4: Chapter 4 The First Fund

Old Master Fang could tell from Yang Fan's expression that he had no idea of the item's true value.

"If you want to put it up for auction, I can arrange that for you, but there will be a three percent commission fee!"

Yang Fan shook his head.

Seeing Yang Fan shake his head, Old Master Fang assumed he thought the fee was too high.

"Young man, do you find the commission fee too expensive?"

"You know how it is in our line of work…"

Yang Fan interrupted Old Master Fang, saying:

"No need for an auction; it's too slow. I intend to sell it directly to you."

Old Master Fang thought it over. He could certainly take it; he could sell it directly to those looking to give gifts to important figures.

"That's fine, but you know how it is—it's not easy to offload an item like this. The organizers will deduct taxes, and it might not even sell for five million in the end."

"Therefore, I can only offer you 3.5 million at most. What do you think?"

Yang Fan smiled. It was no wonder this old man was in the antique business; he could lie without even blinking.

"Let's make it four million. If that doesn't work, I'll go look elsewhere."

Yang Fan was certain that the other party would still make a profit at four million; he wasn't foolish enough to believe everything the man said.

"Let's say 3.7 million. I really can't go any higher, little brother. Any more than that and we'd be losing money."

After a few minutes of haggling, they finally settled on a price.

3.9 million.

Yang Fan felt this was close enough to his target price, so he agreed.

"Brother Yuan, do you remember those dozen or so silver dollars and that blue bracelet I sold here before?"

Fang Yuan nodded. Yang Fan had visited many times, which was why he had such a strong impression of him.

"Hmm, yes. Why? Was there something important among them?"

"Yes. If you still have them, Brother Yuan, please sell them back to me. They were part of my grandmother's dowry."

Yang Fan smiled helplessly.

"Alright, I think I remember which ones they were. As for that blue bracelet, I haven't found a buyer for it yet, so I can return everything to its original owner."

"Hmm… I'll just charge you twenty thousand."

Yang Fan nodded without saying anything.

After all, that happened several years ago. It wasn't unreasonable for them to increase the price slightly; it was essentially a service charge for keeping the items safe.

"Since everything is settled, Grandson, go ahead and transfer the money."

Old Master Fang was a man who had seen the world. While a transaction of a few million wasn't huge, he had dealt with plenty of such deals in his time.

He had enabled large-sum transfer features, so transferring a million or more was no issue.

Soon, Yang Fan received a text message.

【China Construction Bank: 3,880,000 received. Balance: 3,880,828.】

Yang Fan also got back his grandmother's dowry. He didn't know if the silver dollars were the original ones—it didn't really matter—but the bracelet definitely was.

"Young man, if you have any other good items next time, feel free to come directly to us. The Fang family offers absolutely fair prices!"

Old Master Fang puffed on his cigarette, watching Yang Fan with a smile.

He had made a killing on this deal; he could easily make a million or more by reselling it.

"Certainly, certainly!"

Yang Fan responded with casual politeness. He would sell to them if he had smaller items, but he worried they wouldn't have the capital to buy everything.

After all, he possessed the trading system, and his first trading partner was Emperor Taizong of Tang. There would certainly be plenty of antiques in the future.

A small, ten-tael gold ingot was already worth millions. He couldn't imagine what kind of astronomical figures the treasures Emperor Taizong of Tang might produce would reach.

After bidding the two men farewell, Yang Fan headed straight to the pharmacy and bought a two-month supply of medication.

Although the medication cost 1,000 yuan per injection, totaling 8,000 yuan a month, the items Emperor Taizong of Tang provided were extremely valuable; there was no need to skimp on the medicine.

"Hello, could you please write down the instructions for how to use this medicine on a piece of paper for me?"

"It's for an elderly person, and I'm afraid he might forget!"

Seeing how much medicine Yang Fan had purchased, the clerk didn't refuse. They clearly wrote down how the medicine should be used and what precautions to take.

Yang Fan couldn't help but sigh—having money really made things easier; the service was much more attentive.

After buying the medicine, Yang Fan rented a room and, with a thought, entered the space. He could feel it right beside him.

It was hard to imagine what kind of space it was; it felt as though he could reach out and touch it, yet unless he willed himself to enter, he wouldn't.

As soon as Yang Fan entered, he saw two people wandering around the space.

He had already met the man—it was Emperor Taizong of Tang. The woman, dressed in simple, plain clothes with a haggard expression, must be Empress Zhangsun.

He had to admit that Emperor Taizong of Tang was quite lucky in love. Although he had seen plenty of filtered beauties online in the future, they were far inferior to the woman before him.

First and foremost was her overwhelming aura; she looked noble, yet one could still feel a sense of approachability from her.

"This must be Empress Zhangsun, right?"

Yang Fan wanted to step forward to shake her hand, but Emperor Taizong of Tang blocked him.

Yang Fan coughed awkwardly; he had been thinking about not washing his hand for half a month.

"Young Master, what is the meaning of this? Do you not know that men and women should not touch? Besides, this is my Empress!"

Emperor Taizong of Tang's eyes flashed with anger as he shouted a reprimand.

"It's just etiquette where I'm from—a simple handshake. Look at how stingy you are! You don't look like an emperor through the ages at all!"

"A stingy miser is more like it…"

Yang Fan's words made Emperor Taizong of Tang bristle with rage.

Empress Zhangsun, however, gently pushed Emperor Taizong of Tang aside, stepped in front of Yang Fan, and extended her hand.

She remembered that Yang Fan had made this gesture earlier. Since Yang Fan claimed it was the etiquette of his land, she naturally couldn't be rude.

Being brought to another space by Emperor Taizong of Tang had shaken her deeply, and she had gained some trust in the person who was seeking medicine for her.

Yang Fan happily took Empress Zhangsun's small hand. Oh…

He even glanced at Emperor Taizong of Tang.

"Empress Zhangsun is truly magnanimous. Some people, on the other hand, lack grace."

Emperor Taizong of Tang closed his eyes, not wanting to speak. You had all the answers, didn't you, kid? If I didn't let you shake hands, you called me stingy; now that you've shaken hands, you say I lack grace.

If I really lacked grace, I would have taken my sword to you long ago.

"Did you find the medicine?"

Emperor Taizong of Tang asked the crucial question. It concerned the life and death of Empress Zhangsun's nickname, so it was naturally the most important matter.

"Naturally. I already told you it was a small matter!"

As he spoke, Yang Fan placed the medication on the stone table and pushed it toward them.

"The usage instructions are on it; you can just read them yourself."

Emperor Taizong of Tang picked up the beautifully packaged box, examined it, and then looked at the usage instructions and precautions attached to it.

"These characters… Why do I feel like I recognize them, yet at the same time, I don't? It's as if they are missing something."

"Oh, I forgot. These are simplified characters. Let me show you the traditional ones."

As he spoke, he used his phone to scan the text, switched the font to traditional characters, and handed it to Emperor Taizong of Tang.

Emperor Taizong of Tang indicated that he understood. He glanced at the phone a few more times, then pointed to the box of medication that required injection and said:

"This requires what you call an 'injection.' I don't know how to do that. It won't be poisonous, will it?"

Yang Fan rubbed his hands together. Won't be poisonous? That's good. He would do it himself. Although he didn't know how, weren't there videos online?