Chapter 35: Perfectly Legitimate! A Large Sum of Money

Fang Zhen nodded. "Gold artifacts related to religion."

"Oh? You really know your stuff." Uncle Bao looked surprised. He sized Fang Zhen up and down. "I thought you didn’t know anything, which is why you sold that Gold Pendant to a jewelry store for the simple price of gold."

"But I don’t understand. If you knew the origin of these gold artifacts, why didn’t you wait to find a suitable buyer instead of selling it cheap to a jewelry store?"

Fang Zhen just smiled. ’To be honest, I really didn’t know it was a religious item when I sold it,’ he thought. ’I only confirmed that after finding the Golden Holy Chalice and the Holy Plate.’

Fang Zhen knew the truth, but this clearly wasn’t the time or place to reveal his hand.

He shook his head and said simply, "Everyone falls on hard times. I was short on cash and needed to get by. Selling it as a gold craft or an antique would have taken too long, so I just exchanged it for quick money at a jewelry store."

"I also considered a pawn shop, but that’s not very fast either, and they might not have even offered more than the jewelry store."

"Oh... that makes sense." Uncle Bao nodded slightly, as if he understood.

Fang Zhen changed the subject, his tone becoming lighter. "But I’m past that rough spot now, so I’m not in such a hurry. If I’m going to sell something like this again, I can afford to be more patient."

"Hehehe," Uncle Bao laughed upon hearing this. "You’re a sharp one, kid. By saying that, you’re basically telling me you have more of these gold artifacts, you’re not in a hurry to sell, and I shouldn’t try to lowball you, right?"

"Haha, you saw right through me." Fang Zhen wasn’t the least bit embarrassed and admitted it freely.

Trying to make money is nothing to be ashamed of.

This Uncle Bao seemed as shrewd as they come; there was no point beating around the bush.

Uncle Bao didn’t sound angry at all. On the contrary, he seemed to appreciate Fang Zhen’s straightforwardness, a look of approval in his eyes.

"Then let’s get down to business."

"Do you have more of these gold artifacts?" Uncle Bao asked.

"Yes," Fang Zhen nodded. He turned to the side, picked up his laptop bag, and took out the Golden Holy Chalice and the Holy Plate.

Uncle Bao looked a little surprised when he saw them.

"I can tell you’re an expert, and I knew I was meeting an important client today, so I had to bring something along, right?" Fang Zhen smiled. "This is the Golden Holy Chalice and the Holy Plate. I trust your expert eye can see what they are. Take a look. Are you interested?"

Uncle Bao nodded.

The man in the suit behind him retrieved a monocular loupe and a set of precision instruments from a leather bag.

The man in the suit carefully put on a pair of white gloves, picked up the Golden Holy Chalice, and placed it on a precision instrument that looked like a scale.

Fang Zhen watched and thought, ’Looks like they came prepared, too.’

"246 grams," the man in the suit announced.

’So it’s a scale,’ Fang Zhen thought.

The man in the suit carefully took the Golden Holy Chalice off the tray and placed it in front of Uncle Bao. He then picked up the Holy Plate and set it on the tray.

’239 grams.’

The man in the suit, still wearing white gloves, then placed the Holy Plate on the table.

Uncle Bao picked up the monocular loupe, skillfully placed it over his left eye, and took the Golden Holy Chalice to examine it closely.

After about a minute, he put down the Golden Holy Chalice and began examining the Holy Plate.

After another minute, Uncle Bao nodded slightly.

"This is good stuff."

"It’s definitely the Golden Holy Chalice and the Holy Plate. They’re from the same set as the Gold Pendant from before, but the set is still missing two pieces."

Uncle Bao put down the loupe and said to Fang Zhen.

A moment later, Uncle Bao asked Fang Zhen, "I’ll take these two items. Name your price."

"Why don’t you make an offer? If it’s reasonable, I’ll consider it," Fang Zhen replied with a smile, rubbing the teacup in front of him.

Fang Zhen actually wanted to name a price; he had cultivated the right image and atmosphere for it.

The problem was, while Fang Zhen knew the price of gold, he had no idea what gold artifacts were worth.

Fang Zhen’s expectations were actually quite low. He would have been happy with anything higher than the jewelry store’s price—somewhere in the upper two hundred thousands.

Besides, this set—the Gold Pendant, the Golden Holy Chalice, and the Holy Plate—might even have some connection to gold antiques.

Fang Zhen didn’t know the price, and just blurting out a number would make him look like an amateur, which would ruin everything.

It wasn’t that Fang Zhen was afraid of being looked down on. The main issue was that if he named an absurd price, whether too high or too low, Uncle Bao would see through his act, realize he was a novice, and then hold all the leverage in the negotiation.

So, the ball was in Uncle Bao’s court to make the first offer.

Fang Zhen watched Uncle Bao’s expression. It seemed he was also thinking it over.

Suddenly, Fang Zhen had a realization.

’Uncle Bao is in a similar situation. He probably feels that making an offer that’s too high or too low would be a bad move.’

Uncle Bao mulled it over for a moment, then said, "Based on the current price of gold, the raw material in your artifacts is worth a little over 266,000. Let’s round it up to 270,000."

"But this is more than just gold; there’s craftsmanship involved. For the craftsmanship, I’ll add a 40% premium. That brings it to 378,000."

"Additionally, I can see you know your stuff. This is a set of religious items, a Gold communion set, which does border on being a gold antique. However, I’ve also studied religious history and artifacts, and I can’t for the life of me identify which sect this set belongs to."

"Perhaps there’s a gap in my knowledge."

"With this gold communion set of yours... if I say it’s real, I can’t find any provenance. If I say it’s fake, it doesn’t look like it. Besides, forgers in Xia Country who specialize in aging gold antiques would rather fake palace jewelry boxes from the Han, Tang, Yuan, or Ming dynasties. They wouldn’t bother with Western religious tableware. The techniques and methods are completely different. It’s very difficult for me to judge."

"So, what’s the story behind this gold communion set?"

Uncle Bao asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Everyone has their own channels. Let’s not get into that, Uncle Bao. But I can assure you, its origin is completely legitimate and doesn’t violate any of Xia Country’s laws," Fang Zhen said.

He wasn’t wrong.

The items he took from the dungeon had absolutely nothing to do with the laws of Xia Country.

"Completely legitimate?" Uncle Bao repeated.

"Completely." Fang Zhen nodded decisively, his tone firm.

Fang Zhen spoke with the conviction of someone who was completely in the right.

’They say Zhu Chongba’s claim to the throne was the most legitimate of all,’ Fang Zhen thought. ’And how was it legitimate? He started as a beggar at the lowest rung of society and fought his way, blade by bloody blade, all the way to becoming emperor.’

’By that logic, I earned this Golden Holy Chalice and Holy Plate in the dungeon, literally fighting for them blade by bloody blade. Who dares say their origin isn’t legitimate?’

’If you think it’s not legitimate, go fight for one yourself!’

Fang Zhen could feel that his confidence had an effect on Uncle Bao, who decided not to dwell on the matter.

"I can’t determine its provenance, but let’s call it a semi-antique. You seem to know that you wouldn’t accept the price for a simple craft piece, so I’ll raise my offer."

"For these two items, 550,000. I’ll take them," Uncle Bao said.

Fang Zhen was pleasantly surprised to hear the number.

It was far beyond his expectations.

He was thrilled inside, but he didn’t let any of his joy show on his face.

He smiled at Uncle Bao and asked, "I imagine you’re buying this communion set for more than just your personal collection, right?"

"In your circle, a set like this wouldn’t go for this price, would it?"

Hearing this, Uncle Bao seemed to be influenced by Fang Zhen’s demeanor and a smile appeared on his face as well.

"Heh, you’re an interesting kid," Uncle Bao chuckled. "I like you. You remind me a bit of myself when I was young."

"It’s true, I’m a gold collector, and in my circle, we have a different way of assessing value. But it’s a circle you can’t enter. If I were to part with this communion set, it wouldn’t be for money. It would more likely be a gift for someone," Uncle Bao said.

"How about this. I’ll add another ten percent or so. 620,000."

"This is my final offer. And I can guarantee you that in all of Xiahai, no one else will offer a price this high for a gold communion set with no proof of origin. I’m the best offer you’re going to find."

"Uncle Bao’s word is law in Xiahai’s circles. He wouldn’t lie to you about something like this," the man in the suit added from behind.

"So?" Uncle Bao asked.

Fang Zhen thought for a second, then nodded. "Deal."

"Good!" Uncle Bao nodded. "Let’s make the transfer."

「One minute later.」

Fang Zhen’s phone vibrated with an incoming text message.

"Deposit to savings account ending in 1150 on May 4: 620,000.00 yuan. New balance: 641,052.51 yuan. Memo: Gold artifact transaction."

His bank account was now 620,000 yuan richer.