Second update, asking for subscriptions and monthly votes~~~

...

"Is this... really top-quality agarwood?"

Qu Yuancheng couldn't believe it either. He could only ask Qin Fang out of sheer curiosity, since it was Qin Fang who brought out this box, naturally Qin Fang had the most authority to speak on it.

Many people in Hong Kong Island had heard of the top-quality agarwood incident back then, and he was one of them.

Unfortunately, it eventually ended up in the hands of an Indonesian Chinese tycoon. Many people wanted to buy it, including numerous tycoons from Hong Kong Island. For example, Old Master Qu once wanted to buy this bracelet for the elderly lady, but unfortunately, that tycoon wouldn't sell it, no matter how much money was offered...

Who would have thought that this top-quality agarwood, which could make many tycoons beg on their knees, would now be right in front of them, carved into such a dirty-looking box.

"Indeed..."

Qin Fang nodded. This wooden box was indeed made of top-quality agarwood. Although it has existed for hundreds of years, only the fragrance of the outer layer has faded, but inside it still remains aromatic and entirely intact.

"This... is truly a waste!"

Even though Qu Yuancheng could already deduce the answer from the judgments of others, he couldn't help but exclaim in such a tone when Qin Fang confirmed it.

Such a rare and priceless treasure was treated like this; it's indeed a bit of a desecration of a fine item...

"Is it really necessary to be so exaggerated..."

Qin Fang shook his head very nonchalantly and said.

Actually, he had previously investigated some matters regarding agarwood, including that auction which had shocked the entire upper class society of Southeast Asia, and naturally, he knew the value of this thing.

But even so, he wasn't really concerned, and he still used this box made of top-quality agarwood to package the gift he intended to present, and sent it directly over.

"Grandma, later on, ask a craftsman to carve this box into a bracelet or prayer beads, wear it daily, it will keep you free from illness and calamity, and live a long life..."

Qin Fang had already thought about how to handle this box, and immediately said this with a grin to the elderly lady, of course not forgetting to add some auspicious words.

"Such generosity... tsk-tsk, it's not small at all!"

The surrounding guests were also quite shocked, and many looked on enviously at the box in the elderly lady's hands, inhaling the soothing fragrance and displaying rather odd expressions.

It's estimated that quite a few tycoons are considering offering high prices to acquire it. However, now that it's in the hands of the Qu family, such a good thing is certainly not going out, and all they can do is stare blankly.

Yet more people couldn't help but pay more attention to Qin Fang, the suddenly appearing son of the Third Young Miss Qu...

Originally, many weren't too concerned about him, but who would have thought that with just one move, he'd shock everyone...

Nobody believed that the top-quality agarwood box was something the Qu family had specially arranged to showcase Qin Fang's presence. If there really were such a good thing, these old folks couldn't possibly not know about it.

Moreover, even if they had obtained such top-quality agarwood, would they use it to make such a dirty box? Only someone out of their mind would do such a thing!

Yet Qin Fang did exactly this...

Or rather, it wasn't that he particularly wanted to do it this way; it was just that when he got this box, it was already like this.

As for where this top-quality agarwood box came from, it cannot be overlooked the sunken Great Ming Treasure Ship that Qin Fang and his team encountered not long ago.

Agarwood is not a unique specialty of the Dragon Country. In fact, the best producing areas for agarwood are in Southeast Asia. Back then, when the Sanbao Eunuch led the Great Ming Treasure Ship fleet overseas, they brought back a lot of spices, ivory, and other specialties in exchange for silk, porcelain, tea, etc.

The spices, particularly agarwood, were the main goods, and the treasure ship Qin Fang encountered was probably on its return journey when it unfortunately sank.

Thus, there were very few porcelains or silks on that ship, but lots of spices, ivory, gems, and exotic beasts from Southeast Asia.

The unfortunate sinking of that treasure ship, after spending several hundred years in the sea, caused most items to rot and decay, leaving very few treasures behind.

For example, the wooden box made of top-quality agarwood in Qin Fang's possession is one of them. Despite the presence of other agarwood pieces, many have been ruined after being submerged in the seabed for hundreds of years, leaving only supremely high-quality agarwood preserved.

For instance, this wooden box, due to its intricate interior production, has almost lost its external fragrance, yet inside it is still perfectly preserved. It's one of the few complete items, which is why Qin Fang used it as this gift box.

Don't let its unremarkable appearance fool you. If this wooden box were auctioned with a starting price of ten thousand US dollars per gram, even the wealthy elites present would go crazy trying to obtain it.

The top-quality agarwood back then weighed only a bit over two hundred grams, and this wooden box is not small and seems quite heavy—it's probably not less than four to five hundred grams…

So, just counting the price of this box, it's worth over four to five million US dollars, which translates to thirty to forty million Hong Kong dollars.

The wealthy elites here have given gifts worth fortunes before, not just tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars, but even billions. For example, not long ago, Kong Er gave Tang Feifei a diamond necklace of the Heart of the Ocean worth 1.2 billion.

But these elites have never used a box worth thirty to forty million to package a gift… Even the most expensive luxury packaging costing tens or hundreds of thousands is already quite extraordinary, but this box… truly makes all the elite present pale in comparison.

Of course, it looks like the price of this box is so high, but if the Qu Family really wanted to sell it, not to mention thirty to forty million, even three to four billion at ten times the price, the wealthy here would still compete for it… even if the price were doubled.

"This packaging… truly is understated luxury!"

It's often said that people should not be judged by their appearances and the sea cannot be measured with a dipper. This time everyone was fooled by Qin Fang's small box; it's just too discreet.

When Qin Fang first took it out, that filthy-looking wooden box appeared to be utterly worthless, possibly even picked up from some trash heap, given a cursory wipe and wash, and then used to present a gift.

But when the truth came out, many expressed considerable frustration with their own judgment. If any treasure like this could be found in a trash heap, these top-tier Hong Kong elites would all scramble to dig it up…

Yet Qin Fang remained as simple as ever. Although this box is extraordinarily valuable, it really meant nothing to him.

He certainly wouldn't tell others… that he still had several even better and more complete pieces of top-quality agarwood in his possession!

On that treasure ship, what was brought back were rare specialties of Southeast Asia from hundreds of years ago at the time. Agarwood was indeed very precious to the Great Ming, but locally not so much.

So many of the agarwood pieces brought back then were among the best of the best; although not much was ultimately left behind, those few pieces were already enough to make Qin Fang very satisfied.

Qu Yuanliang felt utterly frustrated. Initially, seeing Qin Fang use such an inconspicuous box for a longevity gift, he even thought it a bit shameful and was slightly gloating.

It was because of this that he seized the opportunity, intending to let Qin Fang lose face thoroughly under the watchful eyes of everyone, hence hitting him when he was down.

But now, not only did he anger the most authoritative elder of the family, even his own father was eager to teach him a lesson, yet Qin Fang not only didn't lose face, he instead basked in glory.

The actual congratulatory gift hadn't even been revealed yet, and just the box for the gift had already outshone all of theirs.

Perhaps this box might not have been as expensive as the gifts they presented, but in terms of practicality, it was on an entirely different level.

The old master's face visibly improved a lot; the previously worried expression shifted to a slight smile, and his satisfaction with his grandson was indescribable.

The only pity was that due to past events, the rift between the two sides was simply too deep to allow him a chance to get closer.

However, upon thinking about this, he couldn't help but recall the trouble-stirrer Qu Yuanliang, immediately turned and glared fiercely.

If it weren't for the public setting being by no means suitable for teaching this kid a lesson now, the typically hot-tempered elder would have liked nothing more than to give Qu Yuanliang a good slap across the face.

Top-quality agarwood being such a precious thing, it would be fine if only family members knew of it, but now it's made all the wealthy of Hong Kong aware, and who knows how these old fellows would annoy him.

Selling it is definitely out of the question, as such fine things are hard to buy even with money; whoever gets their hands on it would surely keep it tucked away tightly, let alone sell it.

Moreover, the Qu Family is one of the Top Ten Wealthy Families of Hong Kong; they certainly aren't short of money and are even less likely to sell it…

There's no way they'd sell, but just like with that Indonesian tycoon, Elder Master Qu would surely be hounded and nagged by a bunch of old folks.

But his thoughts soon drifted away from this matter.

Although the box is immensely valuable and extremely rare, since Qin Fang knew its worth and still used it as a box for the congratulatory gift, it could only mean that the gift inside is the real treasure.

The old lady gradually opened the meticulously crafted box, revealing the real congratulatory gift inside…

"This is…" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com; your support is my greatest motivation.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.