When Li Ningguang got up, Zhang Guodong had ordered a bowl of millet porridge and a small dish of pickled vegetables at the breakfast restaurant downstairs, and was eating slowly. Millet porridge is a specialty of northern China, with golden grains and a faint aroma of rice. With the addition of the hotel's special pickled vegetables, it was very appetizing and pleasant to drink.
Lighter, less spicy food is more appealing to Zhang Guodong.
At Green Treasure Pavilion, Zhang Guodong usually eats plenty of meat and fish, but when it comes to making porridge, he's really not good at it. Making rice porridge requires precise control of cooking time and heat, and the appropriate amount of additional ingredients also requires experience.
Otherwise, the same ingredients can taste very different when cooked.
"Millet porridge is great! You can hardly find this in southern cities!" Looking tired, Li Ningguang sat down and ordered a bowl of millet porridge, plus a basket of seafood buns. "But it's bland and tasteless, hehe, not suitable for me. Want some? This hotel's seafood buns are pretty good, with a secret sauce filling of shrimp and crab roe; one bite and the buttery filling flows out!"
Zhang Guodong shook his head and laughed, "Brother Li has finally decided to come down?"
With a laugh, Li Ningguang said, "It's just an act, let's not talk about that. We'll leave after breakfast."
He's quite anxious about this.
The old hunter was somewhat of a professional in the trade; he had sold rare flowers and trees before and made a fortune. This time, he was said to have dug up something good and planned to make a big profit, so Li Ningguang was worried that things might change.
Zhang Guodong nodded. He drove the van, but he didn't bring much money with him, only 300,000 yuan. Although Li Ningguang said that they should be careful, it never hurts.
Of course, for someone who can afford to gamble on flowers and trees on the black market, a few hundred thousand yuan is considered small change. This was also one of the reasons Zhang Guodong agreed to cooperate with Li Ningguang.
After Zhang Guodong finished his porridge, Li Ningguang ate all the seafood buns with shrimp and crab roe. Without further ado, the two left the hotel.
Li Ningguang noticed Zhang Guodong's medium-sized luxury van and said, "Brother Zhang, it seems you're well-prepared. This kind of van saves on transportation costs when carrying small tree seeds!"
“My business isn’t as big as Brother Li’s. This is my only car. I don’t have the money to buy a better one!” Zhang Guodong laughed.
"Brother Zhang is too modest, isn't he? You made a million last time, buying a nice car is a piece of cake for you." Li Ningguang didn't believe Zhang Guodong's words.
Zhang Guodong smiled and offered no explanation.
His current savings are less than 3 million yuan, and spending 1 million yuan on a car is too extravagant for him now. It's better to be low-key. Driving a minivan is actually quite comfortable and relaxing, and he wouldn't be too heartbroken if it were stolen. This is in line with his style and personality.
Li Ningguang was driving a brand new black BMW. It was unclear which series or model it was, but it looked very impressive.
Zhang Guodong drove the minivan, while Li Ningguang led the way in his BMW. Zhang Guodong was alone, while Li Ningguang had an assistant, presumably a bodyguard.
On the way, the two cars stopped between each other. Li Ningguang picked up a friend named Zhang Wen, who was a relative of Zhang Guodong five hundred years ago. It was this friend who told Li Ningguang the news.
Zhang Guodong only learned about it later.
These people are called plant brokers. They receive a commission, or information fee, for each client they refer who completes a transaction. Although the commission is negligible compared to the transaction amount, it can amount to ten thousand for a million-dollar deal. At 1% commission, brokers are very attentive to these matters; facilitating a large transaction can be equivalent to two or three months' salary.
Zhang Guodong and Li Ningguang were going to Qingyang County, Qingmu Township, a county in their own province. Zhang Guodong had never heard of this place before; he lacked experience.
It wasn't until 1:30 PM that the car arrived in Qingyang County, a relatively underdeveloped county. Zhang Guodong and Li Ningguang had a simple meal at a small restaurant in the county, and then immediately headed to Qingmu Township.
It's not far from Qingyang County to Qingmu Township; it only takes an hour. We drove on a section of secondary highway, and then the ride became bumpy. The road surface was poorly maintained, but we finally arrived an hour later.
Qingmu Township is not large; it actually expanded from what was originally a large village. It is located adjacent to the mountains and is considered the edge of the Qinling Mountains. Then, some small villages and scattered households living in the mountains settled in the township, which led to the increase in population of Qingmu Township.
Li Ningguang once told me that this place is close to the mountains and has very rich forest resources. Moreover, every farmer here grows some medicinal herbs, so they can be said to "live off" the mountains and make money from them.
Qingmu Township is considered one of the wealthier townships in the county.
“Liu Dewang is an old scoundrel in Qingmu Township, a bachelor, but he’s changed his ways now. Before, your brother Li spent money to buy a few trees, and Liu Dewang got a taste of success. He often goes into the mountains to find rare and strange tree species to sell. This time, he spent half a month digging up these dozen or so saplings deep in the mountains. It’s up to you, brother Zhang, to show your skills!” Li Ningguang said to Zhang Guodong while waiting for the middleman Zhang Wen to call Lao Liu after getting out of the car.
Of course, whether these flowers and trees really took half a month to acquire is just hearsay. The only people involved were Liu Dewang and his old wolfhound; no one actually witnessed it.
Li Ning was relying on Zhang Guodong for backing; it would be best if the two of them partnered to buy, which would reduce the risk and perhaps even make a profit. Another reason was to build a relationship with Zhang Guodong, hoping for future opportunities to collaborate.
So subconsciously, Li Ningguang didn't really place too much importance on this opportunity to find good produce. After all, good produce isn't easy to find, especially not just a dozen or so plants at once, like pulling up a bunch of radishes? That was simply impossible!
Moreover, he had already inspected the goods beforehand, but it's not easy to confirm the exact species of these small trees. Sometimes, there's a possibility of encountering mutated or deformed varieties.
"Brother Li, you think too highly of me! I'm just following you to broaden my horizons. To be honest, I've never been to most of the cities in this province since I was a child. You're really giving me too much credit!" Zhang Guodong said hurriedly.
He certainly wouldn't be presumptuous.
Even you, Fatty Li, who's inspected the goods, didn't dare to make a move. I know my own limitations. Although I've supplemented my knowledge of plants and flowers with some systematic information recently, there's still a long way to go before I can truly connect theory with practice.
Moreover, Zhang Guodong knew that regardless of the rarity of a flower or tree, it would be difficult to sense any spiritual energy fluctuations once it reached a certain age. This was the key reason why he urgently needed to learn about flowers and trees.
A moment later, Zhang Wen arrived and smiled at Zhang Guodong and Li Ningguang, saying, "Liu Dewang is at home. We're lucky; let's go now."
It turns out that Liu Dewang was not only a bachelor, but also enjoyed drinking at the local restaurants or gambling at the gambling dens. When he was short of money, he would go into the mountains to dig up some things to sell, so it was usually difficult to find him at home.
Zhang Guodong understood immediately: the four words "idle and lazy" seemed to perfectly describe this person.
No wonder Li Ningguang didn't dare to make a move; he probably didn't trust this person's character.
When a car arrived in the village, many curious people gathered around, and some hooligans pointed and whispered about it. However, the car didn't stop and drove straight towards the foot of the mountain. In the distance, some farmhouses could be seen scattered at the foot of the mountain. Liu Dewang's house, with its several tiled rooms, blue tiles, and white walls, was relatively easy to spot, having been built only six months prior.
Zhang Guodong noticed the land area and the mountainous environment behind it; the land area here was indeed very large!
“Those brand-new brick houses belong to Liu Dewang. When I called him just now, he was about to go out to buy some alcohol!” Zhang Wen said. Zhang Wen and Li Ningguang both got into Zhang Guodong’s van this time, leading the way, with the BMW following behind.
“This is a wonderful place!” Zhang Guodong exclaimed. “The mountains are beautiful and the water is clear; compared to the pollution of the city, this is a truly livable place!”
Li Ningguang nodded in agreement: "This is a typical mountain village in the north, and it is indeed much better than the city. Sometimes I think that when I get old, I will buy a piece of land in one of these convenient rural areas and build a villa to retire in!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guodong laughed and said, "Brother Li, you are in the prime of your life. It's a bit early to talk about retirement now. By then, you might not want to live in the desolate countryside anymore, so you'll go out to sea, buy an island, and start a business."
"Haha!" Li Ningguang said happily. "Thank you for your kind words, Brother Zhang. However, to find the most suitable place to live, we must go to the south, or even to Sanya in Hainan!"
"Sanya, Hainan? What does that mean?" Zhang Guodong asked curiously.
He had naturally heard of this place; it was a tropical region, a coastal city. He'd heard that Hainan had now determined its future development direction, planning to transform it into a world-class tourist province, with Sanya being one of the key cities in the development.
Li Ningguang then showed off his knowledge, saying, "It's near the sea, with beautiful scenery and a pleasant climate. The temperature stays above 20 degrees Celsius all year round. You can wear just your underwear there every day. The beach is full of tourists from all over the world and bikini-clad beauties, hehe!"
Zhang Guodong broke out in a cold sweat. Bikini-clad women? Imagine a whole bunch of them on the beach, a dazzling sight, quite a sight indeed.
Then Li Ningguang continued, "Most importantly, there are many bays and islands there, which are very close to each other and all in shallow waters with a suitable water temperature. It's a great place for vacation and tourism. It would be a pity not to go there. Moreover, the people who own beach villas or island villas there are all very wealthy. If you could own a villa there, wow!"
After being described by Li Ning, Zhang Guodong also felt a sense of longing.
The north has distinct seasons, while some parts of the south are evergreen year-round, with mild weather and pleasant temperatures, making them ideal places to settle down. Of course, Zhang Guodong's thinking is largely due to the fact that he has never been to a southern city, and his longing for it includes a degree of fantasy.
“However, we can’t afford the villas there. Even the cheapest one would cost at least 20 to 30 million. If it’s a luxury villa, or even a high-end villa, it would cost tens of millions to hundreds of millions!” Li Ningguang sighed. “Heh, so we have to face reality. A few trips now and then are enough!”
That being said, Zhang Guodong thought to himself that he must travel there and all over the country to see the great rivers and mountains when he had the chance. It had been a dream of Zhang Guodong.
As they were talking, the car arrived at Liu Dewang's place.
In the fenced yard, an old wolfhound was pacing around. When it saw two cars driving towards them, it started barking wildly.
"Old Liu, Old Liu, the guests have arrived!" Zhang Wen called out to the courtyard after getting out of the car.
A moment later, a scruffy-bearded, wine-red-faced hoodlum emerged. He had a parted hairstyle, squinted, and his face was flushed; it was Liu Dewang, who had been drinking. This guy couldn't live without alcohol, and he always got drunk.
"Oh, it's Old Zhang, and Boss Li, and this young man, please come in!" As soon as Liu Dewang recognized the people, he immediately came to his senses, quickly leashed the wolfhound, and warmly invited Zhang Guodong and the other two in.
After entering the courtyard, Zhang Wenjin said to Liu Dewang, "Old Liu, you're a rich man, why do you insist on living so far away? It makes it hard for us to get there!"
Liu Dewang chuckled, "What rich man? He's just living comfortably at the foot of this mountain. Mr. Li, have you decided to buy those treasures this time? I told you, you can't buy those treasures anywhere else but here. The asking price of one million is only because I'm a long-time customer. You might make a few million just by reselling them!"
Thinking that he would soon have a million in his hands, Liu Dewang was instantly overjoyed.
Li Ningguang, naturally unmoved by his flattery, said indifferently, "Old Liu, it's not certain whether it's a treasure or not. I want to confirm this time. If it really is a treasure, I can consider giving you a good price. If it's just a deformed or mutated item, then it's worthless. When have you ever seen a bunch of treasures appear?"
Liu Dewang panicked upon hearing this. If it wasn't a treasure, then the money he was about to get would be gone.
Zhang Guodong then said, "Let's take a look at what kind of goods they are first!"
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