Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Guishan almost rushed into his parents' quiet room, and his urgency made the air shake.

He stood in front of his mother blankly, his eyes intertwined with anxiety and expectation, and almost blurted out: "Mom, where is the treasure in my room? Where did you put it?"

At this time, Fang Dayong followed behind, maintaining a scrutinizing distance, both a spectator and a detective, calmly scanning every detail and not missing any clues.

Facing her son's sudden questioning, Xu's mother looked bewildered, as if she was caught off guard by this abrupt question. "Baby? Guishan, what are you talking about? There is no baby in our family?"

"Mom, it's the stuff in that old backpack that's the real priceless treasure! I got it with great difficulty!"

Xu Guishan's eyes were particularly red due to anxiety, there was a kind of heat and persistence that could almost penetrate everything.

Xu's mother was startled by her son's serious expression. After hesitating for a long time, she finally stammered out the truth: "The backpack... I thought it was old and useless, so I just... threw it into the garbage dump on the south slope."

Hearing this, Xu Guishan felt as if he was electrocuted. Without time to think, he rushed out of the house like an arrow, aiming directly at the southern slope of the mountain not far away, where the villagers often discarded waste.

Although the south slope of the mountain is not far away, in Xu Guishan's eyes, the journey seems as long as a year.

He took two steps at a time and ran anxiously. When he reached the destination, he recognized the familiar backpack among a pile of messy garbage at a glance.

Regardless of the dirt and mess around him, Xu Guishan stepped into the gravel and rubble and carefully rescued the backpack from the waste.

When he saw that the hay in the basket was still intact and there was no sign that it had been touched by anyone, he finally felt relieved.

Soon, Fang Dayong, who was out of breath, and Xu's mother, who looked apologetic, also arrived at the scene.

Xu Guishan looked proud as he gently pushed aside the hay and showed the backpack to Fang Dayong expectantly: "Brother Fang, look, this is the treasure I was talking about. It has a history of more than 2,000 years and there are even fingerprints of the emperor on it!"

However, just as he brought the backpack close to Fang Dayong, an untimely hollow sound came from deep within the backpack, shattering his expectation and pride.

Fang Dayong looked puzzled. He bent down to take a closer look, then slowly raised his head with a complex look in his eyes: "Guishan, take a look for yourself, what is inside?"

"Besides my baby, what else can I have..."

Xu Guishan's voice stopped abruptly, and an unspoken "ah" was stuck in his throat.

Because when he trembled and turned over the hay, what came into his eyes was a pile of broken pottery shards. There was no priceless treasure, and he couldn't even find a complete vessel.

At this moment, Xu Guishan's heart seemed to be hit by a heavy hammer, and he screamed: "My baby!"

Then, regardless of the risk of scratching his hands by sharp fragments, he searched among the pottery fragments almost frantically, hoping that a miracle would happen and a complete clay jar would appear in his hands.

Unfortunately, the reality was extremely cruel, and all efforts only added to the pain. The clay pot that had once been the object of high hopes had long been shattered, along with his dream of wealth.

Burned with rage, Xu Guishan uncontrollably directed his anger at his mother. Every word he said was like a sharp arrow, ruthlessly piercing her heart.

"It's all because of you! Why did you touch my things? How many times have I told you not to enter my room casually! Why didn't you listen? Why?" At this moment, his reason had been blinded by anger, and his former respect and consideration for his mother were replaced by resentment and disappointment.

Xu's mother stood there in a daze, feeling unprecedented guilt from her son's heartbroken words.

At that moment, she vaguely felt that she might have made an irreparable mistake. However, she never dreamed that the "treasure" her son was talking about was actually just an inconspicuous old clay jar.

What shocked and puzzled her even more was that the child she had raised with great difficulty would actually get angry with her over a seemingly ordinary clay jar, and his words were full of accusations and dissatisfaction.

Mother Xu felt mixed emotions, including deep self-blame and indescribable anger.

She straightened her back and retorted, her voice choking with sobs and determination: "What are you talking about! I am your mother! I have gone through so many hardships to raise you. In your heart, am I not as important as a tattered clay pot? Moreover, it is just a broken clay pot. How can you be so upset that you would hurt the relationship between us?"

"You don't understand at all. This is not an ordinary earthenware jar. It is a real antique and is worth a fortune!"

Xu Guishan retorted anxiously, while quickly picking out a few pieces with obvious fingerprints from a pile of fragments and eagerly handing them to Fang Dayong for identification.

Although he was not clear about the specific division of the ages, he knew that Fang Dayong had an extraordinary eye and could always identify treasures from fakes.

Fang Dayong took the fragment and looked at it carefully. He already knew everything in his heart.

These were just worthless fragments, but under Xu Guishan's expectant gaze, he pretended to be surprised and acted very well: "Oh, this is indeed an antique from more than 2,000 years ago! Look at the decoration, how simple and ancient. The color, even if it is peeling off, still reveals its extraordinaryness. These fingerprints are round and powerful, maybe it is really as you said, it is the traces left by an ancient emperor. If this treasure is intact, not to mention a few hundred taels, maybe thousands of taels would be sought after. But now it is broken into pieces like this, and there is no hope of repairing it. What a pity!"

After saying that, Fang Dayong casually threw the fragments aside, shook his head and pretended to be regretful.

After listening to this professional review, Xu Guishan's teeth chattered and flames of resentment burned in his eyes.

His cold and hostile eyes made Xu's mother's heart tremble, as if the person in front of her was no longer her own flesh and blood, but a strange enemy.

Mother Xu involuntarily took a few steps back and hid behind Fang Dayong for shelter.

Faced with the tense atmosphere between mother and son, Fang Dayong seemed quite impatient. He sighed and tried to persuade them: "Guishan, don't be too persistent. Maybe it's not fate yet. The antique world is complicated and unpredictable. Some people can easily find treasures, while others may get counterfeits even if they invest a lot of money. Considering your family's conditions, it's better to stay away from this trouble."

He patted Xu Guishan's shoulder gently and prepared to leave, but Xu Guishan was sharp-minded and immediately caught the key information in his words. He hurriedly stopped Fang Dayong and said, "Old Fang, are you saying that such treasures can be found again?"

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