“Uncle Qiu, what's going on?”
Uncle Qiu Wan, still tightly gripping the other end of the package, looked as if he had found a savior upon seeing Li Chonglou. He quickly said, “Little Li, call the police quickly. They’re trying to snatch my ancestral seal.”
Was that large bag of items the seal?
Li Chonglou was stunned for a moment, then coldly yelled at the three young men, “Scram!”
His imposing presence was too much for these greenhorns who had never seen the world. The two pulling on the package instinctively let go, and the three of them stumbled backward in a panic.
Li Chonglou thought they would be sensible and leave, but unexpectedly, after he helped Uncle Qiu Wan pick up the items, the three young men ran back.
Uncle Qiu Wan and Aunt Qiu quickly shielded the package behind them, also positioning themselves behind Li Chonglou.
“What else do you want?”
His question was laced with a strong threat. These three youngsters were likely only sixteen or seventeen years old, and their panic was clearly visible on their faces.
The one in the middle, pushed forward by his companions, took a step and stammered, “Who are you? We, we are, who are we?”
“Brother Du Yun!”
“Oh, right. We’re Brother Du Yun’s people. Why are you helping him?”
Li Chonglou’s brow furrowed deeply. Du Yun, wasn’t that Du Tian’s grandson’s name? Was this related to him?
Although he didn't know the details, he believed that the items belonged to Uncle Qiu Wan, and that Uncle Qiu Wan wouldn't lie to him.
With this thought, Li Chonglou glared at them and said, “These things belong to someone else. Why are you trying to snatch them?”
The young man speaking was momentarily speechless. Another one chimed in, “What do you know? Uncle Qiu’s things aren't even wanted by people who collect trash, but Brother Du Yun is willing to pay a high price for them!”
“Exactly! We're not not paying. Selling them later for a good price is better than stacking them at home as decoration, isn't it?”
Li Chonglou felt both angry and speechless. He questioned, “These are someone else’s things. What business is it of yours what they do with them?”
“This…”
The three were clearly in the wrong. Li Chonglou also realized that these three weren't inherently bad people; they were obviously acting under someone else's orders.
“So someone told you to snatch them?”
The three young men’s expressions immediately changed, but in the depths of their eyes, Li Chonglou saw a flicker of joy.
“We didn’t!”
The three of them dropped this sentence and quickly left, leaving Li Chonglou utterly confused.
This was too bizarre.
But fortunately, the items were still there. Li Chonglou turned to look at Uncle Qiu Wan and his wife. The latter finally reacted, looking grateful. “Little Li, I really thank you this time. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to explain myself to my ancestors after I die.”
As Uncle Qiu Wan spoke, he actually started to cry and then suddenly knelt down. Li Chonglou quickly helped him up.
“Uncle Qiu, you don’t have to do this. It’s just a small favor.”
Just as he helped him up, Aunt Qiu beside them also knelt down. Looking at these two honest people, Li Chonglou spent a long time coaxing them to stand up.
Their simple sincerity gave him a long-lost sense of comfort. Li Chonglou thought for a moment, deciding it was best to get to the bottom of things.
“Uncle Qiu, has this kind of thing happened before?”
Just as Uncle Qiu Wan was about to answer, Aunt Qiu patted his shoulder, “Why don’t you invite Little Li in for a meal first?”
“Ah, yes, yes, let’s eat first. We’ve got everything ready.”
Uncle Qiu Wan clapped his hands and warmly invited him again. Li Chonglou could only nod.
After all three were seated, Li Chonglou brought the topic back.
Uncle Qiu Wan shook his head and said, “We are all law-abiding people. How could we provoke them? Actually, this is my fault too.”
Uncle Qiu Wan took out some fine wine he had treasured for years, poured a glass for Li Chonglou, and then refilled his own. Aunt Qiu, seeing this, seemed hesitant to speak, but finally just sighed.
“What happened?”
Uncle Qiu Wan slowly recounted, “Half a month ago, my son needed to buy a better computer for college and also sign up for a course, which cost over thirty thousand yuan.”
“You know, people like us who usually make a living by growing things and selling them, where could we suddenly get that much money? I thought about it, and the only thing I could think of were these seals left by my ancestors.”
Uncle Qiu Wan sighed deeply again at this point.
“I thought if these things really had value, selling them would be like my ancestors helping me out. But who knew they were just a bunch of fakes? They weren't worth selling, so I thought I'd just keep them as collectibles.”
Li Chonglou asked in confusion, “Then didn't those people just now say someone was willing to pay a high price for them?”
Uncle Qiu Wan’s attitude before was not like this; he was even murmuring apologies to his ancestors. Wasn't this a contradiction?
“It happened later, but I had already found a way to make money, so of course I wasn't willing.”
Uncle Qiu Wan shook his head, whether from the alcohol or something else, he seemed exceptionally resolute at this moment.
Then, through his explanation, Li Chonglou finally understood the whole story.
As Uncle Qiu Wan said, he had indeed considered selling these items to raise money for his son’s tuition. But after learning that the things left by his ancestors were just fakes, he had to find another way.
Then, Du Yun, Du Tian’s grandson, approached him wanting to buy them. By then, Uncle Qiu Wan had already found an out-of-town merchant who was willing to buy the produce from his shed at a slightly lower price than the market rate.
In other words, he no longer had to worry about money for the time being.
This was why he acted so contradictorily.
After listening, Li Chonglou asked with some curiosity, “Didn’t you say you had an expert appraise them, and they were just worthless fakes? Why would he be willing to pay a high price to acquire them?”
“I did look into that. Old Du’s grandson seems to have always been collecting various replica items; he has a particular fondness for these things.”
Hearing this, Li Chonglou’s brow furrowed slightly. This habit reminded him of his own old profession.
Generally, only people in the antique business would be interested in such peculiar items. However, there was one point he couldn't quite grasp.
People in this line of business are always looking for extra value, which means looking for foresight. If the other party was truly targeting this area, doesn't that mean these fakes…
Li Chonglou’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Uncle Qiu, can you let me see those seals of yours?”
“Now?”
Uncle Qiu Wan didn’t refuse. Li Chonglou nodded directly.
Seeing this, Uncle Qiu Wan had no choice but to stop eating and go to the inner room, pulling out the package from before.
Unwrapping the package, Uncle Qiu Wan took out a seal about the size of a palm.
Li Chonglou immediately leaned forward and took the so-called ancestral treasure from Uncle Qiu Wan.
It was a local official’s seal from before the Song Dynasty. Both in style and appearance, it was very similar. However, the feel clearly indicated it was a modern item.
It took Li Chonglou less than three seconds to recognize that this was definitely a fake, and one crafted by a modern artisan.