Trillionaire's Slice of Life

Chu Mo had received a phone call from Lin Hongqiang a couple of days ago, telling him that Mr. Lu had invited him for tea, which prompted Chu Mo to have Jiang Tao look into the man's background.

He had been unaware, but after some research, Chu Mo realized that there was such a prominent figure hidden within the city.

The elder in front of him, although he did not hold the esteemed status of the Zhou family patriarch, Zhou Shixing, was very reputable and well-connected in social circles due to his approachable and sociable nature.

It could be said that in the entire high society of the city, nearly everyone would give him some face, and that was also the reason Chu Mo was here.

He wanted to establish his own elite club, and the construction was already underway, directed by Yang Xuan with great urgency.

With Yang Xuan's current connections and capabilities, she could only take care of the construction and management of the club, but expecting her to persuade top-tier families to join was wishful thinking.

Such tasks still required Chu Mo's personal touch, and his meeting with the well-known Mr. Lu of the city was actually with the intention of establishing his own network.

After Lin Hongqiang made the introductions, as the junior, Chu Mo naturally did not act aloof. He stepped forward, extended his hand, and said:

"Mr. Lu, I've long admired your name."

This 69-year-old elder, who could be considered from Chu Mo's grandfather's generation, also did not put on airs and replied with a friendly demeanor:

"Chu Mo, indeed a fine figure of a man. In my life, I've met many young talents but to find one comparable to you, they could be counted on one hand."

It was a standard compliment, and Chu Mo did not take it seriously, merely listening politely.

Once everyone was seated, it was then that Chu Mo noticed a beautiful woman in a qipao in the private room. She looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, standing behind Lu Meiqiang with a calm demeanor, and Chu Mo could not guess the relationship between the two.

"I've heard that Young Master Chu likes antiques and recently acquired a Song dynasty ceramic piece for a high price of a billion. I wonder if there's an opportunity to admire it someday."

Mr. Lu spoke with a smile, to which Chu Mo replied with a wry smile, shaking his head:

"That vase was originally a beloved item of the chairman of Shangyuan Entertainment, Ren Wenxuan. It was rude of me to bid impulsively, disrupting the auction, so I later sent someone to deliver the vase to Mr. Ren. If you wish to see it, Mr. Lu, I'm afraid you would have to take the trouble to visit Shangyuan Entertainment."

The elder, who was not at all concerned, waved his hand with a hearty laugh and said:

"Ren and I don't get along; I don't appreciate his collection, and he doesn't value mine. But speaking of that Southern Song ceramic, I have heard of it, and its quality can only be considered mediocre. I happen to have a fine piece here, and I wonder if President Chu would be interested."

Chu Mo certainly wasn't one to spoil the mood and, with a look of pleasant surprise, said:

"Today I shall feast my eyes indeed."

The senior lightly lifted his head while the woman in the qipao turned and retrieved a long antique box from behind, even the pearwood box itself appeared to be no ordinary item.

Mr. Lu, the elder bearing the surname, first carefully wiped his hands with a tissue before personally opening the antique box and pulling out a scroll of painting. Unrolled, a piece of calligraphy with an air of antiquity was revealed.

"This is 'Inscription on a Stone Plinth' by the renowned Northern Song artist Huang Tingjian. I acquired this calligraphy several years ago at an astonishing price of 436.8 million yuan, setting a record for the most expensive painting and calligraphy sale, becoming the priciest in our Hua Country.

The full text of 'Inscription on a Stone Plinth' is 600 characters; each character therefore costs 720,000 yuan. It's truly worth its weight in gold, President Chu, how do you find it?"

The elder, taking a deep breath, was filled with adoration as he gazed at the calligraphy before him, with a sense of pride fitting the master of the house.

To the old Chu Mo, a painting worth 430 million was an astronomical price; in the past, he wouldn't even have had the qualification to stand before it.

Now, however, his expression was calm, and aside from a hint of curiosity, there was no sign of shock in his eyes.

Not long ago, at an auction, in order to put pressure on the Wu family, he sold them a piece of land worth 230 billion for 200 billion to their rivals without even batting an eyelid at his 30 billion loss.

Unknown to Chu Mo, he had already been dubbed the number one profligate son of the city, among the wealthy second-generation circles.

For Chu Mo, not to mention four billion, even forty billion would not weigh on his mind.

Of course, even though he wasn't interested in antiques and calligraphy, he still needed to play the part, especially since his visit today was to network with the elder. After taking a moment to observe as if interested, Chu Mo nodded and said:

"Wonderful characters, a splendid painting, truly worth a thousand gold per word. It's a pity I wasn't present at the auction years ago; otherwise, Mr. Lu, you would've had to pay several billion more to secure this piece."

Upon Chu Mo's words, the cheerful old man said with a sigh of appreciation:

"President Chu, if you like it, it's not too late to take it now. However, if we're talking about the single most expensive character, it's not this 'Inscription on a Stone Plinth'. The 'Peace Letter' by the Sage of Calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, fetched 308 million yuan at auction ten years ago.

That piece has only 41 characters, each costing 7.5 million yuan; only that work truly deserves the title of 'worth its weight in gold.'."

The elder was clearly knowledgeable about antiques and calligraphy, having an understanding of various famous works.

Chu Mo suddenly thought of the club still under construction, which would only feature top-tier materials, but he felt something was missing. Mere luxury seemed insufficient since it lacked a certain depth.

To establish a top club in the city, it needed to have its own unique characteristics. By collecting various antiques and calligraphies, even if nothing else, it would certainly attract a significant number of wealthy patrons who appreciated antiques.