Chapter 994: Snagging a Bargain

Tang Ao had warned Tang Tang that this person's mind was a bit abnormal, with very little time spent lucid.

Right now, the little old man has been stimulated by the picture, his speech is all over the place, and he can no longer communicate normally.

Xiao Jiu raised his hand and placed it on the little old man's head, activating the reversion within the Dream Weaving Witchcraft to probe the little old man's memory.

This is the most direct and effective method, though the process of searching the memory is somewhat complicated and tedious.

However, the latter half of the little old man's life, spanning at least thirty or forty years, is extremely simple, describable as dull and barren.

The little old man is named Tang Qingshan, barely counting as a distant relative of Tang Ao.

Over forty years ago, he too once made a splash in the antique circle.

But no one knows what happened then; his career hit rock bottom, he became somewhat abnormal, muddling along until about fifty, to the point where even making a living became a problem.

Tang Ao felt sorry for him, so he helped introduce his current job—watching over factory buildings on a corporate construction site.

From the time of his incident until now, about thirty years have passed.

Over such a long period, his life has basically been like a monk striking the bell for a day, just passing through.

The reversion brought us to the time of his incident.

That year, his reputation in the antique circle was still fairly strong; though not as famous as Tang Ao, when people in the circle needed to appraise old items, they would still think of him first.

The cause of the incident was that a friend of Tang Qingshan who was a boss had snatched a bargain—an ancient painting—was very pleased, and invited him over to view the painting.

So-called viewing the painting actually meant asking Tang Qingshan to help give it a once-over.

Tang Qingshan then went.

When he arrived at the boss's house, Tang Qingshan discovered that not only had he been invited, but the boss had also invited several other peers at the same time.

To be frank, Tang Qingshan was a bit unhappy at that time.

As the saying goes, peers are enemies, and moreover, among those the boss invited, there were people with greater talent than Tang Qingshan.

Tang Qingshan had originally wanted to show off and earn some extra money, but now he could only stand at the back.

After a few brief pleasantries, the boss led the several guests to the room he specially used for storing paintings.

As the door was pushed open, a blast of cold, yin air hit them, and Tang Qingshan shivered at once.

Crossing the threshold, the boss then guided the group toward the southeast corner.

At this point, everyone saw a small Buddhist shrine standing in the southeast corner of the room, its main seat covered with a red cloth.

Whether judged by the shrine's material, carving, or that red cloth, they were all genuine antiques.

However, what is usually enshrined in a Buddhist shrine are spirit tablets, deities, or statues, etc.; enshrining an ancient painting is not common.

Moreover, this ancient painting was covered with a red cloth, making it even more puzzling.

Just as the boss was about to speak about the shrine's origin and that painting, the appraisal expert walking in front suddenly said a major matter had arisen at home, requiring him to return and handle it, and he bade farewell.

The boss urged him to stay three times, but all were refused.

As that person passed in front of Tang Qingshan, Tang Qingshan saw his complexion was very poor, and at the time he thought, it seems his family indeed had a major problem.

After this little interlude, the atmosphere in the room clearly became much livelier.

After all, while that industry expert was present, there was no chance for anyone else to show off their skills.

As soon as that person left, someone was eager to give it a try.

Tang Qingshan stood at the back, listening to the person in front converse with the boss, asking about the origins of the shrine and the painting.

The boss had snatched up such a great treasure, and naturally wanted to show it off; as soon as someone asked, he spilled the beans.

It turned out the boss had retrieved this Buddhist shrine from an abandoned ancestral hall that had been deserted for many years.

The ancestral hall stood in a deserted village, the whole village already reduced to broken walls and ruins, with weeds as tall as a person.

The boss had a project; while inspecting it, he happened to pass by the outskirts of that village.

By coincidence, when he passed by that day, the vehicle broke down; while the mechanic repaired the car, the boss wandered around and discovered that ancestral hall.

He almost instantly took a liking to that Buddhist shrine inside the ancestral hall, studied it closely, then lifted the red cloth covering the main seat and saw the ancient painting.

According to his description, the moment the red cloth was lifted, a strange fragrance filled the air, so intoxicating that one could become bewitched and drunk upon smelling it.

This only strengthened the boss's resolve to obtain the Buddhist shrine and the ancient painting.

After returning to the vehicle, he began to investigate the entire deserted village and that ancient ancestral hall within it.

In just a few days, he had investigated the village inside and out.

This is a village deserted for over a hundred years; among later generations, only one person could be found who had any connection to it.

It is said that this person's ancestors married into another family, then branched out, leaving only a single descendant to this day.

In fact, upon reaching this point, the boss could have used his connections to simply take the Buddhist shrine.

But he adhered to the principle of spending a little money to prevent future trouble, and negotiated with that person about it.

After all, tracing the clan genealogy from the ancestral hall, that person's name could barely be entered into the genealogy.

To the other party, this was also a windfall from heaven; they immediately agreed, selling the Buddhist shrine to the boss for twenty thousand, and promised that if development proceeded here and the ancestral hall was mentioned, they would vouch for the boss that this was a normal transaction.

As the boss said this, Tang Qingshan felt his chin lift a little, presumably thinking he had handled the matter thoroughly.

However, buying the Buddhist shrine and the ancient painting for twenty thousand was indeed a major bargain.

Everyone had already examined the Buddhist shrine to their satisfaction, and attention had fully shifted to that red cloth.

Someone then asked the boss whether the red cloth could be removed so everyone could get a look at the painting's appearance.

The boss naturally agreed.

He immediately lifted the red cloth, revealing the ancient painting.

Whether it was a psychological effect or not, at the instant the red cloth was lifted, Tang Qingshan only felt that the indoor temperature seemed to drop considerably.

The Buddhist shrine is not large; its main seat recesses inward, and the people in front gathered around it, blocking Tang Qingshan's view.

Tang Qingshan then heard a round of praise from ahead, some complimenting the boss's keen eye, indeed having snatched a great treasure.

Some praised the beauty of the woman depicted in the ancient painting, saying she was captivating and soul-stirring.

Some people were already estimating the value of the ancient painting.

After a while, when Tang Qingshan finally managed to squeeze over to take a look at the ancient painting, everyone had already finished discussing it.

The boss was pleased and prepared to lower the red cloth.

It was at this moment that Tang Qingshan took a photo of the ancient painting, leaving behind an image that was not very clear.

The fundamental reason he took this photo was that he hadn't yet had the chance to study the painting properly, so he planned to take a picture and examine it later when he had time.

Soon, under the boss's lead, everyone left the room again and locked the door.

That day, the boss also set out a banquet, inviting the masters who had come to appraise the painting to have a drink as a token of appreciation.

When joyous occasions arise, spirits rise; the boss drank heartily that day.

But that very night, Tang Qingshan received the news that the boss… had died…