As the three chatted, time slipped by. Chen Mo received a message on his phone stating that the seven million had arrived. Old Man He had made a single call, and the transfer had come through in just five minutes. He hadn't expected Old Man He to be such a genuine local tyrant—truly a rich person.
Chen Mo smiled faintly and said to Old Man He, "Old Man He, choose one of these two seals. I've received the payment." Although they had agreed on the price earlier, anything could happen before the money arrived, so the seals had remained on the table, resting on the yellow silk cloth lining from the wooden box.
Old Man He smiled and picked up one of the seals. The two were practically identical, leaving little room for selection, and he had hesitated for quite a while. He dearly wished he could tuck both seals in his arms, but Chen Mo was unwilling to sell the other one, so he had no choice but to repeat, "Little Chen, remember this: if you ever decide to transfer that seal, you must let me know first."
As he spoke, he took out a white business card. It had only a phone number and the character He on it—so simple it could not have been any simpler.
Chen Mo reached out and accepted the card, glanced at the contact information, then put it away. He was somewhat curious about Old Man He's identity. The simpler a business card was, the more extraordinary its owner tended to be. This was the first time he had received one so plain. Smiling, he nodded and said, "Don't worry, Old Man He. I'll remember. Also, this wooden box is a gift for you."
Old Man He slapped his forehead and laughed. "Look at my memory—I actually forgot about the original item." He was about to make a transfer, but Chen Mo immediately declined with a smile and kept refusing. Receiving seven million today had already made him overjoyed. There was no need to greedily haggle over a mere one thousand yuan and make himself seem ungenerous.
Seeing Chen Mo yield so firmly, Old Man He did not bring it up again. He had already paid a high price for the seal, and the wooden box was worth three thousand at most. To him, it was all small money, so there was no need to say anything further.
After the three drank tea for a while, they bid farewell. Chen Mo had no business card, but Old Man He had saved his number after Chen Mo sent over his bank card number.
Yet less than ten minutes after they left, he received another text message from the bank indicating that five thousand had been transferred in. Chen Mo was rather surprised. He had not expected Old Man He to be so courteous and did not know what to do. He directly drafted a text message and sent it over, expressing his gratitude once more. Although he did not want to accept the money, Old Man He had transferred it to him, so he had to keep it. One did not refuse a gift from an elder; transferring the money back would be a slap in the face. Chen Mo understood that much.
Inside a luxury car slowly leaving the Cultural Market, the girl asked Old Man He somewhat irritably, "Grandfather, why did you transfer another five thousand to that fellow? Couldn't you tell he was a money-grubber?"
"Haha! You're so mischievous!" Old Man He did not explain. Instead, he affectionately scolded his granddaughter with a smile.
"Grandfather, I'm nearly twenty already. Can you stop calling me mischievous, please?" the girl said in annoyance.
"Alright, I know. Our Xi Xi has grown up." Old Man He sighed with emotion. Time had passed so quickly. The granddaughter who had played at his knees not long ago was now already an eighteen-year-old young lady.
"Grandfather, you still haven't answered me. Why did you give that fellow another five thousand? You already gave him seven million before, and seven million was already very high for this piece of Tien Huang stone. That fellow said he would give you the wooden box, yet you transferred him another five thousand. Isn't that too much? Besides, even if you were going to pay him, One Thousand Yuan would have been enough." The girl's large eyes blinked as she questioned him.
"You... hmm, this can be considered two separate matters. First, the seven million was for the Tien Huang stone seal. The price may have been high, but could you buy such fine Tien Huang stone with seven million now? Whoever got their hands on such good items would be reluctant to part with them, so they were simply priceless and unavailable. We came across it today, so I paid for it. That was fate. If I priced this Tien Huang stone at eight million, people would definitely rush to buy it! Encountering such a fine item is already a blessing." Old Man He rubbed the seal in his hand and spoke with great feeling.
Hearing her grandfather put it that way, the girl understood. Although Tien Huang stones of this size and shape were currently priced at several million, they were scarce treasures that money could not buy. Therefore, seven million was absolutely worth it for this seal! She nodded, having figured it out, then asked, "What about the second matter?"
"The second matter is the price of this wooden box. At first, I offered three thousand, which was already a high price. In the Outside World, a wooden box from the Republic of China era like this would only be worth that much, perhaps even less. But think about it: once this wooden box had held an item, didn't it gain a special function? In the antiques world, once an object had a story or a special use, its value was no longer merely its original value. Additional value had to be added to it. So five thousand was about right." Old Man He patiently explained it to his granddaughter, hoping to broaden her life experience.
The girl finally understood the intricacies involved, but she still curled her lips and said, "Even so, you didn't need to give him so much. That fellow didn't know the tricks of the trade, and he wasn't an antique collector. You could have paid him nothing at all. Didn't he say he was giving you the wooden box?"
"Haha! Did that young man looking at you today make you dislike him?" Old Man He asked.
"Yes! Just thinking about it makes me angry!" the girl said.
"Guan Guan Ju Jiu, on the islet in the river; a graceful fair maiden, a gentleman's fine match! There was actually nothing wrong with it. That little guy looked at you only out of appreciation. There were no filthy thoughts in his mind. Your grandfather could tell that much. Otherwise, would there have been any conversation afterward?" Old Man He said. He was immensely proud of his granddaughter's looks, but Chen Mo's conduct today had also pleased him greatly. It was not easy to encounter such a youngster.
"Huh? Now that you mention it, I remember. Although his looking at me made me uncomfortable, he wasn't as annoying as other people!" The girl recalled Chen Mo's gaze and remembered its purity. There had been no lewdness in it. Therefore, although she disliked Chen Mo afterward, it was merely dislike, without any real disgust.
"Indeed. That youngster is not simple, though I cannot say exactly what is unusual about him. Just in terms of sharp eyesight, he surpasses me by far. I couldn't even see that the wooden box had hidden contents. I misjudged it today!" Old Man He said with a sigh.
"Grandfather, it wasn't a misjudgment at all! That fellow deliberately kept you from seeing it. If you had been able to handle it and examine it, you definitely would have spotted it!" The girl refused to let that fellow seem special in any way, so she had to knock him down at every turn. Yet for some reason, an image of Chen Mo had taken root in her heart.
"Hahahaha..." Hearing his granddaughter's words, Old Man He laughed heartily. They were merely a young girl's thoughts. As long as she was happy, that was enough.
"Xi Xi, remember this: be more magnanimous when you do things in the future. Don't be timid and hesitant. There could be schemes in many situations, whether open or hidden, but once you had made up your mind, you had to act with magnanimity and conduct yourself generously. It's alright if you do not understand this now. Just keep it in your heart, and you will gradually understand later." Old Man He said with a smile.
He did not explain in detail why one had to be magnanimous in doing things, but he had imparted the principle to his granddaughter. As long as she remembered it, that was enough. Such methods and breadth of mind were not something she could understand at her current age. As she grew older, she would eventually understand. Old Man He had confidence in his granddaughter.
After listening to her grandfather's words, the girl fell silent and did not continue asking. Although her grandfather still had not told her why, after giving seven million, he had also given another five thousand, she did not ask again. She already understood that even if she asked, her grandfather would not tell her. It was a question she needed to ponder carefully herself.
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