Chapter 43

"Uncle Jing, these meteorites are all sold by the gram, right? According to the price you mentioned, they are much more expensive than gold."

Although he didn't know the exact weight of these meteorites, just by looking at their size, none of them seemed very heavy.

The glass meteorite was only about forty to fifty grams, and the Martian meteorite, in Su Xiaofan's estimation, was at most a dozen grams.

As for the last solar storm energy factor meteorite, Su Xiaofan guessed it would be about three to five grams, and at three to five grams for thirty thousand yuan, that would be several dozen times more expensive than gold.

"Uncle Jing, 140,000, 380,000, 1,280,000 plus 30,000, that's a total of 1,830,000. Let's round it to 1,850,000."

For Su Xiaofan, who had just received over ten million yuan, this number didn't seem very large.

So, with a generous air, Su Xiaofan waved his hand and said, "Uncle Jing, you've been collecting these for several years. I won't shortchange you. How about this: double the price to 3,700,000, and you transfer all these meteorites to me. What do you think?"

"Are you sure you want to double the price?"

Jing Shizhen looked at Su Xiaofan with a peculiar expression.

"What's wrong, Uncle Jing? Is there something amiss?"

Under Jing Shizhen's gaze, Su Xiaofan suddenly felt a bit uneasy, as if he had overlooked something.

"Zhengshan, young people these days are really wealthy and generous."

Jing Shizhen chuckled and said, "Xiao Su, you know that I bought these things at auctions abroad, right?"

"I know, Uncle Jing, you mentioned it just now."

For some reason, Su Xiaofan's sense of foreboding grew stronger.

"Yes, the currency I mentioned isn't our country's, but dollars, abbreviated as USD. Do you understand?"

Jing Shizhen's smile grew wider, and he eventually burst out laughing.

"Ah? You mean... dollars?"

Hearing Jing Shizhen's words, Su Xiaofan was stunned. He quickly took out his phone to check the exchange rate between dollars and RMB, and his face turned pale.

"How about it? What's the exchange rate? One to six point something?"

Jing Shizhen pointed to the glass display case in front of him and said, "I'll use one to 6.3. 3,700,000 dollars is 23,300,000 RMB. If you can come up with that, you can take all these meteorites."

"Uncle Jing, I... I can't afford it!"

Su Xiaofan's face fell, and he said pitifully, "Uncle Jing, please give me a discount as a newcomer. Considering I'm just starting out, how about selling them to me at the original price? I only want the glass meteorite, the Martian meteorite, and the unnamed one. I'll pass on the others for now."

"Xiao Su, the prospects for meteorite collecting in our country are still unclear. You don't need to invest in them right now."

Zhao Zhengshan also advised, as he had the backing of his family business to spend 80 million on a painting.

But in Zhao Zhengshan's view, Su Xiaofan's over ten million wasn't easily earned. No, it wasn't hard either; it was just from selling two items.

"Hey? You really want to buy them?"

Seeing Su Xiaofan still hadn't given up on buying the meteorites, Jing Shizhen was somewhat surprised.

The meteorite craze in the country hadn't taken off yet, and their prices wouldn't rise anytime soon. Buying them would only tie up Su Xiaofan's funds without much benefit.

Even Jing Shizhen himself had a bit of regret after buying these meteorites. If he weren't so wealthy, he would have tried to sell them off.

"I want to buy them, but I can't afford it."

Su Xiaofan honestly said that his entire net worth was 16 million plus 130,000, which was far from 20 million.

"Ah, the price was your offer, not mine."

Jing Shizhen just smiled. Su Xiaofan had just made two big finds and sold them, looking very pleased with himself, but now he seemed deflated.

Su Xiaofan clasped his hands and said, "Uncle Jing, everyone knows you like to help young people. Please give me a discount."

"What if I don't give you a discount?" Jing Shizhen's smile faded.

"Uncle Jing, should I kneel for you?"

Su Xiaofan said shamelessly. After spending so much time in the antique market, he had definitely toughened up his skin.

"If I don't sell them to you, will you resent me?"

Jing Shizhen shook his head and stared at Su Xiaofan.

He had seen many people who, when they couldn't get what they wanted, would end up hating the person who had it. Jing Shizhen didn't want to help a white-eyed wolf.

"That won't happen, Uncle Jing. The items are yours, and whether you sell them or not is your choice. I won't blame you."

Su Xiaofan shook his head, speaking sincerely and without any pretense.

Ever since his grandfather's death, when Su Xiaofan was alone in the city for high school, he had learned a lesson: apart from family, others helping you is a favor, and not helping you is their right. In this society, you ultimately rely on yourself.

So, when he learned about his sister's tuition, Su Xiaofan first thought about selling more items, not borrowing money or using online loans.

"You understand, that's good."

Jing Shizhen nodded and said, "I'm a businessman, I won't take advantage of you, and you shouldn't try to take advantage of me. I spent a total of 1,850,000 dollars on these meteorites. My usual profit margin for selling antiques is at least 40%. I'll add 40% to the price. Do you want them?"

"1,850,000 plus 40%..."

Su Xiaofan quickly calculated in his head, "Uncle Jing, that's 2,590,000 dollars, right? What's the exchange rate? Still one to six?"

"You should stop hanging out with Gangzi. How did you end up like him?"

Jing Shizhen glared at Su Xiaofan, "One to 6.3. If you want to buy, you can. If not, forget it. Let's go, don't stay in the warehouse and get tempted by more items."

"Uncle Jing, the meteorites haven't been put away yet." Su Xiaofan looked at the meteorites with longing.

"If you want to buy, wait for Liu Zang to come and collect them. You're so eager."

Jing Shizhen shook his head, wondering how this kid had such good luck, picking up all the big finds in the past decade.

Following Jing Shizhen out of the warehouse, they returned to the tea area. Jing Shizhen took out a calculator and started doing the math for Su Xiaofan.

"16,310,000, let's round it to 16,300,000. Do you want to buy?"

Jing Shizhen said, "I'll give you one more chance. To sell these meteorites, you need to take them to foreign auctions. No one in the country will buy them right now. Think carefully."

"Uncle Jing, can I skip the ten ordinary meteorites?"

Su Xiaofan checked his bank account and his face fell. He had 16,170,000, still 130,000 short.

"That's not possible. If you want to buy, you have to buy the whole set..."

Jing Shizhen shook his head, "If I sell them later, I'll have to sell them as a set. How can I sell the rest if the best ones are gone?"

By selling this batch of meteorites, Jing Shizhen was effectively getting out of the meteorite business. Otherwise, he would have to wait for the domestic market to improve before selling.

"Uncle Jing, can we do a payment plan?"

Su Xiaofan placed his phone on the table and tentatively said, "I only have 16,170,000. Can I give you all of it and owe you 130,000?"

Feeling the strong desire of the repair system in his mind to absorb the solar storm energy factor meteorite, Su Xiaofan was determined to get it, even if it meant going broke.

After all, the 16 million in his account had only been used for two repair points. He knew what was more important.

"You only had 170,000 before?"

Looking at the balance in Su Xiaofan's bank account, Jing Shizhen was taken aback. Among his clients, Su Xiaofan was definitely the poorest, no question.

"I had a few hundred thousand, but I used it for my sister's education."

Su Xiaofan thought about whether he should ask his sister for 200,000, since he had saved on her tuition and she wouldn't need much money at school.

"You're a bit extreme in your actions."

Jing Shizhen didn't know how to evaluate Su Xiaofan. He had seen people make over ten million in a day, but Su Xiaofan was the first to make over ten million and then spend it all in a blink.

"Uncle Jing, fortune favors the bold!" Su Xiaofan was stubborn.

If not for the repair system needing the meteorites, he wouldn't want to spend his newly earned money so quickly.

"If you're sure, there's no return policy after the transaction."

Jing Shizhen nodded, saying, "As the saying goes, even the king of hell can't save a doomed soul. Great compassion doesn't save those who give up. You're an adult and can take responsibility for your actions."

"Uncle Jing, are you agreeing?"

Su Xiaofan's face lit up, but the meteorites weren't in his hands yet, so he was still anxious.

"Transfer me 16,150,000, and pay the remaining 150,000 within three months. Is that okay?" Jing Shizhen left 20,000 in Su Xiaofan's account.

"Sure, thank you, Uncle Jing, thank you so much."

Su Xiaofan nodded repeatedly. The over ten million in his bank account was gone again, and he was back to being a pauper.

But the 20,000 left in his account was enough for Su Xiaofan to turn things around. He just needed to be low-key for a while and avoid looking for bargains in the antique market, or Uncle Jing would notice something was off.

"Old Liu, come here."

After reaching an agreement with Su Xiaofan, Jing Shizhen called Liu Zang and said, "Go to the warehouse and take out the 'Ten Thousand Blessings' painting by the Elder Dajian. Also, take out all the meteorites from the second glass cabinet. I'll have someone prepare the contract. Both items are sold."

"Got it, you're really something, boss."

Liu Zang gave Jing Shizhen a thumbs up. He knew the prices of those items, and even with a discount, they were close to 100 million.