I changed the world.

"Uncle Baoping! It's been a while since I last saw you, you look even younger." As Zhang Jing entered the shop, he smiled and bowed to Mr. Zheng Han, who was coming to greet him.

"Haha, Hongjian, I love to hear you say that. Come, sit down."

"Where's Qiuqiu? He's not here today?"

"Let him stay at his maternal grandma's house for a while, so I can rest a bit. Otherwise, I really can't take it all the time," the old man said with a smile as he picked up the tea tray and started brewing tea.

"That's true, kids are always naughty and hard to take care of." Although Zhang Jing is not married in this life, he has experience in raising children in his previous life and is no stranger to this.

"That's right. When they're around, it's tiring to manage them, but when they're not around, you start to miss them."

The old man and the young man chatted about parenting for a while, and surprisingly, it was quite harmonious. After a while, they gradually turned the topic to the main subject. According to the old man, the deceased clan leader, Li Gong, whose given name was Zongyun, was a well-known collector in the field. His main focus was on jade artifacts from the Qi and Liang dynasties. He also had some pieces from the Jian pottery period, but not many.

"As for the price, since I'm in a hurry to sell, it should be a bit lower than the market price. If you like it, just buy it. If you don't find one you're satisfied with, don't force yourself to buy it," the old man advised in his final words.

Zhang Jing readily agreed.

........................

"Wow! This car is nice."

Because they had bought a new car, the two of them didn't need to take a taxi. Instead, they rode in Zhang Jing's car directly to the destination. Upon seeing Zhang Jing's new car, the old gentleman patted the car door and praised it.

"It's newly bought, and it's driving quite well," Zhang Jing said with a smile.

After a brief chat about cars, the two got into the car, and guided by the old gentleman, the car headed towards the east of the city.

About half an hour later, the car drove out of the congested city. On both sides of the road, large fields covered with greenhouses could be seen from time to time. Most of the crops grown here were relatively high-value cash crops such as mulberry trees and fruit trees. The proportion of grain was not large. Occasionally, some farmers in tattered clothes could be seen working in the fields.

After a while, the car turned onto a side road, somewhat similar to the farm road in Zhang Jing's previous life. The road began to become bumpy, but thanks to the powerful shock absorption system, the two people in the car felt quite stable.

Several barefoot, dark-skinned, and poorly dressed farmers were sitting and resting by the plastic greenhouse. When they saw the luxury car approaching, they quickly stood up and watched the vehicle pass by with respectful expressions.

"The Li family is also a scholarly family. Their ancestors held the title of Earl, but unfortunately it wasn't a hereditary title. It was a title that was downgraded and inherited. By this generation, the title is long gone. However, they are still a prominent local family. I heard that some members of the family are officials in other provinces." Mr. Zheng Han, who was sitting in the passenger seat, pointed to the farmers who were already behind the car: "All the fields here belong to their family. Those people from earlier should be their tenants."

“That’s quite a large estate,” Zhang Jingruo nodded.

"That's right, but I heard that the old patriarch passed away in a hurry and didn't have time to leave a will, which is a bit troublesome..." The old man lowered his voice and spoke rather cryptically.

However, Zhang Jing immediately understood that it was likely some kind of melodramatic plot involving inheritance disputes. After all, the current emperor, Chenghe, had been advocating equality since his ascension to the throne and had pushed for legislation to stipulate that legitimate descendants had equal inheritance rights, attempting to break the tradition of primogeniture in aristocratic families.

This bill was privately referred to as the "separation order".

Although the bill has been implemented with some setbacks, it has still had some impact and changes, especially within powerful families, where children who previously had little say have become potential supporters. Of course, it's not necessarily true that the effects are significant, because nowadays, gentry and nobles usually leave wills to arrange their affairs before they die, and legally, wills have the highest priority.

After driving for a while, a cluster of traditional Jiangnan-style buildings appeared ahead, with white walls and black tiles, and black and white flags hanging everywhere, indicating that it was still a period of mourning. Zhang Jing's car finally stopped in a parking space in front of a high-walled courtyard.

As soon as he got out of the car, a man dressed as a servant in blue came up to him. When he saw Mr. Zheng Han getting out of the passenger seat, he stepped forward to greet him and asked what his purpose was.

"My surname is Zheng, and I have arranged to meet with Manager Jin."

"So it's Elder Zheng in person. Elder Jin had already given instructions beforehand. Please follow me, both of you..."

The group remained silent as they entered through a side gate of the residence. Along the way, some servants were sweeping and cleaning, and they stepped aside when they saw the group approaching. Zhang Jing noticed that the building was enormous, and he guessed it had about four or five courtyards, with an exquisite layout.

The man led the two to the living room of a side room in the second courtyard. An elderly man dressed in a long robe and wearing an amber crown was already waiting inside. He had a prosperous appearance and a mustache. He greeted the two with a smile when they came in.

The two elderly men exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Zheng Han then introduced Zhang Jing to the old man. Zhang Jing then greeted the old man again.

The elderly man surnamed Jin was clearly a very shrewd person. After learning that Zhang Jing had always been very interested in artifacts from the Jian ware period, he praised him for his refined taste and promising future.

After a brief conversation, the elderly man surnamed Jin led the two inside, along the corridor to the study next door. The study was spacious, with a large mahogany painting table in the center and an antique display shelf behind it.

The elderly man surnamed Jin first invited the two to sit down on a chair on the side of the room. Then he squatted down and used a key to open the cabinet door under the antique display shelf. He then carefully took out a brocade box from inside and placed it on the painting table. He then squatted down again and took out another box of a different color... After doing this several times, there were seven brocade boxes of different sizes on the painting table.

Afterwards, the elderly man surnamed Jin closed the cabinet door, then walked to the painting table, carefully opened each of the brocade boxes, took out the items inside, and placed them on the painting table.

The seven brocade boxes contain two jade sculptures, a jade plaque, a scroll, a crystal ornament, and two small agate carvings.

Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Scroll World

After arranging the items securely, the elderly man surnamed Jin stepped back a few paces and then gestured for Zhang Jing, who was sitting to the side, to enter.

Zhang Jing glanced at Mr. Zheng Han beside him, and seeing him nod, he stood up, walked to the painting table, and carefully examined the collection. The elderly man surnamed Jin also politely stepped aside, making room for Zhang Jing to observe.

With his back to the two people and not worried about anyone seeing the strangeness in his eyes, Zhang Jing activated the secret technique "True Fire Refining Eyes." Under the influence of the technique, Zhang Jing quickly scanned the items on the table. To his surprise, the jade tablet, which he had previously thought was the most valuable, was the one he had encountered before, as many of the magical artifacts he had encountered were of this type.

However, this jade pendant was actually just an ordinary jade pendant, and under the secret technique, it did not emit any aura. But right next to this jade pendant, the scroll emitted an orange light.

Under Zhang Jing's secret technique, among the seven items, this scroll was the only one with a halo.

Zhang Jing dispelled his secret technique, reached out and picked up the scroll. After receiving permission from the old man surnamed Jin, he carefully opened it. The wooden shaft in the center of the scroll was somewhat rotten, and Zhang Jing had to be careful not to break it.

The scroll's surface appeared to be made of some kind of leather, looking quite ancient. Some blurry patterns were still faintly visible on the surface; Zhang Jing examined them closely and discerned they were indistinct images of mountains and forests. Perhaps due to their age, the patterns were almost impossible to decipher. Remarkably, despite their long history, the leather surface itself showed no serious damage, and it was unknown what animal hide it was originally made from.

After examining it for a while, Zhang Jing carefully rolled it up and put it back in its original place. Then he turned his attention to the other items, pretending to look through them for a while. Finally, he turned around, cupped his hands to the old man surnamed Jin, and said, "Old Jin, may I ask how much this scroll is worth?" As he spoke, he pointed to the leather.

“Ji Xing (the old man surnamed Jin), please don’t give me too much credit, considering my old face!” Mr. Zheng Han, who was standing to the side, suddenly interjected in a joking tone.

The old man surnamed Jin smiled wryly, pointed to his old friend, thought for a moment, and finally said, "Alright, this scroll was originally purchased by the master for 5000 yuan. Originally, the price should have increased a bit, but... how about this, I'll give Old Man Zheng face and let him take it at the original price."

Zhang Jing glanced at Mr. Zheng Han, who nodded slightly, and then cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "Then we'll do as you say. I must thank Mr. Jin for his help."

..............................

The entire transaction, from the moment Zhang Jing transferred the money to the completion of the transaction, was handled by the elderly man surnamed Jin. The true owner of these items never appeared. Zhang Jing could understand this, as the moral values ​​of this world made selling off ancestral lands somewhat dishonorable for these large families, a mindset quite different from his previous life.

After the transaction was completed, the two did not linger. The elderly man surnamed Jin escorted them to the parking lot and watched them leave.

After leaving the place, Zhang Jing turned around and returned along the same route. He first took the old gentleman back to Tongbao City in Linzhou, then had a cup of tea and chatted for a while in the shop before bidding farewell and leaving.

On his way home, Zhang Jing drove past the famous old brand "Zhou's Crab Roe Buns" in Linzhou. He really liked the taste of these soup dumplings. Although it was a bit early, Zhang Jing still got out of the car and ordered enough dumplings for about three people. He ate them with the duck blood and tofu soup prepared by the shop. Before leaving, he bought some to take away.

***

Back at his residence, Zhang Jing sat down on the sofa in the main room and summoned the Wish Book again to check on the increase in Wish Points:

Special Event: You have released an original song on "Shell Music" under the stage name "Rain Falls at Tianmen"...

You and your songs have garnered attention to a certain extent, causing a slight disturbance in the consciousness of the world's underclass.

A total of 2232 wish points have been added. (384 wish points were added yesterday)

Special Event: You saved actress Li Yun. This event has been filmed and uploaded by the crew of "After the Sword is Sealed"...

Your actions have significantly altered the perception of Taoism among a small number of people, causing a minor disturbance to the world's underlying consciousness, and this disturbance is currently expanding.

A total of 15738 wish points have been added. (3845 wish points were added yesterday)

Special Event: A spirit has been found haunting No. 356, Mijiafang, Nanmen District, Kuaizhou City... This event has been resolved by you.

The streamer "Master Hua" has already attracted attention within a certain scope.