An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Jiang Daya transforms into a mother hen, wanting this and protecting that.

In the end, there was still too much stuff left at home.

Jiang Baobin couldn't help but laugh when he looked at her; she was the epitome of someone who became rich overnight.

Even though he had a lot of stuff, he wasn't worried at all—he had a cellar!

It's almost as big as a room, stacked from bottom to top, how many things can't fit in there?

Moreover, not to mention his second brother, Jiang Baobin also left behind many things he liked.

This Smith has a particular fondness for antique gardening items, and his home contains many old objects.

Rose, of course, had already packed up and taken the valuable items with her.

But there are quite a few left that look pretty good.

Jiang Baobin was completely clueless. He planned to give it to Liu Decai for help, hoping to get a couple more valuable items.

After all that fuss, the villa now feels completely empty.

So much so that when the brother and sister spoke, their voices echoed.

This plundering caused Jiang Baobin's wallet to swell even more—7000 gold yuan notes were just like that.

This was even with his clearance sale; if he sold them one by one, he could have made at least another one or two thousand more.

He doesn't have that kind of patience.

Besides, it's not certain whether the extra money from selling them will keep up with the rate of devaluation of the gold yuan.

This gain was somewhat beyond Jiang Baobin's expectations, but he quickly accepted it.

A millionaire like Smith is very concerned about the cards he plays.

Therefore, even if you are just temporarily settling down abroad, you can't lower your status by using cheap goods.

However, compared to Smith's generosity...

Rose, however, surpassed her teacher, walking with such ease and grace!

According to Jiang Baobin's assessment, this was the amount Rose spent on purchasing these items.

At least ten times, or even twenty times, of that money will be recovered.

Rose should be aware of this.

Even if the representative office is pressing her hard, if she's determined to stay a few more days to deal with these things, then no one can do anything about it.

Although inflation was getting worse outside, the gold yuan was depreciating at an accelerated rate.

But 7000 yuan is worth 8 or 9 US dollars.

This is no small amount of money; an average American industrial worker earns about this much in half a year.

Another possibility is that Rose specifically set these aside for herself as living expenses.

Because he had already given all his commission to Rose.

They said they were entrusting her with the management, but both of them knew the truth—

Unless they meet again in the future, Jiang Baobin will not see a single penny.

Therefore, Rose simply gave these things to herself as a guarantee for her future life.

If I'm not mistaken, then this foreign woman is truly kind and righteous.

My previous efforts weren't in vain!

At the same time, I felt more at ease entrusting the money to Rose to manage.

Because no matter how many legal provisions there are, as long as people's hearts change, there will always be ways to engage in insider trading.

The empty room actually kept Jiang Baobin awake at night.

People tend to become pretentious once they have better conditions.

For example, this guy, he's only had a full meal a few days ago, and he's already thinking about all sorts of things.

If this isn't being pretentious, then what is it?

He turned on the light.

There are two books on the bedside table: an English version of "The Red and the Black" and an English-Chinese dictionary published by Commercial Press.

These were all used by Jiang Baobin to practice his English.

He flipped through it, but showed little interest.

So he got out of bed and strolled to Smith's study.

Standing in the center of the room, Jiang Baobin began to scan his surroundings by the faint moonlight.

He always had a feeling that that old Smith was hiding a secret in this room.

Rose had casually mentioned to him that he often went out.

Sometimes it takes a day or two, sometimes a few days, or even longer.

Rose had always believed him when he said he was doing business.

Rose only realized something was wrong after the incident; Smith wasn't doing business at all, but was just messing around.

Jiang Baobin disagreed with Rose's statement.

What kind of woman could be so charming that Smith, who is obsessed with money, would often abandon his company and go out to fool around for days on end?

Rose is already considered a top-tier beauty, and she has a great personality too.

For someone used to cream cakes, switching to flatbread is just a casual snack.

To think he would abandon the cake and eat only biscuits is to misunderstand men.

Therefore, Smith must be hiding something from Rose.

Since there's no trace of this secret in the safe, it's probably still in this room.

This is determined by the animal's natural instinct to hide things.

Could he have dug a hole in the wall and then sealed it up?

Jiang Baobin immediately dismissed the idea, since he was going out frequently.

Then it's impossible to seal the secret in one place, otherwise how can it be used?

Suddenly, Jiang Baobin's eyes lit up—

The hanging clock, the deer head specimen, and the landscape painting have all been taken away and sold; now only a portrait oil painting remains.

This man, who is said to be Pete and Emma's great-grandfather, was a remarkable figure who single-handedly built the Smith family business that it is today.

The reason "he" was spared from being sold was, of course, because he was worthless.

Even if Chinese people are obsessed with foreign things, they would never buy someone else's ancestor and hang it in their own home.

Jiang Baobin walked up to the painting and carefully moved the frame aside, revealing the wall.

To his great disappointment, the wall was perfectly fine.

I reached out and tapped it; it was solid.

Did I misunderstand?

Jiang Baobin returned to the center of the room and began to scan the room again.

However, my gaze fell once again on the oil painting.

This time, he stood on a stool and picked it off directly.

Goodness, it's quite heavy, weighing at least twenty or thirty pounds.

What kind of wood is this made of? Is it Phoebe zhennan?

Immediately, Jiang Baobin smiled, because there was indeed more to it than met the eye—

The frame looks very sturdy, so I would assume it's made of solid wood.

Actually, no. To reduce weight, there is a groove on the back.

Inside the slot were three notebooks and several nautical charts.

It took Jiang Baobin several hours to get a general idea of ​​what was going on.

In February 1945, World War II was nearing its end.

The Japanese devils can't hold on any longer.

Therefore, the relocation of the treasures plundered during the war was put on the agenda.

The "Awa Maru" is a 10,000-ton cruise ship built to warship standards, carrying both passengers and cargo.

It is the only vessel tacitly permitted by both Japan and the United States to freely navigate between the Japanese mainland and Southeast Asia without being attacked.

In early 42, the Awa Maru was secretly requisitioned by the Japanese military to transport the retreating invaders and a large amount of treasure!

After setting sail south on February 17, it arrived in Hong Kong on the 22nd.

Smith specifically noted that mysterious goods were being loaded and unloaded here.

Once Awa Maru entered Southeast Asia, it was placed under strict secrecy.

Only when night fell, under the close surveillance of the military police, were the goods transported into the ship's hold.

Fully loaded with mysterious cargo and numerous passengers (standard capacity 236 people, actual capacity 2009 people), it embarked on its journey back home.

At 23:4 on April 1, the ship was sailing in the waters east of Niushan Island in Pingtan, Fujian Province.

It was attacked by the American submarine USS Queenfish (the captain later said it was due to weather conditions and was a mistaken attack).

Hit by three torpedoes, Awa Maru sank into the ocean in just three minutes.

Except for one survivor, all 2008 passengers and crew members perished!

Other supplies and treasures are secondary; do you know what else is on the ship?

It is said that the "Zhoukoudian Peking Man skull fossil" is also among them...