"Grandpa Zhang, you've got good luck. This lord wants to talk to you!" Although the hoodlum spoke in a flippant manner, he was exceptionally respectful to the person behind him. His boss had told him that if he dared to be disrespectful to this person, he would face the gang's rules.
After escorting the person inside, the hoodlum obediently left, leaving only two people in the room.
"Are you Zhang Meiliang?" The newcomer, clearly accustomed to high positions, exuded a strong aura. The moment he spoke, he put Zhang Meiliang at a disadvantage.
"It's me!" Zhang Meiliang replied somewhat dejectedly, while his mind raced, trying to ascertain the other party's identity and intentions.
"The Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal is in your hands, isn't it!" To Zhang Meiliang's utter shock, the second sentence dropped a bombshell, leaving him speechless and frozen.
"Seeing your shocked expression, the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal is indeed in your possession!" The newcomer, without waiting for Zhang Meiliang's reply, continued, "Grandpa Zhang, although you're only ten years older than me, I still call you Grandpa. Listen to my advice, you can't hold onto this item. Instead of keeping it hidden from the world, why not hand it over to me? I will give you a generous reward!"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean. Please leave, or I'll call the police!" Zhang Meiliang was indeed stunned at first, but he was also a man of the world. Once he recovered, he immediately denied everything and prepared to show the man out.
"You can call the police or not, it's all up to you. I don't intend to do anything to you today. I'm just here to talk about a deal. If you agree, we'll settle it with money and enjoy our cooperation. If you don't agree, I'll turn around and leave without bothering you in the slightest!"
"Of course, after I leave, what happens will be of no concern to me. I just hope Grandpa Zhang will be careful when he walks, so you don't stumble or fall."
"Be careful when you eat, too, so you don't choke. Oh, and you should get regular check-ups, just in case any hidden injuries flare up and... well, you know." Throughout his speech, the man kept advising Zhang Meiliang to take care of his health. However, Zhang Meiliang listened with a chilling dread, trembling all over.
These words weren't a threat, but they were more terrifying than any threat. Especially since he had been brought in by a hoodlum, and that arrogant hoodlum had shown such respect to this man, it clearly indicated that the man had powerful backing. The seasoned Zhang Meiliang could tell at a glance.
Seeing that Zhang Meiliang had fallen silent, the newcomer broke into a hearty laugh. "It seems you've made up your mind. Shall we proceed with the transaction?"
"What can you give me?" Since it had come to this, Zhang Meiliang felt he had no choice but to negotiate. He wanted to see what terms the other party offered.
"I prefer convenience in my dealings, and the most convenient thing in the world is money. Just name your price, how much will it take to buy the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal from you!" the other party said.
"This..." Zhang Meiliang fell into deep thought. He felt he had at least another 50 years to live, which was 600 months. If he calculated at 3000 tB per month, that would be 1.8 million tB. So, selling it would mean a loss of at least 1.8 million tB.
But he couldn't calculate it like that. He had to at least triple that amount. Moreover, Zhang Meiliang had heard that many rare cultural relics had been sold for hundreds of millions recently. His Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal was a token passed down through the Zhengyi lineage of Longhu Mountain, a cultural relic from 2,000 years ago. Selling it for over a hundred million wouldn't be unreasonable!
Zhang Meiliang, with his ambitious nature, directly stated, "One hundred million New tB."
"You actually dare to ask for that much!" The newcomer was startled by the price. He glanced at Zhang Meiliang and then directly slashed the price by ninety percent. "Ten million New tB. If you agree, we'll settle it with money right now!"
"Ten million New tB!" Zhang Meiliang felt his heart about to burst. He had thrown out the figure of one hundred million casually. He would have felt it was a huge profit if he could sell it for around 3.6 million, but now he could sell it for 10 million!
Of course, Zhang Meiliang knew there was room for negotiation. After a not-so-intense bargaining session, they finally settled on a price of 12 million New tB.
Zhang Meiliang was naturally very satisfied with the price, and the newcomer was also quite pleased. After all, it wasn't his own money being spent, but the Americans' money!
Yes, this person was naturally from TSMC. Initially, Morris Chang had said he would personally pay for this deal to maintain relations with Apple. After all, converted to US dollars, it was only about one to two million, not a significant amount.
However, Steve Jobs insisted that he must pay for it himself, otherwise, the merit would belong to Morris Chang.
Morris Chang also understood that such acts of merit should not be paid for by others, so he didn't say much. Therefore, although the negotiator was from TSMC, the money was paid by Steve Jobs, and there was no need to save money.
Moreover, Steve Jobs's bottom line was 10 million US dollars. Now, he had acquired it for just over 1 million US dollars. This was definitely a great contribution!
So, the newcomer quickly signed an agreement with Zhang Meiliang. The next day, he brought an appraisal master, and Zhang Meiliang cautiously took out the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal.
The master, holding the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal, a rare national treasure, with great excitement, began the appraisal. After confirming it was indeed a cultural relic from over 2,000 years ago, the transaction was successfully completed.
The money arrived that day, and the newcomer left with the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal. Morris Chang immediately handed the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal to Steve Jobs, who had been waiting eagerly.
"Good! Good! Good!" Steve Jobs exclaimed "good" three times, holding the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal and a picture for comparison. This was the only photograph of the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal from Longhu Mountain, taken in the late Qing Dynasty. Although the image was very blurry, it was just enough to confirm that the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal matched the one in the photo.
"Thank you, Brother Zhang! I owe you one!" Steve Jobs said gratefully. Morris Chang repeatedly said, "You're too kind." Both parties were very happy.
"By the way, how much did it cost in the end?" Steve Jobs, being somewhat absent-minded, only asked about the price now.
"Not much, after conversion, it's just over 1.21 million US dollars!" Morris Chang stated truthfully.
"Ah!" Steve Jobs's expression showed surprise, then a hint of displeasure.
"I apologize. The people below are not very competent. To get the item quickly, they didn't haggle too much over the price. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been difficult to bring it down to below 1 million US dollars!" Morris Chang quickly explained.
"What? You're saying it could have been even less than a million US dollars! How could that be! This price is already quite low!" Steve Jobs exclaimed in shock.
"Ah?" Morris Chang was taken aback. Didn't Steve Jobs think the price was too high? Why did it sound like he was complaining that the price was too low?
"Brother Zhang, you don't understand, returning the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal is a great act of merit! And it's simple logic, the more money you spend, the more merit you gain!"
"If I had bought this Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal for 5 million US dollars, I would have gained 5 million US dollars in merit. Now that you've only spent 1.2 million US dollars, I only have 1.2 million US dollars in merit, which is only a quarter!" Steve Jobs lamented.
"..." Morris Chang was utterly speechless. He wondered if his memory had been altered. Was this the Steve Jobs he remembered?
Helpless, Morris Chang could only console Steve Jobs, "The Three Pure Ones are Chinese. They don't recognize US dollars, so merit is definitely not calculated based on US dollars. As long as you return the heirloom of your sect, it's immeasurable merit, regardless of how much you spent! Even if you only spent one US dollar, the merit gained would be the same!"
Steve Jobs nodded repeatedly at Morris Chang's words, and his mood improved significantly. He then immediately instructed someone to book plane tickets for the next day, planning to fly to Singapore first, and then transfer to Yuzhang City to return the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal.
Logically speaking, Steve Jobs's actions were very swift. It had only been less than a day. However, no one expected that in this less than a day, a twist of fate would occur.
This twist of fate still fell upon Zhang Meiliang. After receiving 12 million New tB, the first thing Zhang Meiliang thought of doing was not to find a place to hide and live a comfortable retirement with the huge sum of money. Instead, he went to Zhang Yuanxian's house to show off.
Such behavior was understandable. After all, Zhang Meiliang had always been suppressed by Zhang Yuanxian. He held the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal but could not become the Heavenly Master, which had caused him immense pent-up anger.
Now that the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal was sold and he had received a fortune, Zhang Meiliang naturally wanted to hold his head high and vent the anger and frustration he had harbored for years.
So, he went to Zhang Yuanxian's house and triumphantly told him that the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal, which he had thought about his entire life, had been sold by him, that he had become a millionaire, and that the Heavenly Master Dao would lose its heirloom forever!
While such an act was very satisfying, a typical "power fantasy" trope, the problem was that Zhang Yuanxian was not the protagonist, and the act itself was incredibly foolish.
If Zhang Meiliang had stealthily taken the money and fled, no one would have found him, and everything would have been fine. But now, he had actively informed Zhang Yuanxian about this matter and even brought himself to Zhang Yuanxian's house. How could Zhang Yuanxian tolerate this?
So, Zhang Yuanxian immediately had his family apprehend Zhang Meiliang and then called the police, reporting Zhang Meiliang for theft and the sale of government cultural relics.
This charge was completely accurate. Although the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal had always been in Zhang Meiliang's possession, it did not belong to anyone; it belonged to the Heavenly Master Dao.
The Heavenly Master Dao was currently a government-registered entity, receiving government subsidies, and all its possessions were essentially government property, merely entrusted to the Heavenly Master Dao for use and safekeeping.
Now that the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal had been sold, was that not the trafficking of cultural relics?
That night, the entire TB police force was completely alarmed!