Chapter 403 - 397: Opening Blind Boxes

The passion of youth is found in rebellion, in running headfirst into the wind.

A gaggle of kids burst out of the school gates, laughing and shouting, clutching the few cents or dimes in their hands to buy their favorite snacks and toys from the street vendors.

As for those without money, all they could do was stare wistfully.

"Su Huan, this is for you."

Yun Xiaojiu handed a roasted sausage to Su Huan, who stood beside him.

"We’re going to our maternal grandma’s house for the National Day holiday. Want to come?"

Su Huan shook his head. "I have things to do."

He was busy trying to make money. The cash he’d earned foraging for seafood with Yun Jiao and the others had made his life less difficult, but just barely.

It was still far from enough.

His grandmother was getting on in years, and the elderly get sick easily. He couldn’t just sit around and wait for something to happen.

He had to save more money for emergencies.

"Alright, then. See you after the holiday."

After saying goodbye to his friend, he went home. Yun Linhai then piloted the boat, taking the entire family out to the island.

It was time to open the "blind boxes."

Yun Xiaowu, giddy with excitement, was the first to pry open a crate. "This one’s full of porcelain, but most of it is broken!"

"Don’t toss it," Yun Xiao Ba said. "I’ll take it back and ask my master if it can be repaired."

Even if these artifacts weren’t as valuable after being repaired, they would still be great additions to their personal collection.

Thinking of the artifacts now in his possession, Yun Xiao Ba started wanting a collection room of his own, just like Jiaojiao.

’Jiaojiao just needs to secure this island and she can build one. But what about me? My room is already overflowing.’

’What a sweet problem to have.’

"What’s this?"

Yun Jiao pulled something from a small, square box. The moment Yun Xiao Ba saw it, his eyes widened in shock.

"Is that... a Jade Seal?!"

A Jade Seal was something exclusively used by an Emperor.

The most famous jade seal in history was the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, belonging to Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Unfortunately, that seal was lost long ago, and no one knows its whereabouts.

While this Jade Seal wasn’t the one belonging to the First Emperor, it was still used by an Emperor.

It was a large, flawless piece of Lantian Jade, carved with several lifelike dragons.

It felt heavy and substantial in their hands.

"Something used by an Emperor... This must be an incredible treasure."

Yun Linhe and the others crowded around the Jade Seal, admiring it. "It’s truly beautiful."

"Something like this has to be handed over to the state, right?"

Yun Xiao Ba nodded. "We have to. Our family can’t hold onto something like this."

Now that he was running in antiques circles with his master, he knew which items absolutely had to be turned over to the government.

"Then let’s hand it over."

"We have to turn in some of it anyway. If we hand over the things we aren’t allowed to keep, it’ll make things easier for us the next time we salvage a wreck."

As for how much it was worth, they didn’t care.

Weren’t those huge chests of gold valuable enough?

With this much money, they were more than content.

And that wasn’t even counting all the things they were allowed to keep.

And so, everyone went back to unboxing.

"Whoa, there’s a whole opera costume in here!"

After another crate was opened, an incredibly ornate opera costume was revealed.

Like the Qing Dynasty garments from before, this costume was also perfectly preserved. It was a complete, heavily embroidered outfit for the role of an imperial consort.

It was just as stunning as the last outfit.

The headdress was made with the traditional kingfisher feather inlay technique, and the pearls on it were all real!

Moreover, the embroidery on the robes looked similar to the other set, and the fabric felt exquisite to the touch.

Even after all this time, the costume still looked absolutely dazzling.

"Good heavens, who was meant to wear a costume like this?"

Yun Xiaojiu’s eyes shone with a special light as he gazed at the opera costume.

Since starting his studies with his teacher, he had grown to love these kinds of things.

"Jiaojiao, could I have this costume? I’ll pay you back when I grow up and start earning money."

He was absolutely in love with it.

Yun Jiao was magnanimous. "You don’t need to pay me. It’s a gift for you, Brother Nine."

"I was planning on giving you all gifts anyway. Everyone can pick something they like from what we salvaged."

Yun Jiao already had one beautiful outfit, and besides, it was the pearls and gemstones that she truly loved.

"Jiaojiao, you’re the best!"

The happiest of all was Yun Xiao Ba. He had already acquired a good number of antique porcelain pieces, even if they were all styles that Yun Jiao disliked.

They were either too gaudy or too plain for her taste.

But for him, it was a different story.

Even his master would be envious of those porcelain pieces.

"Let’s pack the costume away for now and get to the next crate."

This feeling of opening one "blind box" after another was just too thrilling.

By the time night fell, they still hadn’t finished unpacking everything.

Using flashlights, they moved a portion of the valuable items they’d unboxed onto the boat—especially the items that had to be turned over to the state.

The bulk of the remaining items was hidden on the island, waiting for a treasure room to be built so Yun Jiao could store them properly.

Some of it was completely worthless.

For instance, there were tea leaves, as well as paper and fabric that were now completely ruined.

Some crates didn’t contain antiques, but clothes—just the regular garments worn by the ship’s crew.

There was also tableware with no research value—the simple dishes the crew had used for their meals.

Nevertheless, they took all the tableware with them.

"We can still use these if we wash them! They’re much nicer than the rustic bowls we have at home. We could even sell them for a little money."

’Whoever could afford to transport a whole ship’s worth of goods back then must have been a European noble, at the very least.’

The tableware they used would naturally be high-end and classy, and it was certainly much nicer than what their family owned.

They returned home under the cover of darkness and put everything away in its proper place.

Shen Yunlian rubbed her aching back and looked around at the rooms, now crammed with things.

"This house used to feel so big," she said. "Why does it feel so much smaller all of a sudden?"

Yun Linhai replied, "What do you think? It’s because the house is overflowing with stuff."

"Dad," said Yun Xiao Ba, "I need an empty room. My own room is so full I can’t fit anything else."

Yun Linhe said, "We still have two guest rooms. We can clear one out for you. Just make sure you keep the door locked. When relatives bring their kids over for the holidays, you’ll have nowhere to turn if they break one of your treasures."

The key thing is, this stuff is priceless. Who could possibly afford to pay for it?

Yun Xiao Ba exclaimed happily, "I will!"

"Mom," said Yun Xiaojiu, "I want an empty room to practice my dancing, too."

He currently had to practice his dancing and vocal exercises in the courtyard.

Very few boys studied dance. In a rural village like theirs, you hardly ever saw even the girls learning to dance or sing. So when word got out that Yun Xiaojiu was taking dance lessons, he became the talk of the village for days.

Every day when he practiced his vocal scales and dance routines in the courtyard, a crowd of villagers would gather to gawk at the novelty of it all, pointing and whispering amongst themselves.

He didn’t like being gawked at.

Yun Linhai sighed. "We really are running out of rooms in this house!"

Mr. Yun suggested, "Why don’t we buy that adjacent plot of land to the east? We can build a few more rooms for the children, and they can do whatever they please."

It wasn’t as if they were short on money anymore, after all.

The children’s faces lit up at once, and they started clamoring for their own rooms too.

Yun Jiao was doing her own calculations. ’I should have enough money now to buy the usage rights to that island.’

’Once I secure the island, I’ll build my own huge house, with an even huger treasure vault. After all, I have more treasures than anyone else in the family.’

*Puffs out chest proudly.*