93: Chapter 93 Appraisal Report

Tuesday, May 6, 2025, Cloudy, 18 ~ 31℃.

At seven in the morning, the alarm clock rang precisely on time.

Liu Yanran didn't even open her eyes. Her hand stretched out of the warm covers, fumbling on the nightstand a few times before finally hitting the snooze button on the electronic alarm clock.

Qiao Yichen was woken up and instinctively tightened his arm, pulling her closer into his embrace.

Liu Yanran's whole body ached. She unceremoniously slapped him once. "What time is it to still be hugging? Time to get up."

Qiao Yichen didn't let go, burying his face in the back of her neck, his voice muffled. "I don't want to get up."

"Whether you want to or not, you have to get up. You have work today." Liu Yanran struggled slightly but couldn't break free. "Let go quickly, or we really will be late."

"Just two more minutes lying down."

"No."

"One minute."

Liu Yanran couldn't be bothered arguing with him and directly pried his fingers apart. Qiao Yichen winced in pain and finally released his grip, watching her sit up.

The two of them lingered in bed for a few more minutes before finally getting up.

While Liu Yanran stood in front of the mirror applying makeup, Qiao Yichen took advantage of the spare time to do a few sets of squats and push-ups in the room.

When she was completely ready, the two left together.

After driving near the company, they found a familiar breakfast shop and sat down.

Liu Yanran ordered a bowl of soy milk with fried dough sticks, while Qiao Yichen ordered a basket of soup dumplings and ate slowly.

After paying the bill and leaving, they detoured into a coffee shop and picked up two Americanos. They timed it perfectly—arriving at the company right at nine o'clock.

The two entered the company one after the other. Liu Yanran turned right towards the Director's office, while Qiao Yichen headed straight for the Planning Department.

As he reached the workstation area, he saw Li Yong leaning against a desk, holding a Jianbing Guozi in one hand and a cup of soy milk in the other, chatting with Shen Bowen and Meng Zhi about something.

Seeing Qiao Yichen approach, he still had food in his mouth and mumbled a greeting, "Boss, morning!"

Qiao Yichen nodded. "Morning."

Li Yong was about to say something else, but his gaze suddenly landed on Qiao Yichen's neck. He froze for a moment, then the corner of his mouth curved upward.

He lowered his voice, but couldn't suppress the excitement in it.

"Whoa, Boss, not bad, huh?"

Qiao Yichen didn't immediately react. "What?"

Li Yong pointed to his own neck, making a face. Qiao Yichen looked down and realized—he had been in such a hurry that morning that he forgot to check the mirror.

Meng Zhi followed Li Yong's finger, her face instantly flushed red, and she quickly averted her gaze. Shen Bowen pushed up his glasses and turned back to his computer expressionlessly, but the tips of his ears were visibly red.

Qiao Yichen coughed once and didn't reply, opening his computer directly.

He remembered how Liu Yanran had spent a long time patting his neck with a powder puff in front of the mirror that morning, covering her marks almost completely. For him, it was just fate.

The computer booted up, and he scanned his inbox. There were several unread emails, mostly accumulated during the holiday.

After reading them, Qiao Yichen stood up and called out, "Let's go, small conference room, quick meeting."

Li Yong stuffed the last bite of his Jianbing Guozi into his mouth and responded vaguely. Meng Zhi picked up her notebook and followed, and Shen Bowen also stood up.

The four sat down in the conference room. Qiao Yichen got straight to the point.

"The task today isn't heavy. We'll review the edited footage ourselves. Once confirmed, upload the materials. Local channels can start deployment—one video per day. You guys follow up on the results."

Li Yong nodded. "Got it. I'll review it later."

Meng Zhi made a few notes in her book, then looked up and asked, "Are there specific requirements for the deployment time? Like noon or evening?"

"Evening, the traffic flow is better then," Qiao Yichen said. "You all decide, just keep an eye on the data."

Shen Bowen pushed up his glasses, indicating no problem.

Just as he finished speaking, Qiao Yichen's phone vibrated once.

He looked down—it was a text message from the Appraisal Center, stating that last month's appraisal report was ready and he could come pick it up, settling the expedited fee at the same time.

After reading it, he placed his phone aside and continued giving instructions.

The meeting ended at nine forty.

As soon as he returned to his desk, his phone rang again. This time it was a call, from the Appraisal Center, saying they could settle the payment online or arrange for the report to be sent via courier.

Qiao Yichen thought for a moment. Waiting for a courier would take another day; it was better to pick it up himself. He hung up the phone, stood up, and walked toward Liu Yanran's office.

The hallway was very quiet, and Liu Yanran's office door was closed. He knocked twice, got no response, and knocked twice more, still no answer.

He hesitated for a second, then turned the doorknob.

The office was empty; Liu Yanran was not there.

He walked quickly to her desk, scanned the surface, and spotted her bag on the chair. He pulled the zipper open, took out the familiar set of car keys, and slipped them into his pocket.

Leaving the office, he messaged Liu Yanran as he walked:

"I'm going to get the appraisal report. Took the car keys."

After sending the message, he put his phone back in his pocket and headed for the elevator.

While the elevator was descending, his phone vibrated. It was Liu Yanran's reply:

"Just finished a meeting, didn't see my phone. Be careful on the road."

It took him half an hour to drive to the Provincial Appraisal Center.

Queuing, filling out forms, paying the fee—once the whole process was complete and the expedited fee paid, the staff handed over the report. Qiao Yichen took it, flipped through it quickly, took a picture, and sent it to Liu Yanran:

"Got the report. I'm heading to Renhe Old Street now to find a shop to hang the sign. Won't be back for lunch; you can go downstairs or order takeout."

After sending the message, he put his phone away and drove toward Renhe Old Street.

While waiting at a red light, he opened the team group chat and checked the progress. Li Yong reported in the group: "Footage reviewed, no issues, preparing to upload."

He replied with "OK, thanks for the hard work," and put down his phone.

He parked the car in the Old Street parking lot; it was already 11:30 AM.

Qiao Yichen first found a noodle shop nearby, ordered a bowl of noodles, and only then walked toward the Old Street after finishing his meal.

It was a weekday noon, so there weren't many people on the street, and most shop doors were still half-closed.

He walked to the entrance of Baozhen Pavilion; the door was already open. Looking inside, he saw the same white-haired old gentleman sweeping the counter with a feather duster.

Qiao Yichen pushed the door open. The old gentleman looked up, froze for two seconds, and suddenly started laughing.

"Oh, it's you, young man. What brings you here today?"

Qiao Yichen walked over, respectful in manner. "Hello, Elder. Following your advice last time, I went to the Provincial Appraisal Center to get a report."

He took out the report from his bag and handed it over with both hands. "Just got it, please take a look."

The old gentleman took it, put on his reading glasses, flipped through a few pages, and nodded. "Good, you were quick."

He looked up, his tone softening slightly. "My surname is Zhou. You can just call me Elder Zhou."

Qiao Yichen nodded. "Hello, Elder Zhou. My name is Qiao Yichen."

Elder Zhou carefully read the entire report. After confirming it was correct, he looked up. "Do you have photos and videos as well? Let me look at the item again."

"Yes, I do." Qiao Yichen took out his phone, found the photos and videos of the cabinet he had taken earlier, and handed it over.

Elder Zhou took the phone, magnified each picture as he looked, and nodded as he watched. After finishing, he returned the phone and asked,

"Little Qiao, are you planning to sell it through me?"

Qiao Yichen nodded. "Leaving the cabinet at my place is a waste of talent; it should go to someone who understands it."

Elder Zhou smiled and asked, "You know the rules, right?"

"I do." Qiao Yichen paused, then added, "However, I want to sell this quickly this time, so I won't just cooperate with your shop. We can start with a verbal agreement—if it sells through you, I'll give you five points."

Elder Zhou listened, lightly tapped his fingers on the counter a few times, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.

"Five points is acceptable. But I must make it clear to you first: this cabinet's price isn't low, and it belongs to a niche category of collectibles. There won't be too many interested parties. Keep that in mind."

Qiao Yichen nodded. "Understood, thank you, Elder Zhou."

After bidding farewell, he visited two or three more shops consecutively. The process was largely the same—the report was fine, and the item was good, but they all said they would have to wait.

Walking to the middle section of the Old Street, he saw a sign hanging above a doorway that read "Auction Services." It was a temporary outpost for an auction house.

Qiao Yichen pushed the door open. Inside, there was only one middle-aged man typing on a computer.

He stated his purpose, and the man glanced at him, immediately quoting a figure.

"If you consign it for auction, the commission is ten to twenty percent, depending on the collectible's grade. As for the time frame, if it's fast, one or two months; if it's slow, it could be half a year or a year."

Qiao Yichen was taken aback. "That long?"

"You think that's long?" The man chuckled. "Just wait, we'll notify you when there's news."

Qiao Yichen didn't say anything more and turned to leave. He asked a few more places afterward; the situation was similar—either the commission was ridiculously high, or the cycle was too long. He checked the time; it was already past three in the afternoon, so he decided to drive back to the company.