mtl008 Chapter 340 Little Darling
Chapter 340 Little Darling
As the host of the next Dark Blood Banquet, Boss Jia Renlu was feeling distressed.
After the matter of immortality came out, most of the participants in the Dark Blood Banquet left, and now only a few fanatical crazy men and women remain.
In addition to the incident of Duan Hongji being shot, more than 20 of the more than 30 male and female protagonists at the Dark Blood Banquet have been invited to have tea by their superiors. The illegal armed forces at hand were completely seized by Uncle Hat, which can be said to be a serious blow to their vitality.
But the Dark Blood Banquet had to be held - the Immortal Pig had not been found for so long, and the participants were quite dissatisfied, and they had a hint of suspicion of Gu Xichen and Di Wanshu, the two people in charge. In order to suppress everyone's injustice, it was necessary to continue holding the banquet to appease people's hearts.
With Jia Renlu's status, it was not his turn to host the Dark Blood Banquet. But now that the banquet was sparsely attended and the limelight was on, he, the unlucky scapegoat, was pushed out.
In this turbulent time, how can we find a place that will not be discovered by the police and is luxurious enough to host a banquet?
How can we legally invite these sensitive attendees and get everyone together without attracting the attention of the uncles in hats?
It is not easy to deal with the police, and there is no good end to going against the government. This has always been Jia Renlu's belief. But those wolves and tigers at the banquet were also not easy to deal with. Jia Renlu was anxious for several days and was really in a dilemma.
The more anxious he was, the more people came to bother him. Jia Renlu was struggling to organize a banquet when a servant suddenly came to report in a low voice that Emperor Di Hantian was visiting.
What is Di Hantian here for?
It is rumored that Di Wanshu and his nephew Di Hantian have a bad relationship. In addition, because of Di Hantian's past scandal, Jia Renlu does not want to deal with this president.
Whatever, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. In troubled times, it is not good to turn people away.
Jia Renlu wiped his sweat, straightened his clothes, and said, "Please invite Mr. Di in."
After Di Hantian entered the room, there was a back-and-forth exchange of probing and greetings. When both sides were almost impatient, Di Hantian slowly opened his mouth and explained the purpose of his visit today.
"Boss Jia, I heard that your ancestors were in the antique business?"
As soon as Di Hantian asked this, Jia Renlu's face turned unhappy.
Di Hantian asked this in an implicit way. Jia Renlu's ancestors, to put it nicely, were in the antique business, but to put it bluntly, they were actually tomb robbers.
Tomb robbing is detrimental to one’s virtue. For several generations, the Jia family had only one son, and the head of the family died before the age of 60. Therefore, after Jia Renlu’s great grandfather made a fortune from digging up a large tomb, he announced that he would retire from the business.
The Jia family gradually cleaned themselves up and became a family doing honest business, and gradually became upper-middle class among the aristocratic families in Haicheng.
The law does not apply to ancestors. Although the elderly people in Haicheng know what the ancestors of the Jia family did, they cannot do anything to them. Jia Renlu himself is quite ashamed of it and has always kept it secret.
Now Di Hantian suddenly asks such a question. What? Is he here to provoke me?
Jia Renlu's fat face changed several times, and veins popped out on his forehead. He said, "What do you mean, Mr. Di? It's true that my ancestors loved antiques and curios. But if you want to say it's a business, it's a little far from it..."
Di Hantian took a sip of tea and looked over through the mist.
"Since Boss Jia has some experience in this, I will speak frankly." Di Hantian said with a smile, "You should also know that some unpleasant things happened between me and my uncle recently..."
Jia Renlu twitched his lips. An unpleasant little thing? People outside the circle don't know, but people in the circle don't know either?
Everyone knows that Di Hantian and Di Wanshu have been fighting back and forth for several times, until the road was wiped out and even the dogs passing by would be kicked!
Jia Renlu was not going to get involved in the fight between the two giant Buddhas, so he pretended to be stupid and said, "Oh? Really? I haven't been feeling well lately, so I don't pay much attention to these news."
Di Hantian said: "You don't need to know the details. Anyway, because of these small disputes, my capital chain is a bit tight. So I plan to sell some small things to help out."
Only then did Jia Renlu react. It turned out that Di Hantian was looking for him to be a middleman!
Jia Renlu was no longer sleepy. "Mr. Di, you are joking. Even a hair of the Di family is thicker than the waist of our small and insignificant families. How can such a family have small things? - I wonder what these things are?"
Di Hantian mentioned a few names.
Jia Renlu took a breath of cold air!
His ancestors started out as tomb robbers, and they are very proficient in antiques and collectibles. It is precisely because of his proficiency that he cannot believe it!
"Are these all true?" Jia Renlu had to confirm.
Di Hantian said casually, "These are some small items my grandfather left me. I am not involved in this field, so I wonder if these things can persuade Boss Jia to come out of retirement?"
Di Hantian thought silently in his heart: Duan Hongji, ah Duan Hongji, I have invested a lot of money this time, please don’t let me down.
Jia Renlu wiped the sweat off his face tremblingly. Sweat beads kept oozing out of his body and face like boiling lard.
"This..." Jia Renlu struggled for a while before saying, "These things..."
To be honest, if those things Di Hantian said were true, even if he asked Jia Renlu to dig graves again, Jia Renlu would immediately put on his engineer's hat and pick up the Luoyang shovel to restore his ancestral business on the spot and make tomb robbing great again!
Di Hantian saw that the other party was interested and said slowly: "Boss Jia is an expert. With you in charge, no one will doubt the value of these things."
This flattery touched Jia Renlu's heart, and he immediately relaxed his tone: "Mr. Di is a man who knows what's good! To be honest, these are all good things. If they are real, they can be sold immediately! I wonder how you plan to sell them?"
Di Hantian seemed very interested: "What methods are there?"
Jia Renlu said: "If you are in urgent need of money, then you can only go to the black market. There are some buyers abroad who are eager for these things! But the price is a little lower."
Di Hantian frowned: "This won't do. How can China's things fall into the hands of foreigners?"
Jia Renlu: “…”
Jia Renlu's family has been engaged in the business of "exporting" antiques for generations. They never expected that a man as ruthless as Di Hantian would have such a simple patriotic sentiment. They were speechless for a while.
"If we have to specify the identity of the buyer, then we can't go through the underground trading channel." Jia Renlu wiped the sweat off his forehead, "I'm afraid the sale will be delayed for quite some time."
Di Hantian frowned, not very satisfied: "Is there no way to confirm the identity of the buyer and get the money quickly?"
"The only option is auction." Jia Renlu said awkwardly, "We can set the identity of the guests participating in the auction from the source and prohibit foreigners from participating. The payment can be made after the auction. Moreover, in the atmosphere of the auction, if there are buyers who know the goods, they are often irrational - in the industry, it is called 'getting carried away', and the price may be higher."
Di Hantian smiled and said, "Such a good thing, why didn't Boss Jia tell you just now?"
Jia Renlu rubbed his hands and said, "The auction is public. Even if it is an underground auction, it is open to the public in a small circle... Is it not decent for the Di family?"
If people knew that Di Hantian had fallen to the point of selling off his ancestral property, he wouldn't have to bother with Di Wanshu anymore. A single spit from the upper class could drown him.
Having sex with men is a problem of conduct and can be forgiven; but being a prodigal son is a problem of ability!
Trash has no dignity in the world of fame and fortune!
Di Hantian put down his teacup: "This is also the reason why I came to see Boss Jia today. It is naturally not appropriate to hold an auction in the name of the Di family. But if Boss Jia is willing to mediate, then it will take care of the dignity of all parties."
A wise man does not need to be too full of himself when he speaks. Jia Renlu understood immediately: "Mr. Di wants to hold this auction in the name of Jia?"
Di Hantian said: "First, Boss Jia's family has a long history in Haicheng. With you in charge, no one will doubt the authenticity of the collection. Second, Boss Jia has countless connections in this field, so there is no need to bother contacting buyers. Third, Boss Jia is quite experienced and I don't think he will let me suffer. This will also save the Di family's reputation."
Jia Renlu: “…”
Listen! Is what Di Hantian said a human language?
Translated, this sentence means "I am a person who values my reputation. Selling my ancestral property is too shameful for me. It just so happens that your family started out as a tomb robber, so selling these things is easy for you and you don't mind the shame. So I'll leave it to you!"
What’s the difference between this and pointing at Jia Renlu and calling him a tomb robber!
Jia Renlu was extremely angry and immediately said:
"That's a great idea! If Mr. Di trusts me, let me handle this!"
"That's great!" Di Hantian clapped his hands and said, "Boss Jia is an open-minded person. We can discuss the profit sharing easily. Afterwards, no matter what the price of these things is, I will never say no to Boss Jia."
Jia Renlu's breathing quickened. These words were said by Di Hantian himself!
Of course, Jia Renlu couldn't possibly buy all of the huge items, as he had to save face. However, he could buy a few of the fine items at a low price and then share the proceeds with the other items he sold!
There are so many hands and feet involved here!
Jia Renlu suppressed his inner ecstasy and deliberately said, "It's not even a stroke yet. Anyway, Mr. Di, you have to bring the thing to me for my inspection, right?"
"Of course." Di Hantian took out a notepad from his pocket, wrote a few lines on it, tore it off and pasted it in front of Jia Renlu, "Boss Jia can come to this address to find me tomorrow."
The next day, Jia Renlu came to the place mentioned by Di Hantian as agreed, and was greatly feasted for the eyes.
The Di family is indeed an old noble family, with many good things. Jia Renlu was dazzled by what he saw. If Di Hantian was not there, he would have wanted to sleep on these antique calligraphy and paintings with his mouth drooling.
Jia Renlu said: "Leave this matter to me, and I will make sure that Mr. Di handles it properly!"
Di Hantian smiled and thanked Jia Renlu, then said, "But if we say that all these things are Boss Jia's private collection, wouldn't it be too eye-catching?"
Jia Renlu was already intoxicated and in high spirits: "What do you mean?"
Di Hantian pondered for a moment and said, "Why not say that some of the items came from other people, and Boss Jia is just auctioning them on our behalf?"
"For example, this one." Di Hantian pointed to an amber ornament in a glass display case. "This is a flower wrapped in amber billions of years ago. It is a unique collection in the world. Such a romantic collection doesn't seem to be in line with Boss Jia's style, right?"
Jia Renlu glanced at the amber flower and snorted without interest. This thing was about the size of a baby's fist and was a rare plant amber, so it should be able to sell for a good price.
It is indeed beautiful, but in Jia Renlu's eyes, it is far less valuable than antiques that embody the crystallization of human craftsmanship and wisdom. He is an antique dealer, not a natural scientist.
"Mr. Di has a point." Jia Renlu said with a smile, "Do you want me to make up a source for these treasures?"
"Boss Jia, you don't need to worry about this little thing." Di Hantian said politely, "Most of them can be said to be your private collection, and I'm sure no one will doubt it. For the remaining few pieces that don't quite match your collection style, I'll make up their provenance."
This was a trivial matter and Jia Renlu didn't take it to heart at all. He agreed immediately.
After the auction was decided, the next step was to choose the auction location. Jia Renlu was in a dilemma again.
The location of the Dark Blood Banquet hasn’t been found yet, and now we have to look for the location of Emperor Hantian’s auction!
Jia Renlu was hesitating when suddenly Di Hantian received a call. He apologized to Jia Renlu and went out to answer the phone.
Jia Renlu stayed there alone, admiring those precious antiques and collectibles with fascination, as if he had already seen the wonderful scene of himself taking them all into his pocket.
Just at this moment, Jia Renlu's cell phone rang.
When Jia Renlu looked at the caller, he found out that it was his daughter, Qianjin Jia.
Jia Renlu had a daughter in his middle age, and he named her Jia Qianjin. Even to the Dark Blood Feast, it was Jia Qianjin who took her old father to it.
I wonder what Miss Jia is calling about?
As soon as Jia Renlu answered the phone, he heard the excited voice of Jia Qianjin from the other end of the line.
"Dad!" Jia Qianjin lowered her voice and said, "I found 'that'."
"What?" Jia Renlu's breathing suddenly became rapid. Of course he knew what "that" was - it was the path to eternal life for them!
"Where did you find it? Who found it?" Jia Renlu asked hurriedly.
"He's the son of a Russian tycoon, named Fei Shishi." Jia Qianjin said, "Do you still remember the young man on the wanted poster provided by Di Wanshu? That guy is Fei Shishi's classmate. Fei Shishi followed him and found the Immortal Pig!"
"This is really great!" Jia Renlu was overjoyed as he had two happy events on such a great day. "A huge relief!"
Jia Qianjin reminded him, "Dad, you have to be careful too. The next Dark Blood Banquet will be hosted by our family. Now that the Immortal Pig has been found, we can't delay."
As soon as he said this, Jia Renlu began to look sad.
How could it be that easy to find a place? Those twenty or thirty CEOs, princesses, daughters, and assassins were all the focus of Uncle Hat's observation recently. How could they gather together without being discovered?
Jia Renlu was about to complain a few words when Di Hantian came back from his phone call, so he had to hang up quickly.
Di Hantian's expression didn't look good either: "Sorry, Boss Jia."
"What's wrong?" Jia Renlu's heart tightened. Could Di Hantian go back on his word?
Di Hantian said: "Something happened to the industry in North Africa. I have to go to inspect it. It will probably take a month to go back and forth..."
Jia Renlu said quickly: "We can discuss the auction again in a month!"
"No, no, no." Di Hantian frowned and said, "The capital chain can't wait. How about this, Boss Jia, I won't attend this auction, and you will take care of it. Just give me the whole video when the time comes."
Is there such a good thing?
Jia Renlu almost didn't dare to breathe, fearing that Di Hantian would go back on his word, and immediately shouted, "Leave it to me! How can we let such a small matter delay Mr. Di's work?!"
"Thank you very much, Boss Jia." Di Hantian said politely. Then, he showed a hesitant expression.
"What's wrong, Mr. Di?" Jia Renlu now regards Di Hantian as a boy who gives away money, and pays close attention to his every move.
"To be honest with you, the origins of some of these collections cannot be disclosed." Di Hantian hesitated.
Isn't this nonsense? If they really want to be legal and compliant, these things should now be taken to the Longcheng National Museum!
Jia Renlu said, "Maybe we can find someone to make some compromises?" Jia Renlu was not sure about this. After all, the present was different from the past.
Di Hantian hesitated for a moment and said, "How about this. I have a yacht. Boss Jia can use this yacht, sail to the high seas first, and then hold the auction..."
Jia Renlu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly took a step back in surprise!
Jia Renlu tried his best to suppress the urge to jump up, so as not to kiss Di Hantian on the face!
Oh my goodness! I was just worrying about where to hold the Dark Blood Banquet, and now, isn’t this a ready-made place?