“You don’t believe me? Alright! How about we have another bet?”
Chapter 25
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Bucktooth Zhou panicked when he heard Tang Hao offer another bet. He hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and a flash of viciousness showed in his eyes.
“A bet it is! One million! So you dare?”
In his eyes, the wooden Buddha statue was different from the terracotta statue. One could easily discern its age, and the material and handiwork were obviously mediocre. It should not be more than fifteen thousand [in current market prices].
He was very sure that he would win this bet. If the kid agreed, he would get his one million yuan back.
“Don’t bet with him, Little Brother Tang!” Elder Ma said urgently.
Tang Hao smiled. “Don’t worry, Elder, I know what I’m doing!”
He then turned to look at Bucktooth Zhou. “It’s a bet then, Boss Zhou. One million!”
Elder Ma turned pale. The other store owners also exclaimed in surprise.
“Is he daring or insane?”
“No, I don’t think he’s insane. Don’t tell me there’s something strange about this statue.”
Many store owners crowded around and inspected carefully the wooden statue in Tang Hao’s hands. Even Elder Ma and Old Master Zheng took the wooden statue and scrutinized it.
Both of them shook their heads. No matter how they looked, the wooden statue was a plain one. It would never fetch thirty thousand yuan on the open market.
“Little Brother, your statue… is definitely not worth thirty thousand yuan. Even ten thousand yuan is already too expensive,” Old Master Zheng said.
Bucktooth Zhou laughed. Old Master Zheng’s verdict was the nail in Tang Hao’s coffin. Victory was surely his.
He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘At least I’ve won my one million yuan back.’
At this moment, Tang Hao said, “Old Master, I think you might have been mistaken too. There’s nothing plain about this statue.”
“Oh, what boastful words! A blind greenhorn dares to say that Old Master Zheng is mistaken?” Bucktooth Zhou roared with laughter.
The store owners looked hostile.
Old Master Zheng was the absolute last word on this antique street. This outsider dared to say that he was mistaken. This was very disrespectful of him.
Old Master Zheng’s face turned cold. “Those are fighting words, little boy! I am mistaken? What a joke! How about you show me what’s not plain about your statue.”
Tang Hao lifted the wooden statue in his hands and said calmly, “Old Master, the exterior of this statue might look plain. There’s something wondrous inside though.”
Everyone was shocked when they heard this.
“Something wondrous inside? What do you mean?” Even Old Master Zheng was confused.
Tang Hao only smiled in return. He held the wooden statue on both ends and snapped it.
“What are you doing, Little Brother Tang?” Elder Ma shouted anxiously.
Even though the statue was not valuable, it was still bought for thirty thousand yuan.
The next moment, his eyes became round and wide as he was dumbstruck by what he saw.
Crack!
The wooden statue split into two. A light that was as red as blood shone from within. It was extremely eye-catching under the dim light.
“Oh my god! This… this…” Old Master Zheng’s voice was trembling with excitement. “This is blood jade! Thousand-year-old blood jade!”
Bucktooth Zhou felt as though he was struck by lightning. He teetered and stumbled one step back. “How is this possible… why is it blood jade…”
He felt the heavens and the earth spinning. He nearly fainted.
Blood jade was also known as ‘Hua Xia’s first jade’. It was exceedingly rare, and every piece of blood jade was worth fortunes.
Legend has it that blood jade is formed by inserting unrefined jade into a corpse’s mouth then buried for thousands of years. Its origin gives it an aura of mystery.
Its price was brought to astronomical levels by its dazzling beauty and exceeding rarity.
He did not expect a plain wooden statue to hide a wondrous item like that.
Thirty thousand was nothing compared to what this item was actually worth. Even thirty million would have been a low price for such an amazing find.
“Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!” Old Master Zheng rushed forward to behold the crack in the wooden statue. He was thoroughly obsessed with the item within.
Tang Hao was confused. He did not know what blood jade is, but from the expressions of the people around him, he knew that it was something incredibly precious.
“Looks like I hit the jackpot again!” Tang Hao mumbled.
He only knew that the wooden statue was hiding something amazing, but did not expect the hidden item to be so incredibly precious.
“You didn’t just hit the jackpot. You’re so lucky that your ancestral gravesite must be emitting smoke!” Old Master Zheng was even more excited than Tang Hao.
Tang Hao smirked then lowered his head to look.
There was a narrow space in the wooden statue. Within the space was a string of blood jade beads. Every bead was perfectly round and clear. The beads were as red as blood and emanated an otherworldly glow. The beauty was indescribable.
Tang Hao fell in love with it at first glance.
He then furrowed his brows. The qi on the jade beads was too intense.
He narrowed his eyes and tried to gauge the level of qi. He was surprised by his findings.
‘This is an Artifact!’
The qi on the other antiques lingered on their surface. The qi on the jade beads pulsated from within.
This must be an Artifact from ancient times.
If this world had techniques of cultivation, then in ancient times, there must have been cultivators who wielded Artifacts like this.
Tang Hao was extremely excited. For a cultivator, there was nothing more important than an Artifact.
“This blood jade is too beautiful! The quality and sheen are unmatched! It should fetch at least fifty million in an auction.”
“Fifty million? That’s too cheap. It’s worth at least a hundred million.”
The store owners crowded around and argued.
“In my opinion, one hundred million is just the baseline. There’s no problem fetching two or three hundred million.” Old Master Zheng gave his opinion. “I’ve seen a piece of blood jade at an auction over ten years ago. Its quality was far inferior to this piece, and yet it fetched forty million yuan.
“I would say that this string of blood jade beads is flawless. It is a masterpiece among blood jade items. If the news got out, it would send shockwaves across the collectors’ circles.”
“Two or three hundred million?” Bucktooth Zhou felt his vision fading. He nearly fainted again.
The other store owners felt so much regret that their intestines were tying up in knots.
They had let two or three hundred million slip from their fingers. That would be the biggest regret of their lives.
“Little Brother, how did you know that there was something hidden in this plain-looking statue?” Old Master Zheng asked.
“Well… call it intuition, I guess?” Tang Hao smiled.
Old Master Zheng was shocked. He admitted sheepishly, “Then it was my mistake. Looks like you are not an outsider at all, but a top expert.”
“An expert, truly an expert!” The other store owners exclaimed.
They had no choice but to acknowledge Tang Hao’s abilities this time.
“Congratulations, Little Brother Tang! Congratulations!” Elder Ma stepped forward and greeted him with cupped fists. “Right, are you selling this string of jade beads? I can hook you up with an auction firm if you are interested.”
“It’s fine, I’m not selling this one!” Tang Hao said, “I’ll just wear it.”
This was an antique worth two or three hundred million! He did not want to keep it somewhere safe but rather wear it? This was too extravagant!
The other store owners and Old Master Zheng were speechless too.
“Oh! I just remembered, this young man here said that the set of Song jade figurines were counterfeit. Quick, bring it out for us to see, Boss Zhou.”
“Right! Bring it out!”
Bucktooth Zhou was panicking. Cold sweat was beading on his forehead.
“Im… Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” He muttered under his breath in an attempt to convince himself while his face turned paler and paler.
Old Master Zheng looked carefully at the set of jade figurines, then shook his head. “That’s right, this is counterfeit. It’s very expertly crafted though. No wonder it had fooled Boss Zhou.”
When Bucktooth Zhou heard that, his vision turned black and he collapsed straight-on the floor.
Chapter 26
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sun was setting after Tang Hao had dinner with Elder Ma and Old Master Zheng.
Tang Hao rode on his little three-wheeled motorcycle and returned to Tang Village.
The evening breeze was cool. Street lights shimmered on both sides of the street, and it was easy for one to be lost in the moment.
Tang Hao’s heart was in the clouds. He had earned eight million yuan in an afternoon. He felt the incident was like a dream.
Two out of the eight million yuan was won from the bets with Bucktooth Zhou. The other six million was from selling the Warring States period terracotta statue. He briefly counted and found that he had about eight million and seven hundred thousand yuan in his bank account.
Just half a month ago, when he left the hospital, he only had five hundred.
He reflected fondly upon the events that transpired in the past half a month.
His life had undergone a complete transformation. Not only had he earned so much money, but he had also made friends with people like President Biao and President Liu.
Of course, there was also Sis Xiangyi.
His heart pumped a little faster when he thought of her.
‘Things will only be better from now on!’ Tang Hao thought to himself.
At this moment, he was confident about his future.
After a half-hour journey, he returned to Tang Village. He was met with many people at the entrance of the village. They all crowded around and greeted Tang Hao enthusiastically when they saw him.
“Oh, Lil Hao is back!”
“Have you had dinner, Lil Hao?”
Tang Hao smiled and waved his hands. “I’ve had my dinner earlier!” He replied.
As he rode on his way back home, people came out of their houses to look.
“Lil Hao is back!”
“You’ve gone and made a name for yourself, Lil Hao! You know so many big bosses and are even brothers with them. You’ve struck a gold mine!”
“Isn’t that so! I’ve heard that Lil Hao is rich now. He has a few million yuan in his bank account!”
“Wow, a few million? That means he’s a millionaire! I wonder how many years I will have to work to earn that much money? Oh, math confuses me!”
Tang Hao’s cheeks felt stiff from smiling. He did not know how to react to all the adulation.
He did not have a few million yuan in his account that morning. It was only eight hundred thousand. As the story evolved through the day, it had become a few million.
He was indifferent toward the hospitality displayed by his fellow villagers.
Tang Hao had been living in poverty since he was born, and he was used to surviving the vicissitudes of life and the fickleness of human relationships. When he was just a poor kid with not a penny to his name, no one treated him like how they treated him now. Many of them simply ignored him.
Just that morning when the police officers came looking for trouble, many people were mocking him behind his back. Their attitudes toward him changed only after they knew that he was rich.
“Are you currently seeing anyone, Lil Hao? I can introduce to you someone if you don’t! Hong from the next village is a cute and intelligent girl. You’ll like her.”
“Pah! Don’t listen to her, Lil Hao. I have many girls to introduce to you. Whatever you’re looking for: A beautiful face, a sexy body, I have just the right girl. I guarantee that you’ll like them.”
A group of mothers crowded around Tang Hao volunteering to find a girlfriend for him.
All of them were chattering loudly around Tang Hao. He felt dizzy and his face blushed.
“Auntie Zhang, Auntie Liu, there’s no need for your diligence. I’m still young. There’s no rush,” Tang Hao said urgently.
“Eh! You’re turning eighteen soon! That’s not young! You should be looking to settle down a partner, and in a few years be ready to raise a child!”
Tang Hao could not argue with that logic and so fled the scene.
When he reached the front gate of his house, his neighbors came out of their houses and greeted him.
He entered the house. Someone came knocking on his door as soon as he switched on the lights.
“Lil Hao! Now that you’re rich and well-connected to so many big bosses, can you help my son look for a job?”
“Lil Hao, I’ve heard that you’re a millionaire now. Do you think… you can lend me some money? I promise I’ll pay you back soon.”
The villagers visited his house in hordes. They were there to either build connections or borrow money. He did not know many of those people too well and had to tactfully decline them.
Some people felt embarrassed and left after being declined, while some of them became angry.
“I can’t believe that you’re like this. Now that you’re rich, you forget your fellow villagers. I’m facing some troubles now, how can you not help me?”
“You’re such a miser. It’s not like you’d be missing the ten or twenty thousand from the millions you have anyway!”
Tang hao frowned when he heard those words. They had filled him with anger.
When his father passed away back then, his life fell into hardship, but none of those fellow villagers helped him. When he was expelled from school, those people spread rumors and talked negatively of him behind his back
Now that they saw that he was loaded, they fawned on him to get something out of him.
This behavior caused him to be disgusted.
“Looks like I won’t be staying here for long. I’ll be troubled by these issues for a long time.” For the first time, Tang Hao thought of moving.
He declined five or six people in a row. The crowd in his house thinned, and those that remained were close to him. They filled his house and they chatted merrily. Soon, the village elder was there too.
As they chatted, the village elder mentioned how the roads in the village needed repair. Tang Hao agreed to donate two hundred thousand yuan.
Tang Hao had strong feelings toward Tang Village since he was born and raised there. He felt like he owed the village a debt of gratitude.
The gathering went on for about another two hours before everyone left.
Tang Hao was about to close the door when he saw his uncle emerge from next door with a hand pushing him from behind.
“Go! Quick!” It was his aunt.
His uncle was still hesitating. He turned around and was surprised to see Tang Hao standing there.
“Is there something, Uncle?”
Tang Hao guessed that he must be coming over for a reason. However, he knew better than to embarrass his uncle.
“Lil… Lil Hao! The… um… It’s not very convenient for me to say it…” His uncle stammered.
“Ah, you useless piece of trash! You can’t even string together a whole sentence… isn’t it just borrowing money? What’s so inconvenient about that?” His aunt came out of the house while scolding at him loudly.
“Let me tell you, Lil Hao, our family has helped you quite a lot, and it’s about time you returned the favor. You have so much money now. It’s perfectly fair to lend us some, right?
“Bowen, that kid, he’s living in the city. Everything is so expensive there, and he’s having a hard time. I don’t want him to suffer so I want to send him some money.
“How about treating it like helping out your cousin brother? You can share his glory when he becomes a government official in the future.”
Tang Hao could only smirk when he heard that.
His cousin brother behaved exactly like his aunt, always displaying a condescending attitude toward Tang Hao as though he were superior. Tang Hao never liked him.
He smirked and said, “Auntie, this money… I will not lend it to you.”
“You…” His aunt nearly exploded when she heard that. “You… little whelp! Ungrateful creature!”
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, Auntie? How did you treat me when I asked to borrow money from your family? Not only you did not give me a single cent, but you also said that I should just starve and die.”
“I…” His aunt could not find the words.
She began to regret that she had not treated him better. She did not expect that this boy would be rich one day.
“But. I will give this money to Uncle. Back then, Uncle gave me some money from his personal savings. It’s not a lot, but I am grateful for that,” Tang Hao said.
“Here’s fifty thousand yuan. Consider this as repayment for my debt of gratitude. After this, I will not interfere with your family matters.”
Tang Hao retrieved five stacks of hundred-yuan notes and handed it to his uncle.
“Lil Hao, I…” His uncle did not take the money. His face was wracked with guilt.
On the other hand, his aunt ‘s eyes brightened and snatched the money from Tang Hao’s hands.
“I say, Lil Hao, you want to appease us with just fifty thousand yuan?” His aunt shrieked.
The Mightiest Little Peasant c1-799 Page 14