"That bronze statue was an antique the teacher bought during an art exhibition in Japan. Its total value was 1.2 million, while the prize money the teacher received back then was only 800,000, so the teacher paid an additional 400,000..."
"This painting was a gift from an elderly artist to the teacher. Once, an auction house owner offered 2 million for it, but the teacher didn’t sell..."
"..."
While touring the interior of Moon Palace, Yang Liping’s student was explaining to the group. It was hard to say if he mentioned these things on his own or if he was instructed by the host to subtly showcase the property’s value.
On the surface, Zhou Wang appeared to be interested, but he actually wasn’t very focused...
Because he was well aware, under a system’s authoritative evaluation, of how much these furniture pieces truly were worth.
Some items were greatly exaggerated, especially those with an artistic element, circulating only among so-called "collectors."
However, Zhou Wang found no need to expose it. Knowing which items were truly valuable was sufficient, and in this line of work, there was never a shortage of "big spenders," or to put it in a grand way—
In the eyes of those who know how to appreciate, some things were priceless.
After touring the entire Moon Palace, including the master bedroom and other areas, the student led the group to the rooftop terrace. As they approached the stairway exit, they heard some laughter and chatter.
Upon reaching the terrace, they saw five or six people in the flower-filled gallery, with a slender woman in ethnic clothing making tea at the table—it was Yang Liping.
To be honest, at first glance, it was hard to tell that Yang Liping’s real age was over sixty, more like the status of an average woman in her fifties.
Even Xia Xiwei couldn’t help but softly exclaim, "Is it really this magical if a woman doesn’t marry or have children?"
Upon seeing Xia Xiwei and the others, Yang Liping stood up to greet them, along with several other people at the tea table. While the rest didn’t know Xia Xiwei’s identity, after hearing some murmurs, they too stood up to greet her.
At the very end, only one person remained seated at the tea table, while the others followed behind Yang Liping.
"Teacher Yang, long time no see, you seem even younger..."
Xia Xiwei hurried forward, embracing Yang Liping tightly. They exchanged a few whispered jokes before Yang Liping introduced the people beside her.
To Zhou Wang’s surprise, apart from Yang Liping, there were five guests in total, two of whom were already acquainted with Xia Xiwei, or it was through her introduction that they had come here.
Among them was a middle-aged real estate businessman from Beidou, originally from Yunan Province, named Liao Jianli. Zhou Wang felt he had seen him somewhere, especially his familiar voice, but just couldn’t recall.
The other was an investor from Guang Province, surnamed Liu, who was particularly courteous to Xia Xiwei, even seeming a bit deferential.
The remaining two were investors found by Yang Liping herself. They seemed aware of Xia Xiwei’s background and were clearly trying to befriend her.
The last person, who remained seated at the tea table until the greetings were over, was a young man.
He appeared to be around thirty, with a slightly arrogant demeanor. From his seating position, it was evident that Yang Liping regarded him with some importance.
"This is Mr. Huo Chengrui from Hong Kong Island. Mr. Huo, let me introduce you..."
"Of course I know Miss Xia."
Only then did the young man slowly stand up, wave a hand, and then tidied up his clothing before extending his hand to Xia Xiwei.
He spoke with a somewhat interpretable Cantonese accent. While Zhou Wang didn’t mind, Jiang Yisen, who had been frowning the whole time, was not impressed and immediately remarked with displeasure,
"Don’t you understand ’When in Rome, do as the Romans do,’ or don’t you know how to speak Mandarin?"
Huo Chengrui merely glanced at Jiang Yisen, scoffed, and didn’t respond.
Jiang Yisen couldn’t stand this. Damn it, he could tolerate Zhou Wang’s pretensions because of Xia Xiwei, but who did this guy think he was?
"Who the hell are you pretending to be?"
Jiang Yisen burst out.
Huo Chengrui’s face turned cold, and he said lightly, "Is Jiang Minghao’s brother so ill-mannered? For your brother’s sake, I won’t argue with you this time, but it’ll be just this once."
Jiang Yisen, who wanted to say something more, froze upon hearing his brother’s name. Xia Xiwei quickly pulled him aside, frowning as she whispered,
"Yisen, what are you doing? His surname is Huo..."
With Xia Xiwei’s reminder, Jiang Yisen finally recalled something. Although he looked unwilling, he muttered to himself without saying anything further.
Huo?
Zhou Wang recalled and vaguely guessed something. If he remembered correctly, he had once read a financial entertainment magazine that listed the top ten conglomerates on Hong Kong Island; one of them was indeed a Huo.
And figures like Liao Jianli and others, who were essentially successful businessmen with assets exceeding a billion, could all be considered big shots to some extent. Today’s gathering was indeed quite high-level...
At least, compared to the second-generation wealthy Zhou Wang encountered before, it was on a different dimension.
Jiang Yisen’s outburst left Yang Liping a bit embarrassed. Fortunately, Xia Xiwei quickly changed the topic: