Chapter 153 This trip was worth it
Yao Fanghua was delighted and turned up the flashlight.
Using the light, Wu Peng dug along the edge of the box and then discovered that the pit he had dug seemed to be smaller than expected.
The edge of the box cannot be found.
This isn't a box, it's clearly an iron box, a huge iron box!
They had thought it would just be two small boxes, but they were surprised to find such a large box.
Wu Peng grinned and started digging around. He was full of energy, swinging his arms rapidly. He was nothing like the tired and sore body he had felt earlier.
Seeing this, Yao Fanghua picked up a shovel and began to widen the area of the opening above. She shoveled down the four walls of the hole layer by layer.
One of them expanded the cave's area from bottom to top, while the other expanded it from top to bottom.
Wu Peng also needed to promptly shovel the soil that Yao Fanghua had removed out of the hole.
Finally, the edge of the cabinet was exposed. Wu Peng felt around and found two handles on each of the left and right sides.
Yao Fanghua threw the rope down, and Wu Peng threaded it through the two lifting rings and tied a knot.
Wu Peng climbed up the ladder and threw the shovel aside.
The two men grabbed the rope with all four of their hands and began to pull the box up.
They couldn't afford to relax even for a moment, and the two of them put all their strength into pulling the box up in one go.
With the two people's hands constantly alternating, the box was steadily moved upwards.
Finally, they managed to drag the box to the ground. The two of them plopped down, completely exhausted. They were drenched in sweat, and although it was almost summer, the night was still quite cool; a breeze made them both feel chilly.
Yao Fanghua was in tears. Her hands and arms ached, and her balance was still off. She felt like her small body was about to be pulled off the box.
Treasure hunting is really tough; it's all physical labor. She's exhausted to this point, barely hanging on by a thread.
After resting for a while, Wu Peng got up from the ground. His gloves had worn a hole in them, but that didn't stop him from wiping the dirt off the box.
After taking a closer look at the box, Wu Peng was somewhat stunned.
The box is one meter long, seventy centimeters wide, and sixty centimeters high—that's exactly the size. He's sure he's not mistaken. He knows this kind of box; he's seen it before. His grandfather used to have an identical box in his room. Maybe this is the box that used to be in his grandfather's room.
Wu Peng gently stroked the box.
After resting, the two carried the box into the main room.
The main room was empty, and not only the main room, but the other rooms were also empty. According to Chen Zhong, Sun Guozhu was short of money and sold everything inside.
The two closed the creaking door to the main room, found a corner further inside, and carried the box there.
The box had no lock; a ring of glue sealed between the lid and the box. Wu Peng shone a flashlight on it, while Yao Fanghua used a carving knife to peel off the glue ring.
After cleaning off the glue, there was no time to hesitate; both of them were eager to know what was inside such a large box.
Each person took one side, and the two of them lifted the lid together.
All that could be seen were scrolls, each a framed piece of calligraphy and painting.
Wu Peng was certain; this was indeed his grandfather's box. "This is Grandpa's box." His grandfather was a passionate collector of calligraphy and paintings, having amassed countless valuable antique works, along with other family heirlooms. All his savings must have been stored here. Considering the Wu family's vast wealth, it was clear that his grandfather was most reluctant to part with these calligraphy and paintings.
With just these paintings and calligraphy, the box couldn't possibly be this heavy. Yao Fanghua held a flashlight in one hand and flipped the box over with the other. Sure enough, there was a layer of gold bars at the bottom of the box.
A box full of calligraphy and paintings, plus gold bars at the bottom—who says they're not lacking in treasures? They're far too poor. This box of calligraphy and paintings that the old man has accumulated is probably priceless.
After closing the box, Yao Fanghua plopped down on the floor. She wasn't any cleaner than the floor; in any case, her clothes were ruined. All she wanted now was a hot shower, then to lie in bed and stay perfectly still.
Wu Peng also sat down. He was covered in dirt and sweat.
Wu Peng: "Let's leave when it's just getting light."
Yao Fanghua leaned against the wall, too tired to move. "Hmm, let's rest for a while. Before we leave, we still need to fill in the pit in the yard and put the stones back in their place."
"Huh?" Yao Fanghua felt that the cement ground beneath her was uneven, whether it was her imagination or not. She reached out and touched the area around her buttocks. It was indeed uneven, with several obvious undulating faults. Moreover, the corner where she was sitting seemed to be a little higher.
She turned around, squatted down in the corner, put on gloves, and used her hands to sweep away the dust in the corner.
"What's wrong?" Wu Peng got up and walked over.
Yao Fanghua didn't have time to say anything; she just wanted to clean the area first.
Sure enough, there was a problem. This section looked like it had been paved with cement a second time. Her fatigue vanished once again, and Yao Fanghua immediately perked up.
"Look, doesn't this look like it was laid on top of something else?"
Wu Peng perked up as soon as he saw this, and his back pain and arm soreness disappeared again. He immediately went to the yard to get a shovel.
Yao Fanghua took a carving knife and a hammer from the toolbox and pried open a gap at the base of the wall.
Wu Peng took a shovel and inserted it into the gap, forcefully prying and peeling it off.
After prying open a small section, the rest became easier. Following the opening, Wu Peng used a shovel to pry open the cement floor in the corner bit by bit.
After cleaning away the cement, a burlap sack opening was revealed beneath a thin layer of soil.
The two men grabbed the opening of the sack and lifted it up. It was quite heavy.
After sweeping the dirt off the sack opening, Yao Fanghua took a carving knife, aimed it at the rope binding the sack, and made a quick cut. The rope came undone and fell to the ground.
Upon opening the sack, all that could be seen were jade and gold ornaments, without even a box. Whether it was jewelry or decorative items, everything was scattered haphazardly in the sack, treated like cheap street vendor goods, or even worse—street vendor goods at least had some basic packaging. They were all nakedly piled and tangled together. Yao Fanghua even saw several broken jade bracelets, top-quality jade bracelets, just broken like that.
Sun Baoshan was someone who had climbed his way up from the bottom. He wasn't very knowledgeable; he just thought gold and jade were valuable, and that was all he recognized. He figured rich people wore those things. So he only wanted gold and jade, and it had to be good jade. He knew that bad jade was worthless. He had always been knowledgeable about gold and jade; he could tell the difference between real and fake, good and bad, just by handling them. No one could fool him. Besides these, there were also several stacks of cash inside. They were all treated the same—they were all stuffed into a sack.
Yao Fanghua and Wu Peng exchanged a glance; this trip was worthwhile.
Wu Peng sneered, "I knew Sun Baoshan couldn't have not swallowed anything." His grandfather wouldn't use a sack to put these things, much less put stacks of money in it. This sack must have been hidden there by Sun Baoshan.
Yao Fanghua picked up the rope from the ground and retied the sack.
As dawn broke, the two went to the courtyard to fill in the pit, put the large stone and stone bench back in their places, filled the hole in the corner of the main room with the excess soil from the courtyard, and then piled the cement fragments back in the corner.
After loading the boxes and sacks onto the tricycle and locking the gate, Yao Fanghua rode it while Wu Peng pushed it, and the two slowly made their way home. They had to go slowly; Yao Fanghua was worried about the jade pieces in the sacks, and she would be heartbroken if even one broke.
She had only been riding for a few minutes when the door of the house at the alley entrance opened. The person inside bumped into Yao Fanghua face to face.
The woman was quite surprised. "So early?" Collecting scraps has to be this early? It seems nothing is easy.
"Yes, yes, sister-in-law, you're busy, aren't you?" Yao Fanghua continued riding. They had run into this woman yesterday on their tricycle ride home. She had asked them what they did for a living, and Yao Fanghua had replied that they collected recyclables. They hadn't expected to run into her again so early this morning.
"I have some junk here. Let me take some out and you can see how much it costs."
Yao Fanghua continued riding without pausing: "We have an appointment with someone and we're in a hurry, so if you're not in a rush, just wait a bit." Wait for the next scrap collector.
"If they can't make money, they must be crazy. They deserve to be poor." The older sister-in-law muttered as she watched the two of them walk away.
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