Beneath Ye Tian's feet lay an ancient metal sword box, about a meter and a half long. When he lifted it, it felt at least a hundred catties heavy! The surface of the sword box was covered in extremely intricate patterns, resembling some kind of runes.
Setting the sword box aside, he examined the other chests. Ye Tian opened one, revealing twenty large volumes of books stacked inside. He looked closely and saw they were inscribed with "Yongle Encyclopedia," volumes three thousand seven hundred and twenty!
Yongle Encyclopedia! Ye Tian was taken aback for a moment, then took out one volume. This book was half a meter long and over thirty centimeters wide. When opened, it was filled with extremely neat brushstrokes, alternating between black and red.
He closed the chest and opened the second one. This chest contained over a dozen scrolls of calligraphy and paintings. He unrolled one, a portrait.
Ye Tian was not an expert in this field, but he recognized the characters on it. It bore seals such as "Shi Qu Bao Ji" and "Qianlong Imperial Collection Treasure."
He then searched for it on his phone and was astonished. It turned out that the Shi Qu Bao Ji was a monumental work compiled under the order of Emperor Qianlong, containing tens of thousands of collected items. It documented the calligraphy and paintings collected by the Qing imperial household throughout history, divided into nine categories: scrolls, hanging scrolls, and albums. They were further organized by their place of collection, such as the Hall of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the Hall of Three Rarities, the Hall of Chonghua, and the Imperial Study.
Throughout history, the artworks listed in the catalog have been extremely valuable, with many pieces achieving auction totals exceeding one hundred million, and some even reaching billions!
Ye Tian quietly opened the second scroll of calligraphy and painting. Indeed, it was also a work included in the Shi Qu Bao Ji, and a high-quality one at that!
Finally, he counted them. The chest contained thirty-seven pieces of calligraphy and painting, all of them cataloged items.
He re-covered the chest and opened the third one. This chest was not large. Upon opening it, he found it filled entirely with calligraphy samples! It contained samples from the most famous calligraphers of the past few thousand years, totaling fifty-two sheets, each separated by Xuan paper wrapping.
Ye Tian did not touch the other chests. There were fourteen chests in total, and without looking, he knew that the contents of each were priceless.
He silently turned, picked up the sword box, and leaped to the ground. Then, he used a heavy stone slab to re-cover the entrance to the basement.
Once on the ground, he continued to examine the sword box, trying to open it. However, the surface of the sword box was very smooth, and he couldn't find any mechanism to open it.
At that moment, Zhang Jiliang pushed the door open and said, "Boss, I found something!"
Ye Tian: "What did you find?"
Zhang Jiliang: "In the well, Boss, come with me!"
He led Ye Tian to an ancient well. A pulley was mounted above the well, with a wooden bucket hanging from it.
Zhang Jiliang pointed to the bottom of the well and said, "Boss, when I saw this well, I felt it was very familiar. When I stood at the wellhead, a flash of inspiration struck me, and I knew there was something in this well, and it was something very important!"
Ye Tian asked, "Is it stronger than your last feeling?"
Zhang Jiliang nodded vigorously, "Ten times stronger! And I'm sure that thing is hidden on the well wall."
Ye Tian was not in a hurry to go down and search for the item. He asked Zhang Jiliang, "Do you know why you have these memories?"
Zhang Jiliang paused, then shook his head, "I'm not sure. Perhaps my past life lived here?"
Ye Tian took out a cigarette and offered one to Zhang Jiliang. He also lit one and said, "Jiliang, if I told you that these things in your memory are priceless, what would you think?"
Zhang Jiliang smiled, "What could I think? This house was bought by you, Boss. If you hadn't bought it, I wouldn't even have had the chance to come here again."
He took a drag from his cigarette, "Boss, don't worry. I, Zhang Jiliang, live with clarity. Even if you obtained something because of me, it has nothing to do with me, and I won't be envious."
Ye Tian smiled, "It's your contribution after all. In this life, I will bestow fortune upon you!"
Zhang Jiliang scratched his head and chuckled, "Boss, are you going to give me a raise?"
Ye Tian: "Now that you mention it, it reminds me. From now on, I will transfer two million to your account every month."
Zhang Jiliang almost fell into the well, "Ah? Two million!"