Thinking about it carefully, Zhuang Rui seems to have quite a few skills. Whether it's gambling on stones or gambling in general, he basically wins every time.
"Go to Macau?"
Zhuang Rui was somewhat tempted by the idea, but he quickly rejected it, saying, "No way, I've already said I'm leaving the gambling world. If I wade into these murky waters again, who knows what kind of trouble might arise..."
Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Zhuang Rui knew in his heart that if he won a few million US dollars, those gambling tycoons really wouldn't care, and might even give him some tea money as Huangfu Yun said.
However, if he wins over a hundred million US dollars, it probably won't be long before someone shoots him in the back. Those gambling tycoons in Las Vegas don't care about Zhuang Rui's background in China.
"This won't work, that won't work, brother. We're desperate for food. How about we sell those Picasso paintings in the museum? That British knight has been very interested in them..."
Huangfu Yun frowned upon hearing this. It wasn't that he was pressuring Zhuang Rui; Zhuang Rui was a hands-off manager who didn't care about anything. But Huangfu Yun had to feed over a hundred people.
Moreover, the construction of Golden City might not be enough with just 200 million yuan. If Zhuang Rui doesn't solve the funding problem, all his businesses might be dragged into a quagmire.
"Damn it, don't even think about it. Let that old bastard Ezkena die. Brother Huangfu, the things in my museum are only allowed to enter, not leave. If even one item is missing, I'll hold you responsible. Don't blame me, Zhuang Rui, for being ruthless..."
Upon hearing Huangfu Yun's words, Zhuang Rui immediately became furious. This was the first time he had spoken so rudely to Huangfu Yun in all these years of friendship. You see, every single item in the Dingguang Museum was personally purchased by Zhuang Rui, just like his own children.
Let alone selling it, Zhuang Rui would have to think twice before even exchanging his collection with other museums. Huangfu Yun's words, however, touched a raw nerve.
“Brother Huangfu, I acted rashly in a moment of panic. Please don’t take it to heart. There are only so many Picasso paintings in total. Once they’re sold, it’s practically impossible to buy them back. So no matter how difficult it is, we can’t afford to take anything from the museum’s collection…”
Realizing he had gone a bit too far, Zhuang Rui softened his tone and continued, "I'll take care of the funding issues. Next month... no, this month I promise I won't misappropriate any more money from the museum's accounts..."
Huangfu Yun knew that his earlier suggestion to sell his collection was indeed unreliable, so he said, "I was just saying. I can't share your worries, but I certainly won't cause you any trouble..."
"Alright, Brother Huangfu, you keep an eye on things at the construction site. I'll go figure something out..."
Zhuang Rui waved his hand, pulling out his phone as he walked away, "Damn it, if you're going to sell something, you can't sell my own stuff..."