Volume Three – The Fox Spirit’s Tomb Chapter Twenty – Growing Bigger and Stronger

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Li Kun roughly guessed and said, “Twenty thousand?”

Xu Tian shook his head and replied, “Too little, far too little. Let’s think bigger.”

Li Kun continued, “Fifty, fifty thousand?”

Xu Tian smiled mysteriously and said, “It seems you two can’t guess it right. Better let you see for yourselves.” With that, Xu Tian placed the cloth pouch on the tea table and pushed it toward Li Kun and me.

Suppressing my excitement, I glanced at Li Kun beside me, then reached out and took the pouch. As I opened it, in that instant, I saw stacks upon stacks of hundred-yuan bills filling half the pouch.

Seeing this, Li Kun and I gasped, and Li Kun, stunned, exclaimed, “My goodness, how can there be so much money?” Then he reached in and dumped all the bills from the pouch onto the tea table.

Bundles of neatly tied hundred-yuan notes tumbled out with a rustling sound. Witnessing this, we were utterly shocked by the sight before us.

Xu Tian grinned and said to us, “This is a total of two hundred and fifty thousand yuan. So, gentlemen, what do you say?”

Li Kun and I exchanged a glance. Li Kun swallowed hard and said, “I’ve never seen so much money in my life. Forget about two hundred and fifty thousand, the most cash I’ve ever seen at once was ten thousand. I’ve never seen so much money gathered together before.”

I nodded in agreement. Then Xu Tian produced a piece of paper and said, “Actually, that Song Dynasty pale jade belt plaque is worth far more than this. But I told the museum that I paid a hundred thousand yuan for it. This morning, the museum called me over, saying the subsidy had arrived, and they issued me this certificate.”

He handed over a clean sheet of paper covered in dense writing. At the bottom, it stated clearly: “Reward amount: two hundred and fifty thousand yuan.”

Seeing the paper, I finally understood. Xu Tian feared we might suspect him of pocketing the money, so he showed us the official proof.

In truth, Xu Tian could have kept the certificate to himself, but since he shared it, it showed he truly regarded Li Kun and me as brothers.

Seeing Xu Tian’s integrity, my respect for him grew instantly. After all, this was a quarter of a million in cash—anyone would be tempted. Yet, Xu Tian’s family had been in the antique business for years, and their total wealth didn’t even match what lay before us. This alone spoke volumes about his character.

I said, “Old Li, Old Xu, let’s not touch this money for now. If anything happens in the future, we can use it as emergency funds.”

Li Kun and Xu Tian both nodded in agreement. Still, I wanted to test Xu Tian’s character a little more and said, “But there’s one problem: who should keep the money? If it stays at my place, it’s definitely not safe. If my old man finds out, I won’t be able to explain it. Old Xu, why don’t you keep it?”

Xu Tian shook his head and said, “Better not keep it with me. You both know what I do. If I come across a good treasure, I might be tempted to use the money. Wait—I have an idea.”

Li Kun asked, “Oh? Old Xu, what’s your idea? Tell us.”

Xu Tian said, “Old Liu, we’ll feel safer if the money’s with you. How about this: we go to the bank right now, open an account in your name, and deposit the money there. After all, you’re the one who suggested this.”

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Hearing this, I finally let go of my doubts about Xu Tian. Then, an idea formed in my mind, and I said, “Old Xu, what if we do it this way?”

Xu Tian and Li Kun turned to look at me. I said, “This money is basically our joint property, right?”

Xu Tian quickly waved his hand and said, “Old Liu, don’t say that. I only helped hand over the item to the state. I didn’t do anything else. You two risked your lives to get this. If I tried to insert myself further, even my old man at home would break my legs.”

Li Kun then said to Xu Tian, “Old Xu, that’s not true. Without the tools and gear you provided, we wouldn’t have come back safely.”

I nodded and said, “Exactly, Old Xu. You deserve a fair share of this money. Don’t be modest. Besides, this plan wouldn’t work without your help.”

Xu Tian looked at me curiously and asked, “Old Liu, you want to...?”

I smiled slightly and pointed to the wall on our left. “The antique shop next door has already declared bankruptcy.”

Xu Tian was momentarily stunned. “Old Liu, you want to take over the shop next door?”

I nodded. “Yes. We’ll use this two hundred and fifty thousand yuan to take over the neighboring shop. Then we’ll expand your current Liuyun shop, build up its reputation, and eventually combine the two stores into one. Soon, anyone who visits this county will know the name Liuyun Shop.”

After I finished, Li Kun and Xu Tian stared at me in amazement. Li Kun said, “Old Liu, how did you come up with that? How much is in your head?”

Xu Tian lowered his head to think, then looked up and asked, “Old Liu, are you really ready to get into this business?”

I nodded. “Yes, I’ve always been interested in these things. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have worked in an antique store before. Since then, I’ve wanted to open my own shop, and now is the perfect opportunity.”

Xu Tian nodded, clapped his hands, and said, “Good. Then let’s make Liuyun Shop bigger and stronger. Anyone who comes to this county will know our name.”

He moved the teacups aside, stood up, and walked to the back. He returned with a bottle of red wine and three glasses.

Xu Tian placed the wine and cups on the tea table, uncorked the bottle, and poured wine into each glass. The three of us raised our glasses. Xu Tian said, “From now on, the three of us are partners.”

He smiled gently and said to Li Kun and me, “Boss Liu, Boss Li.”

We exchanged smiles and said in unison, “Boss Xu.”

We clinked our glasses lightly and drank the wine in one gulp.

After the drink, all three of us laughed. Xu Tian said, “Since we’ve decided to take this on, let’s celebrate tonight. It’s on me. We’ll have a feast at Juxian Restaurant.”

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I said, “Old Xu, you’re really going all out.”

Xu Tian waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing. By the way, Old Liu, Old Li, do you have girlfriends? If so, bring them along. Tonight at eight, Juxian Restaurant. Don’t be late.”

I nodded and said to Li Kun, “Old Li, I’ll call Gaofeng later and ask her to invite Tian Tian too. The more, the merrier.”

Li Kun said, “Old Liu, you’re a true brother. That’s really thoughtful.”

Xu Tian chuckled, “Old Li’s got a special someone, huh?”

Li Kun scratched his head and said, “Nothing yet. I’m still working on it.”

We all smiled at each other. Then Xu Tian said, “Since we’ve made this plan, tomorrow I’ll go home and ask my old man to cast a divination. We’ll find a good day, take over the shop next door, and then open for business. How about that?”

I nodded. “You’re more experienced with these things. Old Li and I will have to learn from you.”

Xu Tian waved his hand. “It’s nothing. Tomorrow I’ll have my old man cast the divination.”

Li Kun, Xu Tian, and I chatted about future plans for a while longer, then we got up and said our goodbyes.

Li Kun and I still drove the same van. On the way, Li Kun suggested we get a better car, but I refused.

This van can carry a lot of equipment. When we go tomb raiding or treasure hunting, we need to bring plenty of gear. If we switch to a smaller car, there won’t be enough space, so for now, it’s better to keep this van.

After I explained, Li Kun nodded. We didn’t have much money yet, and we still needed to take over the neighboring shop and renovate it. Besides, the store can’t be empty. It’s an antique shop. Without items inside, no one would come to buy or sell treasures.

The good news is that the previous owner still has many unsold items. That saves us a lot of trouble. Whether real antiques or just collectibles, anything presentable can be taken in.

After handling all this, the twenty-five thousand funds will be almost used up. When we head to the Fox Fairy Tomb, we’ll need to find one or two good items to trade. If we find treasures but have no money to buy them, that would be a huge loss.

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