Hu Bayi was new to Beili, and felt a bit unfamiliar.
His eyes constantly scanned his surroundings.
The crowd was dense, and most people were dressed modestly. Hu Bayi's attire, in this setting, was quite unremarkable.
Seeing this, Fatty, or Pang Zi, stealthily approached.
A simple smile played on his lips.
With a sudden, hearty clap on Hu Bayi's shoulder, he exclaimed,
"Lao Hu!"
Fatty shouted, his face alight with excitement.
They met each other's gaze.
"The Heavenly King surveys the earth!"
After exchanging their secret passwords and confirming each other's identities, Hu Bayi looked at Fatty with surprise. Fatty had lost weight!
It was clear that Fatty hadn't had an easy few years, otherwise he wouldn't have been selling jade for money.
"Let's go, Lao Hu, come home with Fatty. Fatty will treat you to the best."
Fatty said, pulling Hu Bayi along.
"Fatty, no need to splurge. We've known each other for so many years, how could I not know you?"
"You've been orphaned since childhood, raised by everyone. I know what kind of underwear you wear."
Hu Bayi rolled his eyes at Fatty.
Fatty loved to put on a show and save face; Hu Bayi understood him perfectly after all these years.
"Then, Lao Hu, tell me, what color underwear am I wearing today?"
"Red," Hu Bayi replied.
"Holy crap, you're incredible! Lao Hu, do you have golden eyes?"
Fatty exclaimed in astonishment, covering his pants.
Then he spoke again.
"Hey, Lao Hu, you have no idea, Fatty is rich now!"
"We can even go to Huanghe Tower."
Fatty said proudly, patting his bag.
Lao Hu glanced at Fatty's bag and frowned slightly.
"Fatty, did you steal money? We grew up under the Red Flag, we can't do anything that goes against morality."
Hu Bayi looked at Fatty with a serious expression.
Hu Bayi's principles were quite traditional; he never did bad deeds.
Fatty chuckled.
"That piece of jade my family has, it was no use to me, so I sold it for twenty thousand yuan. Look, this money is bulging!"
Fatty grinned.
Hu Bayi rubbed his ear.
"How much? Ten thousand?"
Hu Bayi was also stunned.
Ten thousand yuan in those days was an astronomical sum.
However, after recovering from his surprise, Hu Bayi still frowned slightly.
"Fatty, that's your family heirloom. Selling it like this, aren't you disrespecting your father?"
"Now, come with me and return it."
Hu Bayi said, his face serious.
Hu Bayi was new to society and didn't have a deep understanding of money yet.
But Fatty was different.
He knew very well that if he tried to get his jade back, it wouldn't sell for twenty thousand yuan again.
It might even end up being a burden.
"Lao Hu, no need. I think this money is quite a lot."
"Let's go, we'll eat first. Actually, I made a profit this time."
Fatty said quickly, a smile and seriousness on his face.
"Fatty, are you crazy? That was left by your father. Losing it would be unfilial!"
Hu Bayi was still a bit old-fashioned. Fatty shook his head.
"Lao Hu, you don't understand. In this era, money is more important than anything. We need to look towards wealth."
"Let's go, we can talk about this later."
Fatty said earnestly.
Only then did Hu Bayi stop insisting.
As Fatty pulled Hu Bayi to leave, a voice called out from behind.
"Hey? Wait, are you Kai Xuan brother?"
A familiar voice.
Wang Pang Zi quickly turned around.
He saw the familiar young man smiling at him.
"Hey, Boss Zhang, the money has been given, there's no taking it back now."
Upon seeing Zhang Tian, Wang Pang Zi immediately clutched his wallet.
He thought Zhang Tian had come to demand money back.
Zhang Tian smiled.
"Don't worry, the money has been given, and I have no intention of taking it back. I was just passing by and it's fate that I met you."
"I'm hungry, shall we go grab a bite together?"
Zhang Tian said, his tone steady, like that of a seasoned middle-aged man.
Hu Bayi looked at Zhang Tian, remaining very calm. To Zhang Tian, he gave off an air of "keep your distance."
When Fatty heard about eating, and that it was Young Master Zhang paying, he immediately became ecstatic.
The title "Young Master Zhang" was given because Zhang Tian's family had significant influence in Beili, and Zhang Tian himself was young.
Furthermore, he was the sole heir of the Zhang family, hence he was always called "Young Master Zhang."
"Sure, Young Master Zhang is treating, of course I'll accept!"
Fatty exclaimed excitedly.
When a rich person like Zhang Tian treated, the food would be hundreds of times better than what he could afford himself.
Fatty wasn't foolish.
Zhang Tian's face darkened. Did he say he was treating?
However, to gain their trust and win over Hu Bayi and Fatty, Zhang Tian smiled and nodded.
"Alright, let's go to Xinyue Restaurant."
Zhang Tian waved his hand grandly, exuding an air of prestige.
Fatty's body trembled.
"What's wrong, Fatty? See a beautiful woman?"
Hu Bayi looked at Fatty's trembling body, with a hint of playful teasing.
Fatty rolled his eyes at Hu Bayi.
"Lao Hu, you don't know this, but Xinyue Restaurant is the most renowned establishment in all of old Beili. The lowest price there is dozens of yuan."
Fatty said, his eyes filled with longing.
Xinyue Restaurant, he had never even dared to walk past its doors before, it was too luxurious. He feared being recognized as a bumpkin.
Hu Bayi frowned slightly.
"Fatty, are you very familiar with him? Why would he treat you to such a meal?"
Hu Bayi was suspicious and immediately felt something was amiss.
Fatty paused. That's right, given his status, he had no connection whatsoever with Zhang Tian.
Why would Zhang Tian invite him to dinner?
Seeing this, Zhang Tian continued.
"I'm short of staff, and I find this brother here to be somewhat familiar, so I thought I'd try to befriend him."
Zhang Tian said, pointing to himself.
Hu Bayi was somewhat surprised.
He didn't know Zhang Tian at all.
Zhang Tian thought for a moment, his eyes darted around, and then he spoke.
"If I recall correctly, your name is Hu Bayi? Your ancestors were tomb raiders, weren't they?"
Zhang Tian's sudden words made both of them freeze.
Hu Bayi's eyes immediately became vigilant.
Fatty was also astonished.
Looking at Hu Bayi, his eyes lit up.
He had heard of tomb raiders, they were the top grave robbers.
"Lao Hu, you're amazing! Grave robbing? Holy crap, a tomb raider?"
"It's over, Grandpa, Kai Xuan has made it big, we're going to get rich."
Wang Pang Zi's eyes gleamed.
Especially seeing Hu Bayi's surprised expression.
Fatty became even more convinced of the truth of the matter.
"Lao Hu is really good at hiding things," Fatty mused inwardly.
"How did you know?"
Upon being recognized, Hu Bayi's voice became stern and cold.
"My Zhang family has been in the antique business for generations, and my ancestors were leaders among the tomb raiders. I've seen portraits of your family in my grandfather's books."
Zhang Tian said.
This was not entirely untrue. In ancient times, there were quite a few people from the Zhang family who were tomb raiders.
And there was indeed a portrait in Zhang Tian's family. Whether it was Hu Bayi's grandfather, he wasn't sure.
Upon hearing this, Hu Bayi relaxed somewhat.
They were from the same lineage, and their secrets were known to each other, so there was no need to be reserved.
"You're inviting us to dinner, is it for tomb raiding?"
Hu Bayi was incredibly intelligent.
Connecting the dots, he guessed Zhang Tian's motive.
Zhang Tian was very pleased. Hu Bayi was loyal and intelligent, and would be very useful if recruited.
Zhang Tian did not hide his intentions and nodded directly.
However, he then said,
"I'm not tomb raiding, but rather, I intend to hand over the cultural relics inside to the Bureau of Cultural Relics. We only take what belongs to us."
Zhang Tian's voice was not loud.
What he referred to as "belonging to us" were naturally the magical artifacts, elixirs, and medicinal pills within the tomb.
As for the cultural relics and such, Zhang Tian had no interest in them.
Moreover, the cultural relics that could be seen by people or made known to the public were not those magical artifacts, spiritual items, or strange things.
Magical artifacts, for instance, could absolutely not be exposed to public view.
Hearing Zhang Tian say this, Hu Bayi seemed to believe him.
He still didn't trust Zhang Tian completely.
"How about this, let's go eat first, and we can talk while we eat."
Zhang Tian said, giving Fatty a look. Fatty quickly pulled Hu Bayi along.
"That's right, Young Master Zhang has invited us, let's go quickly. We can't refuse his hospitality."
Seeing Hu Bayi's hesitation, Fatty then said to Hu Bayi, "Yes, Young Master Zhang has invited us. Let's go quickly, we can't refuse his kind offer."
Hu Bayi had no choice but to agree.
At this moment, the scene was silent.
Tomb raiders claiming to donate cultural relics?
Are they crazy!