Chapter 38

The next day, Dad went to work, and Mom had taken a medical retirement. Apart from cooking, she spent her days playing cards. Wu Di accompanied his mom to the market, walking through the factory area where everyone they met was an acquaintance.

Though the factory was large, it couldn't withstand the familiarity of the people! After decades together, any news spread quickly throughout the factory. In just half a day, everyone knew that the Wu family's eldest son had brought back a luxury car worth several million. On the way to buy vegetables, play chess, or play cards, everyone stared at the two of them, and Wu Di felt like they were all waiting for his mom on purpose.

Mom was modest yet proud, spreading the news everywhere, "Nothing much, just learned how to deal with antiques in the capital."

Wu Di smiled along with the aunts and uncles, but he had no choice. Until he gave the elders a grandson, he had to make some sacrifices and serve as his mom's prop. When people get old, they often have such hobbies.

During this time, he received a call saying that the money from the Second Machine Factory had been received at 95%. Zhao Haoran wanted Wu Di to come and get it, but Wu Di gave him an account and asked him to transfer it over. He also called Old Yuan, saying he would visit him later. Then he continued to smile along with his mom.

"What's Dad busy with these days? He seems a bit frazzled?"

After making the rounds, they finally had some peace. Thinking of Dad, who had left early in the morning, Wu Di asked.

"He's not busy with anything. The old rebel from the factory, Uncle Lin, died. It's said that he had hidden cultural relics from a special period at home. His three sons are fighting over the inheritance, and the case has even reached the factory."

"Uncle Lin died? He was only sixty, right?"

"Sixty? Fifty-eight! A stroke doesn't care about age! He was gone in less than an hour, without leaving a word."

"Oh."

The factory area was opposite the residential area, and everyone went home for lunch. His sister, who attended the factory school, was on holiday and had been taken out to play. Wu Di accompanied his mom for a while, then went home to prepare lunch.

Wu Di had planned to explore Yudu thoroughly before he returned. The factory had moved out of the mountains, and he had gone to university, then graduated and didn't work at home. Calling him a Yudu native was a bit of a stretch. He was just a country bumpkin. However, it wouldn't be good to come home and not stay, especially since his mom planned to take him back to the old home to pay respects the next day.

After lunch, Wu Di took out his "Chinese Ceramic History" to study for a while. He planned to stay at home for half a month, and by the time he returned to the capital, it would be close to Wen Yajiu's exam. He wanted to take the opportunity to study more, so he wouldn't get too distracted in the coming days.

Seeing Wu Di reading, his mom quietly closed the door and went to take a nap.

A knock on the door sounded, and Wu Di heard his mom's voice, which was not very friendly: "If you're looking for Old Wu, come back when he's at work. He's sleeping now."

"Auntie, we're not looking for Uncle Wu, we're looking for Wu Di."

Hearing this, Wu Di came out and saw three young men standing at the door. They were the three sons of Uncle Lin, their old neighbors from the factory. Wu Di quickly invited them in and said, "Hehe, no problem, let's keep it quiet. The old man needs his rest every day."

The three men entered the living room, and the second son struggled to place the object he was carrying on the table. The three brothers looked at each other, and the eldest, rubbing his hands nervously, asked, "Wu Di, little brother, can you help us? How much is this thing worth?"

On the table was a large object wrapped in a sheet, about half a meter long. Wu Di looked at the three brothers suspiciously and didn't reach out, asking, "What is it?"

The second son reached out and unwrapped the sheet, saying, "An ancient jade, the old man said it's very valuable."

Mom pursed her lips, about to speak, but Wu Di shook his head slightly and said, "I've only been studying for a short time, so I might not be able to tell. If I'm wrong, don't blame me."

"No, no, Wu Di, you're a learned person, much better than us."

On the table was a piece of ancient jade, as evidenced by its patina. Because of the recent incident with the mutton fat jade, Wu Di had seen a lot of information and pictures of Hetian jade. He recognized this as a piece of mountain material, greenish-white jade, but the quality wasn't very good.

Wu Di judged it to be mountain material because of its size. It was a square piece of jade, slightly narrower at the top, about thirty centimeters high, fifty centimeters long, and about thirty centimeters thick. It was almost impossible for river jade to produce such a large piece. The edges were very smooth, clearly polished.

"Brothers, this is a piece of mountain material, greenish-white Hetian jade. It might be quite old, as you can see the thick patina."

"We don't understand these things, we just want to know how much it's worth."

Wu Di gently touched the surface of the jade and said, "The quality of this jade isn't very good, it's a bit dry. It feels smooth because of the patina. The current price for this quality is about 2,000 yuan per kilogram. If sold as an ancient jade, it might be a bit higher, but whoever buys such a large piece will likely use it for carving, which doesn't highlight its value as an ancient jade. So the price is similar to new jade."

The three men's faces were filled with disappointment. They had asked over a dozen jade shops, and the prices were similar to what Wu Di said, but even lower, with the highest offer being 1,200 yuan per kilogram.

The youngest brother, the most astute, said, "This jade weighs over thirty kilograms. One boss offered 3,000 yuan per kilogram, but we didn't sell it. Wu Di, you're in this business, right? Do you want to buy it? We can sell it to you at a lower price, saving us the trouble of carrying it around."

Mom shook her head at Wu Di, and Wu Di was a bit unhappy. 2,000 yuan per kilogram was the selling price, and the shops' purchase prices were definitely lower. 3,000 yuan was a scam.

Wu Di shook his head and said, "I deal in antiques, not jade material."

"But it's an ancient jade, isn't it? You said it has a patina. If you buy it at a lower price, it will be easier for you to sell, right?"

Wu Di laughed coldly, thinking they were treating him like a fool. Just as he was about to refuse, he had a thought. Such a large piece of jade material was hard to come by, and since it was an old piece, he could have someone carve a landscape or figure and place it in his godmother's living room. However, he couldn't pay too much, or these guys might think he was easy to fool and bring more things to him.

With this in mind, Wu Di decided what to say: "If someone carves this, it could be a nice piece for a villa's living room. However, I can't pay the price I mentioned earlier. That's the selling price, and I wouldn't make any profit. The most I can offer is 1,500 yuan per kilogram."

"Brother, you grew up with us, can you add a bit more, a bit more?"

"The most I can offer is 1,600 yuan per kilogram. If that's not suitable, you can look elsewhere."

Mom kept tugging at Wu Di's clothes, but he didn't budge. Even if he paid a bit more, it was a gift for his godmother, a token of his affection. Besides, these people, though not great, were old neighbors, and Wu Di didn't want to offend them, as his mom still lived in the factory area.

The three brothers looked at each other, and the eldest nodded, "Okay, 1,600 yuan it is. I'm tired of running around. This stone weighs thirty-eight kilograms, so we'll take 60,000 yuan."

Wu Di tried to lift the stone but couldn't, so he said, "Okay, I'll write up a contract, and then I'll give you the money. Do you want a transfer or cash from the bank?"

Mom was angry and ignored Wu Di, whispering to Dad, who had just woken up. Wu Di wrote up the transfer agreement and then went to the bank with the three brothers to get the money.

On the way, the three brothers kept probing Wu Di, and Wu Di suspected they had more items, but they were likely not valuable. He remained polite but not overly enthusiastic. After a while, the three brothers calmed down.

As soon as they got home, Mom scolded Wu Di, saying those three were not good people and didn't even take care of Uncle Lin's funeral. Wu Di laughed, "As long as the item is good, it's fine. I'll find a master to carve a landscape and give it to my godmother. It will look great in their living room."

Mom grumbled and went to sleep. Wu Di took out the wordless book from his luggage, pressed it against the jade, and picked up a magnifying glass to look. He was shocked by the book's message! The words on the book were much larger, over a dozen characters, filling the page, and clearly visible without a magnifying glass. The color was not black but bright red!

"An astonishing masterpiece, a micro-carved jade by Lu Zigang of the Ming Dynasty, depicting mountains and rivers!"

Wu Di almost hit his head on the stone. An astonishing masterpiece? What could be so astonishing that it would be called such by a divine book like the wordless book? A stone worth fifty million yuan only showed one line, but this full page of bright red characters, how much could it be worth? What was micro-carving? It certainly couldn't be this large stone! With the experience of the brick inkstone, it was clear that there was something inside, and it wasn't just anything! But the greenish-white jade was a solid piece with no cracks. How could anything be inside? Could it be like the brick inkstone? But he couldn't break it again, could he?