Super-rich: Spending money is just a job!

The Confucius Institute has a lot of talented people, and the programs and performances they provide are very rich, including martial arts performances, sword dances, lion dances, performances of ethnic musical instruments, as well as fan dances and folk dances.

The performers included both Chinese and foreigners.

These programs weren't just enjoyed by foreigners; Xiaomeng and her friends watched them with great interest as well. Xiaomeng felt that getting the Confucius Institute involved was a real bargain.

The group from the museum hadn't prepared any special talents, so they could only rely on their beautiful costumes to put on a traditional Chinese fashion show. Fortunately, the audience was very supportive, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

"Hey, what's going on? There weren't this many spectators at the beginning, how come there are so many people now?" Xiaomeng turned around and looked, and sure enough, there were many more citizens watching the excitement around the stage.

"What's so strange about that? With free shows to watch, who wouldn't come and join in the fun?" a woman I didn't recognize chimed in.

"Hey, sister, judging from your accent, you must be from the Jiangzhe region, right? Are you here for tourism?"

"That's right! Taking advantage of the good weather this season, we brought our elderly relatives out for a stroll. We never expected to celebrate the Third Day of the Third Lunar Month while traveling. Our country is really rising up; they're even promoting traditional culture abroad. It's really great!" The woman, who was traveling, spoke cheerfully.

"Boss, a guest is looking for us at the museum." A museum employee approached Xiaomeng and whispered to her.

As Xiaomeng got up and walked out, she asked in a low voice what was wrong.

"A customer came to the museum and wanted to inquire about purchasing one of our collection items."

Which one?

"It is a stone used for traditional Chinese painting."

Xiaomeng followed her employees into her own museum.

Today, the museum has the largest number of visitors since it opened.

Sure enough, to attract visitors, themed events are still necessary. For this Shangsi Festival event, the museum held an online promotion where those who shared the event poster and received 30 likes would receive free tickets.

It seems the visitor attraction was quite effective, drawing in a large number of tourists and locals even on weekdays.

People came with their families to watch the spectacle.

Museum staff led Xiaomeng to the display case showcasing Chinese stones, where a well-dressed, white-haired old man stood.

A museum employee explained, "Boss, this is Mr. Harris who wants to buy our Chinese painting stone."

Mr. Harris, this is our boss.

Old man Harris looked at Xiaomeng with great surprise, "I never expected that someone who owns so many precious collections would be such a young and beautiful lady."

Xiao Meng didn't care what he thought of her. She gave a casual, polite smile and said, "Mr. Harris is interested in our collection?"

Harris nodded. "Yes, I'm very curious about this stone in your display case. The description says the pattern on this stone slab is naturally formed? Is that true? You really haven't done anything to it?"

Xiaomeng glanced at the stone slab he was pointing to. It was a traditional Chinese painting stone from Wuxuan, Guangxi, also known as a grass and flower stone. At first glance, it looked like a very artistic ink painting.

The painting depicts a small lake bathed in the morning sun, complete with rocks and trees along its shores and a small boat in the center, as if it were the work of a renowned painter.

In fact, all these patterns are naturally formed. They are created by minerals filling joints, fissures, and capillaries, and under a certain degree of weathering, they are colored by various mineral elements.

On this type of rock, ferrous and ferric ions give it a color ranging from brown and yellowish-brown to brown, reddish-brown, etc., while ferric manganese ions give it a color ranging from black to brown, etc., and chlorite often appears as a light green color.

The coloring effect of mineral elements gives the Chinese painting stone its gorgeous and colorful patterns, much like the brushstrokes of an artist.

Xiaomeng nodded. "That's right. This stone slab hasn't undergone any coloring treatment; it's only been polished and ground in the most basic way. If you observe carefully enough, you can see that it's all naturally formed."

Its chemical composition and formation process are clearly explained in the introduction. Our stone has been identified by a geological academy, which proves that its formation is entirely natural.

By the way, when I took the stone to the research institute for appraisal, there was also a master's student who wrote a paper based on that stone.

Xiaomeng clicked on an LCD screen next to the rock display case. It contained a research paper commissioned by Xiaomeng and written by a graduate student from the National Geological Institute. The paper specifically explained the chemical composition, geological formation, and other details of this particular rock.

Harris put on his reading glasses and carefully read the paper. "Oh, yes, that's right. It's a very good explanation. You actually found a geologist to interpret your slab."

Xiao Meng shrugged. "When I received this piece, I was very curious about the geological conditions under which it was formed, so I had someone provide a research and authentication report. See, this came in handy."

“Geological treasures like these from nature should be in a geological museum. How did you come up with the idea of ​​displaying them here?”

“Appreciating stones has always been one of the hobbies of Chinese literati. Haven’t you seen the naturally formed patterns on the stones, which look like ink paintings? Our literati and poets really enjoy appreciating these kinds of stones. They can be considered a kind of traditional luxury item in our country. Our country also likes to give these stones as national gifts.”

Mr. Harris nodded repeatedly as he listened. "You have quite good taste. Nature is truly amazing."

As a geology enthusiast who enjoys collecting legendary minerals from around the world, especially interesting rocks, I really like this piece of your natural rock. Would you sell it to me?

"It's available for sale, but it won't be cheap."

After some haggling, Xiaomeng sold the stone slab for 8 euros.

Xiaomeng thought the price was acceptable, considering that she had spent over 10 RMB to buy it from her fellow villager.

After selling this piece, she'll have to put in the effort to find a similar one to put back. Commercial mining of these traditional Chinese painting stones is now prohibited, so every piece sold is one less available.

After agreeing on the price, Xiaomeng instructed her staff to complete the transaction formalities and sign the contract.

Mr. Harris is a wealthy business owner with several businesses in several neighboring countries of Windmill Country. Therefore, he enjoys buying art as a collection.

His visit to the Dream Pavilion Museum was on the recommendation of a friend. Unexpectedly, he encountered a collection that touched his heart right away.

Knowing he was wealthy, Xiaomeng invited him to admire several Thangka paintings made with mineral and gemstone pigments in the museum's collection, as well as a mineral pigment painting created by a young female artist from China.

"My goodness, these are all very valuable works of art. Not only are the painting materials used very precious, but they also look very artistically valuable." Harris did have some appreciation for them.

"Of course, every item here comes from the hands of a master craftsman with mature skills, so they are naturally precious."