chapter 30 Agarwood ===

"This... is this the Blood Red Gem?" Elder Wu, who originally had a cold smirk on his face, stood up with a gasp. "That's right, the Blood Red Gem. It's extremely rare to form. It has a distinctive blood-red hue. Even with modern mining, the quantity is limited. If it goes to an international jewellery auction, the starting price would be 30 million." Thorpe Chen said with a grin. "Hahaha, brother, you didn't let me down." Gary laughed heartily. "I keep my word. Half of the auction profit will be yours." "No need for that, Gary. Just the cat statue is enough for me," Thorpe Chen chuckled. "What's so special about this cat statue?" Gary was taken aback. "It is special, but it's of no use to you. It's very useful to me," Thorpe Chen answered honestly. The cat statue had its mysteries. If he wasn't mistaken, the clay cat contained spiritual sand, a kind of spiritual stone with very low purity. He needed to refine it. The energy contained in this stone would help him in his cultivation. He relied solely on it to break through the Tai Xuan Holy Scripture. "Alright, I'll give you the item, but the profit will still be yours," Gary laughed out loud. He didn't care about the money, but he did enjoy having the upper hand. "There's no need. I already got a huge deal here," Thorpe Chen smiled. "Alright, consider it a gesture of friendship," Gary nodded. "Hmph, it's just a few tens of millions. Do you think you hit the jackpot?" Leap Zhao looked displeased. "A few tens of millions might be pocket change, but what's enjoyable about this is the fun. Elder Wu, you really have good eyes," Gary laughed heartily, mercilessly mocking. Elder Wu's face turned ashen. He had a reputation, he never misjudged, but today he made a mistake here. "Elder Wu, I recently got a wood carving. Could you take a look?" Leap Zhao, ignoring Gary, took out a package. A purple-coloured ship appeared before everyone's eyes. The ship was dark purple, showing signs of age, and the carving was exquisite. The figures on the ship seemed lifelike. "Is this... Gongshu's ship?" Elder Wu exclaimed, immediately taking a closer look. "Haha, Elder Wu, you have good eyes. Ruban, also known as Gongshu's son, made this wood carving. I found it at an antique market stall. It was worth the 300,000," Leap Zhao boasted. "Young Master Zhao," Elder Wu looked at it carefully for a while, then shook his head. "Ruban's works are very rare in the world. I honestly can't tell. But I can confirm that the material of this ship is no more than sixty years old." "What?" Leap Zhao's laughter stopped abruptly, and his face turned dark. It was clear from Elder Wu's words; that this was a later imitation. It was fake. "Haha, Young Master Zhao, don't be upset. Consider it a contribution to charity," Gary laughed heartily. "But spending 300,000 on a piece of junk wood, Young Master Zhao's taste isn't that great, is it?" "Shut up! I have plenty of money. 300,000 is nothing. I just spent it for fun," Leap Zhao was furious. He and Gary didn't get along, and now he was being suppressed by Gary, making him even more annoyed. "Since it's not worth much, then throw it away. I don't care about the money," Leap Zhao said, trying to hold back his anger. "It's a waste to throw it away. Why not sell it to me?" Thorpe Chen chimed in. "Heh, I can sell it to you, but can you afford the 300,000?" Leap Zhao sneered. "No offence, but it would take you five years to earn that much." "It's okay. I can lend him the money," Gary laughed heartily. "But brother, are you sure you want to buy this piece of junk wood? Is there a mystery to it?" "There's no mystery, but the material used for this ship might be agarwood, a rather rare medicinal material. If used properly, it can aid sleep," Thorpe Chen grinned. He wasn't sure about the mystery, but the faint fragrance from the ship was unmistakable. This fragrance was long-lasting and strong, indicating it was a high-quality medicine. "300,000, will you sell it?" Gary asked. "If I buy something, and can't double my money with it, I won't sell it. I'd rather destroy it," Leap Zhao scoffed. "If you want it, 600,000 and it's yours." "Deal," Gary transferred the money right away, and the ship went to Thorpe Chen. "Brother, I knew there had to be something special about it. Just tell me," Gary said, laughing after settling the bill. "This thing wasn't a work of Ruban, Elder Wang was right about that. However..." Thorpe Chen said and, using a tool, pried the centre of the boat. With a snap, the boat split into two. Inside it, a piece of agarwood the size of a walnut was seen. At first glance, the boat looked like a wooden carving, but it had a mechanism inside. "What's this?" People inside the room stood up in curiosity. "Ten million, I'll take it." A bidder inside the room quickly stood up, his eyes fixed on the agarwood. He was in the traditional medicine business and recognized the item. "Ten million?" Thorpe Chen laughed, "Since you recognize this, you should know its value." "This is agarwood." The man's eyes shone, "A type of medicinal material." "It's top-quality rare agarwood, born in the extreme cold of the far north. When burned, it emits a unique fragrance. It can treat various ailments, rejuvenate the mind, balance the body, strengthen vitality, and much more..." Thorpe Chen continued with a chuckle, "And the older it is, the stronger the scent and the higher its value. Judging by the age of this agarwood, it's at least 500 years old, equivalent in value to thousand-year-old ginseng." "Is this thing really that good?" Gary exclaimed. "Fifty million, any more and I won't be able to afford it," the man said, his eyes glued to the agarwood, almost wishing he could snatch it right away. "At least eighty million," Thorpe Chen shook his head. "Haha, one hundred million, I'll take it!" Gary immediately tried to grab it, "Mr. Wang, don't blame me for intervening. I just can't resist good things." "Young Master Gary, this won't show its real potential with you. This is already classified as a rare grade in traditional medicine. I planned to take it back as the centrepiece of my collection," Mr. Wang expressed his regret. "But you can't let my brother suffer a loss," Gary said, "An item worth eighty million, and you want it for fifty million? That won't work." The man gritted his teeth and slumped back into his seat, his eyes showing hints of desperation. "One hundred million, it's mine, hahaha! Thank you, Leap Zhao," Gary said cheerfully, "You've paved the way for my fortune." Leap Zhao's face had turned ashen. Although his Zhao family was one of the four major clans and one hundred million wasn't much to them, the fact that someone made nearly a hundred million profit from his item didn't sit well with him. As for Elder Wang, his hands trembled. His heart condition was on the verge of acting up. Having misjudged twice in a row, especially under the watchful eye of his old employer Leap Zhao, was mortifying. Gary was elated. He transferred one hundred million directly to Thorpe Chen's account and laughed heartily, "Thorpe Chen, from now on we're brothers. I'll be off to study these items. I'll treat you to a meal later." "Sounds good, I'll be going too," Thorpe Chen said cheerfully. Both men stood up to leave. "Young man, here's my card. My name is Wang Zhou. I'm in the medicinal materials business. If you have any good traditional medicine items in the future, please contact me," Mr. Wang said, offering his card. "Alright, I'm a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. We're in the same field. Let's communicate more in the future," Thorpe Chen replied with a smile. Leap Zhao left with a cold huff. Once outside, he called one of his subordinates and, with a menacing expression, ordered, "Keep an eye on the young man who came with Gary. Look into his background."