An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Whether the calligraphy, paintings, and porcelain are good or bad is another matter; Jiang Baobin doesn't have time to examine them closely right now.

Even if he looked at it, he's only a half-baked expert, so he probably wouldn't be sure.

Just mentioning a few of the books almost made Jiang Baobin's jaw drop.

Holy crap! The Yongle Encyclopedia!

This thing would be worth at least several million in later generations, right?

The thief then delivered four books to him.

Jiang Baobin picked up a book shakily.

This book is huge!

50 cm long × 30 cm wide × 3 cm thick!

When I opened it, I was immediately amazed by its exquisite beauty!

Indescribable! So beautiful!

Unexpectedly, at this crucial moment, the system has come to join the fun again:

"Ding! Temporary mission issued: 'Rescue the national treasure of China hidden by Xier in the underground floor and prevent it from falling into foreign hands.' Completion of the mission will reward you handsomely."

Jiang Baobin couldn't help but gasp. Even after such a thorough crackdown, there were still some treasures that had slipped through the net.

How greedy must this guy, Xier, be?

After thinking it over, Jiang Baobin decided to abandon the idea of ​​taking immediate action.

Someone has already had their fun today. If you go now, isn't it like someone else stealing the donkey while you pull out the stake yourself?

So let's wait and see.

With these copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia, you can then look at things like Yuan Shikai silver dollars and gold rings.

She is practically a comparison of Daiyu and Deng Girl; her innate nobility and elegance need no further explanation.

Alright, alright, Daiyu can only admire from afar, but the Lantern Girl can be touched and played with.

So, after Jiang Baobin carefully hid the books away...

They then began to sort through the silver dollars and gold and silver.

Logically speaking, these items are all valuable commodities, the easiest to sell, so the thief should have taken them.

But he kept it for himself.

The reason is simple: it's too heavy.

Why do I say that? Because if it were just a few or dozens, it certainly wouldn't amount to much.

But what about the thousands of silver dollars and hundreds of gold rings?

These two items alone weigh several dozen kilograms, and with other things added, it's at least a hundred kilograms.

Even the most skilled thief couldn't carry that far unless they were driving a car to commit the crime.

This Buddha probably never expected that he would actually steal such a treasure trove.

Why was Jiang Baobin in such a hurry to organize things?

Since we definitely need to deal with it tomorrow, we have to hurry up and screen it today.

Take silver dollars, for example; there are many intricacies involved.

For example, the version, the date of minting, which mint produced it...

Because they are all different, their future collectible value will vary greatly.

Since transmigrating, I've handled at least several thousand silver dollars, if not ten thousand.

Jiang Baobin had no idea what would be valuable in the future, but he had a simple but effective method.

That's screening—the logic is simple: discard items with many duplicates.

If you encounter a design that is unique, you should keep it.

Everything is valued for its rarity.

Everyone says counting money is addictive, but actually handling gold and silver is even more pleasurable.

The more he wanted to collect it, the more he would scrub it with great interest.

Even if it means missing out on sleep, I still enjoy it.

Before we knew it, more than an hour had passed.

Despite acquiring so much wealth, Jiang Baobin still felt sorry for the foolish men and women who had been deceived.

If heaven were so easy to enter, it would have been overflowing with foreigners long ago! There wouldn't be any room left for them.

There is no hatred without a cause, nor is there love without a cause.

Jiang Baobin found a note in the package, which explained everything:

"My benefactor, how have you been? Since we're destined to meet, let's share half of our meal!"

The signature still featured a drawing of a swallow.

Damn it! It's that elusive Yanzi Li San again. This guy really seems to have a lot of ties with me.

If I had known, I would have met him.

Jiang Baobin had a mission in mind: "Find the real culprit who killed Jia Jinwang, and thus establish authority within the courtyard."

Asking Yanzi Li San about this is the right thing to do.

It's a pity it was him; it's too late to say anything now.

The thought flashed through my mind and then disappeared without a trace.

If you really want to find Yanzi Li San, he has a way...

Jiang Baobin is no longer the timid and fearful novice he was when he first transmigrated.

After tidying up, I took a good nap, and when I woke up, I went for a run, practiced my martial arts, and ate breakfast.

I ran so I could go to the morning market to buy meat.

Da Ya always wants to keep it, so I'll keep buying more until she can't keep up.

After getting ready, I headed out to Nanluoguxiang.

With such a big incident happening to the Jia family, I have to go and say hello; otherwise, it would be too inconsiderate of me.

Before that, we need to hide the things.

Whenever this happens, Jiang Baobin can't help but complain:

The system is so stingy, it doesn't even offer any space or storage ring or anything.

It's making me feel like a hamster, constantly hiding and searching, which is really troublesome.

When he arrived at No. 95 courtyard, the mourning tent had already been set up in front of the Jia family's rented house.

There was no coffin, nor any musicians.

Are the customs here different from those back home?

There should at least be some commotion, this quiet and deserted place is so unlike the Republic of China era!

Jia Jinwang lay on the board, covered with a clean white cloth.

Jiang Baobin kowtowed several times (he had no psychological barriers to this; rural people value respect for the deceased).

They lit incense again.

Then he discovered something strange—why was there no table or curtain?

Shouldn't this job be Yan Bugui's?

Jiang Baobin had it all planned out—after kowtowing and giving the gift money, he would make his escape.

He decided to skip the banquet, mainly because he disliked many of the people in the courtyard.

Otherwise, he would really like to see what a white-collar worker's office was like during the Republic of China era.

But there's no accounting table, so who do I pay? How can I leave without paying?

We can't just give it to Jia Zhangshi or Jia Dongxu directly.

This would certainly be fine in later generations, but it would be impolite in this context.

Not only was he impolite, but the Jia family would also be laughed at by the neighbors—they hadn't handled things properly.

Just as Jiang Baobin was about to ask someone, he suddenly heard an argument coming from inside the Jia family's house...

Then Liu Haizhong's loud voice rang out: "Sister-in-law Jia, this is unreasonable of you..."

Yan Bugui interrupted impatiently, "What do you mean 'unreasonable'? She's just trying to extort money!"

"Bullshit!" came Jia Zhangshi's defiant retort immediately.

"Explain yourselves! Why were so many people traveling together, yet Old Jia was the only one who got shoved?"

"Are you all thinking my husband, Lao Jia, is kind-hearted, so you sent him out to take the fall?"

"Oh God! Old Jia! You died so unjustly!"

"Hurry up and come down and take these heartless, rotten people with you..."

Holy crap! I'm totally blown away! Jiang Baobin's worldview has been completely shattered—

That Zhang Cuihua is sharp; she can even pin this on someone else!