185: Chapter 181 Treasure House 185: Chapter 181 Treasure House Riding his bicycle, Chen Hai arrived back at West Mountain Villa by a little after six in the evening.
At the gate of the yard, there was a nondescript small sedan parked.
If there were no surprises, this car should probably belong to Ye Qingqing.
She herself hadn’t bought a car, but in Capital City, borrowing a car to drive seemed as easy as a piece of cake for her.
Ye Qingqing had kept a key to this villa.
Even when Chen Hai was not around, she could still come and go as she pleased.
Two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup, the meal was already prepared and placed on the dining table in the living room.
Ye Qingqing herself was listlessly curled up on the sofa, holding the TV remote and intermittently switching between the few channels available.
“Chen Hai, you’re back!” Seeing Chen Hai appear at the doorway of the living room, she excitedly sprang to life as if revitalized, and immediately stood up and rushed toward Chen Hai.
“Mm!” He nodded, smiled, and responded, “Since the meal is ready, why didn’t you eat first?”
“I wanted to wait for you; it’s my first time cooking.
Come, Chen Hai, you should try and see how my cooking turned out!”
She took Chen Hai by the hand to sit at the dining table, and obediently went to get some rice, handing it to Chen Hai.
Then, she directly picked up a chopstick-full of the chili stir-fried pork she had made and placed it in Chen Hai’s bowl.
“For a first attempt, to achieve this standard, our Qingqing is truly amazing!”
Seeing Ye Qingqing, who had just served him food, holding her cheeks with both hands and looking at him expectantly, Chen Hai quickly took a bite.
Then, he hastily gobbled several bites of rice and casually complimented her some more.
“If you like it, eat more!” A single compliment from Chen Hai had already made Ye Qingqing beam with joy.
She picked up the plate of chili stir-fried pork and shoveled half of it into Chen Hai’s bowl.
This act made Chen Hai slightly frown.
But he gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and shoveled the food from his bowl into his mouth vigorously.
Ye Qingqing, seeing Chen Hai eat so heartily, also grabbed a chopstick-full of the chili stir-fried pork and took a bite.
The next moment, ‘pwah,’ she couldn’t control herself, and spat out all the food.
“Chen Hai, the dish I made, I definitely added too much vinegar; it tastes terrible, how can you eat this!”
“It’s fine, I just like it sour!”
“I know, you must be trying to make me happy.
Chen Hai, stop eating.
Come on, let me treat you to a meal outside.”
“No, I really think the food you made is tasty.
If you’re not going to eat, I’ll finish it all myself!”
…
Chen Hai chuckled; he was still devouring the food with great relish.
Although the rice was a bit undercooked, the soup too salty, and the dishes a bit sour, for Chen Hai, these were still not to the point of being inedible.
While trying to persuade Chen Hai, Ye Qingqing also tried a little bit of the food she cooked.
Soon after, she could no longer eat anymore and merely looked at Chen Hai with a pained expression.
Fortunately, Chen Hai had an astonishing appetite, and it didn’t take long for him to clean up almost all of the food Ye Qingqing had cooked.
“Qingqing, there’s no more food left, what will you eat?
Shall I make something for you?” He rubbed his slightly bloated stomach as he spoke with a smile.
“I don’t want your leftovers.
I’ll just grab something on my way back!”
For reasons unknown, Ye Qingqing seemed to have misunderstood something, her face flushing as she replied to Chen Hai.
“I meant, make you a bowl of noodles!” Chen Hai paused for a moment and quickly added.
These days, morals were declining, and people were not what they used to be.
Ye Qingqing before him, once such an innocent girl, was now able to misconstrue something as simple as making a bowl of noodles.
At this, Chen Hai really felt speechless.
“I actually meant I don’t want noodles!” Her face turned even redder as she hurriedly explained.
But seeing her like this, it was clear she was somewhat trying to cover her embarrassment.
“Alright, if you don’t want noodles, then no noodles.”
Chen Hai laughed lightly without pressing her further, then after a brief pause, he continued, “That car at the entrance, it’s the one you drove here, right?”
“In a bit, I have something to do and need to go to the Glass Factory.”
“If you’re free, could you give me a ride?”
He knew Ye Qingqing would almost certainly not refuse his request, but he still felt it better to ask her first.
“Mm!
Shall we leave now, Chen Hai?”
“Better to go earlier.
But Qingqing, wait a minute, let me make a phone call first.”
With a smile, Chen Hai stood up and walked over to where the landline phone was placed in the living room.
He pulled out a business card Brother Dong from Treasure House had given him and dialed the number listed on it.
He still had the antique and two pen-holders-like jars in hand.
Additionally, a few days ago, he had successfully drawn a Danghui Talisman here in the villa.
Thinking of selling these items, Chen Hai concluded that apart from Brother Dong at Treasure House, he temporarily had no other options.
Of course, the pen-holders were another matter.
“As for the Danghui talisman, the Ye family, who had experienced the extraordinary effect of this talisman, would surely be very interested in it if they knew Chen Hai had painted another one.
However, Chen Hai did not want to do this.
After all, the relationship between him and Ye Qingqing was now that of boyfriend and girlfriend.
To draw a talisman and let his future father-in-law buy it?
Would that be appropriate?
Really, the small amount of money he was short of for buying a house was nothing to Ye Qingqing!
It was just that Chen Hai did not want to ask her for it.
Being a real man, his pride mattered; he definitely did not want to seek help from his girlfriend, Ye Qingqing, for something he could solve himself!
“Brother Dong, it’s Chen Hai.
I called you not long ago!”
“I have something here with me that I’d like to show you, are you at the store now?”
“You are?
Great, I’ll come over right now!”
…
The call to Dong Dahai connected quickly.
After learning that Dong Dahai was still at the Treasure House near the Glass Factory, Chen Hai notified him and within less than a minute, they had hung up.
After the call, Chen Hai and Ye Qingqing set out for the Glass Factory.
“Chen Hai, am I really useless, unable to even cook a good meal?”
“Not at all!
Our Qingqing is quite capable, alright?
Usually, I eat only three or five bowls of food, but today when you cooked, I ate eight!”
“Do you really like the food I make?
If so, I will cook for you every day!”
“Tomorrow, I have something to do and might stay at the dorm, not returning to West Mountain!”
“See, I knew it.
You’re just trying to cheer me up, Chen Hai.
I can’t even eat the food I cook; how could it suit your taste!”
“Who says my Qingqing is useless?
Look, this little car is driving so smoothly, much better than me.
If I was driving, I’d only be able to push the car from behind!”
“Driving is actually pretty simple, Chen Hai.
If you want to learn, I can teach you!”
“Sure, teach me to drive, and I couldn’t ask for more.
Does that mean I’ll have to call you ‘Master Qingqing’?”
“Stop it, I don’t want you to call me master!”
“What would you like me to call you then?
Surely, you don’t expect me to call you ‘wife,’ do you?”
“Chen Hai, you’re so bad, I’m ignoring you!”
…
Ye Qingqing drove while Chen Hai sat in the passenger seat.
The two chatted and joked all the way.
To find the Treasure House near the Glass Factory, which Ye Qingqing knew only roughly, would definitely take some time.
After about forty or fifty minutes, Ye Qingqing, with Chen Hai, pulled into an old street, eventually stopping outside a small building not more than three stories tall yet exuding an antique charm.
“Chen Hai, I’m not busy anyway; do you want me to accompany you inside?” Ye Qingqing asked after finding a parking spot.
“There’s no need, Qingqing.
Didn’t you miss dinner?
Find somewhere to eat first.”
“I’ll just be dealing with a small private matter at the Treasure House; it won’t take long, and I should be out quickly.”
“Isn’t your mobile phone in the car?
If there’s anything, I can just call you.”
After a slight hesitation, Chen Hai tactfully declined.
Selling an antique was not something he was worried about Qingqing finding out, but he did not want her to know that he was trying to raise money to buy a house.
“Alright then!
I’ll eat something and wait for you here,” Ye Qingqing nodded in agreement.
In front of Chen Hai, she never threw tantrums or played any tricks.
Honestly, with a personality like Qingqing’s, she could definitely be considered wife material, the perfect choice for a spouse.
After watching Chen Hai get out of the car and enter the large doors of the Treasure House, she then started the car and slowly drove towards the street.
“Excuse me, are you Mr.
Chen?” Just as Chen Hai stepped inside the Treasure House, a young woman in a cheongsam approached him.
“Yes, I am!” Chen Hai nodded.
“Mr.
Chen, good evening.
Our boss is waiting for you on the second floor.
Please follow me, I’ll take you there now,” the woman in the cheongsam said with a professional smile.
The Treasure House, inconspicuous from the outside, offered a service that felt high-end and sophisticated.
The first-floor lobby contained collections of calligraphy, ceramics, and other crafts.
Whether these crafts had been seasoned by history was something only they themselves would know.
Apart from the cheongsam-clad woman leading Chen Hai to the second floor, there were also two other young women in cheongsams in the lobby.
It appeared they were all employees here, and their cheongsams were likely their uniforms.
Under the guidance of the woman in the cheongsam, Chen Hai proceeded directly to the second floor.
The second floor featured a wooden corridor about twenty to thirty meters long.
On both sides of the corridor, there were several small rooms.
“The boss, Mr.
Chen has arrived!”
The young woman in the cheongsam led Chen Hai to one of the room doors, knocked lightly a few times, then pushed the door open smoothly.