Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

In the living room of the mountaintop villa.

Following Chen Mu’s instructions, Gu Heng signed one legal document after another.

Chen Mu was the Deputy Head of the Investment Management Department at China Gold Group.

Gu Heng had originally thought Father Tongzi’s gold bar reward would take a couple of days to arrive, but he never expected it to be so fast.

China Gold Group was the only central state-owned enterprise in China’s gold industry.

A full 400 gold bars!

A full 400 kilograms of physical gold!

Across the entire country, probably only China Gold Group could procure such a large amount of physical gold in such a short time.

"Mr. Gu, that’s all for the initial documents that need to be signed."

Chen Mu, a dignified woman of about forty with a neat, short haircut, continued, "Next, we’ll need to conduct an unboxing inspection, as well as an on-site inventory and appraisal. Where would you say is a suitable place for us to do this?"

"Hmm..."

"Follow me upstairs."

Gu Heng replied to Chen Mu after a moment’s thought.

As the saying goes, don’t flaunt your wealth. With so many people and prying eyes in the living room, it was better to be discreet.

"Of course."

Chen Mu nodded, completely understanding Gu Heng’s thoughts and concerns.

For a transaction of this magnitude, one could never be too cautious.

Despite the large entourage, fewer than three people, including Chen Mu herself, actually knew the true details. The others just thought it was an ordinary transaction.

"Bring it in."

After getting a signal from Gu Heng, Chen Mu turned and instructed her assistant.

"Yes!"

The assistant acknowledged and quickly led a team out of the villa. With the help of several security escorts, they returned carrying a safe approximately one meter tall and half a meter on each side.

"THUD..."

Even though they did their best to set it down gently, the safe inevitably made a dull thud when it was placed on the floor, a testament to its immense weight.

"Mr. Gu, what is your home elevator’s weight capacity...?"

Chen Mu asked Gu Heng tentatively.

"It’s not a problem."

Gu Heng smiled at Chen Mu. "It’s more than enough. Don’t worry."

From the moment they met, the two had been speaking in riddles. Neither had openly stated the true nature of the transaction, maintaining a tacit understanding throughout.

"Alright."

Having received her answer, Chen Mu directed the men to move the safe into the elevator.

Once they reached the third floor, at Gu Heng’s direction, they moved the safe into the study and positioned it properly.

"The rest of you can leave."

"All of you, wait for me downstairs."

Once everything was securely in place, Chen Mu dismissed the non-essential personnel.

In the end, only Gu Heng, Chen Mu, and two others who were in on the details remained in the study. They were from China Gold Group’s legal and compliance departments, respectively. Their presence was required to witness the upcoming inventory and verification process.

As the door closed, the study quickly fell silent.

"Mr. Gu, shall we proceed?"

Chen Mu inquired.

"Go ahead."

Gu Heng nodded slightly.

"Very well."

Chen Mu replied, then glanced at her two colleagues from the compliance and legal departments. Taking the hint, they each took out a recording device and began to record.

Then, Chen Mu deftly put on a pair of white gloves.

She walked briskly to the safe and began the extremely complicated process of opening it.

Gu Heng stood to the side, watching, his surprise growing with every moment.

This small safe before him actually required a four-part combination to unlock: a mechanical dial lock, an electronic keypad lock, a biometric fingerprint lock, and finally, a conventional physical key lock.

The entire unlocking process also had to be completed within 60 seconds.

"CLICK..."

With a crisp sound, the safe swung open.

There was no dazzling golden light as one might imagine; all the gold bars were wrapped in kraft paper.

They were bundled in groups of 10 bars, for a total of 40 groups.

Chen Mu took them out two bundles at a time, going back and forth repeatedly until everything was removed from the safe.

"Chairman Gu, this is a gold tester certified by the World Gold Council."

Chen Mu handed a small device to Gu Heng. "You can use this to conduct spot checks at any time during the unwrapping process."

"Alright."

Gu Heng nodded and accepted the device.

He didn’t really doubt whether the gold bars were of sufficient weight and purity.

On one hand, a behemoth in the gold industry like China Gold Group wouldn’t bother with deception over two hundred million yuan worth of physical gold. On the other hand, Father Tongzi had never made a single mistake in distributing his mission rewards.

Gu Heng picked up a bundle of gold bars and gently sliced open the kraft paper with a utility knife. Soon, ten brand-new, gleaming gold bars were revealed before his eyes.

He took one out. It was heavy in his hand.

He examined it closely for a moment. The front of the bar was stamped with the two large words, "Chinese Gold," with smaller text below indicating "1000g" and "Au9999." The back of the bar was stamped with the four large words, "Gu Clan Special Make." In the bottom right corner was a serial number. The bar Gu Heng was currently holding, for instance, was numbered No.0005.

The entire gold bar didn’t feel coarse at all. Instead, it was exceptionally exquisite and beautiful, like a work of art.

Gu Heng looked at the other gold bars. They were all identical in style, and each one had the four words "Gu Clan Special Make" stamped on the back.

’So damn impressive!’

’Such a power move!’

Gu Heng remained impassive on the surface, but inwardly, he was reeling in amazement.