Chapter 9

Huang Xiaoqi's father, Huang Dashan, and Chen Muyu's father were childhood friends. Her mother, Deng Jie, and Chen Muyu's mother were junior high school classmates and close friends. Back then, it was Chen Muyu's mother who introduced them, so the relationship between the two families was extraordinary.

Huang Xiaoqi was a few years younger than Chen Muyu. She had always followed him around since childhood, and their relationship was very close.

"This girl is about to take her arts exam, and she's so vain, always looking for people to practice acting with. It's embarrassing me to death..."

At this moment, a middle-aged woman walked out from the inner room and brought a cup of hot water to Chen Muyu.

The Huang family could be considered a scholarly family. Both Huang's parents were teachers, one teaching elementary school and the other teaching high school. In terms of social status, they were definitely superior to Chen Muyu's family.

"Mom, you don't understand. Our teacher said that as long as I'm not embarrassed, the one who will be embarrassed is the other person!"

Huang Xiaoqi pouted, dropped a profound saying, and plopped down on the sofa opposite Chen Muyu.

A faint scent of body fragrance wafted over, making Chen Muyu feel dizzy and disoriented, his qi flowing in reverse.

Indeed, a girl changes a lot by the age of eighteen. In just a few short years, she had grown to have a well-endowed figure. If she grew a few more years, who knows what would happen.

Chen Muyu glanced sideways. Huang Xiaoqi was wearing a skirt, sitting opposite him, with a cute Hello Kitty smiling and waving at him.

This girl really didn't treat him like an outsider.

"Auntie, my dad said you have some scrap to dispose of, so I came to take a look." Chen Muyu shifted his gaze and quickly got to the point.

Deng Jie sighed and said, "Wait a moment, I'll get the stuff out!"

She then called Huang Xiaoqi, and the two of them went into the inner room. A moment later, they carried out a large cardboard box.

Chen Muyu hurriedly went to help, and together they moved the box to the living room.

The box weighed several dozen pounds and was incredibly heavy.

"What's in here?" Chen Muyu asked curiously.

Deng Jie sighed and said irritably, "What else, just some old copper and iron!"

Huang Xiaoqi stuck out her tongue and looked very mysterious.

"You know, your Uncle Huang has no real skills but likes to collect things. He's been cheated so many times over the years and never learns. Last month, the Literary Federation organized a trip to the countryside, and he went along. He came back with this thing."

"He spent 250 yuan and said he got a great deal. A few days ago, an expert from the city came, and he eagerly showed it to him. The expert ridiculed him so much that he was too embarrassed to show his face. I think your Uncle Huang is really a fool!"

As she scolded, Deng Jie opened the cardboard box, and a musty smell immediately filled Chen Muyu's nostrils.

Chen Muyu saw that the box contained a small, rusty tripod.

He grabbed the handles of the tripod and lifted it out, and the three small, hoof-shaped legs clattered to the ground.

Chen Muyu wasn't an expert in such things, but he still examined it carefully.

The tripod had a round body with a lid. The lid had a rope pattern around it and a petal-like pattern in the middle. The handles had some circular decorations.

There were still some traces of dirt on the tripod, and it was quite rusty. At first glance, it did look like an old object.

"Did your Uncle Huang buy this?" Chen Muyu finally managed to say, looking up at Deng Jie.

"Of course!" Deng Jie was a bit angry. "He spent over 200 yuan on this thing. The expert said it was a modern craft item made to look old. Only your Uncle Huang is so foolish and got cheated..."

"Where is Uncle Huang?"

Chen Muyu looked around the room but didn't see Huang Dashan.

"He's giving a private lesson and won't be back until tonight!" Deng Jie waved her hand. "This thing takes up space at home. Just treat it as scrap metal and dispose of it. It will save your Uncle Huang from being upset when he sees it!"

Chen Muyu quickly waved his hands. "Auntie, I can't take this!"

"Huh?"

Deng Jie was taken aback. "What? You don't want it? You're not asking for money..."

"Auntie!" Chen Muyu smiled bitterly. "It's not about the money. I'm not refusing it, but I can't take it. This is a bronze artifact, and the state has explicitly prohibited its trade..."

"So what if it's a bronze artifact? It's not real!" Deng Jie glared.

"Who said it's not real?"

"The expert said it's not real!"

"That expert is a fraud!"

Chen Muyu was at a loss. "Auntie, I don't know what kind of expert your Uncle Huang found, but let me tell you, this expert is unreliable..."

Deng Jie was taken aback and looked Chen Muyu up and down. "Little Yu, what do you mean? Do you know about these things?"

"Brother Yu, are you saying this thing is real?"

Huang Xiaoqi asked, clearly very interested, her face full of anticipation.

"I'm not an expert!"

Chen Muyu smiled awkwardly and lightly patted the tripod. "This is a cooking vessel used by ancient people to hold meat. A tripod with handles is called a ding, and one without handles is called a dun. This is a ding, and it should be from the Spring and Autumn period!"

"However, there's still some dirt on the tripod, so it must have been recently unearthed. Where did Uncle Huang get it? He didn't dig it up, did he?"

In the scrap business, one often encounters people who do such things. "Digging up" is a euphemism for illegal excavation.

Deng Jie, of course, didn't understand, but she was stunned by Chen Muyu's seemingly professional explanation.

She looked down at the unremarkable tripod. "You're not fooling me, are you? You're so quick to say it's from the Spring and Autumn period? You're saying it's real? But the expert said..."

Chen Muyu waved his hand to interrupt Deng Jie. "That expert is either a half-baked one or doesn't want to get into trouble. Auntie, I can guarantee this thing is real..."

Deng Jie was stunned.

The expert said it was fake, but Chen Muyu said it was real and spoke with such confidence. She didn't know whether to believe him or not.

"Brother Yu, is this thing valuable?"

Huang Xiaoqi asked impatiently, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Chen Muyu was at a loss. "If you sell it as scrap, you might get 50 yuan at most. Of course, I can't take such things. After all, artifacts have historical value..."

"Oh, Brother Yu, just tell us how much it's worth..."

Huang Xiaoqi was eager.

Chen Muyu held up one finger.

Huang Xiaoqi was taken aback. "One million?"

Chen Muyu shook his head. "At least ten years in prison!"

"Ha!"

Huang Xiaoqi playfully hit Chen Muyu. "You're so annoying..."

Chen Muyu smiled helplessly, not joking at all. "If it's legitimate, it's worth about 300,000 yuan!"

"300,000 yuan?"

Huang Xiaoqi's eyes immediately lit up, looking at the tripod as if she saw a pile of glittering gold bars.

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