50: Having eyes but not recognizing gold inlaid with jade, it came to me effortlessly.

"Viscount Louis, you're here?"

"Mhm," Lu Fan replied, casually asking, "Has the payment from the Japan arrived?"

"I'll check for you!"

Wang Tianxi trotted off eagerly to the counter to check.

A moment later, he hurried back, his smile growing even brighter. "The payment has arrived, Lord Viscount."

"Additionally, the gold you pre-ordered is also ready. Would it be convenient for you to inspect it now?"

Lu Fan waved his hand and said indifferently, "Just open the safe. Do you think I don't trust you?"

Another piece of business. Wang Tianxi hurriedly led Lu Fan to the vault.

After passing through several heavily guarded security checkpoints, the two entered the bank's core area.

Private safe deposit boxes were embedded in the walls surrounding the vault.

On the table in the center lay glittering gold bricks; as expected, this was the five hundred kilograms of gold prepared for him.

Wang Tianxi solemnly took out the documents and handed them over.

He pointed at the gold and said, "Viscount Louis, these are the exchange documents. Once you sign, this gold will be your private property."

What can relieve one's worries? Only gold!

Faced with gold within reach, what was there to hesitate about?

Lu Fan took out a pen and signed his name.

"This is the key to your private vault, number 1031!"

Wang Tianxi respectfully handed over the safe key and a suitcase, then tactfully withdrew from the vault.

Facing the gold, Lu Fan's heart pounded.

In his two lifetimes, this was the first time he had seen so much gold.

It took a long while for him to calm down. Looking closely, the pile of gold bricks was divided into four grades.

12.5 kilograms, 3 kilograms, 1 kilogram, and 500 grams.

These were different from the big and small yellow croakers circulating on the market.

If he wasn't mistaken, these were Huifeng Bank's exclusive gold bars.

Lu Fan picked up a one-kilogram gold bar, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed the case.

The gold bar was clearly stamped with the Huifeng Bank logo, weight, and specifications.

Putting down the gold bar, Lu Fan smiled like a two-hundred-pound child.

The logo proved the origin was fine, and the documents proved the chain of custody was orderly; the source was legitimate.

Only gold bars like these wouldn't cause him trouble when brought back to the modern era.

Exactly. Only this kind of gold could be sold normally in the modern era without attracting trouble.

If he just randomly brought back some big and small yellow croakers to the modern era, selling one or two wouldn't be a big deal.

But if he wanted to solve his debt problems by selling a whole batch of gold...

...he would have to obediently explain the source of the gold. If he couldn't, he'd be waiting to go inside and work a sewing machine.

Lu Fan scanned the vault with his multifunctional glasses. After confirming there were no cameras, he stored the gold into his space.

Then, he took the DJI Drone CF100 from his space and placed it into his safe.

This thing could save his life at a critical moment, and since it took up a lot of space, it had to be left behind.

He then reorganized his space, leaving behind everything he didn't plan to take back to free up room.

Next, he was going to start a shopping spree.

Half an hour later, Lu Fan returned to the lobby carrying the suitcase, only to see a group of people moving things inside.

"Manager Wang, what's going on here?" Lu Fan asked curiously.

Wang Tianxi trotted forward and said somewhat awkwardly, "Ah... Daxing Machinery Factory went bankrupt."

"The boss still owes bank loans! There was no choice but to take items as debt repayment."

"It's only natural to pay back what you owe. Using items as collateral when there's no money is standard procedure."

Lu Fan nodded in understanding.

His gaze swept over the scrolls and thread-bound books being moved in, and he asked curiously, "What are all these things?"

"Show Mr. Lu the inventory list of the items from Daxing Machinery Factory."

After instructing a young clerk, Wang Tianxi subtly probed, "Mr. Lu, are you interested in these things?"

"Well, I bought a villa from Tang Four and haven't had time to furnish it."

"I see these scrolls are probably calligraphy and paintings. I was thinking of buying some to decorate and keep up appearances."

"That way, when friends come over, it won't look shabby."

Lu Fan casually made up an excuse.

Hah, if I weren't interested, why would I even ask?

"Then please take a look. The boss of Daxing Machinery Factory, Zhang Daxing..."

"...usually loved collecting calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books. There might be something good in there."

Wang Tianxi said as he took the list from the clerk. "Let me see what's here for Young Master Lu."

He muttered as he read: "Feng Chaoran, Lu Yanshao, He Tianjian, Zheng Wuchang, Liu Haisu, Huang Binhong..."

Hearing these names, Lu Fan, a layman in calligraphy and painting, didn't recognize any of the earlier ones.

However, the appearance of Huang Binhong made his eyes light up.

He had heard of this name in an appreciation class because of his unique ink wash painting techniques.

"This won't do! There aren't any prominent masters at all," Wang Tianxi commented as he continued looking down the list.

"Fu Baoshi, Wu Hufan, and Zhang Daqian—these three are okay, but they're all contemporary painters, so their value is limited."

Once the names Fu Baoshi, Wu Hufan, and Zhang Daqian were mentioned, what more was there to say?

In the future, any one of their paintings could easily break ten million; Zhang Daqian's, in particular, were basically impossible to find.

Even a novice knew to buy these without hesitation. This was practically giving him money to spend.

He could hardly suppress his excitement.

To avoid showing a determined expression and prevent Wang Tianxi from jacking up the price...

...Lu Fan found a chair, lit a cigarette, and looked toward the door with a look of listlessness.

Wang Tianxi glanced over and saw Lu Fan had no interest at all, so he quickly tried to make up for it.

"Viscount Louis, although there's nothing great here and most are works by contemporary painters that aren't worth much..."

"...I think the works of Fu Baoshi and Zhang Daqian are still worth buying. They have potential."

"Also, don't worry, I'm already actively contacting major collectors for you."

"In three days at most, you'll definitely see some antique calligraphy and paintings you like."

"Manager Wang, I'll leave the antiques to you!"

Lu Fan raised his eyes slightly and said with a smile, "Bundle these scrolls together with that pile of books and give me a price!"

"Also, if it's convenient, find me some high-quality bookshelves, desks, tea tables, purple clay teapots, and such."

"I want to turn the first floor on the other side into an open study for receiving guests."

"You want all of these?" Wang Tianxi was very surprised.

"I said it's for appearances; how would it look with just a few? Besides, since you're working hard on the antiques for me, I can't let you lose out!"

"Do a good job, and I'll make it worth your while~"

With one move, Lu Fan used the third technique of the Workplace PUA Method: Painting a Big Picture.

"Understood. I'll go ask about these items and definitely give you a satisfactory price."

Wang Tianxi was overjoyed to hear this and gave a solemn guarantee.

There it was—more business. Could the commission be far behind?

A moment later, Lu Fan received the quote and beamed. "Obtaining it without any effort..."