The World's Richest Man: Start with the Daily Intelligence System

69: Chapter 69 Icy JadeiteAt this moment, a group of experts and professors were gathered in front of the Picasso painting, offering their comments and critiques.

Dr. Wang remarked, ”This should be a work from Picasso’s early to mid-career. While still imitating other painters, he had already begun to form his own distinct style. It’s quite rare.”

The old Museum director also sighed with emotion, ”I never thought I’d see an authentic Picasso in the country. Today’s trip was certainly worthwhile.”

Seeing it was almost two o’clock and no one had eaten lunch yet, Zhang Wei smiled at everyone and said, ”It’s all thanks to everyone’s tremendous help that this painting can see the light of day again. I’ve booked a restaurant; please do me the honor of joining me for a meal.”

No one declined the offer of a free meal; the distinguished guests all nodded in agreement. Zhang Wei found a nearby Huaiyang cuisine restaurant and made a call.

”Hello, this is Little Chef Maiden Huaiyang Cuisine. How may I help you?”

Zhang Wei asked, ”I’d like to book the entire venue. Can you arrange that?”

Since everyone had put in so much effort for his painting, Zhang Wei decided to invite all the Museum staff to the meal as well. Estimating at least seventy or eighty people from the Museum, booking the whole place was definitely necessary.

The person on the other end asked uncertainly, ”You mean a private room, right? It’s a weekday, so we have private rooms available.”

”Not a private room, the entire venue. I’m with the Shenghai Museum, and we have guests including the Deputy Mayor and various experts. Can you accommodate us?”

The attendant didn’t dare to make the decision alone. Putting down the phone, she called over the restaurant manager. After a lengthy discussion with the manager, Zhang Wei finally managed to arrange the lunch.

Then he remembered Boss Li, who had helped him contact the stone-cutting service. He had promised to introduce him to Yu Hongtao. He simply called Boss Li and invited him to join the meal, which also served as a way to repay the favor.

The group moved to the restaurant. The excitement hadn’t fully subsided yet, and they continued discussing Picasso’s painting. The distinguished guests chatted about some academic topics. When Boss Li arrived, he was stunned to see so many important figures gathered. The sight made him break out in a cold sweat. Was Zhang Wei’s influence really this immense? A dinner where even the Deputy Mayor wasn’t in the main seat—was it appropriate for him to attend?

During the meal, Professor Hong expressed his hope that Zhang Wei could deposit the painting at the Museum for a period of time, allowing them to study it. Zhang Wei naturally agreed. He toasted with tea instead of wine, chatting pleasantly with the distinguished guests.

Hong Yue also generously offered to help Zhang Wei find potential buyers, having made many connections during his time working at a French gallery.

The meal was enjoyable for both hosts and guests.

Zhang Wei went to the front desk to settle the bill. Seeing that a meal for seventy or eighty people had only cost a little over thirty thousand yuan, he was surprised. The restaurant manager even gave him a ten percent discount, hoping he would become a regular customer, and added him on WeChat with a beaming smile.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Zhang Wei returned to Jiangnan Garden. As soon as he entered, he saw An Xiaoxi and Liu Haorui eating takeout. Curious, he asked, ”Weren’t you two supposed to attend the Public Security Bureau’s commendation ceremony today? How come you didn’t even get a meal out of it?”

Liu Haorui said gloomily, ”Don’t even mention it. Captain Zuo happened to be out on a case today, and we didn’t feel comfortable asking anyone else to swipe their meal cards for us. We had no choice but to come back and eat takeout.”

Beside him, An Xiaoxi took out a delivery box. ”Oh, by the way, a delivery guy just dropped off a big box. I didn’t know it was yours, so I opened it.” Then she looked at Zhang Wei with disdain. ”Have you lost your mind? If you wanted to buy a computer, you should’ve asked me for advice. What’s the use of buying a second-hand relic?”

Ignoring her, Zhang Wei rummaged through the box for a moment and pulled out a hard drive. ”Just throw the old computer away later. This is my ultimate goal.”

An Xiaoxi took it skeptically and connected it to her laptop. Soon, densely packed folders popped up. Opening one of them, she found dozens of... well, Japanese ”educational” videos.

Liu Haorui’s eyes lit up. ”Old Zhang, you really know how to find hidden treasures. This is indeed a gem.”

An Xiaoxi’s face flushed red. ”You two disgusting men, that’s gross!”

”Haha, I didn’t expect the previous owner of this hard drive to have hoarded so much good stuff. But I don’t play online poker anymore. There are two bitcoins somewhere on this hard drive, but I don’t know which folder they’re in. An Xiaoxi, I leave this task to you.”

So, with a red face, An Xiaoxi began searching through the hard drive, with... less-than-suitable images occasionally popping up on the screen.

Not long after, ”There really are!” An Xiaoxi breathed a sigh of relief. After all, as a minor, she couldn’t handle such shocking visuals; it might give her styes.

Zhang Wei checked the market price. Due to the ongoing U.S. election period, bitcoin had skyrocketed to a high of 510,000 yuan each. He instructed An Xiaoxi to list them for sale immediately. Liu Haorui also transferred the four million yuan bonus he received from the Public Security Bureau today to Zhang Wei. Soon, Zhang Wei’s account balance increased by over five million yuan.

After distributing shares to the two of them, he suddenly remembered something and asked, ”What about that piece of jade?”

An Xiaoxi looked at Zhang Wei warily. ”Why are you asking?”

”To sell it, of course. No matter how beautiful a stone is, can it compare to the practicality of cold, hard cash?” With his intelligence system, Zhang Wei knew he would encounter all sorts of gemstones in the future. For now, it was better to secure the profits. He was still saving up to buy that large luxury apartment by the Huangpu River.

”Let’s talk about it tomorrow. Let me hold onto it for one more night,” An Xiaoxi pleaded. This girl must have been a Western tyrannosaurus in her past life—quite fierce and particularly fond of sparkling gemstones.

With nothing else to do in the evening, Zhang Wei thought about the greenhouse nearing completion and decided to visit the Instrument Branch Factory. He also wanted to check on Zhang Hong, Wang Sheng, and the others’ living conditions. Upon hearing ”Instrument Factory,” An Xiaoxi instantly lost interest in her takeout. She clamored to go along, planning to grab some lamb skewers before heading back.

Zhang Wei had no choice but to drive the two of them toward Fengxian District.

As they were about to reach the entrance of the Instrument Factory, Liu Haorui, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly exclaimed in surprise, ”Huh? Isn’t that Old Man Li? Why is he sneaking into the village like that?”

Zhang Wei took a closer look. A figure, bundled up tightly, was peering around as they made their way into the village. From theBack view, it was unmistakably the gatekeeper, Old Man Li.

This unusual sight piqued Liu Haorui’s curiosity. ”Come on, let’s follow and see what this old man is up to.” An Xiaoxi was also eager to join.

At this moment, a herd of mythical beasts stampeded through Zhang Wei’s mind. Of course, he knew what the old man was planning. But it’s broad daylight, sir! Can’t you hold back under the clear sky?

However, he had no reason to stop the other two. He could only lock the car and follow.

They watched as Old Man Li moved furtively along the path, occasionally looking back over his shoulder. Fortunately, the three of them reacted quickly and avoided detection. Soon, Old Man Li arrived at the doorstep of a house. Instead of knocking, he circled around to the back of the wall. A pile of logs, about a person’s height, was stacked against the base of the wall. The old man climbed up, skillfully grabbed the top of the wall, and flipped over.

The three of them were left speechless by this maneuver. The old man’s agility was truly impressive!