Tomb Raider: What the hell is this strange commission?

"I heard that you recently bought a shop in Panjiayuan."

Chi Yu turned around and saw Xie Yuchen sitting next to him with some documents.

This boy, who has already turned fifteen, doesn't seem to have changed much and is still a little thin.

It’s obvious that he hasn’t had a good rest and he will definitely not grow taller in the future.

Chi Yu looked at Xie Yuchen and didn't let him actually hear this rather vicious comment. He just nodded slightly, confirming what the well-informed Xie Dangjia had learned.

"Yes."

So Xie Yuchen smiled and said to him, "Panjiayuan looks lively, but there are many eyes staring at it. Although I know you must be fully prepared for what you do, there are still some risks involved."

Hearing this, Chi Yu curled his lips, his usually cold brows relaxed, and he showed a nice smile to Xie Yuchen: "I think so, my experience in this area is not as rich as yours. So..."

Chi Yu's sudden show of weakness did not diminish his dangerous temperament.

But the subtle atmosphere contained in his words seemed to have turned into invisible tentacles, quietly appearing outside the defense line carefully constructed by Xie Yuchen, affecting his mood -

"What do you think I should do, Mr. Jie?" Chi Yu asked him lightly.

Xie Yuchen instantly retracted his gaze and said calmly: "The Xie family has an auction company. If you have something that needs to be disposed of, you can entrust the company to auction it on your behalf. As for the commission, every cent of the company's pricing has its reason. If you think it is appropriate, then it is appropriate."

"After all, it's the same thing to clean up and sell them. Instead of passively leaving those collections that should have been worshipped as sacred items in a small place to gather dust, waiting for an unknown talent scout to appear, it's better to take the initiative and put them in front of everyone, letting those guys who call themselves collectors compete for them."

"And in order to maintain their authority in this circle, these people will do whatever it takes to prove that the things they like were obtained through legal channels and means."

Xie Yuchen leaned back a little, crossed his arms, and commented on those money-spending customers indifferently: "As long as you can continuously provide these people with what they want, then they will be your natural supporters."

"Connections, resources, as long as you want them, there will naturally be people willing to give them to you - they are such a group of people who are willing to 'sacrifice'."

Chi Yu changed to a more comfortable position on the sofa in the reception room. He looked at Xie Yuchen, who was acting defensively, and said in a meaningful tone:

"As the owner of an auction house that can reap huge profits, you should show that you like them a little more."

Xie Yuchen smiled and said, "Let me correct you. I'm not the boss yet." He said, "So I won't like them either."

They tacitly skipped the topic.

Xie Yuchen took out a copy of the documents in his hand and handed it to Chi Yu.

Chi Yu opened one of the copies and saw the words "Ecological Survey Report on Lop Nur" written in bold letters on it.

He glanced at it casually, then turned to another document. The title on it was "Geological Exploration Report on Lop Nur".

Those who don’t know would think that this guy finally couldn’t bear the pressure of being the head of the family and started to go crazy, and was preparing to lead the Xie family directly into the scientific research world.

Chi Yu raised his head and said, "It seems that you have compared the locations recorded in the two Warring States silk books."

"That's right." Xie Yuchen said, spreading out the document in his hand.

A pattern with distorted lines appeared in front of Chi Yu.

"Based on the contents of the two silk books, I have speculated on several different locations. However, the most obvious one is Ruoqiang in Xinjiang."

Xie Yuchen pasted it on the whiteboard next to the map that had been prepared long ago, and pointed to the line that he had extracted and said.

"The terrain over there is complicated, and most of my time was wasted on comparing pictures and texts. But as long as I eliminate the wrong options one by one, I can get the correct answer I want."

It sounds like a big project, Chi Yu thought.

That's right. After all, it's already December. If Xie Yuchen started looking for someone to study the above content after leaving Tianhu, it would be quite difficult for the workers in the Xie family to work non-stop for such a long time.

but……

Chi Yu looked at the content on the whiteboard and said to Xie Yuchen, "You think the clues above ultimately point to Lop Nur, but you can't pinpoint this location to a certain point."

Xie Yuchen nodded.

"So, in fact, you haven't fully grasped the information about that place." Chi Yu concluded.

Although Chi Yu’s original promise was “You can come to him anytime about this matter.”

But Chi Yu still thought that, at least with Xie Yuchen's patience and behavioral habits, he would choose to make this call after collecting all the information that could be collected.

Instead of calling Chi Yu here without even finding the actual address and only determining a rough range.

Once again, we are already in the twelfth lunar month.

If they were to enter Lop Nur for exploration during this period, the environment they would face would be worse than usual.

Overall, this is not a wise choice.

It also did not conform to Chi Yu's judgment of the logic of Xie Yuchen's behavior, making it difficult for him to understand.

——What is the reason?

Xie Yuchen noticed the doubt in Chi Yu's words.

He looked at Chi Yu, seemingly thinking about something.

So when both of them fell into silence and thought, the reception room soon returned to peace.

And in the end, Xie Yuchen chose to be the one who broke the peace.

"Although I might have more information by next year, I will be quite busy in the coming period."

He seemed to think of something that worried him. He frowned slightly and looked a little worried: "I'm not sure if I can still find a chance to fulfill my promise to you under that circumstance. But at least, I don't want you to wait too long."

"So compared to a future where I can't be sure of the outcome, I think it might be acceptable to carry out this exploration plan in advance."

Xie Yuchen sighed and asked, "Will you blame me for being too reckless because of this, Chi Yu?"

Wow, he is not the one who caused this problem and situation, can you please not push the problem back? He said that Xie Yuchen is very slippery and difficult to deal with.

Chi Yu looked at Xie Yuchen. He could tell that this young man was hiding something, and the other party was not surprised that Chi Yu knew this.

Xie Yuchen just didn't want to expose the secrets of the Xie family, so he chose not to talk about it. But Chi Yu has always been patient with such things, so he just needs to wait.

"You have your own considerations, and I have no right to interfere." Chi Yu said, "But I have only admired one kind of flower in your garden."

As he spoke, he complained a little, "The flowering period in Beijing seems to be quite different from that in the south. Even now, only a few plum blossoms can be seen."

So Xie Yuchen laughed softly.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "The flowers should be in bloom by the time we come back."