Fake Accident Yields First Pot of Gold

After Chen Mo removed the bottom board, two items were tightly wrapped in oilcloth. Each item was about 3-4 centimeters thick and ten-odd centimeters long, with wood shavings filling the space around them for cushioning and stability. After taking out the two items, he poured out the wood shavings. Seeing nothing else, he reassembled everything as it was, put the bottom board back on, and secured the retaining strips. The wooden box was once again intact.

"This wooden box is one thousand yuan. It can be traded," Chen Mo said, not opening the items inside. After restoring the box, he pushed it towards the old man. Since the old man had wanted to buy the box earlier, they would trade it for one thousand yuan. He wasn't too greedy, and the old man had correctly identified the box as an item from the Republic of China era, so he felt he owed him that. He wasn't an antique collector, but he knew that an old item meant the contents inside could be valued higher.

"Haha, little brother, could you let this old man have a look at the treasure you took out?" the old man said with a smile. He had actually been observing Chen Mo when he took out the items and noticed Chen Mo's rough handling, indicating he wasn't in the antique trade. He was also curious about what Chen Mo had retrieved.

Furthermore, he was beginning to understand Chen Mo's intention in asking for one thousand yuan. While he couldn't be entirely sure, he had a general idea. Not asking for three thousand yuan but only one thousand showed the young man had a good character and wasn't driven by greed. The youngster seemed quite upright.

And this young man's sharp eyesight was astonishing. Even though he wasn't part of their circle, how could he possess such uncanny vision? He certainly couldn't be underestimated.

Chen Mo didn't reply. Instead, he turned to look at the young girl, a hint of teasing in his eyes, as if asking her, "See? You doubted me earlier, didn't you? Now that your grandfather wants to see the item, should we open it?"

The old man smiled and said, "Little brother, don't worry. Don't mind what my granddaughter says."

The young girl rolled her eyes and muttered, "Petty." Internally, she was also curious about what good thing this guy had actually gotten. Her expression and actions made Chen Mo's heart flutter. She was already so charming at such a young age; in a few more years, she would likely be even more captivating.

He suppressed his thoughts. After cultivating to the first level, his lustful thoughts had increased somewhat. Was it because his abilities had grown that his thoughts had started to run wild?

Nodding at the old man and the young girl, he took the two items and examined them closely. In reality, his spiritual sense had already told him what they were, but putting on a show was necessary. Then, he used the utility knife to carefully cut along the binding ropes of the wrapping. He slowly opened the tightly bound package, and what met his eyes were two beautiful pieces of yellow seal stone. Uncarved square stones are called "liao."

"Top-grade Tien Huang!?" the old man exclaimed excitedly, his voice trembling slightly. "C-can little brother let me examine them closely?"

"No problem," Chen Mo said with a smile, handing the items to the old man. He then took out his phone to search for "top-grade Tien Huang." The old man's sudden exclamation made him feel it was likely reliable. He had heard of Tien Huang stone seals before but didn't really know what Tien Huang was, so he wanted to look it up. To his surprise, the search results astonished him.

After a long while, the old man finished examining the two seal stones and sighed. "I never expected to have such an opportunity today. Little brother, would you be willing to sell this item to me?"

Chen Mo smiled and said, "I'm willing, but I'd like to keep one. I'll only sell one. Also, what would be the price?"

"Greedy!" the young girl grumbled. Chen Mo pretended not to hear her. Although this young girl was beautiful, she was the type you could look at but not touch. Besides, not making money when it's available would make him an idiot. He preferred to earn money. And although the young girl kept looking down on Chen Mo, her demeanor and actions didn't evoke any ill feelings, so Chen Mo just ignored her.

"The seal material is top-grade Tien Huang stone. I won't explain too much here. I'll offer seven million for one piece of seal material," the old man said with a smile. This was a relatively high price, but he could tell Chen Mo wasn't an antique dealer. However, his eyes were surprisingly sharp, able to see things others couldn't. Those who tried to fake an accident were unlucky to treat a treasure as trash; it was their fate to be miserable their whole lives.

"Good!" Hearing the price, he agreed readily. This was a very high price. Although he didn't know the market price for Tien Huang, he had just done a quick search on his phone and couldn't find any similar prices for square seal material, so he agreed without hesitation. He wasn't an antique collector, so as long as the price felt right, it was fine. People always talked about fate, didn't they?

Besides, seven million! Hearing this price, he felt incredibly happy. Just a few days ago, he was worrying about how to gather his first pot of gold for his startup, and now it had arrived, all because of a fake accident. It was truly astonishing.

"Little brother, could you sell both pieces to me?" Old Man He asked greedily. It was rare to encounter such a good old item. Although it was just seal material without any provenance, it was clearly authentic. And it was rare top-grade Tien Huang stone, so of course, he wanted to buy it for his collection. Knowing Chen Mo wasn't an antique dealer, he decided to ask again.

"This is the first time I've had such a miraculous encounter. I'd still like to keep one as a memento. If I ever decide to sell it, I'll definitely let Old Man He know," Chen Mo said.

Old Man He nodded, feeling a pang of disappointment, but the feeling passed as quickly as it came. The old man was generally calm and cultured. Such opportunities were rare and unpredictable. Getting one was already great, and the second piece wasn't impossible to obtain. He could contact Chen Mo again after some time and ask if he'd be willing to sell it then. He then asked politely, "We've been talking for a while, but I haven't asked for your name, little brother. I'm being rather presumptuous."

"Old Man He, you're too kind. My name is Chen Mo. Chen from 'ear,' Mo from 'silence is golden'," Chen Mo said, feeling a sense of accomplishment. It seemed this old man had accepted him, otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered asking for his name.

Old Man He nodded. "Chen Mo, that's a good name! I'll take the liberty of being older and call you Little Chen. You can just call me Old Man He." This was his tacit approval of their forms of address. Old Man He agreed to this only because he saw Chen Mo as honest and steady; otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken so casually.

Chen Mo smiled, unsure how to respond. After all, he had just graduated from school. Despite delivering packages for two years, he still lacked experience in social interactions. Moreover, his dad had named him, and he didn't see anything particularly special about it. This was the first time someone had praised his name, and he felt a surge of joy.

Old Man He, being perceptive, noticed Chen Mo's awkwardness and smiled in understanding. Then he asked, "Little Chen, could you give me your bank account number? I'd like to transfer the money to you right now."

Chen Mo nodded and sent his bank account number to Old Man He via SMS. The young girl, meanwhile, hadn't interjected. She had been looking at the two seal stones with surprise, then at Chen Mo, her curiosity piqued.

Her curious expression was quite amusing. Chen Mo hadn't teased her, but he smiled, looking at her curious expression. He smiled at the curious young girl, which immediately earned him a playful grimace.

At that, the old man and Chen Mo burst into laughter.