Chapter 71: Ghost Market (Part 1)

  Hou Lao saw Meng Laozhu on the side, his eyes fixed on that piece of fabric, and hastily asked: "Xiao Chu, what do you plan to do next?"

  Chu Chen looked around and smiled: "Old Hou, it's not very convenient to talk about things here either. Why don't we change places?"

  "Haha, look at me, let's go, we'll go to the reception room in my store." Old Hou hurriedly said apologetically.

  After Hei Chuanchen and the others left, the onlookers immediately began discussing it.

  The old man sighed and said, "I didn't expect that the glass would be as green as a grandmother's jade pendant, and the ice would be as green as an apple. These are things I've only seen once in my life. Today, I've really broadened my horizons and fulfilled my dreams."

  "It's really like that, but that little brother actually managed to surge twice in a row, can't help but say he's having a stroke of good luck!" The middle-aged man sighed with envy.

  However, his companion started to sing a counterpoint: "Hey, if I may say so, this is because that little brother has good eyesight and relies on luck rather than real ability. How can he possibly have two consecutive big gains? Moreover, that little brother has great courage and a good heart, such a person will definitely not be a mediocre person in the future!"

  "Come on! Come on! You guys have time to sigh, why not learn from me and go find some materials to analyze? Maybe you'll even get a bit of luck and make a small profit!"

  A man in his thirties, holding three pieces of wool, rushed to the de-stoning machine and said urgently, "Master, please help me remove these quickly, maybe the God of Wealth hasn't gone far yet!"

  Everyone who saw this scene could only shake their heads in silence.

  In the living room, everyone was admiring the two pieces of jade on the table, and they couldn't help but praise them. This high-end jade is really rare. Especially the two girls, their eyes were filled with infatuation, who let jewelry be a woman's best friend?

  "Hmm"

  Hou Lao cleared his throat and everyone's attention turned to him, then he said with a smile:

  "Xiao Chu, let's talk about this apple-green jade material. You know my store is in urgent need of such high-end jade. I won't say much more, just please help me out and name a suitable price, so we can keep it here. What do you think?"

  Chu Chen rubbed his forehead and smiled: "Old Hou, this price is more suitable for you to open. If I open it, it will be too high and we'll both lose face. What do you say?"

  Hou Lao heard the words and bowed his head in contemplation for a moment. Then, he turned around again and began to exchange whispers with Meng Laoban beside him.

  This material is so expensive that if we hadn't bought that emerald green one, it might still be affordable. Now even one side alone is unaffordable. Since one person can't afford it, why not just buy it together and then split it? This is currently the most beneficial choice for both parties.

  After a while, the two had basically finished their conversation, and Old Hou sincerely said: "Little Chu, you should also know some of our western market conditions. For this material, we'll give 108 million yuan, what do you think?"

  Chu Chen thought for a moment and then smiled: "Since you, Old Hou, are so decisive, I naturally won't drag my feet either. Alright, let's go with this price."

  One hundred and eight million, to say that it's a lot is not necessarily true. If we're talking about the market in Beijing or the south, the price could be even higher. However, for the western market, this is already considered quite good, and this price also meets Chu Chen's expectations.

  After all, this piece of wool was bought from someone else's place. Chu Chen eats meat, but others have to drink soup too. Doing business is about being harmonious and making money. Who knows, maybe one day we'll need to trouble them again.

  Hou Lao and Meng Laoban looked at Chu Chen with tension, when they heard him agree to the price, both of them let out a sigh of relief, and smiles appeared on their faces. As for Zhou Wenping and the others, when they heard this price, they also showed expressions of envy, never expecting that in the blink of an eye, Chu Chen would become a multimillionaire.

  "By the way, Little Chu, what's going on with this piece of imperial green jade? Is there something you want us to do?" Old Hou asked as soon as he saw that the deal had been made.

  "It's like this, Mr. Hou, you also know that such a rare glass ancestor green is not often seen, so I want to keep it for appreciation, let's trade tomorrow, what do you think?" Chu Chen said with some embarrassment.

  If it weren't for the fact that today's anomaly has been used up, he wouldn't have made this request. You know, this is nearly three million pieces of Jade Spiritual Energy; if we don't absorb it, it would be a pity.

  Others who heard it didn't think it was strange either, and if it were themselves, they would be the same.

  Hou Lao heard that it was just a small matter after all, and he also let out a sigh of relief in his heart. With a smile all over his face, he said:

  "This is fine, but the bank is closed tomorrow, so let's sign the contract together today and transfer it directly. As for the jade, you can give it to me tomorrow." (Some banks' online points may be open on Saturdays, if there are any issues, please bear with us)

  Chu Chen didn't expect Old Hou to say that, which made him a bit conflicted. He had already signed the contract, would it affect his absorption of the special ability? However, since Old Hou had said so, if he refused again, it would seem a bit too much. At this moment, he regretted it, and thought that it would have been better not to sell this material at all!

  But now that's how it is, I can only let go of my heart. But thinking about it, 30 million isn't a lot, and I haven't even seen 100 million being earned so easily! Thinking this way, Chu Chen also felt relieved in her heart, and then nodded in agreement.

  When both parties signed the contract, Chu Chen included the black and white jade that Hou Yuanming had wanted earlier, without asking for money, as a gift to Hou Yuanming, which made Hou Yuanming feel somewhat embarrassed.

  The subsequent transfer went smoothly, and after the transaction was completed, Mr. Hou and Boss Meng bid farewell to discuss the follow-up issues of the jadeite, while Hou Yuanming gave Chu Chen a portable safe deposit box, which made people feel more at ease in terms of safety.

  After finishing all the things, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. After such an exciting and thrilling experience of guessing the stone, everyone's body and mind were relatively tired. So Hou Yuanming suggested that everyone go together to have some tea and rest for a while, and then he invited them to try the delicious food at the famous Xijing Restaurant.

  Everyone had no objection to this proposal, so Hou Yuanming took them to a tea house with a lot of charm.

  Chu Chen had just sat down when his phone rang. He looked at the number and was surprised to see that it was Zhao Qirui's number, so he answered immediately.

  "Hey, is this Zhao Ge? I'm Chu Chen, what's up?"

  "Hehe, Little Chu, I just wanted to ask, have you got any news about the painting I asked you to find earlier? If not, then don't bother looking anymore, my friend has already helped me find a work by Wu Changshuo."

  "Zhao Ge, congratulations are in order, but I also owe you an apology. Earlier on, I acquired a piece of work by Zheng Banqiao, but I wanted to keep it for myself, so..."

  He didn't want to bring it up, but after some thought, he decided to tell the truth. After all, the antique market wasn't that big, and rather than having Zhao Qirui hear about it from someone else later on, it was better for him to say something himself, so as to avoid any misunderstandings.

  "Great, you've got Zheng Banqiao's works, I'll have to appreciate them properly one day." Zhao Qirui's voice on the phone didn't sound angry at all.

  Chu Chen immediately said: "Of course, that's no problem, but I'm still out of town now, and the painting is with Liu Zhi and Liu Lao. After a while, I'll bring it to you for appreciation."

  "Oh, it's no problem, but I'm curious, for such a piece of work, didn't Old Liu ask you to buy it?"

  "At that time, the old man also wanted it, but this isn't something I want to collect myself, so I didn't agree." Chu Chen thought to himself, if he didn't even sell it to Old Liu, then you probably won't get angry either.

  "Haha, okay, you go ahead and busy yourself, we'll catch up again when you have time."

  Chu Chen hung up the phone and felt a sense of relief in his heart. From Zhao Qirui's last tone, it seemed like nothing was wrong. However, when he lifted his head to look at others, he found that everyone was staring at him motionlessly.

  "What's wrong?"

  Chu Chen asked with some curiosity.

  Li Guodong said indignantly: "Xiao Chuan, how come we've never heard that you have Zheng Banqiao's works? You're hiding and concealing such a thing, it's not very considerate of you."

  "Exactly!"

  Others also nodded in agreement, one after another, and put on a look of blaming Chu Chen.

  "This thing, I'm also embarrassed to mention it myself."

  Seeing this, Chu Chen hastily told the story of how he got the painting, and then said: "You guys say, what should I do? If I say it myself, isn't that just showing off?"

  "Hum, even if it's showing off, it's better than hiding and covering up, what do you think, Yulan?"

  Seeing Chu Yulan nod in agreement, Wen Yuting continued: "Chu Ge, why do you have such good luck? Even picking up leaks has become a daily routine for you. Are you always blessed with good fortune? No way! That painting by Zheng Banqiao, we also want to see it!"

  "Alright, alright! Can't I just agree?! Chu Chen saw this and really couldn't help but laugh and cry. Just because he picked up a leak once, no need to treat me like a class enemy!"

  Hou Yuanming also smiled and said, "Xiao Chu, your luck is really inexplicable. I was thinking that even if I were jealous, it wouldn't come to this. But since you have such good luck, you must go and take a stroll in the Ghost Market tomorrow."

  The so-called "ghost market" is simply an underground market in the antique world.

  The ghost market actually existed long ago, but it became a specialized antique trading venue starting from the Qing dynasty.

  At that time, the Qing army entered the pass and became the ruler, but as time went on, the war gradually subsided, and many aristocratic descendants walked in chickens and dogs every day, becoming dissolute young masters, their family fortunes declining day by day, management becoming increasingly lax, and the family members secretly selling off their old family property for money to spend, sneaking into the "ghost market" under the cover of darkness.

  Later, those young masters also had no money to spend, and they took the treasures left by their elders at home to exchange for money. They were afraid of losing face in pawnshops, so they took the treasures to the "ghost market" to sell for money. There were also those who collected broken items, collecting things from wealthy families or stolen goods, and rushed to the "ghost market" to exchange for money.