Volume 1 Chapter 15: Worry-Free Acquisition

  Feng Yuanhua's face revealed a smile that was beyond his age, with a hint of maturity and cunning.

  "Mom, if you really want to do something, I'll give you an idea. You take some money and go find that kid, isn't he trying to sell a jade pendant? Whatever price he wants, we'll pay! At the same time, give him another sum of money and tell him to hurry back home, no matter how far it is!"

  "As long as he has nothing in his hands, how can he recognize relatives? How could my grandfather recognize him? This kind of country bumpkin, I think that if you are willing to spend money, he will do whatever. Besides, he doesn't even know about the old Feng family connection behind his back, it's not hard to fool him."

  "It's still my clever son!" Zhang Lan's eyes lit up and she smiled.

  Feng Bolin glared at his son with some annoyance and scolded him in a low voice, "You two mustn't mess around. If the old master finds out, it'll be terrible! Besides, if it's really Old Two's child, knowing he's of the Feng family's bloodline yet not acknowledging him would be too unfair to the child!"

  "Dad, just give him some more money and consider it compensation. Besides, in the future we can secretly help him and his mother out, so it's not like he'll be losing out or anything. Of course, I'm just making a suggestion, you and mom can decide what to do - heh heh." With that, Feng Yuanhua turned around and left.

  Feng Yuanhua won't say anything more. As they say, a hint is enough, next it's up to his mother Zhang Lan to improvise on the spot.

  He was born into a high-ranking family and grew up in the circle of high-ranking descendants, far more mature than his peers and more skilled in the art of politics, which is the result of being influenced from an early age.

  ……

  ……

  Feng Yuanhua really understands his mother Zhang Lan.

  This kind of thing, Father Feng Bolin would definitely not do. Although Feng Bolin is somewhat selfish, he can still uphold his principles on major issues, only Mother would do this.

  It's just that only Zhang Lan is more suitable for the task, and if things go wrong in the future and get exposed to Old Master Feng, at most it would be the daughter-in-law's fault, which would also leave some room for maneuver for the Feng father-son duo.

  Zhang Lan found Peng Yuanzheng that afternoon.

  As Zhang Lan's daughter-in-law and with her influence, since she knew that Peng Yuanzheng was a graduate of the Chinese Department of Jinghua University in 1991, it wasn't too difficult for her to find out that Peng Yuanzheng had an iron brother named Wang Biao and locate Wang Biao's home.

  When Peng Yuanzheng first saw Zhang Lan, a middle-aged woman with a dignified appearance and extraordinary temperament standing beside a black Red Flag sedan chair under the Wang Biao building, he immediately felt a bad premonition.

  He hesitated for a moment and then walked over with big strides.

  From the moment he appeared downstairs, Zhang Lan had been staring at him without blinking.

  "Excuse me, are you Ms. Zhang Lan? I am Peng Yuanzheng, were you looking for me?" Peng Yuanzheng asked immediately, but his mind was guessing the identity of this unexpected guest.

  "Haha, Little Peng, I heard Professor Feng say that you have a Qing dynasty jade pendant to sell? Let's go, let's find a place to talk." Zhang Lan said, and then actively opened the rear door of the small sedan, warmly inviting Peng Yuanzheng to get in.

  Peng Yuanzheng took a slight step back, shook his head, and then nodded, "It's not false - do you have something to say? If so, please speak directly."

  Zhang Lan didn't expect Peng Yuanzheng to refuse to get on the car, and forced a smile, "Hehe, then let's go out for a walk? I want to buy that jade pendant from you..."

  As she spoke, Zhang Lan took the initiative to walk towards the outside of the neighborhood, and Peng Yuanzheng's eyebrows rose with a hint of solemnity, also following her.

  Outside Wang Biao's residential area, in a cold drink shop across the street, Peng Yuanzheng and Zhang Lan sat face to face, but each had their own thoughts.

  "Time flies, wanting to say that the past is confusing, it's hard to let go of what's real and what's false. Joy and sorrow, parting and reunion have all been experienced before, why be so persistent? The long road of life, searching high and low..."

  The song "Thirst" that has been popular all over the country since last winter was playing in a loop in the store, and the warm and deep singing voice of the female singer made many customers who came to eat cold drinks and escape the heat indulge in it.

  Ke Zhanglan furrowed her brow in distaste, unsure if it was the tune or the female singer she disliked.

  But she has come for something big and doesn't have time for these things anymore.

  "Little Peng, let's not beat around the bush. I'm in the business of collecting and selling antiques. That jade pendant of yours, along with any documentation proving its origin, I want them all - I can offer you a price that no one else would be able to match."

  Zhang Lan smiled slightly, took out a small password box she had brought with her, opened it, and pushed it over. It was filled with stacks of cash.

  "This is 100,000! Is it enough? If not, we can still negotiate!"

  Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

  The big question mark in his mind instantly turned into an exclamation mark when he saw the password box and cash, and he almost confirmed that this woman must be from the Feng family.

  She wanted to buy back the jade pendant and documents in her hand, apparently to prevent him from recognizing Old Feng. What this meant, he didn't know, but he sensed a hint of conspiracy.

  Zhang Xuan lowered his head in thought, and his expression fell into Zhang Lan's eyes, but he was moved by the money.

  In the early 90s, one hundred thousand was a relatively huge amount of money, equivalent to the assets of ten households. In fact, even Feng Bolin and his wife couldn't come up with that much cash, which she had temporarily borrowed from her brother who did business in their hometown. Zhang Lan didn't believe it, just relying on a poor child growing up in a small place, could resist the temptation of such a huge sum of money.

  Zhang Lan was very confident, but unexpectedly Peng Yuanzheng slowly raised his head and gave her an unexpected reply: "Auntie Zhang, but I've already promised to sell it to another buyer, can't go back on my word."

  "You're really so honest, Little Peng. What's the point of being unreliable? Whoever offers a higher price gets it, right? Auntie knows this is your family heirloom and doesn't want you to lose out, that's why she offered a high price. You'd better think carefully, if you pass up this opportunity, there won't be another chance like this."

  "Not everyone is as kind-hearted as Auntie these days."

  Zhang Lan was taken aback, then smiled and persuaded again.

  Peng Yuanzheng secretly sneered in his heart, thinking: Are you being thick-skinned? You're thicker-skinned than anyone else!

  She saw Peng Yuanzheng still hesitating, gritted her teeth and continued to add, "Little Peng, let's put it this way, Auntie really likes this thing. If you're willing to give me the jade pendant and the documents proving its origin together, I'll add three million more, how about thirteen million?"

  A hint of solemnity flashed in Peng Yuanzheng's eyes.

  He nodded slowly and said softly, "Alright, Aunt Zhang, you've already offered such a high price. If I don't agree now, it would be impolite."

  Zhang Lan was overjoyed and hastily got up, saying, "Little Peng, you wait here for Auntie. Auntie will take a car to the bank to withdraw cash and be back in half an hour at most. We'll exchange money and goods simultaneously, okay?"

  "Alright." Peng Yuanzheng smiled slightly.

  Zhang Lan grabbed her password box and hurried away. She really wanted to raise money, and it was not too late. As long as she bought the things in Peng Yuanzheng's hands, coaxed and sent him away immediately, and made him leave Beijing and hide far away, Old Feng's recognition this time would come to nothing.

  Ke Zhanglan walked away, and Peng Yuanzheng immediately left the cold drink store, hailed a taxi, and disappeared.

  He didn't even go back to Wang Biao's house, but instead found a small inn in the suburbs and checked in. Then he found a public phone booth and called Wang Biao, saying that something had come up and he would return in a few days.

  Peng Yuanzheng lay in the small hotel for two hours, until late afternoon, before leaving the small hotel and slowly walking out a few miles along the road, finding a phone booth to dial the phone number left by Feng Qianru.

  "Hello."

  A gentle and elegant voice came from the telephone receiver, it was Feng Qianru.

  Peng Yuanzheng fell silent for a few seconds before smiling lightly and saying, "Feng Xue Mei, I am Peng Yuanzheng."