Chapter 25: Six Division Assessment (3)

“Hand over the money first!” Yang Ning spread out his five fingers, adopting a ‘cash before goods’ stance.

“Young man, fifty thousand just for an appraisal? Isn’t that a bit of a lion’s mouth? Forgive my poor eyesight, but I really can’t see how much it’s worth.”

Old Zhao, who originally had a good impression of Yang Ning, darkened his expression. Old Feng also shook his head slightly. Youngsters without much experience are always prone to impatience and unlikely to achieve great things.

“Then how much does Old Zhao think it’s worth?” Yang Ning asked with a smile.

“With good marketing, maybe a hundred thousand or so.”

Old Zhao deliberately emphasized the words ‘a hundred thousand or so’ to make it clear to Yang Ning that asking for fifty thousand in appraisal fees for something worth that much was outrageous!

“Then I’ll buy it for eighty thousand.” Yang Ning said while pulling out his phone. “Please give me the bank account number. Oh, and have your company’s clerk print out a purchase receipt.”

Yang Ning didn’t have the money at all. He was banking on Lin Manxuan not agreeing to the deal. His posturing was purely to shut everyone up!

“Huh? What’s wrong with all of you? Go call a clerk or secretary or something. Hurry up, I’m waiting to buy this thing!”

Old Zhao and the others had already fallen silent. Even Minister Niu didn’t make a sound. The atmosphere had turned incredibly strange.

“I might consider it for a million,” Lin Manxuan spoke up.

“Really?” Yang Ning’s eyes lit up.

“Of course not.”

At that moment, Lin Manxuan was certain that these twelve volumes of the Lingshu Scripture were worth at least a million.

In other words, even if she paid fifty thousand for the appraisal, the company wouldn’t suffer a loss.

With that in mind, Lin Manxuan calmly said, “If you trust me, I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

“Fine.”

Yang Ning didn’t insist further. He glanced around and noticed everyone’s eyes focused on him, including Old Xu, who had been squinting the whole time.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Ning slowly said, “These twelve volumes of the Lingshu Scripture were compiled and revised by the renowned medical scholar Xiong Zongli during the Chenghua era. Originally twenty-four volumes, they were condensed into twelve.”

“Not bad. A Ming dynasty reprint with significant collectible value, and it’s well-preserved too,” Old Zhao nodded slightly.

“Ming dynasty reprint?” Yang Ning was stunned. “Old Zhao, I said these twelve volumes of the Lingshu Scripture were compiled and revised by the renowned medical scholar Xiong Zongli during the Chenghua era.”

“Yes, indeed, this is a Ming dynasty edition authored by Xiong Zongli,” Old Zhao frowned.

“Stop beating around the bush!” Seeing Yang Ning roll his eyes, Lin Manxuan suddenly grew nervous.

“Alright then. Old Zhao, you’re considered an expert in rare books. Have you ever heard of the Zhongmen?” Yang Ning suddenly asked.

“Zhongmen?” Old Zhao’s face turned contemplative. “Could it be the Zhongmen from the Ming dynasty? Zhongmen is quite mysterious. Rumor has it that its members possessed extraordinary skills in antique forgery and mounting techniques.”

“Exactly. I’m sure Old Zhao also knows that many in Zhongmen could layer paper with multiple hidden sheets, and outsiders wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” Yang Ning said with a faint smile.

Old Zhao first frowned, then gasped in shock, staring incredulously at the well-preserved twelve volumes of the Lingshu Scripture. His voice trembled as he spoke, “Could it be that this Lingshu Scripture…”

“If I’m not mistaken, there are indeed traces of Zhongmen’s handiwork on these pages. According to ancient records, Xiong Zongli had a significant connection with Zhongmen.”

Old Zhao didn’t bother to question how Yang Ning could discern Zhongmen’s involvement. His eyes burned with fervor as he stared at the twelve volumes of the Lingshu Scripture. “If this truly came from Zhongmen’s hands, then I nearly became a sinner to the company.”

Aside from Yang Ning and Old Zhao, everyone else was utterly confused. Old Feng, Old Xu, and Meng Jianlin rarely saw Old Zhao lose his composure like this.

At this moment, they couldn’t help but look at Yang Ning and the twelve volumes of the Lingshu Scripture, feeling both shocked and excited.

“Could it really be a treasure?” Minister Niu swallowed hard, while Zhou Bokang lost the calm demeanor he had at the start.

“Bring in a basin of hot water, and all of you, get out,” Yang Ning said slowly.

“You want to peel the layers?” Old Zhao was the first to react, shrieking, “No way! I won’t allow it! You’ll ruin it!”

Old Zhao absolutely wouldn’t let a kid do something so risky!

Of course, he wasn’t worried about the person—he was worried about the book.

“Whatever.” Yang Ning shrugged indifferently and turned to Lin Manxuan. “Don’t forget to pay me.” Muttering under his breath, he added, “This actually saves me some trouble.”

Lin Manxuan looked at Old Zhao. “Grandpa Zhao, how much are these ancient texts worth?”

Old Zhao lifted his head, giving Yang Ning a complicated look before saying, “If the appraisal is correct, and with the right auction house operations, they could fetch at least four million.”

Four million!

Everyone couldn’t help but gasp. Even though Lin Manxuan had mentally prepared herself, she was still stunned by the price. And from the tone, four million might even be a conservative estimate. The real value could potentially exceed six million.

Yang Ning felt a pang of regret, cursing under his breath, “If I ever act cheap again, I’ll find a block of tofu and smash my head against it!”

No one dared to mock him anymore, not even Minister Niu, who disliked him. Zhou Bokang’s face had turned even paler.

“Why don’t you come work at Lin Corporation? I’ll offer you a high salary,” Lin Manxuan couldn’t help but say.

What’s the most scarce thing these days?

Talent!

Where could you find someone like Yang Ning?

First, it was the Amber Thumb Ring, then the Blood Coral Cloud-Bat Snuff Bottle, and now the Lingshu Twelve Volumes. Lin Manxuan had personally witnessed all of this. If someone like him joined Lin Corporation, what kind of incredible impact would that have? Just thinking about it was thrilling.

“No problem, as long as you become my wife,” Yang Ning said with a mischievous grin. “We’ll get married, consummate the marriage, and I’ll skip university to settle down as the son-in-law of the Lin Family.”

“Can’t you be serious for once?” Lin Manxuan’s pretty face turned cold.

“If you don’t agree, then forget it.” Yang Ning pursed his lips. “Who cares?”

“You really won’t consider it? Don’t you want to hear the annual salary?” Lin Manxuan wasn’t ready to give up.

Yang Ning didn’t even bother to respond, which made Lin Manxuan so angry that her chest heaved.

Meng Jianlin, standing nearby, laughed heartily. “Girl, this proposal isn’t bad. When a man grows up, he should marry, and when a woman grows up, she should wed. I quite like the look of this kid.”

“Grandpa Meng, don’t talk nonsense. I just want to invite him to work at Lin Corporation,” Lin Manxuan said, her cold, beautiful face tinged with a faint blush.

“It’s not Grandpa Meng saying this, but you’re usually so clever. How come you’re being so foolish today?”

Seeing Lin Manxuan’s confusion, Meng Jianlin rarely turned serious. “So, how much annual salary are you planning to offer? Ten million? Or a hundred million?”

Ten million?

A hundred million?

Forget Lin Manxuan—everyone present was stunned, staring at Meng Jianlin, who didn’t seem to be joking. Even Yang Ning himself was a bit surprised, not understanding why Meng Jianlin held him in such high regard.

Meng Jianlin looked at the puzzled Lin Manxuan and smiled. “Girl, when you first met him, he earned a million from you. The next day, you brought him to the company, and he discovered an unremarkable snuff bottle worth two hundred thousand. And that’s not all. Today, something we thought was worth only a hundred thousand or so, he took one look at and its value skyrocketed dozens of times.”

Pausing for a moment, Meng Jianlin sighed. “If he had hidden his findings today and deceived both you and me, then one day, if he auctioned off these twelve volumes of the Lingshu Scripture, he’d make at least four million in profit. Tell me, for someone like him, what’s an appropriate annual salary? A hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand? A million?”

Lin Manxuan finally understood. In the end, it all came down to this: Lin Corporation was too small a temple to house a great Buddha like him.