Zhong Zhijun frowned and shouted, "Yao Chushun, what are you pretending to be so high and mighty for? Stop dawdling and tell me how much this thing is actually worth?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Yao Chushun seemed somewhat afraid of Zhong Zhijun, nodding and bowing hastily. His previous domineering aura vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning expression on his wrinkled old face. He laughed, "Officer Zhong, this thing your friend inherited from his ancestors is definitely a treasure... I estimate it to be at least..."
"Yao Chushun, you need to be responsible for your words," Zou Mingyuan interrupted Yao Chushun coldly.
"Hey, Officer Zhong, he's threatening me." Yao Chushun pretended to be very scared.
Zhong Zhijun frowned as he looked at Zou Mingyuan.
Zou Mingyuan sneered, "I'm just reminding you not to talk nonsense and ruin my reputation or affect my business just because we have a past grudge."
"I'm affecting you?" Yao Chushun didn't give Zou Mingyuan a friendly look, and sneered, "You son of a bitch, aren't you afraid of your words going awry? Who taught you that kind of sloppy stuff? You ungrateful bastard..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhong Zhijun sat on the sofa and kicked Yao Chushun.
Zou Mingyuan had already stood up and said coldly, "You are not welcome here, get out!"
"You son of a bitch, you think I wanted to come here?" Yao Chushun cursed again, his beard bristling and eyes wide. Then he turned to Zhong Zhijun and Xu Zhengyang and said, "Take your treasures and leave. That son of a bitch Zou Mingyuan, does he even have the money to buy these porcelain jars? He'd be better off selling his shop..."
Xu Zhengyang was stunned. Goodness, how much is this pottery jar worth?
"Yao Chushun, don't talk nonsense!" Zhong Zhijun was also shocked and gasped. This is too valuable!
"Hehe, yes, yes, Officer Zhong, you have a keen eye, you know I'm lying, don't be angry." Yao Chushun grinned obsequiously and said, "If your friend really has two of these pottery jars, and they're a pair, they should be worth at least, at least 500,000... If they were auctioned, who knows, they could fetch over a million, and if they were overseas, they'd be even higher..."
"Cough cough..." Xu Zhengyang didn't even have time to exhale the smoke, he choked and coughed repeatedly, tears welled up in his eyes, and his heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat.
"No way?" Zhong Zhijun looked incredulous.
Zou Mingyuan, his voice low and menacing, growled through gritted teeth, "Yao Chushun, get out of here!" Then he sighed and said to Xu Zhengyang and Zhong Zhijun in a gentle tone, "Gentlemen, I admit that I was indeed very greedy before, wanting to make a fortune. In our line of work, business is like this; we take advantage of outsiders... Anyway, I won't waste any more words. I'm willing to pay 500,000 for this pair of 'Blue and White Porcelain Dragon and Phoenix Lotus Vase.' Any more than that, I simply cannot accept."
"Can't afford it, can you?" Yao Chushun sneered.
"Get out of here, get out, get out!" Zou Mingyuan was completely enraged. He no longer cared about his image or that Xu Zhengyang and Zhong Zhijun were in the room. He rushed out from behind his desk and kicked Yao Chushun.
Yao Chushun was kicked squarely, and with a cry of pain, he stumbled and crashed into the wall.
Zou Mingyuan grabbed Yao Chushun by the hair and collar and dragged him out the door, cursing, "Damn it, I'll make you pay sooner or later, you son of a bitch, you're so shameless..."
"Stop!" Zhong Zhijun, who had just recovered from his shock, hurriedly shouted, stood up and grabbed the furious Zou Mingyuan, twisting Zou Mingyuan's arm behind his back with a small grappling move. "Manager Zou, let's come back later." As he spoke, he winked at Xu Zhengyang.
Xu Zhengyang had already stood up and stood in front of the desk, reaching out to hug the pottery jar, as if afraid that the conflict among the people in the room would affect this treasure.
Goodness gracious, that's five or six hundred thousand! That's enough to buy a huge chunk of the heavens.
Seeing Zhong Zhijun's gesture, Xu Zhengyang hurriedly and carefully carried the earthenware jar back into the wine box, wrapping it again and again with the cotton inside, then put the lid on and hugged it tightly to his chest. He then walked out, saying politely, "Yes, yes, Mr. Zou, we'll come back later, we'll talk again later..."
"Oh? I'm so sorry, I lost my temper just now. Let's talk some more, don't go..." Zou Mingyuan said regretfully.
Zhong Zhijun and Xu Zhengyang ignored him and went out.
"Damn it..." Yao Chushun cursed as he looked at Zou Mingyuan, who was staring blankly in disappointment. Just as he was about to say something more gloating, he noticed that Zou Mingyuan had grabbed the ashtray on the coffee table. Yao Chushun hurriedly rushed out and closed the door.
Bang! Clang!
Volume One, Land, Chapter 015: Master Gu and Yao Chushun
As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't measure the sea with a bucket.
Xu Zhengyang saw Yao Chushun as nothing more than a conman peddling quack medicine seller, and the lowest of the low. His clothes were even more shabby than Xu Zhengyang's, a country bumpkin, and he had a cunning, lewd appearance; his filthy, messy hair was more like that of a behaviorist. He looked to be in his fifties, yet he always leered at fashionable, scantily clad young women and wives with his small, triangular eyes that gleamed with lust. He often received disdainful looks and spitting insults, but he remained shameless, continuing to amuse himself.
Yet this poor, middle-aged man was actually able to accomplish great things.
After leaving the "Tianbaozhai" antique shop, Xu Zhengyang and Yao Chushun got directly into the police car driven by Zhong Zhijun. Originally, they were supposed to go to Zheng Ronghua, the chairman of the "Ronghua Group," as Yao Chushun had suggested, to sell him the two "Blue and White Dragon and Phoenix Lotus Jars," but Zheng Ronghua had gone south and wouldn't be back for two days.
Fortunately, Yao Chushun and Zheng Ronghua seemed to be quite familiar with each other, and Yao was able to directly call Zheng Ronghua's mobile phone, briefly explain the situation, and receive confirmation.
Zheng Ronghua said that if the item was genuine, he was willing to pay 700,000 yuan to buy it and promised to give Yao Chushun a kickback of 20,000 yuan.
Xu Zhengyang certainly wouldn't refuse. As far as he was concerned, how much money someone else could make after buying the two pottery jars was their business. As for himself, he was too lazy to collect such things right now; keeping them at home would only keep him up at night worrying about them. It was much more practical to convert them into cash.
After the deal was settled, Xu Zhengyang gradually calmed down from his initial shock and excitement. Considering that he was now a wealthy man worth hundreds of thousands, Xu Zhengyang immediately decided to treat the two men to a meal to express his gratitude. After all, if it weren't for Zhong Zhijun and Yao Chushun's help, he might have sold his treasure, worth hundreds of thousands, for tens of thousands. What a close call!
Therefore, the saying "Don't wander around aimlessly if you're not in a particular industry" makes a lot of sense.
When hosting a dinner party, you can't just go to an ordinary small restaurant; it wouldn't be presentable, would it?
Zhong Zhijun, of course, had no objection to this. He chuckled and said, "You think you can get rid of me with just this one meal? No way! From now on, I'll be mooching off you whenever I have a spare moment. After all, you're a millionaire with hundreds of thousands of dollars now."
Yao Chushun feigned indifference, saying it was no big deal. Unfortunately, his appearance was so unpleasant that he looked like someone who had gotten a bargain but was now acting innocent. Xu Zhengyang was puzzled; he really didn't know how Zhong Zhijun knew this guy.
In a private room on the second floor of the Yunlai Hotel on Fuming West Road, Yao Chushun was spitting as he cursed Zou Mingyuan for being heartless and treacherous, while briefly recounting his past glory in the antique world...
Xu Zhengyang was stunned and looked at Zhong Zhijun with a puzzled expression.
Zhong Zhijun nodded to him, indicating that Yao Chushun was not bragging, and occasionally corrected Yao Chushun based on what he had heard, to prevent him from exaggerating too much.
It turns out that Yao Chushun was a prominent figure in the province's antique world back then, nicknamed "Master Antiques," meaning that he could guess the age and value of any antique after just one glance. Whether it was porcelain, woodenware, or genuine calligraphy and paintings, even metal weapons, he could determine which dynasty it belonged to and whether it was for official or civilian use. To put it bluntly, this guy was several levels above the top cultural relic appraisal experts in the country—a typical grassroots expert.
Zou Mingyuan, the owner of "Tianbaozhai", learned his craft from Yao Chushun and developed a keen eye for antiques. He is now highly respected and famous in the antique world of Fuhe City.
Ten years ago, Yao Chushun's collection of several priceless antiques became known, leading to a robbery of his home. All three family members were killed, but Yao Chushun survived by jumping from the building in a panic. However, all the antiques in his home were stolen. After the case was solved, the valuable antiques had already been sold overseas and were difficult to recover.
Yao Chushun lost his family and everything he owned almost overnight.
From then on, Yao Chushun's personality changed drastically. Gone was the aloof and detached "Master Gu." He became idle and decadent, spending his days aimlessly. Occasionally, he would appraise antiques for people, earning some money, which he would quickly squander.
Over the years, Zou Mingyuan has made a name for himself in the antique world by relying on the skills he learned from Yao Chushun.
However, Zou Mingyuan seemed to know how to repay kindness, and often helped his master Yao Chushun, who was in dire straits.
Therefore, in the eyes of antique collectors in Fuhe City, Zou Mingyuan is a typical gentleman who is grateful and never forgets his teacher's kindness, and has an excellent reputation.
Until two years ago...
A rare Han Dynasty gold tripod that was stolen from Yao Chushun's home years ago was auctioned in Minggang for a record-breaking price of over 43 million yuan, causing a sensation. This news was told to Yao Chushun by Zheng Ronghua, the head of the Ronghua Group, who had participated in the auction.
The person who auctioned this Han Dynasty gold tripod was a wealthy immigrant from mainland China who had moved to Ming Hong Kong and knew Zheng Ronghua.
Zheng Ronghua and Yao Chushun were old friends, so he knew that this Han Dynasty gold tripod was a unique item that had been stolen from Yao Chushun's home. After making inquiries, Zheng Ronghua learned that the Han Dynasty gold tripod had been sold to Minggang overseas, and the person behind the sale was Zou Mingyuan.
Upon learning this news, the question that had been lingering in Yao Chushun's mind instantly became clear. His family had a collection of several precious antiques, but very few people knew about them. How could the news have leaked out for no reason and attracted the attention of robbers? The answer was now basically clear: his most trusted apprentice, Zou Mingyuan, had betrayed the information, and his reward was that he later obtained the Han Dynasty gold tripod.
Yao Chushun reported the case, but unfortunately, time had passed and many of the relevant details and files from that year had been lost. Some of the bandits who were sentenced to death and others who were still in prison admitted that someone had leaked information to them on the condition that they obtain the Han Dynasty golden tripod, but they had no idea who the person who instigated it was.
Zou Mingyuan played brilliantly!
Now, it is impossible for the police to obtain evidence if they want to solve the case and investigate Zou Mingyuan, because Minggang is located overseas, and the police cannot conduct cross-border investigations into this case. Moreover, it is such a long time ago, and the case was closed back then. Who would bother to care about such a thing?
Yao Chushun was so angry that his face turned green, but he was helpless against Zou Mingyuan.
For the past two years, Yao Chushun has done nothing but wander around outside "Tianbaozhai" every day. Whenever someone wants to sell or buy antiques, Yao Chushun will try to get close to them, see what their items are or what they want to buy, and then say that the items are not actually worth much and that they have overpaid. As for those who want to sell, if the items are truly valuable treasures, he will help them contact buyers, who are usually wealthy people who like to collect antiques and his friends from his heyday.
Let me be frank, we're here to cause trouble, we're here to deliberately annoy Zou Mingyuan.
As a result, the relationship between Yao Chushun and Zou Mingyuan naturally became irreconcilable.
Zou Mingyuan didn't seem to be overly reluctant to talk about what happened back then, and even seemed to be tacitly admitting it. Although he would never admit it verbally, he didn't offer any explanation for Yao Chushun's questioning and disturbances. In his eyes, what was Yao Chushun now? Compared to him, Zou Mingyuan, he was just a beggar.
However, Zou Mingyuan was overconfident and underestimated Yao Chushun's abilities and reputation. In just over a year, Yao Chushun ruined more than a dozen of his potentially lucrative business deals, infuriating Zou Mingyuan. Although he had indeed become wealthy over the years, owning the entire three-story "Tianbaozhai" building, those in the antique business desperately need working capital; sometimes, even a net worth of tens of millions isn't enough to buy a single rare and precious item.
How many antiques does Zou Mingyuan possess? How many of them are worth a fortune?
That's all real money invested. In this year's market, the antique market is booming. A good antique can appreciate several times in value in a year or two. After accumulating enough wealth through several years of small-scale trading, Zou Mingyuan is now planning to do long-term business. So he doesn't have much cash on hand and can't afford to let Yao Chushun cause trouble.
Therefore, Zou Mingyuan hated Yao Chushun with a vengeance. He hired some thugs to beat Yao Chushun severely several times, hoping he would learn his lesson and stop causing trouble. However, Yao Chushun was already someone who lived with a "what's the use" attitude; how could he be afraid of a few beatings? Surely you wouldn't dare kill him, would you?
In the end, Zou Mingyuan had no choice but to turn to the public security department, hoping that the police could help him get rid of this troublemaker.
Zhong Zhijun graduated from police academy at the beginning of last year and, through connections, got a job at the Fuxing Street Police Station of the Fuxing District Public Security Bureau in Fuhe City, just as Zou Mingyuan and Yao Chushun were having a major falling out.
Normally, the police couldn't really do anything to Yao Chushun because he hadn't done anything illegal!
You say Yao Chushun is causing trouble and affecting your business? Well, firstly, he didn't enter your store, and secondly, he didn't try to recruit customers from your store. There are plenty of people in the antique market who run these kinds of stalls and specialize in appraising treasures. Are they all trying to disrupt your "Tianbaozhai" business? The police can't do anything about this; they can't just restrict someone's freedom without cause.
However, it was Yao Chushun's bad luck that he ran into Zhong Zhijun, a young, hot-blooded, and upright man fresh out of police academy. Yao Chushun, who was a headache for the police station chief and veteran officers, was severely punished by Zhong Zhijun several times… He was truly helpless, his stubborn nature met with a hothead. Yao Chushun, who was causing headaches for the police and Zou Mingyuan, began to complain everywhere, saying that Zhong Zhijun was indiscriminately enforcing the law and beating people indiscriminately, abusing his police status.
Unfortunately, you need evidence, right?
The local police station is fed up with your antics, who will speak up for you? And Zhong Zhijun even turned around and accused you of assaulting a police officer, resulting in Yao Chushun being detained twice.
Well, Yao Chushun was truly impressed by Zhong Zhijun.
Fortunately, as time went on, Zhong Zhijun learned some things about Yao Chushun from his colleagues at the police station, so he stopped making things difficult for Yao Chushun and only warned him not to go too far. It was around that time that the two went from being strangers to becoming friends. Later, Zhong Zhijun sympathized with Yao Chushun, and Yao Chushun respected Zhong Zhijun. The two even developed a mutual respect and almost became close friends despite their age difference.
At the end of last year, Zhong Zhijun was transferred to the Public Security Bureau. Yao Chushun was overjoyed, finally no one was watching him anymore. He became bolder and resumed his old ways of loitering outside "Tianbaozhai" every day, always ready to sabotage Zou Mingyuan's business.
Therefore, after the major theft of antiques from Zou Mingyuan's place at the beginning of the year, the police once suspected Yao Chushun.
Today, Yao Chushun was strolling around the antique market when he ran into Zhong Zhijun coming out of Tianbaozhai. After exchanging greetings, Yao Chushun planned to keep his distance since Zhong Zhijun was there. Unexpectedly, Zhong Zhijun suddenly had a bright idea and pulled him aside to tell Yao Chushun about Xu Zhengyang.
Yao Chushun immediately volunteered to help Zhong Zhijun's friend look after the treasure, so that it wouldn't be cheated by Zou Mingyuan.
This was exactly what Zhong Zhijun wanted to say, so he took Yao Chushun to the second floor of "Tianbaozhai" and asked him to help take a look at Xu Zhengyang's "family heirloom".
In this way...
It's clear how lucky Xu Zhengyang is!
Just as Yao Chushun and Zhong Zhijun were chatting idly, Xu Zhengyang, who had been listening for most of the time and was furious and indignant about Yao Chushun's plight, and hated Zou Mingyuan and his ilk of hypocritical, ungrateful, and treacherous villains, suddenly felt a warm current inexplicably appear in his mind, which instantly spread throughout his body, making Xu Zhengyang feel so comfortable that he couldn't help but shiver and let out a long breath.
A slight tingling sensation in my palm, and the local record appeared in my right hand.
Xu Zhengyang quickly moved his mind, and the record disappeared in the blink of an eye. Although the speed was incredibly fast, only a blink of an eye, it was still caught by Yao Chushun, the old man sitting next to him who was chatting and rambling. Yao Chushun asked in surprise, "Hey, Xu Zhengyang, what's that thing in your hand? Don't hide it, take it out and let me see. It looks like jade..."
"No, there isn't any." Xu Zhengyang quickly shook his head, spreading his hands and laughing, "Where would I find any jade?"
In fact, Xu Zhengyang knew in his heart that someone had probably gone to the local temple to make offerings, burn incense, atone for their sins, or make a petition.
"Huh? Am I seeing things?" Yao Chushun scratched his head, then stopped thinking about it, picked up a beer and gulped it down, continuing, "Anyway, between Zou Mingyuan and me, it's either him or me, damn it..."
"Come on, Lao Yao, aren't you just making trouble for us police officers?" Zhong Zhijun laughed, raised his glass and clinked it with Xu Zhengyang's. He said while drinking, "It's been so long since then, let it go. Besides, you only heard about it from others, you don't have any evidence. If this continues, you might anger Zou Mingyuan... Sigh."
After having a few drinks, Yao Chushun became bolder and less afraid of Zhong Zhijun. He glared at Zhong and said, "What? Does he still dare to kill me?"
Zhong Zhijun was speechless. He shook his head, raised his glass in a gesture of respect, and drank the wine before saying, "Let's not talk about this anymore, Lao Yao. Thank you for helping Zhengyang this time."
"Yes, haha." Xu Zhengyang also raised his wine glass and said, "If I have any good stuff in the future, I'll be counting on you to sell it for a good price."
As soon as he said this, Xu Zhengyang regretted it, as if he had let something slip. He'd had a few drinks and his mouth was a little loose; he'd unconsciously blurted out his thoughts. After all, having acquired two truly valuable items, Xu Zhengyang was hoping to dig up more treasure and sell them for money in the future.
Two items worth 700,000...
If you dig up ten or eight of these things a year, you'll be rolling in money.
"Haha, Zhengyang, if you could have this kind of thing all the time, I think you should just open an antique shop and have Lao Yao be your manager..." Zhong Zhijun said jokingly, not taking it seriously at all.
Yao Chushun raised his eyebrows slightly, a glint of light flashing in his small triangular eyes. He picked up his cup and clinked it against Xu Zhengyang's, and surprisingly said, "It's a deal."