Chapter 1

As night fell, the twilight enveloped Kyoto, the most prosperous city in China, with the setting sun casting a golden glow on the upper glass windows of the skyscrapers. Many office workers streamed out of the buildings, eager to return to their cozy homes.

"Going out again?" Yinzeping was playing World of Warcraft, with two empty instant noodle buckets in front of him.

"Yep." Suwen responded, straightening his clothes. He realized this outfit had only one pocket, and after putting his phone in it, there was no more space for anything else. "Forget it, I won't need my wallet anyway."

"Alright, bring me a bucket of instant noodles when you come back." Yinzeping turned to Suwen with a grin.

"Sure, I won't forget your noodles." Suwen shook his head helplessly. His roommate was such a homebody, or perhaps a loser, and he wondered how he managed to find a girlfriend and such a good job.

Suwen, standing 183 cm tall, had a delicate face that was neither handsome nor ugly. When he was quiet, he exuded a scholarly aura. He was a student at Kyoto University, in his senior year, and had received his degree and bachelor's certificate the previous morning, making him a graduate now.

However, being a graduate didn't sound so good for him. All three of his roommates had found jobs, and he was the only one still unemployed.

Even though it was summer, the evening was slightly cool.

At the overpass in front of the Confucius Temple, this was the third time he had passed by here.

Many people passing by didn't bother to look down at the overpass, let alone take a detour to the bottom. However, the two times Suwen passed by, he went under the overpass. Unlike others, he didn't avoid the beggars.

Dozens of broken pots and pans lined up, these were the tools of the beggars' trade.

Suwen looked around, and with an empty hand, he reached out. As he opened his hand, a few coins fell into the beggars' tools, and the familiar sound drew surprised looks from many of them.

Without a word, Suwen walked from one end of the overpass to the other, giving a few coins to each beggar. Although it was only a few yuan, for the beggars, it was enough for a meal if they saved it.

"Grandpa, why does this person have so many coins?" A dirty little boy looked puzzled.

"How should I know? Maybe he saved them up." The old man, with a disheveled appearance, was laughing with the few coins Suwen had given him.

"But I saw his hand was empty when he gave us the coins. Could he have conjured them out of thin air?" The little boy, being lively, couldn't understand such a strange occurrence.

"Why think so much? Maybe he's a god of wealth." The old man dismissed it.

"If he were really a god of wealth, he'd be too stingy, only giving us a few coins." The little boy grumbled.

...

Dafeng Antiques Shop.

A fairly large antique shop in Kyoto, mainly dealing in the buying and selling of antiques, and also supplying auction items to several major auction houses in Kyoto. The owner was called Mr. Mu, an old-timer in Kyoto. It was said that there was a Mu family behind him, and the old man of the Mu family was him. In Kyoto, no one dared to offend him.

Suwen's destination was here.

He looked at Dafeng Antiques Shop, a three-story building with a classical style. Although it was a replica, in the寸土寸金 (highly valuable land) of Kyoto, it was worth at least tens of millions. Not to mention the dazzling array of antiques inside. In total, the value of this three-story building could exceed a hundred million, yet there were fewer than ten staff members.

"Suwen, why are you here?" A sarcastic voice sounded.

Suwen frowned, recognizing the person who suddenly appeared at the entrance of Dafeng Antiques Shop. It was none other than Ma Jin, a rival from his university.

"I have some business here. What about you?" Suwen responded after a moment of thought.

Ma Jin sized up Suwen and said smugly, "See that? Dafeng Antiques Shop, I work here. I heard you haven't found a job yet. Want me to introduce you? I'm close to the manager here. If I help, you might get a job. No need to thank me, we are classmates."

Ma Jin emphasized the word "classmates," clearly not genuinely offering to help but rather flaunting his superiority. In essence, he was saying, "See, I have a job, but you don't. I even know the boss, a big shot, but you've never heard of him."

Suwen saw through Ma Jin's intentions and couldn't help but laugh. "Ma Jin, don't flatter yourself. You're not qualified to boast in front of me."

A week ago, Suwen wouldn't have dared to say such a thing, but now he could say it with confidence.

He had his own reasons.

"You... Ha ha ha!" Ma Jin laughed, "Suwen, at this point, you're still putting up a front. In our archaeology class of forty-three people, who doesn't know you're the only one without a job? In a few days, the school will clear out the dorms, and you won't even have a place to stay. How pitiful. You talk about me not being qualified, but what do you have to compare with me? I earn eight or nine thousand a month at Dafeng Antiques Shop, with a bright future. We are in different worlds now."

"Ha!"

Suwen couldn't hold back his laughter. The guy in front of him was too full of himself.

"What are you laughing at? I haven't even asked why you're here. Let me tell you, Dafeng Antiques Shop isn't hiring apprentices anymore. It's almost impossible for you to get in, unless..."

"Unless you introduce me, right? By the way, I heard the owner of Dafeng Antiques Shop is surnamed Mu, and everyone calls him Old Mu. Are you introducing me to Old Mu?" Suwen said casually.

"Old Mu, who's that?" Ma Jin muttered, feeling a bit puzzled.

"Suwen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." An elderly man walked over, looking spirited and well-dressed. He was the person Suwen had come to see, and this was the second time Suwen met Old Mu. The first time was at Xinghua Park.

"Not long, I just arrived." Suwen naturally wouldn't mention that he had been there for over ten minutes.

"Old Mu, you're here." A middle-aged man from Dafeng Antiques Shop rushed out.

"Manager!" Ma Jin called out, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Before entering Dafeng Antiques Shop, he had read the shop's information. It clearly stated that Chufeng was just the manager, and the owner was someone else. Considering what Suwen had said, the elderly man in front of him was undoubtedly the owner of Dafeng Antiques Shop.

Ma Jin realized this and was terrified. If Suwen had any bad words to say about him, he would be out of a job. Now, his future was in Suwen's hands, and he looked at Suwen with a pleading gaze.

Suwen glanced at Ma Jin, amused.

Ma Jin's face turned red. He had just boasted in front of Suwen, belittling him, but now he realized that the most pitiful person was himself.

"Suwen, do you know this person?" Old Mu asked, puzzled.

Ma Jin's breath caught. It was coming, Suwen was about to explode, and he would be the second person to lose his job after Suwen.

"I don't know him. We're not familiar." Suwen said casually.

What was this?

Ma Jin was stunned, thinking he must have heard wrong. Did Suwen just let him off? His heart plummeted from the sky to the ground, from the Southern Hemisphere back to the Northern Hemisphere, experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions in just a few minutes.

"Alright... Let's go inside and talk." Old Mu extended an invitation.

"Sure, Old Mu." Suwen turned and, as he passed Ma Jin, whispered, "You're right, we are in different worlds."

Ma Jin was speechless. He had said those words, but they came back to him so quickly!

Suwen didn't let Ma Jin off because he was kind-hearted. He knew Ma Jin's family wasn't wealthy, and if Ma Jin lost this job, his situation might be even worse than his. They were classmates, and he couldn't ruin someone's livelihood over a few words, at least not now.

On the second floor, in a private room.

"Old Mu, here they are. All the old coins, including the 18 coins from 1961 that you need the most. There are also many from other years. You can name your price." Suwen spread them out casually.

Old Mu was delighted. "Great! You've really helped me again. No more talk, I'll pay double the market price. How about that?"

"No need, the market price is fine." Suwen shook his head.

"That won't do. At least above market price." Old Mu insisted, "I counted, there are 87 old coins in total. The market price is a bit over 100,000 yuan. I'll give you 150,000. Don't refuse, you deserve it. I'm not short of money, and it will make me feel better. What do you think?"

Suwen had no choice but to nod.

Old Mu immediately had Chufeng transfer the money. As Suwen was about to leave, he called out, "Here, take this. If you ever need a place to eat, you can come here."

Suwen was surprised and looked at what Old Mu was holding. It was a purple gold card.

"Old Mu, what's this?" Suwen asked, puzzled.

"A membership card for Jiufeng Restaurant. It's not worth much, consider it a personal gift from me." Old Mu thought for a moment, "Last time at Xinghua Park, you helped me save at least a few million. A purple gold card is nothing."

"Then I'll accept it." Suwen looked at Old Mu, not thinking much more, "I'll take my leave. By the way, Jiufeng Restaurant isn't cheap. How much of a discount does this purple gold card offer?"

"No discount." Old Mu smiled slightly.

"Uh!" Suwen was speechless.

"Free." Old Mu added.

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