Chapter 69: Painted Pottery with Double Ears

Seeing the two children, before Yuan Tingchuan could say anything, the bodyguards behind him rushed over, picked up the two children, and said to Yuan Tingchuan and Du Ruo: "Master Han is just a little weak. The young master has passed out and his body is very hot."

Village Chief Yang said, "Don't worry, don't worry. We have a folk remedy in our village that is very useful for reducing fever. You city people are spoiled, and there have been many such cases before. Don't worry. It's too late for you to leave now. If the baby gets burned any further, it will be dangerous."

Du Ruo didn't quite believe the folk prescription, but Yuan Tingchuan said decisively: "Then leave it to the village chief."

He whispered in Du Ruo's ear: "Let's try first. If we take Shu Rui back now, even if we send him to a hospital in the city, it will take more than a day to walk. I'm afraid the child will be in greater danger."

Yuan Tingchuan held his son in his arms, Du Ruo held Xiaozhe tightly, and they all went to the village chief's house.

Someone had already run to tell the village chief's family. The village chief's wife prepared a large pile of green ointment-like stuff, and when she saw the child, she put the child on the kang and smeared it on the child's chest and back.

Du Ruo was relieved to see that it was not an oral medicine. The village chief's daughter-in-law said, "This medicine is good for clearing away heat and detoxifying. I always use this medicine when my child has a high fever. It will go away in just one or two hours."

Du Ruo nodded. She held Xiaozhe in her arms and glanced at the pottery jar containing the ointment. Her heart skipped a beat. What was this...

She was so anxious when she came that she didn't bother to observe carefully. Now that she took a look, she was shocked. Nine out of ten people in this room had red horizontal lines on their heads, but the depth varied. This didn't mean they were particularly poor, did it? Could it be that...

But now is not the time to talk about this. Yuan Shurui's body was smeared with green. It turned out to be quite effective. After an hour, the fever on the child's body gradually subsided.

Han Zhe stayed with Ruirui and refused to leave. Ruirui slowly opened his eyes and said weakly, "Xiaozhe, don't be afraid. Dad will come to save us."

When Xiaozhe saw that he was awake, he cried and said, "Ruirui, don't sleep anymore, mom and dad are here to save us."

Yuan Shurui then saw Yuan Tingchuan and Du Ruo standing in front of him. He was covered in ointment and couldn't be picked up. Du Ruo gently stroked his forehead: "Good boy, what's wrong?"

Ruirui smiled, and turned to Xiaozhe and said, "I've already told you, my dad is amazing, he will definitely come to save us."

There was a hint of warmth in Yuan Tingchuan's eyes, and he cursed with a smile: "Stinky boy."

When the father and son's eyes met, strangely, there flowed a warmth that they had never felt before.

The matter was resolved satisfactorily. The attitude of the villagers was particularly good. Village chief Yang prepared a large wooden barrel at home so that the two children could take a good bath.

After all, he was a child and recovered quickly. He was full of energy the next morning. Only then did Du Ruo and Yuan Tingchuan feel relieved.

Du Ruo and Mrs. Yang said they wanted to see the ointment used yesterday, and showed the pottery jar to Yuan Tingchuan.

Yuan Tingchuan held the pottery jar in his hand, observed it for a long time and said: "This is a double-handled painted pottery jar with a square lip, a narrow neck, a bulging belly, and double belly ears. Although it is a little dirty, you can see from here that the pottery coating is red, and there is black paint in some parts."

He took a towel from the side and wiped the surface of the pottery jar carefully. He said, "There are string patterns on the neck, and there are decorative patterns and flower patterns above the string patterns. There are inverted triangle patterns on the lower part. If I am not mistaken, it should be something from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period."

Du Ruo said, "There is a bronze vessel for holding water on the corner of their house. Can I take it out and show it to you?"

Yuan Tingchuan held her shoulders and said, "Wait here, I'll get it."

When he walked into the main room, he saw a water jar in the corner of the wall. It had a rather special shape. Yuan Tingchuan carefully poured out the water and carried it into the house with both hands.

Place it on the table and wipe it clean with cotton cloth.

This is a bronze vessel, but unfortunately it has no cover. Yuan Tingchuan said with regret: "This is a bronze jar with four beast rings inlaid in bronze. We can call it that for now. It is a wine vessel from the Spring and Autumn Period. It is exquisitely made. Look at the patterns on it. It should be a palace utensil. It should have a cover. If we can find it, its value will double."

Du Ruo whispered, "Is there a big tomb nearby? Otherwise, why would there be so many things in Village Chief Yang's house?"

Yuan Tingchuan nodded and said, "It's very possible. The stone door of the cave we went to that day was unusual. The strange thing is that it didn't look like a tomb door, but more like a place where the gravekeeper lived."

Du Ruo thought: "Then the tomb should be nearby?"

Yuan Tingchuan said, "That should be the case. We can ask around and see if these things are only available in their village, or are they also available nearby?"

Yuan Tingchuan turned around and gestured. A bodyguard came in from the door. Yuan Tingchuan pointed at something on the table and said, "Go ask around."

The bodyguard took a look at the bronze objects on the table, agreed and left.

Soon, Village Chief Yang came running in, panting and saying, "Mr. Yuan, I heard, I heard, this water jar in my house has some history, right?"

Yuan Tingchuan said calmly: "It is quite unique, but it is of no use. It doesn't even have a lid."

Village Chief Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Mr. Yuan, although we are farmers, we also know that antiques are valuable. Don't lie to us. I have this lid at home. I will find it for you later."

Du Ruo said: "Since you guessed it is an antique, just take it and sell it yourself."

Village Chief Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It's easy for you, a female comrade, to say that.

I am not hiding this from you two. Some people in our village also took them to sell. They offered two yuan for them, but still didn't want them. They were picky and said they were tattered and ugly.

My son was thrifty with things, so he brought back the things that others didn’t want. He sold the better ones for only five dollars in total.

The young men who went with him smashed some of the pottery jars when they heard that the jars were not wanted, as they felt they were too heavy to carry back.

No one has been selling it since then. It’s not worth the effort, so what’s the point?

I just fill water, feed chickens and so on at home, and I don’t take it seriously.

Mr. Yuan, if this is really worth some money, we will sell it to you. You can give us a little so that our fellow villagers can have some extra money. Is that okay with you?"

After Village Chief Yang finished speaking, he looked at Yuan Tingchuan eagerly. Du Ruo felt a little depressed. She also accepted it, so why didn’t he ask her?

In fact, it’s not Village Chief Yang’s fault. These people were obviously led by Yuan Tingchuan, so they naturally asked him first.