131: Chapter 131 Double Happiness
The car drove smoothly into the underground garage; the moment it came to a stop, jazz music was still slowly drifting through the cabin.
The rhythm of Jiang Chen's fingertips tapping stopped.
He looked down at the safe on his lap. The slight curve at the corner of his mouth hadn't faded since he was crouching under the plane tree, and the light in his eyes shone uncontrollably in the dark cabin.
"We're here." Lu Zheng turned off the engine and glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
Jiang Chen didn't respond, picking up the safe and pushing open the car door.
The twelve-kilogram weight was still heavy in his hand, but his footsteps on the epoxy floor of the garage were as light as stepping on a layer of fresh snow.
Going upstairs.
The elevator.
The fingerprint lock clicked open.
The moment he pushed the door open, the sensor light in the entryway lit up, spreading warm light across the floor.
Compared to the silence in the old house in Wutong Lane, which was thoroughly pickled by time, the air here was alive.
The low hum of the fresh air system, the faint buzz of the refrigerator compressor, and the city lights leaking through the gaps in the living room curtains.
In his own territory, even the silence carried warmth.
He placed the safe in the center of the coffee table, not in a hurry to open it, but crouching there to look at it for a moment.
The matte black box, without any markings, sat quietly on the glass tabletop like a block cut out of the night.
Then he smiled.
Not the kind of smile pursed at the corners of his mouth like in the car just now, but a genuine smile that escaped from his chest, impossible to suppress.
Even his shoulders shook twice.
Thirty-two HSBC "Little Yellow Croaker" gold bars.
Minted during the republic of china era, with complete serial numbers and a purity of over 97%.
Each bar weighed 370 grams, totaling nearly twelve kilograms.
He quickly ran the numbers through his head.
At the current gold price, it was over nine hundred per gram.
The base value of the gold material alone was over a hundred million.
But these were "Little Yellow Croakers," not just raw gold.
The HSBC engraving, over seventy years of history, and the complete serial numbers.
With these three things combined, in the eyes of collectors, they weren't sold by the gram.
In the collector's market for republic of china one-tael Factory Bars, those in good condition could fetch double the gold price.
With the dual value combined, once these items were in his pocket, his capital pool would be completely widened.
Whether it was Chenxing Capital's subsequent expansion or moving into new sectors, he would have solid confidence.
But as he smiled, the heat in his eyes slowly receded a bit.
Liquidation.
He placed his hand on the safe, his fingertips stroking the matte finish, his mind already shifting gears.
Thirty-two bars; the amount wasn't massive, but it certainly wasn't small either.
Going to an offline gold shop for buyback would be suicidal.
They only recognized the gold price; they didn't care if it was engraved with HSBC or the mint, they'd treat it all as raw material, losing at least half the value per bar.
Finding a major collector to take them all at once would be convenient, but buyers who could shell out this amount were few and far between, and every one of them would want to know the origin of the batch.
The safest way was to go online.
He got up and sat on the sofa, taking out his phone to browse.
Weipaitang, Zhaoonline, Aicang...
These platforms attracted the most precise collectors in the country for the vertical field of coins and old gold and silver ware; the traffic was large enough, and the transaction processes were standardized.
republic of china Factory Bars had been a hot category in recent years; as long as the condition was good and the information complete, the premium wouldn't be worse than private offline negotiations.
No need to dump them all at once.
Pick a few of the best-conditioned ones for a special platform auction to set a price benchmark.
List the rest in batches, clearly marking the minter, condition, weight, and serial number, with reasonable pricing, selling them one by one.
This way, it wouldn't attract too much attention, and he could steadily capture the collector's premium.
He put down his phone, and the last bit of worry in his heart dissipated.
He got up, walked to the wine cabinet, pulled out a bottle of Macallan 18, and took out two crystal glasses.
The amber liquid poured into the glasses, and its mellow aroma slowly spread through the living room.
"Come sit, have a drink."
Lu Zheng walked over from the entryway, sat on the other side of the sofa, took the glass with both hands, and nodded.
"Hard work today." Jiang Chen raised his glass for a clink, the glass walls making a crisp sound. "It's thanks to you guys that we could bring the things back smoothly."
"It's only right."
Lu Zheng took a sip, the lines between his brows relaxing more than usual. "It's good that the items are safe."
The two of them leaned back on the sofa and drank slowly.
They didn't talk about how much the gold bars were worth or how to sell them next; they only chatted about the scene in the old house.
The feeling of the plane tree roots clutching the hollow for over seventy years, the sound of linen scraps rustling into the bottom of the iron box, and the thin light from the streetlamps in the alley reflecting off the stone road.
Lu Zheng was a man of few words, but every sentence carried weight.
For once, Jiang Chen didn't think about business, letting the liquid roll slowly across the tip of his tongue as the warm burning sensation traveled down his throat.
The joy wasn't ostentatious, but it was deeply felt.
After a few glasses, Lu Zheng got up to take his leave.
After the door closed, the living room became quiet again.
Jiang Chen cleared the glasses, put away the safe, and lay down in the bedroom.
The curtains weren't fully drawn, and moonlight leaked through the gap, cutting a long, thin line of light across the ceiling.
Drowsiness washed over him, blurring that line of light into a hazy glow.
The next morning, he woke up naturally.
After a simple breakfast, he took the thirty-two "Little Yellow Croakers" out of the safe and laid them out one by one on the velvet-covered coffee table.
He used a soft cloth to wipe away the dust and linen residue from the surface, then set up his camera to take high-definition photos from different angles.
The HSBC engraving, complete serial numbers, purity, and weight—he captured each one clearly.
After finishing, he logged into the collection platform he had registered in advance.
Following the plan he had devised last night, he first listed eight of the best-conditioned bars, filling in all the information and setting prices that aligned with the market while leaving room for negotiation.
He also picked out three top-tier ones to submit for a special auction application.
Once everything was done, he looked at the words "Listed" on the platform and let out a breath.
This tension had finally relaxed.
As he exited the collection platform, he casually clicked on a local government public account to see recent urban planning information.
The moment the page refreshed, a notification caught his eye.
The demolition notice for the Xuefu Road area was officially publicized.
Jiang Chen's eyes flickered.
He clicked in and read it word for word.
The publicized demolition scope precisely covered the fifteen shops he had acquired at a low price earlier.
The compensation standards and payment procedures were clear at a glance, ranging from 2.4 to 3 million depending on the location.
Calculated together, it was over forty million.
Not much time had passed from signing for the shops to the official publication of the demolition notice.
The demolition and renovation schedule was clear, and the compensation funds were earmarked; once the process was complete, the money would be entirely in his pocket.
He gripped his phone, his fingers tightening slightly.
On one hand, there were the "Little Yellow Croakers" waiting to be liquidated on the collection platform, with a return far exceeding expectations due to the gold base and collector's premium.
On the other hand, there was the set-in-stone shop demolition compensation, with over forty million within reach.
With two large sums of income landing one after another, his capital reserves instantly jumped up a level.
Yet, in this exhilaration, a hint of chill quietly mixed in.
Zhou Wanquan.
He had dealt with this man a few times before regarding the demolition compensation for these fifteen shops.
The other party was initially tough and made things difficult at every turn, but then suddenly backed off and went silent.
Now that the demolition notice was out, given Zhou Wanquan's nature of never taking a loss, he should either have jumped out to disrupt things or taken the initiative to apply pressure; in any case, he shouldn't be this quiet.
He took a sip of warm water from the table, his brow slowly furrowing.
The silence was too abnormal.
Zhou Wanquan would never willingly cough up over forty million.
After all, in his eyes, Jiang Chen was just a student; even if he thought Jiang Chen was a front for some big shot, he wouldn't let it go so easily.
Since there was no movement now, he was likely plotting something in the shadows.
This doubt was like a fine needle, lightly pricking the joy that had just settled.
But it was only for a moment.
Jiang Chen put down the glass and leaned back into his chair.
The gold bars were already listed for sale, and the demolition compensation was set in stone.
The cards in his hand were no longer the same as when he first dealt with Zhou Wanquan.
If the other party wanted to play tricks, he could handle it.
He might as well see what kind of hidden hand Chairman Zhou of Wantai Real Estate was holding.
He stood up and walked to the window.
The flow of cars on the road below moved incessantly in the sunlight, the engine noise filtered into a hazy background hum by the double-paned glass.
The corners of his mouth curled up again.
Double happiness arriving at the door was a wonderful thing.
Zhou Wanquan's strange silence was nothing more than a small undercurrent on the road ahead.
Soldiers to block, water to dam—he'd deal with whatever came.
With ample capital and reliable help, no matter what card the other party played, he could match it.
The sunlight outside was just right, spreading warmth all over him.
Jiang Chen took a deep breath, replacing the stale air in his lungs with fresh.
The deck for the game that belonged to him was only just beginning to be shuffled.