Chapter 77
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Chapter 77: Invitation Letter
The Tianhao Building Materials Group has been destroyed, and the person who is most heartbroken is Grandma Xiao.
Now that the Xiao family’s finances are somewhat stagnant, she still hopes that Xiao Churan can persuade the Tianhao Building Materials Group to extend credit for a batch of building materials, which would indirectly alleviate their financial pressure.
However, she never expected that the entire Tianhao Building Materials Group would vanish into thin air in just one afternoon!
At this moment, the biggest concern for the old lady is the issue of funds; figuring out how to raise a sum of money has become her greatest desire.
Xiao Churan did not tell her grandmother about what happened yesterday. After this experience, she secretly decided to no longer involve herself in other family matters in the future and to focus solely on the cooperation with the Emperor Group. No matter what, even if her grandmother begged her, she would not intervene.
The next day, Xiao Churan’s mental and physical state had improved significantly, and she was eager to get back to work.
In the morning, Ye Chen went out for a stroll to buy groceries. When he returned home, he saw his father-in-law, Xiao Changkun, sitting on the sofa with a gloomy expression, sighing heavily.
Furrowing his brow, he asked, “Dad, why do you look so down? Who upset you? It wouldn’t be that you got scammed again while buying antiques, would it?”
Xiao Changkun took a sip of jasmine tea and angrily replied, “Don’t mention antiques! Damn it, just thinking about it makes me mad!”
“What’s going on?” Ye Chen couldn’t help but ask. “Did you really get scammed?”
Xiao Changkun said, “It’s not about being scammed; it’s about the invitation to the Zhenbao Pavilion auction!”
Ye Chen asked in surprise, “What is the Zhenbao Pavilion?”
“It’s a club of the Cultural Relics Association in Jinling City, where high-end cultural relics and antique auctions are frequently held. They auction off rare items that you can’t find on the market, and every family has a quota to participate.”
As Xiao Changkun spoke, a hint of longing appeared on his face.
But then, he looked dejected and said, “The Xiao family only received one invitation, and your grandmother actually gave it to Xiao Hailong. That kid has never dealt with antiques and knows nothing about them. What’s he going to do? Just embarrass himself!”
Ye Chen knew that his father-in-law was very passionate about antiques, and losing this opportunity must be very painful for him.
So, Ye Chen smiled and said, “Dad, if you really want to go, just find a scalper to buy an invitation.”
Xiao Changkun waved his hand dismissively. “The Zhenbao Pavilion auction is organized by the Song family, the most powerful family in Jinling. Their invitations are highly sought after; who knows how many people are trying to get one? How could you possibly buy one?”
Ye Chen chuckled.
So it was an auction organized by the Song family.
Wasn’t the Song family’s eldest daughter, Song Wanting, also asking for his help to appraise antiques?
Getting an invitation is a small matter; a word with her should solve it.
Thinking of this, Ye Chen casually said, “I happen to know someone from a Jinling family; getting a couple of invitations shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Xiao Changkun was skeptical and shook his head. “Forget it. What kind of decent friends could you possibly know? They’re probably just a bunch of good-for-nothings. How could they have the connections to deal with the Song family?”
Ye Chen didn’t respond. He went downstairs and called Song Wanting, saying, “Miss Song, I was wondering if you could help me get two invitations to the Zhenbao Pavilion auction?”
Song Wanting replied directly, “Mr. Ye, are two enough? If not, I can get you a few more.”
Ye Chen glanced at the invitation he received and said, “That’s enough; it’s just that my father-in-law and I will be attending.”
Xiao Changkun is a cultural relic enthusiast, while Xiao Churan and her mother-in-law have no interest at all. Even if they were invited, they would consider it a waste of time.
After the antique street incident, Ye Chen knew his father-in-law’s temperament and was afraid that he might get scammed again, so he had to go along to keep an eye on him.
He also wanted to see if there were any rare spiritual herbs or treasures at the auction.
Speaking of treasures, Ye Chen couldn’t help but think of the stone inscribed with “Peace and Prosperity.”
After saving Dong Ruolin, that stone had disappeared. He guessed it must have been lost during the rescue.
Afterward, he retraced his steps from that day but found nothing.
Fortunately, he had already absorbed the stone’s spiritual energy; otherwise, he would have regretted it immensely.
Since the items auctioned at the “Zhenbao Pavilion” are all rare treasures, perhaps he could find something valuable.
…
By the time Xiao Churan got off work and returned home, Xiao Changkun still looked listless, lacking the energy even to eat dinner.
Ye Chen knew he was sulking over the invitation to the auction.
At that moment, Song Wanting happened to call, saying, “Mr. Ye, I’m sorry. I was busy in Haicheng this afternoon, but I’m now downstairs at your place. I’ll bring the invitations up to you.”
Ye Chen quickly replied, “I’ll come down to get them!”
He hurried out the door.
Song Wanting, sitting in her Rolls Royce, arrived downstairs. When she saw Ye Chen come out, she quickly got out of the car and handed him the two invitations.
Ye Chen thanked her and didn’t chat much before rushing back home.
When he returned, his father-in-law was still fuming.
Xiao Churan tried to comfort him, “Oh, Dad, don’t be upset. Grandma gave the invitation to Xiao Hailong because she hopes he can use this opportunity to meet more people in high society and build social connections.”
Xiao Changkun sighed, “Your grandmother has always favored your uncle and Hailong over me since I was young. It’s still the same now; it really makes me furious!”
Xiao Churan nodded helplessly; she knew her grandmother was biased.
Grandma first thought that her father was not very promising and lacked ability, so she relied more on her uncle.
Then she felt that since Xiao Churan was a girl, she couldn’t inherit the family business, so she spoiled Xiao Hailong even more.
After Xiao Churan married Ye Chen, Grandma had completely given up on her own family.
At this moment, Ye Chen walked over and handed the two golden invitations to his father-in-law, saying, “Dad, here are the invitations you wanted.”
“What!!”
Xiao Changkun jumped up as if he had springs under him!
He snatched the invitations from Ye Chen’s hand and quickly opened them. He was so excited he couldn’t speak.
Xiao Churan, standing nearby, was equally astonished. She took a look at the invitation in her father’s hand and found that it was indeed an invitation to the “Zhenbao Pavilion.”
“Great! Ye Chen, you really are my good son-in-law!” Xiao Changkun exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement, struggling to articulate his words.
He patted Ye Chen on the shoulder, saying, “My daughter married you; she really made the right choice.”
“Come on, it’s just an invitation. Why are you so excited that you can’t think straight?” Mother-in-law Ma Lan scolded disapprovingly.
Xiao Changkun clutched the invitation tightly and retorted, “What do you know? This is an invitation to the Zhenbao Pavilion!”
After that, he beamed at Ye Chen and said, “Come on, sit down and eat!”
Then he called out to Xiao Churan, “Go get that bottle of sea dog wine from my room. Tonight, let’s drink a couple of cups with my good son-in-law.”
Seeing Xiao Changkun so happy, Ma Lan shot Ye Chen an annoyed glare and fell silent.
Xiao Churan was also very happy but had some doubts. After bringing out the medicinal wine, she sat down next to Ye Chen and nudged him with her elbow, asking, “Where did you get this invitation from?”
She had inquired at the company in the afternoon, trying to help her dad get an invitation, but found out that the invitations to the Zhenbao Pavilion were actually limited for each family!
How did Ye Chen manage to get one?
Ye Chen smiled and said, “I asked a friend for it. He also got two invitations, but he didn’t want to go, so he gave them to me.”
“Is it really that coincidental?” Xiao Churan was skeptical. “I’ve never heard you mention having such a well-off friend. What’s his name?”
Ye Chen casually replied, “His surname is Qin. I helped him out once at the antique street; Dad knows…”
Xiao Changkun nodded repeatedly, “That’s right, that’s right! That guy named Qin even gave me a jade bracelet, claiming it was worth five to six million!”
