Yingzi was very pretty. After she carefully washed and changed into a clean set of clothes, her fair skin and beautiful features were even more apparent, and her figure was also highlighted, making Xu Lang's eyes light up. He exclaimed that he had struck gold.
Such a girl would be considered a rare beauty even in a big city. Apart from her slightly fiery temper, she was practically the dream wife of any man. In a sense, a girl like Yingzi would be a more suitable wife than Shirley Yang.
Even though Yingzi had a bit of a temper, she was very obedient to Xu Lang, which was extremely important.
On their way back, Xu Lang would cultivate whenever he had the opportunity, continuously refining and absorbing spiritual energy to fill his dantian. Once his dantian was full of spiritual energy, he could attempt to compress it into a liquid state, which would elevate him to the Foundation Establishment stage.
They returned to the county town in the evening. The group found a clean inn to stay in, with Yingzi taking a separate room next door.
Lao Hu chuckled and said, "Yingzi is a pretty girl. You've hit the jackpot, kid. When are you planning to settle down?"
Xu Lang hesitated slightly and replied, "I can't give her any promises. I'm destined to never stop moving forward in my life. In fact, I won't even get married in this lifetime. So, I haven't considered settling down."
The Fat Man asked, "What do you mean? A girl followed you all this way, and you won't even give her a name? What you're saying is not an excuse at all. Is getting married directly related to you wandering around all the time?"
Xu Lang said calmly, "I do like Yingzi, that's true. But I know what kind of person I am. I'm not a devoted good man at all. Yingzi might not be happy following me, but it's her choice. Of course, I'll respect it."
The Fat Man urged, "You're so lucky but you don't even know it! Yingzi is such a great girl. She's got the looks and the figure. I can't understand how you're thinking."
Xu Lang laughed, "We're good brothers. I'll just say it straight. I don't have many aspirations, but beautiful women are definitely one of them. I definitely like Yingzi, but I also like other pretty girls. In simple terms, I'm a playboy. You get me now, right?"
Hearing Xu Lang's explanation, the two were speechless. They were even a little angry.
Lao Hu directly cursed, "I understand your damn father! You've always been shameless since you were a kid. I didn't expect you to be even more shameless when you grew up. If I were your dad, I would definitely beat you to death with a belt."
Xu Lang chuckled and replied, "Ten years ago, you said up on that tree that I would be a bachelor later. Now, I'll make sure to find at least ten girlfriends to show you two. Wait a minute, Lao Hu, your father? Whose father are you talking about?"
This time, the group didn't choose to take the train. Instead, they used their remaining money to buy some new clothes and a large trunk to store the stuff they had acquired. They carefully packed everything to prevent damage during the journey.
They were also worried about being investigated if they couldn't explain the source of the items, even though the likelihood of that happening was very low in this era.
So, they decided to travel back to the capital without taking the train. This made their journey last over ten days.
Upon returning to Panjia Garden, the Fat Man finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had kept the trunk with him the whole time.
In the Fat Man's words, his life could be lost, but his treasure couldn't be damaged.
He was extremely careful, and everyone felt reassured with him holding the trunk. Now, they just had to see what the value of the items was.
Back in Panjia Garden, they didn't even go home. They headed straight for Da Jin Ya's antique shop.
Seeing the four of them enter, Da Jin Ya, who had been sitting there, immediately stood up and greeted them with a smile, "Oh, you gentlemen are here! I thought the magpies were singing for no reason this morning. Turns out it was because of distinguished guests coming to visit!"
The Fat Man chuckled, "Golden Tooth, you're too kind. We're just doing a little bit of business here and there, nothing compared to you, Golden Tooth."
Da Jin Ya smiled and said, "Fat Man, please don't put yourself down. You guys are the real bosses. Old Jin is in awe of you all. I'll show you something first. I have to treat you to a welcome feast today, no matter what."
As he spoke, Da Jin Ya took out a newspaper and handed it over, "Gentlemen, the whole country knows about this now!"
The large headline caught their attention: "Report on the Discovery of a Japanese Army Fortress at Niu Xin Mountain".
Xu Lang glanced at the date and chuckled, "It's a few days later than when we left. They must have submitted the report after they retrieved everything. The old village chief is still the same. We'll talk about the meal later. I have something I need you to look at, Golden Tooth."
Lao Hu had always been dissatisfied, so he had kept the two jade pieces in his pocket. He took them out and said, "Golden Tooth, take a look at these two jades."
Lao Hu also wanted to see if the value of these two pieces of jade matched what Xu Lang had said: that they were the least valuable among all their finds.
Da Jin Ya took the jade pieces in his hand and examined them carefully. He even licked them, which made the corners of everyone's mouths twitch.
After a while, Da Jin Ya said, "I know your guys' temperaments. I'll just be frank. The quality of this pair of jade is average, but they're a pair, so they're worth something. Gentlemen, you must have acquired these from the Jin Dynasty general's tomb, right?"
Lao Hu gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Golden Tooth, you have sharp eyes."
Da Jin Ya continued, "This moth is a symbol of ancient warriors. It represents the spirit of a moth to a flame, going forward bravely, knowing that it will die but never retreating. This moth-to-flame spirit was highly revered by the ancients. They would use this kind of ornament to reward those who had earned military merit. It was a great honor."
"Gentlemen, if you trust me, leave the items with me. I'll find a suitable buyer. Let me give you a heads-up. In China, the price of this pair of jade should be between four to five thousand. If I find a good buyer, six thousand is possible."
"The price would definitely be higher abroad, but in China, that's about it. Honestly, this kind of thing, if someone likes it, the price will definitely be higher. In the antiques business, genuine good stuff doesn't have a set price. Even if there's a price tag, it's usually inflated."
Lao Hu nodded, this was roughly what Xu Lang had said earlier.
Da Jin Ya slapped his thigh and laughed, "I love your guys' straightforwardness! I was wrong about our earlier conflict. From now on, we're brothers. No more words. Just rely on me in the future, gentlemen."
The Fat Man immediately laughed after hearing the price of the jade, "I'm not bragging, Fat Man here, but our skills are second to none in the whole world. We got a lot of good stuff this time, so Golden Tooth needs to take a good look."
"We brought back a lot of things from the Red-Haired Big 粽子. It was worth all the trouble we went through fighting him for three hundred rounds."
"We brought back all the things in this trunk. There's the mask that the Big 粽子 wore on his face and some porcelain. Golden Tooth, you need to take a good look."
Three hundred rounds, my ass! Xu Lang listened to the Fat Man's serious bragging. Seeing his smug look, he didn't correct him. Mentioning the Red-Haired Monster was just to add a bit of mystery.
Da Jin Ya immediately became excited and said excitedly, "My Fat Man, show me these good things now!"
As he spoke, Da Jin Ya quickly stepped forward and locked the door. Then, he stared at the Fat Man as he slowly opened the trunk. Immediately, he was speechless with shock. His mouth was so wide open that it could probably fit a light bulb.