Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Elder Wang Was Dumbfounded

The renowned Zhuang Group, of course, Empress Dowager Ye had heard of it.

Now hearing her husband mention it, she was a bit unsure and glanced at the middle-aged man happily chatting with her son in front of them. She whispered uncertainly:

“Lao Lin, are you saying this is someone from Zhuang Group? Our son knows such important people? Doesn’t that mean our son might have the opportunity to join Zhuang Group right after graduation?”

Upon hearing this, Father Lin couldn’t help but roll his eyes:

“Stop worrying about our son’s matters. I feel this brat won’t be mediocre in the future. Also, that’s the chairman of Zhuang Group, Zhuang Yan, Chairman Zhuang!”

“What?”

This remark startled even the bold and carefree Empress Dowager Ye to exclaim.

Immediately, the three people walking and chatting in front all turned their gaze this way.

“What’s up, Mom?”

Hearing her son’s inquiry, Empress Dowager Ye awkwardly smiled and waved her hand:

“Nothing, nothing, you guys keep chatting, your dad and I are talking about your college entrance exams.”

Seeing nothing was wrong, Lin Yi turned back to continue chatting with Zhuang Yan.

Suddenly, Zhuang Yan’s gaze swept over the cloth bag in Lin Yi’s hand, and he frowned as he asked:

“Brother, this bag looks familiar to me?”

Hearing this, Lin Yi laughed heartily and reached out to pass the cloth bag to Zhuang Yan, while saying with a smile:

“Haha, I just spent two hundred and fifty bucks to get a painting; later I’ll need Brother Zhuang and Elder Wang to take a look at it.”

Hearing Lin Yi’s words, Zhuang Yan paused, then suddenly slapped his forehead in realization:

“Ah, I was wondering why it looked familiar, it turns out to be this painting.”

Seeing this, both Lin Yi and Elder Wang were stunned, not understanding the purpose of Zhuang Yan’s words.

Seeing everyone’s gaze on him, Zhuang Yan gave a chuckle before explaining:

“Was this painting sold to you by a skinny, weak-looking middle-aged man?”

Next to him, Elder Wang couldn’t help but furrow his brows and uncertainly interject:

“Chairman Zhuang, are you talking about Monkey? This painting was sold to Lin Xiaoyou by Monkey?”

Lin Yi wasn’t surprised that these two knew Monkey since they were all in Antique City; how could they not know him?

So he didn’t hide it and nodded, directly saying:

“That guy is indeed called Monkey, a dry-looking middle-aged man with those two little mustaches at the corners of his mouth.”

Upon hearing Lin Yi’s description, both Zhuang Yan and Elder Wang confirmed that it was indeed Monkey.

So, Zhuang Yan directly revealed the truth:

“Yes, this guy is someone who digs old houses in the countryside. When he finds something good, he sends it to our Xuanrui Studio first, and this painting, he brought it to Xuanrui Studio today.”

“Oh? This painting even made it to Xuanrui Studio? How come I didn’t hear about it?”

At this moment, Elder Wang, Xuanrui Studio’s chief appraiser, suddenly spoke up with curiosity.

Logically speaking, even if he wasn’t around, he would’ve been informed right away about any newly received artwork.

“Haha, when Monkey came over, I was just coming from the group’s side. After glancing at it, I sent him off immediately, so the appraisal team didn’t know about it.”

With this explanation, Elder Wang instantly understood why he wasn’t aware when the item arrived at the store.

However, at the same time, a question arose in his mind. Chairman Zhuang just glanced at it and let Monkey take it away? Chairman Zhuang isn’t proficient in paintings and calligraphy, right? Or was Monkey’s find so bad that he dismissed it? But that shouldn’t be the case, should it?

Given his understanding of Monkey, this guy had a discerning eye and wouldn’t bring anything to Xuanrui Studio without it being something decent.

Moreover, his eye for goods is decent; he couldn’t possibly bring something so blatantly fake that even Chairman Zhuang could see through it, right?

For a moment, he was filled with curiosity about the scroll in Lin Yi’s hand.

After all, with Elder Wang’s impression of Lin Yi, this young man wouldn’t engage in a losing deal.

“Haha, Elder Wang, no need to be curious. Shortly at the restaurant, I’ll bring it out for you to examine.”

Noticing Elder Wang’s expression, Lin Yi immediately guessed that the old gentleman was surely intrigued, so he said with a chuckle.

However, seemingly afraid of embarrassing Lin Yi, Chairman Zhuang then tried to steer the conversation away from this topic.

Soon, the group left the Antique Walking Street and, following Elder Wang’s steps, entered a restaurant that wasn’t particularly luxurious.

What naturally intrigued Lin Yi was that this not-so-spacious restaurant was currently packed with diners.

Whether it was because Elder Wang knew the owner or because of Zhuang Yan’s influence, under the guidance of a waiter, the group was directly led to an elegantly decorated room upstairs.

Looking around at the calligraphy and paintings on the walls and the mahogany table in front, everything exuded elegance.

“Haha, I haven’t dined here in quite some time. Is Lao Liu in today?”

Listening to Elder Wang’s inquiry to the waiter, it was clear he was an old acquaintance of the restaurant owner.

After everyone was seated and the dishes ordered, Elder Wang’s gaze unintentionally swept over the cloth bag next to Lin Yi.

Seeing this, Lin Yi smiled and handed over the cloth bag:

“Haha, while we’re waiting for the food, Elder Wang, please have a look and let me know if my 250 bucks were wasted.”

As soon as this was said, everyone laughed, because for those present, two hundred bucks really wasn’t significant.

However, Father Lin and the Empress Dowager didn’t quite share this sentiment. As you could see, Empress Dowager Ye still seemed a bit concerned about her son spending two hundred and fifty on a seemingly worthless painting.

“Haha, I must take a good look today. Lin Xiaoyou’s got quite the knack; perhaps it’s a massive oversight!”

Laughing heartily, he took the cloth bag from Lin Yi’s hand and then approached the mahogany desk. Taking out a pair of white gloves from his pocket, he carefully unwrapped the fabric bundle.

At just a glance at the scroll, Elder Wang’s brows furrowed slightly.

The scroll was in such severe disrepair!

However, through this heavily damaged scroll, Elder Wang could still sense a touch of its era.

Just the scroll alone had some value, enough to justify the 250 bucks.

At the same time, he was even more curious. Logically, even if Chairman Zhuang didn’t understand paintings and calligraphy, a scroll of such age shouldn’t have been overlooked, should it?

Harboring this doubt, he gently spread the scroll on the mahogany desk:

“Uh, this…”

[To be continued…]

With your support, we’ve climbed to the 49th spot on the bestseller list! Keep going, let’s aim for the top three!

And by the way, I’ve changed the book title today. How about ‘Urban: The Campus Beauty Goddess Is Tempted By Me’? How’s that for a title?