Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 321: A Trove of Treasures

At this hour, the weather was scorching hot, and the roads were almost deserted, with barely a soul in sight. Naturally, no one noticed them pushing a three-wheeled cart loaded with items. Moreover, they had done some camouflage work, making it appear as if they were transporting furniture.

After parking the cart, they were surprised to see Su Yijia standing in the living room. "Hello, sister-in-law," they quickly greeted her.

"Hello! Would you like some green bean soup?" Su Yijia offered, heading into the kitchen to bring out the green bean soup she had prepared earlier that noon. Although it had only been chilled for half an hour, it was still refreshingly cool.

Ming Xinlu and the others thanked her and gulped down the soup in one go, feeling completely revived afterward. Once they had finished the pot of soup, the three of them began unloading the items from the cart.

"Boss, this time we only went through the villages in our city and the neighboring one. We bought ordinary flower pots, plates, and vases for five yuan each, paintings for ten, and larger items for twenty. Smaller items like teacups and snuff bottles were priced at two to three yuan each. Jewelry made of jade or agate was more expensive, around thirty yuan per piece. These items are highly valued, and many people consider them heirlooms, so they won’t sell them unless absolutely necessary," Ming Xinlu explained.

Su Yijia crouched down and began examining each item carefully. The items were quite varied, including rare items like Chrysanthemum Eight-Petal Pots, Bamboo-Patterned Cylindrical Pots, and paintings like "Endless Mountains and Green" and "Long-Enduring Letter." These were all incredibly valuable pieces. Some of them could only be seen in the Haigang City Museum in the future.

However, while she could express her excitement openly in front of Qin Kaize, she had to maintain a composed appearance in front of the three others, pretending to be only somewhat interested.

Ancient jade is quite different from the modern jade that people usually favor. The most valuable piece Ming Xinlu had collected this time was a three-piece white jade and gold bracelet set, dating back about 1,400 years. The jade was white and smooth but lacked luster. If it weren’t for its age, Su Yijia would have had no interest in it.

But she did take a liking to items like the Tortoise Feast Engraved Cup and the Double Dragon Openwork Pendant. These items had more cultural significance than anything else.

After going through the older artifacts, she finally looked at the jewelry from fifty or sixty years ago. These pieces were much more to her taste, and any woman could see their beauty without any professional knowledge. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Kaize, look at this. Isn’t it beautiful?" Su Yijia held up a jade peony brooch for him to see. The brooch was only half the size of her palm. The silver base was decorated with small diamonds, and the center featured a small cluster of dark green jade petals, combining a sense of elegance with a touch of modernity. She had seen similar items at auction before, usually priced around 900,000 yuan. But since there had been better items at that auction, she hadn’t paid much attention to brooches like this one. However, getting something worth 900,000 for just 30 yuan now was definitely worth it.

As she continued to dig through the items, she found a small packet wrapped in a handkerchief. When she unwrapped it, she discovered a string of emerald green jade beads that were incredibly transparent. The necklace had 27 jade beads, each about 15 to 16 millimeters in diameter, with a two-carat diamond clasp. The length was perfect, resting just above the collarbone.

Eight million yuan!!!

This necklace was worth eight million yuan!!!

Su Yijia let out a silent scream of excitement in her mind.

"It seems sister-in-law prefers these kinds of accessories," Ming Xinlu cautiously remarked.

"She likes them all," Qin Kaize replied, knowing well that his little wife was thrilled with the older items, even though she tried to hide it.

After carefully placing everything back in its original spot, Su Yijia had Qin Kaize help her up, then shyly turned to Ming Xinlu and the others. "Yes, I do like them all."

These items were far more valuable than she had initially imagined.

"Were there any troubles while you were collecting these items?" Qin Kaize asked, holding Su Yijia’s hand and wiping the dust off her fingers with a damp towel.

Ming Xinlu shook his head but looked a bit regretful. "No real trouble, but the market is getting more competitive. The government-run antique shops, which used to sit back and wait for sellers, have started going door-to-door in the villages. Prices have gone up, and the good items are getting snatched up quickly. Next time, we should target places where there are no antique shops and take the train there to gather more."

He had heard from villagers that the antique shop workers had bought a filial piety jade bowl for just one yuan, and the thought of it pained him.

"What’s an antique shop?" Su Yijia asked curiously.

Did sister-in-law really not know about antique shops?

Ming Xinlu and the other two were shocked and stared at Su Yijia.

"It’s a place where people can legally sell old items. Many larger cities have them, and they’ve been around for over a decade. They’re small shops, so it’s understandable that not everyone knows about them. Old items can only be legally sold to these shops; otherwise, it’s against the law," Qin Kaize explained.

"666, so there really are such shops?" Su Yijia could hardly believe her ears.

[Yes! In the real world you’re in, these shops existed in the sixties, seventies, and eighties. Families with old items could only sell them to these shops, as it was the only legal way. Otherwise, it was illegal,]666 confirmed.

Well, she really had been too naive. Many people must have sold their old items to these shops when they could no longer make ends meet.

Su Yijia sighed quietly to herself.

"Don’t worry. There aren’t many of these shops nationwide, and there are still plenty of cities to explore. We can take our time collecting," Qin Kaize said softly, his gaze resting on her slightly pouted lips.

Ming Xinlu and the others, of course, had no objections. They would go wherever the boss told them to.

"Why don’t you pick something you like from these items? Each of you can take two pieces as a token of appreciation for your hard work," Su Yijia offered generously, gesturing towards the pile of old objects and inviting Ming Xinlu and the others to choose.

She had carefully examined all the items and found that they were all genuine, without even a single ancient counterfeit. Ming Xinlu, the man before her, was a true expert. Since Qin Kaize trusted him to help with the collection, he wouldn’t betray them or hide anything for himself.

However, these old items were worth a lot of money, and she didn’t want to take all the benefits for herself, as it might strain their friendships.