Chapter 17: The Treasure is Given to Those with a Predestined Affinity

  Xue Xiang suddenly realized, the small tree eight years ago, eight years later is still a small tree? It's probably already lush and leafy, the upper half of the curved trunk must have been covered by dense branches and leaves. From a distance, it wouldn't look like a crooked neck at all. Xue Xiang ordered Kang Tong to get closer and observe the upper half of the trunk, and sure enough, after a few minutes, Xue Xiang found the crooked-necked tree from back then. The arm-thick small tree had grown to be as thick as a washbasin, its lush branches and scattered leaves wrapping the entire upper half into a huge ball, looking like a cloud from afar, where was there any sign of a crooked neck?

  The crooked-neck tree was about ten meters away from where Xue Xiang and Kang Tong had parked. Xue Xiang remembered that the trunk had been buried three or four meters northeast of this tree. Xue Xiang called out to Kang Tong to follow him, and the two began digging with their shovels. The soil they dug up emitted a pungent smell of mold and damp earth, but they didn't have time to cover their noses as they continued to dig. After about ten minutes, Kang Tong's shovel hit something hard, apparently striking the trunk. Xue Xiang hurried over, and together they dug it out. The trunk had not been buried very deep in the first place, and after all these years, the layer of soil on top was only a few centimeters thick. Soon, they were able to lift the trunk out of the ground.

  Xue Xiang used an iron shovel to scrape off the dirt from the box, revealing the charred bottom that had been hidden. The box was still in good condition, except for a slight yellowing of the color. It was clear that the old professor's box was not made of ordinary wood, as it had been buried in the ground for so many years without any signs of insect or rodent damage.

  Xue Xiang carefully opened the box and found inside the same painting, three books, and two porcelain vases he had seen eight years ago. The books and painting were still intact, having been protected from moisture by their shallow burial. However, one of the vases was broken, likely damaged when Xue Xiang and his companion pushed the box into the hole.

  Xue Xiang didn't have time to feel sentimental, and instead instructed Kang Tong to carefully place all the items from the box into a cloth bag, including the broken porcelain shards. After packing everything up, the two men reburied the wooden box in the hole, covering it with the original dirt they had dug out.

  They gathered their belongings and set off on the journey home.

  An hour later, Xue was sitting in Kangtong's room in a daze, he was really too shocked, he simply didn't dare to believe that what was in front of him was true. If the things in the box were leaked out, it would cause a huge stir.

  Xue Xiang and Kang Tong arrived home at 2:00 in the morning. Xiao Shi was definitely asleep, so he went back to his own room, but it wasn't convenient to check what he had obtained, so Xue Xiang took the things to Kang Tong's room.

  Kang Tong had no interest in these antiques, if it were a few guns, that would be different. He took off his clothes and got into bed, covering his head to sleep. Xue Xiang carefully placed the cloth bag on the desk, untied the knot of the bag, and pulled out the contents one by one, leaving only broken porcelain pieces behind. Xue Xiang first examined the three thread-bound books, and as soon as he opened the cover page of the first book, an envelope fell out from inside. The envelope was quite thick, and when he opened it and unfolded the letter paper, the words on it were written in pen, with a slightly yellowish tone, but the calligraphy was impressive. He started reading under the desk lamp, and as soon as he did, he became stunned.

  The owner of the letter is the old professor, and the text of the letter is also written in the form of a will. In the letter, he detailed the identity of the things in the box, how he got them, and because of the ZZ weather at that time, he did not dare or could not hand them over, plus he really liked these things, hoping to keep them by himself, this contributor who is already old, and after his death, the funeral committee of the school will hand them over to the country.

  Xue Xiang learned from the old professor's letter that he had indeed unearthed a cultural treasure trove today. The silk painting was "Night Revels of Han Xizai" by Southern Tang artist Gu Hongzhong, one of China's top ten most famous paintings, and the Palace Museum only preserved a Song Dynasty copy. Two porcelain bottles, one was Jun porcelain from the five great kilns, and the other was Tianqing glaze porcelain from Chai Kiln, which was legendary. Jun porcelain was already extremely precious, with the reputation that "having a million taels of silver is not as good as having one piece of Jun porcelain." Chai Kiln porcelain was limited to legend, and no pieces had been passed down; people only knew its characteristics - "blue like the sky, bright like a mirror, thin like paper, and sounding like a chime" - from ancient descriptions. Xue Xiang was an antique enthusiast, but he couldn't identify porcelain himself; he just knew the characteristics of these pieces from the old professor's heart. He recognized the preciousness of Chai Kiln porcelain and hastily examined the double-flower-ear bottle on the table, seeing that it was thin as paper and produced a pleasant sound when lightly tapped, matching the characteristics of Chai Kiln porcelain. For a moment, he felt relieved, thinking that the one in the cloth bag must be Jun porcelain; although it was a pity if the Jun porcelain was broken, it wasn't worth mentioning compared to the Chai Kiln porcelain.

  The above three national treasures of China are not the reason why Xue Xiang is stunned, although these things have almost become legendary, but they did not bring as much shock to Xue Xiang as those three books.

  Those three books turned out to be Cao Xueqin's handwritten manuscripts of "Dream of the Red Chamber" in 120 complete chapters!!!!!

  Xue Xiang knew that if these three books were indeed Cao Gong's complete manuscript of "Dream of the Red Chamber", it would cause a huge sensation, even in this era of criticizing everything old. Of course, Xue Xiang wasn't foolish enough to rush into the line of fire; he was just curious - didn't Cao Gong leave the last 40 chapters unfinished? How could there be a manuscript for the last 40 chapters? The old professor's letter only mentioned that the book came from the inner palace and was purchased by his father from an old eunuch during the Boxer Rebellion, and it was Cao Gong's fourth revision. Xue Xiang thought of the saying "Cao Gong revised five times and reviewed for ten years", if it wasn't finished, what was there to revise? He couldn't wait to see how the last 40 chapters were written in these three books.

  Xue Xiang carefully examined one of the books, which was wrapped in a blue hardcover. As he opened it, he saw that the first page was the title page, with only the words "Shi Tou Ji" written in calligraphy. The pages were covered with a layer of transparent skin, through which the text could be clearly seen. The book was laid out in vertical columns, and from the handwriting, it was clear that it was handwritten rather than printed. The characters were slender and angular, with a strong sense of energy emanating from them.

  After admiring the calligraphy, Xue Xiang began to examine the content of the book. He saw that the title of the chapter was "The 41st Chapter: The Tea Party at the Emerald Pavilion, The Snowy Plum Blossoms, and the Red Mansion's Disaster". The pages were filled with annotations and revision notes written in tiny characters, making the page look very crowded.

  It turned out that Xue Xiang had picked up the second book. He opened the other two books and found the third one to start reading from. Once he started reading, he became completely absorbed in the story, not noticing the passage of time until the rooster in the courtyard began to crow at dawn, finally pulling him back out of the book.

  Xue Xiang raised the table, it was already six ten. At this time, Xue Xiang's heart was filled with emotion and indignation, he had confirmed that these three books must be Cao Gong's manuscripts without a doubt. The Baoyu in the book did not take the imperial examination, the Jiafu also did not revive, it was a thorough tragedy, and the writing style, brushwork, and the first eighty returns were consistent. Even if these cannot completely prove that they are Cao Gong's creations, the biggest evidence is the poetry in the last forty returns, each one is delicate and touching, elegant and unparalleled, among which there are many excellent sentences and chapters that can be passed down through the ages, and these excellent sentences and chapters, the predecessors have not discovered, the later generations have not seen, enough to prove that this is indeed Cao Gong's original manuscript.

  Xue Xiang couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and satisfaction. These treasures, wherever they were placed, would be enough to shock the world, yet he had obtained them himself. Xue Xiang didn't intend to hand them over now, nor had he ever thought of doing so - precious objects should belong to those with virtue and good fortune, and in his heart, he naturally counted himself among the virtuous. Moreover, he knew that the future's Purple Gold Museum was not what it seemed - not only would they be blind to its value, but they would also collect fake artifacts, and even more detestable was that the museum staff would steal cultural relics from within the museum to sell on the black market. He certainly didn't trust those people with these treasures.

  Xue Xiang took a clean towel and carefully wiped the body of the porcelain bottle, after wiping it clean, he found a paper box, lined with a thick layer of cotton padding, and carefully placed the porcelain bottle inside. After putting away the porcelain bottle, Xue Xiang also found a clean bed sheet, wrapped the silk painting in the bed sheet, and put it into the paper box as well.

  Xue carefully hugged the cardboard box, took the three books and the cloth bag containing the porcelain fragments, and returned to his room. He gently pushed open the door with his foot, and after entering, he hooked the door shut with his foot again without making a sound. He stuffed the cardboard box under the bed, placed the three books in the bottom layer of the bookshelf, and carefully put the cloth bag containing the porcelain fragments behind the door, afraid that if he applied too much force, the fragments would become even more broken, as this was the startup capital for his antique business.

  After settling the babies, Xue went out to buy five catties of meat buns, three catties of fried dough sticks and a small bucket of soy milk from the Red Star cafeteria. Last time he bought three catties of buns and two catties of fried dough sticks, but he himself didn't eat enough, and this time there was an additional Kangtong, so the quantity had to be increased. After buying breakfast back, it was already 6:40, and Xiao Wan and Xiao Yi's room had some movement, while in his own room, Xiaodi seemed to still be sleeping soundly. Xue went back to his room to wake up the little guy, who twisted and turned on the bed, humming and refusing to get up. Xue coaxed him for a long time but didn't succeed. He turned around and left the room, only to return again after a while, with an additional large meat bun in hand, eating as he walked, with oil dripping from his mouth, and mumbling unclearly to Xiaodi: "They're all eating now, today's buns aren't many, I heard little treasures love sleeping, don't eat big meat buns anymore, they're happy now."

  The little guy saw Xue Xiang eating a bun, and the meaty aroma wafted into his nose from afar, immediately dispelling his sleepiness. Hearing Xue Xiang say this, he suddenly became anxious, shouting for Xue Xiang to hurry up and go to her sister's room to help her get her clothes and shoes, and after finishing, he rushed out the door and shouted "Leave some for me!" The little guy was tense, afraid that if he went late, there would be nothing left to eat. Xue Xiang helped her bring over the clothes, and the little guy wanted Xue Xiang to put on the top, while she herself wore the bottom, saying it was faster this way. Xue Xiang had no choice but to follow her instructions, after all, she was a hegemonic country with nuclear weapons - Jin Dou Er. Who knew that the two of them putting on clothes together would actually be slower? When Xue Xiang lifted her arm, the little guy was lifting her leg to put on pants, and as a result, their bodies were out of sync, almost falling onto the bed. The little guy immediately pouted, ready to launch nuclear missiles.