The first cart Han Yi took was all delivered to his second uncle’s house.

At this time, Mei Shuqing and Liang Qian were still having breakfast at home. Seeing Han Yi pull over a cart full of flower pots, Mei Shuqing quickly rolled up his sleeves to help.

"Weren’t these what Xiao Wan wanted? Why did you bring them to our house?" Liang Qian looked at the lush green pots, not a single bright one, which she didn’t like.

"Second Aunt, these are what Junzi wanted. He said he liked them and asked me to leave him a few pots." Han Yi made up an excuse.

"When did Junzi get interested in his grandpa’s plants? Xiao Yi, just leave him a few pots; he doesn’t need so many." Liang Qian disliked them taking up space in the yard.

"We can’t fit many in our yard either. Since Junzi likes them, I’d rather bring him a few more. Second Uncle, what do you think of these plants?"

"Not bad, your grandpa has been taking care of them for decades. They’re easy to care for and don’t grow big, so they don’t take up much space. Maybe someday I’ll put a pot in my office." Mei Shuqing didn’t disagree; after all, it would be a waste to throw away things his dad had cared for for so many years.

Han Yi listened but didn’t respond, just curled his lips, intending not to explain, waiting for them to find out themselves.

After Han Yi put those things in place, he went back and brought home the remaining few pots. These were the ones Han Yi had looked over and seemed pretty good, being quite old.

There were about seven or eight pots, and when Han Yi returned, Lin Wan was already waiting at home.

"Did you bring everything back?" Lin Wan, holding Yangyang, looked at the few pots in the car and laughed.

"Yeah, I just brought these few. The rest were left at Second Uncle’s place. I’ll help sort them out when I return tonight." Han Yi had something to do today, so he had to leave quickly.

"Okay, you go ahead. I’ll wait for you to come back tonight."

"Okay."

After Han Yi left, Lin Wan watched in the yard for a while. When the child fell asleep, she came out to tip over the rose pot and found some diamonds inside, two of which were slightly smaller than walnuts. Such rare diamonds—Lin Wan marveled at Mr. Mei’s skills. Who knows where he got them from?

Beyond that, Lin Wan also placed an antique vase by the water and gave it a thorough wash.

The two moms saw her fiddling with pots herself and didn’t interfere but found her meticulous scrubbing of a pot unnecessary.

This pot was originally for planting flowers. After cleaning it, you’d still have to put soil in it for planting.

Lin Wan chuckled at them without explaining.

However, she noticed that among the seven or eight pots, Han Yi had only brought back this one vase. Lin Wan didn’t know what era it was from, only that it was an antique.

Lin Wan had quite a hard time cleaning the vase. Once cleaned, it had a white base with blue flowers. Lin Wan couldn’t tell what era it was from and didn’t find it particularly aesthetically pleasing.

After it was washed, she didn’t plan to plant flowers in it but placed it on the high table in the living room.

Lin Wan didn’t understand, and Liang Hongmei and Shen Qing understood even less. They thought it would look nicer with some dried flowers in it, considering it a waste as a planter.

In the evening, after Han Yi came back and they had dinner, he waited for the two mothers to sleep and then poured out the soil from the remaining flower pots.

Inside, he found two jade pendants, a jade ring, a copper wine cup, a few Guangxu Yuanbao, and Daqing Copper Coins, and a three-legged stove. They were all small items, enough to be hidden in these flower pots.

"Ai Yi, let’s take these few things with us."

"Yeah, okay."

The two of them discussed it. Since the vase was porcelain, they were afraid it might break on the way, so they left it as a decorative vase. Ordinary people wouldn’t recognize it. Her mom and mother-in-law, for instance, didn’t realize it was an antique vase.

Chen Haichang, knowing that Han Yi and Lin Wan were about to leave, secretly gave the paintings he had hidden last time to Han Yi.

Han Yi only took out five paintings, leaving the remaining three with Chen Haichang.

Chen Haichang was reluctant to accept them, but Han Yi insisted, "These things can’t be exposed. If you don’t want them, you can convert them into money to help those kids who can’t afford school, or donate to an orphanage, or to the country, it’s up to you. To put it bluntly, we won’t profit privately. Xiao Wan says these things are getting more valuable over time. When needed in the future, it will be better to use them to help those in need rather than leave them with the old man. Just take them."

Chen Haichang raised his eyebrows at Han Yi’s words and smiled, "I didn’t realize you and Xiao Wan were so generous. Are you really not keeping these things?"

Han Yi glanced at him silently.

Chen Haichang looked at the things and stopped refusing. He tucked them away, agreeing with Han Yi that Old Mei’s things were acquired improperly. While he might not care much for them himself, he could use them to help those in need. That could be considered a good deed.

....

When Han Yi was leaving, Mei Shuping found him a pickup truck because it was more convenient with all the stuff they had to carry.

Han Yi asked the driver to take them, first passing through the area where S City intersects, and there, to send Shen Qing to catch the train, making it a bit closer to return to S City.

Han Yi helped Shen Qing purchase the train ticket, instructed her to call Z City when she gets home; when they drive back, they’ll arrive home around the same time.

Lin Wan packed the roast duck specifically bought for Grandma and her mother-in-law in the Capital City, along with various specialties, all into a bag that her mother-in-law could easily carry.

"You should head back now, hurry and hit the road, don’t worry about me. Once the train starts, you can find a phone booth and call Uncle Hu for me, so he can wait for me at the station," Shen Qing said to Han Yi after boarding the train.

"Understood, Mom, we’ll make the call once we get off," Han Yi was uneasy about her carrying so many things alone, so he waited until the train started before leaving the station and found a phone to call Uncle Hu.

From here to Z City, it takes about a day and a night.

....

Reluctantly, ever since Mei Lang Jun received Han Yi’s call, he had been puzzled, not knowing what Han Yi meant.

After two days of pondering, a thought suddenly flashed in his mind, as if he understood something, he hurriedly called home.

"Mom, did Xiao Yi bring me some flower pots a few days ago?"

"Yes, over twenty pots. Son, when did you start taking an interest in your grandfather’s things? You hardly come home a few times a year. Now you’ve brought these ugly plants home, giving me trouble and affecting the appearance."

"Mom, I know, I know, but can you do your son a favor?"

"What do you need?"

"Just move a flower pot casually and look carefully to see if there’s anything inside?"

"There’s nothing interesting about those, they’re just soil-planted... Wait, you want to sell those evergreen little trees?" After dozens of years, their appearance looks decent; in the market, they might sell for a couple of bucks per piece.

"No, Mom, just look carefully for me, and if you find anything, let me know." After finishing, Mei Lang Jun directly hung up the phone.

Liang Qian originally wanted to ask about his affairs with Tao Jia, but her son didn’t give her the chance.

Helplessly, after Liang Qian hung up the phone, she went out to look at those flower pots in the yard, frowning as she walked over.

Each was dirty, the outside of the flower pots was covered with mud, Liang Qian didn’t want to touch them.

But since her son asked her to take a look, she could only scrutinize them while murmuring, "Really, why mess with these flowers, they’re a bother."

As she spoke, Liang Qian grabbed a small Qing tree seedling, lifting it. As a result, the soil was somewhat cracked, separating directly from the circular pot. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Liang Qian lifted the seedling, separating soil and pot. Holding the seedling, Liang Qian frowned slightly, glanced at the pot full of filthy soil, nothing inside.

Looking up at the tree in her hand, her brow furrowed even deeper, "What is this, I might as well sell them in the next couple of days. At least I can make some money," she said while placing the seedling back into the pot. While doing so, there was a thud, clearly not the sound of soil hitting the pot.

Liang Qian hesitated, lifted the seedling again, lowered her head to check, and discovered that in the soil where the roots intertwined, there was a blackish thing resembling a piece of iron.

Liang Qian puzzledly tugged at it, once she pulled out the suspected iron piece, she ran to the water pipe to rinse it.

Unexpectedly, an intricate pattern emerged. Although it had been a long time, now rusty and worn.

Seeing this, Liang Qian couldn’t discern what it was but decided to call her son back anyway.

When Mei Lang Jun heard it was some copper object, he furrowed his brows; copper is worth something. Adding those few decades-old shaped trees, they could indeed sell for some money. He thought this was what Han Yi meant, not thinking it was related to antiques.

He merely asked Liang Qian to keep it for now, but Liang Qian felt curious at home, so she went back and got another pot. Surprisingly, this time, she found a jade stone inside, intricately carved with a dragon; she couldn’t tell its type, but its craftsmanship looked delicate. Luckily she had just used her hands, otherwise she might have damaged it.

Liang Qian found these flower pots a bit peculiar, so she got another one, upon clearing the soil, a strangely shaped, silvery small cup was discovered inside, bearing a clear seal from the Northern Song period.

Liang Qian finally realized these might be antiques; she was so shocked and quickly called her son again.

Upon hearing what Liang Qian said, Mei Lang Jun was also surprised, his curiosity grew, unsure why these things were in his grandfather’s flower pots. He knew Han Yi must know something, he wanted to call Han Yi, only to find he had already left the Capital City and was on the road.

Mei Lang Jun had no choice but to tell his mom to stay calm and not to make a big deal.

Liang Qian was indeed quite startled, "When your father returns, I’ll tell him about these things and see how to deal with them."

"Mom, don’t tell Dad yet, I’ll find some time to go back and discuss it." Mei Lang Jun knew that if his father found out, he would definitely take these things and confront his grandfather.