Inheriting a dilapidated ranch in North America, he became a billionaire through animal taming and t

Su Chen carried the shovel and walked to the old poplar tree.

Juan and Luis were still waiting nearby.

"Keep digging, there's more down there."

Juan was taken aback.

"Mr. Su, weren't you just looking for the jade pendant?"

"The jade pendant is the key; the treasure is still below."

Su Chen drew a new circle next to the tree trunk.

"Dig down, about three meters."

"Be careful, there might be wooden crates below."

Juan and Luis exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up.

The word "treasure" is confusing to everyone.

The excavator roared over, its bucket replaced with a smaller one, and it slowly began to dig away the soil.

After digging to a depth of two meters, the soil brought out by the bucket contained wood fragments.

Su Chen told Hu An to stop, then jumped into the pit and dug the soil away with his hands.

A thick wooden plank was exposed, its surface coated with black anti-corrosion paint, and it had not rotted away even after being buried for over a hundred years.

"This is it."

Su Chen stood up and told Juan to continue digging, but to slow down the pace.

The bucket carefully peeled away the soil around the plank, gradually revealing the entire plank.

It is the lid of a wooden box, which is about one meter long, half a meter wide, and half a meter high.

The sides are engraved with totems, exactly the same as the guardian totems on the iron box.

Su Chen jumped into the pit and pried open the box lid with a shovel.

The moment the lid was lifted, everyone was stunned.

The box was full of artifacts from Native American tribes.

At the top are several pieces of pottery, with simple and ancient shapes and red and black geometric patterns painted on the surface.

Several rolls of animal hide, already hardened and brittle, were pressed under the pottery.

But you can still see patterns and symbols drawn on it.

Beneath the animal hide were all ornaments.

Silver earrings, bone necklaces, polished gemstones, and several bone-handled daggers.

At the bottom of the box, there was a layer of gold coins.

It's not the kind of gold coin you see in Europe.

They were cast by the Native Americans themselves; they are irregular in shape and vary in size.

But each one is pure gold.

Su Chen lifted the entire box out and placed it on the ground.

Emma crouched down and inspected each item one by one.

"These pottery pieces are typical of the Blackfoot tribe's 'steppe style' and are at least 150 years old."

She picked up a roll of animal hide and carefully unfolded it.

"This is a map showing the migration route of the Blackfoot tribe."

"Look at this line, it goes north from Montana, crosses the border, and enters Canada."

She picked up another scroll.

"This is a leather painting used for sacrificial purposes, depicting the myths and legends of the Blackfoot tribe."

"These kinds of things are extremely rare in the collector's market, and a single piece can sell for tens of thousands of dollars."

Su Chen took things out one by one.

Emma wrote them down one by one in her notebook.

The eight pottery pieces are all in good condition, with only two having minor cracks.

Five rolls of animal hides, three rolls of maps, and two rolls of sacrificial leather paintings.

There are so many pieces of jewelry that it's impossible to count them all; there are more than thirty pairs of silver earrings alone.

More than twenty bone necklaces and more than fifty gemstones.

After counting the gold coins, there were a total of more than 160 coins.

Based on current gold prices plus the premium for antiques, the total value of this treasure is at least $300,000.

Su Chen was counting them.

The two hunting dogs suddenly started barking wildly, baring their teeth at the bushes north of the spring.

The gray wolf alpha also stood up, its ears perked up, and it growled in its throat.

Su Chen's heart tightened, and he turned to look.

Two figures were peeking out of the bushes, looking this way.

Once they were discovered, the two turned and ran.

"stop!"

Su Chen shouted and, with the gray wolf and hunting dogs, gave chase.

The gray wolf is the fastest runner, catching up to the distance of a few dozen meters in just a few seconds.

It leaped forward, blocking the two of them, baring its teeth and letting out a low growl.

The two men's legs went weak, and they collapsed to the ground.

Su Chen ran over and saw what the two people looked like.

They were all white men in their thirties, wearing ordinary jackets and jeans, and carrying no weapons.

But he was carrying a camera and a small backpack.

"Who are you? What are you doing on my ranch?"

Su Chen asked in a cold voice.

One of the fat men stammered.

"We are antique dealers from Kalispel. We heard that you dug up some Native American artifacts here, so we wanted to come and take a look."

Su Chen frowned.

"Who told you that?"

The fat man swallowed hard.

"People in the town's bars are saying you dug up treasure on the ranch."

"We just wanted to take some photos; we didn't intend to steal anything."

Su Chen stared at them for a few seconds, then let out a cold laugh.

"Take a photo?"

"The way you were posing just now didn't look like you were taking a photo."

The other skinny man quickly pulled a wad of cash from his backpack.

"Mr. Su, here is a thousand dollars. Consider it an apology for the inconvenience."

"We promise we won't come again."

Su Chen didn't take the money, but pointed in the direction of the spiritual spring.

"I don't care if you're antique dealers or journalists, this is my private ranch, and no one is allowed to come in without my permission."

"I won't call the police today, but if you dare to come again, I'll unleash the wolves."

He glanced at the gray wolf, who grinned in agreement.

The two antique dealers turned pale with fright and scrambled away.

Su Chen led the gray wolf and hunting dogs back to the digging site.

Have the gray wolves increase patrols around the Spirit Spring.

Juan and Luis had already loaded the boxes onto the pickup truck and were waiting for him.

"Mr. Su, these items must be worth a lot of money, right?"

Juan asked in a low voice.

Su Chen nodded.

"It's valuable, but it's not just about the money."

"These things have historical value and must be preserved."

Back to the main house.

Su Chen carried the box into the treasure chamber and placed it together with the iron box and ornaments from before.

He sat down in the chair and opened the system panel.

[Main quest progress updated!]

Herd size: 125/200 (incomplete)

Facility Repair: 100% (Completed)

Green coverage rate: 45%/60% (not yet completed)

[Host detected to have completed a hidden mission: Discovery of Blackfoot Clan treasure!]

[Reward: Grassland Improvement Agent x5!]

[Grassland amendment: After spraying, it can improve grassland quality, accelerate vegetation recovery, and increase the nutritional value of forage.]

Su Chen's eyes lit up.

The greening rate has been stuck at 45% and can't be increased.

The grasslands have degraded so severely that relying on natural restoration is too slow.

With this grassland conditioner, the greening rate can be met quickly.

He took out the grassland improvement agent from his system inventory.

It is a spray bottle containing a pale green liquid.

Su Chen took the spray can and walked to the south slope.

I sprayed it a few times on the withered grass.

The pale green liquid fell onto the grass blades and quickly seeped in.

A few minutes later, the withered grass began to turn green.

The change is very slight, but it is indeed turning green.

A thin layer of black stuff also appeared on the surface of the soil.

It feels like humus, soft and spongy when you step on it.

[Grass quality is being improved... The green coverage rate is expected to increase by 5% within 24 hours.]

Su Chen smiled.

If all five cans of grassland conditioner are used, the greening rate can be increased to at least 60%.

He returned to the main house, sat on the porch, and looked in the direction of the spirit spring.

The setting sun was sinking below the mountain ridgeline, and a fiery red sunset painted the horizon.

The sunset glow shone on the Lingquan Spring, and the water reflected golden light.

The crown of that old cotton poplar tree was tinged with orange.

A thought popped into Su Chen's mind.

The letter from the eagle said that a treasure was buried beside the sacred spring, beneath an ancient tree.

He dug it up, but is that really all?

Running Eagle is the chieftain of the Blackfoot tribe, and the treasure he buried should be more than just this one box.

Perhaps many more are buried elsewhere on the ranch.

Su Chen stood up and patted the dirt off his clothes.

Tomorrow, he's going to explore this ranch thoroughly.

The system's Earth Exploration skill has been upgraded to Lv.2, with a detection range of 500 meters and a depth of 10 meters.

He refused to believe that this was all there was to this land.