Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

After Wang An finished speaking, Shen Wei immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll go right away," and then turned around and went into the yard to boil water.

Wang An's family had two rooms specifically for bathing. In the summer, they could simply heat the water in a black-painted iron bucket and take a bath. In other seasons, they had to boil water in a large pot.

However, there are stoves in the bathing rooms, so it's not cold even when taking a bath in winter.

Shen Wei went into the courtyard to boil water, and everyone else followed suit. Only then did Wang An ask Mu Xueqing about the two little babies.

To be honest, Wang An couldn't wait to carry Mu Xueqing to the kang (a heated brick bed) and have a proper interaction and conversation with her.

As the saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder." Wang An hasn't chatted with a woman for over a month now, and he's practically become an ascetic. So his desire for that kind of thing is incredibly strong.

There was no way around it; Wang An himself had a strong sexual desire, and now he was at the peak of his sexual energy. It was absolutely impossible for him not to have any thoughts when he saw a beautiful wife.

Unfortunately, there are too many people now, and Wang An really has no chance.

Once inside the courtyard, Wang Dazhu frowned and asked:

"Xiao An, I remember you each had two horses before you left, so how come there are four more horses? What happened?"

Apart from the two Oroqen horses that were bought, the rest of Wang An's horses came into the house without costing a penny. Therefore, Wang Dazhu firmly believed that there must be a reason for the extra four horses, which must also have been acquired without spending any money.

Wang An's eyes darted around, and he blurted out something unfounded:

"Hey, we had too much stuff, and one horse couldn't carry it all. So we left in the mountains and traded some sticks for these four horses."

It wasn't that Wang An didn't want to tell his father the truth, but rather that the fewer people who knew about the murder, the better; there was absolutely no need to reveal it.

Besides, Wang An didn't want his family to be scared, since he and his three companions had snatched the four horses from the four TS men, and those four TS mountain people had been sent to the Buddha's side by Wang An and his three companions.

After listening, Wang Dazhu looked at Wang An with suspicion, clearly not believing what Wang An said.

When Wang An saw his father's expression, he immediately knew that his father did not believe him!

So Wang An winked at Wang Dazhu, and Wang Dazhu immediately knew something was up, but with so many people around, Wang An couldn't say anything.

Wang Dazhu nodded, then looked at the four horses and said:
"Oh my god, this horse is so thin! How long has it been since it was fed?"

The term "fodder" is a word composed of two characters, but they actually refer to two different things: grass and grain. So, when Wang Dazhu said "feeding," he meant "feeding grain."

Wang An echoed:

"Yeah, it's too skinny. If we weren't in a hurry, and there are very few people in the mountains we could find, we definitely wouldn't be replacing this horse."

As they spoke, everyone worked together to untie the ropes on the horses' backs and unload the loads one by one.

However, the two large sacks containing the 22 guns and the sack containing the gold were unloaded by Wang An and his three companions.

There's no way to explain the horse incident, but the sudden appearance of so many guns of different ages is inexplicable. We can't exactly say that these guns were also obtained by exchanging ginseng, can we?
Who do you think is a fool?

The main problem is that Wang An's family already has enough guns. What's the point of getting so many more?
As for gold, although its weight of 120 kilograms seems very small, it is extremely heavy. People with poor physical strength cannot lift it, and it is very easy to strain your back if you try to move it without preparation.

Soon, everything on the eight horses was unloaded and moved into the barn.

After unloading the goods, Wang Li, Mu Xueli, and Huang Zhong didn't even go inside the house. Instead, they each rode a horse and led two others home in a hurry.

Wang Li and Mu Xueli were in a hurry to go home to check on things, while Huang Zhong went home to take his horse home and pick up a change of clothes.

The four horses that were stolen were divided up by Wang An while they were in the mountains, one for each person, no more and no less.

After unloading the goods, everyone went inside. Wang An told everyone about what happened in the mountains for a while. Huang Zhong then rode his motorcycle back to Wang An's house. At this time, Shen Wei had also prepared the bath water.

Wang An and Huang Zhong grabbed their change of clothes and eagerly rushed into the bathroom.

After a flurry of activity, scooping hot water into the two large bathtubs and then adding cold water, the two brothers stripped off their clothes and jumped into one of the tubs.

"Hiss~ Hoo~! Holy crap! This feels so good!" Sitting cross-legged in the hot water, Wang An couldn't help but say with great enjoyment.

"Mmm, that feels great, so great!" Wang An said, and Huang Zhong, in another bathtub, also said, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Wang An leaned against the bathtub wall and said with a chuckle:

"I'll take you to the county bathhouse sometime. It's much more relaxing there than this tub."

If it weren't for the fact that it was a bit far from the county town, Wang An would definitely have chosen to take a bath at the county town's public bathhouse instead of at home.

After all, there are people in the bathhouse who specialize in scrubbing your body. For just two cents more, the scrubbing master can scrub your body until it's super clean. The most important thing is that after the scrubbing, you have to get cupping done. Oh my god, that's so comfortable! All the fatigue in your body is instantly swept away. It feels so good!

Of course, what I'm talking about here is the very formal kind of bath. If you want something a little less formal, then there are many more things you can enjoy.

After Wang An finished speaking, Huang Zhong said, quite puzzled:
"Brother, going to a public bathhouse is just soaking in water, what's the difference?"

Wang An turned his head and glanced at Huang Zhong's pure eyes. He wanted to tell Huang Zhong about the irregular bathing process, but he swallowed the words back.

Wang Li and Mu Xueli have already been led astray by Wang An. As for Huang Zhong, Wang An feels it is necessary to wait a little longer, since Huang Zhong is not yet an adult.

So, Wang An chuckled and began explaining the proper bathing procedure to Huang Zhong.

After Wang An finished speaking, Huang Zhong showed not the slightest interest whatsoever, and said with wide, vacant eyes:

"Cupping? I have cupping sets at home, do you want to get it done? I'll go home and get those cupping sets later."

Wang An was taken aback upon hearing this, and subconsciously asked:

"Do you still have one of those at home? Do you know cupping?"

As Huang Zhong washed himself, he said confidently:

"I'm really good at that. It's simple. My mom taught me. Whenever my dad sprains or hurts something while working, my mom can give him cupping therapy."

Wang An nodded and said, "Okay, after you take a bath, go and get the cupping set. Then you can give me a cupping treatment. To be honest, I really want to get a cupping treatment."

About half an hour later, the two, looking refreshed and with clean-shaven beards, finally emerged from the bathroom.

However, after the two entered the house, when Huang Zhong said he needed to go home to get cupping sets for Wang An, Huang Zhong's mother, Gu Xinghua, took the initiative to say:
"I'll go get them. Xiao Zhong doesn't even know where I put those jars."

As she spoke, Gu Xinghua went out of the house to go home and get the jar.

But when Gu Xinghua placed the fire cups on Wang An's coffee table, Wang An was stunned when he saw the crystal-clear white porcelain fire cups.

Subconsciously, Wang An picked up a cupping jar, examined it carefully, and then looked at the bottom of the jar.

When the four characters "Yuan You Fourth Year" appeared in Wang An's sight, Wang An's eyes widened instantly.

Without thinking, Wang An exclaimed four words:

"Holy crap!"

Although Wang An's expertise in antiques is not particularly profound, he can still distinguish between genuine and fake items.

Furthermore, at that time, the prices of antiques in mainland China were not yet so insane, and there were not so many people making and selling fakes. Therefore, compared to later generations, it was relatively easier to distinguish the authenticity of antiques in this era.

The reason Wang An exclaimed in surprise was because he was certain that the cupping jar he was holding was a piece of porcelain from the Song Dynasty. If Wang An was not mistaken, it was made by the very famous Ding kiln of the Song Dynasty.

Ding ware, also known as Ding kiln, is a representative of northern white porcelain from the Song Dynasty. It mainly produced white porcelain and was as famous as the official kiln, Ge kiln, and Jun kiln of the Song Dynasty.

Ding ware white porcelain is characterized by its fine body and flawless white glaze. Its pioneering "over-firing" technique has had a profound influence on later generations.

After exclaiming in surprise, Wang An picked up the remaining cupping jars and examined them one by one.

As Wang An picked up and put down the fire pots one by one, he became increasingly shocked. He was utterly astonished. All twelve white porcelain fire pots, which were of different sizes but the same shape, were products of the Ding kiln in the Song Dynasty.

Of course, Wang An kept uttering the word "Holy crap" over and over again.

It's important to know that while many Song Dynasty porcelains have survived, Ding ware porcelains are extremely rare, and each piece commands a very high price.

But Huang Zhong's family has a total of 12 Ding kiln white porcelain cupping jars, which is truly enviable!
Could this be considered an "unexpected surprise" for Huang Baoguo's family?
It must be said, however, that the white porcelain fired in Ding kiln looks just like jade, and is truly quite beautiful.

Wang An's exclamation naturally attracted everyone's attention.

Seeing Wang An's unusual behavior as he accepted the cupping jars and repeatedly exclaimed "Holy crap!", Huang Zhong immediately realized that Wang An had discovered something unusual about his cupping jars. He proactively approached and asked:
"Brother, is there any special meaning behind cupping therapy?"

Gu Xinghua looked at Wang An with a worried expression and asked:

"Young Master An, what's wrong with this cupping?"

To be fair, Gu Xinghua was a very beautiful woman, but in the past, life had worn her down, and she looked like an old lady.

However, since she started working at Wang An's house, their living conditions have improved dramatically, so her health has recovered, and she looks much younger and more plump.

After Gu Xinghua finished asking her question, Huang Baoguo, Wang Dazhu, and the others all subconsciously stood up and moved closer to Wang An, clearly wanting to hear what he would say.

Wang An looked up at Gu Xinghua, then turned to look at Huang Baoguo and his son Huang Zhong before returning to normal and saying with a smile:

"I didn't expect your family to have such good stuff. Let me tell you, these twelve white porcelain fire pots alone could buy ten or twenty of the ones in your yard right now. Hmm, no, thirty or forty, hehehehe."

After Wang An finished speaking, not only were Huang Baoguo and Gu Xinghua stunned, but Wang Dazhu, Liu Guilan, and others were also stunned.

Huang Baoguo's courtyard, along with the main house, side rooms, and factory sheds within it, cost a total of over 5 yuan.

Thirty of them, each costing 5 yuan, would amount to 15 yuan; forty of them, would amount to 20 yuan.

Keep in mind that this was around 80 yuan in the 20s! That's enough to create around 20 households with ten thousand yuan each.

After a long while, Huang Baoguo said, his face full of astonishment and disbelief:

"Young Master An, these broken fire pots are only worth tens of thousands?"

It was incredibly difficult for Huang Baoguo to say the whole sentence, which shows how much of an impact Wang An's revelation of the value of these fire cups had on him!

Wang An nodded with a smile and said:

"Absolutely. These were made in the Ding kiln during the Song Dynasty. There aren't many genuine ones that have survived to this day. Besides, your fire pots are not only exquisitely made, but they also have the year engraved on them."

After a pause, Wang An suddenly asked:
"By the way, Uncle, how many cupping jars are there in total? Are there only twelve, or are there only twelve left?"

As is well known, the more complete a set of antique porcelain is, the higher its price will be. If it is a complete set, the price can even be several times higher.

Huang Baoguo was still in shock when Wang Anhou said something as if he hadn't heard it at all, and didn't react at all.

Gu Xinghua was the first to react and said:

“Young Master An, there are actually quite a few cupping jars. Our family was given 12, and the rest were given to my husband’s older brother and younger brother by my parents-in-law.”

After hearing this, Wang clicked his tongue in disbelief, feeling extremely regretful and disappointed.

Although Wang An didn't know how many cupping sets should have, it was clear that Huang Baoguo's set only contained a portion of them.

Seeing that Wang An remained silent and wore a regretful expression, Gu Xinghua hurriedly asked anxiously:

"Young Master An, are these cupping jars still worth that much money?"

Wang An looked up at Gu Xinghua, smiled, and nodded, saying:
"It's worth it, it absolutely is. If we could collect the rest, it would be even more valuable, maybe even double."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xinghua's anxiety vanished instantly. She turned to look at Huang Baoguo, who, having somehow come to his senses, also looked at his wife, Gu Xinghua. (End of Chapter)