After Hu Ming saw Big Gold Tooth home, he received more than 700,000 yuan in cash from him.
Hu Ming hadn't expected Big Gold Tooth to have so much cash at home. He used the bag that had originally held the porcelain to carry the money, then went to the bank with Hu Bayi and Fatty and deposited it all, keeping only 50,000 yuan.
That evening, at Fatty's rented apartment...
Hu Ming took out 20,000 yuan and gave 10,000 each to Hu Bayi and Fatty. Then he took another 10,000 for himself. He put the remaining 20,000 into a paper bag and handed it to Hu Bayi.
Hu Bayi stared at him in surprise. "Mingzi, what are you—"
Hu Ming lit a cigarette. "Give this money to our brothers' families. Once we've sold the things from this trip, we can start a security company. What do you think?"
"A security company?" Hu Bayi asked.
Hu Ming nodded. "A lot of our brothers have left the army, right? We can get them together and start a security company. Big businessmen these days value their lives. Soldiers like us, who've come back from the battlefield, would be in demand as security guards."
Hu Bayi nodded. Fatty said, "Mingzi, weren't you planning to open an antique shop? Why are we getting into this, too?"
"Nothing wrong with having a few businesses," Hu Ming replied. "I even want to start a weaving factory and find jobs for the widows of our brothers who died."
Hu Bayi nodded. "Once we've sold everything, we probably won't have enough money to start all those businesses."
Hu Ming nodded. "That's true. That's why I agreed to go to Jingjue Ancient City. But with our skills, finding another big tomb shouldn't be hard. So tomorrow, we'll go take a look at Professor Chen's team. If we're not satisfied, we can take some time and find a tomb ourselves."
Hu Bayi and Fatty both nodded. They weren't as short on money as they used to be, so they didn't feel all that eager to go to Jingjue Ancient City.
The night passed without incident...
The next day, the sun shone brightly.
"This is the place, right?"
Outside a courtyard house, Hu Bayi looked at the address on the slip of paper as he studied the dark red iron gate. He seemed to be asking himself, though he might have been asking Hu Ming beside him.
Fatty held the slip of paper. "It says number seventeen. How come there's no sign? Damn, this place is way out of the way!"
Hu Bayi smiled. "The true hermit lives in the city."
Hu Ming rolled his eyes. "Knock. The address says this is the place, so it can't be wrong."
But before the three of them could knock, they saw Hao Aiguo ushering two people out.
"That's enough. You can go. This isn't the kind of place where you can get in through connections. Nobody's favor will help!"
"Professor Hao, please make an exception. I've read so many books on feng shui."
"It won't help. Go on, go on. I won't be keeping either of you," Professor Hao urged them.
Just as Professor Hao was seeing the two people out, he spotted Hu Ming and gave a dismissive snort.
"Great, another one trying to pull strings." These days, all sorts of people came by, trying to get in through connections or pretending to be scholars. Now that he'd run into Hu Ming, Professor Hao was even more annoyed.
"You lot don't need to bother talking. Go on, all of you!" Hao Aiguo waved them away.
"What?" Fatty realized they hadn't even made it inside, and they were already being thrown out. What kind of sense did that make? He immediately bristled.
"You're Professor Chen, right?"
"No, I'm his student, Hao Aiguo. I'm a professor, too. What about it?" Hao Aiguo replied, looking at Fatty.
"Hey, you—You're just Professor Chen's student, and you think you can chase people away? Are you blind to who you're talking to or what?"
"And you call yourself a professor?" Fatty said, rolling up his sleeves, ready to show Hao Aiguo what he was made of.
Hu Ming and Hu Bayi simply watched. In Hu Ming's eyes, Hao Aiguo was a clown. If Professor Chen weren't there, who knew when Professor Hao might disappear from the world? He'd heard Hao Aiguo had offended plenty of people.
Just then, the commotion outside caught Professor Chen's attention. He came out of the house.
When Hu Ming saw the old man, he knew it was Professor Chen. Folding his arms, he sauntered forward. "You're Professor Chen, right? Big Gold Tooth sent us."
"Big Gold Tooth?" Professor Chen paused, then brightened. "You must be Comrade Hu Ming!"
Hu Ming nodded.
When Professor Chen saw him nod, he turned to Hao Aiguo. "Aiguo, don't be so rude. Hurry and invite them in."
Although Hao Aiguo was unhappy with Hu Ming and the others, he didn't dare disobey his teacher.
"Aiguo, go pour some tea for Comrade Hu Ming and the others."
Then Professor Chen turned back to them. "Please don't hold it against me. My student is a bookworm and doesn't understand social niceties. Pay him no mind.
"There have been too many swindlers lately, and it's made Aiguo rather irritable. He's gotten a bit worked up."
After Professor Chen explained, everyone understood.
Professor Chen didn't mention what had happened back then, and Hu Ming acted as if it had never happened either. Seeing Professor Chen tell Hao Aiguo to serve them tea, Hu Ming let the matter go.
Inside, they chatted briefly and exchanged their views on archaeology.
"After all that talk, you still haven't said anything of substance."
"Teacher, people like these don't meet our requirements. There's no point in talking any further."
At that moment, Hao Aiguo couldn't hold back and spoke up, making it clear he didn't want to waste any more time.
Seeing how irritating Hao Aiguo was, Fatty wasn't about to take it lying down. He immediately lost his temper.
"Hey, you! You've been at this again and again, but you haven't even asked whether we know anything. What's your problem?
"And what's with that bird's nest hairdo? You think you've got a golden egg on your head?"
"You!"
Fatty's words left Hao Aiguo speechless. After all, he couldn't bring himself to say anything that vulgar.
Hu Ming calmly sipped his tea. Hu Bayi glanced at Hao Aiguo, then smiled without saying a word.
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