Road to becoming the wealthiest: Starting From Treasure Hunting in the Cabinets
Chapter 240 - 214: This Expert Is Different_2

Chapter 240: Chapter 214: This Expert Is Different_2

Sean Knight took the check, gave it a glance, and then tucked it away.

"Elijah, Lincoln, you both get 700,000 dollars."

Elijah Hastings and Lincoln Harrington joyfully accepted their checks, and quietly calculated in their minds, that’s over four million!

In the domestic market, they’re now part of a very select group!

Sean asked:

"How’s Mila?"

"I gave her some money, and she’s gone off to have facial reconstructive surgery," sighed Hans Hunter.

"Of the four, Jason and the others, two had no family, and the other two, I also delivered some compensation to. Lucky, their families knew what they were up to, so it wasn’t a total shock..."

Remembering the fate of those four people, Sean couldn’t help feeling a pang of sorrow - life is unpredictable, who can foresee?

"Sean, will you continue treasure hunting?" To lighten the somber atmosphere, Hans deliberately changed the subject.

"Yes," Sean pondered and replied, "I think the most thrilling part of treasure hunting is the process. As for the outcome, considering my current situation, it’s no longer that important. Of course, if every hunt yielded generous rewards, I would be very happy."

"Hm, that’s good. That’s the youthful spirit you should have." Hans smiled and said, "Your name is heard in New York, even in the treasure hunting circles of America. I believe there will be many people wanting to seek your help in treasure hunting."

Sean did not reply immediately.

Fame is a double-edged sword, it carries both pros and cons. In fact, he was pondering whether to accept requests to help others hunt treasures or not. Of course, if everyone were like Hans, offering generous rewards before the hunt, then he would have no problem going.

He himself had clues to several other treasures, but currently had no time, or couldn’t go.

However, Sean was not in a rush; being young, he had plenty of time.

After chatting a bit, Hans laughingly said:

"Alright, no need to stick around with this old man anymore. You young people, go and do your own thing. I’ll go chat with Mr. John.

My greatest worry has been settled. I can live easily from now on and do things I want."

Sean thought about it, and it made sense; Hans’s previous efforts to make money were all for the sake of financing one treasure hunt after another.

Now that the treasure issue had reached a conclusion, although not perfectly, it is still satisfactory.

Whatever the case, it would not be necessary for Hans to salvage the lake for more treasure—it was too difficult, and pointless.

With his mind put at ease, he could then live comfortably.

After the three left the bar, Elijah told Sean:

"Boss, when you’re not heading out, I want to take a leave and send some money home."

"Boss, me too."

Knowing that Elijah was shouldering quite a few burdens, and Lincoln likely came from a very poor family, Sean responded:

"I’m returning to the villa now, you guys are free to do as you please. But remember, I suggest you hold onto some money for security."

Without having to say more, Sean trusted that the pair understood his advice.

Elijah pondered before nodding in agreement, then added:

"We’ll take turns."

Elijah meant that every day, there must be one person protecting Sean. Sean agreed after some thoughts.

Now his circumstances had changed; merely looking at the frequency at which he ran into hoodlums, he knew that if he kept his old habits, he would sink sooner or later.

Upon returning to the villa, he checked on Mr. Reynolds, who was carefully applying a transparent liquid onto the book covers. Seeing this, he quietly withdrew.

A week later, Mr. Reynolds presented two volumes of the "Yongle Encyclopedia" to Sean:

"Mr. Knight, they’ve been restored. Take a look."

Sean had seen photos of the actual "Yongle Encyclopedia" online many times. Now, comparing the copy in his hand with what it looked like when he first got it, it’s completely different!

Completely different!

Like it had never been covered before!

Sean took the "Yongle Encyclopedia" and began to examine it closely.

After opening the Sky Eye, it was indeed the original. Although there were modern traces on the cover, the overall volume was still the original.

Sean flipped through the pages and realized that some parts that had been moldy were now restored. He flicked through a few more pages, then heaped on the praises:

"Great job! Excellent!"

Lifting his head, Sean addressed, Prof. Reynolds:

"Professor Reynolds, thank you very much! I never expected something so severely damaged would be repaired this well in your hands!"

Professor Reynolds modestly replied:

"Actually, it wasn’t as heavily damaged as you might think. There was just some mild abrasions we had to amend. For us workers in ancient book restoration, this isn’t considered a big issue."

The real challenge was not the discoloration, but the removal of spots of mold and stains.

"Anyway, thank you so much, professor. We hadn’t even discussed the cost beforehand..."

"No need for payment! No need," Professor Reynolds waved his hand, "But I do have a small favor to ask of you..."

Sean became apprehensive, thinking, would the professor ask me to donate this?

Anticipating his fears, Prof. Reynolds reassured him with a smile:

"It’s not as you’re imagining. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I’m a fossil who’s out of sync with the times. The item is yours, whether bought or traded, you’ve obviously invested effort into acquiring it.

Having heard about you from Mr. Ye, I don’t harbour any ill intentions regarding your ownership of this treasure. I just want to take your permission to photograph and reproduce the content of these books. The material here isn’t found in the original copies within the country, so it’s extremely rare and has a lot of research value..."

"That’s no issue," Sean let out a sigh of relief. He was scared that the professor might emotionally manipulate him into giving it away. But now that he saw that Mr. Reynolds was neither a hypocrite nor a conservative type, he felt relieved.

He was more than willing to let the knowledge of his ancestors be studied - such antique treasures. If he were to refuse its spread, it wouldn’t make him any different from those who burnt books and issued text prohibitions.

Moreover, if Professor Reynolds had a hidden agenda, he could’ve taken photos during the restoration process without Sean’s knowledge.

Now that he mentioned it, it was a sign of his honesty and integrity.

Prof. Reynolds was also exceptionally pleased. He accepted the items from Sean’s hand, carefully placed them in the box, and started to photograph them.

Although Professor Reynolds refused to take money, Sean insisted on taking out a check for fifty thousand U.S. dollars after the professor finished photographing. He handed it over, "Professor, please accept this token of gratitude."

Upon seeing the amount, the professor immediately objected:

"That’s too much..."

"Not at all," Sean retrieved the "Yongle Encyclopedia" and said, "this is a national treasure in my eyes. Fifty thousand dollars really isn’t much."

So, Professor Reynolds accepted the check without further objections.

After the professor left, Sean thought for a while, also took some photos of the Yongle Encyclopedia, and then stored the original copy and the box in a safe place in his spatial realm.

Safety first after all.

Some time after Professor Reynolds returned, he instructed his students to publish a thesis about the evolution of certain weapons before the Ming Dynasty based on the research of the "Yongle Encyclopaedia". The paper, which stated that China was nearly three centuries ahead of the west, startled the archeological community with its precise data!

Where did this research come from?

Nowadays, Chinese archaeology is measured by western standards – if China wanted to prove its global significance during a historical period, physical artifacts and records are required for comparison.

Previously, such items were only sporadically recorded, and many international and even domestic archaeologists did not believe them to be real due to lack of verification.

After all, the fairness of the world-famous archaeologists towards China’s archaeological standards is very strict - it is not acceptable to just have the real thing, there must also be text records and mutual corroboration.

Unlike the west, where an artifact unearthed and dated back to 10,000 years ago, or a bronze ware several thousand years old, doesn’t require a relevant archaeological site or records, it is deemed sufficient to be alone.

So, this paper greatly shook many people!

Naturally, there were immediate doubters. Then Professor Reynolds put out photocopies from the "Yongle Encyclopedia", which details very meticulous accounts!

The challengers, who were also from the local archaeological community, then claimed that the versions of the Yongle Encyclopedia held domestically and internationally didn’t contain such a source!

After obtaining Sean’s approval, Professor Reynolds publicly stated that this was a new volume of the "Yongle Encyclopedia" found abroad by a Chinese compatriot and was able to see the light of day after his restoration!

This immediately incited those calling for high moral standards to urge the anonymous Chinese compatriot to donate the Yongle Encyclopedia, saying it should be the treasure of all Chinese citizens.

Fortunately, the collective thought of the Chinese population has much improved, and someone promptly rebuked:

"You should donate your computer, car, and house first before you give others that advice."

"He can’t donate. After all, he does own a house and car..."

Sean only took this matter as a laughing matter.