He had just reached out to lift a piece of oilcloth—
Hey! What are you doing?!
A hand suddenly grabbed Xu Kuo's arm, and it was quite strong.
Xu Kuo frowned, turned his head and saw his "good brother" Xu Jianguo, with the shifty-eyed Xu Jianjun standing next to him. Both of them wore expressions of disdain.
"Let go." Xu Kuo's tone was icy.
Xu Jianguo not only didn't let go, but gripped it even tighter, shouting with spittle flying, "Xu Kuo! What do you think you're doing? Huh? You think you can touch these treasures? Can you afford to pay for them if you break them? Let me tell you, these are temporarily left at the entrance of our village by a big shot from the city, they're very precious! Get the hell away from me right now!"
He assumed that these items were temporarily stored by a high-ranking official or wealthy businessman who was passing by.
Xu Kuo laughed in anger, shook off his hand, and said calmly, "Look carefully, these things are mine."
"What? Yours?" Xu Jianguo exclaimed dramatically, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Hahaha! Xu Kuo, are you awake yet? You? You think you can afford all this? Take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror! Yours? You don't even know how to talk nonsense!"
Xu Jianjun chimed in sarcastically, "Exactly! Third brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but you should have some self-awareness. Stop daydreaming all the time! You probably don't even have the right to touch these things!"
The surrounding villagers chuckled, clearly no one believed Xu Kuo's words.
Just then, the auction house staff walked over. They were dressed in clean suits and shirts, their leather shoes gleaming; they looked like people of status from the city, a stark contrast to the rustic villagers.
Xu Jianguo's eyes lit up, and he immediately released Xu Kuo, his face plastered with a fawning smile. He scurried over, bowing and scraping, "Comrades, you've worked hard! Is... is this thing safe here? Should we find someone to watch it for us?"
He wanted to take the opportunity to build relationships with these "city people".
Before the staff could answer, Xu Jianguo's eyes darted around, and he suddenly grabbed Xu Kuo next to him, pointing at him and loudly "complaining" to the staff:
"Comrades! You've come at the right time! Let me tell you, I just saw this kid sneaking around trying to steal these treasures! Luckily, I caught him in time! This guy's got a history of petty theft! You'd better watch out!"
After saying that, Xu Jianguo looked at the staff members with a smug expression and straightened his back.
He thought to himself with delight that his "heroic act" would not only prevent Xu Kuo from touching the things of these "important people," but also leave a good impression on the city people, and he might even get a few words of praise!
The auction house staff member in charge, who was about thirty years old and dressed in a sharp suit, seemed not to notice Xu Jianguo's fawning smile and his "complaints," and even showed a strange and impatient expression.
He ignored Xu Jianguo, who was still babbling on and on, and walked straight past him to Xu Kuo.
The staff member bowed slightly, speaking with utmost respect: "Mr. Xu, regarding these auction items... shall they be delivered to your home, or..."
Mr. Xu? These things, which look incredibly precious, really belong to Xu Kuo?!
Xu Jianguo's smug smile froze instantly, and Xu Jianjun's eyes were filled with disbelief.
The surrounding villagers were in an uproar, and their gazes toward Xu Kuo changed completely.
The previous disdain, suspicion, and schadenfreude have all turned into shock, awe, and even a hint of... ingratiation?
When did this kid become so capable? Is this still the same Xu Kuo who used to be penniless and constantly getting into trouble?
Xu Kuo, however, remained calm and composed, as if all of this was perfectly natural.
He didn't even bother to look at Xu Jianguo's distorted face anymore, and simply raised his chin casually towards his own dilapidated but fairly clean warehouse.
"Put it in that warehouse over there."
"Alright! Don't worry, Mr. Xu!" The staff member immediately nodded and bowed, his face full of a professional smile. Then he turned around and waved his hand, "Be careful! Handle with care! These are all Mr. Xu's treasures. You can't afford to take responsibility if they get damaged!"
Several equally neatly dressed staff members immediately responded, working in pairs to carefully lift the items wrapped in oilcloth, treating them as rare treasures, and walked step by step toward Xu Kuo's warehouse.
Xu Jianguo stood there, his face flushing red and then pale, feeling a burning sensation on his cheeks. The subtle pointing fingers and suppressed laughter of the surrounding villagers stung his heart. His earlier "righteous" accusations and "heroic" performance now seemed like utter folly!
Xu Kuo strolled past him, paused, and a sneer curled at the corner of his mouth as he casually remarked, "A brain is a good thing, but unfortunately you don't have one."
After saying that, he ignored Xu Jianguo, who was standing at the petrochemical plant, and walked straight towards the warehouse.
"Pfft..."
"Hahaha……"
After Xu Kuo left, the villagers could no longer contain themselves and burst into laughter.
"Jianguo, you've really made a huge blunder!"
"They accused someone of stealing, but it turns out that person was the rightful owner!"
"Oh dear, this is incredibly embarrassing!"
Laughter and chatter engulfed Xu Jianguo like a tidal wave. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh, his eyes bloodshot and red, staring intently at Xu Kuo's departing figure with a venomous look that seemed to want to devour him.
"Xu Kuo! You just wait! I'm not done with you yet!" Xu Jianguo roared inwardly, his shame and resentment almost consuming him.
He had lost face so badly today, he couldn't swallow this insult! His eyes darted around, and he quietly slipped away from the crowd, sneaking around behind Xu Kuo at a distance.
The auction house staff moved everything into the warehouse, exchanged a few more polite words with Xu Kuo, and then respectfully took their leave, returning to the county town by oxcart.
Xu Kuo entered the warehouse and casually closed the door. He looked around at the dozen or so auction items piled up inside, ranging from bronzes to porcelain and calligraphy. Although most of them were ordinary items in his eyes, they were still quite valuable in that era.
"System, convert this portion into points first," he silently instructed himself.
[Ding! Detected that the host possesses redeemable items. Initiating redemption...]
[Bronze wine cup successfully redeemed, 150 points earned...]
[Ming Dynasty Blue and White Porcelain Bowl successfully redeemed, earning 280 points...]
[Successfully redeemed a Qing Dynasty-style antique jade pendant, earning 90 points...]
...
As system notifications continued to sound, the auction items in the warehouse vanished into thin air at a visible speed, turning into streaks of light that merged into Xu Kuo's body. Within just a few minutes, more than half of the items that had been piled up in the corner were gone.
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