Chapter 1 Finding it Without Searching

Just when I thought I wouldn't see Manager Wang's people today and would have to return empty-handed, two rats covered in the earthy smell emerged from behind the old gentleman.

They sized up the bronzes in front of me with their shifty eyes. One of the short-haired rats squatted down in front of the stall, picked up a bronze, looked at it twice, and asked curiously, "Where did you get this batch of treasures? It couldn't be mass-produced by some factory, could it?"

Before I could speak, the old gentleman chimed in, "These aren't fakes. Look at the inscriptions on them; each one is different. They were clearly cast one by one using the ceramic mold method. Forgers don't have that kind of patience..."

Before the old gentleman could finish, the short-haired rat impatiently snapped, "Shut up! Did I ask you? I'm asking the seller where this treasure came from!"

The old gentleman was rebuffed, so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared, but fortunately, he was a cultivated man and didn't lose his temper on the spot.

I ignored the conflict between them and said calmly, "It's like this. My uncle and I are corpse fishermen on the Tuo River. A few days ago, the Tuo River flooded, and there were undercurrents that stirred up a lot of things—these treasures were swept out by the Tuo River's undercurrents."

As soon as the two rats heard this, their eyes lit up.

They exchanged glances and kept picking up the bronzes on the stall to examine them.

They picked and chose for almost ten minutes. I knew the big fish had taken the bait, and now it was even more of a test of my acting skills. I deliberately put on an impatient look and urged, "Are you two going to do business or not? If you're not sincerely here to buy, don't rummage around and look at things. These treasures are very valuable; what if they get damaged?"

The short-haired rat snorted and replied, "Don't worry! If this young master likes your batch of goods, I'll just give you twenty thousand for the lot!"

I took the opportunity to haggle with him, "Heh, this batch of goods isn't cheap. This old gentleman just offered eighty thousand for the lot, and I didn't agree."

While speaking, the two rats had already looked through the bronzes, presumably having identified the real ones from the fake ones. They whispered a few words to each other, and the long-haired rat suddenly threw the backpack he was carrying at me and said bluntly, "Two hundred thousand for the lot. Deal or no deal?"

I caught the backpack, unzipped it, and saw that it was filled with hundred-yuan bills, a hundred bills in a bundle, twenty bundles in total, no more, no less, exactly two hundred thousand!

The moment I saw the money, my face lit up—this wasn't acting; it was a genuine expression.

I quickly reached out and nudged Uncle Mei, who was still fast asleep, and said loudly, "Uncle! Uncle! Wake up! Someone wants to give us two hundred thousand for the lot! Wake up!"

Uncle Mei suddenly turned over, rubbed his eyes, and was about to speak when he looked up and saw the two rats, then glanced at me, hesitating to speak.

"What?"

I turned my back to the two rats, winked at Uncle Mei, pointed to the cash in the backpack, and said, "Two hundred thousand for the lot. Do we do the deal or not?"

Uncle Mei reacted quickly, immediately realizing that a big fish had taken the bait. He pretended to be overjoyed as he counted the cash, saying repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes! Of course, we do! This price is right. Give it to them!"

I immediately said to the two rats, "Boss, you're generous. Deal!"

The two rats smiled noncommittally, without the slightest hint of joy, as if they weren't buying the goods for themselves.

The old gentleman on the side was full of regret and kept saying to the two rats, "You've found a treasure! This batch of goods are all genuine, worth at least a few million!"

Neither of the two rats paid any attention to the old gentleman. After we finished counting the cash, the short-haired rat took another step forward, leaned close to my ear, and whispered, "Besides this batch of goods, have you fished anything else out of the Tuo River?"

I pretended to be stunned and responded in surprise, "We… we also fished up a few old corpses."

The rat didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said, "Besides old corpses? I mean, besides bronzes, is there any other decent treasure underwater?"

Before I could answer, Uncle Mei suddenly took out a piece of Xuan paper carefully from his coat pocket, handed it to the rat, and said mysteriously, "Young man, I can tell you're an expert. Take a look and see how much this treasure is worth?"

What Uncle Mei handed over was the rubbing of the ancient Shu jade tablet!

Of course, it was a rubbing of a fake.

The expressions on the two rats' faces changed drastically as soon as they looked down! They were both surprised and delighted, and their breathing became rapid!

The short-haired rat lowered his voice and asked, "Where is this treasure now? Do you have it with you?"

Uncle Mei smiled and shook his head, "Such a precious treasure, of course, can't be carried around."

I pretended to be unaware and patted Uncle Mei on the shoulder, "Uncle, the older ginger is spicier! When did you get this good treasure? I didn't even know!"

Uncle Mei said with a smile, "Hot goods can't be flaunted. The fewer people who know, the better."

The two rats were impatient, one more excited than the other.

"Boss, what does this treasure look like? Can you describe it?" the short-haired rat asked.

Uncle Mei lowered his voice and said, "It's a piece of ancient jade, with a warm color and smooth texture, and it's engraved with a lot of ghost drawings! Just like this rubbing."

Hearing this, the two rats were even more certain that we had the ancient Shu jade tablet in our hands!

The two looked at each other, their expressions excited.

The short-haired rat immediately said, "Boss, to be honest, your goods are good, but I'm afraid they're too hot to handle. It's best to sell them as soon as possible. How about this? Since we've met, you sincerely give us a price and let us take over."

The long-haired rat followed suit, saying, "Old brother, we're not bragging. Within a hundred miles, besides us, there's probably no one else who dares to take this thing off your hands."

Uncle Mei was shrewd and calculating. The more the other party urged, the more calm he became.

He glanced at the two rats, smiled faintly, and said, "I can see that you two are honest people, giving twenty thousand for the bronzes, very generous! To be honest, my nephew and I aren't in the antique business, and we don't understand how much this treasure is worth. As for this jade tablet, how about this price..."

At this point, Uncle Mei held up one finger, gesturing one.

I couldn't help but admire him. Uncle Mei's move was indeed extraordinary!

This one, of course, was not ten thousand, and it would certainly not be a hundred thousand!

But one million!

I thought Uncle Mei's outrageous price might scare the two rats or force them to bargain on the spot.

But I underestimated their financial resources.

After all, they had Manager Wang, this towering tree, to rely on!

The two exchanged glances and actually agreed on the spot.

"Deal! Boss, same time tomorrow, we'll still trade here?" the short-haired rat asked.

But Uncle Mei shook his head and said, "Not appropriate. Since you two said that this thing is very hot, let's find a safe place to trade for safety's sake."