Chapter 45: I Acknowledge You as My Friend
’Salary??’
Zhang Zhigang was stunned. His father, Zhang Boju, had been the number one Antique Appraiser of the previous generation. He had inherited his father’s mantle and even surpassed him!
Thanks to his exceptional knowledge of history, culture, and appraisal techniques, he had been hired by The Forbidden City Museum as an honorary expert and was adored by collectors throughout Great Xia.
Countless auction houses, hoping to ride on his coattails, had offered him high salaries to be their auctioneer.
But Zhang Zhigang refused every single time. He didn’t want his professional ethics to be sullied by the stench of money.
Yet, when faced with Cheng Yuan’s invitation, Zhang Zhigang found he simply couldn’t refuse!
’Is it because of the Cyan Flower Dragon and Phoenix Bottle?’
’Or is it because of Cheng Yuan’s incredibly clear gaze?’
Zhang Zhigang didn’t know why. All he knew was that Cheng Yuan was a man of genuine character—his kind of person!
Zhang Zhigang suddenly laughed. "Brother Cheng, I’m happy to call you a friend! Allow me to go back and get my affairs in order. I’ll report for duty at the auction house within three days!"
Cheng Yuan was ecstatic. This was the number one Antique Appraiser in all of Great Xia! An idol to countless collectors! He was a golden ticket!
If he became the Antique Appraiser for Yuanxi Auction House, the company would surely become a nationwide sensation, and the resulting profits would far exceed fifty million!
Cheng Yuan didn’t try to make him stay, nor did he worry that Zhang Zhigang might leave with the treasure and never return. The weight carried by the name "Zhang Zhigang" was worth far more than a mere fifty million.
Cheng Yuan didn’t immediately share the good news with Lin Ruoxi, deciding to give her a surprise instead.
When Cheng Yuan returned home, Hua Yao had already prepared dinner.
Cheng Yuan could clearly sense a change in Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao’s attitude toward him. They had gone from giving him the cold shoulder to being rather attentive.
"Xiaoyuan, come, sit down. Try your mother’s cooking."
"Mom’s cooking is definitely incredible. Just looking at it makes my mouth water."
"Xiaoyuan, we really have you to thank for today. Otherwise, who knows how long our paperwork would have been held up!"
"Hahaha, I just got lucky."
"Xiaoyuan, when did you learn all this about medicine?"
Cheng Yuan lied without skipping a beat. "In prison. I learned a trick or two from an old Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor."
’Prison?’
Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao froze.
Cheng Yuan smiled and explained, "Back in school, I got into a conflict with a rich kid. He was the one who picked the fight, but he pulled some strings and got me convicted of assault."
Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao were instantly furious.
"How could that happen? Is there no justice in this world? We should talk to Brother Shen about this. That villain must be made to pay!"
Cheng Yuan chuckled. "It’s alright. Just a few days ago, that rich kid died. Let’s just consider the matter closed."
’He died?’
Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao paused, giving Cheng Yuan a long, searching look. ’We never imagined our son-in-law could be so ruthless, taking his revenge right after getting out of prison!’
Lin Ruoxi suddenly thought of something and nervously grabbed Cheng Yuan’s arm. "Cheng Yuan, it couldn’t have been you, could it...?"
Cheng Yuan chuckled. "Ruoxi, what are you thinking? How could it have been me? It had nothing to do with me. Some local thugs did it. I even went to pay my respects to Jin Pengfei."
Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes. "As if you’re that kind."
"Heh heh..."
The rest of the meal was enjoyed in a cheerful and harmonious atmosphere.
After a busy day, everyone was tired and retired to their rooms to rest.
WHOOSH! Cheng Yuan leaped onto the large bed, taking up more than half of it.
"Cheng Yuan, same rules as always. Go fill the bowl."
Lin Ruoxi handed a small bowl to Cheng Yuan.
Cheng Yuan chuckled. "Ruoxi, I accomplished so much today. Don’t I get some kind of reward? How about we skip the bowl of water tonight?"
Lin Ruoxi shook her head without hesitation. "You did accomplish a lot today, but let’s not mix things up. We can get rid of this bowl of water when our relationship gets to that point."
Cheng Yuan’s face fell. "We’ve had our marriage certificate for days now. When is our relationship going to get ’to that point’?"
Lin Ruoxi looked at Cheng Yuan seriously. "Don’t be in such a hurry. You haven’t even started courting me yet, and we haven’t gone on any dates to build our relationship."
’That’s true,’ Cheng Yuan thought. He had pursued Wang Shanshan for months back then, so why was he so impatient with Ruoxi?
’Was it because Wang Shanshan had hurt him so badly that he no longer believed in love?’
’Or was it because he already had a marriage certificate with Ruoxi, so he subconsciously felt like she was already in the bag?’
"Ruoxi, let’s talk. What kind of man do you like?"
Lin Ruoxi tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "I suppose I like guys who are clean and have good hygiene. If a guy is a slob, I wouldn’t like him no matter how handsome he was."
Huh?
Cheng Yuan scratched his head, a wry smile on his face.
’After spending so much time in prison, he had become a bit of a slob.’
’He hadn’t shaved today, and his hair was a mess.’
’No wonder their relationship hadn’t warmed up at all, even after sharing a room for days. It was his fault.’
But it was already dark, and Cheng Yuan couldn’t be bothered to go clean himself up now.
"Good night, Ruoxi."
"Good night."
The night passed peacefully, and the water in the bowl remained unspilled.
When Cheng Yuan woke up, he was the only one home. Lin Ruoxi had left him a note.
"Cheng Yuan, Mom left you some food in the pot. We’re out running errands. Call us if you need anything."
Cheng Yuan had a simple breakfast, then went out to the small courtyard to begin his cultivation.
Now that he had opened his Ren and Du Meridians, the next step was to clear the smaller meridians throughout his body.
Opening all these minor meridians was the mark of a Divine Realm Grandmaster.
Cheng Yuan decided to start with the minor meridians in his right arm.
The landscaping at Hao Ninth Number was excellent and the air quality was superb. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was exceptionally dense, making cultivation here twice as effective with half the effort.
In just two short hours, Cheng Yuan managed to open one of the minor meridians in his right arm.
However, his right arm contained a total of seven minor meridians. At this rate, it would take another week to open them all.
Cheng Yuan slowly concluded his practice and was suddenly overcome with hunger.
Even though he had only been cultivating for two hours, he felt as if he hadn’t eaten all day.
Cheng Yuan went back inside and pulled several ham sausages out of the refrigerator.
After devouring the sausages, Cheng Yuan finally felt a bit better.
RING... RING...
Cheng Yuan’s phone was ringing. It was a call from his mom.
"Mom? What’s up?"
"It’s your grandfather’s birthday. We’re having lunch at the Library Pavilion in the Hao Garden Hotel today."
’Grandpa’s birthday?’
Cheng Yuan’s brow furrowed deeply. He felt a strong sense of resistance to the idea.
Two years ago, when Cheng Yuan got into trouble, his family had just borrowed 300,000 from Wang Shanshan and couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer for his case.
Cheng Hongbing was an orphan, so the task of borrowing money fell to Wu Xiuli.
Wu Xiuli had asked every single relative, but only his second aunt was willing to lend them money. Even then, her family wasn’t well-off, and she had to scrape together just five thousand yuan.
Five thousand yuan wasn’t even enough to cover the medical expenses, let alone hire a lawyer. That was why he had lost the case so miserably!
Because of this, Cheng Yuan held a great deal of resentment toward his other relatives.
"You can’t blame your uncles and aunts for what happened. Our family had just borrowed three hundred thousand; it’s only natural they were wary. Don’t you dare throw a tantrum, you hear me? You will be there on time!"
"Fine, I know."
"And buy your grandpa a gift!"
"I know."
After hanging up, Cheng Yuan glanced at the wine cabinet and saw it was stocked with numerous bottles of red wine.
’Red wine treasured by Shen Manwen... It can’t be cheap, right?’
Cheng Yuan found a plastic bag and casually tossed two bottles of red wine inside.