Chapter 137: The House

Seeing the two people before him, Li Xian felt a moment of daze.

The world is truly wondrous in its way.

Sometimes a person might have been around you since childhood, but after growing up, there may be no more connection. Yet, some people, even if you have only seen them occasionally, can appear in a way you never expected, in an utterly ordinary moment and place, like a rock in the vast sea of people, grabbing all your attention.

After Liu Sheng of the Zhongshan Jing Wang family, Liu Kun of the Jin Dynasty, this phenomenon is known as "fateful encounter."

In Buddhism, it is more straightforwardly termed "fate."

The two people before him were known to Li Xian.

Both of them had once stirred up major news in the regions of Beilin and Bangye. However, one was the subject of envy, while the other was a source of lament.

The middle-aged man with glasses, holding a teacup, whose face was twisted with distress, was named Na Gu.

This name is peculiar because the surname "Na" is not a traditional Han surname. Tracing its origin, this "Na" is not the "Na" from Danyang, but rather the "Na" from the Yehe Nara clan.

Yes, the same "Na" as in Na Ying.

Li Xian knew about him from a high-profile robbery and murder case that shocked the entire Bangye County Mountain City during his middle school years.

Na Gu's ancestors were from the Qing Dynasty, and he was a member of a prominent Manchu family. After the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, Na Gu's ancestors did not suffer much because they were far from the epicenter of turmoil. Instead, they continued their influential status through the later Manchukuo era.

Na Gu's parents left behind old artifacts.

During the 1990s, when Na Gu's family was so poor they couldn't afford charcoal for winter, Na Gu sold old items from his family in the Bangye and Beilin areas to make a living, creating a local craze for antiques. It was rumored that there were piles of antiques in his cellar, but he was reluctant to sell.

These rumors attracted some young people with ulterior motives, who broke into his home one spring night, opened the cellar, and, finding only sprouted potatoes and no antiques, ended up killing Na Gu after failing to extract the whereabouts of the antiques.

This incident was a huge sensation in Bangye, and only after things calmed down did the old neighbors reveal the truth—there were very few antiques left, and those had been sold off by Na Gu due to his financial hardships.

The man in the fur coat and octagonal hat was even more legendary.

This man, Gao San Shan, was once the richest person in Bangye.

Yes, the richest. And he became the richest by scavenging junk.

Li Xian had read Yu Hua's "Brothers" in high school and saw the shadow of this Bangye tycoon in the character Li Guangtou.

Due to people's ignorance at that time, the junk could be incredibly varied. Broken iron lumps made from tangled spoons and shovels, Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain bowls used for soy sauce, all counted as junk.

Gao San Shan made a fortune from this and even later turned to dealing in antiques. He became one of the first millionaires from Bangye to emigrate abroad.

When Li Xian was in high school, Gao San Shan returned from the US, and the local government leaders came to greet him. He also donated a leisure square to the locality.

Recalling these memories from middle school, Li Xian felt a nostalgic return to his younger days upon seeing these two men.

But the dilapidated and backward street scene around him reminded him that he was standing on the old street of 1993.

The feeling was quite peculiar.

Watching the argument between the two, Zhou Yong, who had turned off the engine and got out of the car, chuckled, "Damn scoundrel."

Li Xian turned around, "What scoundrel?"

"That guy in the fur coat," Zhou Yong pointed to Gao San Shan, "Back when my family was in the countryside, there were always people who specialized in collecting junk. They would usually offer low prices for broken dishes and bowls. But if the seller knew the value, they would break one item out of a set and press the price down. If the seller didn't agree, they would just leave. If they caused damage, they would only pay the market price. Hehe... These tricks are only used by local rascals."

Li Xian sighed inwardly.

Indeed, only someone as shrewd and shameless as himself could get rich in this era.

As Zhou Yong said, after failing to negotiate the price, Gao San Shan turned to leave. Seeing that the man was about to run, Na Gu, who was behind, panicked, "Hey! Don't leave! You need to pay for the broken stuff!"

Li Xian saw Gao San Shan approaching and smiled. He turned around and, after a moment of thought, shouted, "If he doesn't want it, I'll take it!"

This shout drew the attention of the onlookers. Gao San Shan was taken aback, looked Li Xian up and down, then glanced at the Cherokee behind him.

"Little brother, this is quite unreasonable."

Li Xian smiled slightly, walked through the crowd to the old house, and said, "Didn't you say you didn't want it?"

He picked up the broken pieces of the teacup from the ground. Although he was not knowledgeable about antiques, the patterns and inscriptions on the pieces clearly indicated they were not ordinary mass-produced items.

His understanding of antiques was limited to this.

Even though he was not an expert, he knew that Na Gu's past history made him believe these items were genuine. Otherwise, Gao San Shan wouldn't have put in so much effort.

Seeing Li Xian examining the broken pieces carefully rather than taking the cup from his hand, Na Gu nodded approvingly.

Looking at Gao San Shan, Na Gu said to Li Xian, "This cup... a pair costs a thousand. If you can meet that price, I'll sell it to you instead of him."

Li Xian nodded, "I'll take it. But with so many people around, let's discuss it inside."

Na Gu was pleased, casting a triumphant look at Gao San Shan, "What's up? You don't want it, but others do!"

Seeing his smugness, Li Xian sighed inwardly.

Buying antiques should be a private affair, but he was making a scene in public. Now that he was obviously helping to negotiate, he still didn't know how to keep a low profile...

Such a personality was bound to bring trouble later.

Character indeed determines destiny.

Li Xian left Zhou Yong outside and went inside with Na Gu.

Since he was buying a house today, Li Xian had prepared extra money and pulled out ten thousand from his pocket. After handing over the money, Na Gu carefully counted it, then happily tucked it away, and wrapped the intact cup in old newspapers. He then asked, "What about the broken pieces? Should I wrap them too?"

Li Xian smiled and shook his head. The pieces were broken into five or six fragments and seemed beyond repair.

"Do you have any more items like this?" Li Xian asked as Na Gu was about to see him off.

Hearing the question, Na Gu sighed.

"Indeed, there are more. It's the last pair."

Ah?

Li Xian's mouth twitched involuntarily.

He had hoped to buy up all the unlisted antiques, but hearing that the one in his hand was the last one, he felt a bit disappointed. "Did your ancestors' antiques all get sold off?"

Na Gu frowned, "How do you know these antiques are from my ancestors?"

Li Xian realized his slip, cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment, "I'm from Bangye."

He made up an excuse to cover the inconsistency.

Na Gu's interest was piqued when he heard Li Xian was from Bangye. "Oh! I thought so. Since you're from Bangye, you should know that these teacups and small items were left by my father. He hid them under the old house's dry well using oil paper."

Hmm?

At the mention of the house, Li Xian was stunned.

The house... was indeed a good place!

It was an ancient Qing-style building complex with over twenty rooms, magnificent gates and arches, and a garden with a rockery. Although it had once been used by the revolutionary committee and local government, after Na Gu's death, the government funded its renovation, and it became the only notable urban landmark of Bangye, a national-level impoverished county.

Li Xian knew about it because his uncle's small kiln was nearby, and he often visited during school breaks.

At that time, Li Xian was young, more interested in early romances with local girls than in the grandeur of the house. But now he thought about it, and it was clear that the rich people of that time lived exceptionally well.

Even future villas and buildings paled in comparison.

"So, is the house... for sale?"

Li Xian restrained his excitement and asked calmly.

Na Gu looked at him with confusion.

"You want to buy it?"

"Depends on the price," Li Xian replied cautiously.

"Hmm... If you're interested," Na Gu thought for a moment, extended five fingers, "Fifty thousand! Fifty thousand and it's yours!"

Hearing the price, Li Xian clapped his hands, picked up the teacup wrapped in newspaper, and said, "Great! Let's go see it!"

Without another word, he dragged Na Gu to the car and had Zhou

 Yong drive straight to Bangye.

Beilin and Bangye were not far apart. In winter, the roads were bad, and driving on small roads took about an hour. In summer, it was just over thirty minutes.

A few years later, to aid Bangye, the road between the two cities was repaired, cutting the travel time to about twenty minutes.

However, no matter how it was arranged, Bangye's status as a national-level impoverished county never changed.

On the way, Na Gu answered Li Xian's questions about the house with vague responses, promising to explain more upon arrival.

When they reached the place, Li Xian understood why Na Gu set the asking price at fifty thousand.

His memory of the late Qing residence was from middle school. But the current state was vastly different.

While the building was still structurally intact, it was missing tiles and bricks, window frames were falling apart, and the house was full of snow and debris, likely neglected for a long time.

The scene was completely different!

Fifty thousand seemed very cheap, but to restore it to its former state might require at least two to three hundred thousand...