Joining Tiandao Company: Starting by mending a zombie world

After Duan Henian finished speaking, he went into the house with his hands behind his back, leaving the two people in the courtyard looking at each other in bewilderment.

Dai Ran's ears were still red as she glared at Chu Sheng and said, "What are you looking at?"

"I think that rose bush is blooming quite well," Chu Sheng said seriously, pointing to the flowerbed.

"That's a rose."

"oh."

The two carried their luggage into the villa.

Chu Sheng pushed open the door to the outermost room, put down his luggage, washed his face, and went downstairs to find Duan Henian.

Duan Henian had changed into a clean gray cloth long gown and was sitting on the mahogany sofa in the living room, making tea.

The tea is Longjing, pre-Qingming, and the leaves unfurl in the glass, a tender green.

"Sit down." Duan Henian pointed to the sofa opposite him. "Old Dai said on the phone that you came to the Treasure Appraisal Meeting to find two things."

"Shattered Moon Iron, Dark Wood Heart," Chu Sheng said without ceremony, taking his seat.

Duan Henian paused in pouring tea, then raised his eyelids to glance at him: "These two things are not safe."

"How so?"

"Shattered Moon Iron is the rarest type of meteorite iron. Swords forged from ordinary meteorite iron have a dull, blackened edge."

"It's made of Broken Moon Iron, with a silvery edge. It can cut through iron like mud, and it can also hurt things that ordinary swords and knives can't," Duan Henian said.

Chu Sheng understood what he meant—sneaky and malevolent. Broken Moon Iron is naturally warded off evil spirits and is a superior material for crafting magical artifacts.

"Sinking wood heartwood is even rarer," Duan Henian said. "Sinking wood itself is not cheap; it has to be old material that has been buried at the bottom of a riverbed for thousands or tens of thousands of years to be considered valuable. Carbonized wood is called ebony, while wood that is half carbonized and half jade-like is called sinking wood."

"The core of the submerged wood is the small section of jade-like pith in the very center of the submerged wood. The pith that can be extracted from a piece of submerged wood that is as thick as two people can hug is at most the thickness of a thumb and about three feet long."

He put down his teacup and looked at Chu Sheng: "What do you need this for?"

Chu Sheng did not hide anything: "I need to refine something, and these two materials are indispensable."

Duan Henian stared at him for a while, then leaned back on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Old Dai sent me a list of the items to be auctioned at this year's treasure appraisal event."

"There is indeed some Broken Moon Iron, embedded in the guard of an ancient Song Dynasty sword. It's not large, about the size of a thumbnail. The ebony heartwood wasn't on the list, but it might be in the Dark Field."

"Someone has made a move in previous years."

Chu Sheng's heart tightened: "Grandpa Duan, could you please ask me about the approximate price range for ebony heartwood?"

Duan Henian gave him a half-smile: "Price? They don't charge money. When it comes to things like dark wood cores, it's all about bartering. You have to offer something they'd like in exchange."

Chu Sheng nodded; he had been prepared—the Ginseng Spirit Pill was his bargaining chip.

"Let's not talk about that now," Duan Henian changed the subject. "The main competition for the treasure appraisal event starts tomorrow and lasts for three days. The closed-door events are the last two days. You have plenty of time to prepare. Let's have dinner tonight."

Duan Henian led the two of them out of the Western-style house, walked along the sycamore-lined road for about fifteen minutes, and then turned into a narrow alley.

At the end of the alley is an old Shikumen house with a dim light bulb hanging at the door, illuminating the three faded old plaques with the words "Dexingguan" on the lintel.

"This restaurant has been around since the Guangxu era."

Duan Henian pushed open the door, nodded and greeted the waiter, and went straight up to the private room by the window on the second floor.

The dishes were served quickly. Braised catfish, crab meat lion's head meatballs, sizzling eel shreds, braised pork belly with clover, and a bowl of braised pork and bamboo shoot soup. Duan Henian didn't say much, picked up his chopsticks and started eating, eating slowly and deliberately, but not missing a single bite.

Chu Sheng tasted the catfish; the flesh was so tender that it was hard to pick up with chopsticks, and it melted in his mouth. The broth was thick, salty, and savory.

Dai Ran ate until her eyes were squinted, her cheeks bulging, looking just like a cat that had stolen a fish.

"Slow down." Chu Sheng placed a piece of lion's head meatball on her plate. "No one's going to take it from you."

"Mind your own business," Dai Ran mumbled, her chopsticks already reaching for the sizzling eel.

Duan Henian looked at the two of them, a kind smile appearing on his lips. He didn't say anything, but poured himself a cup of yellow wine and sipped it slowly.

Halfway through his meal, Chu Sheng's phone vibrated. He looked down and saw a message from Shen Man:

"Arrived in Shanghai? How's your accommodation?"

Chu Sheng glanced at Dai Ran across from him, then at Duan Henian beside him, and typed back: "Old-style house, arranged by a friend, not bad."

Shen Man replied immediately: "That's good. I asked a few business friends about the dark area, and they all said it's very difficult to get in. Be careful, and don't turn off your phone."

"Got it," Chu Sheng replied, then placed his phone face down on the table.

Dai Ran was holding a ring between her fingers. She glanced at him, snorted, and didn't say anything.

Duan Henian picked up his wine glass, took a sip, glanced between the two men, and said nothing.

After finishing the meal, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening when we returned to the old house.

The next morning, Duan Henian changed into a dark green Tang suit, leaned on a rosewood cane, and led the two into the old Mercedes-Benz.

The venue for the appraisal event was a chamber of commerce building from the Republican era located on the banks of the Huangpu River.

The five-story brick building has the words "Shanghai Chamber of Commerce" engraved on a stone plaque above the entrance, and a row of luxury cars are parked in front.

Duan Henian was clearly a man with extensive connections, as people kept greeting him along the way.

He returned the greetings one by one, and introduced Chu Sheng and Dai Ran as "Old Dai's granddaughter" and "her friend".

Once inside the venue, Chu Sheng realized the significance of this treasure appraisal event.

The lobby on the first floor has thirty mahogany display stands, displaying Shang and Zhou bronzes, Song and Yuan porcelains, and Ming and Qing calligraphy and paintings, all marked with numbers and reserve prices.

The guests were all wealthy and influential, including collectors, investors, and foreign dignitaries.

Chu Sheng didn't linger at the booths in the open area; his goal was clear—the Broken Moon Iron and the Dark Wood Heart in the dark area.

Dai Ran, on the other hand, was having a great time browsing. She pulled him to a display stand, pointed to a blue-and-white plum vase in the glass case, and whispered excitedly:

"Look at this, it's from the official kiln during the Yongle period. Look at the color of the cobalt blue—"

Chu Sheng glanced at the price tag under the plum vase and silently looked away.

Throughout the morning, Chu Sheng sat quietly at the Mingchang auction, raising his paddle only once—to a Song Dynasty sword with a piece of broken moon iron the size of a thumbnail embedded in the hilt.

The starting price was 500,000, and after three rounds of bidding, it soared to 1.8 million.

In the end, it was bought by an elderly collector sitting in the front row, wearing a Panama hat.

Chu Sheng did not pursue.

With only a million or so left, he wasn't even qualified to warm up the crowd in the main venue. He pinned all his hopes on the sidelines.

On the evening of the third day, Duan Henian called Chu Sheng to his study alone.

"I've seen the list from the auction. The piece of broken moon iron you wanted was indeed sold. It was bought by a Zhejiang merchant surnamed Wu, who deals in silk. He's easy to talk to; I can help you make the connection later."

"Thank you, Grandpa Duan." Chu Sheng clasped his hands in thanks. "What about the gloomy wood heartwood?"

Duan Henian took a narrow black card with gold foil stamping from the drawer, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Chu Sheng.

"Yinchen Muxin is in the dark, and I, the old man, asked someone to get me a ticket."

but……"