Chapter 149: Precious Manuscript
The middle-aged man glanced at the doghouse and casually said, “Five hundred yuan for the doghouse.”
Xu Youyou frowned at him.
He spoke righteously, “This wooden chest was part of my mother’s dowry back in the day. It’s worth a lot.”
In truth, the man could no longer remember if this chest was really from his mother’s dowry, but that didn’t stop him from using the claim to inflate its price.
“It might have been valuable in the past, but now it’s just a doghouse,” Xu Youyou said.
The man nodded. “If it weren’t used as a doghouse, I wouldn’t sell it for just five hundred yuan. Some collectors would be willing to pay for this old wood.”
He felt his reasoning was flawless.
Xu Youyou replied, “If this is how you do business, then I won’t buy the dog either. I haven’t paid yet, after all.”
The man immediately realized his misstep—losing this deal would mean losing a sure profit. Reluctantly, he conceded, “Fine, fine. Consider me at a loss. Buy the dog, and I’ll throw in the doghouse for free.”
The little black dog had finished its farewell. It followed Xu Youyou outside, looking back at the old house with every few steps, its eyes still filled with reluctance as it gazed at the stacks of old books inside.
“Woof woof! These old books were my owner’s treasured possessions. Who knows what that bad man will do with them…” the little black dog whimpered.
Xu Youyou patted its head, then turned to the middle-aged man. “I’ll take all these old books. Five hundred yuan.”
The man, having just made a thousand yuan from the dog, saw another opportunity and immediately countered, “Ten thousand.”
Xu Youyou: “Forget it.”
The man quickly backtracked. “Young lady, you’re good at bargaining! There’s a lot of books here—if I sold them as scrap, I could get over a thousand for them. You’re pressing too hard.”
“Fine. One thousand. Any higher, and I don’t want them,” Xu Youyou said.
To her, these old books weren’t a necessity. She was only buying them for the little black dog’s peace of mind. She was growing tired of the man’s greed.
“Alright, one thousand it is. I’ll take the loss,” the man agreed.
Xu Youyou paid the money. Behind her, Xu Fang took out a piece of paper, wrote down a few words, and handed it to the man to sign.
“Wow, you rich folks are really formal, making people sign a contract even for selling junk,” the man marveled.
Xu Fang had brought out a transaction contract. Xu Youyou had a habit of buying seemingly random things, and she always made sure to get a receipt. Xu Fang, noticing how much Xu Youyou valued clear ownership records, had prepared these simple transaction documents in advance.
Seeing this, Xu Youyou gave Xu Fang an approving look. She mentally noted to increase Xu Fang’s salary next year.
Despite having no prior experience as an assistant, Xu Fang had improved dramatically, driven by the high salary. Xu Youyou was beginning to rely on her.
The old books were packed up and loaded into the car. The doghouse was carefully placed into the trunk as well. To transport everything, Xu Youyou even hired a temporary freight truck.
On the way back to the villa, she called Granny Li to explain the little black dog’s situation.
As soon as Granny Li saw the puppy, her eyes reddened. “What a good little one. Its owner was thinking of it even at the end. If he hadn’t realized he could no longer care for it, he never would have locked it outside.”
Xu Youyou and Granny Li shared the same thoughts. Even if everyone called the old man crazy, they believed he had truly loved his dog.
“From now on, this is your home. Why don’t you go play with the other dogs?” Granny Li coaxed the little black dog gently.
For once, Guai Guai didn’t fight for attention. It nudged the little black dog lightly, but the little one still seemed spiritless, its gaze fixed on the workers unloading the books.
Xu Youyou let it watch over the process and turned her attention to the doghouse. Carefully, she lifted the small blanket inside.
Granny Li took it from her. “It’s clean. I’ll just put it out to air.”
Xu Youyou nodded, then looked inside the wooden chest. She froze.
She had expected any valuable items to be hidden in a secret compartment, but instead, they were simply lying at the bottom, covered only by the dog’s blanket.
It was as if the old man had meant for these treasures to go to the dog’s new owner.
The “treasure” this time was a small, square wooden box about three centimeters high. It wasn’t locked, just fastened with a simple latch. Xu Youyou undid the latch and opened it.
Inside, there was a small slip of paper resting on a thick stack of manuscripts.
The note read:
“I have lived half my life in confusion. My wife passed early, and I was estranged from my son and grandson. In my old age, I was fortunate to have my black dog as a companion. I now give my life’s greatest treasure away, hoping only that my black dog will live a life free of worries and suffering.”
The handwriting was elegant and meticulous. Xu Youyou could almost picture the old man, filled with hope as he wrote these words.
She carefully put the note away and turned to the manuscripts.
Though the paper was old, it had been well preserved—clearly, its owner had cherished it deeply.
Xu Youyou put on gloves before picking up one of the pages.
With just a glance, her breath quickened.
“The Lost Forty Chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber!”
Xu Youyou never expected that the treasure left behind by the old man—the one her system had guided her to—would be the missing manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber.
She quickly pieced together the old man’s story in her mind.
He had been a scholar in his early years, but suffered through political turmoil in middle age. By the time he was rehabilitated, his mind was no longer stable. His own son had abandoned him, leaving him to a life of poverty. Occasionally, he would have moments of clarity, but in those moments, all he cared about was finding a good home for his dog.
The old man could have sold the manuscript for a fortune—surely Dream of the Red Chamber scholars would have paid an astronomical price—but instead, he had kept it safe, choosing to leave it behind for his dog’s future owner.
Xu Youyou had obtained many priceless treasures before, but none had ever felt as meaningful as this one.
She had first read Dream of the Red Chamber in college, using her limited free time between part-time jobs. Even then, she had been captivated by its brilliance. The final forty chapters, continued by Gao E, had always felt inconsistent. She had long wished she could see the original ending.
The fragile pages made her hesitant to touch them too much. She carefully laid them out on the sofa, took pictures one by one, then quickly stored them away again.
She didn’t know if this was an original manuscript or just a transcription, but either way, she wouldn’t let it be damaged.
With the precious stack of papers safely stored, she could no longer contain her excitement.
She had to read it.
