Chapter 78

Having obtained the treasure map, but with no clues, Yang Bo's excitement gradually subsided.

He suddenly thought of the masked old man he met when buying the golden toad. Could the old man, who wanted to buy the golden toad, know about its situation? Could he know about the treasure map?

Luo Yaohua handed the treasure map back, "Pay attention to it later. It feels familiar, but the mountains depicted don't seem to be famous ones. You can slowly look for information. Once you find it, I'll help you dig up the treasure, and we can split it 20-80!"

Yang Bo pointed at the treasure map, "If you find it, wouldn't a 50-50 split be better?"

Luo Yaohua smiled, "Searching aimlessly like this, who knows how long it will take? Maybe we won't find it in this lifetime! I won't fall for it!"

The hotel's food wasn't particularly special. To enjoy the local specialties of Chang'an, the two had to go to the streets and alleys.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Cao Yuande and Director Wu again.

Director Wu walked over and said with a smile, "Good, I finally caught you two! Why did you hang up so quickly?"

"Indeed, we were a bit busy!" Luo Yaohua insisted.

Director Wu waved his hand, "Come on, follow me. Since you're in Chang'an, I, as the host, can't not treat you!"

Yang Bo quickly waved his hands, "No, no need to trouble you. We can just eat something simple!"

Director Wu smiled at Yang Bo, "What? Afraid to owe me a favor?"

Yang Bo was quite frank, nodding, "Indeed, that's the case."

Director Wu stared at him, "I've seen people be frank, but not as frank as you!"

Cao Yuande stood to the side, laughing heartily.

"It's fine. Director Wu isn't that kind of person. I guarantee he won't try to buy the fish-patterned colored pottery jar from you this time, nor will he think about leasing it!" Cao Yuande said, smoothing things over.

They found a hotel and sat down. Director Wu said, "Xiao Yang, six years ago, the National Cultural Heritage Administration issued a document listing 64 artifacts that are prohibited from leaving the country. The first one on the list is the painted crane and fish stone axe pottery jar, which is also a Neolithic Yangshao culture artifact."

Yang Bo looked up, not knowing what he meant.

"I just want to remind you not to take it out of the country. This artifact is definitely a first-class cultural relic and can be considered half a national treasure. Be sure to take good care of it!" Director Wu instructed.

Yang Bo nodded, "Yes, I will take good care of it."

Cao Yuande smiled, "What are you two doing in Chang'an? Did you come specifically for that artifact?"

"We came to look for treasures and bought the artifact at the antique market." Yang Bo said.

Luo Yaohua nodded, "Shiyitang isn't doing well. Yang Bo always complains to me. I brought him to Chang'an for a trip, and I didn't expect him to find such a good deal!"

"Find a good deal at the antique market? How is that possible?" Cao Yuande found it hard to believe, "You must be telling the truth!"

"It was bought at the antique market." Yang Bo said.

Cao Yuende and Director Wu exchanged glances, both finding it hard to believe, but Yang Bo wouldn't lie about such a thing!

After that, they didn't mention it again and chatted about some interesting stories in the industry. Yang Bo didn't know much and could only listen to them.

In the afternoon, Yang Bo found a shipping company, signed a contract, and had the pottery jar shipped to Jinling. He then boarded the plane with the golden toad.

Luo Yaohua stayed behind to visit an elder. Yang Bo didn't ask much, and Luo Yaohua reassured him, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about the golden toad. I didn't memorize the map, so finding the treasure location is up to you!"

Luo Yaohua clearly treated the treasure map as a joke, and Yang Bo didn't take it too seriously, as there were no textual descriptions on the map. Finding the treasure location was like looking for a needle in a haystack!

...

Back home, Yang Bo kept an eye on the shipping progress. The next afternoon, the shipment arrived. After inspecting it and finding no issues, he put the fish-patterned colored pottery jar in the bank's safe!

A few days passed, and Shiyitang's business finally got on track. A few people came to trade each day. Yang Bo received two good items and sold two, making a net profit of over 200,000 yuan. This brought his bank balance back over a million.

His father's health improved, and he was about to be discharged. Yang Bo had to go several times to handle the discharge procedures.

The medical expenses were not as high as expected. Yang Bo had budgeted 850,000 yuan, but the surgery went smoothly, and staying in a high-level ward cost only about 700,000 yuan.

Yang Bo gave his mother 1.1 million yuan, leaving over 300,000 yuan, which no one mentioned. Yang Bo pretended not to know.

Relatives came again, and several cousins joined. The ward was quite noisy.

His cousin, Zeng Yuanshan, worked in marketing at a real estate company, earning a good income and considered a semi-successful person. He was only four or five years older than Yang Bo but always spoke and acted as if he were superior.

"Xiao Bo, I've heard about your situation. To be honest, I'm surprised you've come this far. You have no education, no skills, and even your communication skills are average. To be able to make a living by appraising artifacts is truly surprising!"

Yang Bo felt uncomfortable but didn't want to explain much, nodding, "Yes, it's not easy!"

"However, being able to earn several hundred thousand yuan for medical expenses shows that you've made a name for yourself in this industry. From now on, it will only get better. At this point, you mustn't be complacent or arrogant. You need to be proactive and learn from higher-level appraisers. Try to join the Jinling Cultural Heritage Committee and aim for a position..."

Listening to Zeng Yuanshan's plan, Yang Bo suddenly wondered if he wasn't being proactive enough.

However, he quickly realized that what Zeng Yuanshan said wasn't very relevant to him and didn't suit him at all!

But Yang Bo still nodded.

After a while, Zeng Yuanshan finally stopped talking and looked at Yang Bo, "I heard from your parents that you're helping a friend run an antique shop. Can you decide to buy some items?"

Yang Bo, who had been half-asleep, suddenly perked up, "Items can be bought, but we need to check their quality and authenticity!"

"Don't worry about that!" Zeng Yuanshan smiled.

Yang Bo nodded, but he was puzzled. He knew the situation of his relatives and hadn't heard of anyone having antiques.

Yang's mother laughed, "Xiao Bo, your cousin Yuanshan is well-educated and smart. You should learn from him more!"

Yang Bo responded with an "Oh."