“Everyone knows that!”
Zhou Yi’s eyes sparkled. “Xiao Fan, is Zheng Yue your friend?”
“Mm-hmm,” Lin Fan nodded.
“Can you introduce us? I want to secure the contract for her pharmaceutical factory.” Zhou Yi smiled, her tone almost like a spoiled child.
Lin Fan hesitated. “Sister Zhou, aren’t you in the business of building residential buildings? Can you handle a pharmaceutical factory?”
“I can’t, but others can!” Zhou Yi knew the rules of the real estate industry like the back of her hand.
With enough money, one could find anyone.
“Let’s schedule a time to talk.” Lin Fan found it hard to refuse.
“The sooner the better!” Zhou Yi was overjoyed.
Just then, Lin Fan’s phone rang.
He answered the call.
There was no sound from the earpiece.
Lin Fan knew that Li Yurou was fuming, which was incredibly cute.
“Hello, if you don’t speak, I’m hanging up.”
He deliberately teased Li Yurou.
“Lin Fan, you’ve toyed with me time and again. What do you mean by that?”
Li Yurou’s voice, full of gritted teeth, came through the phone.
Lin Fan was taken aback. “Time and again? I don’t remember.”
“I don’t have time for your nonsense. Sell me that thing you showed me earlier. Name your price.” Li Yurou got straight to the point.
“One hundred million.” Lin Fan named an exorbitant price.
“Why don’t you just rob a bank!” Li Yurou yelled in anger.
Lin Fan felt a pang of disappointment. So, the treasure he valued wasn’t as precious as he’d imagined.
Li Yurou snorted. “Can I ask you a few questions?”
Lin Fan’s spirits immediately lifted. “Go ahead.”
“That bead, is there anything special about it?” Li Yurou asked.
“It can condense water vapor, feels cool to the touch, and can freeze your hand,” Lin Fan replied truthfully.
He could sense that Li Yurou on the other end of the line was extremely agitated.
“I’ll take it!” Li Yurou said without hesitation. “Give me a few days to raise the money, and I’ll come find you.”
“I was talking about US dollars,” Lin Fan said nonchalantly.
There was a moment of silence on the line, like a volcano on the verge of erupting.
“Fine, one hundred million US dollars, it is. I’ll buy it.”
“Lin Fan, if you go back on your word, I’ll come and drag you down with me!”
Li Yurou’s roar was so loud it hurt Lin Fan’s eardrums.
“Holy crap!” Lin Fan couldn’t help but curse.
Was this girl just throwing a tantrum, or was the water-condensing bead really that valuable?
One hundred million US dollars, that was no small sum!
“After tax, paid in full, no delays,” Lin Fan added a few conditions.
“Alright, don’t worry, you’ll get every penny,” Li Yurou readily agreed.
*Slam!*
The call ended.
Li Yurou, seething with rage, smashed everything within reach on the ground.
“Little sister, what’s wrong?” Li Yusheng sighed, bending down to pick up an inkstone that hadn’t been broken.
As for the other Song Dynasty antiques, they had shattered into pieces on the floor, beyond repair.
He clapped his hands and called for a servant to clean up.
Then, he looked at his sister, frowning. “Who has upset you? Let me guess, is it Lin Fan?”
“Don’t mention his name. I wish I could skin him, pull out his tendons, and drink his blood!” Li Yurou gestured wildly as she cursed.
Li Yusheng couldn’t help but chuckle. “Tell me, how did Lin Fan provoke you?”
He moved his chair closer and sat opposite his sister.
Li Yurou’s eyes reddened, and she said aggrievedly, “Why is that scoundrel Lin Fan so lucky?”
“How is he lucky?” Li Yusheng asked patiently.
Li Yurou angrily pounded the desk. “He seems to have obtained a Chi bead. He was going to sell it to me, but then he went back on his word and refused to sell it.”
“Chi bead? What kind of ‘chi’?”
Because the words sounded the same, Li Yusheng couldn’t immediately recall what it was.
“It’s the Chi from the dragon’s nine offspring!”
Li Yurou’s emotions flared. “Chi are dragons without horns. They can spout water and bring rain, and they can drive away evil spirits.”
“The bead Lin Fan obtained can condense water vapor and is cold to the touch, just as described in ancient texts. It’s probably a Chi bead.”
She became more agitated as she spoke, pounding the table.
“Damn it, he actually changed his mind!”
“No, I have to go find him. This matter can’t be left like this!”
Hearing his sister wanted to confront Lin Fan, Li Yusheng quickly stopped her.
“Lin Fan possesses divine eyes and must know the mysteries of the Chi bead. He wouldn’t sell it no matter what. He named an exorbitant price, clearly intending to deter you.”
“No, he already promised me!”
Li Yurou refused to back down. “Brother, help me raise one hundred million US dollars. I’ll book my flight immediately.”
She clapped her hands together, resting them on the table as she stood up.
“You…” Li Yusheng shook his head and sighed, knowing his sister’s stubborn nature and deciding not to persuade her further.
—
Meanwhile, in the Rolls-Royce.
Zhou Yi wore a playful smile, praising, “Xiao Fan, you’re getting more and more amazing. I was right about you.”
“Not at all, I’m still me, no different from before.”
Lin Fan took a deep breath and added, “The water-condensing bead we bought might be extremely, extremely valuable.”
“How valuable? One hundred million US dollars?” Zhou Yi had overheard Lin Fan’s conversation with Li Yurou, but she didn’t quite believe it.
Xinghe Real Estate, with decades of development, had total assets of only a hundred billion.
And most of that was real estate, which would be heavily discounted if converted to cash.
One hundred million US dollars was not a small sum, even for her.
“It’s really one hundred million US dollars,” Lin Fan said with a very serious expression.
Zhou Yi’s brows furrowed slightly. “Is the water-condensing bead that powerful?”
“I don’t know if it’s powerful or not.” Lin Fan then took out the sandalwood box and opened the lid. A fresh scent slowly rose.
He activated his Purple Extreme Spirit Eyes again, trying to see through the water-condensing bead.
Inside, as before, a layer of mist obscured his vision.
The wooden fibers of the sandalwood box were incredibly clear in his vision, and he could even see every tiny pore of the velvet lining.
If it weren’t for this, he would have thought his divine eyes had failed him.
That’s why he realized at the time that this was definitely a treasure!
“Sister Zhou, I can’t see through its nature.”
Lin Fan gave a wry smile. “There are very few things in the world that I can’t see through, so I’m certain it’s a rare treasure.”
“Oh~” Zhou Yi pondered for a moment and then smiled. “Since it’s such a good item, I’ll give it to you.”
“I can’t accept it!” Lin Fan reacted strongly.
Everyone loves treasures, but a gentleman acquires wealth ethically.
Money wasn’t important; what mattered was that this favor was difficult to repay.
“Xiao Fan, don’t get agitated. Listen to me.”
Zhou Yi said slowly, “This is not a free gift. I want you to help me secure the pharmaceutical factory contract and then put in a good word for me with Miss Zheng.”
“You even call her Ah Yue, so your relationship with Miss Zheng must be more than casual, right?”
Zhou Yi, being experienced, had seen many romantic relationships and could easily guess the nature of Lin Fan’s relationship with Zheng Yue.