Chapter Ten: The Treasure Revealed

In his previous life, Ning Zhiheng had visited this grand courtyard. That was during his heyday in officialdom, when he was riding high on the political ladder. At the time, Nanjing was undergoing a massive urban redevelopment, and the city’s master plan had included this ancient mansion—already weathered by time—among those slated for demolition.

The department of cultural relics had objected, yet in the face of overwhelming momentum, their protests proved utterly futile.

Thus, during the excavation for the new foundation, workers unearthed two enormous jars filled with gold ingots beneath the courtyard. The scene immediately descended into chaos as both laborers and onlookers rushed to snatch the gold, resulting in pandemonium. The mad scramble led to tragedy: one person was killed and several others injured in the struggle for the riches.

By the time the police arrived to take control, it was far too late. Despite a lengthy subsequent effort to recover the lost treasure, most of the gold ingots vanished amid the bedlam.

Ning Zhiheng had been one of the government officials dispatched to handle the incident. Together with cultural relics experts, he had surveyed the site and pinpointed the precise location where the gold had been found.

Later reports from the cultural relics department revealed that the mansion dated back to the mid-Qing dynasty and had once been the residence of an official surnamed Sun. Hence, it had long been known as the Sun Family Garden. Over the years, war and disorder had left it increasingly dilapidated, and the gold ingots had been unearthed from beneath the ruins of a house deep within the compound. The treasure had been buried so deep that it had eluded discovery for generations.

As for who had concealed the wealth, and why such a vast fortune had been hidden there, the passage of time made it impossible to ascertain.

Ning Zhiheng’s involvement in that affair had left an indelible mark on his memory. Though he possessed other useful information from his previous life, the treasure in the Sun Family Garden was the easiest to claim. Thus, he resolved to seize this first pot of gold.

The middle-aged man explained that the mansion was now called the Liu Family Compound. The landlord lived in the largest room on the east side. Although the family had once been well-off, they had since fallen into decline, leaving only the mansion as a source of livelihood through rent collection.

Ning Zhiheng understood. This was a man of no wealth or influence; a little money would suffice to settle matters.

He waved the man away and stepped into the courtyard. The place was vast, its architecture ancient and elegant, though now cluttered and chaotic from being partitioned among many tenants.

At this hour, most of the humble folk were out seeking their livelihoods. Seeing a soldier in uniform, pistol at his waist, enter the compound, they instinctively kept their distance.

Ning Zhiheng paid them no heed and walked straight to the landlord’s door. After knocking for some time, the door finally opened to reveal a bleary-eyed man in his thirties, clearly annoyed at being roused from sleep. But upon seeing the impatient officer before him, sidearm gleaming, he sobered instantly.

“Sir, what can I do for you?” the landlord asked obsequiously.

Ning Zhiheng, already impatient, regarded the slovenly landlord with a cold expression and said curtly, “You’re the landlord here? I want to rent a few rooms.”

The man nodded eagerly and ushered Ning Zhiheng inside. Seeing the officer’s stern face, he dared not offend him. Soldiers these days were not known for their patience—and besides, with his livelihood depending on rent, he could hardly afford to turn away a paying customer.

“There are indeed a few rooms vacant,” the landlord explained. “Some tenants couldn’t pay recently and were evicted. The rooms are clean—if you like them, you can move in right away.” He hesitated briefly, then added, “The rent is negotiable, sir. If you’re satisfied, I can even offer you a discount.”

Catching the landlord’s breath heavy with sleep, Ning Zhiheng took a step back to keep his distance and said, “Good. Show me the rooms now. If I’m satisfied, I’ll move in today.”

The landlord was delighted—this officer was clearly in a hurry, and with several empty rooms costing him money, he was eager to fill them.

He led Ning Zhiheng around the compound to inspect the vacant rooms. In truth, Ning Zhiheng already knew exactly which one he wanted: the room where the gold had been found stood against the northernmost wall, but it was already occupied.

Unwilling to waste time, Ning Zhiheng pointed to that room and the two adjacent ones and declared, “I want these three rooms. Have the tenants vacate immediately—I’m moving in tonight.”

“But there are already tenants—” the landlord stammered, surprised at the officer’s decisiveness in renting three rooms at once. Yet the ones he wanted were all occupied—how could this be arranged?

Ning Zhiheng could see the man’s hesitation, but he had no intention of being delayed. He didn’t know how long it would take for the Security Bureau to fully staff his unit, but he doubted the order would be slow in coming.

He also needed to return to his hometown in Hangzhou to escort Xiao Wan home and help her find her family, which would take a few more days. He planned to finish his business in Nanjing within the next couple of days.

He gave the landlord no time to deliberate. “What’s there to think about? You have other vacant rooms—let them move. I’ll pay extra rent, but the rooms must be vacated today.”

A swift, decisive approach was best—negotiation would only bring complications. After all, those living in such a rundown place were ordinary folk scraping by; a little extra money would ensure their compliance.

“Well? Still hesitating?” Ning Zhiheng glared, lightly tapping his holstered pistol. “Afraid I can’t pay? Or do you need to discuss this somewhere else?”

Such characters responded best to a mix of threat and inducement. If the landlord proved truly stubborn, he’d have him detained for a few days—who would care what became of the man then?

Sure enough, seeing the officer’s hand drift toward his gun, the landlord, already tempted, was terrified and hurriedly waved his hands. “Please, sir, don’t be angry! I’ll notify them to move right away—it’ll be done today, no delay at all!”

With that, he called out the three tenants and explained the situation. One or two protested, but the landlord, cowed by Ning Zhiheng, unleashed a torrent of abuse, threatening eviction if they objected. Standing behind him, the stern-faced officer made his support clear. In no time, resistance crumbled; the tenants, seeing little real loss beyond the inconvenience of moving, began packing up without further complaint.

Satisfied with the proceedings, Ning Zhiheng turned to the landlord. “Once the rooms are cleaned, I’ll return. Make sure the other tenants know I like my privacy—tell them to keep to themselves.”

With that, he pulled out twenty yuan in legal tender and handed it over. “Give each of those families two yuan as compensation. The rest is advance rent.”

The landlord’s eyes narrowed with delight—this officer was generous indeed. With silver dollars no longer legal tender, the Nationalist government’s newly issued currency was at its historical peak in value. Even on the black market, twenty yuan could fetch twelve silver dollars.

A month’s rent for a single room was only two yuan; three rooms would be just six yuan. As for the tenants’ compensation—well, none of those paupers would dare utter a word, so the money would end up in his own pocket.

The landlord agreed readily—fortune had smiled on him at dawn, and it seemed his luck was turning.

By dusk, Ning Zhiheng returned to the Liu Family Compound, parking his jeep outside the gate. Nanjing, as the capital, still enjoyed decent public order.

Besides, the American military jeep was army-issue—civilians couldn’t buy such a thing. No ordinary thief would dare steal so conspicuous a vehicle, nor would they know how to sell it, and few thieves of this era could even drive.

He carried his prepared belongings, packed neatly in bags, into the room. The tenants, having been warned by the landlord, kept their distance from the unsociable officer.

As night fell, with little in the way of entertainment, the compound’s residents retired early. Ning Zhiheng waited until deep into the night, certain that everyone was asleep, then locked the other two rooms and bolted his own from the inside. He had rented the adjacent rooms so that any noise from his excavation would not arouse suspicion.

The room was small—a front chamber and a bedroom, likely partitioned by the landlord for rental. Carefully examining the floor, he quickly located the precise spot: the northwest corner of the bedroom.

He gently lifted the flagstones, then took a steel spade from his bag. Working by the dim lamplight, he dug as quietly as possible, recalling that the jars of gold had been buried more than two meters deep—otherwise, they could never have escaped discovery for so many years.

Fortunately, he was strong and tireless. After over an hour’s labor, as he neared the expected depth, his spade struck something with a crisp clang.

Delighted, Ning Zhiheng realized he had chosen the right spot. He dug on, and soon, two vast clay jars, each the size of a water vat, emerged from the earth.

Brushing aside the loose soil, he saw that the mouths of the jars were covered with several layers of porcelain plates. In his previous life, Ning Zhiheng had been a connoisseur, able to identify these as ordinary folk kilns’ wares. In a later era they might fetch a fine price, but for now, they were worth little.

After all, after the Liberation, and especially during the tumultuous decade that followed, countless priceless relics had been destroyed—of a thousand treasures, scarcely one survived. By the twenty-first century, even folk kiln porcelain from the Yongzheng or Qianlong period could command a high price. But at present, the nation’s stores of antiquities remained vast; only official kiln porcelain of sufficient age could fetch a handsome sum.