"Sit, make yourselves at home. I've been through this before," Li Chonglou said, withdrawing his hand as the bearded man calmed down.
He then asked the man to take out his phone and transferred him a hundred thousand yuan on the spot.
This industry is quite interesting.
Often, when you find a hidden gem that others overlooked, you earn their gratitude.
It was just like this.
This stone, in the hands of the two of them, was actually worthless. Li Chonglou could guarantee that it wouldn't be sold for even ten thousand yuan in less than half a year.
Unless, as Lin Ying mentioned, it was sold based on friendship, which was a different matter.
But to him, it was worth several million.
The so-called hidden gem was the gap in skill between professionals and non-professionals.
Of course, luck played a part too.
Since he had found a treasure they missed, he should give them fifty thousand.
Li Chonglou was not one to be ruthless in all matters.
Just like old Chen from Dongshan back then, although he found a gem from him, he helped reconcile Chen's relationship with his son, which was worth more than any amount of money.
In this line of work, he wasn't the only one who did such things.
Many highly respected elders in the antique world would offer appropriate compensation to the original owners after finding a hidden gem.
For no other reason than to have peace of mind.
"I misjudged you two. You are not ordinary people. May I have your WeChat?" the bespectacled man asked sincerely, taking out his phone.
Li Chonglou was never interested in such matters.
He pretended not to hear.
However, Lin Ying took out her phone and exchanged WeChat with him, explaining, "My junior brother is a bit proud, please don't take it to heart."
"Not at all," the bespectacled man replied, meaning it.
Someone who bought something worth fifty thousand for a hundred thousand was definitely not someone he could look down upon.
The fact that they didn't add him on WeChat probably meant they didn't think highly of him.
Of course, he wouldn't dare offend them.
There was no point in staying any longer. Fortunately, he had exchanged WeChat with Lin Ying, and there might be opportunities to get to know her better in the future.
He quickly paid the bill and, with the grateful bearded man, left the tea house.
After they left, Lin Ying formally took out an LED light from her bag and examined the stone.
"Senior Sister, this is called Yacui!" Li Chonglou smiled. "Its Mohs hardness is 8.5, slightly higher than rubies and sapphires. This type of companion gemstone is extremely rare."
"It can be said to be unique to China. Its crystal grains are similar to garnets, but they are very small."
"A piece the size of a pinky nail is rarely seen."
"China itself doesn't produce many gemstones, so we don't have a very deep gemstone culture."
"If it weren't for the increasing prosperity in recent years and the population boom, we wouldn't have become the world's second-largest seller of colored gemstones."
"There are fewer than ten experts in all of China who can recognize Yacui, but it is recorded in extremely ancient history."
In a few sentences, he made Lin Ying understand its value.
She gave him a thumbs-up. "We all share in this. Junior brother, you must give me a piece."
"I'll give you the biggest one," Li Chonglou said generously.
His senior sister was one of the most important people in his life. He wouldn't hesitate to give her one piece, or even all of it.
"This thing doesn't have a market. You'll probably find it hard to sell," Lin Ying asked, satisfied.
She wasn't greedy for Li Chonglou's find, but she had never seen anything so fun and pleasing to the eye, with a green hue that rivaled emeralds in terms of color intensity.
She had just shone a light on it and found it to be full of luster without light dispersion.
When polished into a finished product, it would be unique and absolutely beautiful.
At her current state of mind, she no longer cared about the monetary value; uniqueness was enough.
"Don't worry, I have a way to sell it," Li Chonglou said confidently.
Ordinary people could not get their hands on this kind of Yacui. If he were to sell it, he would sell it to top tycoons.
Not people like Lü Chenggong; the Lü family wasn't considered top-tier.
He meant truly wealthy aristocratic families like the Xiao family.
This item was highly sought after in later generations, and it was difficult to obtain. Although it wasn't well-known yet, it wasn't a problem for him.
This trip to Shangli Ancient Town was not in vain.
After finishing their tea, the two of them, carrying the stones, returned to Yucheng contentedly.
For the next two days, Li Chonglou spent his days browsing the market but didn't find anything noteworthy.
In this era, information had already spread throughout the country, making it transparent.
Unless luck struck, it was very difficult to intentionally seek out hidden gems.
In the evenings, he practiced the cultivation method from the sheepskin scroll, hoping to reach the threshold of the second level soon.
During this time, he received calls and WeChat messages from Jiang Yuxin and his mother, and he also had video calls with Wu Hao.
Occasionally, the joke his senior sister made to him that night would reappear in his mind, and a strange feeling would unconsciously arise in his heart.
Love, in all its forms, isn't something one can fully comprehend simply by living longer.
Familial love, friendship, romantic love – stripping away the superficial layers, their essence is actually the same.
He couldn't quite tell himself whether the respect and dependence he felt for his senior sister carried a hint of something more.
"Doo doo doo," as the third day's sun set, Lin Ying knocked on Li Chonglou's door.
Zhao Zheng had accompanied her.
"Chonglou, someone provided a clue about the missing corner. See if it matches!" Zhao Zheng handed Li Chonglou a tablet computer, his eyes alight with excitement.
The picture showed a fan-shaped metal plate, shaped like a slice of pizza.
It was inlaid with a gemstone that reflected light like a cat's eye.
"Golden Dragon Cat's Eye, produced in the Valley of Beauties on Mount Gongga!" Li Chonglou recognized the gemstone instantly. "It should be correct. Contact her."
The moment he saw the gemstone, Li Chonglou knew his guess was right.
The mysterious Golden Dragon Cat's Eye was rumored to possess special powers, though whether that was true was unknown.
However, its emitted energy field was extremely special. Someone had conducted experiments using it to physically interfere with a specially made metal, causing it to move at a distance.
He hadn't expected it to be this thing.
"We've already contacted her. If it's confirmed, we'll head over now," Zhao Zheng said, his face flushed. "The owner is a very well-known female entrepreneur in Yucheng."
He had been arranging the bean sprout expansion for the past two days, but to be honest, even though Li Chonglou had explained it clearly, he still held some doubt and lacked confidence.
Could a stone wall that even advanced technology couldn't break be opened by mere bean sprouts?
Unless he saw it with his own eyes, he wouldn't fully believe it.
That was the last resort.
Since there was now a clue about the missing corner, why not use the fastest method?
"Let's go!" Li Chonglou said without any wasted words. "Call Zhang Chen."
Professor Song and Cheng Gong did not go. The four of them drove in one car to the agreed-upon location.
It was a detached villa at the foot of Mount Mengding.
The owner's surname was Tang.
As they parked and entered the gate, Li Chonglou's expression visibly faltered.
He saw an old acquaintance.
Fan Meng!
"Oh, it's you?"
Fan Meng was clearly surprised by Li Chonglou's sudden appearance and quickly put down her teacup to greet him. "Aunt Tang, he's the one who helped me!"
"The young man is remarkable," Aunt Tang said, scrutinizing Li Chonglou with a half-smile.
She didn't feel particularly grateful for that matter.
After all, if Fan Meng had been swindled, she would have made the perpetrator pay tenfold.
Li Chonglou's presence was neither here nor there.
"What a coincidence. Since we all know each other, it'll be easier to talk," Zhao Zheng said, slightly awkward. After all, his nephew was the one who caused trouble. He quickly changed the subject. "Ms. Tang, the moment I saw your picture, I immediately brought them over."
"Name your price, Ms. Tang."
Aunt Tang glanced at Zhao Zheng and then let her gaze linger on Lin Ying for a moment.
She said faintly, "I won't sell it for any price!"