The entire ocean is my fishing ground.

Chapter 126 The Exorbitant Price of Timber Shocks the Entire City

Zhou Dazhuang's legs were still trembling. He leaned against the cabin door, panting heavily, his face as white as paper.

"Boss...this...this is golden nanmu...submerged wood..."

"A whole one...it's this big...we're...we're rich!"

Lin Chen brushed the water droplets off his body, his expression unchanged, and just stared at the big log.

This thing is from that ghost ship.

"Don't just stand there like idiots."

Lin Chen spoke.

"Hei Zi, immediately contact the largest security and transportation company in the provincial capital. Get a bulletproof heavy truck with eight escort vehicles in front and behind. Deliver this thing safely to the Boya Auction House in the provincial capital within one day."

"Dazhuang, you go with us in the truck. Fill the truck with ice and wrap the wood completely with heat-insulating cloth. Nobody else is allowed to touch it except you and me."

Sun Heizi pulled out his phone: "Okay, boss! Get it done right away! Damn it, let's see who dares to touch our precious baby!"

……

Three days later, in the provincial capital.

Boya Auction House, the most prestigious private auction house in the province, has a strange atmosphere today.

The wealthy people who usually frequented the area were now all gathered around a large exhibition booth, whispering amongst themselves, their expressions more fascinating than the last.

In the middle of the booth, there was a large log, about ten meters long and more than three meters thick, just sitting there.

Everyone smelled an indescribable fragrance and saw golden threads flowing on the surface of the wood.

"Is this really golden nanmu wood? Something doesn't look quite right to me."

"Who cares if it's right or wrong? It's so big! If it's real, it's not just about the money; it's a family heirloom!"

In the crowd, a well-dressed man curled his lip and said to the person next to him, "I doubt it. Where would you find such a large piece of ebony? Maybe it's just some scrap wood that's been painted and soaked in chemicals? I heard the owner of this thing is that Dragon Spine Fresh guy who's been all the rage lately, a fishmonger. How could he possibly have such a treasure?"

He had a loud voice, and several people nearby heard him. When they looked at the booth again, their expressions changed.

This guy is the manager of a branch of Jianghai Club. After Lei Wanhai fell from grace, he started a small antique business. He's here today purely to cause trouble.

At this moment, the auction house manager walked over with an elderly Japanese man wearing a kimono and sporting a mustache.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mr. Kojiro Kimura, a renowned antique appraiser from Japan! Three generations of the Kimura family have been appraising wooden artifacts for the Emperor, and we've specially invited him here today to give us his expert opinion!"

Kimura Kojiro nodded to everyone, walked to the booth, and took out a white glove and a high-powered magnifying glass from a wooden box.

He bent down, pressed the magnifying glass against the glass cover, and examined it inch by inch.

It took Kimura Kojiro a full ten minutes to stand up straight.

Everyone was staring at him.

Kojiro Kimura took off his gloves and put them back in the box, then spoke in heavily accented Chinese.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you all."

He shook his head.

"This is not natural petrified wood."

"First, its fragrance is too faint, it's made with chemical fragrances. Real thousand-year-old ebony has a fragrance that penetrates deep into the wood, it's clear and transparent when you smell it, it's not like this."

"Secondly, the gold thread pattern is too even, it looks fake. It's like it was laser-cut and then filled with gold powder. God couldn't make something so 'perfect'."

"So," Kimura Kojiro's voice rose a little, and he glanced around, saying each word carefully, "this is just a cheap piece of wood, soaked in chemicals, carved with patterns, filled with gold powder to make it look old... rotten wood!"

The entire audience erupted in chaos.

"Fake? Is it really fake?"

"I knew it! A fishmonger like him can't possibly have such good fortune!"

Jiang Haihui was the loudest one shouting in the crowd, pointing at the booth and yelling, "Liar! Big liar! Are you crazy for money? You think you can swindle money in the provincial capital with a piece of broken wood? Boya Auction House has completely lost face this time!"

The wealthy people stepped back one by one, their eyes filled with disdain and anger as they looked at the booth.

The auction house manager turned pale, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

Throughout the entire venue, Lin Chen was the only one still calmly sitting on the sofa in the corner, drinking tea.

Seeing that Lin Chen didn't react at all, the guy became even more aggressive, rushing up to him and yelling, "You, surnamed Lin, how dare you sit here?! Get out! Our provincial capital doesn't welcome liars like you!"

Lin Chen put down his teacup and raised his eyelids slightly.

There was no emotion in his eyes.

"Are you done arguing?"

At that moment, the auction house doors were pushed open.

Several people walked in.

Leading the group was Huo Zhenxiong, the patriarch of the Huo family.

Behind him followed an elderly man with gray hair, wearing a Zhongshan suit, who looked quite energetic.

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Everyone recognized Huo Zhenxiong, and when they saw the old man behind Huo Lao, they were all quite surprised.

"That...that's Mr. Zhang, the retired director of the Palace Museum?"

"My goodness, Mr. Zhang Boqian? Didn't he retire ten years ago and disappear without a trace?"

Huo Zhenxiong didn't even look at anyone else, walked straight up to Lin Chen, and laughed: "Young friend Lin, sorry to keep you waiting, there was a traffic jam on the way."

Lin Chen stood up, nodded to Huo Zhenxiong, and then looked at Zhang Boqian behind him, respectfully calling out, "Old Zhang."

As soon as Zhang Boqian entered, his eyes were fixed on the large piece of wood on the display stand. He rushed to the front of the stand, his lips trembling.

"This...this..."

When Kimura Kojiro saw Zhang Boqian, his expression changed slightly, but he still stepped forward and bowed: "Mr. Zhang, this is a fake. I have already checked it. You don't need to waste your time."

Zhang Boqian completely ignored him, walked around the booth once, then suddenly turned around and shouted, "Open it!"

The auction house manager was startled and quickly ordered the glass cover to be opened.

An even stronger, strange fragrance filled the entire hall.

Zhang Boqian took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured a drop of clear liquid onto his fingertip, and then carefully wiped it on the black wood.

Where the liquid touched, the surface of the black wood immediately shimmered with golden light, and golden ripples spread out.

"Dragon...Gentiana scabra!"

Zhang Boqian's tears streamed down his face, his beard trembled, and he hugged the large log tightly.

"It's Gentian Golden Silk Nanmu! A sacred tree only found in books! They say this wood grows in the shadiest places, yet it grows towards the sun, taking a hundred years to grow an inch, and a thousand years to form its heartwood. The heartwood is incredibly hard, with grain patterns resembling gentian, and its fragrance can prolong life, ward off evil spirits, and protect against misfortune!"

The old curator whirled around, pointing at the pale-faced Kojiro Kimura, and roared, "You! And you! You bunch of blind idiots! Do you even know what this is? This is a national treasure! The largest piece of 'Gentian Golden Phoebe' in the world right now! And you actually called it rotten wood?!"

"This is a waste of a precious gem! Ignorant! Shameless!"

Zhang Boqian was so angry that he trembled all over and pointed at Kimura Kojiro's nose while cursing.

Kimura Kojiro's face was ashen, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, repeatedly muttering, "Impossible...this can't be..."

As for that guy from Jianghai Society, he had long since shrunk into a corner of the crowd, his head bowed so low he wished he could disappear into the ground.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned, staring at the scene before them, speechless.

After a long while, a wealthy man finally asked, trembling, "Mr. Zhang... what about this... this treasure..."

Zhang Boqian took a breath.

His gaze returned to the wood, and he reached out to touch it. In an unyielding tone, he told the auctioneer, "The starting bid for this is one hundred million!"

"One...one hundred million?!"

The wealthy people in the audience were stunned for a moment, then went crazy!

"I'll offer 150 million!"

"Two hundred million! This is mine!"

"Two hundred and thirty million! Don't even think about taking it from me!"

"I'll offer 300 million! In cash!"

The price skyrocketed in just a few minutes.

The wealthy man who was just complaining about this broken piece of wood is now red-eyed and frantically waving the number plate in his hand.

Finally, a mysterious buyer quickly raised the price to an alarming number.

"Three hundred and sixty million!"

"Three hundred and sixty million! Is there any more?! Is there any higher?!"