Chapter 311

Chapter 311

Knowing Lu Mingzhu well, Zhang Zhenxing played to her tastes.

Compared to gold and silver, he believed Lu Mingzhu would prefer cultural treasures not found overseas—something they could offer in return.

Mr. Zhang and Zhang Huaizhi, along with their families, brought the items to Hong Kong, where Xie Junhao took delivery.

Although Lu Mingzhu had both a biological father and a godfather, she was married and had been living in the Xie family mansion. In her and Xie Junyao’s absence, it made sense for Xie Junhao to step in.

He immediately arranged for the antique paintings and calligraphy works to be inventoried and moved next to Mingzhu Craft Emporium.

It was a shop Xie Junyao had long prepared for Lu Mingzhu.

Years ago, Lu Mingzhu had mentioned opening an antique store while waiting for Mr. Zhang and Zhang Huaizhi to honor their agreement.

Xie Junyao purchased an old building, demolished it, and rebuilt it into a four-story structure with a basement, covering 3,000 square feet. Equipped with cutting-edge security and climate control, the shop’s exterior and interior were decorated in a classical style. The shelves and counters, made of high-quality rosewood, radiated opulence, complementing the antique paintings and calligraphy works perfectly.

Honestly, the setup rivaled even the Forbidden City Museum’s conservation standards.

They wrapped everything up in just a few days.

With Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao still away, Lu Changsheng decided to proceed with the opening.

Thus, Mingzhu Antique Store welcomed guests in the absence of its owners, with He Yun, Lu Changsheng, and Xie Junhao handling the ribbon-cutting duties.

Lu Changsheng often named shops after Lu Mingzhu, and the gathered elites showed up as a courtesy, selecting their favorite antiques to take home—a way to show support.

Everyone was happy—they got what they wanted, and the store made sales.

Mr. Zhang served as the head appraiser, while Zhang Huaizhi was the deputy. They were responsible for vetting purchases and sales, restoring damaged antiques when possible, and reserving exceptionally valuable pieces for the collection. The manager and shop assistants handled other tasks like organization, sales, and inventory.

Both families were accommodated in an apartment near the racetrack previously owned by Lu Changsheng and later transferred to Lu Mingzhu, who had kept it unsold.

Upon learning Hong Kong’s property prices, Mr. Zhang and Zhang Huaizhi were stunned—their combined pay wouldn’t even cover the rent!

Fortunately, they stayed for free.

The two elders were on temporary assignment. Lu Mingzhu’s condition for donating a large batch of cultural relics was securing their services for ten years. Though their employment remained with their original institutions, Lu Mingzhu paid their salaries during this period, in line with industry rates.

Xie Junhao had ironed out the details.

Unaware of the surprise awaiting them, Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao wandered into a flea market while strolling.

Despite the cold weather, the market was in full swing.

Sellers hawking all sorts of everyday items at affordable prices catered to buyers with limited budgets.

The wealth gap was stark, and plenty were still scraping by.

To save on expenses, people frequented flea markets, often scoring unexpected finds.

Inspired by Lu Changsheng’s past successes, Lu Mingzhu thought she might have similar luck. But after half an hour in the chilly wind, she came up empty—run-of-the-mill stuff didn’t interest her anymore.

Xie Junyao smiled. “Didn’t you want to open an antique store? Ordinary items sell better.”

"You're right." Lu Mingzhu lowered her standards.

After sifting through hundreds of Qing Dynasty imperial porcelain pieces that had made their way overseas from the mainland, she finally spotted a treasure.

A large cloisonné jar with dragon motifs from the Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty.

It was crafted using the cloisonné black-glaze technique, with muted yet rich colors.

But in the world Lu Mingzhu had come from, only two were known to survive—one in the British Museum and the other in the Rietberg Museum in Zurich. She never expected to find one here, mixed in with a dozen colorful pottery jars and earthenware.

Keeping her excitement in check, Lu Mingzhu bought the jar at an extremely low price and immediately had a bodyguard cradle it carefully.

This single piece was far more valuable than the hundreds of porcelain items she had acquired earlier.

The jar seemed to mark the start of her lucky streak. At the same stall, she discovered a bronze double-sheep zun and a stack of *Yongle Encyclopedia* volumes. After purchasing them, she inquired about their origins and learned that the stall owner had bought a very old house a month prior and found these items inside. Since he had no use for them, he decided to sell them to make ends meet for winter. Before this, he had only sold some attractive porcelain pieces like vases and fruit plates, which were quite popular.

"Any more?" Lu Mingzhu asked him. "I have a soft spot for pieces from back home."

The stall owner, a plump middle-aged man with a calculating gleam in his eye, replied, "There are more, but the price won’t be low."

He was clearly trying to jack up the price right then.

Lu Mingzhu chuckled. "That depends on whether your items are worth it."

"Worth every penny," the stall owner insisted. "If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you." With that, the stall owner eagerly turned around, opened the trunk of a very old car behind him, and hauled out dozens of book scrolls and paintings, along with various sizes of porcelain and bronze ware, all dusty and worn.

Lu Mingzhu let out a quiet breath.

Not all of them were genuine—about two-thirds were fakes—but the remaining third were museum-quality pieces.

She wondered who the original homeowner had been to possess so many fine items.

The stall owner raised a finger. "A grand, and I’ll sell you everything."

"Deal." Lu Mingzhu handed over the money and took the goods, then had the bodyguards haul them back first to her residence. She and Xie Junyao continued deeper into the flea market.

Having gained something, she wanted to keep going.

Winter was hard for the poor, and as the sun rose higher, more and more people set up stalls to sell their old belongings or secondhand goods they had acquired elsewhere. Most were old items from European and American countries, with only a small portion originating from the East.

Lu Mingzhu also picked up a dozen or so Western antiques and grumbled, vowing to flip them for a profit to foreigners.

As for herself, she had no intention of keeping them.

The famous paintings destined to skyrocket in value would have been worth holding onto, but the foreigners were just as savvy—she struck out on finding any works by Monet, Cézanne, da Vinci, Van Gogh, or Picasso.

Though she found more items later, nothing held a candle to the cloisonné jar with dragon motifs and the bronze double-sheep zun—not even the *Yongle Encyclopedia*.

"Can’t win ’em all," Lu Mingzhu consoled herself.

The *Yongle Encyclopedia* she acquired was a partial replica—only 37 volumes, though they were well-preserved.

If kept for another sixty years, each volume would go for tens of millions on the market!

Xie Junyao smiled. "Worn out? We can call it a day. Tomorrow there should be new items."

His big brother’s trophy collection had been acquired this way.

With money and knowledge, during times of war, one could often purchase lost treasures for a song.

It's important to know that the Eight-Nation Alliance (1900) plundered an unimaginable number of treasures, with Britain taking the most. At that time, not a single soldier who entered Beijing returned empty-handed. Many didn’t keep all their loot, selling off items they deemed worthless.

The sheer volume was staggering.

Lu Mingzhu originally planned to travel with Xie Junyao from the Americas to Europe, then to Australia, and finally back to New York to make another profit. However, her discoveries at the flea market changed her mind, and she decided to take the treasures home first.

Passing down cultural heritage mattered more than gold or silver.

These artifacts carried cultural legacy.

If she didn’t buy them, others would—what a shame!

She’d done her part for the mainland, so why not indulge in her passion now?

With her finances tight in recent years, she had been reluctant to buy jewelry or antiques, believing human lives were more precious.

After hitting every U.S. flea market, she remained unsatisfied. Xie Junyao accompanied her to Britain, France, Germany, and other countries, returning to New York by year-end. Splurging, she acquired over 40,000 antiques, nearly 10,000 of which were museum-worthy.

Some were bought from private sellers, others from collectors—the latter being pricier but still within Lu Mingzhu’s budget.

After all, this wasn’t the peak era for collecting.

Upon returning to New York, the two stocks Lu Mingzhu had sold short plummeted as she predicted, due to product-related scandals.

Meanwhile, the stock she had held onto since last year continued to rise without any signs of decline.

John kept his mouth shut after that.

Lu Mingzhu invested all her available funds into the stock market, snapping up four hot stocks—popular among speculators, so her involvement wouldn’t draw too much attention.

By mid-January of the following year, she cashed out with an 18% gain.

John had the nerve to call it a waste!

Not making multiples of the investment, unlike Lu Mingzhu’s usual prowess, made her so mad she froze him out.

Even standing on the shoulders of giants, achieving such results was difficult.

After setting aside shares for the three branches and five sons, and reserving funds for a biopharmaceutical research institute, Lu Mingzhu used the remaining capital to buy two slow growers but solid long-term holds—one accounting for 14% of the total equity, the other 9%.

With these matters settled, Lu Mingzhu returned to Hong Kong with Xie Junyao, pleased as punch, hauling back treasures.

A long trip, but worth every minute.

Money was made, treasures were acquired, and disaster-preparedness equipment for floods had been delivered. Though she had been away for a long time, the journey was worthwhile.

Upon arriving home, she found Xie Junhao and Haohao absent. Her first act was to call the three branches and five sons to distribute the money, before anyone got any ideas.

Lu Changgen and Julie were already back. Upon hearing the news, they joined Lu Zhangling and others, gifts in hand, heading to the Xies’.

They were all eager to learn how much Lu Mingzhu had earned for them.

Months earlier, rumors from New York to Hong Kong had spread that Lu Mingzhu’s stock picks in Wall Street soared, earning her hundreds of millions of dollars. Before the brothers could even cheer, Mr. Zhang and others arrived with news of Lu Mingzhu’s massive donations of life-saving and flood-control equipment to the mainland.

Easy come, easy go.

Neither her father nor Xie Junhao stopped her.

The mainland had been impoverished and weak for years—how much could she really change? Unaware of her brothers’ thoughts, Lu Mingzhu told them, "You each get 16 mil, but according to the rules, you must pay me a 15% commission—that’s 2.25 mil off the 15 mil. The rest you keep."

Lu Zhangling dug at his ear: "How much?"

Lu Mingzhu gave him a withering glare, "Do the math yourself."

Lu Changming, the youngest, widened his eyes the most, "More than tenfold? Eighth Sister, how could it be so much?"

"I leveraged it four times," Lu Mingzhu said offhandedly.

They didn’t understand much about stock trading, only feeling she was incredibly skilled.

Lu Zhangling buttered up Lu Mingzhu eagerly, "Little sister, Eighth Sister, sweet sister, I don’t lack money now. Why don’t you take this money and continue investing? This time, instead of 15% commission, I’ll give you 20%, 30%."

In less than a year, a return of over tenfold was simply astonishing.

Lu Zhangling deeply regretted it.

Why had he only invested 1 million USD when he could have put in 2 million and earned back 32 million?

Lu Mingzhu glanced at him, "Nice fantasy, but I’m booked solid."

"Is that so?" Not just Lu Zhangling, the others also felt regretful.

"Eighth Sister, it’s fine if you don’t have time now. Just let me know when you do, and you can use my money however you like," Lu Changzhi said slyly, sucking up, "I’m young and have no expenses to speak of. I’ll save it for you to use."

Lu Mingzhu laughed, "Aren’t you all gonna start families? Gonna settle down?"

Lu Changzhi brushed it off, "Seventh Brother isn’t married yet. I’m in no hurry, not at all."

Having witnessed their father’s womanizing habits and seeing the Fourth Concubine remarry, plus Lu Feifei and Li Qingyun’s drama-filled romance turning the house upside down, Lu Changzhi had little interest in marriage. Instead, he found living alone quite leisurely—free as a bird, able to live however he pleased.

Lu Changgen, who was mentioned, looked at his younger brother, "Lu Changzhi."

Lu Changzhi made a face, "Eighth Sister."

"Calling me sister won’t help," Lu Mingzhu waved her hand. "Take your cut and scram."

The payout needed a bank run.

All the funds were in Lu Mingzhu’s account, transferred from New York to Hong Kong.

After deducting commissions and fees, Lu Mingzhu transferred equal amounts to her five brothers, turning down their offers for a fancy dinner, and went straight with Xie Junyao to Xie Junhao’s workplace.

The servant said Hao Hao was playing office with Xie Junhao.

It was the weekend, so Hao Hao didn’t have kindergarten.

Xie Junyao and Lu Mingzhu knocked on Xie Junhao’s office door and entered after his permission. Sure enough, they saw Hao Hao playing CEO behind her little desk, her upper half dressed in a white shirt with a pink V-neck sweater vest and a little suit, her chubby face stern—looking every bit the mini tycoon.

Xie Junhao was going over paperwork while she practiced calligraphy using the Four Treasures of the Study that Lu Mingzhu had gifted Xie Junhao.

Of course, being young, she used a small brush.

Hearing familiar footsteps, Xie Junhao looked up and raised an eyebrow, "Back?"

Xie Junyao grinned and nodded, "Sorry to dump her on you, big brother."

Hao Hao blinked, "I thought we had distinguished guests and was about to feel the delight, but it turns out Mom and Dad found their way home!"

Lu Mingzhu pinched her little cheek, "When did you learn the Analects? And you quote it so perfectly."

"Big Daddy taught me," Hao Hao stopped practicing, put down her brush, and threw herself into Lu Mingzhu’s arms, her voice sweet and soft, "Mommy, I have a surprise for you!"