The carriage came to a stop, and Xu Kuo stepped out. Before him stood a magnificent mansion, its carved beams and painted rafters exuding an antique charm. He thought to himself, "The Zhou family is indeed very wealthy."
As soon as Xu Kuo stepped into the living room, he saw a young man sitting on the sofa, playing with an antique in his hand. Judging from his appearance, he was probably in his early twenties, dressed in designer clothes, with his hair slicked back and shiny, looking every bit the playboy.
This young man was Zhou Changke's son, Zhou Chuan.
Upon seeing Xu Kuo's attire, Zhou Chuan's brows furrowed immediately, his eyes revealing undisguised contempt. In this day and age, who still dresses so rusticly? He's practically a country bumpkin!
"Dad, why did you bring back a country bumpkin?" Zhou Chuan asked in a displeased tone, his words filled with disgust.
Zhou Changke's face darkened, and he shouted sternly, "You insolent fool! How dare you speak like that? This is your Uncle Xu! Your Uncle Xu and I are close friends despite our age difference, so why don't you greet him right now?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chuan nearly popped his eyes out. What?! A friendship across generations? And he calls him "uncle"? Is this old man senile? This country bumpkin, does he even deserve to be his uncle?
He was extremely unwilling, but dared not disobey his father's orders, so he could only suppress his anger and reluctantly call out, "Uncle Xu..."
Xu Kuo glanced at Zhou Chuan indifferently and didn't say anything. This kid was obviously a spoiled rich kid.
"Xiao Chuan, go to the safe and get that square bronze vessel for me." Zhou Changke pointed to the safe not far away.
Zhou Chuan was puzzled, but he still stepped forward and took out the square zun. The square zun had an ancient shape and exquisite patterns, and it was obviously not an ordinary item.
“I bought this for a lot of money a few days ago, but I feel like something is not right. Your Uncle Xu is an expert in this area, let him take a look at it.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chuan immediately perked up. He looked Xu Kuo up and down, then curled his lip, his face full of disbelief: "Dad, are you sure you're not mistaken? Him? An expert? I doubt he even knows what an antique looks like!" This kid, what does he know about appraising antiques!
Zhou Changke's face hardened, and he was about to lash out when Xu Kuo stopped him.
"Old Zhou, please don't be angry." Xu Kuo said calmly, "Young people are bound to be proud and arrogant." Then, Zhou Changke apologized to Xu Kuo and handed him the Fangzun.
Xu Kuo took the square bronze vessel, pretended to examine it for a while, and then tapped it lightly with his fingers to activate the system.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Chuan panicked. This was a treasure his father had bought at a high price; what would happen if this country bumpkin broke it? He rushed forward, pointed at Xu Kuo's nose, and shouted, "What are you doing? Put this down! If you break it, can you afford to pay for it?"
"Xiao Chuan, shut up!" Zhou Changke shouted angrily. "Let Brother Xu take a good look, don't disturb him!"
Zhou Chuan trembled at his father's shout, but still muttered unwillingly, "Dad, don't let him fool you..."
Xu Kuo completely ignored Zhou Chuan; the system had already given the result: not worth a single point, just a fake.
He sneered inwardly. This square vessel looked quite convincing on the outside, but it didn't contain a single valuable item. It seemed the forger was quite skilled!
Xu Kuo placed the square bronze vessel on the tea table, took two steps back, and suddenly raised his foot, kicking the vessel hard!
"Bang!"
With a crisp sound, the square vessel shattered into pieces, scattering fragments all over the ground.
"You!" Zhou Chuan exploded, pointing at Xu Kuo, trembling with rage. "You country bumpkin, how dare you smash my things! I'll never forgive you!"
Zhou Changke was also shocked. Although he trusted Xu Kuo, he never expected Xu Kuo to smash the square bronze vessel. This... this was something he had bought at a high price!
“Brother Xu, this…” Zhou Changke’s face was grim, but he remained composed and waited for Xu Kuo’s explanation.
“A fake.” Xu Kuo sneered, pointing to the fragments on the ground. “This thing is a counterfeit. Even if I told you there were some secrets inside, you probably wouldn’t believe me. I might as well just smash it and let you see it more clearly.”
"Bullshit!" Zhou Chuan cursed. "You smashed things and dare to say they're fakes? I think you're just trying to find an excuse to shirk responsibility!"
As Zhou Chuan spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and was about to step forward to start.
At the same time, Zhou Changke saw something glowing in the pile of fragments.
Zhou Changke subconsciously picked up a piece and looked at it. When he saw that there was a steel plate inside, he was stunned.
Just as Zhou Chuan was about to make a move against Xu Kuo, Zhou Changke grabbed him.
"Stop right there!" Zhou Changke pointed at the shards on the ground and shouted sternly, "Take a good look at what's inside these shards!"
Zhou Chuan was stunned for a moment, then looked down and was immediately dumbfounded. Among the shattered porcelain shards were several small pieces of steel!
How...how is this possible?
“Dad, this…” Zhou Chuan was completely dumbfounded. He never dreamed that the square vase his father treasured would be a fake!
Zhou Changke sighed, a grateful look on his face: "Brother Xu, thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I would have been completely fooled by this thing!"
Xu Kuo waved his hand, looking nonchalant: "It's a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."
Zhou Changke's admiration for Xu Kuo deepened even further. He said solemnly, "Brother Xu, if you need any help in the future, just let me know. I, Zhou, will do my best to help!"
Xu Kuo nodded: "Okay, I'll come to you if I need anything. I won't be polite, after all, you've treated me like a close friend despite our age difference, haven't you?"
He checked the time, stood up, and said, "Mr. Zhou, I still have some fields to take care of, so I'll take my leave now."
Zhou Changke personally saw Xu Kuo off at the door and watched him leave.
"Dad, this person... is really a master?" Zhou Chuan still couldn't believe that a farmer could have such amazing appraisal skills.
Zhou Changke glanced at his son and said meaningfully, "This is a true master! He doesn't flaunt his abilities, yet he possesses extraordinary skills. People like him are the real masters!"
The setting sun cast its last rays on the field ridges. The destroyed vegetable garden has been leveled again, the soil turned over, and it exudes a moist scent.
Niu Erbao followed behind Xu Kuo, looking at the barren land, feeling a pang of sadness. He knew that it was all because of his mother that Xu Kuo's hard work had been wasted.
"Master, is it too late for us to plant now?" Niu Erbao asked anxiously, his voice tinged with guilt.
Xu Kuo stopped and turned to look at Niu Erbao, his eyes calm: "Erbao, what do you think?"
Niu Erbao scratched his head and honestly replied, "I...I don't know. But everyone in the village says that it's probably too late to start growing vegetables now."
Xu Kuo didn't speak, but just stared at the land in front of him with deep eyes, as if he was calculating something.
"Hey, isn't this Xu Kuo? What's up, are you going to start planting vegetables again?"
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