Chapter 189: Chapter 183: A Qixi Gift for a Bro
「The next morning.」
In his office at Zhuoyue Building, Lin Chu received Geng Yue.
They finalized the 2 million angel investment, then immediately went to handle the share transfer, securing 30% of his newly registered "Galaxy Folding Network Technology Co., Ltd."
The name Galaxy Folding was quite interesting. It brought to mind a science fiction novel, *Beijing Fold*, which used an abstract concept to show how people from different social classes lived in the same space, yet were separated by barriers that seemed within reach but were worlds apart.
It seemed Geng Yue had already thought through the nature of the company and the software very clearly, and had even envisioned its ultimate form.
...
「In the afternoon.」
Lin Chu helped connect Wang Huating with Sister Tang, the woman who had sold him the house before, and also got to see her warehouse.
She had moved from Overseas Chinese Town in the core district of Peng City to a factory and warehouse in Ping Mountain.
It was as if the city had undergone a metabolic process, where the old, obsolete, and failed "cells" were pushed to the periphery to make way for the new.
However, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.
When Lin Chu saw the warehouse full of "treasures," he realized, ’What right do I have to pity her?’
The nearly thousand-square-meter warehouse was filled with all sorts of "collections."
Medicinal herbs, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, tea, mahogany furniture, jade-carved ornaments, root carvings... and a dazzling array of many other things he couldn’t even name.
"These are all things I’ve collected over the past twenty-plus years. Every piece has a story. If I weren’t so desperate for cash flow right now, I wouldn’t bear to part with them."
She said with a rather wistful sigh.
It all felt like a fleeting dream.
Her husband had been a minimalist, with almost no material desires, a firm believer in the principle of "if it’s not necessary, don’t add to your possessions." She, on the other hand, was like a compulsive hoarder.
In the past, her family had always had money—a lot of money, more than they could ever spend—so she had gradually accumulated so much.
But now, her husband was dead, the company was in serious trouble, and she had no choice but to sell.
While Wang Huating was selecting medicinal herbs, Lin Chu casually browsed through the "collections."
There wasn’t much that actually caught his eye.
After all, when women hoarded things, their main focus was usually on appearance, and his aesthetic sense was vastly different from hers.
However, one piece of porcelain soon caught his attention.
A Southern Song Dynasty oil-spot Tenmoku tea bowl from a Jian kiln.
Next to it was a certificate of authenticity, showing it was purchased at a Christie’s porcelain auction in Xiangjiang in 2016 for 91.41 million.
It looked like an ordinary Jian Zhan, just a bit more magnificent. The reason it could fetch such a high price was probably due to its extreme rarity, its historical value, and the porcelain craze of those years.
The main reason Lin Chu was looking at it was its high price tag.
’High-priced items save me a lot of effort.’
’Wining and dining every day doesn’t spend much money, but that 62 million jadeite necklace last time gave me a tenfold rebate, netting me 620 million.’
’Even now, spending like crazy, I’m still nowhere near finishing it.’
Seeing Lin Chu looking at the object, Sister Tang slowly walked over, a complicated look in her eyes. "This was my late husband’s favorite tea bowl. Someone once offered over a hundred million for it, but he couldn’t bear to part with it. I originally wanted to have him buried with it, but after hesitating again and again, I decided against it."
Lin Chu glanced at her and said casually, "That makes sense. The country went to a lot of trouble to dig it up; no need to bury it again."
Sister Tang: ?
But then, she thought, ’Lin Chu was this flippant last time, too. Well, flippant might be too negative. Let’s say... lively and optimistic. He’s young, after all. My mourning my late husband really has nothing to do with him anyway.’
"Is Mr. Lin interested?"
she asked nonchalantly.
’I should just sell it.’
’Sell it all.’
’He’s gone, so what’s the point of keeping all this stuff?’
’That dead man, leaving so early, so suddenly. He dumped this whole mess on me, and now I have to watch your so-called brothers, the old guard, and your subordinates carve up and devour everything.’
’The objects are dead, the person is dead. Only money is alive.’
’Once all the remaining assets are dealt with, it would be best to just emigrate.’
’I can’t fight them. I really can’t.’
’How can I, a lone woman, fight against those old foxes who’ve weathered every storm and whose methods are dirtier than the last?’
"I like it, but thinking about how someone else used it, and that person is... no longer around... I think I’ll pass. Do you have anything else in the same league?"
’A teacup, and one from the Song Dynasty at that... how many people’s saliva has touched it?’
’This kind of thinking might be sacrilege to an artifact, but I can’t help it.’
Hearing Lin Chu’s words, Sister Tang more or less understood what he was after—he wanted to buy high-value items. After all, these "second-hand goods" were now priced very low, making it the perfect time to find a bargain.
"There is a knife, a Jade-handled Waist Knife. I bought it back from an overseas auction for 48.5 million."
Sister Tang said quickly after a moment’s thought.
She led Lin Chu to a shelf and, from a camphorwood chest at the very bottom, pulled out a sheathed, curved knife.
The hilt was made of white jade, the sheath was intact, and it exuded an air of antiquity.
Lin Chu drew it carefully. Even after several hundred years, the blade showed no signs of rust. It emanated a sharpness and a chill that instantly gave him goosebumps.
"This knife was a treasure from the Qing Palace. It was lost during the burning of the Yuanming Garden and I later bought it back. I used to keep it at home to ward off evil spirits. It actually worked once, which left a deep impression on me."
