Chapter 72

"Absolutely not!" Xiao Hai replied with unusual firmness. "I can't sell the house and the car to you."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Yuan Xiyeh's eyes.

He was a master in the field of antique collection, and the importance of preserving valuable cultural relics for future generations outweighed everything else for him. He had immersed himself in this pursuit all his life, even at the age of 65, he had never married.

Those antiques were his wife and children.

Although he had not known Xiao Hai for long, he particularly liked this young man. Despite Xiao Hai's somewhat lazy and cunning appearance, he was actually a very sunny and cheerful big boy, Yuan Xiyeh thought.

But could he have misjudged this time?

This pair of doucai tianma patterned covered jars was too precious; they absolutely could not fall into foreign hands or into the hands of people who only pretended to appreciate them and did not know how to protect them.

However, he really did not have enough cash on hand. Over the years, he had indeed made a lot of money, but it had all turned into the antiques filling his house. Apart from these, the most valuable asset he had was probably this villa.

Was Xiao Hai really going to auction off this pair of doucai tianma patterned covered jars to get a bigger return?

Xiao Hai suddenly said lazily, "Old Yuan, selling the house to buy a car sounds so tragic. I'll just store the doucai tianma patterned covered jars with you."

"What?" Yuan Xiyeh thought he had heard wrong.

Xiao Hai still had that smiling face, "You said these things are so precious, and I don't know how to take care of them. I'm also afraid of thieves. I might as well entrust them to you for safekeeping."

Thinking about it, he felt a bit reluctant, "Remember, I'm just entrusting them to you temporarily. If I ever get so poor that I have to hang myself, you have to give them back to me, no backing out."

"Xiao Hai, you..." Yuan Xiyeh still felt like he was in a dream, "I told you the value of these things!"

"I know, I know," Xiao Hai sighed seriously, "If I really auctioned them off, you'd fight me to the death. We wouldn't be friends anymore, and you wouldn't help me authenticate things in the future. Where would I find such a competent and free appraiser like you?"

Friends? This always smiling young man actually considered a 65-year-old man as a friend?

Yuan Xiyeh had never felt such warmth... friends? Yes, that's right, even though he had always treated Xiao Hai like his own child.

"Leave the things with me, and come get them whenever you want," Yuan Xiyeh made a solemn promise, "Not just this pair of doucai tianma patterned covered jars, but anything here, if you like it, you can take it. Of course, you can't sell it."

What's the point? Xiao Hai thought resentfully. Facing a pile of incredibly valuable things, he could only look but not sell? Thanks, but I have a lot of such ceramics at the bottom of the East Sea.

Yes, it seems I should go find those treasures at the bottom of the sea in foreign countries. I'll use foreign gold and silver to make money, and you, Old Yuan, won't have any objections, right?

Yuan Xiyeh thought for a moment, "Xiao Hai, don't you like jade? I have something to give you."

Saying this, he took something off his body.

It was a jade pendant, which looked very old, with a restrained aura and an ancient, even somewhat strange design. From its shape, it looked like a dog.

"This is Chao Feng, the third son of the dragon," Yuan Xiyeh explained, "The dragon has nine sons, the third being Chao Feng, who looks like a dog and loves danger. Chao Feng not only symbolizes auspiciousness, beauty, and majesty, but also has the meaning of intimidating demons and eliminating disasters. This jade pendant is from the Eastern Zhou period. Although it cannot be compared to the He Shi Bi, it is also extremely precious. More importantly, the aura inside the jade has not leaked at all. I have kept this Chao Feng jade pendant for thirty years, but the aura remains restrained, making it look ordinary. I still don't understand why. Xiao Hai, I hope you can cultivate this jade."

Yuan Xiyeh had chosen the wrong person.

Xiao Hai didn't like jade; he liked the aura inside the jade. Others cultivated jade to enhance the aura, but Xiao Hai wanted to absorb all the aura inside the jade.

He didn't refuse and took it, but he was quite troubled. He already had a jade elephant storing three thousand years of aura, which was enough to give him a headache. Now, from the Eastern Zhou period, which was about two thousand five hundred years ago, how could he absorb the aura in this jade pendant?

Well, just put it aside. Having an additional jade pendant with a lot of hidden aura wouldn't be a bad thing.

After chatting with Yuan Xiyeh for a while, he got up to leave.

Liu Assistant drove him home and, upon returning, saw that Old Yuan was still admiring the doucai tianma patterned covered jars. She couldn't help but smile, "Old Yuan, you've been looking for these doucai tianma patterned covered jars for so long. You even spent a whole day at the British Museum in the UK. Now, you can admire them at home."

"Yes," Yuan Xiyeh reluctantly put down the doucai tianma patterned covered jars, "These things are rare, but more precious is Xiao Hai. In the face of huge profits, few people can remain unmoved. But Xiao Hai can let go so easily, which is rare, very rare."

Hearing him say "rare" several times, Liu Assistant added, "You're getting old, and you need a successor, don't you? You've never taken on an apprentice. I think Xiao Hai is good."

"No, no," Yuan Xiyeh shook his head, "This field requires a calm mind. It looks glamorous on the outside, but the inner monotony and boredom are only known to us. Xiao Hai is kind-hearted, but he can't stay calm."

Liu Assistant thought about it. Xiao Hai liked to be active. Although this field required traveling the world, it mostly required a calm and focused mind. "What about this? Why don't you adopt him as a godson?"

Yuan Xiyeh's heart stirred.

He had immersed himself in this field all his life and had never thought about starting a family. It didn't matter before, but now that he was getting older, who would inherit his collection after he passed away?

Liu Assistant was a good person, having followed him for twenty years, from a young girl to middle age. She had her own husband and children and couldn't be burdened forever. He had hinted that he would leave everything to her after his death, but she had refused, telling Yuan Xiyeh:

"I'm with you not just for work, but also out of duty. I'm used to being with you. I don't like antiques, never have. My husband and children don't like them either. We can't take on such a responsibility."

How many people in this society are not greedy for wealth? In this regard, Yuan Xiyeh felt lucky. He knew two such people: Liu Assistant and Xiao Hai.

Now that Liu Assistant suggested adopting Xiao Hai as a godson, it was a good idea. However, the age difference was too large, and he was almost old enough to be Xiao Hai's grandfather. Moreover, would Xiao Hai agree?

Liu Assistant, who had been with Yuan Xiyeh for so many years, knew what he was thinking, "How about this? Next time Xiao Hai comes, I'll sound him out."

Yuan Xiyeh nodded involuntarily...

...

A pair of doucai tianma patterned covered jars for a jade pendant, how could this be a good deal?

Impulsive! Impulsiveness is the devil. Fortunately, the things were with Yuan Xiyeh, which gave him peace of mind.

After returning from the East Sea, he changed his clothes and went straight to Yuan Xiyeh's place. Only when he got home did he remember to check his phone. Good grief, over 100 missed calls in two days, all from Yuyan, Deng Mengmeng, and Xu Yunqi.

He first called Yuyan back. Facing Yuyan's questions about where he had been for two days and why he hadn't answered the phone, Xiao Hai made an excuse, saying he had gone to Yuechang and forgotten his phone.

Yuyan then told Xiao Hai that she had arranged for him to learn driving and gave him her cousin's phone number, assuring him that everything would be done as quickly as possible.

Xiao Hai thanked Yuyan, hung up, and called Deng Mengmeng.

The phone rang once, and Deng Mengmeng's anxious voice came through. She and Xu Yunqi had thought something had happened to Xiao Hai.

Xiao Hai repeated the same excuse, clearly hearing Xu Yunqi's voice in the background, "Hey, Xiao Hai, you went out to play without inviting us?"

Deng Mengmeng, relieved that Xiao Hai was safe, told him that there was nothing major, just that the upcoming sports meet was coming up, and she and Xu Yunqi had gathered the art department and their close female friends to be Xiao Hai's cheerleaders. They hadn't expected Xiao Hai to call back only today.

After chatting for a while, he hung up. Xiao Hai took out the Chao Feng jade pendant Yuan Xiyeh had given him, placed it on his dantian, and tried it.

Damn! No reaction again? Great, one jade elephant, now another jade pendant. One with three thousand years of aura, the other with two thousand five hundred years, but both were like miserly hoarders, refusing to release the aura.

What was this?

Xiao Hai felt a bit dejected. Just then, the phone rang again. He thought it was still Deng Mengmeng and didn't even look, "Hello."

"Xiao Hai?"

Huh? Yin Yunuo? That beautiful policewoman? Xiao Hai perked up, "It's me, Officer Yin, did you miss me?"

"You always like to joke, be careful I don't arrest you," Yin Yunuo joked, "I'll be in Xinan for a month in November. Will you be free then?"

"Yes, of course, I'll be free whenever you come, Officer Yin."

"Then it's settled. When I get to Xinan, I'll call you, pay you back, and treat you to a night snack."

Xiao Hai laughed, "The money doesn't matter, but the night snack is a must."

This was probably the best news of the day. At least he would see the beautiful policewoman soon.