Chapter 951: Chapter 824: Hidden Treasure in the Clock

A wooden clock with a Pegasus top, over twenty centimeters tall, the clock case is in good condition, but the clock has stopped and won’t run. Zhou Jiao remembers this Western-style scrap cost five dollars at the time.

There’s also a stand-alone antique wooden grandfather clock, about a meter tall. This one, because it’s large and made of red rosewood, is still functional and cost a bit more, priced at twenty dollars.

The remaining items include a hand-cranked wooden gramophone from the Republic era and the camera in front of them. These four items were picked out by their two sons from two consignment stores, and since there were no outsiders, Zhou Jiao happily bought them with the kids.

Thinking about it now, she feels something is amiss; perhaps the other three had sounds attracting the sons, but how could that broken Pegasus wooden clock grab May 1st’s attention so much that he wouldn’t let go?

Zhang Guoqing knew she suspected it, smiled, and went to the study to fetch a screwdriver and other tools. In no time, he first disassembled the Pegasus wooden clock.

It was truly dismantled into pieces. Having majored in electrical engineering for five years, if he couldn’t reassemble and repair these things, he wouldn’t have to bother anymore.

When he took apart the base, with a "pat" sound, a bundle of black oil paper fell from the connection of the base, startling him, despite harboring doubts.

"Jiao Jiao..."

Feeling a complex mix of emotions, Zhou Jiao patted his shoulder, "You must have saved the entire galaxy in your previous life!" Otherwise, how could you stumble upon all the good things!

"Hehe..." Zhang Guoqing chuckled foolishly and nodded, "Luckily, we’ve got the buddies together, or I’d be scared to death."

Scared to death? It’s just the beginning! Zhou Jiao was already too lazy to retort. Watching him fiddling with the other large clock, she put on gloves, squatted down, cleaned the dismantled parts with kerosene, dried them, reassembled them, and adjusted the pendulum several times. As soon as the "tick-tock" sound began, the clock started running.

Over there, Zhang Guoqing wasn’t in a hurry to look at the earlier black oil paper. He first hefted the weight of the grandfather clock, observing the exquisite craftsmanship of its exterior. If it weren’t for unveiling the mystery, he really wouldn’t want to tamper with it.

This time he was much more cautious and meticulous, even laying a military blanket underneath, worried about accidentally damaging this antique.

Zhou Jiao finished assembling the clock in her hands, saw him still there, fondly caressing it, and teased, "Figured anything out yet?"

Zhang Guoqing chuckled and pointed at the worn marks on the upper middle section, "If I’m not mistaken, this must be some famous inscription."

"An ordinary person’s monthly salary, we are the only ones bold enough to buy it." Zhou Jiao playfully rolled her eyes at him, "It has a name, though, a more clock!"

"A more clock?" Zhang Guoqing’s eyes gleamed upon hearing it. Yes, it’s indeed a more clock! He hesitated for a moment, "Take it apart! Whatever its origin!"

Zhou Jiao nods in agreement. If there are hidden contents inside, the value would be even more precious, so better to retrieve it early.

As Zhang Guoqing picked up the tools, he suddenly turned his head sharply towards Zhou Jiao, "Wait! If it’s an imperial gift, no one would dare deplete it, who would dare hide things?"

Zhou Jiao followed his thought, smiling without a word, "Even ordinary distinguished families would worry about ruining a fine piece of craftsmanship, so..."

"So it must be inside the wood." The couple exclaimed simultaneously, exchanging smiles.

This time Zhang Guoqing didn’t need prompting from Zhou Jiao. He lay on top of the clock, gently tapped every part with his fingers.

Zhou Jiao held her breath, worried about affecting his hearing.

Minute after minute passed as Zhang Guoqing tapped back and forth twice, then tapped again slightly above the base of the clock, nodding at her.

Zhou Jiao let out a deep breath, rubbed her aching leg, leaned in close to inspect. There’s no seam, she looked at Zhang Guoqing, puzzled.

"Hahaha... after all the research, it seems disassembling it completely is faster."

Zhou Jiao thought for a moment, agreeing, they were overthinking it. Instantly, both laughed heartily. Just bored and wasting brainpower on this.

Half an hour later, upon retrieving a large sheet of red paper from the base, couples laughed so hard they collapsed on the ground. Though the content is quite precious, it resembles a dowry list!

No matter how grand the dowry, it’s history now. Thinking of this, Zhou Jiao casually tossed the unopened oil paper bundle aside...

"Wait a minute!"

Startled by Zhang Guoqing’s sudden outburst, Zhou Jiao blinked, bewildered, looking at him.

"Why do you think someone hid such a large piece of red paper?"

Zhou Jiao glared, "Isn’t it you men who are to blame? Either it’s favoritism towards concubines or some messy house intrigue." Then, she smiled meaningfully, "So young men are often fickle-hearted."

"My love, heaven can witness, the sun and moon can testify, I came so close to defending my virginity for you, now even female mosquitoes don’t bite me."

His words made Zhou Jiao laugh, "What a terrible analogy, is that how virginity is used?"

The young couple embraced and played around for a while before returning to the Republic-era hand-cranked wooden gramophone for further examination. After the hassle with the grandfather clock, the couple unanimously decided to use brute force.

Once the thirty-centimeter wide wooden box was opened, all its parts were completely dismantled and emptied. This time Zhang Guoqing didn’t bother tapping, he directly disassembled the box.

The sides fell apart, revealing an extraordinarily thick square wooden board at the base, almost twice as thick as the side panels. The owner must have noticed something unusual unless it was taken apart, where it’s unmistakable.

Zhang Guoqing pried it open with a knife, revealing a hollowed space inside, with several exquisitely crafted embroidered bags adhered to one side.

"Honey, open them up, these must be jewelry."

Zhou Jiao took the wooden board, pulled off an embroidered bag, pinched it, nodded at Zhang Guoqing, and casually poured a string of ruby necklaces onto her lap.

Opening several more bags revealed not jewelry, but various precious rubies and sapphires, kerosene diamonds, and a bag full of gold coins.

Next to her, Zhang Guoqing glanced over, immediately began reassembling the gramophone. Seeing these things a lot is akin to pebbles on the road.

Finally, Zhou Jiao noticed the previously forgotten oil paper bundle, now opened, bringing a surprise — dozens of kerosene diamonds glittering brilliantly under the light.

Zhang Guoqing humorously glanced at her, "Do you like diamonds?"

"They’re okay, there’s the least of them."

Zhang Guoqing laughed in disbelief, "I’ll collect them for you when there’s a chance. I’ll get them all made into diamond crowns, even better than those silly white queens."

"Bro, I knew you were the best."

"Weren’t you saying young men are fickle-hearted?"

After storing the items, Zhou Jiao sidled up to him, chiding, "Do you think you’re that kind of person? I’ve got a hundred percent confidence in my man."

"That’s my good girl!" Zhang Guoqing hurriedly signaled her to store the items, "If I’m not with you, always be vigilant. If you’re aggrieved at work, we’ll quit!"

"If there’s conflict with others, don’t take action yourself, wait till I get back to defend you. If anyone invites you over, tell them to wait for me to return and then we’ll host them."

"I’ll sneak home to see you whenever I get a chance. If I’m not home, don’t stay up studying all night, remember to eat breakfast and go to work, stay at work for lunch, don’t tire yourself out running back and forth..."

The more Zhou Jiao listened, the more distressed she felt, nodding with slightly reddened eyes.

"... If there’s overtime at night, remember to call dad to send someone over to pick you up, definitely don’t let male colleagues seize the chance to escort you..."

Zhou Jiao, feeling sad, was amused by his words, chuckled lightly, "You at the school also need to stay safe, don’t engage in ego clashes with others."

As they realized they’d be apart tomorrow, the couple in the East Wing comforted each other, entirely forgetting the stack of letters on the study desk.