Seeing that his old friends around him had changed their expressions, Professor Wu quickly explained, "No, you've misunderstood. Mr. Zhou has no ill intentions towards Lanyuan..."
“They’ve already called Lanyuan a ghost town, how can you say it’s without malice?” Grandpa Xu said unhappily. “Old Wu, you’re from Lanyuan too, you can’t be so biased.”
“That’s right, that’s right,” the other old men chimed in.
Professor Wu said helplessly, "There's a reason why Mr. Zhou said that. His parents, Professor Zhou Qingyuan and Professor Yang Xin, who used to teach at Peking University, were sent down to Xiaogaozhuang, a town under our Lanyuan Town, during that special period, and died unexpectedly. So, in recent years, Mr. Zhou has lived abroad and rarely returned to China, just because he doesn't want to set foot in this sad place."
So that's what happened.
The old men immediately fell silent.
Xing Zhaozhao looked at Mr. Zhou and then suddenly realized, "You are Professor Zhou and Professor Yang's son?"
No wonder she thought he looked familiar; his eyes were exactly the same as Professor Yang's.
Mr. Zhou looked at Xing Zhaozhao and narrowed his eyes slightly: "You know my parents?"
On second thought, something didn't seem right. Considering her age, her parents didn't even know if she was born when his parents died. How could she possibly know his parents?
Xing Zhaozhao was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head: "How could that be? My parents aren't even as old as you, how could I possibly know your parents?"
Mr. Zhou knows, but why does she talk as if she knows her parents?
Professor Li Jian, who was standing to the side, looked at Xing Zhaozhao with a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Did you hear that from someone?" he asked.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "Indeed."
"Who told you that?" Professor Li quickly looked her over. "An elder in your family?"
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head and pointed at Professor Wu.
Professor Wu was taken aback.
“Isn’t that what Professor Wu just said?” Xing Zhaozhao said, “that Mr. Zhou’s parents were Professor Zhou Qingyuan and Professor Yang Xin, who used to teach at Peking University.”
The others then realized what was happening.
Professor Wu did just say that.
Professor Li looked at Xing Zhaozhao, his eyes still filled with doubt.
Is that really the case? But apart from this, it seems there really isn't any other explanation.
"May I ask about Professor Zhou and Professor Yang?" Xing Zhaozhao asked cautiously, looking at Mr. Zhou.
"What?" Mr. Zhou's face remained cold.
"Why were they sent down to the countryside? Did they offend someone?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
A deep gloom settled on Mr. Zhou's face as he gritted his teeth and said, "He was framed. An important blueprint went missing from the lab where he worked. Because he was the only one in the lab that day, even without concrete evidence, they let the accusations fall on him, suspecting him of being a spy. If it weren't for my senior brother's strong advocacy, he might have faced more than just being demoted. Unfortunately, in the end, he still died here, never able to clear his name or get the innocence he wanted, and even now, he hasn't been exonerated."
Professor Li's eyes also reddened: "It was my negligence. If I had visited him more often, perhaps he wouldn't have passed away so soon, and his wife wouldn't have either..."
Xing Zhaozhao then realized why Zhang Wenming said that Professor Zhou had a lot on his hands; it certainly was.
However, I've never heard Professor Yang mention this person.
Xing Zhaozhao turned to look at Professor Li: "So Professor Li was Professor Zhou's student."
Professor Li looked at Xing Zhaozhao, nodded, and a hint of doubt flashed through his mind.
Why is it that when she mentions Professor Zhou, there's always a strange sense of familiarity in her voice?
"No wonder you two are so close," Xing Zhaozhao casually remarked, then changed the subject.
"I heard that Mr. Zhou is an antique connoisseur? Do you think this wooden box of mine is an antique?" Xing Zhaozhao asked, pointing to the wooden box still in Mr. Zhou's hand.
Mr. Zhou curled his lip in disgust, then tossed the wooden box to Mr. Lu, who was standing to the side: "Ancient my foot! Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this wooden box is a modern product, probably not even as old as me."
Xing Zhaozhao's face fell upon hearing this: "Then we won't be able to sell them for any money?"
Mr. Lu smiled and said, “Although it’s not an antique, that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. From my initial observation, it’s made from a piece of top-quality old Hainan Huanghuali purple oil pear wood. The color is deep, the oil content is excellent, and it has a very good texture with burl patterns. It’s practically perfect. I’ll be conservative and give it an estimated value of 300,000. If you can’t wait, I can buy it now. If you’re willing to wait, you can go through the process and put it on auction. The price you get when it’s auctioned off might more than double.”
Doubled from 300,000!!
Xing Zhaozhao replied without hesitation, "I can wait."
“Alright, let’s sign an auction consignment contract in a bit. Leave me your contact information,” Mr. Lu said.
"Contact information?" Xing Zhaozhao's expression froze. "I don't have it."
Mr. Lu: "..."
"Don't you have a phone? Anything that can reach you?" Mr. Lu asked, somewhat incredulous.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head.
Mr. Lu was speechless.
Is this a person from modern society?
"Then how can I contact you?" Mr. Lu asked helplessly.
Xing Zhaozhao thought for a moment, then pointed to Professor Wu beside her: "You can look for Professor Wu. Anyway, I'll be here whenever I come."
Mr. Lu looked at Professor Wu with a questioning expression.
Professor Wu paused for a moment, then nodded: "Alright then."
The matter was decided amicably.
Mr. Lu then found a place to print the contract and signed it with Xing Zhaozhao on the spot.
After signing the contract, Mr. Lu left with Mr. Zhou and Professor Li.
The wooden boxes were sold, and everything else needed to be bought was purchased. Xing Zhaozhao packed up and prepared to go home. Thinking about the large sum of money that would soon be coming in, she was so happy that she could hardly stop smiling.
Seeing Xing Zhaozhao about to leave, Gao Lianzhou asked reluctantly, "Fairy sister, are you leaving again?"
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "It's time to go back."
"Where do you live? Shall I give you a ride?" Gao Lianzhou asked.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head firmly.
That way, the secret won't be exposed.
"Let me take you there," Gao Lianzhou said, twisting her body to cling to him.
Xing Zhaozhao: "..."
I really want to kick him and teach his family a lesson.
"Beep beep..."
Uncle Kun rode over on a small electric scooter, looking listless.
"Hey, old Kun, didn't you go fishing? Where are your fish? Are you out of fish again?" Grandpa Song called out as soon as he saw him.
They all live nearby and know each other.
Xing Zhaozhao blinked as she looked at the umbrella stuck in the back of Kunbo's car.
This umbrella looks familiar...
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