Chapter 26

Jiang Ping was taken aback and quickly squeezed the bike brakes. The bicycle skidded forward at an angle for a short distance before coming to a clean and swift stop. Fortunately, this area was mostly demolition sites, and there were almost no pedestrians on the road. Otherwise, Jiang Ping's sudden stop might have led to a collision with someone behind him.

However, Jiang Ping couldn't afford to worry about that at the moment. He parked his bike by the roadside and, wide-eyed, walked towards the half-demolished house.

Before this, Jiang Ping had only seen such a golden glow on the forehead of an antique stall owner, knowing that this color represented good fortune. He never expected that the same golden glow would appear on the roof beams, which was truly unexpected.

Since he discovered he had the ability to see auras, Jiang Ping had been exploring its mysteries. Now that he encountered such a strange situation, he naturally wanted to understand it clearly.

"Why can I see a golden glow on the roof beams?" Jiang Ping looked up at the thick beams of the old house, pondering to himself, "It can't be that these two beams are about to become rich, that's just too absurd."

The old house was two stories high, and Jiang Ping stood below for a long time without discovering anything. He decided to climb up for a closer look to figure out what was going on.

The gable walls of the old house were mostly knocked down, and the roof was gone, making the structure very unstable. Climbing such a house was quite dangerous. However, his curiosity made Jiang Ping ignore these dangers, and he quickly climbed up the wobbly stairs to the second floor of the old house.

Just as Jiang Ping was trying to figure out how to get onto the roof for a closer look, he heard a loud voice from below: "Young man, it's dangerous up there, come down quickly!"

Jiang Ping turned around and saw several men in safety helmets and work clothes standing not far away. A man in his forties was looking at him nervously, clearly the one who had spoken.

Seeing their attire, Jiang Ping knew they were the workers demolishing the house. Their tense expressions made Jiang Ping sigh inwardly, realizing that it was impossible to climb up and take a closer look.

The middle-aged man leading the group urged Jiang Ping again: "This house is dangerous, come down quickly!"

Under the watchful eyes of the men, Jiang Ping left the old house. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the middle-aged man pulled him a few steps away, complaining, "You young people are really reckless. This house is already half-demolished and could collapse at any moment. What were you doing up there?"

Although the middle-aged man's attitude wasn't very friendly, Jiang Ping understood that he was concerned for his safety and didn't want to show any displeasure. However, Jiang Ping was very eager to figure out the secret of the roof beams and didn't want to leave just like that.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Ping came up with a solution. He smiled and said to the middle-aged man, "Uncle, I just want to take a look at those two roof beams. To be honest, I think these two pieces of wood are quite good, and I want to buy them. Can you help me?"

The middle-aged man became interested in what Jiang Ping said. He looked at the roof beams of the old house and asked, "These two pieces of wood are indeed quite good. Do you really want to buy them?"

Although Jiang Ping didn't know much about the two pieces of wood, since his aura vision had reacted to them, there must be something special about them. He didn't hesitate and immediately nodded, "Yes, I really want to buy them. What's your price?"

Seeing that Jiang Ping wasn't joking, the middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "Three hundred yuan for the two pieces. If you want them, we'll help you get them down."

There were many old houses in this demolition site, most of which were brick and wood structures. Some of the roof beams were thick and long, making them quite good wood. The workers responsible for demolishing the houses would also sell the better pieces of wood at a low price to merchants, which would supplement their income.

So, when the middle-aged man was sure that Jiang Ping really wanted the two pieces of wood, he didn't think much and quoted a price. Of course, this price was a bit higher than usual, but that was normal. After all, Jiang Ping specifically wanted these two pieces of wood, and the market demand determined the price.

For Jiang Ping, three hundred yuan was within his budget. He didn't hesitate and immediately took out three hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, saying, "Deal!"

"Alright, just wait a moment!" The middle-aged man became much more enthusiastic after receiving the money. He smiled at Jiang Ping and said, "We'll start work right away and get those two pieces of wood down for you!"

After saying that, the middle-aged man called his companions to climb onto the roof of the old house and started working.

Jiang Ping stood nearby, looking up at the workers on the roof. He was confident that his aura vision wouldn't be wrong, and these two roof beams must have something special. He waited with great anticipation for the workers to bring the beams down.

However, it wasn't easy to move the heavy beams from the high roof. The workers worked for a while before managing to carry one of the beams down. Before they could stabilize the beam, Jiang Ping, unable to wait, approached to examine it.

The roof beam was about five meters long and had a diameter of more than forty centimeters. The entire beam was straight, making it quite good wood. However, Jiang Ping believed that this beam was more than just good wood; otherwise, it wouldn't have triggered his aura vision.

The value of a piece of wood depends not only on its size but also on the type of wood. However, this beam was old, and its surface was covered in a layer of dust, making it difficult to identify the type of wood at first glance.

Jiang Ping took out a bottle of mineral water he had brought along and poured some on one end of the beam. He then used a cloth to wipe it vigorously. With his efforts, the accumulated dust of over a hundred years was gradually removed, and the cross-section of the beam finally revealed its true appearance.

From the cross-section, it was clear that the wood was divided into inner and outer parts. The outer white part looked ordinary, while the inner part, about twenty centimeters in diameter, was a distinct reddish-brown. This part of the wood was very dense, and upon closer inspection, it showed very fine patterns, which were completely different from the outer part.

The cross-section of the beam also surprised Jiang Ping. After a moment of hesitation, he took out a fruit knife he carried with him and carefully cut a small piece from the center of the wood. He brought it to his nose to smell the wood.

A strong, spicy fragrance immediately filled Jiang Ping's nostrils, making him feel invigorated and causing him to sneeze twice. However, at that moment, Jiang Ping had no time to think about that. He gently touched the dusty beam, his face a mix of joy and disbelief, and muttered to himself, "This... This is Hainan Rosewood! My luck is really too good!"