Overnight Riches! My Factory Spans Past and Present – Chapter 30

Ch 30: So, You’re From That Zhou Family in the Capital?

Even a penny-pinching businessman like Old Qian dared to bid against Master Xu Fengbao’s conservative pricing, which showed just how cautious the latter’s estimates were.

Zhou Yichuan didn’t even blink. “Ten million.”

Old Qian: “???”

Why wasn’t this kid playing by the rules?

This ancient painting lacked the aura of a famous artist; seven hundred was a fair price.

A thousand was slightly high.

Anything over a thousand wasn’t worth it.

He’d offered eight million, thinking if this kid raised it to nine, he’d push it to ten million—his psychological limit.

But he never expected the kid to jump straight to ten million and leave him hanging…

Chen Jinyue had no clue about his mental gymnastics. She was just marveling at how deep the waters of the antique market ran!

Old Qian’s little “revenge” had netted her an extra four million out of nowhere!

Before this, she’d been job-hunting, hitting wall after wall, only to be kicked into a pit by Chen Jianguo, saddled with a ten-million debt. She’d never dreamed she could stage a comeback, clear her debts, and become a multimillionaire.

Say what you will, but she almost had to thank the Chen family’s feudal mindset and preference for sons over daughters.

The ancient painting was the least valuable of the items. Old Qian could still compete for it, but for the rest, he completely lost his nerve.

The celadon double-fish wash: twenty-five million.

The five-clawed golden dragon jade ruyi: twenty-eight million.

The Qingzhou red silk inkstone: thirty million.

…

Chen Jinyue was distracted throughout the meal. Stepping out of the private room, she still felt a sense of unreality.

Her bank card now held a balance of one hundred million.

Zhou Yichuan, truth be told, was also surprised.

He’d recently been helping his grandfather hunt for treasures. When Old Yan mentioned a student with rare items, he’d come to this small county town with a try-it-and-see attitude.

This simple, grudge-holding university student acted oddly, but in the end, she hadn’t let him down.

Spending a hundred million out of the blue—if it weren’t for Master Xu’s personal appraisal, he might’ve thought he’d been scammed.

His gaze toward Chen Jinyue carried a faint hint of scrutiny.

As they approached the car, he handed her a business card. “The Zhou family runs an auction house in the Capital. Mention my name, and you can either consign antiques directly to them or have them auction it for you.”

She still had more items; Zhou Yichuan was certain of it.

Chen Jinyue took the card. The moment she saw the name, her eyes lit up.

Youbao Studio.

The most influential auction house in the Capital.

They dealt in antiques—no nonsense, no loose lips, and absolute confidentiality for client information.

Of course, if you accused them of shady dealings, that’d be unfair.

Once, someone brought in artifacts dug up from a tomb to test the waters and got hauled off in a police car on the spot.

They had power and connections, sure, but they followed the law.

Rumor had it their backer was the Zhou family from the Capital. Old Master Zhou was a renowned historian with a top-tier network in the industry…

“So, you’re from that Zhou family in the Capital?” Chen Jinyue’s eyes widened.

Chang Hongbo burst out laughing at her delayed shock. “Who else? His surname’s Zhou, and he’s from the Capital.”

Chen Jinyue: “…”

Plenty of people were surnamed Zhou.

Who could instantly connect him to the Capital’s top elite?

Besides, a princeling from a Capital dynasty showing up in their little county town? It was too unbelievable!

“Young Master Zhou! Isn’t it a bit much to monopolize everything right off the bat?” Old Qian couldn’t even spare a moment to chat with Xu Fengbao. He stormed over, fuming at Zhou Yichuan’s actions.

Throwing out an olive branch like that—did he leave any chance for anyone else?

Eyeing the business card in Chen Jinyue’s hand, he grew anxious. “Lass, I’ve never cheated you! I keep client info confidential too! Look, I didn’t leak a peep about the earlier items!”

“You didn’t leak anything because you wanted to hog it all, didn’t you?” Xu Fengbao grinned, mercilessly exposing him.

Old Qian, lacking a solid defense, still puffed up. “We’re not just any business partners. Whether she works with you later is up to her.”

Zhou Yichuan’s voice was calm, unbothered. “Yeah, it’s up to you.”

Old Qian: “…”

He felt like he’d just spouted a bunch of nonsense.

His hopes dimmed even further.

“Shall I drop you off?” Zhou Yichuan offered politely.

Old Qian jumped in. “I’ll take you! That vase you promised me—let me pick it up while I’m at it!”

He’d come all this way; he couldn’t leave empty-handed. That’d be too pathetic.

Since she’d been referred by a teacher, Chen Jinyue was courteous to Old Qian. She nodded and got into his car.

Zhou Yichuan and the others got into their car only after watching hers drive off.

Xu Fengbao, Youbao Studio’s appraisal master, had been dragged on this trip. He’d agreed reluctantly out of respect, but now he’d stumbled onto an unexpected windfall.

“That Miss Chen definitely has more stuff!” His face couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Maybe.”

Zhou Yichuan was pretty indifferent about it. “I got what I wanted and gave her a channel. Whether we work together again is up to her.”

Xu Fengbao looked disapproving.

From what Old Qian said, he’d never gotten his hands on the items she brought out today. She was clearly leaning toward them.

If the young master pushed a bit harder, they might lock in a long-term partnership.

He opened his mouth to press the case but was cut off by Chang Hongbo, who smirked from the driver’s seat.

“Sounds so cold, but you gave her that batch of medicine without a thought for your second brother’s life!”

“???”

Xu Fengbao glanced between them, confused.

Totally lost.

…

Sitting in Old Qian’s car, Chen Jinyue’s mind wandered.

This money was enough to solve her immediate problems.

Next up: career planning.

Working for someone else was out of the question now. Her starting point was worlds apart from when she’d been job-hunting.

The factory had to get running—mainly supplying other dimensions while taking on some side orders.

But cashing out antiques carried risks.

For now, she could claim they were ancestral, handed down by Chen Jianguo, but what about later?

She couldn’t keep pulling out an endless stream of “ancestral” antiques, could she?

She’d still need to visit the provincial capital.

But this time, not to find buyers—rather, sellers.

She could open an antique shop, stock it with old items—not for profit, but to have a legitimate front.

In this field, Old Qian was a veteran…

The veteran suddenly sighed, pulling her back from her thoughts. “Honestly, Youbao Studio’s a solid platform. If you’ve got more stuff, give it a shot there. It’s good to have multiple channels.”

It stung, but once Old Qian calmed down, he couldn’t help thinking of Chen Jinyue’s best interests.

The Zhou family offering an olive branch was a rare opportunity.

She’d studied this field. If she wanted to thrive in it, connections were a must.

“Thank you, Teacher. I’ll think it over carefully,” Chen Jinyue said politely.

“This Young Master Zhou has a bad rep outside—spoiled, arrogant, untamed—but the Zhou family doesn’t produce mediocrities. If you can build a tie with him, do it.”

“Got it.”

“…”

They chatted, and soon they reached the factory.

Old Qian wasn’t fazed anymore by Chen Jinyue stashing such valuable items there. After all, his first pickup had been from this very place.

Taking the other vase, he hesitated, then couldn’t hold back. “Do you have any more ancient paintings?”

Chen Jinyue: “…”