Chapter 119: Zhang Zhigang Made a Moments Post
We’ll set aside the matter of Lin Xingchen’s family checking into the Shangri-La Hotel for now.
The time crept into the early hours of the morning.
Cheng Yuan and Lin Ruoxi arrived smoothly at arrival gate 1.
Lin Ruoxi asked, her face full of curiosity, "Cheng Yuan, can you tell me now? Who is this legendary Antique Appraiser you found? Can they really hold their own against the auctioneers from Huanya?"
Cheng Yuan gave a mysterious smile. "If Teacher Zhang can’t do it, then no Antique Appraiser is reliable."
Lin Ruoxi laughed. "Don’t tell me you actually invited Teacher Zhang Zhigang?"
Cheng Yuan snapped his fingers. "You guessed it! No prize, though."
Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Give you an inch and you take a mile. You’re really getting a big head, spouting whatever nonsense you want! Teacher Zhang Zhigang is the most famous Antique Appraiser in our Dragon Country, and he’s never accepted an invitation from any private, for-profit institution! Could you at least try to make your boasts a little believable?"
Cheng Yuan didn’t argue with Lin Ruoxi, because he had just spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
Even though Zhang Zhigang was wearing a hat and sunglasses, Cheng Yuan recognized him at a glance.
Beside Zhang Zhigang were seven or eight middle-aged men who carried themselves with a powerful air; they were clearly successful individuals.
"Teacher Zhang, over here!"
Zhang Zhigang saw Cheng Yuan and, with a smile, gestured to his friends. The group made a beeline for Cheng Yuan and Lin Ruoxi.
Once he was in front of them, Zhang Zhigang took off his sunglasses and mask and proactively extended a large hand.
"Boss, have you been waiting long?"
Lin Ruoxi, standing to the side, was stunned!
Oh my god!
’And here I thought Cheng Yuan was just full of it!’
’I can’t believe he actually got Teacher Zhang Zhigang!’
’Doesn’t Teacher Zhang never accept invitations from private, for-profit institutions?’
’How on earth did Cheng Yuan pull this off?’
Cheng Yuan quickly grasped Zhang Zhigang’s hand. "Teacher Zhang, are you trying to make fun of me? Why are you calling me Boss? Just call me Xiaocheng. This is my girlfriend, Lin Ruoxi. Ruoxi, this is Master Zhang. I don’t think he needs an introduction; you definitely know who he is."
"Hello, Teacher Zhang. We are so happy to welcome you to Yuanxi Auction House. Are these gentlemen your friends?"
Zhang Zhigang shook Lin Ruoxi’s hand briefly and introduced them with a smile. "These are all my friends, very influential bosses from the Imperial Capital. They came specifically to support us. Do we still have seats available at our auction?"
Lin Ruoxi smiled. "For friends of Teacher Zhang, we must arrange the best seats in the front row."
Zhang Zhigang laughed. "Then I’ll have to thank President Lin."
"Teacher Zhang, please don’t call me President Lin. Just call me Xiaolin."
Zhang Zhigang’s friends had already arranged for their subordinates to pick them up. They politely bid farewell to the group and left in their cars.
Without standing on ceremony, Zhang Zhigang slipped into Lin Ruoxi’s Mercedes.
"Teacher Zhang, which hotel did you book?"
"The Shangri-La."
"Understood."
Lin Ruoxi drove quickly and steadily.
Soon, the car arrived at the Shangri-La Hotel.
"Teacher Zhang, we’ve arrived at the hotel."
"Alright. Xiaolin, Xiaocheng, you two should head back and get some rest."
As he spoke, Zhang Zhigang got out of the car. He was a bit puzzled to see Cheng Yuan get out as well.
"Xiaocheng, is there something else?"
Cheng Yuan looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, you see, we’ve run into a little problem."
"Oh? What kind of problem?"
Cheng Yuan gave him a brief summary. "It’s like this... so, even with you serving as our Antique Appraiser, if we don’t have enough Treasure Holders and guests to support us, we’ll be crushed by Huanya Auction House."
Zhang Zhigang shot Cheng Yuan a glare. "Now I get it. This old man has been tricked onto a pirate ship! My lifelong reputation is about to be ruined here!"
Cheng Yuan smiled apologetically. "Teacher Zhang, how could your reputation be ruined? With just a small effort from you, you’re already at the pinnacle of the antiques world! You can easily crush Huanya Auction House."
Zhang Zhigang wagged his finger at Cheng Yuan a few times. "Xiaocheng, oh, Xiaocheng, you really played this old man perfectly! Xiaolin’s family is indeed being unreasonable. What era is this? Are they still arranging marriages? What kind of elders are they, suppressing their own younger generation like this! This old man truly can’t stand by and watch! I’ll post something on my Moments in a bit!"
Cheng Yuan and Lin Ruoxi were overjoyed. "Thank you, Teacher Zhang!"
Zhang Zhigang immediately took out his phone, opened WeChat, and posted a status to his Moments.
[Location: Luocheng. Officially joining Yuanxi Auction House as Chief Antique Appraiser! The inaugural auction of Yuanxi Auction House will officially begin tomorrow at 10 AM. We welcome all Treasure Holders and friends from all walks of life to attend and offer their guidance.]
Zhang Zhigang was a titan in the antiques circle. His influence was simply unimaginable!
Even though it was the middle of the night, his post garnered hundreds of likes, was reposted an unknown number of times, and received countless comments.
[Who in the world is Yuanxi Auction House? They actually managed to get Elder Zhang to come out of retirement! I have to go check it out tomorrow!]
[I’ve waited ten years, a full ten years, for Elder Zhang to finally make a comeback! I can finally bring out my family’s antiques for a trustworthy appraisal!]
[With Elder Zhang as the Chief Appraiser, Yuanxi Auction House is bound to soar to the heavens!]
...
Normally, late-night flights are discounted, and quite heavily at that.
But the moment Zhang Zhigang’s post went up, plane tickets to Luocheng from all over the country instantly became a hot commodity!
The price, starting from a 70% discount, just kept climbing. In the end, you even had to pay a premium, and tickets were impossible to find!
The big shots who couldn’t get a plane ticket had no choice but to take the high-speed rail. The demand for train tickets to Luocheng surged as well!
RING RING...
Lin Ruoxi’s phone suddenly rang.
Lin Ruoxi took out her phone and saw that it was a wealthy businessman from out of town whom she had contacted a few days ago. At the time, the man had been noncommittal and hadn’t confirmed his travel plans.
But just now, after seeing Zhang Zhigang’s post, the businessman was afraid of missing out and hurriedly contacted Lin Ruoxi.
"President Zhou, it’s so late. Is there something I can help you with?"
"President Lin, I’ve been a bit busy lately and almost forgot about the inaugural auction. You have to save a seat for me!"
"I’m very sorry, but the front-row seats have all been reserved."
"Further back is fine! As long as there’s a seat."
"Of course. We welcome your attendance, President Zhou."
Just as she hung up with President Zhou, Lin Ruoxi’s phone rang again.
It wasn’t just Lin Ruoxi; the office phone and the phones of Hua Yao and Lin Xinghe were also ringing off the hook.
Hua Yao, who was always a bit grumpy when woken up, was furious at being disturbed. She snatched the phone and said in a harsh tone, "Have you no decency? Calling this late? Don’t you care about waking people up? Make it quick, I’m exhausted!"
The person calling Hua Yao was a Treasure Holder. A few days ago, despite Hua Yao’s best efforts to persuade him, he had refused to work with Yuanxi, ultimately choosing Huanya.
But seeing Teacher Zhang’s post, this Treasure Holder had a sudden change of heart.
Before, if Hua Yao’s attitude had been this bad, he would have hung up long ago. But now, not only did he not hang up, he even put on a fawning smile.
’They managed to get Teacher Zhang, so they have the right to be arrogant!’
"President Hua, it’s Old Yu. I was thinking of putting my Chicken Blood Stone up for auction at Yuanxi Auction House. I was wondering if it’s still possible?"
Hua Yao was instantly wide awake. "Possible, of course it’s possible. Come to Yuanxi to sign the contract before 10 AM tomorrow!"
"Great! See you then!"