Although Xu Qingqing felt that Ma Yuan's look was a bit strange, she didn't say much. She spoke up and reminded him again, "Secretary Ma Yuan, you should settle the payment with the village head quickly."
Only then did Ma Yuan come to his senses. He scratched his head and showed a reluctant smile.
"Sorry, but the settlement has to wait for the president. I'll take the statistical results back. As soon as the president comes, I'll ask him to allocate the funds immediately."
Xu Qingqing frowned. Before they came, Ma Yuan clearly said that he could make all the decisions. But now that they were here, why did they have to wait for the president to allocate the funds?
Fortunately, the village head was a reasonable person and trusted Xu Qingqing very much. He waved his hand generously and said,
"We're not in a hurry to use this money. You can pay us later."
Seeing the disappointed expressions on the villagers' faces, Xu Qingqing couldn't bear to let them go away empty - handed. She decided to pay in advance.
"I'll pay in advance." Xu Qingqing took out her phone and looked at the young college - student accountant.
"Can I pay by mobile payment?"
"Yes."
The accountant nodded and immediately took out his phone.
"Transfer the money to me first. I'll go to the bank to exchange it for cash and then distribute it to the villagers."
"Okay. Then I'll trouble you."
Xu Qingqing nodded in agreement. She said to Ma Yuan, who was greedily touching the ancient bronze coins, "Assistant Ma, I'll pay in advance. When the president comes back, you ask him to pay me back."
Ma Yuan's eyes were only on the ancient bronze coins. How could he listen to what Xu Qingqing said?
He planned to sell some of the ancient bronze coins at a high price and then give Xu Qingqing a small amount of money.
In this way, he could make a lot of money!
After Xu Qingqing made the payment, she transported the ancient bronze coins in the sack to the trunk of the car and took them back to the Cultural Relics Protection Association.
Ma Yuan directly drove the car and took the ancient bronze coins to the warehouse where the treasures were stored. He told Xu Qingqing to go back quickly and that he would handle the rest.
Xu Qingqing didn't think much about it and turned around to leave.
After Xu Qingqing left, Ma Yuan quietly took out a few ancient bronze coins from the sack and stuffed them into his pocket. He planned to go and find a buyer first.
Ma Yuan had met many rich people through his uncle. He decided to go to Wang Shengtai, a well - known rich man in Dongchuan Province who was fond of ancient bronze coins.
Wang Shengtai was the richest man in Dongchuan Province. He made his fortune by mining and transporting coal. He was very passionate about cultural relics and had donated money to the Cultural Relics Protection Association many times.
Wang Shengtai, who was working, heard from his butler that Ma Yuan, the nephew of the president of the cultural relics association, had come to visit. He didn't even want to talk to him.
When having dinner with the president, Wang Shengtai had heard the president complain that this nephew, Ma Yuan, had done many bad things and always tried to take shortcuts.
Wang Shengtai didn't want to get involved with bad people for fear of getting into trouble. He told the butler to send Ma Yuan away.
Ma Yuan was leaning against his car, admiring Wang Shengtai's luxurious and magnificent mansion. It was a four - story duplex with a European - American style decoration. The huge floor - to - ceiling windows and the swimming pool looked extremely comfortable.
There was an envious glint in Ma Yuan's eyes. He spat on the ground. After he sold the ancient bronze coins, he would also be rich enough to build a mansion as big as he wanted.
The black iron gate was pushed open by a middle - aged man in casual clothes. His hair was graying. He was Wang Shengtai's butler. He politely asked Ma Yuan to leave.
"Mr. Ma Yuan, our master is in a video conference and is not convenient to see you. Please come another day."
Ma Yuan was as shrewd as a fox. He understood that Wang Shengtai didn't want to see him. Without saying much, he took out the set of the dragon coin, turtle coin, and horse coin and handed them to the butler, with a hint of show - off in his tone.
"I came to see Mr. Wang Shengtai today to offer him a gift. If you drive me away, don't regret it later!"
After saying that, Ma Yuan put the three ancient bronze coins into the butler's hand.
"Take them to Mr. Wang Shengtai. If they can't catch his eye, I'll leave immediately!"
On the way, he had heard Xu Qingqing say that these ancient bronze coins were made in the fourth year of Yuanshou and were specially made by Emperor Wen for Yang Tianfu. Their value was immeasurable.
Wang Shengtai had seen a lot of things and would definitely recognize these as good items.
The butler weighed the heavy black bronze coins in his hand. He didn't dare to make a hasty judgment. He had no choice but to take them in and show them to Wang Shengtai.
"Master, Ma Yuan refuses to leave. He said he's here to offer you a gift..."
Hearing the butler report the same thing again, Wang Shengtai impatiently told him to present the items.
"I'd like to see what good things he has for me!"
The butler arranged the horse coin, dragon coin, and turtle coin one by one on the desk. Wang Shengtai's disgusted look only landed on them for a moment, but he was instantly shocked by the lifelike images of the horse, dragon, and turtle. He couldn't help but pick them up and examine them carefully.
Wang Shengtai rubbed his thumb across the surface of the ancient bronze coin, wiping off the dust. He took out a magnifying glass and held it close to his eyes, carefully examining the symbols on the outer circle of the ancient bronze coin. With a serious look on his face, he told the butler to call Ma Yuan in.
What era did these ancient bronze coins come from? He hadn't even seen them in the Complete Collection of Ancient Coins!
By this time, Ma Yuan was already impatient waiting outside. He kicked the outer wall of the villa aimlessly, leaving black footprints on the snow - white wall.
Would Wang Shengtai buy them or not!
Give him a definite answer!
If he didn't buy them, Ma Yuan could look for another buyer. He didn't have to keep waiting here in the cold!
When the butler came out of the villa, Ma Yuan quickly put away his impatient expression and put on an obsequious smile.
"How about it?"
The butler unlocked the iron gate from the inside and let Ma Yuan in.
"The master wants to see you."
Hearing the butler's words, Ma Yuan knew there was hope. He smiled and tidied up his windbreaker. He followed the butler in like a decent person, looking around at the resplendent decoration inside the villa as he walked.
No wonder he was the richest man in Dongchuan Province. His home was really beautifully decorated. When he had money, he would do the same.
The butler glanced at Ma Yuan out of the corner of his eye as Ma Yuan touched things randomly. He despised Ma Yuan in his heart as a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
When the butler led Ma Yuan into the office, Wang Shengtai's office was more like a small cultural relic exhibition hall.
There were glass display cabinets more than two meters high on three walls. Inside were the antiques that Wang Shengtai had collected over the years. They were dazzling and very valuable.
Wang Shengtai had already poured a special solution on one of the bronze coins. The ancient bronze coin instantly came to life and became shiny. The galloping horse on the back also seemed to be endowed with a soul, full of heroic momentum.
Wang Shengtai motioned for Ma Yuan to sit on the chair for guests. He folded his hands and looked at Ma Yuan with a scrutinizing look.
"Where did you get these ancient bronze coins? Does your uncle know?"
Hearing Wang Shengtai's question, Ma Yuan put on a smile to cover his uneasiness and lied, "I just bought them from the villagers in the countryside. As long as the master doesn't tell my uncle, he won't know."
Hearing this, Wang Shengtai's smile disappeared. A sneer appeared on his face.
"You're so bold! You even dare to steal cultural relics and look for a buyer!"