Chapter 229: Refusal
Chapter 229: Refusal
Upon hearing a knocking sound, Zhou Chenglei went to open the door.
The visitors were Zhang Rong and his brother, along with Zeng Yuan.
Zeng Yuan surveyed the small countryside courtyard and found it hard to imagine that Zhou Chenglei still lived in such a mud-brick house.
As soon as Zhang Rong saw Zhou Chenglei, he said, "The two-meter diameter Jade-Crystal Chenqu Museum has declined your kind offer. The curator said they already have a finely carved Chenqu artifact over a meter long, so they don't need another."
At that time, Chenqu could still be traded, and although Jade-Crystal Chenqu was rare, it was considered a common organic gemstone.
So, even though a two-meter Jade-Crystal Chenqu was extremely rare, it wasn't unheard of. Museums typically collected cultural relics, and since they already had one, they wouldn't collect this natural one.
Of course, if it were a carved Chenqu passed down from ancient times, they would collect it regardless of its size.
Hearing this, Zhou Chenglei calmly replied, "Then so be it."
Their city didn't have a museum; only the province had one. Zhou Chenglei didn't know anyone there, but Zhang Rong, who dealt in jewelry and collected antiques, did. Since they weren't interested, Zhou Chenglei didn't pursue it further.
He just felt that the item was worth collecting.
Zeng Yuan looked at Zhou Chenglei with admiration in her eyes. How much would a two-meter Jade-Crystal Chenqu be worth? He was willing to donate it; he truly lived up to his reputation!
Zhang Rong urged again, "The museum doesn't want it, but I do. What about the Jade-Crystal Chenqu? I think such a large Chenqu still has collection value, and many collectors would be interested, especially those who are devout Buddhists."
This was because the Jade-Crystal Chenqu was one of the legendary Seven Treasures of Buddhism, believed to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.
"The Jade-Crystal Chenqu is at my brother's place. Wait a moment, and I'll let my wife know, then we can take you to see it."
So, Zhou Chenglei went inside to tell Jiang Xia about Zhang Rong and Zhang Rui's visit and that the museum wasn't interested, but Zhang Rong wanted to see the Jade-Crystal Chenqu.
Jiang Xia had just finished eating and immediately put down her bowl and chopsticks. "Wait for me, I'll grab my camera to take some photos for keepsake."
As soon as Zhou Fu heard this, he also stood up, forgetting about his meal. "I'll come too!"
Such a rare find must be photographed for posterity! Jiang Xia took her camera, and they all headed towards Zhou Chengxin's place.
Zhou Chengxin's family had just finished their dinner as well.
Tian Caixia was washing dishes while glancing at the two-meter tall giant with a heavy heart, muttering to herself, "Have you lost your mind? Donating such a large Jade-Crystal Chenqu! If sold by weight, even at one yuan per kilogram, it would be worth over two thousand yuan! If they don't want it, they could donate it to me!"
Recently, the family had just ordered a new fishing boat, and their savings were almost depleted. Tian Caixia was even reluctant to eat an extra fish.
They still owed over three thousand yuan for the boat, and she just wanted to save up enough money quickly, so she started cutting back on expenses.
Hearing that Zhou Chenglei decided to donate such a valuable treasure to the museum, she was heartbroken and felt like her heart was bleeding. She thought that if it were given to her, she wouldn't have to worry about the remaining payment for their boat.
Zhou Chengxin was busy making nets for pearl oysters and didn't pay attention to Tian Caixia's muttering.
A Lei and Little Xia must have their reasons for doing this!
No one would just give away money without a good reason.
At that moment, Zhou Chenglei's group entered, "Brother, Sister-in-law, I've brought some people to see the Jade-Crystal Chenqu."
Zhou Chengxin quickly put down his work and stood up.
Zhou Chenglei introduced everyone, and after exchanging greetings, Zhang Rong went to see the Jade-Crystal Chenqu placed in the corner of the courtyard.
Jiang Xia was surprised that the museum declined it, even though it was different from what she had read. However, many things were already different from what she had expected.
Reality is reality, and fiction is fiction.
It's understandable that the museum wouldn't accept it since they already have more valuable pieces, and museum display space is limited.
Jiang Xia knew that there was a specialized Jade-Crystal Chenqu Museum in modern times, but it was built decades later.
Currently, Chenqu is not yet valued, and the same goes for Jade-Crystal Chenqu.
Although it takes a long time for this thing to form, there are countless naturally occurring items that take a long time to form. Petroleum and jade also form over extended periods, but not every piece of jade can be displayed in a museum.
The same goes for petroleum; perhaps after many years, when petroleum resources are depleted, petroleum-made items may also find their way into museums.
Since the museum didn't accept it, Zhang Rong took it, and his jewelry store is state-owned.
However, the privatization of state-owned enterprises has begun.
There was a streetlamp in the courtyard because they sometimes needed to kill fish overnight, so a lamp was installed in the courtyard, but the light from the streetlamp was clearly insufficient.
Zhang Rong held a flashlight and shone it on the object. Under the flashlight's beam, the Jade-Crystal Chenqu was crystal clear, smooth, flawless, and lustrous like high-grade jade.
Zhang Rong examined it carefully, "It's so beautiful! This is almost fully petrified!"
Zhang Rui looked on in amazement, "Fourth Brother, what luck! You found such a big treasure and even have the heart to donate it."
Zhou Chenglei glanced at Jiang Xia, "It was your sister-in-law who found it, not me."
Zhang Rui gave Jiang Xia a thumbs-up, "Your sister-in-law is truly admirable!"
Jiang Xia just smiled.
Zeng Yuan looked at Jiang Xia, pursed her lips, and said nothing.
After examining it, Zhang Rong turned off the flashlight, "I'll have someone drive over tomorrow to transport it back. It's dark now, and the road is not easy to navigate, so we won't move it tonight. It won't even fit in the jeep."
Zhou Chenglei replied, "Okay."
Tian Caixia listened for a while, seeing that neither Zhou Chenglei nor Jiang Xia asked about the price, and couldn't help but ask, "Then how much can this big guy be sold for?"
Zhang Rong: "It should be worth more than five thousand yuan."
Tian Caixia gasped!
Five thousand yuan! What deity did Jiang Xia pray to that she could find five thousand yuan on a single trip to the beach?
Envious!
Jiang Xia, thinking of Tian Caixia's pearls, which hadn't been sold yet, said, "Elder Sister, I sold my pearls to Second Brother Zhang. You can sell yours to him now."
Tian Caixia immediately replied, "I'll get them now!"
After saying this, she hurried back into the house to retrieve her pearls.
Tian Caixia's pearls weren't as good as Jiang Xia's, but she had a decent one. After examining it, Zhang Rong gave her more than six hundred yuan, making her ecstatic.
Although it couldn't compare to Jiang Xia's, six hundred was still a lot.
After confirming it was Jade-Crystal Chenqu, the group returned to the old house.
Jiang Xia asked Zhou Chenglei to bring out the two stones she had fished from the sea to show Zhang Rong.
As Zhang Rong was examining them, Zhang Rui called Zhou Chenglei outside to talk.
Zhang Rong carefully examined the stones with the flashlight, and his expression turned serious, "I'll take these two stones back to take a better look. The light here is too dim, and I can't see clearly. I'll have some experts take a look."
If he wasn't mistaken, this was incredible! But with his limited experience, he couldn't be sure.
At this moment, Zhou Chenglei entered with a file bag and readily agreed, "Sure, take it back!"
There are always people in this world whom you can trust, and Zhang Rong was one such person to Zhou Chenglei.
(End of Chapter)
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