39: Chapter 39 Meteorite Sword

Chen Huaiming observed Elder Chen's expression; seeing that his father remained silent, he took it as tacit permission. He picked up a piece of Tianhuang soapstone with a frozen texture and said happily, "Then we won't stand on ceremony. If you need anything in the future, just come to me. Aren't you short on funds? Just name a figure, and your brother will lend it to you without a cent of interest."

Seeing Chen Huaiming accept, Wang Zhenglin also unceremoniously took the cinnabar frozen-textured piece in his hand. He toyed with it, unable to put it down, and said, "Xiao Xiao, I won't be polite then. When you come to the capital in the future, make sure to visit our home."

"Huaiyu, you should take one too. Go make a record of it tomorrow. And Huaiming, you're reeking of copper; don't mention money every time you speak. If Xiao Xiao has difficulties, would you really just stand by and watch? Where are the gifts you all prepared?" Elder Chen saw that his third son and son-in-law had accepted, but his eldest son remained motionless. Knowing his concerns, he spoke up.

Chen Huaiyu didn't reach for a box. Instead, he first asked his wife to bring a scroll, which he handed to Cao Xiao, saying, "This is my meeting gift. It's a piece of calligraphy by Elder Shen that I managed to obtain with great effort. The words on it are also my encouragement to you."

Cao Xiao took the scroll and opened it. On it, the line 'In poverty, maintain one's own integrity; in success, benefit the whole world' was written in vigorous and powerful running script. Cao Xiao understood Chen Huaiyu's meaning. He also knew of Elder Shen; the old man was a famous master calligrapher in the country, and his works were worth a fortune. This famous quote was cited from Mencius's 'Mencius,' meaning that if one is in an unfavorable situation and cannot achieve their ambitions, they should strive for progress and focus more on improving their own character and abilities; when one is successful and prominent, they should keep the world in mind, care about the suffering of others, and benefit the people. Thus, he said, "Thank you, Big Brother. I will keep this in mind."

"Xiao Xiao, I've ordered a sports car for you. It won't be available for a few days, so I'll have it sent to you then," Chen Huaiming said.

"Thank you, Fourth Brother!"

Wang Zhenglin saw that everyone had given their meeting gifts and asked Chen Huaisu to fetch something. Chen Huaisu carried a large, heavy rectangular brocade box and placed it on the table in front of Cao Xiao, saying, "Your brother-in-law doesn't attend to his proper duties. You must be careful when playing with this thing."

"How am I not attending to my duties? I just bought something from a competitor, what's the big deal! Xiao Xiao, open it and take a look. This is an authentic Longquan treasure sword. I don't know what material they used to forge it, but this one is a unique piece. With one strike, it can even cut through a titanium alloy rod as thick as a pinky finger. Blowing a hair across the blade to cut it is a trivial matter, and it can slice through a dozen sheets of paper with a light stroke. I paid quite a price to get it. Well? Are you satisfied?" Wang Zhenglin said proudly, as if he had made the sword himself.

Cao Xiao opened the box. Inside lay a treasure sword about 1.2 meters long with simple, ancient patterns. He gripped the scabbard and gently drew a section. It didn't have the cold glint he expected; the blade was incredibly pitch-black and about an inch wider than a typical sword. Holding it in his hand, the weight felt unusual, unlike ordinary steel or alloy. The sword weighed no less than ten kilograms. He scanned it with his Detection Function and found that the metal material was not man-made but seemed to be forged directly from melted natural ore. The elemental composition was extremely complex; although iron accounted for more than half, there were many rare elements like nickel, osmium, iridium, molybdenum, and over ten others. Some elements even existed in their pure elemental form and were unevenly distributed, not forming a uniform alloy. He couldn't even find several of the complex metal combinations in the AI's database. The significance of this sword lay not in its sharpness or toughness, but in its internal metal composition, which had great research value. If he wasn't mistaken, this sword was forged directly from a meteorite. As long as Cao Xiao deciphered the mystery of its metal composition, he could obtain several precious alloy formulas. Thus, he said happily to Wang Zhenglin, "I love it. What man doesn't love weapons? Thank you, Brother-in-law!"

There was one box left on the table. Cao Xiao handed it to Elder Chen and said, "Teacher, this is for Third Brother. I'll have to trouble you to keep it for now."

"Alright, I'll make sure he has a gift ready when the time comes," Elder Chen said readily.

Cao Xiao then continued to pull boxes out of his bag. After placing them all on the table, he took one out and handed it with both hands to his teacher's wife, saying, "Mistress, this is a token of respect from your student. Please accept it."

The old lady smiled as she took the box and opened it. Inside was a white, warm, and translucent jade bracelet. She took it out and put it on her wrist; the size was just right. She said kindly, "I won't give you a meeting gift today. When you bring Yueyou over some day, I'll give it to her then."

Cao Xiao felt a bit awkward; things hadn't even started yet. It seemed his teacher had already told the family about him and He Yueyou. The others were also looking at him with smiles. He quickly averted his gaze, opened all the boxes on the table, and said, "Then thank you, Mistress! These are gifts I prepared for my sisters-in-law and sister, and there are also some for my nephews inside. Please help me pass them along. You can pick them out yourselves. Of course, there's also one for our lovely little Fangfang."

The boxes on the table contained several bracelets and some pendants. There was only one small white jade one; the others were all made of chicken blood stone. Cao Xiao took the small white jade bracelet and put it on Fangfang's wrist.

The ladies had no resistance to jewelry. After discussing for a while, they decided on the distribution and promised to prepare gifts for He Yueyou. Little Fangfang was also very happy and gave Cao Xiao a big kiss on the cheek.

Finally, Cao Xiao took out the remaining boxes from the bag, opened them, and placed them before Elder Chen, saying, "Teacher, please help me estimate a price for these things. Brother Liu, if you need any, you can pick some out. I'll have to trouble you to help me sell the rest."

"glass species poplar green jadeite bracelets, pendants, and ring faces... Changhua chicken blood stone products with over eighty percent blood coverage in Tianhuang frozen-texture... Grade-one white jade products... Are you having a clearance sale?" Elder Chen muttered as he stared dumbfounded at the boxes Cao Xiao had opened.

"Cao Xiao, I'll take all of these. No need to sell them to anyone else. These fine items will be the core competitiveness of the shop. Once Elder Chen estimates the price, I'll buy them all at a uniform ten percent markup. But Elder Chen, you have to be careful and not be biased! Otherwise, I won't be able to afford them." Liu Guitang's eyes gleamed as he looked at the pair of glass species bracelets, and he stared greedily at the other jewelry.

"Don't worry, am I that kind of person? However, the current market is really unpredictable. The prices of these things double every year. I can only estimate based on the current market price. But given the rarity of these items, you won't lose money even if you buy them at a twenty percent premium. Having these in the shop will also invisibly boost the reputation of your Jicui Pavilion. Let's settle on a thirty percent markup for the purchase," Elder Chen said.

"Fine. What we lack right now is reputation. For Jicui Pavilion to expand beyond the country, scale alone isn't enough. These materials will be mined out in a few years. Even if we just keep them in the shop without selling, they'll be worth more than the current price in a few years. Elder Chen, please proceed with the valuation." Liu Guitang had no complaints. Elder Chen was telling the truth, and since Cao Xiao was no longer an outsider, there was no need to drive the price down.