Fu Tianlai is an domineering and powerful business tycoon who is above all others. He has his own set of standards and vision when it comes to people, and no one can escape his eyes. As for Zhou Xuan, the two had friction from the very beginning, but later Fu Tianlai was completely won over by Zhou Xuan. No matter what he did or what methods he used, Zhou Xuan did not waver in the slightest. He could tolerate Fu Tianlai's temper because he loved Fu Ying.
Fu Tianlai investigated Zhou Xuan's background and, given Zhou Xuan's unfathomable special abilities, Fu Tianlai immediately changed his attitude towards Zhou Xuan, readily agreeing to the marriage and transforming from an opponent into a staunch supporter.
While there was a utilitarian element involved, it was also undoubtedly due to Zhou Xuan's genuine affection for Fu Ying.
"I..." Fu Ying's expression softened, and after a moment's hesitation, she said, "Our wedding will proceed as scheduled. Everything will be arranged the same way. If Mom asks about these things again, please deflect the question for me. I have no objection. It's just that after everything that's happened, my head is a little sore."
Zhou Xuan was stunned, unable to react for a moment. Was Fu Ying's sudden change making him uncomfortable? Based on his understanding of Fu Ying, if Fu Ying were still the same Fu Ying from a year ago, she definitely wouldn't have agreed to this marriage. But why did Fu Ying agree now?
Was it just that traveling through time had caused mental fatigue and confusion? And now Fu Ying has returned to normal? Only Fu Ying, who has gone through countless hardships and emerged from those disasters, could fall in love with him.
After saying these words, Fu Ying went downstairs. Zhou Xuan wanted to ask something but kept quiet. The family sat down happily in the dining room. Fu Yuhai sat in the head seat, as he was the most senior and deserved it.
Li Wei and Zhou Ying also returned. Zhou Ying was helping Aunt Liu serve the dishes when she saw Fu Ying and sweetly called out, "Sister-in-law!"
Fu Ying nodded. Zhou Xuan had told her everything about his family after they got off the plane, while Li Wei was sitting with his legs crossed, looking very relaxed.
Upon seeing Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying, Li Wei immediately said with a fawning smile, "Beautiful sister-in-law, can I ask you for a favor?"
Fu Ying asked in surprise, "What is it? Is there anything you, a super-rich young master, can't handle yourself? Besides giving you money, what else can I do to help you?"
"Of course I won't let my sister-in-law lose money, and of course I won't let her help me steal the bride, hehe," Li Wei said with a chuckle. "Beautiful sister-in-law, I know that Xuan-ge listens to you in everything. Now that I'm his brother-in-law, I've begged him to teach me his magic tricks, but he refuses. I think if you could persuade Xuan-ge to teach me, I'd agree to whatever conditions you ask for."
Zhou Xuan was both annoyed and amused, and scolded, "You rascal, you never act serious!"
Fu Ying replied, "Li Wei, I can't promise you that. Whether he teaches you or not is his prerogative, and it also involves some privacy. Even if we get married, I can't completely represent him."
Li Wei immediately snorted. Zhou Ying placed a dish on the table and then angrily said to Li Wei, "Can't you just behave yourself? Stop bothering my brother."
Li Wei chuckled and said, "Don't say that. He's my brother now, isn't he? It's only natural for a younger brother to ask his older brother for something."
Li Wei's shamelessness left Zhou Ying helpless, but Zhou Xuan could still tell that although Li Wei seemed rather carefree, he was extremely protective of Zhou Ying at heart. She immediately tapped the table lightly with her finger and said, "Well, you're both here, that's good. I have something to say."
When Li Wei saw Zhou Xuan suddenly become serious, he was so startled that he removed his crossed legs and sat up properly, asking, "Brother Xuan, what do you want to say?"
Zhou Xuan said seriously, "After you marry Xiaoying, you will be the head of the household. A man has to support his family. Although your family is what it is, you can't rely on your parents and two brothers for the rest of your life. Don't be a lazy bum all the time. I'm allocating 10% of the shares of Zhou's Jewelry to you and Zhou Tao each, as Xiaoying's dowry. You and Xiaoying will go to work at the jewelry company and take good care of it. With the two of you, Zhou Tao, and Li Li around, I'll feel more at ease."
Li Wei responded seriously. He knew Zhou Xuan's personality, and Zhou Xuan understood his personality as well. There was no need for insincere excuses. These shares, along with the shares of the antique shop that Zhou Ying herself owned, totaled over 100 million. Zhou Xuan was giving them to him sincerely, not just for show.
If Li Wei refuses or doesn't want it, Zhou Xuan will get angry. Otherwise, how could he entrust his sister to him with peace of mind?
After Zhou Ying sat down, she said to Zhou Xuan, "Brother, something happened at the store while you were gone for a week, and we couldn't reach you by phone. But Brother Zhang Jian isn't too worried. It's just that this is the first time our store has had a dispute, and we're afraid it will have a bad impact, so he wanted to discuss it with you."
Zhou Xuan asked in surprise, "What happened?" Since it's a dispute, there must be some problem with the transaction with the customer.
"It's like this," Zhou Ying said to Zhou Xuan as she distributed chopsticks to everyone. "Last month, our shop acquired a painting by Luo Baishan. It was authenticated by Lao Wu. The person selling the painting was named Jiang Yu'e, a woman around forty years old. After Lao Wu's authentication, he bought the painting for 760,000 yuan. Then, last Wednesday, Zhang Jian went to the Brilliant Auction House and auctioned it off for 3.66 million yuan. After deducting commissions and expenses, we made a net profit of 2.6 million yuan on this deal."
"Isn't making money a good thing? Why would this cause any disputes?" Zhou Xuan smiled. Zhang Jian was quite skilled in business, something he himself couldn't match. If it weren't for his special ability, he would be far less proficient in the antique business than Zhang Jian.
"This is just the beginning. The whole thing started with this painting," Zhou Ying said, shaking her head. "The key issue is something else entirely. It wasn't that we made a profit or not. Four days after the painting was sold at the Brilliant Auction, the buyer sued our shop and the auction house, claiming we sold him a fake and demanding we pay him three times the purchase price."
The word "extortion" immediately flashed through Zhou Xuan's mind.
Volume 1, Chapter 405: A Little Lotus Just Begins to Emerge
Chapter 405 Mistake
Zhou Xuan had complete faith in Lao Wu's experience and discerning eye. If someone bought something through Lao Wu's hands, it must be decent, even though nothing in this industry is ever certain.
Old Wu is no ordinary expert; his reputation in Beijing's antique industry is truly renowned. He worked in archaeology at Peking University for decades and is one of the most famous professors there. In the entire capital, Old Wu's appraisal skills rank at least in the top ten.
It goes without saying that in any industry, the capital city becomes the hub of activity. And in the antique and collectibles trade, the capital has historically been the center of power and wealth, involving at least a hundred thousand people, if not a million. Among such a vast number, those who rank in the top ten, recognized as masters, are like the pinnacle of martial arts in ancient times—the leading figures in the industry.
Therefore, Zhou Xuan basically concluded that Lao Wu's receipt of the goods was probably fine, but the problem lay in the next link. Perhaps someone was jealous and envious of their wealth, and the previous incidents were basically related to this situation.
"Let's eat, let's eat. We don't talk business at home. Tell Zhang Jian not to worry about this. I'll handle it." Zhou Xuan immediately invited everyone to eat. Talking about business at the table would affect everyone's appetite. Besides, even if they lost this amount of money, it wouldn't be a big deal. Three times the amount would only be ten million, which wouldn't affect Zhou Xuan much.
Now that he's back in his original position, Zhou Xuan is at ease, because he has secretly eliminated his biggest threat, Ma Shu. In this world, there is probably no one who can rival him. As for making money, Zhou Xuan never worries.
The last time he had Zhang Jian and Lao Wu handle the micro-carvings he entrusted to them, their value was extraordinary. But these micro-carvings, which outsiders considered priceless, were like cheap change in Zhou Xuan's hands. He could create them effortlessly using his supernatural abilities, as many as he wanted. The wealth generated by these micro-carvings far surpassed that of any antiques or jade Zhou Xuan had previously acquired.
Liu Sao had received Jin Xiumei's instructions early in the morning: Fu Yuhai was an elderly man nearing 100 years old, so his food should not be too greasy, and she should cook more light dishes. Liu Sao did just that, making some light country dishes, such as sesame oil vegetables, wild vegetables, and saxifrage. She also made a variety of porridges, such as lotus seed, peanut, and broad bean porridge, and pumpkin porridge.
It is both sweet and light, quite different from the dishes made by famous chefs that Fu Yuhai eats every day. Although it is not as elaborate as the dishes in his home, it is like a delicate and charming young lady, naturally attracting attention and whetting the appetite.
Zhou Xuan gave Zhou Ying a wink, signaling her to stop talking about official business and for the family to enjoy their meal together in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.
After dinner, Zhou Xuan went to the antique shop alone. Although Fu Ying had personally acknowledged the marriage, Zhou Xuan felt that he and Fu Ying were not as close as before, and it seemed that there was some distance between them.
Just before leaving, Fu Ying called out to Zhou Xuan, held out her hand, and said, "Zhou Xuan, why don't you take these two diamonds and have your craftsmen make a pair of rings?"
Fu Ying opened her fair and delicate hands, revealing two large diamonds in her palms. The natural light in the hall shone through, causing the diamonds to refract light in a myriad of colors.
Zhou Xuan was stunned. These two diamonds were so big that they were larger than any diamond ever recorded in history. They were obviously obtained from the bottom of the skylight cave, but he had never seen Fu Ying dig diamonds out of the rocky cave wall.
"Okay, I'll take it over and have the company's craftsmen make it. But I'll pick out a few designs for you to see first. We'll make it after you choose which one you like. There's no rush."
Zhou Xuan took the diamonds and casually put them in his pocket without asking when she had taken them. After he disappeared for a week, his family hadn't even investigated why. If word got out that he went to the bottom of the skylight cave, it would be terrible. First of all, his mother wouldn't let him off the hook.
Fortunately, only the three of them escaped from the bottom of the skylight cave. Wei Xiaoyu and Fu Ying were not the type to talk too much, and they knew the seriousness of the matter, so they would never tell their families.
Zhou Ying gave Li Wei a wink, then gestured towards Zhou Xuan's retreating figure with her lip. Li Wei smiled, raised his hand, and said, "Okay, okay, I'll come along and be your brother's driver, alright?"
Zhou Ying gave a soft hum and said, "That's what you should do. How dare you say that?"
Li Wei chuckled, quickly fled the house, got into his Audi A4, and chased after Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan hadn't even left the residential area when Li Wei caught up, stopped the car, turned to open the other door, and leaned out to call out, "Brother Xuan, get in, I'll go with you."
Zhou Xuan glanced at Li Wei, smiled, and got into the car without refusing.