Chapter 64

Lu Dongxing, sitting in the passenger seat, couldn't help but turn his head to stare at the wooden box in Yang Bo's arms. "Is there anything strange about this wooden box?"

After saying this, he reached out to take it.

As soon as the wooden box was in his hands, he felt its weight, which surprised him. He stared at the box closely.

The square wooden box had an ancient and natural design. The surface was coated with thick lacquer, and it was adorned with some human figures. Due to the long passage of time, these figures had turned black and were worn smooth, making it difficult to discern the details.

Lu Dongxing weighed the box again. "What's so special about this wooden box? It's not much different from ordinary lacquerware."

Cao Yuande reached out to take it. "Let me see!"

The car entered the highway, and the speed gradually increased. The trees outside the window blurred, and the car following behind seemed to disappear, yet it was always there, not far away.

Cao Yuande put down the box, puzzled. "The style of the painting doesn't seem Chinese."

Yang Bo took the box back. "Professor Cao, how did you know I was interested in the box, not the jade pendant?"

"Because your attitude towards the two is different!" Cao Yuande pointed to Yang Bo's current posture and laughed.

Yang Bo was slightly taken aback but quickly understood. Even when he handed the jade Guanyin to Lu Dongxing, he still held the lacquer box in his arms. The jade Guanyin was now hanging from his hand, showing that he wasn't very concerned about it.

Yang Bo smiled and took out the wooden box. "Fortunately, none of you recognized it. This lacquer box is not Chinese, but Japanese!"

"Japanese?" Lu Dongxing was greatly surprised and turned to take the lacquer box again, this time being more careful.

"Have you noticed the patterns on the lacquer box? The carved monster is not Chinese but Japanese, a water woman!"

Yang Bo explained, "This pattern depicts the story of a water woman. A water woman is a very swift amphibious demon, with a human female head and a large snake body. It is said that on riverbanks, one can see a water woman combing her long, smooth hair."

"The story depicted in this painting is about a water woman holding a child to attract people. When a kind person tries to help the water woman by holding the child, the child will attach itself to the person and become increasingly heavy, making it impossible for the person to escape. The water woman then uses its long, powerful tongue to suck the person's blood dry!"

Yang Bo was initially attracted not by the patterns but by the aura emitted by the box, which was even thicker than that of the jade Guanyin. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the problem with the patterns!

Cao Yuande had never thought that the lacquer box was of Japanese origin. It wasn't until Yang Bo explained that he understood the origin of the patterns.

Yang Bo pointed to a barely noticeable seal on the lacquer box. "There's a seal here, but I'm not sure who it belongs to."

Cao Yuande smiled. "That's easy. I'll take a picture of the seal and send it to an old friend. Someone will be able to identify it!"

Yang Bo handed over the lacquer box, and Cao Yuande took a picture with his phone. He didn't send it immediately but called to confirm that the recipient could receive it before sending it.

After waiting for a while with no response, Cao Yuande became a bit anxious but tried to reassure Yang Bo. "Don't worry, it's probably because the phone's camera resolution is too low, and the picture isn't clear. He needs to confirm it!"

Not long after Cao Yuande spoke, his phone rang.

"Kano Masahiro? Who is this?"

Cao Yuande listened to the explanation and was surprised. He turned on the speaker so everyone in the car could hear.

"Kano Masahiro was an official painter of the Ashikaga shogunate and the founder of the Kano school. Existing works by Kano Masahiro are extremely rare. Where did you get this seal? It doesn't look like a painting!"

The person on the other end was also surprised, as being able to photograph the seal indicated that there was at least a work present.

"It's on a lacquer box."

"What? A lacquer box? Old Cao, take a coin and gently scrape the lines of the painting on the lacquer box!"

"Scrape the lines?"

Despite his doubts, Cao Yuande did as instructed. After a few scrapes, he was stunned. The patterns on the lacquer box began to shine with a golden and silver luster!

"How can it shine? What's going on?" Cao Yuande asked into the phone.

"This is an official item from the shogunate period! It was used by the shogunate!"

Yang Bo was also stunned. He had only thought that the lacquer box was Japanese and might be more valuable than the jade Guanyin inside, but now it seemed to be much more valuable than he had imagined!

Lu Dongxing exclaimed, "It looks like the biggest gain from this trip isn't mine, but yours!"

As he said this, Lu Dongxing felt a bit regretful. When Yang Bo paused his recommendation, he should have foreseen this, but he hadn't taken it seriously. He hadn't expected Yang Bo to have such keen eyes!

Cao Yuande put down the phone and stared at the lacquer box in Yang Bo's hands, sighing. "I never expected this lacquer box to have such a significant history!"

"Congratulations! Congratulations!"

The atmosphere in the car was a bit solemn, but Lu Dongxing, being generous, congratulated Yang Bo. With his wealth, he wasn't envious of Yang Bo's lacquer box; he just felt a sense of accomplishment in finding a rare treasure!

"Congratulations!" Li Er, the driver, also smiled.

...

Just before getting out of the car, Lu Dongxing suddenly asked, "Brother Yang, can you part with this lacquer box and sell it to me? I'll offer you five million!"

Yang Bo didn't want to refuse immediately. He pointed to a nearby shop. "Boss Lu, do you see that shop being renovated? It's the new one I've taken over. I've basically sold everything I had recently, and the shop is about to open. I need a treasure to display."

Lu Dongxing immediately understood Yang Bo's meaning. "Brother Yang, you're truly talented to have taken over a shop at such a young age. I wish you success in your business!"

Yang Bo and Cao Yuande got out of the car. After the car drove away, Cao Yuande pointed to it and said, "I'll try to take fewer appraisal jobs in the future. This incident was a lesson; I almost made a mistake."

Yang Bo quickly replied, "Mistakes are normal. This was just an accident!"

Cao Yuande waved his hand. "You don't need to persuade me. There's more to it than that. My job might change."

"Change? Aren't you a professor? Are you going to do something else?" Yang Bo was surprised.

"I'm going to the National Cultural Heritage Administration," Cao Yuande explained. "I'll be in charge of the museum and social cultural heritage department. I've already had a talk with the organization, and I should be taking office soon!"

Yang Bo didn't know the exact position, but being in charge of a department likely meant a promotion. "Congratulations! I can't call you Professor Cao anymore; I should call you Director Cao!"

Cao Yuande waved his hand. "Don't say anything yet. The official document hasn't come through."

"Understood! Understood!" Yang Bo nodded, genuinely happy for him!