Chapter 129 - 124: Women Are Never on the Poker Table

Chapter 129: Chapter 124: Women Are Never on the Poker Table

Wang Yan and the others had guessed correctly; Gu Heng was indeed here to stock up.

The Nine Techniques of the Ink Dragon, priced at 860,000?

Buy it!

The Fencai-painted Eight Immortals and Heart Studio Cup, 380,000?

Buy it!

The Vermilion and Gold Nine-Lion Pattern Xuan De Jar, 360,000?

Buy it!

The Fencai Hundred Sons Dragon Egg Pot, 120,000?

Buy it!

...

The store manager trailed beside Gu Heng, watching him buy porcelain with such a casual air. It was as if he wasn’t purchasing priceless pieces worth hundreds of thousands, but cheap ceramic mugs worth a few dozen yuan from a supermarket.

Compared to the store manager, Wang Yan and his group were relatively calm.

After he bought twenty million worth of cigars, spending a few million more on some porcelain didn’t seem like a big deal.

From the moment he walked into Yilin Hall to the moment he walked out.

In just half an hour, Gu Heng had spent another five million.

"What a sucker..."

"Spending five million on Yilin Hall pieces... With that kind of money, he’d be better off buying late-Qing dynasty porcelain directly."

At the back of the group, Gao Zihao watched Wang Wan Ning constantly orbiting Gu Heng. His heart felt like a hundred lemons were being juiced inside it, and he couldn’t help but mutter a few words under his breath.

As luck would have it, Gao Zihang, who had just fallen behind the group to take a call and was now hurrying to catch up, happened to overhear Gao Zihao’s muttering. This made Gao Zihang pause slightly.

"Gao Zihao, wait a minute."

A somewhat cold and stern voice sounded in Gao Zihao’s ear.

He turned to look back and saw Gao Zihang staring at him with a dark expression.

Seeing his older brother’s expression, Gao Zihao’s heart skipped a beat.

"You two follow Chairman Gu and the others. Don’t worry about us."

Gao Zihang instructed the two professional shopping assistants who had also stopped.

Soon, the two brothers were left at the very back.

"Bro..."

"What is it?"

Gao Zihao had been afraid of his older brother since they were children. When they were young, their parents were often away due to their busy work schedules. Whenever he was mischievous and disobedient, and the family nanny couldn’t control him, it was always his older brother who stepped in to discipline him.

As a child, he refused to be disciplined and got his fair share of beatings from his brother.

At first, he would complain to their parents, but he soon discovered that tattling only earned him a "mixed doubles" beating from them and did nothing to punish his brother.

After several such incidents, he was completely subdued.

Later, as they grew older, Gao Zihang stopped resorting to physical violence.

Because Gao Zihang had mastered a more advanced method of punishment: economic sanctions.

In Gao Zihao’s heart, Gao Zihang’s authority was deeply ingrained and long-standing.

Now, seeing Gao Zihang’s dark expression was like a conditioned reflex; his heart pounded, and his legs even felt a little weak.

"Who did you just call a sucker?"

"Gao Zihao, have I been too nice to you lately?"

Gao Zihang was genuinely angry now. He was at the front, working hard to maintain the relationship, while Gao Zihao was bad-mouthing the man behind his back.

If someone else heard this and it got back to Gu Heng, what would the man think of him? He wouldn’t even be able to face Wang Yan.

"Is it because Wang Wan Ning is fawning all over him? Are you jealous?"

Although Gao Zihang’s voice was low, his tone was exceptionally severe, and his gaze was particularly sharp. "Do you have any idea who he is? Did you think he’s just a figurehead?"

"Let me tell you!"

"He is the second-largest shareholder of Ruyi Airlines, with over three billion in shares under his actual control! He’s a genuine super-shareholder!"

"At eighteen years old, he personally controls over three billion in shares!"

"Use that dog brain of yours and think about what kind of background a person like that must have!"

"Him spending five million on Yilin Hall’s colored porcelain is like you spending 5,000 to open a bottle at a nightclub. It’s completely painless for him, you get it?"

The internal changes in Ruyi Airlines’ shareholding weren’t deliberately kept secret.

Anyone who made an effort to ask around could easily find out.

The call Gao Zihang had just taken was from the person he had asked to look into it. He had just received the information when he heard his own brother bad-mouthing the man. How could he not be instantly furious?

"Gao Zihao, I’m giving you two choices right now."

"Either you get the hell out of here now and do whatever you want."

Gao Zihang’s face was grim. "Or, from this moment on, you clear all those unrealistic fantasies out of your head and promise to be polite and respectful whenever you see Chairman Gu. Then I’ll give you one more chance."

"Bro..."

"Give me another chance."

"I’ll definitely fix my attitude."

After being harshly reprimanded by Gao Zihang, Gao Zihao hung his head so low it nearly touched his chest.

"We’ll see how you do."

After tossing out those four words, Gao Zihang brushed past Gao Zihao and hurried to catch up with Gu Heng and the others, who were already some distance away.

’Eighteen years old, personally controlling over three billion in shares!’

Gao Zihao stood frozen for a long moment before finally letting out a soft breath.

The clarity returned to his eyes; they weren’t filled with the so-called resentment and madness you might find in some novels.

He had indeed liked Wang Wan Ning for a long time.

But when personal and family interests were at stake, women were never part of the game.

...

"Chairman Gu, Spring Breeze Auspicious Jade from Jingdezhen also has a concept store in Zhonghai."

Zhao Yongtao asked in a slightly fawning tone, "It’s located over on Nanjing Road. I was wondering if you might be interested?"

Gu Heng shook his head. "Spring Breeze Auspicious Jade mainly focuses on antique-style Cyan Flower porcelain. The designs are mostly traditional interlocking branches with fruits and flowers, or landscapes with auspicious beasts. I find it a bit dated, not really to my taste."

Whether it was from the [Cigar Appreciation Card], the [Tea Appreciation Card], or the [Fine Wine Appreciation Card], the relevant knowledge Gu Heng had been infused with in virtual reality was never one-dimensional.

Take the [Cigar Appreciation Card], for example. It didn’t just contain knowledge about cigars, but also about related accessories like cigar humidors, cutters, and humidifying cabinets.

The [Tea Appreciation Card] was the same; it held knowledge not just of fine teas, but also of numerous tea sets, which included a fair bit of information about porcelain.

It was just as Gu Heng always said: a product from Father Tongzi was a guarantee of quality.

’Knowledge gaps? Impossible.’

Chatting and laughing, the group soon entered the Thick Mountain Kiln concept store.

Thick Mountain Kiln, like the others, was one of the many kilns of Jingdezhen.

However, compared to Yilin Hall, Thick Mountain Kiln’s reputation and influence were much weaker.

But for Thick Mountain Kiln to be able to open a concept store not far from Yilin Hall, it naturally had to have its own unique strengths.

While most Jingdezhen kilns focused on making porcelain ware, Thick Mountain Kiln had carved out a niche by focusing on cigar humidors.

Its enamel color series and gold-and-silver inlay series perfectly blended Chinese aesthetics with traditional craftsmanship, allowing it to leave all competitors in the dust in the cigar humidor niche. It was considered the pinnacle of domestic production and was even highly popular overseas, since cigars are, after all, a foreign product.

With his experience from the shopping sprees at the cigar lounge and Yilin Hall, Gu Heng spent even less time in Thick Mountain Kiln. He was out in under twenty minutes, having spent nearly another million yuan.

Next, they visited a fine wine merchant and a tea house in succession.

With a wave of his sleeve, Gu Heng cleared out tens of millions in inventory.

This level of spending was enough to startle the general manager of the Zhonghai International Finance Center Mall, who not only came to meet Gu Heng in person but also personally processed a top-level membership for him.

And so, the tour of tobacco, liquor, and tea came to an end.

Even with Gu Heng’s efficiency, it had taken nearly three hours.

Gu Heng had originally planned to check out the clothing brands favored by the top old money families, but now it looked like there wasn’t enough time.

In any case, Gu Heng wasn’t leaving Zhonghai until the Bombardier Global 7500 was delivered. He could just come back to browse the clothing brands in a couple of days.

"I’m getting a little tired of walking."

Coming out of the fine wine shop, Gu Heng glanced at the time. "Let’s go to Hermes to sit down and rest for a bit. Brother Yan, you figure out a good time for us to head over to your thing. We can drive straight there after this."

"I’m ready anytime. We can just head straight to the docks later," Wang Yan replied with a smile.

"Deal!"

Gu Heng nodded. Then, surrounded by the crowd, they chatted and laughed as they made their way toward the Hermes store...