67: Warehouse auction in the western United States

Clues to the yongle encyclopedia?

Qin Yun froze on the spot, only snapping out of it after a long while.

The yongle encyclopedia was the treasure he cared about most; the Profound Vision Treasure Eye had appeared because of it.

He swore that he would return all the volumes of the yongle encyclopedia scattered abroad to Xia Country.

Let the most brilliant civilization of Xia Country shine with its deserved glory in the world!

"You really found it?"

Qin Yun looked at Hank with excitement, his eyes shining with a thrill.

Hank nodded with a serious expression.

"Of course it's true. After searching for so many days, I finally found a clue. A friend at the Social Security Administration told me the current residence of the two people in the photo. I'll give it to you now..."

With that, Hank took a card out of his wallet and handed it to Qin Yun.

"Thank you, this is wonderful! I knew you could do it!"

Qin Yun took the card with both hands and, after a glance, placed it solemnly in his wallet.

The location on the card was in the American West, about a two-day drive from Bolton.

Although he desperately wanted the yongle encyclopedia, so much had happened last night.

He still needed to check on the shop's situation; the earliest he could leave was tomorrow.

"Julia, get some good rest at home today. We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see the yongle encyclopedia."

"I'm going to check on the shop and make some arrangements so we can leave as soon as possible."

Qin Yun looked at Julia with a hint of heartache.

It was truly exhausting for a woman to follow him around everywhere.

After encountering such a terrifying event last night, she was quite strong.

Hearing about checking on the second-hand shop, Julia perked up.

"How about I go with you to take a look?"

"No need. Today's matters are trivial; finding the yongle encyclopedia tomorrow is what's most important."

Qin Yun shook his head, declining Julia's suggestion.

After saying goodbye to the two, he headed to the second-hand shop.

As soon as he got out of the car, Li Qiang and Dewey rushed out to greet him.

"Boss, you're finally here."

"Business has been great these past few days, and no one has come to cause trouble."

"Here are the bills from the last few days. The turnover is actually over five hundred thousand dollars!"

Li Qiang looked at Qin Yun with excitement, very proud that the second-hand shop could make so much money.

As Qin Yun's employee, if the boss prospered, he would also have a bright future.

"I have a batch of high-quality cold weapons in my car. Put them on the shelves!"

After giving the two their instructions, Qin Yun returned to the office and checked the bills.

He found the billing simple and clear, matching the manifest perfectly.

He was very satisfied; with Li Qiang and Dewey around, there was nothing to worry about regarding the second-hand shop.

Seeing the income of five hundred thousand dollars, Qin Yun was very happy.

Business at the shop was better than he had imagined, with many collectibles already converted to cash.

It seemed the second-hand shop had already gained quite a reputation.

The cold weapons in the warehouse he bought in Wilmington were very well-crafted and held significant value.

He still had two chances to use the Profound Vision Treasure Eye today.

Since there was no danger in the shop and he wasn't participating in a Warehouse Auction, Qin Yun used them directly.

Aside from two weapons emitting a blue treasure light, the rest were green treasure light.

Based on the depth of the colors, Qin Yun estimated the prices and marked them one by one.

Thinking that there were still many collectibles in the warehouse, he decided to mark all their prices as well.

Arriving at the warehouse, he activated his final Profound Vision Treasure Eye for the day.

Most of the treasure light was blue. After writing down the prices, Qin Yun felt very energetic.

He felt a bit strange.

Usually, he felt mentally exhausted after using the Profound Vision Treasure Eye three times. Why was he still so energetic today?

Could it be that the Profound Vision Treasure Eye had leveled up?

At this thought, he went back into the shop and activated the Profound Vision Treasure Eye once more.

To his surprise, he could actually see the treasure light of the goods displayed on the shelves.

Refusing to give up, Qin Yun used it one more time, and only then did he feel a sense of fatigue.

He knew that the Profound Vision Treasure Eye had indeed leveled up.

The daily usage limit had increased to five times!

In previous large-scale Warehouse Auctions, three times had felt a bit insufficient.

With five times, he would be more than capable in future Warehouse Auctions and could buy even more warehouses.

Thinking of this, Qin Yun clenched his fists, nearly shouting out in excitement!

After correcting some unreasonable prices and letting Li Qiang and the others know, he went to Li Zhengde's studio.

Upon entering the main door, Qin Yun saw Li Zhengde high-spiritedly greeting distinguished guests.

Now he had the air of a master; no one would have guessed that just a week ago, Master Li...

...was a down-and-out old man who couldn't even make it as a street vendor.

The carving studio had a constant stream of visitors.

Many people from out of town were even commissioning Master Li for carvings. Qin Yun was very gratified to see this.

"Brother Qin, I owe everything I have now to you!"

"I will always remember your help. I will definitely promote Xia Country's carving techniques here in America!"

Seeing Qin Yun arrive, Li Zhengde left the guests he was talking to and walked straight up to him.

"It's nothing; it's what I should have done. I'm relieved to see you're on the right track!"

Facing Li Zhengde's gratitude, Qin Yun simply waved it off, not taking any credit.

With such superb carving skills, it was only natural for Master Li to prosper.

Besides, he held shares in Li Zhengde's studio; once Master Li became famous, he would also profit.

"No, without you, I wouldn't be where I am today. You deserve the primary credit!"

Li Zhengde took Qin Yun's hand and introduced him to the studio's customers.

"This is my great benefactor, Qin Yun. It's all because of him that I have the honor of opening this studio here. Let's show him our gratitude."

Qin Yun hadn't expected Li Zhengde to say such things on an occasion like this.

He smiled helplessly and cupped his fists to thank everyone.

"Thank you all for the praise. I've only done a few insignificant things."

"Master Li's carving skills, especially micro-carving, are unprecedented in the world. It is an honor for all of us to appreciate Master Li's work."

"It's even more of an honor for me to have met Master Li. This is Master Li's domain, so I won't steal his thunder. I'll take my leave for now."

Hearing Qin Yun's words, the people in the studio laughed, and many even clapped, urging him to continue.

After some small talk, Qin Yun, his mind still on the yongle encyclopedia, bid them farewell.

Back at the shop, he checked the situation of the target location, planned his route, prepared his travel items, and went to rest.

Early the next morning, Julia arrived at the shop with her packed luggage to set off with Qin Yun.

Their destination was Astoria, located in Oregon in the West, with farming, animal husbandry, and mining as its main industries.

The economy there was underdeveloped, and the social atmosphere was relatively conservative—a completely different scene from the East Coast.

On the state highways, the further west they went, the fewer vehicles there were on the road.

The surrounding environment also changed constantly.

Gone were the skyscrapers and bustling factories, replaced by simple wooden houses and vast stretches of farmland.

Two days later, they finally arrived at the location on the card.

It was a town to the east of Astoria.

The specific location of the person in the photo was a farm.

It was filled with farms of all sizes, and the roads were a tangled web that Qin Yun couldn't make head or tail of.

So he planned to go to the town center and find a local to ask for directions.

After the two-day drive, both Qin Yun and Julia were exhausted, so it was a good time to take a break.

Just as they reached the town center, Qin Yun saw a crowd gathered around a rusty, dilapidated warehouse, shouting out bids.

This scene immediately caught his attention.

He hadn't expected that in the sparsely populated and remote West, there would still be so many people enthusiastic about Warehouse Auctions!