Kissed and Seduced By the Most Rough Man in the Village-Chapter 297: The Hidden Treasure

While they were discussing things, Su Hongchen quickly returned with the police. As they passed by the small room, he glanced inside, and Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly followed.

The police asked a few questions and soon took the couple into custody. The couple, anxious and fearful, shouted desperately, "We just want our stuff back. We have no other intentions. They’re the ones who are guilty and are accusing us falsely."

"The scrap station does account checks every week, so there’s no way anything is missing. You could claim you needed the items before, but what about now? It’s just a ceramic bowl; you think you can just waltz in and pick whatever you want from the back? What are you trying to do, play a game here? If you’re really innocent, then at most you’ll just be charged with causing a disturbance and serve a week in detention," the officer said as they led them outside.

As they got into the vehicle, the officer gave Su Hongchen a nod.

Su Xiaoxiao watched the car drive away, her brows furrowed with concern. "Brother, if they’re only held for seven days, will they come back to the scrap station to cause trouble?"

"They won’t get out," Su Hongchen replied firmly. "The ceramic bowl they sold is definitely gone for good, but if they think they can return to the scrap station for more items, that’s just digging their own grave. The charges are already established, and they’ll be sent to the farm for reformation."

Moreover, after making such a scene, their relatives would be too scared to come near, let alone seek revenge.

Jiang Xinyue sighed in relief, then glanced at Su Hongchen and Su Xiaoxiao with a hint of hesitation. She seemed to want to say something but wasn’t sure whether to speak.

Noticing her hesitation, Su Xiaoxiao asked with a smile, "Xinyue, if you have something to say, just go ahead. I won’t hide anything from my brother."

Jiang Xinyue swallowed nervously before revealing, "Actually, I didn’t let them take the ceramic bowl. I replaced it with an ordinary bowl. If they caused a fuss, I couldn’t possibly return it to them, or it would expose what I had done."

"What?!" Su Xiaoxiao was astonished.

Jiang Xinyue locked the door and led them to a shelf. The scrap station had several such shelves for sorted recyclable items, including undamaged dishes, books, or clean newspapers.

Jiang Xinyue pointed to a shelf filled with bottles and jars. "The items are buried under there. We buried two things: the ceramic bowl they sold and three old books. The books were in poor condition, and I didn’t understand the writing, so I decided to keep them."

Su Hongchen’s expression darkened, but he didn’t say anything. He knew that if valuable items were sent away like this, they would be ruined.

"Brother-in-law, should we move the shelf?" Jiang Yexun suggested.

Su Hongchen nodded, and they all worked together to move the shelf. The ground beneath was clearly well-covered; it was difficult to see any sign of disturbance.

Jiang Xinyue indicated a spot, and Jiang Yexun immediately started digging with a shovel. After digging about a meter deep, they uncovered a wooden box. Inside, there was a bowl wrapped in newspaper and three ancient books that were barely touched. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Su Xiaoxiao unfolded the newspaper, revealing a blue and white porcelain bowl inside. Su Hongchen glanced at it with a hint of doubt.

"This bowl looks quite ordinary," he commented, mirroring the sentiment of those around them.

"Turn it over," Jiang Xinyue suggested. "It has ’Made in the Chenghua Period of the Ming Dynasty’ written on the bottom. I figured if it’s from the Ming Dynasty, it must be an old piece, right?"

Su Hongchen leaned closer to take a look. Sure enough, there were characters on the bottom, though most of them were blurry, and only the last character was in traditional script, while the others were simplified. He was about to remark that it was probably a replica from decades ago, when he caught a glimpse of his sister’s eyes sparkling with excitement, almost like two flashlights.

He instinctively wanted to ask how she recognized it but held back upon noticing the look of trust that the Jiang family directed toward her.

However, unlike her usual self, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t directly reveal the bowl’s true value. Instead, she quietly rewrapped it in the newspaper and handed it to Jiang Yexun.

"Just hold onto this," Su Xiaoxiao said casually. "It’s small enough to stash anywhere."

Though her words were offhanded, everyone knew that anything she kept for herself was bound to be an extremely valuable antique. Jiang Yexun took the bowl seriously, considering its importance. He thought for a moment before tucking it directly into his cotton-padded coat. With his army coat draped loosely over his shoulders, no one would suspect anything hidden inside.

Su Xiaoxiao retracted her gaze, her heart still fluttering with excitement. This was a rare Chenghua ’Autumn Okra’ porcelain bowl, which, in just a few decades, would sell for an astonishing 141 million. For now, though, she didn’t have the time to discuss its exact valuation. The bowl would simply be set aside until after they resolved matters in the capital; she’d deal with it then.

With her plans organized, Su Xiaoxiao finally felt ready to examine the three booklets. They were incredibly fragile, and she hardly dared to breathe as she squinted to make out the characters on the cover. After a while, she managed to decipher part of the title: it seemed to contain characters related to "clan" and "genealogy."

Curious, she flipped to the first page, only to find rows of characters she could barely recognize. She felt a bit overwhelmed and decided to skip to the back, hoping there’d be fewer characters to strain her eyes over. Surprisingly, on the last page, every single character was one she could clearly understand.

The intricate handwritten traditional characters on the fragile pages revealed a fascinating legacy: the words "crispy pork" written with a fountain pen on the last page, with detailed recipes beneath. One described preparing minced meat from pork shoulder or marbled pork, cut and chopped to just the right texture. Su Xiaoxiao skimmed it quickly and moved on, flipping to the back of the second book.

In the same fashion, she found the recipe for "puffer liver soup." It called for the freshest juvenile pufferfish, to be cleaned and separated into liver and meat, then gently simmered in chicken broth to create an exquisite, savory dish. The juveniles were safe for consumption, with no toxins accumulated yet, making the liver a rare delicacy.

The last book held an assortment of pastry recipes.

"This family must have descended from imperial chefs, and they likely ran their own restaurant through the generations," Aunt Guo speculated excitedly. "Now that everything’s state-run, we could copy these recipes, and I’ll make them for everyone."

She turned to Jiang Yexun, giving him a hearty pat on the back. "And don’t you slack off, young man. You’ve got to learn these too."

"Yes, Mother," Jiang Yexun replied, his face serious and sincere, fully committed to the task without a hint of reluctance.