Cultivation System: Stronger with Age Chapter 1406 - 613: Guanyin Jade Statue (2)

The next moment,

The water inside the wooden barrel before him began to tremble slightly. A water line spiraled up from the barrel, forming a rather peculiar water arch in midair, and then landed near Lin Xuankong’s fingers, wrapping around them continuously!

"The Blood Spirit Technique focuses on cultivating and transforming Life Spirit Power. Although its offensive Demonic Techniques are not strong, they can still manipulate basic substances like water, wood, gold, fire, and earth by consuming some Demonic Path True Qi! With these methods, even though I’m at the Early Stage of the Second Layer of Transcendence, unable to resist simultaneous attacks from a few armed assailants, I can wield power similar to those wielding guns, even when unarmed!"

Lin Xuankong fiddled with the transparent water line, a trace of confidence flashing in his eyes.

...

Miao Family’s inner chamber secret room.

Ma Nanfeng looked at the dozen or so exotic stones before him, frowned, and said:

"It’s really strange. That big figure from the Sima Family, since he has secretly come to hide at Qing Lake, why is he suddenly having that Huang Family girl collect various precious items everywhere! And with the current turbulent times, although these rare items are precious, they are far less valuable than hard currency such as the silver dollar, gold, and silver, which are more worth preserving. Yet, the Huang Family girl insists on acquiring various rare items using a large amount of silver and gold, which truly puzzles me!"

Miao Yun Lake, frowning beside him, picked up a green jade in front of him, played with it for a while, and sighed, "After all, it was Huang Yun’Er’s phone call that personally conveyed this, repeatedly stating it’s Mr. Sima who wants to collect these rare items. Since that’s the case, we can only quickly prepare some unique treasures! Actually, the most perplexing thing is, according to Mr. Sima’s usual style, even if he plans to collect rare items, he should be gathering tasteful antiques, paintings, and cultural items!

Yet this time, Mr. Sima is spending silver taels to gather a large quantity of peculiar jades, woods, special metals, stone materials, and each county chief is required to prepare at least thirty items! Strange, indeed strange!"

Ma Nanfeng nodded slightly, and said: "No matter what, since Mr. Sima and the Huang Family’s princess have spoken, even my father there will surely help!

Since they have agreed to purchase with silver, gold, and the silver dollar, we won’t suffer a loss. At most, we’ll just take Huang Yun’Er at a cost price!"

Miao Yun Lake sighed, "That is true, but now in Qingyuan City, regardless of those few Deputy Captains or the County Magistrate and two Deputy County Magistrates, they are acquiring rare items aggressively after receiving orders. As the Inspector Bureau Chief, it’s certainly not appropriate for me to compete with them! In these recent years, our family has collected many antiques, paintings, and cultural items, yet truly valuable exotic stones are few. Trying to gather thirty items within three days could be challenging!"

Ma Nanfeng clenched his teeth and said solemnly:

"The Huang and Feng families’ strength is much more powerful than our Jeezhou Ma Family, not to mention the Sima Family, which ranks above the four major families! Since the Patriarch of the Sima Family, Sima Dongming has spoken, no matter how difficult the task, it must be accomplished! If not, I might as well donate the Guanyin Jade Statue my father gave us at our wedding! This statue is made from the finest He Tian Jade as the base material, carved by the most famous master in the Capital City. Its value far exceeds that of ordinary exotic stones and jades, and it’s quite famous throughout Jee Province!

With this statue, it should suffice to cover the equivalent of dozens of exotic stones and jades. Even in this chaotic world, its value exceeds five thousand taels of silver. In this way, it should give Mr. Sima Dongming adequate face, and I’m sure he’ll be pleased upon receiving this statue!"

"This..." Miao Yun Lake’s expression paused as he heard this, and he turned to look at the Jade Guanyin statue inside the innermost cabinet, standing nearly a foot and a half high,

He hesitated, saying:

"You told me when we got married that among the treasures my father-in-law cherishes, the Jade Guanyin Statue is one of the most precious! Unlike other treasures and exotic stones, this statue seems to possess a unique power. Being close to it brings peace and dispels sorrow! I’ve seen many treasures, antiques, and cultural items, whether in the Ma Family or elsewhere, but I’ve never seen such a mysterious treasure!

The key point is, in this turbulent world, although this Jade Guanyin Statue is not considered the best of treasures and lacks the utility value of gold and silver, in times of prosperity, this statue’s worth is tens of thousands or even one hundred thousand taels of silver! Is it really meant to be handed over to Sima Dongming?"

Displaying a resolute expression, Ma Nanfeng nodded, "Zhongmin and Erhu are not in Qingyuan; they are a thousand miles away in Hu Yang, leading troops to defend against Quzhou’s invasion. Who else can we rely on in Qingyuan but ourselves? Mr. Sima Dongming is an elder whom even the President of the Great Yan Kingdom addresses as Teacher Sima. As a small local chief inspector, without a good opportunity, you might never have the chance to speak with such a prominent figure in your lifetime!

Now that he has spoken for the first time, seeking help from the chief officials of every city in Jee Province, it’s a golden opportunity to form a favorable relationship with this esteemed elder. If missed, you may never find another chance like this to get close to Mr. Sima in the future!"

"Do we really need to send this statue away?" Miao Yun Lake looked at the Jade Guanyin Statue with a trace of reluctance.

Beside them, the always silent Miao Wan’er suddenly spoke up, "Father, Mother, why feel so troubled! I have a way that will not require sacrificing this Jade Guanyin Statue while also helping Father seize this opportunity to get in good graces with Mr. Sima!"

Initially saddened, Ma Nanfeng and Miao Yun Lake were taken aback by Miao Wan’er’s words, looking at her; Ma Nanfeng couldn’t help but ask in surprise, "Both of us are here worrying without finding a solution. What can you, a little girl, propose?"

Miao Wan’er smiled, making a slight bow towards her mother, Ma Nanfeng, and said:

"As a junior, my connections and capabilities naturally don’t match yours, my esteemed parents! However, as a young person, there are advantages, and since Father is hindered by various considerations and fears, unable to publicly compete with the County Magistrate and state officials for jade and exotic stones, I can take action!

Mother, don’t forget, I studied for six full years at Yunlu Book Society, accumulating many classmates, girlfriends, and friends, many of whose families are quite affluent. Among them, there must be some families that have collected truly valuable exotic stones and jades! Even if their collections are not vast, with daughter seeking out a few dozen or even hundreds of families, she can surely gather enough jade and exotic stones for Father!"

Upon hearing this, Miao Yun Lake gently slapped his forehead, "Indeed, in my urgency, I overlooked this. Rather than competing with those seven or eight chief officials at external specialty stores, I can approach some well-connected friends and acquire from their homes! Even if they are unwilling to sell, as long as I top up the price, I can definitely gather some!"

Miao Wan’er continued:

"Exactly! Furthermore, according to my thoughts, regardless of how many silver dollars, silver taels, and gold we spend, we should purchase at least seventy pieces, doubling Mr. Sima Dongming’s requirement. And when handing over to Miss Huang Yun’Er, don’t charge her the original price!

If Miss Huang Yun’Er or Mr. Sima Dongming insist on giving reimbursement at the original cost, we can ask Mr. Sima Dongming or Miss Huang Yun’Er to let me accompany Miss Huang Yun’Er or Mr. Sima Dongming in the future and learn some of the chess techniques Mr. Sima specializes in!

Even if we don’t charge them directly, Mr. Sima and Miss Huang Yun’Er might be displeased. By arranging this way, not only can we proactively offer a gift, but I might also find a chance to get close to Miss Huang Yun’Er and establish rapport with Mr. Sima in the future!"