Chapter 37 Xia Fenghua — I Feel Like I Missed Out on Billions

Back in middle school days, Xia Fenghua was still a tomboy. Although she had some feminine features, her style was very androgynous.

But Ma Siyi, since she was a child, had always dressed like a little princess. She came running like a butterfly dancing in the wind.

The onlookers around couldn’t help but turn their heads.

“Siyi, what are you doing here?”

“Hehe, just came to watch the excitement!”

Bai Zimo looked at her suspiciously.

“You took your meds?”

“I did not! Also, Xingchi, Wang He, Haikuo, Uncle Shao, and Grandpa Zhou are here too.”

Even Zhou Haikuo’s grandfather came to join the fun — quite a rare occasion!

But Bai Zimo knew, the old man had been investigating the sunken ship Xiao Boluo for years. He probably thought this time the wreck might finally surface.

“Grandpa Zhou!”

“Hey!”

“Don’t get too close, it’s dangerous! We already found an intact porcelain piece inscribed with a Qianlong poem, possibly Ru ware.”

“If it’s authentic, it would be priceless — even sending a whole battalion to protect it wouldn’t be overkill.”

Huazi tilted her head and asked, “Zimo, is Ru ware really that valuable?”

“Valuable? Super valuable! Even a shard can buy you a car!”

“What if it’s a whole piece?”

“Anywhere from tens of millions to over a billion. The minimum is at least 50 million!”

“Ah…”

Xia Fenghua suddenly screamed.

Ma Siyi tugged her sleeve.

“Huazi, what are you doing? That was scary!”

Xie Wanghe patted his chest.

“Trying to scare me to death so you can inherit my QQ account, huh?”

“Look over there — the roped-off area. Zimo took me fishing there.”

“Over by the excavator — Siyi and I used to dig for clams in the water.”

“And that pond in the middle — Zimo brought both of us there to swim and dive.”

_____

“I used to swim there too!”

“I even went diving in a basket trap with Zimo.”

“Hehe, I once let an old softshell turtle escape and got chased by Old Huang for a full kilometer!”

“Back then Zimo loved fishing, and Siyi was his little shadow. We were all wild kids!”

So many memories came flooding back!

Remember you said home is the only castle,

Keep running along the rice-scented stream.

With a gentle smile, I still remember childhood dreams. Don’t cry — let the fireflies take you away. Folk songs of the countryside will always be our refuge. Come home, back to the original beauty.

The two little shadows that once followed Bai Zimo everywhere were now blossoming young girls. But today, the girls wore different expressions. Ma Siyi seemed a bit melancholy, while Xia Fenghua looked regretful.

Ma Siyi’s sadness stemmed from an incomplete childhood. Xia Fenghua’s regret came from one thing.

“We played so hard, but how come we never found a bottle? Even a shard! I was serious about it!”

“I feel like I missed out on billions. Siyi, let me lean on you.”

Ma Siyi giggled, “Hehe, there were so many people on Flower Street back then and no one found anything either!”

“Missed billions! I probably won’t make that kind of money in a lifetime!”

“You definitely won’t. Be more confident!”

“Zimo, let’s come fish for bottles tomorrow. Downstream. There might be a surprise.”

“Tomorrow’s a school day.”

“Tomorrow night!”

“Alright… as long as it’s not windy or rainy, we’ll come.”

Surprises, who knows?

The old man chuckled.

“Stop daydreaming. Just go fishing. Ru ware is heirloom-grade stuff.”

“Grandpa, there’s not much left in the world, right?”

“There are only 83 confirmed surviving Ru kiln pieces.

The Palace Museum in Taipei has the most — 21 pieces, our Forbidden City has the second most — 18. The British Museum in the UK — 16, Shanghai Museum — 8, Tianjin Museum and National Museum — 2 each. The rest are single pieces held by various museums or private collectors.”

_____

Bai Zimo thought to himself.

I probably have more than just one.

When he was fishing, the system gifted him a Ru kiln plum vase. And most of the porcelain in the sunken ship was taken by him. The discovery of artifacts in the Grand Canal was just a footnote. For the people living along this river. There have been countless unforgettable moments over the centuries.

Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling!

The alleyway in front of the Flower Street courtyard echoed with crisp bell sounds.

“Let’s go, Huazi, Siyi — hop on!”

In the age when everyone still rode bicycles, Bai Zimo was already on an electric motorbike. So Huazi gave up her bike too, and hitched a ride with Siyi to school.

Huazi shouted, “Let’s go! You three wait for us!”

“Cheaters! You’re on a motorbike while we’re using leg power!”

“Hahaha, Zimo, go get ’em!”

“My dear, fly slowly, beware the thorny roses ahead…”

“Stop singing, I beg you — are you singing or summoning spirits?”

“My dear, just open your mouth — the floral scent in the wind will make you swoon…”

“That’s awful! Zimo, keep the bike steady — Siyi and I are going to fix them!”

“Hahaha…”

In the river, the rumble of internal combustion engines. Onshore, the joyful songs of teenagers.

Time had passed — they were now in senior year of high school. The middle school days were coming to an end. The group from the Flower Street courtyard had split into two camps. Ma Siyi studied hard and was diligent.

She got into Honghuai City No. 1 High School The rest of them slacked off and had poor grades including Bai Zimo, whose mind was rarely on schoolwork. He ended up at Honghuai City No. 7 High School. Luckily, the two schools were next to each other.