Chapter 90: Thirty Thousand Yuan of Ancient Books
As soon as Ma Weidu arrived at the courtyard, he saw Liu Hongmin and Chen Yu carrying several large bags.
"What is all this?"
“A reply to the readers!”
Liu Hongmin handed the bag to Chen Yu, "Come in!"
Ma Weidu followed Liu Hongmin into the study room. "Someone contacted me again today and wanted to sell me some ancient books. The price he wanted was quite high, 30,000 yuan."
When Liu Hongmin heard the high price, he immediately became interested, "Did the other party make a list of books?"
"Listed!" Ma Weidu took out the list of books and handed it to Liu Hongmin.
Liu Hongmin read the descriptions on the book list and couldn't help but become excited. "They are all medical books?"
Ma Weidu nodded, "I also think this batch of medical books is very valuable, so I rushed here early in the morning."
"Let's go and see..."
Liu Hongmin just stood up, but sat back down again.
"These are all Chinese medicine books. We need to find a good Chinese medicine doctor to look them over."
Ma Weidu nodded, "There should be many famous doctors in the Chinese medicine hospital. Why don't I go visit them?"
"Yes, you can tell them. If these ancient books are authentic, I can print out the contents of these books for all Chinese medicine practitioners to learn."
Ma Weidu nodded, "This will make the discussion much easier."
Liu Hongmin sent Ma Weidu out, and then saw Chen Yu and the others coming back.
"So fast?"
Chen Yu said: "I happened to see the post office's car, so I put the letters directly on the car."
Liu Hongmin nodded. The stamps on those letters were affixed according to the face value of the stamps on the letters, so there shouldn't be any mistakes.
After saying hello to Ma Weidu, Chen Yu led his men to go on patrol. He brought 15 retired soldiers to Liu Hongmin, who appointed them as security managers.
All security guards work in three shifts, guarding the entire yard 24 hours a day to prevent anyone from coming in.
With the security guards' protection, Liu Hongmin felt more at ease and could sleep more peacefully at night.
A few days later, Ma Weidu came again.
"I have already made an appointment with Professor Mei, the director of the Chinese Medicine Hospital. You can take the ancient books to the hospital anytime. I have also notified the seller. It depends on when you are free."
Liu Hongmin was very happy and calculated the time.
"This Saturday then."
Ma Weidu came again on Saturday, and Liu Hongmin took Chen Yu with him, and the three of them went to the Chinese Medicine Hospital together. Not long after, they saw a man riding a bicycle, with a brown paper bag on the back seat of the bicycle, which contained a lot of books.
"Are you the writer Liu Hongmin?"
The man asked with a smile.
Liu Hongmin nodded, "That's me."
"I've heard of you for a long time, and today I finally meet you in person." The man shook hands with Liu Hongmin enthusiastically. "They can be sold to you, so they have a good place to go."
Liu Hongmin smiled and said, your price is so high that others may not be able to afford it.
Ma Weidu: "Mr. Wang, let's go in first! Let Professor Mei take a look at those ancient books. If they are really as precious as you say, money is not a problem."
Mr. Wang: "I'm not worried about the money. Everyone in Beijing knows that Writer Liu is rich."
He took the book down and followed Ma Weidu.
Ma Weidu led the three people to Professor Mei's office, "Professor Mei, sorry to bother you."
Professor Mei was an energetic old man with bright eyes. He nodded to Ma Weidu, and then set his eyes on the brown paper package in Mr. Wang's hand. Mr. Wang carefully placed the brown paper package on the table, cautiously opened the rope, and placed the ancient books on the table.
Professor Mei was also very cautious. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief, then put on white gloves, picked up an ancient book, and slowly began to flip through it.
After reading it for a while, he said, "The contents make sense. They should be true."
Mr. Wang said proudly: "It must be true, otherwise I wouldn't dare to ask such a high price."
Liu Hongmin did not refute, but asked Professor Mei: "Professor, what is recorded here?"
Professor Mei did not answer, but picked up the ancient book again and slowly flipped through it. After flipping through the entire ancient book, he said: "I just took a quick look and felt that the content recorded in it is very valuable. However, the content recorded in it needs to be verified."
"This is natural!" Although Liu Hongmin does not know medicine, he knows that many treatments require multiple clinical trials.
"Professor Mei, please take a look at the others."
Professor Mei nodded and said, "Please take a seat first. This will take a long time."
After saying that, he ignored the others and started looking through the ancient books one by one.
Liu Hongmin invited several people to sit down, "Mr. Wang, are you in urgent need of money?"
Mr. Wang nodded. "Yes, my father is ill and needs to go to Hong Kong for treatment. Otherwise, I would not be willing to sell them."
Liu Hongmin: "What disease did uncle have?"
"Cancer!" Mr. Wang sighed and said, "I am just doing my last bit of filial piety. When all the money in the family is gone, I will have done my best."
The three of them were in awe. Not everyone could afford to spend all their fortune on their father's medical treatment.
But, “I’m afraid this money is not enough?”
"I'll try again."
Liu Hongmin said: "I have a lot of Hong Kong dollars. If Brother Wang has other ancient books, I can buy them with Hong Kong dollars."
"Really?"
Mr. Wang asked in surprise.
The country is short of foreign exchange now, and there is a limit on foreign currency exchange. Therefore, even if he collects enough money, he can only exchange it into Hong Kong dollars bit by bit, which will definitely delay treatment.
The Hong Kong dollars in Liu Hongmin's hands do not have this restriction. If he receives timely treatment, perhaps the old man's illness can be cured.
Thinking of this, he immediately said: "I still have a lot of ancient books at home, all of which are the old man's treasures. If I can save the old man's life, it means that the old man has not treasured them in vain."
Liu Hongmin looked a little strange, "Uncle, do you have any objections?"
"What do you think?" Mr. Wang said, "If the old man is gone, I won't be able to keep these ancient books. Rather than letting them rot, it's better to sell them for some money. Saving the old man's life is the best way to deal with them. Besides, if they are in your hands, even if my father knows, he will be happy."
Liu Hongmin nodded in understanding. Antiques are only valuable in the hands of people who love them.
Professor Mei didn't stop until noon.
"They are all good ancient books. Many of the prescriptions and treatments recorded in them are things I have never seen before. If these prescriptions and treatments are effective, it will greatly improve the medical level of our country."
With Professor Mei's assurance, Liu Hongmin finally felt relieved.
"Mr. Wang, I have bought all these books. The current exchange rate between RMB and HKD is 1:. I will exchange it for HKD for you. However, you have to give me an account in Hong Kong."
Mr. Wang was a little embarrassed, "I don't have an account in Hong Kong."
Liu Hongmin thought for a moment and said, "If you trust me, you can keep the money with me temporarily. When you arrive in Hong Kong, I can directly deposit the money into the hospital's account."
"Really? Thank you so much." Mr. Wang said excitedly, "Wait for my news. I will sort out the remaining ancient books and bring you any one you like."
(End of this chapter)
