Fu Wan and Fu Ming exchanged a glance. Although there were few people around, it was the capital city after all, so they figured there wouldn't be any bad guys.
The two of them mustered their courage and followed the man inside. As they crossed the threshold, Fu Wan noticed a small wooden sign, about the size of a child's palm, hanging above the door. The sign read "No. 156" in a crooked handwriting.
? ? ? ?
May I ask you this?
Is this sign so small because they're afraid of being seen?!
Unable to voice her inner complaints, Fu Wan could only mutter a few words to herself before surveying the courtyard.
Although the gate to this courtyard is small, once you step inside, you'll find yourself in a completely different world.
The courtyard is quite large, with a pomegranate tree covered in green leaves. The house behind the tree is not a multi-story building, but its brick and tile structure is exquisite and exudes a sense of history.
This is... a courtyard house?
Before the brother and sister could think much about it, they heard a commotion inside the house.
Fu Wan looked up at the sound and saw the man pushing an old man in a wooden wheelchair out. Then she realized why the thresholds of the houses, except for the courtyard gate, had been sawed off; it must have been to make it easier for the old man to get in and out.
"You two young comrades, were you summoned by Feng Ji?"
When the old man spoke, Fu Wan felt that his voice sounded familiar. Upon closer inspection, she realized that he was the same old man who had just given her directions!
He was just under the tree at the alley entrance a moment ago, and now he's already in the courtyard before me.
There must be some hidden paths they don't know about!
She took out the ring that Feng Ji had given her and handed it over.
"Hello, you must be Third Master. We were introduced by Uncle Feng."
"Enough with the pleasantries, bring the item over quickly and let me see it!"
Fu Wan was interrupted by his words and thought to herself that this person seemed to have an even worse temper than Feng Ji.
However, it's normal for people in this line of work to have some temper.
She gestured for Fu Ming to open his luggage and take out a small cloth bag.
Inside the small cloth bag was a fist-sized piece of ambergris, a sample that Fu Wan had specially prepared for this Third Master Ning to see.
Ning San didn't reach out to take the item when it was handed to him. Instead, the man next to him took it, checked it over, and only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it did he bring it close to Ning San's nose.
Fu Wan realized something was wrong. She looked closely and discovered that Third Master Ning was actually blind!
A blind man, who is also physically disabled, is bound to have a bad temper.
Ning San, who had a bad temper, carefully smelled the ambergris and savored it for almost a minute before nodding with a smile on his face.
“Your ambergris is indeed of good quality and can fetch a good price. For the sake of Feng Ji and the fact that you’ve come all this way, I’ll offer 300 yuan per gram.”
Three hundred and one gram?
This thing is actually sold by the gram!
Fu Wan calculated in her mind that the ambergris she brought this time had been weighed at home and weighed a total of twelve catties and six taels.
At this price, 300 yuan per gram, or 500 yuan per kilogram, the ambergris in this bag is worth... over a million yuan!
Fu Wan calculated the number several times and still found it hard to believe.
That's a million! That's a fortune!
However, this is the income under ideal conditions. The quality of the ambergris in the bag varies. The piece I just took out was somewhere in between in color.
It wasn't that white, nor was it that dark gray-black.
"What, you think it's not enough?"
Ning San was admiringly playing with the ambergris, not hearing Fu Wan speak and unable to see her, so he guessed that Fu Wan might be complaining that the money was too little.
"Young comrade, this is quite a sum of money. Although the one from Hong Kong last month wasn't as good as yours, this is Chinese currency, much more valuable than Hong Kong coins!"
"One jin (500 grams) is worth 500 grams. Just this one in my hand is worth tens of thousands!"
Ning San felt that the two people might not have a concept of how much a gram was, so he kindly reminded them.
Seeing that he had misunderstood, Fu Wan quickly explained, "No, Third Master, I don't know if Uncle Feng told you that besides the one you have, we also have some ambergris."
besides?
Ning San recalled Feng Ji's phone call, which indeed mentioned a batch of ambergris. He had almost half a pound of it in his hand, and he thought this was the only piece he had.
So there's more.
Ning San became interested as well, "You two are quite amusing. Afu, go and get it for me to see."
Qin Fu responded, and upon seeing this, Fu Wan quickly took out a piece of ambergris from her bag. Qin Fu took it and had just withdrawn his hand when Fu Wan took out another piece from her bag.
Qin Fu: ...
Is this ambergris, more valuable than gold, or just some cabbage grown in this young man's home?
His lips twitched, and he simply grabbed the bag from Fu Wan's hand and delivered it to Ning San's side.
People who are blind have a much more acute sense of smell and hearing than normal people. As soon as the bag of ambergris was brought over, Ning San's nose could smell that something was wrong.
"Ah Fu, why do I smell several different kinds of ambergris?"
Qin Fu coughed softly, "Third Master, this incense... is indeed a bit too much."
It was more than just a little bit. Ning San picked out a piece, held it to his nose, and smelled it. His smile became even brighter.
He put the one in his hand on the stone table to the side, took out another piece, smelled it again, and this time he really couldn't stop smiling.
"Good, good, good! That kid Feng Ji knew I liked ambergris, and he actually introduced me to a big client!"
"Afu, put all these ambergris on the table, and I'll sort them."
After saying that, he waved to Fu Wan and the others, "Please sit down, don't be shy! Afu, go and pour a glass of water for the two young comrades!"
He then added somewhat self-righteously, "This old man doesn't like a lot of people, so Afu is the only one in this courtyard who can do any work. If he neglects his duties, please bear with me!"
Fu Wan and Fu Ming didn't care about that; they just wanted to sell the thing quickly and go home as soon as possible.
After Afu poured two glasses of water, Ning San also divided the ambergris on the table into three categories.
"Young comrade, I won't take advantage of you. This pile of ambergris smells the strongest and is probably the whitest, I'll give you this one for 500 per gram. The one in the middle is still 300 per gram, and the one on the side that's the worst, I'll give you for 150 per gram."
"This is the highest price I can offer. Although I, an old man, like incense, my people also need to eat, and I need to make some money too."
Since the words were spoken clearly and straightforwardly, Fu Wan didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement, "Okay! I trust you!"
For her, the ambergris was just something that came out of nowhere!
Seeing that she was straightforward, Ning San didn't hesitate either.
"Afu, go get the scale!"
Qin Fu took out a small scale from the house and weighed each item one by one. The best quality ambergris weighed 2.8 jin (1400 grams); the medium quality weighed 5.2 jin (2600 grams); and the lowest quality weighed 4.6 jin (2300 grams).
After a few more calculations on the abacus, the total came to 1,825,000 yuan!
This number shocked Fu Ming so much that he could barely hold his luggage, and even Fu Wan felt like she was dreaming.
There really is over a million!
Ning San, however, was unfazed and, without even looking up, ordered, "Afu, take the young comrade to make the remittance!"
After saying that, he explained to Fu Wan in a friendly tone: "It's inconvenient to have too much cash. You two young comrades are quite bold to carry such expensive things over like this."
I'll leave you my contact information. Next time you have something like this, give me a call before you come, and I'll have Ah Fu send someone to pick you up!
"I, Ning San, still have some influence in this capital city. If you encounter any difficulties, just come to me or Afu!"
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