Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

Having returned to the modern world, Zhou Feng was naturally unaware of the many dramas that had unfolded in his courtyard home. His figure had quietly appeared in his own small shop in the modern world.

Along with him were several clean chairs placed to the side, as well as various trinkets he had collected over the past few days.

Of course, the most valuable thing was the thumb ring in his pocket.

This was his first pot of gold in the modern world!

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Zhou Feng took out his phone, stared at the full signal bars as if in a dream, and dialed a number.

"Brother Tao, I've come across some good stuff. If you have some free time, could you come over and take a look?"

Chen Tao was his mentor when he entered this industry; he had keen insight and extensive connections.

If it weren't for the decades-long friendship between the two families' elders, they might not have taken him along.

He could handle those small items himself, but the world of thumb rings was too complicated for him to handle. He needed someone like Chen Tao to act as a go-between!

Not long after, Chen Tao rushed into the store. While he was there, Zhou Feng changed his clothes.

"Wow! Which remote rural area without internet access did you go to dig up all this stuff?!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, let me see. This enamel snuff bottle is quite nice; it might even fetch a mid-range price."

"And this huanghuali wood letter box, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, is worth tens of thousands. If it were auctioned, it could easily fetch six figures!"

"This celadon and white glaze scroll-shaped jar is also quite nice; it could fetch a small fortune."

"The Hetian jade cigarette holder looks nice, but it's still a small item."

"And this whole bunch of old furniture is made of huanghuali wood? What a waste of that material! It's so worn and in such poor condition!"

As soon as he entered, he spotted the pile of antiques that Zhou Feng had placed to the side, his eyes lighting up as he examined each piece.

After careful examination, none of the dozen or so items turned out to be fakes, which is quite an exaggeration!

In this line of work, finding one or two bargains is quite common.

But to find a dozen or so bargains at once is absurd.

This isn't bargain hunting, this is clearly a restocking trip!

After hesitating for a few seconds, Zhou Feng closed the shop door and took out the thumb ring that Master Cha had given him from his pocket.

With the system as his backing, he can go to the courtyard house at any time, and there will definitely be plenty of antiques and artifacts there in the future.

If Chen Tao passes the test and proves trustworthy, then there will be plenty of opportunities to make money with him in the future.

If he fails the test, then using a thumb ring to test his humanity can be seen as Zhou Feng paying for the kindness he had shown him before.

"Wow, bro, that ring you're wearing is something else! Where did you get it from...?"

Halfway through his sentence, Chen Tao suddenly slammed on the brakes. In this line of work, the most taboo thing is to pry into the origin of an object.

Zhou Feng didn't seem to care much, and just shrugged: "I got it from a Manchu old man before. He said it was a treasure that Emperor Guangxu once owned!"

"Holy crap?"

Chen Tao seemed to have been burned; his hand trembled, and he quickly and gently placed the ring he had picked up onto the velvet cloth on the counter.

"Bro, don't mess with me!"

"There was a thumb ring that Emperor Qianlong wore before, it was just white jade, and it sold for over 4000 million Hong Kong dollars at auction in Hong Kong! Although your rank as emperor can't compare to his, the material of yours is far superior!"

Do you know what this means?

Chen Tao swallowed hard, his voice becoming dry.

If this thing is real, it would be a huge steal that would cause a sensation in the industry!

His own brother knew perfectly well that the amount of money he could come up with was definitely no more than five figures, which was incomparable to the value of this ring!

A bargain worth tens of thousands of times more appeared before him?

But based on his own understanding, he is more inclined to believe that the style is counterfeit, only that the materials used are really extravagant!

These days, anything that claims to have been "officially used" is 99.9% likely to be a fake!

Zhou Feng took a deep breath: "Brother Tao, I'm not sure either. Could you help me find some experts to examine it and get it appraised?"

"Okay... I'll take care of this for you. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's done perfectly. Aren't you coming with me?"

Chen Tao hesitated for a moment. If this thing was real, it would be a hot potato for him. He wouldn't dare to close his eyes when he slept at night and would have to hold it with him.

But he agreed nonetheless, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

If this ring is real, it's a treasure worth tens of millions. Zhou Feng didn't go with him. Does he trust him to that extent?

"Brother, I don't need it. I still need to buy some goods and go back to the countryside to shovel soil. There are some places where there is no cell phone signal. If you can't reach me, don't worry, I'll call you as soon as I get a signal."

"And these things, could you please take care of them for me too? You have a key to our shop anyway."

Zhou Feng was also informing Chen Tao in advance, otherwise, if Chen Tao disappeared so often and couldn't be reached by phone, wouldn't the other party be worried?

Now that you explain it this way, it makes a lot more sense.

Of course, according to the rules of the trade, Chen Tao wouldn't inquire which village he was going to.

As for tracking...

If someone can actually follow him to the courtyard house, whether it's an antique or not, then it doesn't matter.

Zhou Feng simply handed over the rest of the stuff to Chen Tao to handle, and he'd just give him a big red envelope in return.

"Uh... okay, then leave this to me. When you go out, remember to buy a stun gun and carry it with you."

When you go to remote, impoverished areas, carrying supplies to trade with them, be careful not to get robbed.

Chen Tao's words were like a wake-up call, and Zhou Feng suddenly slapped his forehead.

He didn't dare go to Pigeon City before because he was afraid that he would be foolish enough to go there and get robbed.

Beiping in the 1960s was not as safe as it is today. Although guns were rarely seen, controlled knives were still rampant.

It's normal to have only a few people around every now and then; there's nowhere to look for them anyway.

"Alright, take care of yourself. I'm contacting experts to have it appraised right now! This batch of stuff of yours is pretty good; it could really fetch you a good price. You're going to strike it rich!"

Chen Tao keenly noticed that Zhou Feng looked slightly anxious, as if he had something to do, so he didn't waste any more time there.

He patted him on the shoulder, turned and walked outside, a sigh of regret on his face.

Needless to say, once this batch of antiques is dealt with, his underling will basically take off.

But he was only happy for Zhou Feng and felt no jealousy whatsoever.

Money is definitely a good thing, but sometimes some people don't really put it first.

After all, if one's virtue does not match one's position, disaster will surely follow; if one's wealth does not match one's status, one will not be able to enjoy it for long.

Ill-gotten gains will eventually disappear because of the same ill-gotten gains.