The Hidden Treasure in the Wooden Box

The three entered the teahouse, requested a private room, and ordered a pot of medium-grade tea priced at 380 yuan. This was already Chen Mo's limit. His total assets were only a little over 20,000 yuan, so inviting the old man and the young girl to tea for 380 yuan was already a thoughtful gesture. Even at this price, it pained him for a long time. If it were just a while ago, this would have been nearly half a month's worth of his food expenses.

However, the old man smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. After the Tea Master served the tea, he picked up his cup and drank calmly, showing no particular reaction. The young girl, on the other hand, pouted but said nothing. It was just tea, and besides, she wasn't familiar with Chen Mo, so looking down on him was only natural. Moreover, a pot of tea for 880 yuan was considered quite good. She didn't have any opinions about the tea itself, but rather about Chen Mo, which made everything seem displeasing. The young girl's thoughts were that simple.

Drinking tea in the Guanzhong Region was different from drinking tea in the south. Southerners typically drank Gongfu Tea, or gathered with a few good friends for a pot and three small cups, which was called appreciating tea. Northerners' tea-drinking habits were not so fixed. Big Bowl Tea, Gaiwan Tea, Sanpaotai, and so on were the common ways Northerners drank tea. Large bowls and hearty enjoyment were the habits of Northerners when drinking tea.

However, in recent years, with the spread of Gongfu Tea, many Gongfu Tea houses could be seen in the north. Although Gongfu Tea had been introduced to Guanzhong, tea drinking there was generally more straightforward. The teahouse Chen Mo had come to was more in line with Northern characteristics. What was served were glass cups and a teapot. The glass cups already contained tea leaves, and hot water was poured directly in. Watching the tea leaves float up and down in the water offered a unique charm.

"How is it? Have you thought about it?" the old man asked calmly after drinking his tea and putting down the cup.

"May I know how to address you, Grandfather?" Chen Mo asked, showing respect to elders.

"My surname is He!" the old man said with a smile.

"Old Man He!" Chen Mo addressed him. The old man smiled, not denying the title, nor saying anything else. Not everyone could call him Old Man He. If Chen Mo didn't satisfy him later, it would be better to keep a distance.

Chen Mo also sensed a subtle distance from the old man through the address. However, he didn't dwell on it. He would proceed as planned. After all, others didn't owe him anything. If things remained the same after the matter was settled, they would go their separate ways.

"I need to take one item out of this box first. If it's not damaged, I'll sell it to you for a thousand yuan. The reason I didn't agree earlier was twofold: first, we were on the street with many people coming and going, and it was too noisy.

Second, without taking the item out, I couldn't name a price. But as long as the item inside is removed, I have no problem selling this wooden box to you for a thousand yuan," Chen Mo said directly. Towards strangers, although it might seem too direct, it was a business transaction, so there was no need to be overly concerned. Moreover, the old man appeared to be upright, and he was accompanied by a young girl, so there was no risk of a double-cross. He wasn't the type to be easily tricked, and he also had to be careful not to break his teeth trying to swallow something he couldn't handle.

"Oh? You mean there's something hidden in this wooden box?" The old man was somewhat surprised, not expecting such a peculiar situation, and his curiosity was piqued.

"Huh? You're not in cahoots with those people, are you? Is this a trap within a trap!" The young girl's imagination ran wild, wondering if he was working with the group from earlier, conspiring to trick her grandfather. Such schemes weren't unheard of, and in the young girl's eyes, Chen Mo didn't look like a good person, so it was natural for her to be suspicious.

Chen Mo chuckled and said, "I don't understand antiques or collectibles. But I discovered there was something wrong with this wooden box, so I spent 1000 yuan to buy it. After I take out the item inside, I'll sell you the wooden box. If you don't want the item I take out, you don't have to buy it."

Chen Mo felt quite grateful towards the young girl. Just for her speaking up for him earlier, her youthful spirit was very positive. He didn't need to take her words to heart. Of course, he absolutely, absolutely, absolutely wasn't doing this because the young girl had bright eyes and white teeth and was charming and cute! He emphasized it three times! Well, even though she was good-looking, making money was more important.

The young girl thought about it and agreed, nodding her head. However, the old man remained silent, smiling faintly. Seeing his granddaughter worry about him was a kind of happiness. He wouldn't say any unnecessary words. Regardless of the outcome, as Chen Mo said, if the item wasn't right, they wouldn't pay. With his influence, who could possibly deceive him? Even if he were deceived, he would make them spit it out. Deceiving him wouldn't be easy.

Chen Mo took out a flathead screwdriver and a utility knife from his backpack. His small backpack didn't contain such tools; it was merely a cover for taking things out of the Universe Bead. These tools were actually things he had gradually bought and used since renting his place. When he left, having the Universe Bead, he naturally took what he could. They were all things he had paid for, and it would be a waste to throw them away. He hadn't expected to use them before even reaching home, realizing he had some foresight!

He originally had a storage bag, but it was a token of love from his master Ye Shang. To respect the deceased, he took out everything else and kept only a lock of hair in the storage bag before storing it in the Universe Bead. If there was an opportunity, he would return the storage bag to its rightful owner, thus concluding a chapter of his master Ye Shang's affections.

He picked up the wooden box and examined it carefully, finally finding some clues. The porcelain contained within the wooden box was a vase, so it was quite large, about 30-plus centimeters long, 15 centimeters wide, and about 20 centimeters thick. There was soft padding inside, which didn't fit the artifact well, suggesting it was added later. Moreover, the wooden box was old, with a smoky, scorched appearance.

Chen Mo couldn't understand how Old Man He could tell it was from the Republic of China era and that it was made of chicken-wing wood. He truly admired the old man's eyesight. He had looked at it several times without understanding. In his eyes, it was just a broken wooden box. If he didn't have his spiritual sense, he wouldn't have been able to see the item inside. Suddenly, he wondered if his spiritual sense could be used for stone gambling, as depicted in some novels.

Shaking his head, now was not the time for such wild thoughts; the task at hand was more important. He removed the broken porcelain shards, the soft padding, and the yellow silk cloth, then used his spiritual sense to carefully examine the wooden box.

"Hey! Why are you shaking your head? Can't you see anything? Aren't you wasting time?" The young girl had little patience. Seeing Chen Mo shaking the wooden box, she asked somewhat boredly, giving him a look of disdain. Her gaze made his heart tremble slightly. Her fair skin, large dark pupils, and moist eyes made even her disdainful look comforting, so adorable! Heavens! Am I going too far?

Chen Mo didn't reply. He looked up at the girl, then quickly lowered his head, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on examining the wooden box in his hands. Suppressing the stirrings in his heart, he carefully observed the wooden box, and indeed, he noticed something.

He gently scraped along a seam at the bottom with the utility knife a few times, then tested it. After scraping a few more times, he used the small flathead screwdriver to pry. Under the curious gaze of the old man and the young girl, he slowly pushed out a small wooden strip from one side of the bottom, about the thickness of a matchstick. After removing the small wooden strip, the wooden board on the back could be pulled out. The small wooden strip acted as a wedge.

He placed the wooden box upside down on the table and slowly pulled out the bottom board. Only then did the old man and the young girl discover that this bottom board had a groove that interlocked with the three side panels. The grooves were perfectly fitted and very tight, forming a box with a side-wrapped bottom. Both the bottom board and the side panels were very thick, about one centimeter each. No wonder it had survived until now. If it were thinner, Chen Mo wouldn't have discovered the hidden item inside until now.

The detachable board and the wooden strip were made very finely. If Chen Mo hadn't scraped away some of the attached material on the side of the wooden box, no one would have guessed that this wooden box had such a mechanism. Moreover, the small wooden strip was very tiny, and over time, it would become unnoticeable. If it weren't for someone like Chen Mo, who possessed spiritual sense, no one else could have visually discovered that this wooden box could hide something.