Courtyard House: Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) Traded for an Aircraft Carrier, the Whole Count

Under the dim light, Jiang Chen's voice echoed in the empty basement, carrying an undeniable sense of dominance.

Lou Bancheng stood to the side, watching the young man casually pick up a heavy gold bar as if he were strolling in his own backyard, weigh it in his hand, and then toss it back into the box with a crisp "clang." In that instant, Lou Bancheng's heart felt as if it had been struck hard by that gold bar, and he felt a sharp pain.

That was the culmination of half his life's work.

But at this moment, all he could do was force a smile, even though that smile was more painful than a grimace: "I'm glad you like it, sir. I'm glad you like it."

Jiang Chen ignored Lou Bancheng's heartache; his gaze, like radar, swept over the basement that had concealed half a century's worth of wealth.

It must be said that the Lou family truly lived up to their reputation as one of the wealthiest families in the city, known as "Lou Halfway Down the City".

Along one side of the wall, twenty large camphor wood chests were neatly stacked. Jiang Chen casually opened a few, and a golden light instantly filled his eyes. They were all "big yellow croakers," each exquisitely crafted and stamped with the seal of the Central Mint during the Republic of China era, their purity impeccable. These gold bars, each weighing ten taels, could be exchanged for a courtyard house on the black market today, and here, there were hundreds of them.

Besides gold, the other side of the display shelf is filled with an even wider variety of antique items.

At the very top of the shelf sat a warm-colored porcelain cup, its surface painted with a picture of a mother hen and her chicks, the style simple yet vivid. Although Jiang Chen wasn't an antique expert, the system's notification sounds were already flooding his mind.

[A genuine Chenghua Doucai chicken cup has been discovered. Estimated value: extremely high.]

[A genuine Song Dynasty Ru ware celadon sunflower-shaped washer has been discovered. Estimated value: extremely high.]

[A genuine scroll painting of landscape by Tang Yin has been discovered...]

[A white jade thumb ring used by Emperor Qianlong has been discovered...]

In the corner, several tin boxes stood out incongruously. Jiang Chen walked over and kicked open the lids. Inside were neatly bundled US dollars and British pounds, as well as some discontinued Chinese currency and silver coins that were still valuable in the collector's market.

This is a gold mine.

A mountain of gold that could drive anyone mad, or leave anyone without a burial place in this turbulent era.

"System, get to work."

Jiang Chen silently recited the command in his mind, and then with a thought, he connected to the personal subspace that was originally only 1 cubic meter in size.

In an instant, an invisible suction force suddenly erupted, centered on Jiang Chen.

Standing at the back, Lou Bancheng felt a blur before his eyes, as if the air itself had distorted. Then, he witnessed a scene he would never forget—

Jiang Chen was like a deep-sea whale with its jaws wide open, indulging in a gluttonous feast.

Wherever he went, the heavy camphor wood chests, the rare porcelain on the antique shelves, and the foreign currency boxes in the corners seemed to lose their gravity, turning into streaks of light and disappearing into the void.

There was no noise of moving things, no heavy breathing, only an almost artistic "disappearance".

"receive."

Jiang Chen brushed his hand across a row of Ming Dynasty rosewood armchairs, and the furniture, weighing several hundred kilograms, vanished instantly.

"receive."

He pointed his finger at the mountain of silver dollars, and thousands of silver dollars, along with the sacks that contained them, vanished in the blink of an eye.

The system space, which was originally only 1 cubic meter, has been expanded thanks to Jiang Chen's previous upgrades and mission rewards, but it still seems insufficient to handle such a huge amount of resources.

[Warning! Your personal storage space is 95%...98%...]

A red warning light started flashing in my mind.

Jiang Chen frowned slightly, but his movements didn't stop at all. He quickly pulled up the transaction interface in his mind, his eyes coldly scanning for deals.

"These Yuan Shikai silver dollars and Sun Yat-sen silver dollars, although they are hard currency, are bulky, have a relatively low unit price, and take up a lot of space."

"These rosewood furniture pieces, although antiques, take up too much space and are difficult to resell in Hong Kong."

"System, directly exchange all silver coins, rosewood furniture, and some paintings and calligraphy of average condition for trading points!"

[Command confirmed. Redeeming...]

[Exchange successful! Received 3200 trading points.]

The space has been cleared.

As the system notification faded, the silver coins and furniture that had filled the space instantly transformed into a virtual data stream, becoming the reassuring balance on Jiang Chen's system panel. The freed-up space was immediately filled with gold and top-tier antiques, which were of higher value but smaller in size.

This was an extremely efficient process of "removing the dross and retaining the essence".

ten minutes.

In just ten minutes.

The once magnificent basement, filled with rare treasures, is now completely empty.

Even the dust on the display shelves had been mostly swept away, leaving only bare cement walls and a few lonely load-bearing columns.

They were truly destitute.

Even if a mouse comes in, you have to leave with tears in your eyes.

Lou Bancheng stood there blankly, holding a kerosene lamp, staring at the empty basement that looked like it had been ransacked. His lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Although she had long been mentally prepared, and had long promised to give it all to Jiang Chen.

But witnessing the wealth accumulated by generations vanish completely in just ten minutes was so visually shocking and psychologically disheartening that it made him feel dizzy and his heart was bleeding.

That's money! That's life!

"What's wrong? Feeling sorry for him?"

Jiang Chen patted non-existent dust off his hands, turned around, and looked at Lou Bancheng with a half-smile.

Lou Bancheng jolted awake, snapping out of his pain. Looking at the unfathomable young man before him, and recalling the incredible skill he had just witnessed, his greed was instantly suppressed by fear.

"No... I wouldn't dare!" Lou Bancheng hurriedly shook his head, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace, and cupped his hands, saying, "Out with the old, in with the new. It's an honor for the Lou family that these material possessions have caught your eye, sir. As long as we can save the lives of our entire family, these things... are worth it!"

He was genuinely scared.

For someone who can make a fortune vanish into thin air with a flick of their wrist, making a few people disappear is probably easier than crushing an ant.

"The fact that you can think this way means you're not destined to die."

Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction, appreciating Lou Bancheng's sensible understanding. With this enormous fortune as a foundation, his plans could now be fully implemented. Whether it was the impending storm or the future business empire, he now had sufficient leverage.

He raised his wrist and looked at the Seagull watch he had taken from the Soviet revisionist expert.

Two o'clock in the morning.

The rain outside had lessened a bit, but the thunder was still rumbling faintly.

"Let's go to the second floor."

Jiang Chen straightened his collar, the greed in his eyes fading, replaced by a hunter's calm. "If we're going to put on a show, we have to go all the way. The basement is empty, but it's not over upstairs yet. Since Xu Damao wants to raid the place, we have to set the stage perfectly and leave him no stone unturned."