It had to be admitted, Elder Duan's words held considerable weight, truly born of experience. Nevertheless, Wang Guan held fast to his decision, replying with a smile, "No rush.

We dig slowly. I won't rest until we've turned this entire estate upside down." One ought to possess a certain boldness in life, and when excavating, one should certainly be thorough to the last detail.

The digging process was somewhat tedious, but under Wang Guan's direction, how could there be no reward? About twenty minutes later, the hook suddenly made a crack sound, as if it had struck something hard, and it refused to go any deeper.

Noticing this anomaly, Wang Guan quickly called a halt, then took up a small trowel himself to loosen the soil nearby, immediately revealing a scattering of loose stones. Ordinarily, seeing a heap of rubble unearthed would be enough to cause dejection.

Yet, at this moment, Wang Guan smiled, and his smile was broad and genuinely delighted. "This boy, if you can't dig further, you can't.

Don't give yourself an anxiety complex over it," Elder Duan worried slightly. "Elder Duan, I haven't lost my mind." At the opportune moment, Wang Guan, a mix of amusement and helplessness crossing his face, couldn't help but remind him, "Haven't you noticed anything unusual?" "What's unusual?" Elder Duan seemed puzzled.

"The stones, Elder Duan," Wang Guan gestured. "We've barely dug three chi deep and we find a pile of loose stones.

Don't you think that's peculiar?" "Hmm?" In an instant, Elder Duan understood. Anyone else might be oblivious, but he was a Xiang Di Master; besides grave appraisal, he occasionally consulted on residential properties, so he knew instinctively that the foundation of any dwelling required absolute stability.

Furthermore, when laying the foundation, all loose rocks in the soil should have been meticulously cleared. Logically, none should remain.

Working backward from this premise, one could only conclude that these stones were intentionally buried there. The motive was likely to create a diversion, but in its execution, it had become counterproductive, raising strong suspicions of an obvious cover-up.

"Is that so?" Slightly convinced by Wang Guan's speculation, Elder Duan urged quickly, "Dig it open and see!" "We certainly will dig, but we must also consider the overall strategy." As he spoke, Wang Guan dismissed several laborers to continue digging in the main bedroom, keeping only a few museum security guards who had accompanied him. He then carefully moved the pile of stones and began scooping underneath the rock cluster.

After moving about ten centimeters of soil, several sealed jars were clearly visible, placed side by side. "Burying them this securely, they probably aren't wine jars, are they?" Elder Duan joked, though his face betrayed deep excitement.

"Move them out." Without even looking, Wang Guan instructed the guards to carry the jars out and place them in the car for inventory once they returned. "Is all that caution necessary?" Elder Duan frowned.

"A quick look wouldn't hurt anything." "Better safe than sorry," Wang Guan smiled. "You can examine them at your leisure when we get back." "Brother Duan, Wang Guan is doing the right thing.

'Wealth should not be displayed openly'—that is an ancient maxim," Elder Elder nodded. "It’s best not to draw attention if possible, to avoid unnecessary complications." "They've already seen something; we can't hide it now," Elder Duan pointed out.

The reality was indeed that seeing the guards carry the jars, some of the laborers couldn't help but murmur quietly amongst themselves. "They only see the surface; they don't know the true nature of the items," Wang Guan chuckled.

"Let them guess. They won't guess correctly, and without proof, even if they exaggerate the value a hundredfold, it remains mere speculation and holds no weight." "That makes sense..." Elder Elder strongly agreed.

Elder Duan also nodded, dropping his insistence, and walked with his hands clasped behind his back toward the main bedroom, urging the laborers to continue excavating there. He, too, was eager to discover if anything was hidden beneath the bedroom floor as he suspected.

However, while overseeing the work in the bedroom area, Wang Guan was far from idle; he brought in more men to continue digging beneath the main hall. "Still digging?" Elder Elder sounded surprised.

"Haven't we found anything already?" "I heard that when ancients buried valuables, they favored a layered placement method: place one layer, cover it up, place the next layer, cover that, and so on. This aligns with the ancient habit of hoarding small amounts of money as they earned it, burying it layer by layer," Wang Guan explained with a smile.

"I'll dig a bit more now to see if that’s the case." "Is that really a thing?" Elder Elder was quite curious. "It certainly happens," Wang Guan elaborated.

"After all, the ancients weren't fools; passing down knowledge through generations, they surely summarized experiences and devised some anti-theft measures." "That's true," Elder Elder conceded. At this point, digging continued down from the shaft opening.

After about half a meter, one laborer's shovel jammed. "A discovery!" Wang Guan’s eyes lit up.

He personally cleared the soil away and immediately saw a stone slab. Prying the slab open revealed a large chest.

Following the established procedure, Wang Guan didn't inspect the chest's contents but ordered the guards to carry it away immediately. "Wang Guan, come quickly!" Meanwhile, activity erupted from the bedroom area, where Elder Duan exclaimed with mixed excitement and surprise, "There really is a cellar here!" "Coming!" Hearing Elder Duan's call, Wang Guan walked over briskly to examine the spot.

Beside the bedroom—or more precisely, beneath the junction between the bedroom and the adjacent side room—the earth had indeed been hollowed out, forming a cellar. And at first glance, the cellar seemed sizable, but most importantly, there were items concealed within.

"Money, all copper coins," Elder Duan made no apologies, leaping into the cellar to feel around, immediately scooping up a handful. With a touch of astonishment, he said, "So much!

They've almost covered the entire floor." "Just one layer, not that much," Wang Guan followed him into the cellar, glancing around as he chuckled. "In modern archaeology, the most excavated item should undoubtedly be copper coins." "That is true," Elder Duan agreed.

After all, the mainstream currency of antiquity was neither gold nor silver, let alone paper money; it was strings of copper coins. Anyone paying close attention to decades of archaeological updates would know that tons upon tons of hoarded copper coins have been unearthed, often amounting to tens of thousands of jin, requiring numerous trucks to haul away.

Of course, the largest yields of unearthed copper coins typically come from the economically advanced Song or Ming dynasties. During the Song dynasty, due to a copper shortage, the populace hoarded copper frantically—it was a widespread phenomenon.

The more they hoarded, the more severe the shortage became, creating a vicious cycle. As for the Ming dynasty, there was no lack of copper, as the southwestern regions had been developed.

With abundant copper in the southwest, the coins lost value, and silver became the hard currency. Landowners and gentry, burdened by too many copper coins, simply piled them into cellars.

This is why modern archaeology frequently uncovers copper coins from the Song and Ming periods. Consequently, the market price for coins from these two dynasties is generally not high today.

New collectors in the ancient coin market are often bewildered why even Song dynasty coins, let alone Ming dynasty ones, aren't worth much, failing to account for the sheer glut caused by cellar excavations, which prevents prices from rising significantly. "Chongzhen Tongbao." Wang Guan picked up a coin and immediately laughed.

"This is a Ming dynasty coin. No wonder it was sealed up." The reason it was certainly sealed was that the cellar entrance had been blocked with wooden stakes, covered with a thick wooden plank, and then tamped down with earth.

This precise method is what prevented later generations from ever knowing a cellar lay beneath the bedroom floor. "These coins...

no need to rush moving them yet," after observing for a moment, Wang Guan made his own decision. "Forget the cellar for now.

Let’s dig in the central courtyard; if we find nothing there, we can wrap up." "So soon?" Everyone was momentarily stunned. "It's not that fast," Wang Guan smiled.

"We can't possibly excavate the entire house, can we? Digging in a few key spots is enough.

If it's there, it's there; if not, it’s not. No need to be so meticulous." "Who’s being meticulous?" Instantly, many rolled their eyes.

In their view, Wang Guan himself was the most meticulous one, proposing numerous seemingly unreasonable demands, yet consistently reaping rewards. Regardless, the boss was the one paying, so he could do as he pleased.

Following Wang Guan’s instruction, the laborers immediately shifted to the courtyard to begin digging. Meanwhile, Elder Duan frowned.

"Wang Guan, you aren't taking the coins from the cellar?" "No, I won't move them; saves trouble," Wang Guan waved his hand grandly, stating generously, "When we leave, let the Old Village Chief bring people over to divide them." "What?" Elder Duan was startled. "These are ancient coins, and they’re quite valuable." "It doesn't matter," Wang Guan chuckled lightly.

"Relatively speaking, the villagers might need this money more than I do." "...Hmm?" Suddenly, Elder Duan’s eyes flickered, as if he understood something, then he smiled. "You are quite generous..." "One must give in order to gain," Wang Guan responded, a smile fixed on his face.

Elder Elder, standing nearby, seemed thoughtful, grasping the subtle exchange between the two men. It was clear that the copper coins in the cellar were Wang Guan's hush money for the villagers—and a considerable sum at that.

Even someone unfamiliar with the market could surely understand that ancient copper coins filling an entire cellar floor would fetch a decent price, even sold by weight. With this money, the villagers would have no lingering worries and could cultivate wild vegetables with peace of mind.

Simultaneously, Wang Guan countered, "Or perhaps, Elder Duan, you feel this course of action is inappropriate?" "I never said that. This is your own affair; make your own decision." Sensing that Wang Guan had considered every angle thoroughly, Elder Duan stopped interfering and went to the courtyard to watch the spectacle.

Comparatively, the soil in the courtyard was softer, and it was quickly tilled over without yielding any findings. Seeing this result, Wang Guan immediately announced they could pack up.

He then paid the laborers on the spot, settling their wages to avoid being branded a heartless boss who withheld the sweat equity of his workers. Naturally, considering the good harvest that day, Wang Guan added a bonus.

The workers were delighted to receive extra money, but they couldn't help but surmise internally that whatever Wang Guan found himself must be even more valuable. And that was indeed the truth.

Not only did they suspect this, but even the Old Village Chief, who had hurried over after hearing the news, wore an expression of profound astonishment while surveying the cellar brimming with copper coins...