Chapter 228: Seventies Treasure Appraisal System (2)

After Xie Yang finished receiving the short life of the original body—a cannon fodder and a patsy—she summoned the Main System:

"What about the Sub-system that needs to be recovered in this plane? It wasn't mentioned in the original body's memories."

Main System: 【It is right there in the mahogany chest in the Host's bridal chamber; it was part of the dowry the original body's maiden family gave her to press the bottom of the chest.】

【In the original world, the original body never activated this Sub-system until her death. It was only after she died that Bai Xiuyuan, as her closest sister-in-law, discovered and activated it while helping to handle her funeral arrangements.】

Upon hearing this, Xie Yang was thoughtful: "So, the protagonist of this plane's destiny is Bai Xiuyuan?"

【To be precise, it is Bai Xiuyuan and her husband.】

【The couple used the Sub-system's bug to become the richest people in the country, but their greed was insatiable; they hollowed out the nation's dragon veins and smuggled a large number of national treasures abroad. Aside from the loss of national treasures, they caused multiple families to be torn apart and incited social unrest, eventually leading to the collapse of the original world...】

As Xie Yang listened to the Main System broadcast the process of how Bai Xiuyuan and her husband used the plane's bugged Sub-system to amass wealth after the original body's death, she opened the two mahogany clothing chests that the original body's maiden family had made for her wedding.

Digging to the very bottom of the lower chest, she lifted a piece of indigo-dyed printed fabric to reveal the original body's dowry—a well-preserved silver-cased porcelain-dial Mechanical Pocket Watch.

The bugged Sub-system of this plane, the "One-Second Treasure Appraisal System," was attached to this pocket watch.

Xie Yang chose to activate it.

【Ding! Very happy to bind with the Host! I am your Appraising Treasures assistant, Xiaobao. I can appraise treasures from any era in one second.】

【Ding! Scanned two cross-era treasures in this room. If you need an appraisal, please press 1; to ignore, please press 2.】

Two items?

Xie Yang raised her delicate eyebrows.

One was presumably the silver-cased porcelain-dial Mechanical Pocket Watch in her hand.

And the other one...

She looked around, examining the furnishings in the room, attempting to find the other cultural relic mentioned by the Sub-system.

The layout of the dormitories allocated by the Mechanical Factory to married employees was all the same—

It consisted of two 12-square-meter rooms; the inner room was a bedroom with a window, and the outer room was a dining and living room with a balcony.

The layout in the bedroom was very simple—

A double wooden bed; at one end of the bed were two stacked mahogany chests serving as a nightstand, which was the dowry brought by the original body; at the other end was a chest of drawers.

Under the south window was a desk covered with a green glass plate; in the center of the desk sat a quartz clock, and in the corner were a desk lamp, a pen holder, and a few volumes of quotations.

Opposite the bed, pressed against the wall in order, were a double-door wardrobe and a 1.5-meter-high bedding cabinet.

Next to that, a cloth curtain was drawn to partition the bedroom into two spaces; the small space on the other side of the curtain held a large washbasin and a chamber pot box, saving the need to go to the public toilet at the end of the hallway at night.

The outer room was even more straightforward—

A food cabinet, a dish cabinet, a washbasin stand, and a shoe rack were placed against the wall in sequence.

In the center was a small square dining table with two wooden chairs facing each other.

As for the stove, Coal Ball, and such, they were all placed on the balcony.

Xie Yang examined everything carefully, including the wardrobe, the clothing chests, the food cabinet, and the dish cabinet, all of which she had opened and checked.

Anything that could be classified as a cross-era treasure by the Appraisal System had to be either a cultural relic or an antique.

Yet, she really couldn't find any old items with any history among this pile of daily household goods.

What could it be?

【Ding! Does the Host need Xiaobao to give a hint? If you need it, press 1; to ignore, press 2.】

Xie Yang: "..."

This Sub-system seemed quite clever, even guessing what kind of help she needed.

She decisively pressed 1.

【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for unlocking the most correct way to use this One-Second Treasure Appraisal System. Rewarding the Host with 100 Appraisal Coin and 3 free requests for help.】

【Ding! Host requested help from Xiaobao, free help -1】

【Hint from Xiaobao: The silver-cased pocket watch in the Host's hand is one of the treasures.】

Xie Yang: "..."

Did it really need to say that?

She wanted a clue for the second one, okay!

【Ding! Does the Host still need Xiaobao to give a hint? If you need it, press 1; to ignore, press 2.】

Xie Yang: "..."

She took back what she just said.

This Sub-system was a bit dim-witted.

Main System: 【...】

It was holding back laughter so hard it was almost suffering internal injuries!

Woohoo! Finally, a Sub-system that could keep the Host in check had arrived!

Xie Yang wasted two free help opportunities before she finally got the hint for the other antique: the washbasin stand.

She walked suspiciously to the washbasin stand, took off the washbasin, foot basin, and laundry basin placed on it one by one, moved them to the floor, and then carefully inspected the washbasin stand.

But although this washbasin stand was an old item with a fresh coat of paint, it didn't look like it had much age, and the material was ordinary ash wood, not the precious wood like mahogany, red sandalwood, or yellow rosewood common in antiques.

But even if the Appraisal System wasn't very smart, it shouldn't be wrong, right?

Xie Yang picked up the washbasin stand and checked it again from top to bottom.

She weighed it; it was slightly heavy.

Then she tapped it from top to bottom in sequence.

Hey! This tap actually revealed a difference—

One of the legs sounded crisper than the other two legs.

She stared at this leg, examined it carefully, and then followed the grain and pried it open with force.

It didn't break?

Oh, she forgot she hadn't taken the Physical Fitness Potion yet.

In the Tube Building of the seventies, there were no private bathrooms in the rooms.

Every time she took the Physical Fitness Potion, she would be covered in black, filthy grime, and she didn't want to head to the public washroom in broad daylight covered in black grease.

Besides, the public washroom didn't have hot water either; the original owner was lazy but vain, and the hot water she had paid to have brought over had already been used up the previous night for washing her face and soaking her feet.

Xie Yang had no choice but to find the firewood knife Qin Zheng kept on the balcony, gripped it with both hands, and hacked hard at the basin leg, creating a crack, then used force to snap it along that crack.

"Crack—"

This time, it finally snapped.

The leg, broken into two pieces, was hollow in the middle, with a very small silk pouch stuffed inside.

Opening it, inside was a jade seal.

【Ding! Scanned a white jade personal seal belonging to the late Ming and early Qing dynasty landscape painter Zhu Ruoji, recycling price 50,000 yuan (current currency). If you wish to recycle, please press 1; to store, press 2; to ignore, press 3.】

Xie Yang rubbed her chin, staring at this message and pondering for quite a while.

A recycling price of 50,000 means that if she sells this white jade personal seal passed down from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to the Appraisal System, she can obtain 50,000 in the currency of this era.

Storing means not selling it to the Appraisal System, but needing to borrow its space to keep it temporarily.

Ignoring means not needing the Sub-system to help with anything and keeping it herself.

Thinking this, she picked up the silver-cased porcelain-faced Mechanical Pocket Watch and had the Sub-system appraise it.

【Ding! Scanned a late Qing and early Republican era silver-gilt carved porcelain-faced Gold Needle pocket watch, recycling price 2,000 yuan (current currency). If you wish to recycle, please press 1; to store, press 2; to ignore, press 3.】

She wouldn't have known without the appraisal; the needles inside this silver-cased pocket watch were actually Gold Needles? No wonder it was worth so much.

For an ordinary pure silver pocket watch, it would be more like it if you lopped off a zero.

Rubbing the raised floral relief on the back of the pocket watch, Xie Yang lavished praise on the Sub-system of this plane without spending a cent.

(End of chapter)