Chapter 78: Seeking Cooperation

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Seeking Cooperation

Zhang Ronghui certainly noticed the change in Zhang Yun’s expression, but he feigned ignorance and asked with a smile, "You wouldn’t mind, would you?"

"Of course not!" Zhang Yun smiled on the outside, but inwardly, he cursed, "Motherfucker... of course I mind! Damn it, I’ve already absorbed all the Spiritual Qi and could’ve gotten it for free. I offered to buy these to compensate you, but what do you do? You take away the main course and leave me with just the garnishes?!"

What annoyed Zhang Yun was merely Zhang Ronghui’s scheming; he hadn’t actually suffered a loss. The Spiritual Qi he had absorbed from those items was worth a hundred thousand to him, and he would have gladly paid it. However, any goodwill he had toward Zhang Ronghui vanished in an instant. This man was not worth befriending!

Zhang Ronghui, believing he had successfully undercut Zhang Yun, felt smugly that older and wiser still won the day.

He had paid close attention the entire time, guessing that those two items were the only things Zhang Yun was truly interested in. The rest were just a smokescreen. This meant those two items had to be treasures that could fetch a high price!

Having lost all interest in staying, Zhang Yun transferred the twenty thousand to him, not caring when Zhang Ronghui would deliver the items.

Back home, his father had already prepared dinner. While they ate, Zhang Fu asked about the situation.

"Collecting old stuff... can you really make money from that?" Zhang Fu was highly skeptical, but his son was grown now and far more capable than he was.

Zhang Yun explained patiently, "Old items aren’t always valuable. It comes down to a good eye and sheer luck. It’s just like the stamp collecting people used to do. Older stamps will definitely appreciate in value, but the ones worth big money are the rare ones with low circulation numbers."

Zhang Fu nodded repeatedly. "I don’t know about Ancient Artifacts, but I understand stamps. It was quite popular when we were kids. People also collected grain and cloth ration coupons."

"The same goes for collecting copper coins," Zhang Yun continued. "Some coins were minted in huge quantities during certain eras, and you can dig them up by the handful anywhere, so they aren’t worth much. But those from short-lived reigns, where few were minted and even fewer survived, it wouldn’t be surprising for a single coin to be worth thousands or even tens of thousands.

"However, whenever something is valuable, people will inevitably create fakes. Telling whether an ancient copper coin is genuine or a modern replica made to look old requires a good eye!"

Zhang Fu asked, "Do you have a good eye?"

Zhang Yun smiled. "Having a ’good eye’ is just a common term. In reality, it comes down to knowledge and Experience. I’ve gained the knowledge through studying books. By starting my collection in our village, I might end up with a lot of worthless items, but at least I can ensure there aren’t any deliberate fakes. This way, I can slowly accumulate Experience."

"That’s good! Since you’re educated, you should put that to use. It’s a much better way to strike it rich than farming or raising fish. Finding ginseng was just luck, and you can’t count on stumbling across it often. In the future, you’ll still have to rely on your own abilities."

Zhang Fu offered some more words of encouragement. He didn’t mind that Zhang Yun had spent twenty thousand at Zhang Ronghui’s place, but he simply reminded him not to go overboard right from the start. He advised him to test the waters and keep enough capital in reserve.

"I heard Xiuxun and the others also dug up some ginseng..."

His father’s sudden remark made Zhang Yun sneak a glance at him. He thought, "No one knows a son better than his father. Could he have guessed that I gave it to them?"

Zhang Fu, however, sighed slightly. "It seems the ginseng on the mountain has grown quite a bit again. If you can find it, others can stumble upon it too. But after all the commotion today, a lot of people will definitely head into the mountains and dig up all the wild ginseng again."

"Don’t worry, whether others find it or not has nothing to do with me," Zhang Yun replied. "Ginseng is only valuable to us humans. To the mountain, there’s no difference between a blade of grass, a tree, and Ginseng and Lingzhi."

"Haha, what do I know about ecology and nature? I was just saying."

As the father and son were talking, someone let themselves into the courtyard!

"Brother Fu, you’re still eating!"

"Youcai? Come, come, have some food! We happened to cook plenty of rice today," Zhang Fu hurriedly greeted him.

Zhang Yun also said hello, trying to guess the purpose of Zhang Youcai’s visit.

"Then I won’t stand on ceremony, alright?"

"No need to be polite! It’s just adding an extra pair of chopsticks. With a big boss like you eating here, I was just afraid you’d look down on our humble meal!"

"How could I! Haha, I went out for a bit this afternoon and just got back. Someone gifted me a few bottles of liquor, and I’m still carrying them. Let’s drink together."

Zhang Youcai pulled out the two bottles of liquor he had been carrying.

When Zhang Fu saw that it was Wuliangye, his heart skipped a beat!

He had thought a big boss like him wouldn’t be after anything, but to bring over such expensive liquor... it seemed he was here to borrow money too! He quickly glanced at Zhang Yun. Seeing his son’s confident demeanor, he decided not to say anything.

They ate and drank, exchanging polite pleasantries. Afterward, when Zhang Fu went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, Zhang Youcai immediately leaned in close to Zhang Yun.

"I sold off those things. Guess what happened?"

Zhang Yun smiled faintly. "Do I even need to guess?"

Zhang Youcai gave a bitter smile and whispered, "Exactly! You really know your stuff. I thought you were just a young man blowing hot air. So I paid special attention when I sent this batch out, and it was incredible! The results matched your judgment perfectly without a single discrepancy!"

Zhang Yun replied modestly, "Don’t put me on a pedestal. I can only tell which ones are better and have a higher value. If you really asked me to point out their specific eras, their origins, or exactly how much they’re worth, I’d be completely in the dark!"

"Zhang Yun, you’re being too modest! What grand origins could Ancient Artifacts from the countryside possibly have? Without knowing their origins, unless they’re appraised with specialized instruments, you can only make a rough guess. How could anyone pinpoint the exact era? As for the price... there are way too many factors that influence that."

Zhang Youcai patted his shoulder. "Being able to distinguish which ones are better is more than enough!"

It was like going to a casino. Even if you didn’t understand the various games or their rules, as long as you could accurately guess big or small, you could still make a fortune.

"Let’s get down to business. My dad will be back in a minute," Zhang Yun urged.

Zhang Youcai immediately spoke quickly. "Didn’t you post on your Friends Circle that you’re collecting old items? We can cooperate! You can determine if they have value, and I’ll handle the subsequent sales. We’ll work from the inside and outside... No, we’ll, we’ll..."

"Coordinate with each other and divide the labor," Zhang Yun supplied.

"Right, right! That’s exactly what I mean. If I were to do this alone, it would be pure gambling, which wouldn’t even be worth doing. If you were to do it, dealing with the channels and buyers would be exhausting. By dividing the work, we can play to our respective strengths. If we coordinate well, we can make a massive profit!"

Zhang Youcai was already extremely excited, feeling as though he had found a new path to riches.

"Hogging all the profits never lasts. Having a partner does make things easier." Zhang Yun pondered for a moment and gave a slight nod.

"Exactly! You can rest completely assured working with me. I won’t hesitate to contribute money and effort. Just bring me along and let me have a slice of the pie, and I’ll be satisfied."

Right now, Zhang Youcai desperately needed a reliable, fast-acting new source of income!

Zhang Yun didn’t know him all that well, but he held his secret. As long as he didn’t push him too far, Zhang Youcai would still have reservations and toe the line. If they could genuinely cooperate, it would save Zhang Yun a lot of trouble!

"I already collected a batch from Zhang Ronghui tonight, though I’m not sure how much it’s worth. If you want to partner up, then you’ll be the face of the operation and organize the collection of the items, while I’ll appraise their authenticity and value. You’ll also need to cover the upfront costs. Once they’re sold, we’ll deduct the capital and then split the profits."

Zhang Yun did have a little money right now, but when it came to Ancient Artifacts, two or three million was nothing. It was certainly fine for collecting old items in this village, but if they wanted to scale up, it would be easy to get his funds tied up or even go completely bust.

Before coming over, Zhang Youcai had already considered this point. He immediately agreed, "No problem!"

"What’s the profit split? Fifty-fifty?" Zhang Yun asked the most critical question regarding the distribution of benefits.

Zhang Youcai had thought about this as well and quickly replied, "The manual labor doesn’t count; hiring people directly wouldn’t cost much anyway. My main contributions are the sales channels and fronting the capital. But you have the capital yourself, and you’ve already mentioned giving me a commission for the channels. After a few more times, people would probably just contact you privately anyway..."

"So?" Zhang Yun didn’t want to hear all his explanations and cut straight to the point.

"I mean, I’m contributing, but it’s not the deciding factor. Your ability to appraise the value is the true key here. Therefore..." Zhang Youcai demonstrated his decisiveness. "You take seventy, and I take thirty!"