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“You hit the nail on the head.”

At that moment, Yu Feibai broke into a smile. “Someone actually researched this and found that the kiln sites in this very stretch of mountains likely once served the imperial workshops. That’s what’s drawing so many people here to take a gamble, to test their luck.”

“Is that for real, or is it just a smokescreen?” Wang Guan expressed his skepticism.

“That’s hard to say,” Yu Feibai analyzed. “Do you know why Uncle De chose to set up his small workshop nearby? It’s primarily because the soil quality in the vicinity is excellent. Working backward from that evidence, the ancients weren't fools; they must have chosen to establish kiln sites nearby as well. Therefore, the probability of finding something good here should be relatively high.”

“Huh, that actually sounds quite sensible.” Wang Guan weighed the statement and found the matter somewhat plausible.

“Naturally.”

Yu Feibai chuckled. “Nobody here is an idiot. They wouldn't just blindly trust rumors; they must have thought it through thoroughly before deciding whether or not to try their luck.”

While the two were chatting, a man resembling a village head had already started using a crude map to draw boundaries, essentially taking money in one hand and marking out claims in the ground with the other.

Within the demarcated plots, you could do whatever you pleased—even dig a deep well if you had the means. Of course, the catch was the strict one-day limit. Once time expired, the slate would be wiped clean, and the claiming process would start over.

Thank goodness for modern technology; transactions could be settled instantly with a card swipe. Watching the deals close quickly, Wang Guan gestured. “Didn’t you say you were participating? People are nearly done staking their claims, and you still haven't made a move?”

“Why the rush?” Yu Feibai remained calm. “What’s meant to be mine will never escape me. Even though this is all about chance, there’s a certain scientific basis to how one encounters that chance.”

“I’m eager to hear it!” Wang Guan was intensely curious. What sort of scientific principle could Yu Feibai possibly apply to luck? Did luck have a scientific basis? How was that different from fortune-telling by computer?

“It’s simple,” Yu Feibai grinned. “It depends on the topography. Do you think a kiln would be built down in a mountain hollow? Wouldn't it be instantly flooded when it rains? Anyone digging in a hollow is an absolute idiot.”

“That makes sense.”

Wang Guan couldn't help but nod, giving a thumbs-up. “You certainly have some insight.”

“It’s a given,” Yu Feibai said proudly. “Years ago, when I saw Uncle De build his workshop on high ground—which is inconvenient to climb—I got curious and asked him about it. Uncle De then shared the secret with me. That’s ancient kiln-building wisdom; you outsiders wouldn’t understand.”

“When you say I’m fat, you really start panting yourself,” Wang Guan muttered. “It’s not just you who understands this logic; other clever people have figured it out too.”

Indeed, this was the case. Several individuals at that moment were choosing to dig in areas of higher elevation. However, Yu Feibai glanced over and still dismissed them with disdain. “Them? They have small cleverness, perhaps, but they are far from true wisdom. Digging there will be a complete waste of effort; they will surely come up empty-handed.”

“Why?” Wang Guan grew even more intrigued.

“Want to know?”

At this point, Yu Feibai chuckled slyly. “Wait until I claim my plot, and then I’ll tell you the answer.”

As he spoke, Yu Feibai pushed into the crowd, paid briskly, and selected his plot of land. Wang Guan leaned in to observe and began to grasp the nuances himself.

The spot Yu Feibai chose was not only high ground but also situated close to the river, with a small mountain stream running nearby. Considering the difficulty of refining clay in ancient times, utilizing water power would have been essential. Therefore, the probability of a kiln being built right there was extremely high.

Seeing Wang Guan finally understand, Yu Feibai beamed. “Heh heh, now you know the difference between minor cleverness and great wisdom.”

“I concede you’re the clever one,” Wang Guan shrugged. “But are you really planning to dig yourself?”

“How could I?” Yu Feibai shook his head. “The ground is too hard. Don't talk about digging for a day; even if I dug for a month, I might not move much soil.”

Yu Feibai was self-aware and entirely confident. He promptly reached into his pocket, pulled out a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills, and called out loudly, “Hiring! One hundred yuan per hour, limited spots! Inquire quickly if interested!”

“One hundred?”

Upon hearing this, a crowd immediately surged forward. Observing that these people were shouldering hoes and carrying shovels, it was clear they had been prepared for a long time. Naturally, with so many villagers gathered, they weren't just watching for entertainment; there had to be business opportunities here.

Yu Feibai noticed the subtle details. Seeing a group lingering nearby with digging tools, he recognized them as excellent labor. Unlike others who might wait until they were exhausted from digging before hiring help, Yu Feibai acted proactively.

“Excellent, you’ll do,” Yu Feibai selected seven or eight people in one go and then smiled. “Start digging. If you uncover anything, there will be an additional bonus.”

Taking payment to perform... digging. Since Yu Feibai was so generous with such high wages, the villagers were certainly not going to hold back. They immediately started swinging their hoes and shovels, digging with fervent energy.

Mastery requires specialization. These people specialized in this work, so the progress was naturally swift. In no time, a layer of soil was visibly stripped from the hillside.

Seeing this speed, those who had decided to dig themselves immediately felt unbalanced and deeply unsettled. Why should they toil away for half a day just to make a small dent, while these others were paid just for money? They thought, Money is all it is; I have money too...

With that thought, someone immediately dropped their hoe and started waving cash to hire laborers. Instantly, both sides of the hill became incredibly lively. Uninformed onlookers might have thought the villagers were opening up new fields for cultivation.

“And you, are you really not going to dig at all?”

By now, Yu Feibai acted like a foreman, merely supervising from the side while casually remarking, “I think the opposite hillside, the area that’s flatter, would also be suitable for a kiln workshop. You could go try your luck there.”

Wang Guan followed his gaze and immediately shook his head. “That place has already been dug over.”

“That’s true,” Yu Feibai examined it closely, then shook his head again. “Nothing to be done. It’s our fault for arriving late; all the truly good spots were dug up long ago.”

Wang Guan nodded. He ultimately decided against gambling on a kiln site, instead squatting down on a nearby rock to chat with Yu Feibai and see how his luck fared.

As it turned out, Yu Feibai’s judgment was somewhat reliable. After digging for about ten minutes, a villager’s hoe struck something, producing a sharp kacha sound—the unmistakable noise of pottery shattering.

“We found something...”

Yu Feibai’s face lit up with joy, and the villager was equally ecstatic. He quickly swapped his hoe for a shovel and began gently scraping away the dirt, eventually picking out a few broken shards of ceramic.

“Pottery shards?”

Yu Feibai frowned. He picked up a piece, weighed it, and judged it to be very common material. He tossed it aside impatiently and waved his hand. “Keep digging.”

The group of villagers complied instantly, resuming their vigorous work with hoes and shovels.

Meanwhile, Wang Guan examined the shards. After looking for a moment, his interest waned. Based on the body of the clay, the pieces weren't particularly ancient, which explained Yu Feibai’s disappointment.

Placing the shards to the side, Wang Guan offered some comfort. “Even if there is something, it should be buried deeper. We’ve only uncovered the first layer so far; no need to rush.”

“I’m not rushing, I just think the pace is slow,” Yu Feibai sighed. “If only we could use an excavator. Or maybe dynamite would be faster for blasting.”

“You call that not rushing?”

Wang Guan chuckled, shaking his head. “They actually restrict excavators for your own good. Yes, the machine digs fast, but can it distinguish between pottery? What if it just grabs and crushes the artifacts?”

“Besides, digging now is almost like archaeology. Have you ever seen archaeologists use heavy machinery? Not to mention explosives—a blast would shake the entire mountain. Even if there were countless ceramics, they’d all be pulverized.”

Wang Guan’s reasoning was sound. This endeavor truly required patience; haste would only spoil the endeavor. Yu Feibai understood the logic; his complaints were just casual venting of frustration.

In fact, it wasn't just Yu Feibai who was frustrated. The mood among the others gambling on the kilns wasn't much better. It wasn't that they found absolutely nothing; it was that they were uncovering only scattered, worthless trinkets, which only annoyed them more.

It stood to reason: if finding treasure was this easy, why would the villagers rent out the land to outsiders? Wouldn't they dig for the valuables themselves? In essence, it came down to probability. The kiln ruins certainly existed, but precisely where—no one could say for certain.

It was simply within this general area; finding something was down to luck, and if you didn't, you had to accept the loss. As for those who regretted their decision and felt swindled, there was no recourse. They were told from the start that this was a gamble, inherently a high-risk venture. Once you were on the boat, you could get off, but the money was non-refundable.

Under such circumstances, there were usually two options: either throw down the hoe, curse a bit, and leave, or commit to digging until the time limit expired. Yu Feibai was not one to give up easily; he was certainly choosing to continue digging, unwilling to rest until the hill was leveled.

Of course, sometimes perseverance leads to victory. After another half hour passed, several dull thuds suddenly echoed again. These sounds weren't like a hoe hitting ceramic fragments; rather, they sounded like the hoe or shovel scraping against hard stone.

If only one person encountered this, it might just be bad luck. But when several scattered workers simultaneously found their tools unable to penetrate or move the material, it became peculiar.

One villager, sensing something was wrong, carefully used his shovel to clear away a patch of dirt and immediately exposed a brick-like stone. At first glance, he didn't realize what it was, but as he cleared more soil, a dense row of bricks was revealed.

In an instant, he understood, shouting out with a mixture of surprise and joy, “We dug into something...”

“What is it?”

The others gathered around curiously. “What did you find?”