Li Xiangdong and Factory Director Yan's accents were noticeably different from the locals'; the administrator clearly treated them like old folks.

They'll take whatever they can get their hands on.

Actually, the administrator was prepared to bargain with them, since the lousy thing they had wouldn't even fetch a few dollars.

He truly hadn't expected Li Xiangdong to so readily hand him three brand-new large bills.

Even after the two people and the Buddha statue had walked away, the administrator was still a little confused.

Hey, is there something fishy about that thing?

Otherwise, what fool would be willing to spend half a month's salary of an ordinary person to buy a useless piece of scrap metal!

Thinking of this, he wanted to call Li Xiangdong and the others back so he could examine that piece of scrap metal more closely.

But when I looked up again, there was no sign of those two people in the crowd!

He muttered to himself for a while, then put the thought out of his mind, after all, the three ten-yuan bills in his hand were real!

His monthly salary is only 45.36 yuan!

The administrator happily wrote a line in the ledger: "Half a pound of scrap iron, fifty cents."

......

When they returned to Liu Donglai's house, it was dark inside, and Liu Donglai had not yet come home from get off work.

Li Xiangdong and Factory Director Yan ate a quick bite of food and then began fiddling with the Buddha statue they had just bought.

The Buddha statue, covered in rust, has an indistinct face. Looking at the bottom, it should have originally had a lotus throne, but it was violently chiseled off.

Li Xiangdong carefully examined the bottom of the Buddha statue under the desk lamp for half an hour, but found no trace of any holes.

At first, Director Yan watched him tinker with the things with great interest, but after so much time had passed and he hadn't discovered anything, he became a little disheartened and got up to wash up.

Li Xiangdong shook the Buddha statue and listened carefully; indeed, a muffled sound came from inside the Buddha's belly.

He gently slid a thin needle along the bottom of the Buddha statue, and scraps of iron fell off as the needle slid along.

After skating for an unknown amount of time, Li Xiangdong suddenly felt a different sensation!

It's soft and slippery, unlike the hard feel of iron.

Li Xiangdong perked up and looked closely under the light. Sure enough, he saw a thumb-sized circular part at the bottom of the Buddha statue, the color of which was different from the rest.

If you touch it, you'll feel a layer of wax.

Li Xiangdong went to the kitchen, found a white candle, lit it, and slowly heated the wax film.

After about ten minutes, the wax film slowly dripped down, and eventually it actually burned a hole!

Li Xiangdong wasn't in a hurry at this point. He tilted the Buddha statue, exerted force with his wrist, and then "glug," a round object rolled out.

Then, another red, round object rolled out.

Next, there was a string of blue-green beads, which still shimmered beautifully under the lamplight.

Next, there was something that looked like a bright red tree branch.

Finally, there was a string of yellow beads—

Li Xiangdong shook the statue again to make sure there was nothing else inside before putting it down and carefully examining the pile of things on the table.

It was late at night, and the faint sound of Director Yan snoring could be heard from the next room, while it was completely silent outside.

Li Xiangdong picked up the first pearl that rolled out. It had a dull luster and was yellowish-white all over, so it should be a natural pearl.

Although it is now "old and faded", it has the advantage of being nearly round, without horizontal lines, and smooth all over. It is even bigger than Li Xiangdong's thumb!

Li Xiangdong gently placed the pearl aside, then picked up the red bead. He examined it and determined it to be a red agate, about the same size as the pearl.

The blue-green beads are lapis lazuli.

The bright red, branch-like things are coral.

The last string of yellow beads was made of yellow rutilated quartz, and it was engraved with dense Sanskrit characters, each character the size of a millet grain, which Li Xiangdong did not recognize.

But I imagine it must be some kind of scripture.

Pearls, agate, coral, crystal, and lapis lazuli are the five most basic precious materials used to enshrine Buddhist statues.

After exploring, Li Xiangdong looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already midnight. He put all the things and the Buddha statues away, washed up hastily, and went to bed.

The next morning, after Li Xiangdong got up, he went to the bathroom to wash up. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Director Yan sitting in a chair, wearing reading glasses and carefully examining the pile of treasures.

Hearing the door open, Director Yan looked up, pointed to the dining table, and said, "Go eat quickly, or the food will get cold."

Li Xiangdong yawned. "Has Uncle Liu not come back yet?"

"He came back, then left again around 5 o'clock."

Factory Director Yan chuckled and said, "You really managed to copy it, kid. These are all old items."

Li Xiangdong walked over, picked up the string of yellow rutilated quartz beads engraved with words, and asked, "Do you recognize the words on this?"

Director Yan had already studied it, but he didn't recognize it either.

"Alright, pack everything up after you finish eating. Your Uncle Liu said he's having lunch with Director He of the Industry and Commerce Bureau and wants us to go over there to discuss setting up a factory in the provincial capital."

......

Although the lunch was simple, everyone enjoyed it.

The provincial capital allocated a piece of land to Lijiapo as a special project for attracting investment, and granted it to them at an extremely favorable price.

Because Li Xiangdong is not the legal representative of the Lijiapo collective enterprise, Li Jin still needs to come in person to sign the agreement.

Now that the deal was finalized, Li Xiangdong and Factory Director Yan didn't delay any longer and said goodbye to Liu Donglai the next day, returning to Huichuan County.

......

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