Chapter 57

The next morning, just after seven o'clock, a bank's cash transport vehicle drove into Half Mountain Village. Wang Yong and Wang Dahai were taken straight to the county agricultural bank, where Wang Yong was issued a gold card and over two million yuan in cash was deposited.

When the two returned home, Wang Dahai, without a word, found a place to sleep. Wang Yong, on the other hand, prepared some food to fill his stomach. After eating, he appeared at the construction site, full of energy.

Since obtaining the small world, Wang Yong's body had first been strengthened by Xiaoguang, and then continuously nourished by the spiritual energy of the small world. Now, his physical condition was undoubtedly the best on Earth, and he could go without sleep for ten to fifteen days without any issues.

The construction site was bustling early in the morning. With ample funds, Manager Li, with support from headquarters, had mobilized many workers to work in shifts. The construction site was now piled with building materials. The foundation had been completed, and the ground had been excavated half a meter deep by excavators. Most of the workers were busy setting up scaffolding, and the massive greenhouse was beginning to take shape through the nearly completed framework.

Two excavators and a loader had moved to a new location to start digging a river between the greenhouse and the mountain. This was to prevent rainwater from the mountain during the summer from destroying the greenhouse, and it would also serve as an accompanying landscape for tourists. The river was designed to be five meters wide and 1.5 meters deep, circling the village and connecting to a small stream, forming a flowing water system. Lotus flowers would be planted in the river, fish and shrimp would be raised, and willow trees would be planted along the banks. In the future, this would be a great place for summer relaxation, where one could fish, catch shrimp and crabs, or chat and cool off under the trees with friends.

"Treasure found!"

Just as Wang Yong was lost in his imagination, envisioning a walk along the riverbank with Yuan Yuan... a sudden shout brought him back to reality. He looked around and saw a crowd gathered around an excavator, with more people joining. Recalling the shout about finding treasure, he wondered what kind of treasure could be found in a village that had only existed for two hundred years and had never produced a landlord?

With a broad and open sky, after being brave,

Take the determination to break the lock of fate.

Cold-hearted people,

Thank you for once looking down on me,

Making me live a more colorful life without bowing my head.

A cell phone rang, and Wang Yong took it out to see it was Li Jianping.

"Hello, Old Li, what's up?"

"Where are you? Come to the construction site quickly, they've dug up a large piece of petrified wood!" Li Jianping said urgently.

"I'm already at the site, I'll be right there." Wang Yong hung up and walked towards the location.

"Everyone, move aside, move aside!" Wang Yong shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd. After some effort, he finally made it inside.

"Mr. Wang, look, it's this thing." Li Jianping pointed to a smooth, light yellow, stone-like object partially exposed on the ground.

Wang Yong walked over and examined it closely. It did indeed look like petrified wood. He had seen many of these in the hotel where he worked in the provincial capital, so he recognized it immediately. However, he wasn't sure what type it was. This thing wasn't an antique and wasn't worth much, unless it was a new species or had special value.

"It's just a piece of petrified wood, not worth much. It's about the same price as regular wood. Everyone, go back to work. If anyone wants a piece, they can take one." Hearing Wang Yong's words, the crowd immediately dispersed. Wang Yong was known as a master of antiques, so if he said it wasn't valuable and that anyone could take a piece, it must be true.

"What do we do with this thing?" Li Jianping asked.

"Dig it out and move it to my drying field. Once the restaurant is built, we can place it at the village entrance as a landscape feature."

"Alright, I'll find someone to contact a crane."

"I can help with that. A friend of mine has a crane. They have 8-ton, 10-ton, and 20-ton models." The excavator driver interjected.

"Alright, make the call. After you finish, dig around this thing so it can be lifted directly." Wang Yong said to the driver. He then squatted down and dug in the soil with his hands, revealing a tree hole on the petrified wood. He reached inside and felt something. He quickly grabbed it and looked. It seemed to be some kind of plant seeds?

Seeds in petrified wood? Holding the dozen small, stone-like objects in his hand, Wang Yong wasn't sure if they were seed fossils. The excavator started up again, and Wang Yong put the objects into the small world. He then quickly left the construction site to make room for the excavator.

As the excavation area expanded, more of the petrified wood was exposed. Wang Yong had Xiaoguang scan it, and the conclusion was similar to his guess: it was a common silicified wood, but very large. Wang Yong didn't pay much attention, thinking that such a shallow depth couldn't contain a large fossil.

After about an hour of digging, the ten-meter-long, nearly one-meter-diameter giant silicified wood was fully exposed. Wang Yong was no longer calm. While ordinary petrified wood wasn't valuable, the value of such a large piece was unknown. The larger the piece, the more valuable it was!

Not knowing, he could always ask someone. Wang Yong immediately asked Li Jianping to secure the fossil and then called Zhang Kai in Beijing.

"Hey, what's up that you're calling me?"

"Are you familiar with petrified wood, being an archaeologist?"

"Petrified wood? How big is it?"

"About ten meters long and one meter in diameter."

"Wait a minute!" Zhang Kai's voice rose. After a moment, he continued, "You're not kidding, right? It's real?"

"Real, absolutely real, or I'll pay ten times the price! It was dug up in my village. It's just big, nothing special. It's not very attractive and has no ornamental value."

"You know nothing! Besides being big? Alright, no more nonsense. Wait there, I'm coming over. Don't touch it, isolate it, and wait for us to arrive." Zhang Kai said urgently.

"What danger could it pose? It's just a rock, right?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I'll notify my mentor. Remember, don't touch it! Send me a photo."

Fine! Wang Yong thought, wishing he hadn't made the call. He took a few photos and sent them to Zhang Kai. He then called Li Jianping and Manager Li to relay Zhang Kai's instructions. They had to stop work and isolate the area. After they instructed the workers to stop and evacuate, Wang Yong, still worried, called his old classmate, the police chief of the township, Zhu Wei.

"Second Master, what are you up to?"

"Isn't this a call to invite you, the great chief, to help the people?"

"Alright, stop the jokes. What do you need?"

Wang Yong explained that a giant petrified wood had been found at the construction site and that he had contacted an expert from the archaeology department of Beijing University. The expert had instructed them to secure the site and wait for their arrival. Zhu Wei was almost jumping out of his seat.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me about this earlier? Alright, hang up, I'll report to the county and then bring people over."

After hanging up, Wang Yong realized there was nothing left for him to do. It was almost eleven, so he decided to head to his uncle's house for a meal. Without telling Li Jianping or Manager Li, he went straight to his uncle's house.

Upon entering, he saw his uncle lying in a chair, listening to the radio. His uncle's radio was a high-end model, a recently released iPhone, bought by Wang Qian with Wang Yong's money. She had also bought a pair of black and white iPhones for his uncle and aunt. However, his uncle mostly used it to listen to the radio. Each time Wang Yong saw his uncle wearing headphones and using the expensive phone to listen to the radio, he felt a bit frustrated.

After greeting his uncle, Wang Yong headed to the kitchen. These days, Old Zhang had been researching various dishes at his uncle's house, rarely leaving. Usually, the three elders ate together, but recently, Li Jianping, a food lover, had joined them. He came for lunch and dinner every day and often drank with the two elders.

As noon approached, Li Jianping arrived at his uncle's house. They had a lively meal, and the topic of the petrified wood inevitably came up. Hearing about the large petrified wood, his uncle and aunt were very interested and went to the construction site with Li Jianping after the meal. Old Zhang, however, continued to work on his dishes, occasionally asking Wang Yong to practice his knife skills, much to Wang Yong's dismay. Fortunately, the sound of a helicopter approaching grew louder, and Wang Yong knew he was finally free.

When Wang Yong arrived at the construction site, he saw two Mi-171 helicopters parked on the leveled ground, which was intended to be a parking lot. Zhang Kai and an elderly man with silver hair, looking very spirited, were examining the petrified wood. Around them were some young people in white coats, likely students from Beijing University, holding various instruments and working busily. The police had set up a cordon around the fossil, with five police officers and ten armed police forming a perimeter.

This is quite a scene, Wang Yong thought.

"Wang Yong, come here." Zhang Kai, seeing the village chief arrive late, called out impatiently.

"I don't know anything about archaeology, why do you need me?" Wang Yong grumbled as he walked over.

Knowing Wang Yong was the village chief and the investor of the construction site, the police and armed police did not stop him. They even helped him lift the cordon so he could enter.

"Let me introduce you. This is my teacher, Professor Wu from Beijing University, a renowned archaeologist and restoration expert." Zhang Kai introduced his teacher to Wang Yong and then introduced Wang Yong to Professor Wu.

"Teacher, this is my friend Wang Yong, the village chief and investor of this construction site."

Professor Wu, with steps that belied his age, quickly approached Wang Yong, shook his hand, and thanked him for promptly notifying Beijing University and securing the site with local police. Professor Wu's enthusiasm made Wang Yong a bit uncomfortable, but he was saved by a voice.

"Professor Wu, the test results are in. Please come and see."

Professor Wu left Wang Yong and hurried away. Wang Yong breathed a sigh of relief, just as he was about to leave, Zhang Kai grabbed him.

"I heard you found something in a tree hole. Where did you put it?"

Wang Yong remembered that he had put the dozen seed-like fossils into the small world. He pretended to search his pocket, but he was actually worried because the seeds seemed to have sprouted. Fortunately, he found three seed-like fossils and quickly handed them to Zhang Kai.

"Here are the three. That's all I have. Don't ask me again."

"Alright, I didn't say you had to turn them all in. But why do you want these seed fossils? Do you want to plant them?" This comment made the students from Beijing University laugh. If fossilized seeds could be planted, it would be a major discovery and a miracle.

Seeing the students laughing, Wang Yong felt a bit embarrassed, but he was secretly pleased. You guessed right, I did plant them. And not just one, but several. One day, I'll move a few trees out and scare you to death!

"Alright, get back to work, finish early." Zhang Kai said in a senior's tone. Seeing everyone return to their tasks, he turned to Wang Yong. "This is a very valuable ancient tree fossil. We will take it for research. You can decide what to do with the rest."

"You're ruthless! Old Li, arrange some food for them, something simple. Don't forget to charge, our money doesn't grow on trees."

"Alright, you two stop joking. The county has already arranged it. We don't need to worry about it." Li Jianping laughed.

"Hey, Kai, how much is this thing worth?" Wang Yong asked, pointing to the giant petrified wood.

"Ha, trying to make a profit? I'll tell you, this belongs to the state, so you're out of luck!" Zhang Kai smiled at Wang Yong. Before Wang Yong could get angry, he explained, "We usually call it silicified wood, also known as petrified wood. It formed millions or even hundreds of millions of years ago when trees were buried underground. Chemical substances like silica, iron sulfide, and calcium carbonate in the ground replaced the original wood components under the influence of groundwater, preserving the tree's shape and forming petrified wood. Because it contains a lot of silica, it's often called silicified wood.

Silicified wood is a true petrified wood, formed when trees were buried underground and replaced by silica in groundwater. It retains the wood's structure and texture. The colors can be earthy yellow, light yellow, yellow-brown, red-brown, gray-white, or gray-black, with a glassy luster when polished, but it is not transparent or only slightly transparent.

Fossils are common in China. Prices have risen in recent years, especially for large silicified wood, which is often priced but not sold. So it's hard to estimate. It could be worth millions or even tens of millions if someone likes it, or it could be worthless if they don't."

"Alright, you guys get to work. Come to my uncle's house for dinner later. I'll go prepare." Wang Yong said goodbye to the two and returned to his uncle's house to tell Old Zhang to prepare more food.

Here's a 4,000-word chapter for you!

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