Chapter 382

Seawater corrodes severely, but bronze corrodes more slowly in seawater than copper, tin, or lead.

This is determined by its alloy properties; lead is the hardest to corrode, and bronze artifacts with high lead content are relatively better preserved even in seawater.

Most bronze artifacts are excavated from tombs; very few are recovered from seawater, but Ye Yaodong felt these were stolen, transported by sea, and accidentally fell into the water.

After all, during wartime, many of their country's ancient porcelain, calligraphy, and paintings were stolen by foreign nations.

"This 'ding' doesn't look particularly special," Ye's father said, shining a flashlight back and forth, circling it, still unable to figure out where the treasure was.

"Something thousands of years old still surviving today—even in the sea—is already rare enough."

"That's true," Ye's father said, convinced by the explanation; even a simple machine left by the sea would rust easily, let alone something thousands of years old soaked in seawater and still in good condition.

"Hey~ Didn't you say there's more in the sea? Are we going back in? Let's go again tomorrow?"

"Forget the rest—I saw a black box, and I'm going down to retrieve it first."

Ye Yaodong glanced at the surrounding sea surface; luckily, the two distant boats with lights had not headed toward them, probably from another village.

"It's already dark, you can't see anything—let's go tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow I'm afraid I won't have time—better go down now." He put on his diving gear again.

"Why wouldn't you have time?"

"The villagers know I brought back a ding—they'll guess why we've been staying here all night. So many fishing boats saw us earlier; if I come back tomorrow, everyone will be watching. Whatever I pull up then, I won't be able to hide."

"Alright, if you can't see clearly underwater, come straight back up."

In truth, Ye's father wasn't particularly impressed—he had no concept of antiques, only felt the 'ding' was unusual; he had no sense of value for anything else.

But since Dongzi didn't want anyone to know and wanted to dive now, then dive now.

Ye Yaodong had already memorized the approximate location of the wooden box—it wasn't far from the bronze ding and bronze wine cups, so it likely wasn't ordinary either.

He dove into the dark water, expecting no light on the seabed, but was surprised to find many glowing algae and nearby jellyfish emitting light.

The seabed at night had its own unique scene; it looked far livelier than daytime, with marine creatures unseen by day now emerging.

Using the faint glow from seabed organisms, Ye Yaodong confirmed the location, spotted the black box, swam over, and hugged it—it was heavy. Following his old method, he tied a rope to it, surfaced first, then pulled the cargo up; he no longer cared about the other items.

Ye's father, seeing him surface so quickly, finally relaxed; nighttime was more dangerous, and another boat had just approached.

"That was fast this time."

"Yeah, found it and came up."

After climbing onto the boat, Ye Yaodong pulled up the small box.

Ye's father helped take the black box—it was heavy, "This little box is surprisingly heavy? And it's locked?"

"Dunno what it is—why's it locked? Put it in the bucket, cover it with cloth, open it when we get back."

"A boat's coming—go ahead and steer, I'll put it away."

Ye Yaodong took the black box again, didn't bother looking at it, hurriedly dropped it into the bucket, covered it with a rag, and the boat swiftly headed toward the village shore.

Though it was just along the coast, it still took ten to twenty minutes to reach land.

As soon as their boat docked, the boat behind them also docked; under the shore lights, the other boat spotted the large ding on their vessel and was astonished.

"Dongzi, where'd you get that ding?"

Ye Yaodong turned and realized the boat that had just docked was Wang Wang Guangliang's—he'd been bending over to pick up cargo and hadn't noticed the nearby boat.

"Reeled it up from the seabed, just off the coast—I was shocked myself when I pulled it up."

Ye Ye Datang smiled, "It can go in the Goddess Mazu Temple's grand hall—perfect use for it."

"Right! Put it in the Goddess Mazu Temple—then the haul wasn't wasted," Wang Wang Guangliang chuckled.

Ye Yaodong suddenly felt tempted; in this era, rural folks didn't understand value—donating it to Goddess Mazu was fine.

Coastal people all believed in Goddess Mazu, and no one would steal from her temple; if any government officials ever came looking, having it in the Goddess Mazu Temple would be ideal.

"Makes sense—let's move it straight to the Goddess Mazu Temple. The height fits."

Better not keep it at home—he wouldn't feel safe. This ding was originally a cooking vessel, later used for rituals, turning living things into dead ones—extremely ominous!

Bringing it home, he feared his household couldn't contain it—too risky even for a few days.

This thing either goes to a museum or to a temple.

"How was your haul today?"

"Not bad, pretty good—help me carry it later, it's heavy."

"Alright, first sell the cargo on the boat."

After they sold all their goods and returned to the boat, many others had noticed Ye Yaodong's large ding and were whispering among themselves.

"That big a ding—recovered from the sea?"

"Where'd Ye Lao San fish up a ding? Why does he keep dragging back big lumps—sometimes machines, now a giant ding?"

"This thing doesn't look like gold or silver—must be copper?"

"This is feudal trash…"

"That chaotic era's long over, but what's the point of a ding this big?"

"Useless, looks ancient, takes up space, bothersome wherever you put it."

The villagers didn't realize this was a national treasure, but still found it strange—they'd never fished up anything this large before.

"Everyone, make way…"

"Hey~ Adong, did you just fish that up nearby? Is there more like that on the seabed there?"

Prompted, everyone snapped back to memory—they recalled his fishing boat had lingered long in that spot, claiming the boat was fine and they'd return after one net.

"Oh! So you fished that up from right there? No wonder you stayed so long!"

Ye Yaodong and the others had no time to answer the villagers' questions; they worked together to lift the ding onto a cart, placed it level, and Ye's father held it steady beside it to prevent it from tipping.

Ye Ye Datang tapped the ding, "This ding's heavy too—must weigh over a hundred jin."

As they placed the ding on the cart, villagers gathered around, curiously touching and tapping it.

"This tripod should be worth some money, right?"

"Should be able to sell for a few dozen yuan…"

"Tomorrow I'll ask the scrap collector and we'll know…"

Ye Yaodong's mouth twitched at the words. Sell this thing to a scrap collector?

He didn't know whether to laugh, or laugh, or laugh.

"This big lump we're not selling — what's the point of selling it for a few dozen yuan? I'm planning to put it in the Goddess Mazu Temple to honor our Lady Goddess Mazu, so she can bless our voyages and keep us safe."

"Oh right, right, right… putting it in the Goddess Mazu Temple is perfect…"

"Yes, yes, yes, just right for sticking incense in and burning…"

"Ah-Dong really has high awareness after all…"

"That's right, put it in the Goddess Mazu Temple, and with Lady Goddess Mazu's blessing, you'll definitely be able to haul in even more cargo safely."

"Putting it in the Goddess Mazu Temple is good — selling it to a scrap collector would be a waste…"

"Everyone come help carry it~"

"I'll help~"

"Me too~"

The villagers' enthusiasm ran high; they rolled up their sleeves and each one scrambled forward. The tripod that had already been set on the cart was lifted straight up by them.

"Let's go, let's go, Ah-Dong come along."

Ye Yaodong was thus surrounded by the villagers as they headed toward the Goddess Mazu Temple. He was still thinking about the black box in his bucket, so he could only wink at his father, asking him to keep an eye on it and take it back first.

Ye's father understood, and although he very much wanted to follow along to watch, seeing that Dongzi seemed to value it quite a bit, he could only hold back for now.

"I'll take that fish cargo back for you first."

When it came to his own Laozi, he could still trust him.

Whenever the villagers were involved in anything concerning the Goddess Mazu Temple, they were endlessly enthusiastic — this was faith.

Three villagers each lifted one leg, supporting the big tripod, and went straight into the Goddess Mazu Temple. The old man who looked after the temple also hurried out, and once he learned the reason for their visit, he hurriedly told everyone to first carry it to the back door to give it a wash.

The villagers didn't need his help either; on their own initiative some grabbed buckets to fetch water from the well, others grabbed brushes, and in a few quick motions they scrubbed the big tripod spotlessly clean, even taking rags and wiping it inside and out several times.

"Alright, alright, it's clean now, right? Where should we put it?"

The old temple-keeper pointed to a spot, "Put it there first — it needs to sit for a while to be prayed over and blessed."

"Okay."

Anyway, they didn't understand the ins and outs of the temple; whatever the old man said, they'd just listen.

"Ah-Dong, go tell Lady Goddess Mazu that you've offered her a tripod."

"Oh."

He was suddenly a bit embarrassed — once it's offered, what if someone from the cultural center or the museum finds out and takes it back?

Forget it, who cares — that's a matter for later anyway, not his problem; he was sincere about it.

In front of the Goddess Mazu Buddha statue, after muttering a whole bunch and bowing once more, he got up and followed the others out.

On the way back, all around his ears people were discussing how he'd hauled up a big tripod and offered it to Goddess Mazu, each one praising him for his high awareness — clearly he could have sold it for a good few dozen yuan, yet he'd offered it straight up, no wonder his luck was so good.

Ye Yaodong listened and just wanted to laugh.