Chapter 403: Chapter 403 – I Finally Have MoneyTranslator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The rivers and mountains may change, but not one"s essential nature. Shan Bing might appear to have changed a lot, but he still hasn"t changed in terms of dealing with women.
Since it was like that, Wei Xiao Bei could not be blamed anymore as his guilt instantly disappeared.
If someone courts death, it was impossible to not die.
“Professor Zeng. You"ve worked hard. Why don"t you rest a bit and taste my craft later.”
Wei Xiao Bei turned around and guided Professor Zeng to the inner practice ground, which was also the drawing-room. His master had not brought away the good tea and there was about one cup"s worth left.
Regarding Wei Xiao Bei personally saying that he would cook, Zeng Wan Shui did not mind it.
Although foreign archeology"s influence was not big in China, this was not the only field Zeng Wan Shui was studying. He also dealt with mainland archeology. Thus, he had been to many places around the country. He was used to camping and eating outside. As for eating rice, he would sometimes only have hardtacks and instant noodles. Only when the archeological site had a village nearby could he eat something warm.
After having Zeng Wan Shui sit down, Wei Xiao Bei hurriedly went out to make a call to deliver ingredients.
Wei Xiao Bei was prepared to sincerely get to know this Professor Zeng. After all, he was a direct solution to his money problems.
Moreover, the most important thing was to learn from him and know what to look for in archaeology.
Once he gets deeper into archaeology, then he could identify a valuable object in the Dust World.
If that happened, earning money would be easy for him.
Thus, Wei Xiao Bei"s preparation needed to be more adequate. He had already prepared a menu in his mind.
“1.5 kilograms of bighead carp, 500 grams of streaky pork, 500 grams of soft tofu…..”
The person on the other side of the phone was one of Long Hu Dou Restaurant"s suppliers. Wei Xiao Bei was one of the main chefs of the restaurant and also Huang Jun"s successor. Naturally, the supplier did not dare ignore him. Even if it was only a few ingredients, they still delivered them as fast as they could.
Boiled bighead carp, sauteed meat, mapo tofu, and other delicious food was arranged on the table, causing Zeng Wan Shui to be stunned.
He never imagined this to happen.
He truly did not know how Wei Xiao Bei trained to be an expert martial artist and a cook at such a young age.
In truth, Wei Xiao Bei was rather content. Perhaps it was dictated by luck or karma, but he was able to create three rare-quality dishes with ordinary ingredients.
This had helped Wei Xiao Bei finish his cooking requirements.
What matter could make a chef truly happy?
Naturally, it was to see a diner eat their food madly while singing the chef"s praises.
At this moment, he could not even speak anymore as he wolfed down the food like a man that had been starved for years.
In the end, he leaned back on the chair and almost could not speak, “Brother Wei, your skills are simply indescribable. Perhaps even chefs at the state guesthouse could not compare to you.”
Wei Xiao Bei chuckled.
Chefs of the state guesthouse? If I don"t have the cooking skill, then I would not even compare to them, but I can with the perfection level cooking skill. Even dishes that are randomly made will be high in quality.
Wei Xiao Bei was already not a normal chef, but one that was out of this world. Those chefs at the state guesthouse would simply not be a match for his skills.
After becoming full, Zeng Wan Shui began to interact with Wei Xiao Bei.
From his insight, he could already conclude that the armor and s.h.i.+eld were indeed ancient Roman relics. The only problem was that the armor and s.h.i.+eld were preserved too perfectly as if they had been made in recent years.
Naturally, this was only a small problem. Once the materials had been a.n.a.lyzed and they determined the metal content, then it would be easy to conclude whether the armor and s.h.i.+eld were cast in ancient times.
The reason was simple. The way iron was cast in the past was different from modern times. Thus, the metal content would be different. Wis.h.i.+ng to make something with the same metal content as that period would not be as simple as one might think.
After resolving the matter of the armor and s.h.i.+eld, Wei Xiao Bei began to consult and ask questions to learn from him.
There was no doubt that Wei Xiao Bei had flicked Zeng Wan Shui"s switch. As an archaeologist, he loved to spread archaeological knowledge to novices and have them look at him in admiration.
It must be known that students nowadays loved to run away with half-baked knowledge. Once they understood a bit, they would think that they were better than their teachers. If it was not due to the professors holding onto their academic records, they might have already flipped the heavens.
Only when it was close to midnight did Wei Xiao Bei drive Professor Zeng back. They had agreed that Wei Xiao Bei would deliver the armor and s.h.i.+elds to Professor Zeng"s lab the next day for material testing.
The next day, Wei Xiao Bei brought in the armor and s.h.i.+eld, while Professor Zeng operated the apparatus. After receiving the result of the appraisal, Professor Zeng signed his name and stamped his stamp on the doc.u.ments
This appraisal should not be underestimated.
The appraisal doc.u.ments that Zeng Wan Shui had signed could be used as a trusted certificate. If it was someone unreliable, Professor Zeng would not issue it.
With the certificate, Wei Xiao Bei could now find someone to have these things sold.
Professor Zeng had taken a liking to Wei Xiao Bei and gave him a phone number, saying that it was the phone number of Moumou Auction Firm. As long as he said Zeng Wan Shui"s name, then further matters would be easy to settle.
When he heard that it was Moumou Auction Frim, Wei Xiao Bei could not help but feel veneration toward Zeng Wan Shui.
This company was one of the world"s top three auction firms. It could be said that Zeng Wan Shui"s connections had reached a high level.
Next, matters were settled easily just as Zeng Wan Shui said. After calling the firm and saying his name, the other party immediately became cordial. After hearing that Wei Xiao Bei was going to auction ancient Roman armor and a Macedonian s.h.i.+eld, they became even more cordial.
The next day, the a.s.sistant director and special appraisers came to the dojo.
After two hours of appraisal, the appraisers had concluded that they were genuine articles.
The a.s.sistant director was happy. From his words, there was a rising trend of European collectors that collected ancient Roman goods. Moreover, these kinds of BCE articles were best-sellers.
It must be known that there are not many metal items from the Roman Republic left. Two thousand years was enough to corrode most of the metals.
After sealing the articles up, the armor and the s.h.i.+eld had been transported away.
It was fortunate that these articles were ancient Roman articles. If they were Chinese articles, then it would be impossible to transport them abroad. Equipment from the Warring States Era was simply designated as national treasures.
Stealing national treasures would be the same as death.
The price that the auction firm gave him was not bad. The armor was worth around 1.5 million dollars, while the s.h.i.+eld was worth around 600,000 dollars
In total, the estimate was around 10 million dollars.
It could be said that Wei Xiao Bei had struck gold.
However, the auction could not be held immediately. First, they would need to disseminate information to let those rich big shots know that they were selling precious items. Only when there were a lot of interested parties could the objects increase in price. Moreover, these items were not the only things that would be auctioned. They needed to gather other articles, thus it would take at least two months to prepare, meaning that Wei Xiao Bei"s finances were still in the red.
Luckily, the auction firm permitted an advanced payment. As a new client, Wei Xiao Bei"s advance was not much, just 2%.
Wei Xiao Bei would not reject this and took a million dollars.
The conversion rate of USD to RMB was currently around 1:5, making his account increase by 5 million yuan.
It was enough for temporary use.
As he sighed in relief, he deposited 200,000 into the security company"s account.
This 200,000 should be enough to last for a while.
Wei Xiao Bei would not be stingy about money. His only request for Wei Xing Wu was to expand his connections and establish an information network as fast as possible.
This was very important. Wei Xiao Bei did not want to fumble around like a fly when the need arises.
Wei Xing Wu showed a bitter expression. According to this trend, the security company might not profit in these few years, on the contrary, more money needed to be invested.
Wei Xiao Bei knew that increasing connections and establis.h.i.+ng an information network needed money!
The majority of security companies attach themselves to real estate companies, taking the convenient conditions of real estate to open up a new business.
On the other hand, newly established security companies would have a harder time earning money. A company like Wei Xing Wu"s had only relied on Zhou Xing Yuan"s reputation to obtain two businesses in a small neighborhood. This was enough to guarantee income for the guards, but there was no headway yet in high-grade bodyguards.
This would now depend on Steven and the other soldiers as well as the mercenaries" performances.
Wei Xiao Bei had temporarily settled the matter of not having enough capital, and became refreshed.
Naturally, what truly refreshed him was that he had not seen Zhang Jin Hua these few days. Even Shan Bing had thrown Professor Zeng to his place and did not appear or call again.
Wei Xiao Bei hoped that the two of them would become more intimate and send him a marriage invitation the next day.
After chuckling happily, Wei Xiao Bei lay down on the chair and looked at Zeng Wan Shui"s recommended archeology books.
After half an hour, Wei Xiao Bei"s attention s.h.i.+fted.