He parked the car in front of Building A11 and went up to ring the doorbell.

As the iron gate slowly opened, several Ferraris appeared side by side in front of him.

A young man with colorful hair and trendy fashion stood at the door, looking at Qi Yun with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.

"Qi Yun?"

Qi Yun nodded: "Yes, I am Qi Yun."

The two shook hands, and Liu Xiaotao then led Qi Yun up to the second floor of the villa.

Upon reaching a spacious living room, Liu Xiaotao took out a bottle of red wine from the liquor cabinet and waved it at Qi Yun.

"Would you like a glass of red wine?"

Qi Yun smiled and declined: "I'll pass on the wine; I still have to drive later."

Liu Xiaotao didn't persist, pouring himself a glass of wine and giving Qi Yun a bottle of coffee.

After sitting on the sofa, he took a sip of his wine and then said, "How about the meteorite? Take it out and let me have a look."

Qi Yun nodded, opened the briefcase at his side, which contained not only the half-kilogram meteorite but also several chemical analysis reports given to him by Wei Xueming.

"Mr. Liu, please take a look."

A gleam of excitement flashed in Liu Xiaotao's eyes as he eagerly put down his wine glass, took the meteorite with both hands, and began to examine it carefully.

"This meteorite is indeed of good quality; the surface fusion crust is relatively well preserved, and the color is quite special." He muttered to himself while observing.

After a long while, Liu Xiaotao put the meteorite down and picked up the analysis reports, though it was unclear if he could understand them.

"How much are you planning to sell the meteorite for?" Liu Xiaotao looked up and asked.

Qi Yun thought for a moment, considering that the auction price for a one-kilogram meteorite was 500,000 USD; selling his half-kilogram one for 200,000 USD seemed reasonable.

With this in mind, he stretched out two fingers just as Liu Xiaotao interrupted him.

"Two million? That's a reasonable price."

Qi Yun was stunned, swallowing the words he was about to say, and instead said, "Haha, I'm always fair and reasonable in business."

Liu Xiaotao nodded in satisfaction, but then seemed to remember something and frowned.

He took a sip of wine and slowly said, "I can accept your price, but I've used up all my pocket money for this month."

Qi Yun frowned at him: "What do you mean?"

"So, have you heard of Tianyu Mansion? It's about to be handed over. I'll exchange a 160-square meter four-bedroom apartment in that community for your meteorite. How about it?" Liu Xiaotao said casually.

Qi Yun was slightly startled; an apartment?

He had no impression of Tianyu Mansion, but a 160-square meter apartment should be worth about two million, and he happened to be planning to get a bigger place, so the proposal wasn't entirely unacceptable.

"There's no rush. You can take your time to think about it, and I also need to verify your analysis report." Liu Xiaotao continued, "If everything checks out, we can proceed with the transaction next time we meet."

"Alright, I'll go back and consider it." Qi Yun nodded in response.

...

After leaving the villa area, Qi Yun directly navigated to the Tianyu Mansion community. This place was built by the real estate company under Guanghui Group, and it was quite large, with over thirty buildings.

The surrounding schools, supermarkets, hospitals, and other facilities were quite comprehensive, and the current price was 12,300 per square meter.

The environment within the community was quite nice, and after walking around, Qi Yun was somewhat tempted.

Back home, he was thinking about how to discuss this matter with Zhao Qing when unexpectedly, Wei Xueming called and invited him to meet.

Qi Yun was a bit puzzled as to why, after just a few hours, the other party was so eager to see him, but he readily agreed.

They arranged to meet at a teahouse near the school.

When he arrived at the teahouse, Wei Xueming was already waiting in a corner, and aside from him, there was another older gentleman who seemed familiar.

"Hey? Is it you, kid?" As Qi Yun approached, the old man beside Wei Xueming looked surprised.

"Haha, sir, I didn't expect to meet again so soon." Qi Yun smiled politely.

Wei Xueming turned his head in confusion: "You two know each other?"

The old man chuckled: "The Maotai you drank last night came from this young man."

This old man was the one who'd previously bought Qi Yun's pocket watch at Shi Feng's store.

Hearing this, Wei Xueming looked down at Qi Yun with suspicion: "You have quite a lot of good stuff, kid."

Qi Yun laughed heartily: "They were all acquired by coincidence. By the way, may I ask the gentleman's name?"

"His name is Yu Qixuan, the deputy director of the museum." Wei Xueming directly revealed his identity.

Qi Yun raised his hand and cupped it respectfully: "So it's Director Yu. My apologies for not recognizing you."

Yu Qixuan waved his hand, showing a slight smile, and said: "Don't mind the titles. Kid, was that Maotai really the last bottle?"

"Haha, it truly was." Qi Yun replied sincerely, "If I come across such fine wine again, I'll definitely invite Director Yu to taste it."

"Ah~" Yu Qixuan sighed.

Wei Xueming picked up the teapot and refilled their cups before reminding them: "Let's talk about the main matter."

Yu Qixuan nodded, leaned forward, smiled at Qi Yun, and said: "Kid, we asked old Wei to call you here to discuss the matter of your meteorite."

"Oh? Director Yu has heard about it too?" Qi Yun raised an eyebrow and glanced at Wei Xueming. "Could it be that you have an interest in meteorites?"

"It's not me; certain departments are very interested in your meteorite." Yu Qixuan explained frankly, "Some elements in that lunar meteorite are very similar to a special material they are currently researching."

Qi Yun nodded: "I see. To be honest, I already have a buyer for this meteorite. The agreed price is two million, and the transaction is set for tomorrow."

"However, since you two are here, I surely want to give face. If the price is similar, I'm willing to prioritize selling it to you."

Hearing this, the two older men exchanged odd looks.

Wei Xueming and Yu Qixuan exchanged a glance, showing a bit of helplessness. Yu Qixuan cleared his throat and said: "Ahem, Qi Yun, you may have misunderstood. We are not planning to purchase your meteorite."

"Whether it's the museum or those departments, the annual scientific research budgets are very limited... So, the higher-ups hope you can donate that lunar meteorite to the museum, and then let researchers study it."

Upon hearing this, the scene fell into silence.

Even Wei Xueming's gaze turned evasive, as he looked out the window.

Qi Yun widened his eyes, mouth agape, and after a long pause, he responded blankly: "Is this a robbery?"

"Kid, mind your words, it's called a donation!" Yu Qixuan glanced at him and continued, "You're not donating for nothing. The museum will give you 2,000 yuan in compensation and a certificate of honor."

Qi Yun smacked his lips: "Your museum is quite generous, huh?"

If the opposite party weren't these familiar old friends, Qi Yun would probably have left straight away.

Is this how they treat people? A two-million-dollar item for 2,000 bucks?

Yu Qixuan sighed helplessly: "Qi Yun, I know the terms sound a bit harsh, but the museum's funds are limited; there's nothing we can do about it.

But you need to understand that the value of this meteorite isn't solely monetary; its contribution to research is priceless."

Wei Xueming chimed in: "Qi Yun, this matter is partly my fault. A student leaked the meteorite's photos online during class this morning...

Yet, what old Yu mentioned is indeed correct. Some substances in that lunar meteorite could really contribute tremendously to our country's aerospace endeavors, and a major breakthrough could lead us to surpass those major powers."

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