335: Chapter 335 Western Han Dynasty Bronze Taotie Pattern Ding

Han Jingyang asked very directly.

Furthermore, he clearly revealed two pieces of information.

First, he would not report or expose them.

Second, these were good items, and he still wanted them.

In one sentence, he had stated his attitude straightforwardly.

He even wanted a few more pieces.

While breathing a sigh of relief, Deng Darong rushed in front of Zhou Rui and said with a smile, "We don't really understand this stuff, we just trade based on feeling, and we usually don't keep too much stock on hand. How about this: if we come across more like this, we'll deliver them to your shop, how's that?"

Han Jingyang chuckled inwardly.

As expected of an old hand, his speech and actions were impeccable.

He stopped Zhou Rui from talking nonsense, didn't burn his bridges, and yet spoke so pleasantly that it didn't cause any offense.

Of course, he wouldn't expose him either, so he nodded slightly, "Good. If you have good items, send them directly to Jiguang Zhai, or send me a message directly, and I'll come here to inspect the goods."

As he spoke, he put away the drawstring bag and shifted his gaze to the bronze tripod.

This bronze tripod was circular.

The surface had red, green, and black rust stains; this was a typical 'semi-water pit' condition, meaning it first rusted normally, developing red and green rust, before being submerged in water to develop black rust.

Actually, the black color wasn't rust, but a layer of dense oxide film. Most bronze artifacts from water pits were like this. They were relatively rare in the market and commanded higher prices. After all, this dense oxide film could better protect the bronze artifact from oxygen and other corrosive substances, resulting in a relatively better condition.

As for red spots and green rust, that was the normal state for bronze artifacts. If the colors were beautiful, the price was equally high. Some people just liked these red and green rust spots; without them, they wouldn't even want the item.

Antique collecting was, after all, a matter of personal taste; in the eyes of true collectors, there was simply no unified standard.

In Han Jingyang's eyes, this bronze tripod was quite beautiful. Although it looked pitch black on the outside, its shape was dignified, and despite its small size, it was imposing.

It had the classic three-legged, two-eared shape and was over twenty centimeters tall. The body of the tripod had single-line decorations, which were Taotie patterns—four Taotie faces on four sides. It was very domineering, even carrying a Majesty that made one afraid to look directly at it.

It had no inscriptions.

But it was exquisite enough.

The patterns, in particular, were absolutely beautiful. Not only were the lines clear and distinct, but the layout was also perfect—the lines were spaced with order, and the structure was balanced in density. From an artistic perspective, it was almost flawless. If one were to make a rubbing of these patterns on paper, it would be a fine piece of art.

Unfortunately, the era was a bit late.

The style of these lines clearly indicated it was from the Han Dynasty, highly consistent with the style of Han Dynasty stone carvings.

But even so, the value of this item was... well, it was definitely illegal.

This was also a prohibited item for trade, so it couldn't be appraised.

But one didn't need to think to know that such things weren't cheap; abroad, they would start at hundreds of thousands of dollars.

He really didn't know where these people from Shenzhuang Village got such good items, one after another, as if they were endless.

He even suspected that if he asked for more, Zhou Rui would get him even better ones.

Of course, he certainly wouldn't make such a request.

Today's harvest was already enough; good items kept coming, especially that Grade 2 drawstring bag with storage attributes, which was worth all his gains in Shenzhuang Village, and even far exceeded them.

The value of that drawstring bag was too high, too high—immeasurably high, so high that he would be willing to trade every item he had in his hands so far for it.

He was very content.

So, after looking at the bronze tripod, he placed his hand directly on it.

"Ding: Identifiable item discovered. Do you wish to identify it?"

"Yes/No."

Identify.

"Name: Western Han Bronze Taotie Pattern Tripod."

"Grade: Grade 5."

"Attribute: Warning +8."

"Skill: House-Guarding Mythical Beast."

Awesome!

Another Grade 5 item.

With attributes.

With skills.

And equally practical.

This Zhou Rui was a lucky charm.

Not to mention anything else, the value of this Taotie-pattern bronze tripod also couldn't be measured in cash.

Once this thing was placed at home, it was much better than any surveillance camera or alarm equipment. It not only came with a warning attribute but also a house-guarding mythical beast that could sound an alarm and counterattack. Let alone ordinary thieves, even so-called martial arts experts would be baffled if they encountered this thing.

The warning attribute, as the name implied, meant that when there was an intrusion, the bronze tripod would issue a warning, and it was a warning similar to telepathy—silent and soundless.

The skill 'House-Guarding Mythical Beast' was equally easy to understand: after activating the skill, one could summon a Taotie to fight.

The Taotie was not joking with you; it was a bona fide mythical beast, and a very fierce one at that—definitely not the so-called 'glutton' in the general public's perception.

After reading it, Han Jingyang patted Zhou Rui's shoulder heavily, "Buddy, thank you. Really, thank you."

Zhou Rui was flattered and hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands, "It's me who should thank you. If it weren't for you, my whole family would have..."

"There's no need to bring that up again. It's true that I saved your family, and it's true that you gave me excellent items. If we really want to get down to it, I'm the one taking advantage," Han Jingyang said, then tentatively asked, "How about this: take me to your home to have a look, and I'll adjust the Feng Shui for your family."

Zhou Rui was even more embarrassed, "No, no need. My parents said that nothing is more valuable than the lives of the family. If I had a sister, my parents would definitely have let her marry you."

Deng Darong raised his hand and slapped him, laughing and scolding, "Nonsense! Is that repaying a debt of gratitude? It's clearly taking revenge while taking advantage! Alright, get out of here, go home. Don't mention this again in the future; just act as if nothing ever happened."

Zhou Rui left.

Deng Darong sighed, "The young man is good at everything, except he's too honest. Being too honest isn't a good thing for a man. But everyone has their own destiny. Mr. Han, don't think too much about it. What's meant to be his won't run away, and what's not his, even if you force it on him, he won't be able to hold onto it."

Han Jingyang nodded, "If anything comes up in the future, send me a message."

"Definitely, definitely. Even if you didn't say so, I would still bother you. In this day and age, it's not easy to find someone with real skills."

After some more pleasantries, Han Jingyang stood up to take his leave.

He returned all the way to Jiguang Zhai.

Shi Xiaoya asked excitedly, "Hubby, how was the harvest?"

"Very good, several treasures."

"That's more like it. It makes up for the running around and the frights of the past two days."

"Were you scared?"

"Of course. Although I believed you had a way to handle it, how could I not be scared at all when facing the siege of so many villagers? I almost couldn't control myself and acted first."

Han Jingyang chuckled, hugged Shi Xiaoya, and kissed her, "When have you ever seen me do anything I wasn't sure about?"

"That's just because I haven't been with you for very long—not even a month yet."

"That's true. Time passes so slowly."

Does time pass slowly?

No, it was that the relationship between Han Jingyang and Shi Xiaoya was developing too fast.

Shi Xiaoya was too proactive; as soon as she was by Han Jingyang's side, she displayed super strong aggressiveness. In no time at all, she had seized the initiative. The efficiency was so high that even Han Jingyang found it incredible.

Han Jingyang and Shi Xiaoya seized this rare time for just the two of them to cuddle for a long while before they started organizing the day's harvest.

Just as they finished tidying up, the lights in the room suddenly went out.

Following that, a creaking sound of knocking came from the door.