Chapter 1773: A Whole Set?
Chen Darong showed happiness on his face, but he was already used to it when Gu Ning was able to find valuable real antiques from the streets. He took it and joked, “I bet the stand owner doesn’t know you, or he wouldn’t have sold this object to you.”
“I had the same worry, so I told my friend to buy it for me.” Gu Ning smiled.
After that, she went into the store with her friends, and the three staffers also greeted her with respect.
At this moment, there was no customer in it, because not many visitors came here.
Chu Peihan and the others looked around later. Gu Ning and Chen Darong, on the other hand, went to the inside room. She put the box down and opened it.
Chen Darong was thrilled the second he saw the objects in the box. He looked like a boy who just got his favorite candy.
As they appreciated those objects, Chen Darong reported the latest information of Xiangyun Antique-store to Gu Ning.
“By the way, I just met the curator of the Palace Museum. In a month or two, there will be a huge auction. I’ll attend it, and you can go with me! I don’t know how many familiar faces you’ll see there, but it’s a good thing to go to such an event and meet more people,” Gu Ning said.
“Sure.” Chen Darong agreed with excitement.
In the past years, only the previous owner of Xiangyun Antique-store could go to an auction, because it was a small business and only its boss was invited.
However, it was different now. Gu Ning became its new boss, and it grew much bigger. In addition to Gu Ning, Chen Darong was also a very important manager of Xiangyun Antique-store, so he had the qualification to attend auctions too.
Xiangyun Antique-store only had two branches now, but it had gained much greater fame than before. Moreover, it also owned a company named Xiangyun Arts & Crafts now, which was involved in production and wholesale.
This production factory had been established for a long time, but it was very small before and mainly supplied goods to Xiangyun Antique-store. However, after Gu Ning took it over, it expanded and became a large-scale company.
Now the company had 200 employees, and it was still developing along with the sales.
Chen Darong also focused on the company’s development, because it needed more standardized management, while the business of the two branches was much simpler.
The current store manager of Xiangyun Antique-store had worked for Chen Darong for a long time. He had a very professional understanding of antiques too, so he was almost in charge of it alone.
“Boss, what do you plan to sell at the auction?” Chen Darong asked with curiosity.
“Bronze chimes,” said Gu Ning.
“How many do you have?” asked Chen Darong again.
“A whole set,” replied Gu Ning. She had no intention to keep it secret from Chen Darong.
“What? A whole set?” Hearing that, Chen Darong was stunned and couldn’t believe his ears.
“Boss, do you mean a whole set of 65 pieces in 9 groups of 3 layers?” Chen Darong asked, although he didn’t think it was possible.
In 19XX, two sets of bronze chimes were unearthed in the tomb of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in a certain place. One set had 9 pieces, while the other had 7 pieces. They had delicate patterns and were of high quality. According to textual research, they were court instruments of Country Wu in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Although they had gone through 2500 years, they still had distinct rhythms and clear tones.
However, it was a shame that the whole set of 65 pieces in 9 groups of 3 layers weren’t collected.
The two sets of bronze chimes were sold out at the price of over a billion yuan at an auction. As for the whole set of 65 pieces in 9 groups of 3 layers, it might be worth several billion yuan.
It would also cause a great sensation in the field of music and antiques. All major music groups and major museums would definitely compete against each other for it.
Upon thinking of that, Chen Darong was full of excitement, although he wouldn’t share the money at all.
“Of course,” said Gu Ning.
Hearing Gu Ning’s affirmative answer, Chen Darong was stunned again.
She really had collected the whole set of 65 pieces in 9 groups of 3 layers! It was too unbelievable to be true! Chen Darong believed that his boss must be the luckiest person in this world.
“Please keep it a secret for the time being. You can have a look at it when the auction staff come to appraise it.” Gu Ning said.
Hearing Gu Ning’s reminder, Chen Darong got his mind back, but he was still quite astonished.
“Of course,” said Chen Darong. Although he couldn’t wait to see the whole set of bronze chimes, he knew that he must be patient and wait for Gu Ning’s information.
Gu Ning and her friends stayed in the store for a short while, then left.
When they had almost reached the parking lot, Gu Ning received Tang Yunfan’s call. He knew she was going to enroll tomorrow, and he wanted to go to the university along with her.
Many college freshmen went to enroll in the company of their parents, so Tang Yunfan didn’t want Gu Ning to go there alone.
However, Gu Ning declined, because Gu Man was in the late stage of pregnancy and it wasn’t convenient for her to go to another city.
In addition, she didn’t want other people to know her family background. If Tang Yunfan showed up, she would be exposed! Tang Yunfan was too famous to be ignored after all.
Anyway, she wouldn’t be alone, because she had friends from City F and they would go to enroll together.
Since Gu Ning said that, Tang Yunfan compromised. It was a pity that he couldn’t go with his daughter, but he respected Gu Ning’s decision.
After Gu Ning left, Chen Darong sat in his office for a long time to digest the shocking news. It was too shocking for him to digest it within a short time.
He had to admit that his boss was quite extraordinary.
…
It took them about 40 minutes to get to Qianling Mountain from the antique street, so it was already 11 am when they arrived. Gu Ning and her friends decided to dine before climbing up the mountain.
Qianling Mountain was a tourist attraction with many hotels and restaurants. They were in the town where Qianling Mountain was located, not at its foot.
There were also restaurants at the foot of Qianling Mountain, but they were all ordinary restaurants and not many.
It was very close from the town to the foot of Qianling Mountain, and was only two kilometers away.
After having lunch, Gu Ning and her friends left for Qianling Mountain. When they reached its foot, they had a totally different feeling, because the air here was quite fresh and it would be even fresher at the top of the mountain.
Qianling Mountain was a place with rich magical power after all. Even though ordinary people couldn’t feel it, they would still be affected by it and feel refreshed.
After lunch, many people came to climb the mountain. It was a long way up to the top of the mountain, but they had adequate time and energy. Therefore, they chose to climb up the mountain and go down it by cable car.
Along the way, Gu Ning and her friends were the most energetic group, and they didn’t look tired at all after climbing for half an hour.