to two hours during which they discussed many topics; moreover, Xiao Hongyang also spoke about the patient whose stomach was removed that day.Upon hearing Xiao Hongyang's account, all members of the...Chapter 404: Free-flowing Discussion

"Chairman Song, Doctor Xiao acquired a piece of blue and white porcelain Yuan ware the other day. Rong Bao Zhai is considering acquiring it, so..." After hearing what Song Hushan said, Teacher Cai hurriedly explained to him.

“Oh!” Upon hearing Teacher Cai’s words, Song Hushan followed their gaze towards the table and was instantly enlightened when he saw the Yuan blue and white porcelain on it. Song Hushan had a passion for antiques and, although he favored wooden ware due to his grandfather's influence, he also had extensive knowledge about other types of antiques. Thus, upon seeing this jar, he was immediately drawn to it.

Among the crowd, an elderly man who was being supported by someone narrowed his eyes when he saw the Yuan blue and white porcelain jar but quickly recovered.

Although Song Hushan enjoyed antiques, this item belonged to Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu was currently negotiating a business deal with someone else, so he did not want to interrupt.

Under the guidance of Xiao Yu and Yunxi, they arrived at another smaller living room. After arranging everything for them, Xiao Yu returned to the main living room.

In the main living room, Mr. Chen from Rong Bao Zhai was wiping sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief. Upon seeing Xiao Yu approach him, he quickly stood up and greeted him with great respect.

"Mr.... Mr. Xiao, you should deal with your matters first. How about we come another day" Mr. Chen bent slightly as he spoke to Xiao Yu while wiping sweat off his forehead.

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement; indeed, it wasn't the right time for business talks given the presence of so many people. Thus, after hearing what Mr. Chen said, Xiao Yu briefly considered and agreed, as he believed that business could be discussed at any time.

Seeing Song Hushan arrive with Teacher Cai and knowing that Song Hushan was not in charge among these people made them realize that they were dealing with someone significant. As such, they also agreed with Mr. Chen's suggestion.

Xiao Yu escorted them to the main entrance of the villa and only returned after seeing them leave.

After taking their leave from Xiao Yu, Teacher Cai and Teacher Mao went one way while the three experts from Rong Bao Zhai proceeded together. In the end, only Mr. Chen, the general manager of Rong Bao Zhai, and Mr. Zhou, the financial manager, remained.

"Mr. Chen, this is a great thing! The value of this item is astronomical! Should we approach Director Huang and claim that it's a national treasure or a valuable cultural relic to get the state to take it back Then we can buy it at a low price later."

Outside Xiao Yu’s villa complex, in Mr. Chen’s car from Rong Bao Zhai (a famous antique shop), Financial Director Mr. Zhou said this to the general manager of Rong Bao Zhai, Mr. Chen.

This financial director can be considered as Mr. Chen's absolute confidant. Moreover, when they encountered such situations before, they didn't do it less often. And those people because the items were either just unearthed or had unclear origins, thus, towards their approach, these people could only accept it.

This way, the state would give them some money, although not much, but it's better than getting nothing at all. The state would also give a certificate of honor.

After the cultural relics administration department takes over these items as national property, they will then find ways to buy them out cheaply again. With so many artifacts in the Palace Museum, losing a few wouldn't matter much. Moreover, their method of operation is to purchase under the name of the state but not store it in the inventory, and the money would be provided by Rong Bao Zhai themselves. Therefore, this approach can basically be considered risk-free.

After hearing what the financial director said, Mr. Chen's sweat that had just dried moments ago suddenly soaked his forehead again. He trembled with both hands to take out a handkerchief from his bag and carefully wiped the sweat on his forehead while looking around cautiously at his car surroundings before finally exhaling deeply.

"Old Zhou, I'm telling you, if you want to die yourself, don't bring me down too!" Mr. Chen looked at the financial director with lingering fear in his heart and said.

At this moment, Mr. Zhou noticed something was amiss about Mr. Chen and couldn't help but turn his head towards him as well. Seeing that Mr. Chen kept wiping the sweat on his forehead occasionally, he showed a hint of surprise and asked, "Mr. Chen, what's wrong with you"

"Uh... Old Zhou, I think we should call it quits now. We've made plenty over these years, but if we don't stop, maybe one day we'll go down for good!" Hearing the financial director's question, Mr. Chen thought about it and said.

"What's wrong Mr. Chen, haven't we been fine all these years without any issues Besides, with the state taking the brunt of things, they can’t provide proof of an item’s true origin anyway. Even if there is a true origin, we have so many national-level experts; what are we afraid of"

When this financial director heard Mr. Chen's words, he showed a hint of confusion and asked back. Over the years, they used such methods to make plenty of money without encountering any problems. Even if there were issues, with so many experts on their side, it would still be a matter for the cultural relics department.

Generally speaking, the items they targeted were either newly unearthed or black market goods, and sellers wouldn't dare to publicize them either. Moreover, the money they offered wasn’t small; it was enough to make these people let go of the items, which would be better than handing them over for nothing.

"Hehe, Old Zhou, I've come to realize something. There's a time when one who catches swans gets pecked by them too. It's wisest to stop now before anything bad happens," General Manager Chen said with a bitter smile as he shook his head.

"General Manager Chen, what exactly happened" the financial manager asked curiously.

He was still puzzled in his heart. When they arrived, General Manager Chen seemed very confident. They had also discreetly asked Teacher Cai about this person's background and found out that he is a doctor.

Moreover, from an unintentional slip of words by Teacher Cai, they learned that the porcelain jar might have just been unearthed, which was why General Manager Chen felt so confident. Even if it were Teacher Cai, she wouldn't be able to say anything against them as they were strictly following the cultural relics law.

"Do you remember the plan we discussed when we came here I initially felt very confident about this plan too. But did you know who I just saw among that group of people I saw the Secretary of the Municipal Committee in Beijing, so I thought to myself that we can't continue with this plan. If it weren't for us coincidentally running into them today and implementing our plan, we would have looked terrible! So, I think that up till now, we've just been lucky. If we were to do anything else and slip up, causing trouble with the wrong people, all these years of hard work will be wasted."

General Manager Chen of Rongbaozhai revealed a bitter smile as he spoke to the financial manager.

It turned out that just now at Xiao Yu's villa, General Manager Chen of Rongbaozhai accidentally saw a familiar face in the group. Since this general manager was also someone within the system, he often watched the news and was very familiar with the Secretary of the Municipal Committee in Beijing even though they had never met.

As soon as he saw him, he was shocked to the core, cold sweat trickling down his face. He secretly felt relieved that they arrived late and hadn't spoken about their plan yet; otherwise, they wouldn't have known how they would have died.

Upon hearing General Manager Chen's words, the financial manager drew a sharp breath in and broke out into a cold sweat on his forehead too. His face flashed with a look of lingering fear. After a long while, both of them took a deep sigh of relief before getting into their car and heading off.

Xiao Yu was completely unaware of all this. Only after Cai Laoshi and the others had left did he invite Lao Li and the rest into his living room.

It turned out that when Lao Li and the rest returned today, they went straight to a special unit to meet Old Grandpa Song. After meeting with Old Master Wu, both of them couldn't help sighing; they had been saved from death's doorstep, and their rescuer was Xiao Yu.

When Old Grandpa Song heard that Xiao Yu is the successor of his second brother, he looked thoughtful as well as furious. His second brother’s daughter was bullied by the Wang family to this extent, and they even looked down on her, causing her to remain a widow for half her life.

His second elder brother's daughter had been in the capital city for several years, and they didn't even know about it. This made them feel very guilty; back then, whose life hadn't his second elder brother saved Now, their niece was being bullied right under their noses, how could they not be angry

Although Old Grandpa Song's body was frail, he had decided to personally come see Xiao Yu. It wasn't for any other reason; it was solely because Xiao Yu had saved his life.

The rest of the elderly individuals naturally followed him as well. They could gather and get acquainted with each other now, otherwise if they met outside later on without knowing each other, misunderstandings might arise.

Since Old Grandpa Song was mainly grateful for Xiao Yu's life-saving deed, he hadn't informed Xiao Yu beforehand and had come directly over.

Xiao Yu chatted with them, and now they were roughly acquainted. Most of these middle-aged and young adults worked outside the city; they only returned in the afternoon after receiving notification from their elders.

Today's gathering was mainly Li Old Man asking Xiao Yu about his grandfather's life over the years as well as their family’s lives.

Initially, these old men had wanted Xiao Yu to join this special force. At the very least, he could have a name listed there; since Song Hushan and the others each had their own businesses, but their roots were in this special force. They all had names listed there. If national crises or military mobilizations occurred, it would then be up to them to take action.

However, after some thought, Xiao Yu declined. He didn't want to join the unit now; he just wanted to fulfill his grandfather's last wish and have Xiao Family’s Ten Thousand Lives Hall stand tall in medicine once again.

The old men saw Xiao Yu refuse with mixed reactions. Some smiled faintly while others frowned worriedly. It turned out that these elders had made a bet, some betting that Xiao Yu would accept, and others betting he wouldn't.

Only until the end did Li Old Man and Old Grandpa Song inform Xiao Yu that his refusal was useless; since the moment the tattoo had been branded on him, he had automatically joined this special force. Unless he found a new successor, he would be tied to this unit for life.

Around ten at night, Old Grandpa Li and the others left Xiao Yu's villa. They planned to pay respects to Xiao Yu's grandfather tomorrow, while Xiao Yu also needed to go home since the medical exchange conference was still eight or nine days away. Moreover, he had already established a romantic relationship with Yun Xi but hadn't visited her family yet, so this time he would visit Yun Xi’s place as well. (To be continued...)oss Li Sujun’s eyes. That throw should have broken an elephant's internal organs, but this ape, though in great pain, had not suffered any serious injury."What a naturally gifted, thick-skinned creatu...