Another Windfall!

The next day.

Morning.

Dong Xuebin climbed out of bed with a yawn, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he got dressed. He had spent all night searching through the coins and only crawled under the covers at dawn, but the hospital mosquitoes were vicious—huge black mosquitoes that left every bite aching and itching. Dong Xuebin barely slept all night. When he finally killed the mosquito and fell asleep, his head was filled with copper coins spinning round and round. He was buried alive by tens of thousands of coins several times in his dreams. Talk about lively.

"You're awake?" The old man's son was already dressed and sitting on the neighboring bed.

Dong Xuebin smiled awkwardly. "I went to sleep late yesterday. Did I disturb you?"

"Not really, haha. I just don't know what use you have for that pile of coins." The old man's son said, "I hear even experts get fooled all the time these days. You'd better be careful not to get scammed. The streets are full of fakes and counterfeits now."

Dong Xuebin wholeheartedly agreed. After chatting for a few moments, he returned the laptop to the man. Antiques were risky—that was something Dong Xuebin had known since his first day working at the Antique Market. But now that he had something as extraordinary as BACK, it seemed entirely possible for him to fish in troubled waters in the market.

He was supposed to get an IV drip at eight, but before Aunt Xuan arrived, Dong Xuebin secretly slipped out of the hospital.

Carrying a large bag of ancient coins, he hailed a taxi to the famous Liulichang.

The rebuilt Liulichang had regained the bustle it had enjoyed decades ago. It was antique and elegant, with a distinctive charm. The only flaw Dong Xuebin found was that this east-west cultural street ought to have been made into a pedestrian zone. Instead, cars were parked bumper to bumper on both sides—A6s, Accords, Buick Regals. The already narrow street became even more cramped, leaving far too little space for pedestrians and making everything inconvenient.

Hmm, with so many shops, where should he sell them?

In the end, Dong Xuebin chose Rongbaozhai at the entrance to West Liulichang.

It was an old established shop, after all. The experts inside surely wouldn't be lacking in skill.

After entering, Dong Xuebin brushed past a blond foreigner. Turning sideways, he asked someone behind the nearby counter selling Xuan paper about selling coins. The man pointed toward a corner farther inside. Dong Xuebin thanked him and headed that way, where he spotted a middle-aged man holding a Jinghua Times from a distance. "Excuse me, do you buy ancient coins?"

The middle-aged man lowered his newspaper and was startled when he saw Dong Xuebin's large bag. "Whoa, that many?"

Dong Xuebin rubbed his nose and smiled. "Not really. You can name a price for this whole bag if you like. The main thing I'm selling is a Jiading Yuanbao Zheshi coin."

The middle-aged man gave an "oh," put down the newspaper, turned around, and rested his hand on the glass counter. He took out a magnifying glass and several other tools. "All right, let me take a look first?"

"Sure." Dong Xuebin anxiously handed him the copper coin.

Spirits of heaven, spirits of earth.

Please let it be real, please let it—

The middle-aged man pinched the coin and examined it again and again.

One second...

Two seconds...

Three seconds...

He suddenly let out an "Eh?" He leaned in for a closer look, astonishment appearing on his face. "This variety..."

Dong Xuebin asked worriedly, "How is it?"

"Let me look again." The middle-aged man sat up straight and studied it carefully for quite a while before nodding heavily. He said with feeling, "Truly rare. Young man, this is a Southern Song Dynasty Jiading Yuanbao Zheshi, minted in 1208. It has no flaws and is well preserved. It's a type rarely seen even at auctions these days. Few remain in existence, so it's extremely valuable. See the patina? So natural. This is the real deal."

Haha, as long as it was real.

A big place really was a big place. Look at how professional they were—they hadn't deliberately tried to undervalue the coin.

Dong Xuebin said dryly, "How much would you offer if you're buying it?"

"This..." The middle-aged man considered it. "Young man, since you only brought this one coin, you must have done some research beforehand. I won't play games with you. This coin can sell for around sixty thousand at auction, but commissions and handling fees have to be factored in, so... I can offer fifty thousand at most. Is that acceptable?"

Dong Xuebin felt that was about right. After thinking it over, he nodded. "All right, deal."

The middle-aged man smiled. "Straightforward. Then I won't inspect this whole bag of copper coins. I'll just give you one thousand for them all. How about it?"

"Fine."

Fifty thousand!

Even two years of Mom's hard-earned wages wouldn't add up to fifty thousand.

To Dong Xuebin, who had grown accustomed to poverty, this was practically a fortune.

Holding a Kraft Paper Bag, Dong Xuebin left Rongbaozhai. Afraid that robbers might suddenly jump him on the way, he looked around in all directions and jogged across the road. He went straight into the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China on the east side and deposited all the money. After checking his balance, his savings had instantly risen from a few hundred yuan to fifty-one thousand and some change. Thinking that he could now buy a cheaper car, he was beside himself with excitement, humming a tune as he strolled back to the hospital.

I'm rich, I'm rich!

More than fifty thousand—an astronomical sum!

Inside the Orthopedics Ward.

Dong Xuebin was greeted by the nurse's grim expression and Qu Yunxuan's murderous glare.

Aunt Xuan said angrily, "Your phone was off too. Why did you sneak out early in the morning? Were you trying to worry me to death?" She pointed at the IV bottle that had been hanging there the whole time. "The nurse came several times. You didn't get your drip, and you didn't even tell anyone. You... were you trying to make me mad to death?"

Dong Xuebin smiled apologetically. "You didn't bring me a charger. My phone ran out of battery ages ago."

Qu Yunxuan glared at him. "So it's Auntie's fault now?"

"No, no. Look at you." Dong Xuebin quickly poured her a glass of water. "I was going stir-crazy this morning, so I went out for some fresh air. Then I forgot to check the time and lost track of it. My fault. Don't be mad, don't be mad." He had no intention of telling Aunt Xuan that he had made money from the ancient coins. He wanted to surprise her later.

Qu Yunxuan's expression softened slightly. "Get into bed. Get the IV in first."

How could Dong Xuebin dare refuse? He immediately took off his slippers, obediently climbed into bed, and held out his hand to the female nurse beside him. The nurse was probably taking revenge on him. With a huff, she jabbed the needle into his vein. Dong Xuebin cried out, "Ahh, it hurts! It hurts! Nurse, be gentler, gentler!"

Qu Yunxuan was both annoyed and amused as she poked his forehead. "Let's see if you'll behave yourself from now on." Aunt Xuan was wearing a light-colored camisole and white jeans today. Her deep cleavage was faintly visible, while the white fabric tightly wrapped her beautiful buttocks, making them look full of elasticity.

Dong Xuebin's eyes went dizzy from looking. His determination to make money only grew stronger.

Aunt Xuan, wait for me. Within a year, I'll definitely earn enough money to start a company for you and make your dream come true.

Mm, and of course I couldn't neglect my own dream of becoming a high-ranking official.

Make money, get promoted.

Get promoted, make money.

Damn!!!