Chapter 65 Heirloom
Digging the hole was tiring, and filling it was also tiring. It took an hour for the two of them to fill the hole and compact it.
But they were not in a hurry to rest, as the box attracted all their attention.
I returned to the main room, closed the door, and didn't dare turn on the light. I used the light from a rechargeable lamp to look at it.
It was wrapped in layer upon layer of oil paper, and when it was opened, it turned out to be an exquisite wooden box with iron sheets wrapped around the four corners. No wonder Lin Guoqing made such a noise when he just tapped it lightly with a shovel.
There were carvings on the box, which felt very complicated. Chen Chunhua studied it in the light.
"Hmm... This should be red wood, right? Big red rosewood?... It shouldn't be red sandalwood, it doesn't have much smell..."
Lin Guoqing looked at her as if she were an alien, "You know this?"
Chen Chunhua:...I forgot, she is only 28 now.
Old lady Chunhua liked to wander around when she got older. Later, a circle of business rooms were built at the entrance of their village. Wang Jingui's son later opened a mahogany furniture store there, and Wang Jingui would help run the store when she had nothing to do.
Chen Chunhua would often take her grandson to chat with people, and over time, she learned a lot of knowledge in this area.
But this is all thirty or forty years from now. How can I explain it to Lin Guoqing now? Chen Chunhua rolled her eyes and gave the man a look.
"Look at the color, the texture, how smooth it feels? And the carvings, the kind a wealthy family would use. If it's not mahogany, is it willow? A ten-cent box to hold ten thousand yuan worth of goods? What did you think?"
Lin Guoqing touched his head and it seemed to make sense.
"Open it and take a look!"
There was a lock plate in the middle of the box, but no lock. It opened with a slight lift. The first thing that caught my eye was the orange-yellow fabric, which felt like very expensive brocade.
Moving the sight downwards, there is a set of white jade tea sets.
A pot and four cups, each made of white Hetian jade, are delicate and compact, meticulous and intricate. The pot is exquisitely shaped, thin and strong, with a lid that fits perfectly, a rounded bowl, and exquisite carving. A closer look under the light reveals a phoenix encircling a peony.
The pot has no handle, but a handle, which is not made of jade but gilded. The top, body and hook of the handle are decorated with copper cloisonné enamel, and a Ruyi cloud head with a bit of classical characteristics is also used.
The four teacups are the same color as the pot, and they look so natural that one would think they were carved from the same stone.
Lin Guoqing looked at the pot held by Chen Chunhua, his eyes dull and his expression stiff. He wanted to touch it but didn't dare. He swallowed hard.
"...this thing...you say this thing...how much is it worth..." He felt his heart beating wildly and goose bumps appeared on his arms.
"Can we build him a two-story house with three rooms? And buy a tricycle? And a bicycle? ... Do you want a sewing machine? Hey, can we buy all three machines?"
As he spoke, his eyes became increasingly excited, as if he had already seen the day when his family would become the richest man in the village.
Chen Chunhua couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "Look at you! That's all you can think of?"
She touched the bottom of the pot and turned it over for Lin Guoqing to see. "Look at what's written on it?"
Lin Guoqing pulled the charging lamp closer, but didn't dare to get too close for fear of touching the jade pot. He squinted his eyes and read the words on it.
"Made in the Tongzhi…year…of the Qing…Qing…" After he finished reading it, his eyes widened even more, "Is this an antique?"
Chen Chunhua didn't answer his question, "No other words?"
"That's all. Just these six words."
"Oh...it's an antique, but it's not particularly valuable."
"Ah" Lin Guoqing was a little confused.
In fact, Chen Chunhua knew what was written underneath. Although it was broken when it was dug out during the foundation construction, the words could still be seen when it was pieced together. Lin Shugan even went to the city to find a collector to ask,
Putting aside the issue of it being broken, just the fact that this thing was from the Tongzhi period is not that long ago and is not as valuable as those from the previous emperors.
If the words "imperially made" were included, the price might be higher, as it was a tribute to the emperor, at least for a high-ranking official. Of course, the workmanship of this set of pots is at least from an official kiln, which shows that the owner at the time had some status and wealth.
As for the price, how big a piece of Hetian jade would be needed for such a complete set of tea sets? If it were not broken, it would probably cost seven figures.
When Chen Chunhua heard the price, she nearly had a heart attack. Seven figures! Remember, this was the 1990s! Their house couldn't even be demolished and rebuilt for 100,000 yuan. With just a few shovels, 10 houses were gone...
But the most exaggerated one was Lin Guoqing. As a middle-aged man, he had already started to be nagging. After this incident, he couldn't sleep or eat well. He kept muttering about this tea set day and night, wondering why it hadn't been taken out earlier, and why his grandfather hadn't told him where it was hidden before he passed away...
This thought lasted for more than ten or twenty years. Even when the house was demolished and rebuilt for the second time, Lin Guoqing was still thinking about the tea set. He even asked Chen Chunhua about the broken pieces of the jade pot. Could they be melted down and reconstructed? Even if it was no longer an antique, it was still a piece of jade after all!
These words made Chen Chunhua laugh. The silly old man thought it was gold, so he melted it down and forged it again. How funny!
A year before her rebirth, Lin Shumei had mentioned it to her that if the seven-digit number in the 1990s were put into the present, it is not known whether it can be doubled. Don't even think about getting one more digit, but a million starting with 5 is still within your reach.
Chen Chunhua was afraid that Lin Guoqing would faint, so she didn't dare to talk to him about this topic.
However, it was also because he was always annoyed that Chen Chunhua thought of this matter after she was reborn and her mind was at peace.
Fortunately, it was dug out, and now my worries are finally put to rest.
"This set of teapots cannot be sold for the time being." Chen Chunhua carefully put the jade teapot back, spread the yellow cloth, and then covered the box.
Lin Guoqing nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, "Yes, yes, it can't be sold now. Wait..."
"I won't sell it in the future." Chen Chunhua interrupted.
"Ah? Didn't you say things have been tense these past two years? Maybe in a few years..."
"I've thought about it again." said Chen Chunhua.
Lin Guoqing was speechless. This woman's mind changes so quickly!
"We are not short of money now. We can continue to sell vegetables. We will eventually have the house and car we need. As for this tea set,"
Chen Chunhua touched the delicately carved patterns on the mahogany box.
"Many families have heirlooms hidden in their closets that they won't take out unless absolutely necessary. My grandfather's generation lived in such hardship that he didn't even take them out to exchange for food. It would be a shame if we just sold them casually.
Let's keep this thing. If everything goes well until the day we die, we can keep it as a relic and give one cup to each of our four children."
"...What about this pot?"
"The pot will be given to whoever is the most filial to us!"
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