In October 1938, the abnormal prosperity of the Magic City had begun.

Most of the Chinese rich people fled their hometowns and hid in the concession of the Demon Capital, making the Demon Capital a place where every inch of land is valuable.

Because the Japanese invasion disrupted China's economy, the fiat currency began to depreciate. The US dollar and the British pound were hard currency, and of course, it was also inseparable from gold. No matter what year or month, big yellow croaker and small yellow croaker are the most popular.

Qin Di has a total of 2,300 tons of gold in his hands, which is more than China's gold reserves in later generations.

It is impossible for him to resell these gold in large quantities, and it is even more impossible to exchange it for US dollars and pounds, because gold is naturally currency and all paper money is unreliable.

Qin Di still has a lot of real estate in the Magic City. In the past, he only sold part of the north bank of the Suzhou River. Those places were destroyed by the Japanese. He still retained most of the real estate on the south bank of the Suzhou River. The prices of these properties soared. Because of the soaring population, many people had no place to live and had to live in a narrow space. They even divided the two and a half meters of house into two floors, just like a pigeon cage, and the people entering could not even straighten their waists.

Qin Di, a big landlord, didn't say he was kind enough to reduce the rent, nor would he give the house to others for free.

In his opinion, it is considered middle class to be able to rent a house, so it is normal for these people to be exploited.

If he rashly lowers the rent, wouldn’t he be unable to get along with other landlords?

At the end of October 1938, Wang Yiting, president of the Magic City Calligraphy and Painting Federation, fell ill, and many friends went to Ziyuan to visit.

At this time, Wang Yiting had not reached the point of being terminally ill, and could still talk and laugh with his friends.

Not only were calligraphers and painters present, such as Wu Changshuo, Liu Haisu and others, but also some collectors, such as Pang Laichen, Wu Hufan, Gu Linshi, Liu Huizhi, Zhou Xiangyun, Jiang Jingsun, Fei Ziyi, Wei Tingrong, Zhao Wanli, Pan Boshan, Shen Yinmo, Wang Jiqian, Xu Bangda, etc.

These people gathered together and were talking worriedly.

"The Japanese invaders passed by burned, killed, plundered, and burned all jade and stones. They snatched away countless national treasures!"

"In the past six months, some wives from other places have brought ancient books, famous porcelain, purple clay, antiques, and Yi tools to the Magic City. They live here without any basis, just like selling treasures. Unfortunately, we have limited financial resources, but we are not capable enough, so we can do nothing!"

"If we don't accept these treasures, they may have been wandered overseas!"

"Yes, I saw with my own eyes that a well-preserved Zhengde furnace only sold 100 yuan of fiat currency and was taken away by the British!"

"I also saw a man who took a pair of Shen Zhou's paintings and wanted a thousand dollars. He put them in for three days but didn't sell them!"

"It's true, why didn't I see it?"

"Brother, you have bought hundreds of calligraphy and paintings. How much does it cost to collect them?"

"Antiques in the prosperous times, gold in the troubled times! Now it is a chaotic time, antiques cannot be eaten or drunk, but gold can be exchanged for food!"

Someone said: "Mr. Zhang, your family is the richest, why not buy more antiques?"

Everyone looked at a young man in his twenties, whose name was "Zhang Congyu".

Zhang Congyu was born in the Jushang Family in Nanxun, Zhejiang, and was Zhang Jinjiang's nephew. His father's name was Zhang Naihua, and he was the same generation as Zhang Naijing, so he was Zhang Naijing's cousin.

At the age of 18, Zhang Congyu inherited 2 million property and real estate in the Magic City, etc. At the age of 19, he was hired as an appraisal committee member of the Palace Museum in Peking. Although he was young, he is a collector of the antique industry.

He saw everyone's eyes looking at him, so he touched his nose and smiled, "What is my little property? If I could hire someone, no matter how many antiques there were, he could still be wiped out."

Everyone asked one after another: "Who? Who has so much financial resources?"

Wang Yiting coughed dryly and interrupted, "Who else can you? Of course, he is the richest man in the Republic of China, the eldest young master Qin Di! I used to think he was just a playboy, but I didn't expect him to hide so deeply! The eldest young master Qin donated 200 planes alone! Who can compare the wealth of the Qin family?"

Everyone suddenly realized: "Oh, it's him! I remember that he kept collecting paintings in the early years, why haven't he collected them in the past two years?"

"Maybe turning to industry and busy saving the country, I forgot about calligraphy and painting."

Zhang Congyu smiled and said, "There is one thing that you may not know, why so many rich people can escape to the Demon City with antiques? Because it was Mr. Qin who asked someone to post notices everywhere, warning the Japanese army to capture Jinling, Suzhou, Yangzhou, and Hangzhou half a year in advance! So all the vigilant rich people in these places fled."

When everyone heard this, they each showed a look of horror.

"Ah! If this is true, then Mr. Qin has accumulated a lot of merit!"

"Strange, why did he know what happened next half a year in advance?"

Zhang Congyu said: "I heard from my grandfather that when Mr. Qin met with my uncle and Mr. Jiang Baili, he predicted that the Japanese would attack the demon capital and swept across most of China. So my uncle hurriedly notified the entire Nanxun Zhang family to prepare for early precautions. For a reason, hundreds of people in my family escaped. Except for the burning of the house and garden, the rest of the losses were relatively small."

"Mr. Qin is really not simple! No wonder he became the 'Lieutenant General' of the National Army, and he made great contributions!"

"He should be invited out and accept our thanks in person."

"Mr. Qin is a low-key person and I don't know where he went."

"In my opinion, I should send a letter to the Qin Mansion, which may be transferred to him."

Wang Yiting smiled and said, "Then let me write it. I have met him a few times, so I can barely be familiar with him."

Two days later, Qin Di and Yan Xue appeared in Ziyuan.

Qin Di hadn't come here for a long time. When he went in, he found that many houses had collapsed, broken walls and gray and black. It was no longer the scene of carved beams and painted buildings and beautiful plants and trees back then.

The one who came out to greet a young man, perhaps Wang Yiting's son and nephew.

Qin Di asked: "What's going on? Could it be that it was bombed by Japanese military aircraft?"

The other party replied: "Yes, during the 813 Incident, the Japanese gave Jiazu a flag, saying that if he was hanging a Japanese flag on the roof, he would not be bombed by military aircraft. However, Jiazuzu burned the sun flag that day!"

When Qin Di walked into the room, Wang Yiting looked very happy and wanted to get up from the hospital bed to greet him.

Qin Di reached out to stop him: "Mr. Wang, don't get up! I see that your Yin Tang is black and your lips are blue and white, which is a sign of great danger! You may have to prepare for your funeral!"

Wang Yiting looked dark and lay back, saying, "I know, that's why Ye Luo returned to his roots and returned to the Demon City."

Qin Di reached out and touched his wrist veins and said, "The heart veins are weak and the spleen veins are almost dead. You can live for about half a month."

The young man next to him became anxious when he heard this and glared at him viciously.
Chapter completed!