After blurting out a sentence, Lin Ying immediately stopped.
She couldn't help but wonder how the "base" had appeared here.
Lin Ying clearly remembered seeing a photo of the "base" in the documents her father kept, and she was sure she hadn't misremembered.
This was the Stone Boqiong, known as one of the "Eight National Treasures and Ten Mysteries" in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
It was the "base" associated with the Stone Boqiong.
The base was circular, resembling a jade disk, made of dark green jade.
There was a circular hole in the center. On both sides of the hole, the jade disk was carved with Bagua diagrams, and the edges featured cloud patterns.
It combined thick and thin incised lines, with the thick lines pressed to create a raised effect, similar to relief, while the thin lines were delicate and flowing.
The earliest discoverer of this "base" was Li Chonglou's father. After his father passed away, the object also disappeared. She never expected to see it here.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Aunt Gao, please continue."
Lin Ying looked up and saw Aunt Gao and Uncle Cheng looking at her with surprise.
She apologized for her reaction.
Aunt Gao paused slightly and then continued narrating Yan Bin's story.
The reason she remembered Yan Bin so vividly among all the orphans.
It was also because of this jade disk.
Due to her husband's knowledge of antiques, she had learned a lot over the years from being exposed to it.
When she saw this object wrapped in the bedding of the child, she felt it was no ordinary item.
She also became curious about Yan Bin's origins.
And this could also be an important item for understanding the child Yan Bin's background.
So she decided to have her husband examine it to find out what it was.
However, at that time, very few people knew about the Stone Boqiong in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
Even to this day, there is no accurate answer as to what the Stone Boqiong is or what its purpose is.
The explanations for the Stone Boqiong are also varied, making it an unsolved mystery.
And the "base" of the Stone Boqiong is even less known.
After Uncle Cheng consulted numerous documents and based on its jade material, characteristics, and carving techniques, he could only determine the approximate period to which the "base" belonged.
Beyond the jade itself and its historical value, nothing else was discovered.
The answer he received from Uncle Cheng was that it was an ancient green jade.
Director Gao knew the value of this ancient green jade, but it was the child's personal property.
Since the child was young, during a meeting of the orphanage's senior management, it was unanimously decided that the orphanage would pay for a safe deposit box at the bank to store the jade for a long period, along with a written description signed and sealed by multiple people.
It was decided that when the child turned eighteen, they would inform him of the matter in detail and return it.
Yan Bin was adopted by Li Hanlong when he was five years old. Aunt Gao was away on a business trip at the time, and the adoption was handled entirely by the director of the orphanage.
When Aunt Gao reviewed the adoption files, due to the uniqueness of the green jade, she paid special attention to the detailed information of the adoptive father, Li Hanlong.
She also personally conducted regular follow-ups and often kept in touch with Yan Bin.
It wasn't until Yan Bin reached the age of eighteen and was legally independent that he could retrieve the green jade and the original documents without the company of his adoptive guardian. In the presence of the orphanage's senior management, it was handed over to Yan Bin.
His mysterious origins remained unsolved for a period, and because her husband's appraisal only identified it as ancient green jade, it gradually faded from attention.
The reason for not notifying the adoptive guardian, Li Hanlong, was also for Yan Bin's personal safety.
After all, the green jade was valuable, and it was an adoptive relationship. What Yan Bin did with it after it was handed over was his private matter.
It had been nearly ten years since the green jade was handed over to Yan Bin, and contact with Yan Bin had gradually become less frequent.
"This is Yan Bin's phone number. Perhaps you can learn about Li Hanlong through him."
Saying this, Aunt Gao handed Lin Ying a slip of paper with a phone number.
"Base? What does that mean, what base?"
Lin Ying's shocked reaction upon seeing the picture, and her unthinking exclamation of "base," greatly piqued Uncle Cheng's curiosity. Before this, even Lin Ying had seen this green jade.
After Aunt Gao finished speaking, he eagerly pressed Lin Ying for details.
After all, in his understanding from over twenty years ago, it was merely a jade disk with a long history.
Now, there were other research findings beyond its intrinsic nature.
Furthermore, Uncle Cheng and Lin Ying's father, Lin Zhendong, were friends, and he knew that Lin Zhendong was an expert in this field.
Yet, he had never heard Lin Zhendong mention it.
"I only saw pictures of this object from my father; I never saw the actual item."
Lin Ying briefly told Uncle Cheng that she also learned from her father that this jade disk had some connection to the Stone Boqiong. She didn't know the specific nature of the connection.
The name "base" was a temporary designation based on this presumed connection.
Uncle Cheng was deeply shaken when he heard from Lin Ying that the jade disk was somehow related to the Stone Boqiong, which looked like a dice.
Seeing that no further information could be obtained, he didn't press further and nodded thoughtfully.
Although Lin Ying's account was somewhat reserved and not entirely revealed, it was a truthful narration.
She only knew that the jade disk was very important but didn't know its exact use.
Moreover, even her father's research on it was quite limited.
At this moment, with the information she currently possessed, Lin Ying's mind began to race.
Soon, she formed a bold guess about Li Hanlong adopting Yan Bin, and she was almost certain that the adoption was deliberate and had a purpose.
And Li Hanlong's use of controlling his junior brother, Li Chonglou, as a means to threaten her father, was very likely related to the Stone Boqiong and this "base."
If she hadn't been away from Qin Province at the time, Li Hanlong would probably have targeted her to threaten her father.
However, one point was very important: based on Li Hanlong's current actions, Yan Bin had not informed Li Hanlong after retrieving this ancient green jade.
At present, Uncle Cheng had complete basic information about Li Hanlong.
"Uncle Cheng, Aunt Gao, thank you for the information."
"I'll be heading back now and will inform my father as soon as possible."
Lin Ying packed her documents, and with Aunt Gao's permission, she also took Yan Bin's photo. She thanked them politely and left.
The harvest from Yong'an this time was substantial. Although there was still no trace of Li Chonglou's whereabouts.
However, by following the basic family address and other information about Li Hanlong, as well as the clues about his adopted son Yan Bin, she was confident that results would come soon.
More importantly, she hadn't expected the "base," which had been missing for decades, to appear here.
This exciting news had to be conveyed to her father as soon as possible. Thinking of this, she quickened her pace and walked out of the Saiwei residential complex.