115: Chapter 115 Blood Amber Acquired

Just as he reached the living room, he saw the old man holding an apple and gesturing toward the dining room connected to the living room. "Old Li's nephew is here; he wants to ask us for some anthracite."

Chen Sheng walked out of the hallway and saw an old woman with equally gray hair sitting in the dining room. Chen Sheng quickly called out, "Auntie, sorry to disturb your lunch."

"It's fine, no disturbance at all. Have you eaten, young man? If not, don't be a stranger and join us," the old woman said with a smile as she stood up to greet him.

After saying that, she glared at the old man again. "You old geezer, showing off outside all day for no reason, have you no shame?"

Seeing the old woman's demeanor, it was clear that despite living in the West for many years, she hadn't lost an ounce of that 'Northeast Tiger Girl' spirit.

As for why it was a Northeast Tiger Girl and not a Western Tyrannosaurus?

The two vibes were completely different.

"No, thank you, Auntie. I ate before I came," Chen Sheng quickly declined.

Even though his skin had thickened from practice since obtaining the Intelligence System, it wasn't thick enough to take advantage of someone and eat their food too.

At this moment, the old man was also channeling the stubbornness of a Northeast man to the fullest. Facing the old woman's intimidating presence, he craned his neck and shouted defiantly, "What showing off? Where did I show off? I just chatted a bit while playing chess and fishing. How was I to know they'd blabber it out? Can I be blamed for this?"

Clearly, even if the old man was old and his body had gone soft, his mouth remained as stubborn as ever.

"You still think you're right." Perhaps because an outsider like Chen Sheng was present, the old woman only gave the old man a glare. "I can't be bothered with you."

She turned to Chen Sheng with a smile. "Young man, I put the coal in the kitchen. Come with me."

"Sorry for the trouble." Chen Sheng first gave a sheepish smile to the old man, who was huffing and puffing nearby to silently express his defiance, then quickly followed the old woman to the utility balcony connected to the kitchen.

The old woman pointed to two snakeskin bags in the corner and said, "The anthracite is right there. Take as much as you need."

"It just so happens this anthracite takes up too much space." She pulled out some plastic bags—likely the kind given away when buying groceries—from a gap in the gas pipes and handed two to Chen Sheng. "Use these to pack it. If it's not enough, there are more here."

"Enough, enough!" Chen Sheng quickly took the plastic bags. "It's just that the little one has some science experiment assigned by the school. If I bought it online, the delivery would take several days. Then I heard Uncle Li say that you had some here, Sir..."

Chen Sheng completed the logical loop for his reason for coming so abruptly.

Everything still seemed perfectly reasonable.

Chen Sheng: "Standard operation, don't be impressed!"

"Schools these days really are... my granddaughter has to do homework until ten or eleven every night before she's finished..." Perhaps because Chen Sheng's "complaint" resonated with her, the old woman completely opened up.

"Exactly. Homework nowadays isn't for the students; it's practically for us parents..." While agreeing with her, Chen Sheng quickly called out in his mind, "System! Mark the intelligence item for me."

Two snakeskin bags of anthracite; heaven knows which piece contained the blood amber.

[Ding! This marking will require an advance payment of one future intelligence report. Deduct now?]

"Confirm!"

[Ding! Marked for the host.]

After the notification sound ended, a flashing red dot appeared in Chen Sheng's field of vision. Calmly, he moved the bag of anthracite with the red dot to a more open area on the utility balcony. Untying the rope, he thrust his hand inside without hesitation.

The red dot was in the middle section of the snakeskin bag.

Meanwhile, his other free hand gripped the mouth of the bag and shook it from side to side to ensure the hand inside could reach the target area directly.

He grabbed the anthracite in the red dot area and pulled his hand out. Seeing the red dot that was originally in the middle rising with his hand, Chen Sheng quickly suppressed the urge to grin. However, he slowed down his extraction speed slightly, withdrawing his hand bit by bit until it was completely out of the bag. Seeing the red dot clutched in his palm, he spread open the plastic bag and placed the anthracite inside.

Then, Chen Sheng casually grabbed two more handfuls and put them in the bag before retying the snakeskin bag and placing it back in its original spot.

Seeing this, the old woman quickly said, "Young man, take a bit more."

"Auntie, this is enough. It's just for an experiment; I have no use for more," Chen Sheng explained with a smile.

"Look at you..." Seeing this, the old woman didn't insist further.

The two returned to the living room. Chen Sheng went to the kitchen to wash his hands. When he came out, he held the bag and asked, "Sir, Auntie, how much do I owe you for this? I'll scan the payment to you."

Hearing this, the old man immediately looked displeased. "It's just a bit of coal, why are you talking about money? If I took your money, Old Li would slap my face."

"Young man, no need for money," the old woman also said with a smile.

"Well then... thank you, Sir, Auntie." Chen Sheng didn't act coy. He knew they wouldn't take the money, but whether they wanted it was their business, and whether he offered was his.

If he didn't offer, it would be a lack of manners on his part.

"Sir, Auntie, I won't disturb your lunch any longer." Seeing that their lunch on the table was less than half-finished, Chen Sheng tactfully took his leave.

"Alright! Go ahead with your business. Come chat with us next time you visit Old Li." The old man and woman saw Chen Sheng to the door.

Waving goodbye to them, Chen Sheng walked straight out of the 1010 Community with the bag of anthracite containing the blood amber.

Using his navigation to find a public place, Chen Sheng took out the piece of anthracite emitting the red dot from the bag. He turned on a faucet and kept scrubbing the anthracite under the water. Soon, the outermost layer of black was washed away bit by bit. As the coal ball grew smaller, a color different from black appeared in his sight.

He quickly held the coal ball up to his eyes. Seeing that the color matched the description on the website, Chen Sheng knew this was indeed the blood amber.

Chen Sheng used pre-prepared tissues to wrap the blood amber along with the remaining unwashed coal residue and carefully tucked it into his pocket.

Getting back into his car, he floored the gas and rushed back to Shu City.

After returning to Shu City, Chen Sheng first found an accessory shop that girls usually frequent and bought a small pouch used for earrings or other jewelry. He put the anthracite containing the blood amber into the pouch and then drove to a jewelry store that looked quite high-end.

Entering the jewelry store, he found the store manager with the guidance of a sales assistant. Chen Sheng stated his purpose directly: "Hello! Do you buy gemstones here?"

"Hello, sir. Our store does have a buyback service. May I ask what type of jewelry you are looking to sell?"

Chen Sheng took out the pouch containing the blood amber and placed it on the display counter in front of them. "It's this."

"Is this blood amber?" the manager murmured uncertainly.

Chen Sheng gave the manager a thumbs-up. As expected, someone who could become a manager in a place like this definitely had some skill.

"Sir, please wait a moment. I'll call the appraiser over." The manager summoned a sales assistant and instructed, "Please take this gentleman to the lounge area."

"Certainly, Manager." The assistant obeyed and made a welcoming gesture to Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng stood up, naturally picked up the pouch with the blood amber, and followed the assistant to the lounge.

After waiting in the lounge for less than ten minutes, the manager returned with a middle-aged man. "Sir, sorry to keep you waiting. This is Teacher Qin. He will be appraising the blood amber in your possession."

"Hello!"

"Hello!"

After exchanging greetings, Teacher Qin said impatiently, "Where is the blood amber?"

Chen Sheng took the blood amber out of his pocket again. Just as he was about to place it on the table, the man stopped him. The man produced a small wooden tray from somewhere, with a silk-textured cloth lining the bottom. "Please place it here."

"Alright!"

Once Chen Sheng placed the blood amber onto the tray, the man pulled out a pair of gloves from somewhere and put them on skillfully. Only then did he carefully open the pouch and take out the blood amber inside.

Then, the man produced a magnifying glass with a flashlight function. He turned on the light and aimed the lens at the exposed part of the blood amber within the coal ball. He looked left and right, occasionally holding the blood amber up in the air and constantly adjusting the angle against the light.

The entire process was full of professionalism.

At least, that's what Chen Sheng thought.

...