Chapter 48

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As the middle-aged man revealed the true origin of the Buddha statue, Jiang Ping felt a weight lift from his heart, knowing that the deal was almost done. ←

However, even so, Jiang Ping did not show the slightest sign of joy, but said with a poker face, "Anything dug up from the ground is unclaimed cultural property and must be turned over to the state. The Cultural Relics Bureau will issue you a certificate of honor, and oh, a bonus of 200 yuan."

Jiang Ping's words further shook the middle-aged man's confidence. Clinging to the last shred of hope, he said, "Wouldn't the antique shop rather make money than report me?"

"Of course, the antique shop wants to make money, but the shop owner is more afraid of trouble," Jiang Ping continued to undermine the other party. "If this were to be exposed, they wouldn't even be able to keep their shop open. Do you think the boss would risk the entire shop for a thousand yuan?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man was completely at a loss, muttering to himself, "So... I dug this thing up for nothing?"

"Of course not!" Jiang Ping said with a smile. "I don't need any proof of origin, and I won't just give you a few hundred yuan to send you away. I genuinely want to buy it for my collection. Considering how hard you found it, I'll give you a little more, 4,000 yuan! How about that?"

Although the price was far from what he had hoped for, after being intimidated by Jiang Ping, the middle-aged man felt that 4,000 yuan was not bad, so he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll sell it to you!"

Jiang Ping didn't hesitate and immediately counted out 4,000 yuan in cash to the man. The gilded Buddha statue from the Ming Dynasty changed hands. He carefully placed the statue in his backpack and went home with a satisfied heart.

To be honest, Jiang Ping's gains today were quite substantial. Not only did he sell two rosewood bracelets and a pair of Jiajing Tongbao mother coins, but he also acquired a gilded Buddha statue from the Ming Dynasty at a very low price. If sold at the current market price, the statue could easily fetch 20,000 yuan, making him a significant profit.

Of course, Jiang Ping's success was entirely due to his memories and experience from his previous life. Whether it was selling the rosewood bracelets or the Jiajing Tongbao mother coins at high prices, it relied on his discerning eye and skills. As for acquiring the gilded Buddha statue at a low price, it required not only a keen eye but also the ability to read people and precisely understand their psychology.

Only someone like Jiang Ping, with the rich experiences of his past life, could excel in this field. If he were just an ordinary high school student, he would have surely lost all his meager New Year's money on his first visit to the antique street.

After returning home, Jiang Ping carefully hid the gilded Buddha statue in his room. After a quick lunch, he went out again.

Of course, this time Jiang Ping used the excuse of going to school for extra classes, but in reality, he was visiting Li Jiajia at Zhao Guoquan's house, as per their previous agreement.

Reborn, Jiang Ping was very clear that although Zhao Guoquan currently seemed to be in a slump, with his political career seemingly over, it wouldn't be long before he rose to prominence again. Over the next few decades, he would become a star in the political circles of Suzhou and even the entire province, eventually becoming the top official in the province.

Having lived two lives, Jiang Ping knew very well that if he could establish a good relationship with the Zhao Guoquan family at this time, it would greatly benefit his future. Therefore, he wouldn't miss this opportunity to build a connection, even if it meant sacrificing the time he could have spent crafting rosewood furniture.

Following the address given by Zhao Guoquan, Jiang Ping easily arrived near his house. Zhao Guoquan's home was in an old residential area, located in a quiet part of the city. The neighborhood environment was quite nice, but the houses were somewhat old and the floor plans were not very spacious. However, Jiang Ping knew from his past life that Zhao Guoquan would continue to live there for many years until he took up a provincial position and moved to the provincial capital.

Although Jiang Ping was not very familiar with Zhao Guoquan, the fact that an official could live such a simple life spoke volumes. From his interactions with Zhao Guoquan so far, Jiang Ping found him to be a rather upright person.

Jiang Ping enjoyed dealing with upright people, not because he considered himself noble and thus wanted to associate with them, but because he believed that upright people wouldn't take advantage of him, and he could occasionally take advantage of them without much issue, as the saying goes, "A gentleman can be deceived by a method."

Zhao Guoquan's house was on the first floor. Jiang Ping confirmed the door number and gently knocked. After a short wait, the door opened. To his surprise, it was not Zhao Guoquan but his daughter, Zhao Wanqing, who opened the door.

Jiang Ping had seen Zhao Wanqing at the time of the car accident, but his attention was entirely on saving the victims, and he only caught a glimpse of her. He only knew that she was a beautiful woman. This was their second meeting, and Jiang Ping finally had the chance to take a closer look at the beautiful young woman.

At this point, Zhao Wanqing was in the prime of her life, exuding the charm of a mature woman. Perhaps because she was at home, she casually tied her long, wavy hair into a ponytail, adding a touch of laziness and casualness to her appearance.

Although the weather was already quite hot, Zhao Wanqing was wearing a thick long-sleeved sports jacket, with the zipper pulled up to her neck. This attire not only covered her skin except for her face and hands but also concealed her full, mature figure.

Jiang Ping knew that Zhao Wanqing dressed this way to hide the scars on her arms and back. He had heard from Zhao Guoquan that the car accident left her with scars that could not be removed, which clearly troubled her.

There was also a noticeable scar on Zhao Wanqing's cheek, which marred her otherwise beautiful face. If not for the fear of scaring her daughter with a mask at home, she would have worn one to avoid seeing her own ugly scars.

Even Jiang Ping, seeing the scar on Zhao Wanqing's face, felt a pang of sympathy for her. Without the scars from the accident, Zhao Wanqing would have been a woman of exceptional beauty and grace, but now all of that was gone.

Although he felt sad for Zhao Wanqing, Jiang Ping, with his psychology doctorate, knew that the more he felt this way, the more he needed to act as if nothing was wrong in front of her.

So, Jiang Ping neither stared at the scar on Zhao Wanqing's face nor deliberately avoided looking at it. He simply smiled politely and said, "Hello, I have an appointment with Uncle Zhao to visit Jiajia today."

Zhao Wanqing clearly knew that Jiang Ping was coming today, so she showed no surprise. She stepped back to let Jiang Ping in and said coolly, "My father is not at home!"

====分割线====

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