Chapter 372: This is Sunken Wood

Zhou Lao Ban smiled faintly,

"If I'm not mistaken, this is sunken wood, also called wulong wood; you've surely heard of it—I have a bracelet of this at home, so I know."

Sunken wood, Ye Cheng understood as soon as he heard it.

You should know, there was a period in later times when people loved playing with bracelets—back then, a man would have several on his hand.

All kinds of materials exist—huanghuali, rosewood, cedar, and among them a large category is sunken wood.

However, those later-era sunken wood bracelets number under a hundred—plainly put, they're man-made.

Because genuine sunken wood is one in ten thousand, something you can encounter but not seek.

Sunken wood, also known as black wood, carbonized wood, ancient sunken wood, is wood from ancient times that, due to natural geological disasters (such as earthquakes, floods, mudslides), was buried underground or sunk into rivers and lakes; under special conditions of low oxygen, high pressure, and microbial action, it slowly carbonized over thousands or even tens of thousands of years, forming a special timber with the effect of not rotting for ten thousand years.

Generally speaking, forming sunken wood requires at least 3000 years and such harsh conditions, so the genuine article is rare.

Precisely because of its scarcity, during the Ming and Qing dynasties sunken wood was reserved for the imperial household, symbolizing supreme authority.

Meanwhile, the common folk generally regard sunken wood as a treasure for warding off evil and protecting the home, with the effect of gathering qi and attracting wealth, giving rise to the saying, 'Even a chest full of gold is not worth a piece of black wood.'

Thus sunken wood is also very valuable, but it varies by tree species; the most precious is golden-thread nanmu sunken wood, whose grain resembles golden threads, and a ton can exceed a million.

In later times there are many counterfeit methods, such as artificial carbonization, resin synthesis, and spliced forgeries, but fake is fake—the weight in hand just doesn't meet the standard.

Ye Cheng's piece here isn't golden-thread nanmu wood; it should be ordinary timber, feels extremely heavy in hand, suggesting it's old enough, just too small in size.

Even if calculated at 50,000 per ton, this piece would be under 1,000 dollars.

Of course, this is a rough price; if you really wanted to buy it, it'd probably be a bit difficult.

Hearing it was sunken wood, Ye Cheng himself felt a bit tempted—after all, it's a rarity; who doesn't like rare things?

He Lao Ban didn't care; typical of enjoying the spectacle without minding a big fuss, he poked Zhou Lao Ban,

"Old Zhou, hurry up and name a price—give our Lao Er a good deal, or else they'll stop selling to you in the future."

Zhou Lao Ban, with a solemn expression, picked up the wood and weighed it a bit, then examined the grain closely, and said slowly,

"Lao Er, this piece isn't ordinary timber; the material is small, but the feel is very smooth, with a metallic texture."

Zhou Lao Ban's remarks were fairly objective—he mentioned drawbacks and advantages—next came the price.

"3,000 dollars—I'll take it to play with myself; this price is definitely above market, I just want authenticity—Lao Er, what do you think?" Zhou Lao Ban quoted a price of 3,000 dollars.

To be honest, Ye Cheng felt neither surprised nor delighted by this price.

It's not because the price is low; mainly, Ye Cheng himself isn't short of money.

Damn it, if I'd known it was a rarity I should have had Xiao Hu keep it safe; now that people have seen it and made an offer, Ye Cheng also feels a bit embarrassed.

"Alright, since Zhou Lao Ban likes it, I'll let him have it." Ye Cheng spoke with a hint of regret, and after saying it couldn't help but glance back at Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu naturally knew what he was thinking, felt his butt lift, and lowered his head to work.

Damn, blame me.

Earlier you also just tossed it aside, now that you know it's a treasure, you come blame me.

But Xiao Hu suddenly thought of something, and gave Da Huang a look of doubtful surprise.

This stick was brought back by Da Huang in his mouth; this guy really seems to have some special ability.

The deal settled, Zhou Lao Ban happily took the item.

The scallops altogether weighed 2,300 catties, yuan, plus the sunken wood's 3,000 yuan, total is yuan.

Ye Cheng gave Xiao Hu 10,000, and kept 20,000 for himself.

Current savings: 190,000; external debt 30,000; mortgage 300,000.

On the way back, Xiao Hu watched Da Huang and spoke his thoughts,

"Brother, do you think this Da Huang can hunt for treasure?"

Ye Cheng frowned slightly, eyes narrowing,

"I don't know if it can hunt for treasure, but these several treasures were all found by it, and."

Ye Cheng paused, then said in a solemn tone,

"I suspect there's still more sunken wood there, definitely not just this bit."

"What?" Xiao Hu exclaimed in shock, "Brother, you mean the island where we gathered the scallops?"

"Not on the island, but in the sea; we'll go out again tomorrow, bring Da Huang along—a piece of wood is 3,000, if we get a big one, it won't be calculated by the thousand."

That evening, Ye Cheng looked up the data on sunken wood thoroughly, so he wouldn't fail to recognize it when going out to sea the next day.

As for Da Huang, sorry, Ye Cheng kept him at home tonight; if he ran off, Ye Cheng wouldn't be able to find him tomorrow.

The next morning, Ye Cheng got up very early, fed Da Huang a bit, then carried him out.

When he and Xiao Hu reached the dock, boats were already setting out one after another; those night fishermen had sold their catch and were preparing to head home.

"Lao Er, why are you up so early?" Duan Chunsheng came over, face full of fatigue.

"Uncle Duan, are you off to catch squid again?" Ye Cheng, seeing his state, knew he was going night-fishing.

"What can I do? You didn't bring me, so I have to go alone." Duan Chunsheng said, feigning aggrievement.

At his age, with a bristly beard, still putting on cute and aggrieved acts—Ye Cheng was also convinced.

"Uncle, wait a couple days and we'll go out to sea together."

Upon hearing Ye Cheng say they'd go out to sea together, Duan Chunsheng's expression changed instantly,

"Then, we had agreed on that."

"Damn, uncle, you're so wise and mighty—who could fool you?"

"Hahaha, that's true too—are you planning to haul two nets today?" Duan Chunsheng asked casually.

"Yeah, we want to check out that island where we previously hid from the storm." Ye Cheng also didn't hide anything.

"Didn't you say you got 2,000 catties of scallops there yesterday? Anything else?" Duan Chunsheng asked in surprise.

"No, I just want to look at something else."

Alright, if there are still scallops or whatever, remember to bring me along.

After exchanging pleasantries with Duan Chunsheng, Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu hurriedly boarded the boat and headed out to sea.

Today we're going to get some sunk wood; the fewer people who know, the better.

The two of them drove the boat without idle chatter, heading straight to that island from yesterday; along the way they saw quite a few trawlers.

The weather has been decent lately, so everyone is taking advantage of this time to grab some goods; even a little is better than nothing.

All the way there was no talk; when they reached the island's edge, Ye Cheng this time pulled the boat farther in, closer to where Da Huang had previously dragged a branch ashore.