Chapter 339

Chapter 339

After exiting the red-walled compound, they still rode in the same car they had arrived in.

The car looked plain and ordinary on the outside, but the driver—in military uniform—was clearly skilled.

Lu Mingzhu could barely contain her excitement, her cheeks flushed as she asked Zhang Zhenxing, "How did I do? You should've given me a heads-up—I would have prepared a gift for the elder. How rude must it seem to show up empty-handed like this!"

Zhang Zhenxing chuckled. "You did very well. Besides, you’ve already given many valuable gifts. There’s nothing impolite about it."

He'd taken note of every contribution.

The gratitude went unspoken, but it was real.

"It’s not the same," Lu Mingzhu said, recalling the elder's patched clothes, well-worn watch and shoes, and ordinary glasses—his lifestyle was simple, and even his tea wasn’t of the highest grade.

The only beautiful things were the porcelain pieces, elegant and pleasing.

"There’s no need for a separate gift. Whatever valuable gift you give would be turned over to state coffers rather than kept for personal use," Zhang Zhenxing explained. "In fact, he took some money from his own royalty payments and asked me to prepare gifts for Mr. He, Mr. Lu Yanzhi, Da Xie, Comrade Lu Changsheng, and others. You’ll receive them before you leave."

"What kind of gifts?" Lu Mingzhu asked.

Zhang Zhenxing smiled. "If I tell you now, there’ll be no surprise. Just wait and see."

Lu Mingzhu changed the subject. "Will there be gifts for me and my husband?"

Asking for gifts point-blank—no one else would dare.

"Don’t worry, there’s something for you. Definitely. No one would be left out, least of all you," Zhang Zhenxing assured her. "Everyone has a share, including even young Lu Shen."

Mentioning Pingan, he asked Lu Mingzhu, "I heard Pingan had twins?"

"That’s right," Lu Mingzhu nodded. "The older sister is Lu Yuanyuan, and the younger brother is Lu Zecheng. Their birth weights were nearly identical."

"Excellent names," Zhang Zhenxing praised. "Speaking of Pingan, his wife Zhou Xiuxiu is the daughter of your sworn brother's. The research she and your uncle conducted on Artemisinin made quite an impression on us all. What’s most remarkable is your willingness to share the results with the mainland, giving hope to countless sufferers."

"Isn’t it natural for family to share?" Lu Mingzhu simply didn’t want to claim the goddess's work as her own.

She then brought up the goddess's name, asking Zhang Zhenxing if such a person existed.

Her world was strange—some figures were historical from her own world, like Chen Qian and Zhou Bingkun, while other renowned figures were absent.

Just what kind of world had Grandma Zhang made?

Zhang Zhenxing was unfamiliar with the name.

He thought for a long time. "That's a new one to me. I'll make some inquiries."

"She’s involved in traditional Chinese medicine research, related to Artemisinin," Lu Mingzhu added carefully, not wanting to presume it was the goddess and her team’s achievement, as she wasn’t sure if the goddess existed in this world.

If she did, that would be perfect.

She would definitely recommend the goddess join the next phase of Artemisinin research.

Zhang Zhenxing nodded. "I’ll remember that."

After dropping Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao off at the International Hotel, he waved goodbye to the couple.

Just as he was about to close the car window, Lu Mingzhu suddenly ran back, leaned in with a grin, and said, "Comrade Zhang, don’t forget to give us today’s group photo once it’s developed!"

She saved them as keepsakes.

After all, they’d taken multiple photos.

This was probably her only chance to meet the old man, so she treasured every single photo taken together.

Zhang Zhenxing chuckled. "Don’t worry, I’ll give them to you myself."

After saying this, he muttered, "We’ve known each other for more than ten years and taken countless photos together, but I’ve never seen you act like this. Is it really that important?"

He felt a pang of jealousy.

"I’ve kept all our photos together—every single one," Lu Mingzhu said. She loved taking photos as keepsakes and would never throw any away. "I’ve got a whole room at home just for photo albums."

"I’ll get extra prints made for you," Zhang Zhenxing said. He didn’t mind spending a little extra.

"Thank you!" After expressing her gratitude, Lu Mingzhu happily returned to the presidential suite, flopping onto the bed as soon as she walked in and kicking off her leather shoes, not caring how she looked.

"This trip was totally worth it," she said.

Xie Junyao remarked, "Is it really such a big deal?"

Compared to what they had done, what was this?

"You don’t understand," she said. "This isn’t just about us—it’s about how people will remember us later."

"Right, right, I don’t understand your feelings," Xie Junyao said calmly, raising his hand. "Want to pack this stuff in the suitcase? Let’s take advantage of the weather before it gets too hot and go out tomorrow."

With neither his older brother nor their daughter around, it was just the two of them.

"I’ll pack them myself," Lu Mingzhu said, jumping off the bed and stepping barefoot onto the carpet.

Apart from the calligraphy written on the spot, nothing else was new. The books were ones the old man had read himself, complete with annotations, along with his poetry collections and quotations. Lu Mingzhu treasured them all, carefully wrapping them before placing them in the suitcase.

"These’ll be heirlooms," she decided, planning to pass them down to Lu Haohao.

Xie Junyao chuckled. "Sure."

A couple days later, Zhang Zhenxing called Lu Mingzhu. "I checked, but nobody’s heard of the person you mentioned. Did she research Artemisinin and then give you the materials?"

"Yes," Lu Mingzhu said, a little regretfully. "If anyone asks, be sure to mention her name."

Even though this wasn’t his department, Zhang Zhenxing agreed. "No problem. When are you heading back? I’ll see you off and bring the gifts for you."

"We’ll stick around a few more days," Lu Mingzhu said, unhurried.

The sunken ship had mostly porcelain, gold, and silver, with very few copper coins. Since she had many younger relatives and would need them in the future, she cleaned out all the antique coins from the curio shops in the capital.

As soon as she left the newly state-run Gu Bao Zhai, someone waved at her and Xie Junyao.

Seeing them pause, the man hurried over. "My family has a huge stash of copper coins—one yuan each. Would you like them? We have Tongbao coins from Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang."

"Why not sell them to the antique shops?" Lu Mingzhu asked in return.

"The antique shops pay too little, and these aren’t silver coins that can be exchanged at the bank," the man, a wiry old man with sharp eyes, explained. "We dug them up while renovating our old house—several large jars full of them. They’ve got some rust, but they’re the real deal."

Better to sell ’em off than leave ’em lying around the house, where the womenfolk might turn ’em into kickball washers or spindle whorls.

Lu Mingzhu turned to Xie Junyao.

Xie Junyao knew she was tempted and smiled, "No harm in looking. If they're genuine, we can buy them all and take them back."

With so many kids, giving each a hundred coins would quickly use up what they had on hand—especially since Lu Mingzhu had already collected the most valuable ancient coins and didn’t plan to hand them out as New Year’s gifts.

The elderly man promptly led them into a nearby alley and then into a courtyard house.

The courtyard was sizable, covering about three to four hundred square meters, and appeared to house many families. The yard was strung with clotheslines and drying racks, draped with colorful clothes and bedding.

As soon as they entered, Lu Mingzhu heard someone call out to her.

"Miss Lu!" came an excited voice.

Lu Mingzhu looked up. "Li Xiaoyu, do you live here?"

Li Xiaoyu, who was holding a chubby little girl, nodded eagerly and pointed to three western wing rooms. "We live there—three rooms, pretty spacious. Liu Kui’s out driving and isn’t home, and my father-in-law is also away. I have to stay and watch the house, or I’d invite you to the Minzu Hotel for some hotpot lamb."

"Hotpot’s no big deal. As long as you’re doing well, that’s what matters." Lu Mingzhu fingered her jade bracelet but hesitated to remove it for Li Xiaoyu’s daughter, worried that in such a crowded courtyard, it might not stay safe for long.

After a brief pause, she took out a stack of U.S. dollars from her purse and placed it in the little girl’s arms. "Get yourself some clothes and save the rest for school."

Technically, this girl should be calling her 'Great-Aunt'!

Seeing Li Xiaoyu’s surprised expression, Lu Mingzhu smiled. "Just a little something for the young lady. What’s her name? Do you and Liu Kui only have this one child?"

"She’s Liu Lu. We’ve also got a son, Liu Jing," Li Xiaoyu answered honestly. "He’s out playing with his great-uncle."

After his mother passed away, whenever Liu Kui wasn’t home, his uncle would stay away during the day and not sleep in the western wing at night, choosing instead to stay with others to avoid gossip.

Li Xiaoyu really appreciated that.

Lu Mingzhu nodded slightly. "A boy and a girl—how nice."

Li Xiaoyu took the dollars from her daughter’s arms and tried to return them to Lu Mingzhu. "Liu Kui’s always made good money, plus he gets bonuses. We lack nothing—food, clothes, our life couldn’t be better. Please take the money back."

"An elder’s gift to a younger isn’t meant to be given back." Lu Mingzhu tucked the money back into the little girl’s hands. "Don’t listen to your mother."

"You’re so pretty, sister," the little girl said sweetly.

Lu Mingzhu patted her head. "Your dad calls me Auntie, so you should say Great-Aunt, not sister."

"Great-Aunt?" The little girl repeated it aloud, while Li Xiaoyu gasped in surprise. "Miss Lu, you can’t be serious. Liu Kui doesn’t have a wealthy relative like you."

Lu Mingzhu chuckled softly and leaned in to whisper, "Liu Kui’s birth mom was like a sister to me. Don’t you think he should call me Auntie?"

Leaving Li Xiaoyu speechless, Lu Mingzhu added, "If you ever run into trouble, go straight to Comrade Zhang Zhenxing. He knows my sworn sister and her husband. I’ll mention it to him tomorrow."

Li Xiaoyu’s mouth fell open slightly, her eyes wide.

Could she really be this lucky?

With her sharp mind, she quickly realized Liu Kui’s birth parents must be extraordinary people.

Lu Mingzhu patted her arm. "Your in-laws have seen their share of battles, emerging from fire. It hasn’t been easy for them. Besides Liu Kui, they have no other children, and they’ve always cared about your lives—it’s not like they abandoned him and forgot about him. If possible, try to persuade Liu Kui to meet them. Cherish the life you have now."

"Who are they?" Li Xiaoyu pressed.

She knew about Liu Kui’s background but had never heard him mention his birth parents’ names.

Liu Kui didn’t seem bothered, so she didn’t press the matter.

Of course, she also assumed Liu Kui had been abandoned and that his birth parents already had other children.

Lu Mingzhu replied, "You must’ve heard of them when you were with the Li family."

Li Xiaoyu covered her mouth, "It's them!"

She had certainly heard of them.

They were both big-time heroes—one a military commander, the other a deputy hospital director. Yuan Kaijiang was even higher-ranked than Li Kaiguo.

The old man caught bits of their talk, but surprise aside, his eyes kept drifting back to that wad of cash. "Please, come inside! The main house is this way. The five main rooms and two side rooms are all mine, including this big courtyard. Liu Kui’s wife, these folks are *my* guests—quit butting in."

Li Xiaoyu pouted, "Old Man Jin, *I* met them first."

"Business before chit-chat," Old Man Jin shot back before leading Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao to the eastern room of the main house. He opened four large copper vats against the wall. "Once these coins sell, the vats’ll be free for other stuff."

He scooped a handful from the bottom and showed it to Lu Mingzhu. "See? The real deal—all copper."

Lu Mingzhu grabbed a handful—yep, all Qianlong-era coins.

The whole handful was.

Some were crusty with rust, others clean as new.

Old Man Jin’s luck held out. He opened each vat and randomly scooped out coins. "You can count and verify them as you go. These things are a dime a dozen—who’d bother faking ’em?"

"How many are there in total?" Lu Mingzhu asked.

Old Man Jin tilted his head in thought. "We dug up four vats, about 500 jin per vat. Four vats make roughly 2,000 jin. A jin’s 500 grams—you figure it out."

Lu Mingzhu chuckled. "Coin weights change by era—how’s that math supposed to work?"

"Gotta be 200,000 coins, easy," Old Man Jin insisted.

Hearing this, Lu Mingzhu remarked, "You’re seriously pricing this at 200,000 coins?"

Old Man Jin grinned.

Lu Mingzhu decisively bargained, "Scarcity drives price. Flood the market, and they’re worthless. If they’re all genuine, I’ll take them for 50,000."

Old Man Jin widened his eyes. "That’s highway robbery! You chopped 80% off!"

"Or try your luck at an antique shop?" Lu Mingzhu wasn’t desperate to buy.

"C’mon, throw me a bone here," Old Man Jin wheedled.

Lu Mingzhu shook her head. "Half these coins are junk-grade—barely worth scrap. I get mint-condition coins from Gu Bao Zhai—no cleanup needed."

Old Man Jin couldn’t help but argue, "But it’s 200,000 coins! Make it 100K—final offer."

"60K," Lu Mingzhu countered, barely budging.

"90K—my absolute bottom line," Old Man Jin groaned. This Hong Kong moneybags was his golden ticket—no way he’d let her walk.

In the past few years, life had been tough. Gold and silver? Pocket change. Food was king.

A top-tier jade bracelet wouldn’t buy you twenty pounds of rice.

At present, people still prioritize food over antique paintings and calligraphy works, and Liulichang is still pretty dead, with only a few officials and overseas Chinese visiting each year.

Lu Mingzhu stood firm: "60 grand. That’s more than generous. You won’t get a better deal anywhere else."

After all, fine imperial kiln porcelain sold in antique shops for just over a dozen yuan.

Old Jin clenched his jaw and lowered his price to 80,000.

Lu Mingzhu still refused to budge. "Take it or leave it."

"You’ve got yourself a deal!" Old Jin finally agreed, then added, "But I’ll take payment in greenbacks. I can exchange them for Overseas Chinese Exchange Certificates."

"That’s fine." Lu Mingzhu needed to inspect the goods, but she lacked the time and energy. What to do?

She went straight to the cultural relics department staff to count, categorize, and authenticate the coins, handing out several hundred-yuan-denominated Overseas Chinese Exchange Certificates. Plenty jumped at the chance to help.

Each 100-yuan certificate could buy 60 jin of grain, 5 jin of glutinous rice, 5 jin of soybeans, 5 jin of oil, and 20 chi of fabric—all hard-to-get items.

Additionally, there were grocery vouchers for purchasing eggs, pork, vermicelli, dried fruits, bean products, seafood, pastries, and more, while household goods could be bought with shopping coupons.

Lu Mingzhu was basically paying them under the table.

Private trading was technically forbidden, and items like antique paintings and calligraphy works had to be sold at designated locations to prevent speculation. But since the buyer was Lu Mingzhu, the authorities looked the other way.

Old Jin hadn’t lied—these were all genuine coins he had unearthed, not just Tongbao coins but also Zhongbao coins.

The museum staff sorted and strung them up real careful, cleaned and preserved them, removing rust to restore their original luster.

While they worked, Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao kept busy too.

They wandered around, buying as many antiques as they could, along with modern calligraphy, paintings, and fine stationery, racking up another impressive collection.

Perhaps due to food shortages in recent years, folks were getting desperate. Rich folks got by, but those struggling sold off their antique paintings and calligraphy works, jewelry, and accessories, piling up in the shops.

There was even a jewelry and jade recycling department!

Lu Mingzhu acquired many exquisite pieces there at dirt cheap prices.

Better she buy these treasures now than let them go to waste.

She was always hungry for more.

With trouble brewing, unsure if she’d have time to return, Lu Mingzhu planned Shanghai as their next stop before heading home.

Half the country’s money was in Shanghai, and so were the finest goods.

Before leaving the capital, Zhang Zhenxing came by with presents and the group photo Lu Mingzhu had requested.

He Yun, Lu’s father, Xie Junhao, Lu Changsheng, Lu Mingzhu, Xie Junyao, and Lu Pingan each received a pound of tea, a set of Liling kiln porcelain, a purple clay tea set, and a modern master’s calligraphy or painting.

Zhang Zhenxing even prepared something extra for little Well.

"Mingzhu, do you remember Comrade Lu Zhuri?" he suddenly asked.

Lu Mingzhu paused. "I do. That old-timer resigned over a decade ago, right? He dropped off the radar after that."

Zhang Zhenxing nodded. "He has a son named Lu Aiguo, who you've met before. He's being transferred to the South Sea Fleet, which is relatively close to you. Please watch out for him. Otherwise, I'd never forgive myself toward his father, who fought alongside me for so many years."

"What about Lin Xiaohong?" Lu Mingzhu asked suddenly.

She was relieved to hear about Lu Aiguo's improvement, but she hadn’t forgotten snake-like Lin Xiaohong.

Her situation was similar to Old Mrs. Lu’s—due to the debt of birth and upbringing, as a child, one could never bring oneself to turn against one’s own kin, no matter what, and still had to care for them dutifully.

Zhang Zhenxing replied coolly, "She instigated her youngest son to go missing, intending to change his background and class status by posing as an orphan. After Zhang Shuo’s people, assigned to monitor them, discovered this, they returned her son to her and sent both mother and child to work the barren lands in the remote northwest. They're banned from returning for twenty years."

Even there, they would be kept under surveillance to prevent her from spouting dangerous talk.

Lu Mingzhu was quite surprised. "Lin Xiaohong's quick-thinking! She actually came up with such a trick."

Regardless of anything else, her motherly love was real.

Unfortunately, in the capital, there was Zhang Shuo, who would surely keep a constant watch on her.

"I understand, Comrade Zhang." Lu Mingzhu knew Zhang Zhenxing had deliberately shared this with her.

After all, Lu Aiguo was undeniably a descendant of the Lu family.

It wasn’t surprising that Zhang Zhenxing would act this way.

He was far too clever by half.

Lu Zhuri had fought alongside him long ago and knew him like the back of his hand. Even if he changed his appearance and returned as Lu Changsheng, he might deceive the public, but not those watching closely.

Zhang Zhenxing left it unsaid, but he certainly knew.

Asking Lu Mingzhu to look after Lu Aiguo was proof enough.

Just then, a pair introducing themselves as Yuan Kaijiang and Zhao Qian approached.