DEFYING FATE

Chapter 85: Treasure that was buried underground

It was almost noon and nearing to the lunch break. Li Qingasked Dong Xuebing to go to the cafeteria with him. "Xuebing, do you have agirlfriend?"

Huh? This question again? Since the day Dong Xuebing enteredthe bureau, at least 4 people had asked the same question. He did not want todiscuss this question. It was because he had never dated anyone before in hislife... This was not something to be proud of. But he must answer whatever hissuperior asked. Dong Xuebing smiled awkwardly and replied: "Not yet. I need tofocus on my work first. Girlfriends can wait. I'm not in a rush." This wasobviously a lie!

As both of them walked out of the grey building, Li Qinglaughed: "I have to scold you for that."

Dong Xuebing laughed.

"Work is work, and you cannot use it as an excuse to notlook for a partner." Li Qing felt slightly guilty for misunderstanding DongXuebing earlier, and he wanted to advise him. "You are very young and have beenpromoted to the Deputy Chief of the General Affairs Office. People will talkbehind your back and unhappy with your promotion. I know you are capable, butyour age is still an issue. That's why you should get a girlfriend and getmarried soon. Don't delay."

".... Married?"

They reached the cafeteria, and Li Qing patted DongXuebing's back. "Think about it yourself."

If Li Qing did not give Dong Xuebing this advice, DongXuebing will still not think about this problem. Indeed, if he were married andhad a family, he would give others the impression that he was more mature thannow. It will overcome his age issue, and it will be good for his career. ButDong Xuebing did not know whether to laugh or cry. Where can he find someone toget married? Who should he get married with? But when he thought about hisfuture wife, two women appeared in his mind. One was Qu Yunxuan, and the otherwas... the woman whom he used BACK to help her get back her catch thepickpocket. The woman who said she will call him to treat him to dinner. Thatgorgeous and sexy woman!

Damn. How come I am thinking about her?

Dong Xuebing shook his head to remove the image of thatwoman from his head. She had not called him after so long and should haveforgotten about him. He should have no chance to meet her again in the future. Thus,his only choice left was Qu Yunxuan. If he could date Qu Yunxuan, then itshould be a happy ending. Sighed..... But what was Qu Yunxuan thinking now? Damn.This was not the time to be thinking about this. Dong Xuebing must still saveup 1 million RMB to set up a company for Qu Yunxuan first. In the meanwhile, hemust think of ways to capture her heart. With these two methods, Dong Xuebingvow to get Qu Yunxuan within two months!

That's right! Make money first! Even if wasn't for AuntXuan, Dong Xuebing also want to have more money for himself!

Cars, gifts, a house, etc. Everything needs money.

The two most important tasks now were making money andcapturing her heart.

...

Next morning.

The air was dry and cold. Dried leaves were all over thefootpaths.

Dong Xuebing, in a jacket, alighted from the bus. He went tohis office first. At around 10 am, he walked out of Xu Yan's office with astack of documents and a digital camera. He went over to Li Qing's office toreport to him and went back to the General Affairs Office. He gave someinstructions to his staffs and then walked out of the Bureau to get a taxi toYouanmen.

Western District Branch Bureau's 'Guesthouse' was located atYouanmen. The surrounding low-level houses and several buildings had to berelocated. The 'Guesthouse' which was used to receive reports from intelligenceofficers, was located right in the middle of this place. This 'Guesthouse' hadto be shifted. The Party Committee had discussed and decided to let Chief Xu bein charge of this. A proposal was needed, and the pictures of the presentlocation were required by the City Bureau. If the City Bureau approved thisproposal, then the Branch Bureau can start the shifting of the 'Guesthouse.'Dong Xuebing's job today was to write a report.

After walking along the City river towards the west, DongXuebing arrived at his destination.

Bang, bang, bang, ding, ding, ding, dong, dong... Dust wasflying everywhere. About a dozen construction workers were demolishing thehouses.

Dong Xuebing cough due to the dust. He covered his nose andwalked to the back of a Hutong. He looked around and started to make notes ofthe surroundings. He also took out his camera to take a few pictures. Therewere still a few people who refused to move. There were 3 old men and one oldlady. They were sitting in a courtyard, chatting. When they saw Dong Xuebingtaking pictures, they immediately surrounded him.

"Young man, are you a reporter?" The old lady looked at DongXuebing's camera.

One of the old men said excitedly: "Mr. Reporter, you mustexpose them. They are all hooligans. They even threw bricks at our house in themiddle of the night. Even our windows and doors are damaged. They even threatens that if we still do not move out, they will go bad things to us. This... Thisis against the law."

Dong Xuebing closes his notebook. "I'm sorry, Sir, I am nota reporter."

The old man asked curiously: "Then why are you takingpictures?"

Dong Xuebing explained: "I am an art student. These picturesare for me to bring back as reference."

The old men and woman heard this and walked backdisappointedly.

Dong Xuebing just smile and continue walking around, takingnotes. Because he was not writing the formal report, the only jolts downpoints. He wanted to finish his job and make a trip to Panjiayuen or Shilihe'santique markets. He wants to see if he could get any lucky finds there. Now,Dong Xuebing total wealth was only slightly more than 100,000 RMB. It was stillfar from his 1 million RMB target.

Noon, Dong Xuebing went to a small restaurant opposite tohave his lunch.

He thought if he should follow an expert later atPanjiayuen. He could use BACK to be one step faster than the expert. Sighed....But there were not many experts around. Furthermore, the items picked by theexperts might not be an authentic antique too. What should he do? Walnutsgamble again? But he will not be so lucky every time. If he only waited forsomeone to open a walnut fruit and use BACK to snatch it, it will be a waste.Even if he could use BACK twice and got a pair of 45 mm Lion Head, he can onlysell it for a few thousand RMB. How long will he take to reach 1 million? Also,there should not be many walnut fruits this season. Even if he wants to gamble,he will have to wait until next year!

Dong Xuebing had a headache. Even with the power BACK, itwas also tough to make money!

Dong Xuebing returned to the residential estate and lookedat the half-demolished building. Dong Xuebing was thinking about how to makemoney and taking pictures at the same time. Where should he go to make money?He was not hoping to find a Yuen dynasty porcelain vase or a Xuande Burner. Heonly wants something that will let him earn 100,000 RMB! Sighed... Where can Ifind treasures?

Just when Dong Xuebing was still daydreaming, he heardsomeone shouting at him from behind.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?" Dong Xuebing turned and sawa middle age man.

Dong Xuebing took a picture and frowned: "What's thematter?"

"What do you think? Stop taking pictures!"

"I am taking my pictures, did I bother you?"

There were some workers carrying bricks behind the middleage man. From his attitude, he should be the supervisor of the workers. Themiddle age man stepped forward and tried to snatch Dong Xuebing's camera. "Thisis our work site. Have you asked for our permission?" The man thought DongXuebign was a reporter. He had received orders from his higher-ups to not letreporters report on their work site and have negative news. This was why thisman was so insistent.

Dong Xuebing dodged and asked with a long face. "This landbelongs to the nation. Since when did this place belong to you?"

The man stared at Dong Xuebing furiously. "Shut up! Give methat camera!"

"I need to be clear to you first. I am not a reporter. I amtaking pictures for me to draw." Dong Xuebing argued and quickly keep thecamera. He looked at him in his eyes. "Why did you try to snatch my thingswithout asking first? Are you a thief? I can't be bothered with you! Where isthe person in charge? Ask the person in charge to come out!" Dong Xuebing wasused to ordering people around these two days and had no problems saying allthose words.

The middle age man laughed. "Oh? You sure can talk big. Youwant to find the leader? I am the leader here!" He said and moved forward totry to snatch Dong Xuebing's bag. "Give me the camera!"

"Stop it!"

At this moment, a few workers who were working beside acollapsed wall and bricks suddenly shouted. One of them threw his spade andkneel on the floor to dig the ground with his hands. He dug out a batteredwooden box cover.

The middle age supervisor asked: "What's wrong?"

A worker with northeast accent shouted: "It's a box. Justnow, I dug out a piece of tile, and it was buried underneath. I think there is atreasure in it!"

The supervisor was surprised. "Treasure?!"

Dong Xuebing was also stunned. He stretched his neck to tryto see what the treasure was. But he could not see it clearly.

Another northeast accented worker, who was kneeling theresaid. "There is a big metal chest in the box. I am not sure what it contains!"

Box? Metal chest?

The middle age man brightens up. He had been in this linefor many years, and he knew that sometimes people will find treasures buriedunderground. This was not uncommon in the industry. Last year, when he was at awork site in Changchun street, he found two jade pendants buried under a house.He sold the pendants for a large sum of money. The middle age man wasoverjoyed. Hahaha. It's my lucky day today. He turned around and stared at DongXuebing. He was no longer interested in getting Dong Xuebing's camera. Heshoved Dong Xuebing: "Ok, ok! Hurry up and get lost!"

You want to chase me away now?

Fat hopes!

After Dong Xuebing saw the wooden box, his eyes alsobrighten up. "BACK!!!"