38: Chapter 38 Shocking Gift Giving

Elder Chen lived in a villa community near the museum. Security was very tight here; once Cao Xiao arrived, the guard only let him in after confirming with Elder Chen that he had a visitor.

"Have a seat first. Your mistress is cooking, so I'm going to help out. It'll be ready in a moment. Huh? What's that in your hand?"

Elder Chen didn't look like a knowledgeable scholar at all right now. Wearing an apron over a white undershirt and large shorts, he had completely lost the refined image he maintained outside, looking just like an ordinary old man. He greeted Cao Xiao at the door and asked curiously as he saw Cao Xiao carrying two bags, one large and one small.

"Teacher, this is some game I got today—wild pheasant and wild rabbit. It's already been prepared," Cao Xiao said, handing the small bag to Elder Chen.

"That's very thoughtful of you. I love eating game. Back when I was young and sent to the countryside, supplies were scarce, so we often went out to get some game to supplement our diet. It's been many years since I've had authentic game," Elder Chen said with emotion as he took the bag upon hearing it was wild rabbit, seemingly reminiscing about the past.

"If you like it, I'll bring some for you often. I'm always running around outside. Since the mountains have been closed for reforestation for many years now, game is slowly becoming more common," Cao Xiao said.

"The children haven't returned yet, so there's no one to chat with you. Why don't you sit down and watch some TV for a bit?"

Elder Chen said a few more words before heading back to the kitchen to get busy.

Cao Xiao went to sit on the sofa by himself. Liu Guitang hadn't arrived yet. It was just past seven o'clock, so he turned on the TV to catch the news. A short while later, Liu Guitang arrived, and Elder Chen began serving the dishes. One by one, Elder Chen's children returned, making a large group of about ten people around the table.

"Let me introduce everyone. There's no need to introduce Little Liu, but this is my newly accepted last disciple, Cao Xiao. This is my eldest son, Huaiyu, and his wife Wu Zhen; my fourth son, Huaiming, and his wife Zhou Hui; my youngest daughter, Huaisu, and her husband Wang Zhenlin. This little one is my granddaughter Fangfang—Fangfang, you must call him Martial Uncle from now on. I have three sons and two daughters; my third son is in the army and isn't in this province, and my second daughter recently went abroad for a trip. You all should get to know each other well. Cao Xiao, your older brothers and sisters here have some influence; if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask them."

After everyone was seated, Elder Chen introduced them to one another, and Cao Xiao greeted each of them in turn.

"Everyone, try the wild pheasant and wild rabbit Xiao Xiao brought. Fangfang, is it delicious? Let's eat first, and then we can have a good chat after dinner."

After Elder Chen spoke, no one said much. Perhaps this was how Elder Chen's family ate—silence during meals and silence during sleep. In less than half an hour, the table of food was cleared, with not even the soup remaining. It wasn't that they were particularly hungry; rather, many families had the habit of not leaving leftovers, maintaining the fine tradition of cherishing food.

After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to chat. Chen Huaiyu brewed a cup of Longjing tea for everyone. Cao Xiao looked at the plain white packaging and smelled the tea's fragrance, immediately knowing this was authentic Longjing tea that couldn't be bought on the market, likely coming from that specific Imperial Tea Garden. Such things were rare, so Cao Xiao also put on an air of appreciation as he tasted it; it was indeed fragrant, elegant, and left a lingering aftertaste.

Cao Xiao took two sips and set down his teacup. He brought over the large bag he had carried in and took out a small rectangular box. Holding it out to Elder Chen, he said, "Teacher, I went to Changhua a couple of days ago and was lucky enough to buy some good chicken blood stone material. The square seal stones I cut from it are very good. This is my gift to you."

"You are very thoughtful. Let me see what good things you bought." Elder Chen smiled as he took the box, but upon opening it, his breathing quickened. "Top-grade full-blood great red robe! Where did you get this? Just what kind of dog-shit luck do you have? I've traveled all over the country for years and haven't managed to get a single piece. Take this back and keep it for yourself. An old man my age has no use for such things."

"Teacher, please accept it. I still have more." Cao Xiao took two more boxes out of the plastic bag and opened them, handing one to Liu Guitang at the same time. "Brother Liu, this is a gift for you."

"Kid, where did you get so many top-grade great red robes? You can't find a single piece on the market right now, yet you just produced three square seals. Even the mine owners over there might not be able to produce this. That big bag of yours... it can't all be this, can it? Don't scare me. Since when did great red robe become so worthless?" Liu Guitang took the box, pulled out the chicken blood stone inside, examined it closely, and spoke with a strange expression.

"Xiao Xiao, what's the story with these three pieces? It's very difficult to cut three pieces of full-blood great red robe from a single chicken blood stone without any flaws." Elder Chen was also shocked by what Cao Xiao had produced. One piece could be called luck, but three pieces were enough to be staggering.

Cao Xiao had braced himself to bring these out today. Elder Chen didn't allow him to gamble on stones, but he hadn't said he couldn't buy raw materials. Now that the materials had been made into finished products, he figured his teacher wouldn't mind. He hadn't expected just a few pieces of great red robe to shock everyone so much. At this point, he could only make his lie sound plausible—after all, it wasn't entirely a lie, and he wouldn't have done this if it weren't necessary. So he said, "Didn't I go to Changhua a few days ago? I went specifically for chicken blood stone. The ones I bought and cut ended up being unsatisfactory, so I went into the mine shafts to dig for myself. It was an old shaft that's no longer being mined. I was just digging around randomly and didn't expect to find some good material not far from the entrance. I kept digging in that spot and actually found quite a bit of top-grade material. This bag isn't just chicken blood stone; there's also some jewelry made of white jade and jadeite. I came today to trouble you to give me an appraisal, as I want to learn. I asked Brother Liu to come because I wanted to ask him to help me sell them. I've been a bit short on money lately; that forest plot is a massive money pit. These three seal stones were cut from one large piece of chicken blood stone. That stone yielded over twenty pieces in total, but only these three reached full-blood status."

"Your luck is simply too good, finding so many top-grade pieces in an abandoned old mine. However, a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall; don't take such risks next time. I'll accept this piece, and give me yours as well—I'll find someone to carve it for you before returning it. Little Liu, you'll have to figure out your own carving. Those old fellows can be quite unreasonable, and I can't withstand their exploitation, so you'll have to bleed a little yourself." Elder Chen felt relieved after hearing Cao Xiao's explanation, though he again warned him not to take risks before happily examining the stone.

Chen Huaiyu and the others also watched with wide eyes. As Elder Chen's descendants, they had a family background in this and also liked these things. Seeing the highest-tier Changhua great red robe dangling right before their eyes, it would be a lie to say they weren't moved. However, they just watched without speaking.

"Brother Huaiyu, Brother Huaiming, Brother-in-law, there are no more great red robes, but I still have some good materials here. Take a look and pick what you like." Cao Xiao noticed the longing gazes of the people nearby. He rummaged through the bag and took out four boxes. Why four? Elder Chen's third son hadn't returned, but Cao Xiao couldn't leave him out.

The four boxes contained cut square seal stones, but the materials were all different: two were tianhuang jelly, one was mutton fat jelly, and one was cinnabar jelly. The blood volume in all of them was over sixty percent, and the blood patterns varied—the two Field Yellow Jellies had block patterns, the mutton fat jelly had plum blossom patterns, and the cinnabar jelly had streak patterns.