I Can View Character Attributes - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Year of Cixi

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“Hello, are you Liu Xiulan, Teacher Liu?”

Around ten o’clock, Yang Bowen rushed to the school and found Liu Xiulan, who had just come out of the office.

“Yes, you are?”

Liu Xiulan nodded and looked at Yang Bowen. She didn’t remember which student’s parent this was, so she was a little confused.

“Hello, Teacher Liu, it’s like this, I’m Xia Xu’s uncle. I came here to apply for leave for him.”

Yang Bowen stepped forward with a smile and explained his intentions.

“Leave?”

After thinking about the phone call Xia Xu received in class, Liu Xiulan was a little enlightened, but she still said, “Is there something important? This is the last hundred days for the third years that are facing college examinations. If there is no need, it is best not to take leave, as it will easily cause him to fall behind on his revision progress…”

“Understood, understood. Teacher Liu, it’s like this, an elder in the family has been admitted to the hospital. I’m afraid it won’t be long before he is gone. The old man misses Xia Xu and wants to see him. He also wants to instruct his uncles and brothers to take care of him…”

It wasn’t known if it was because the talent ‘Intelligence Gathering’ included acting skills, but Yang Bowen’s acting was extremely realistic. The sadness and sigh on his face made people feel emotional.

“Um… then he really should go and take a look.”

Liu Xiulan was also moved. She sighed and said, “How about this, I will give Xia Xu one and a half days of leave, and there are still two days left on the weekends. That should be enough for him to go back and forth, right?”

“Enough, enough, it’s just enough to go back and forth. He still will have some time to spend with the old man.”

Yang Bowen was a smart person. When he heard this, he immediately understood that Liu Xiulan subconsciously thought that the ‘old man’ was in the countryside or out of town. He was only going to help Xia Xu take half a day off, so he was naturally happy to complete the mission.

After receiving the leave notice from Liu Xiulan, he quickly went to report the good news to Xia Xu.

“How is it, is it done?”

Xia Xu was still waiting anxiously at the entrance of the classroom.

Yang Bowen took the note and said, “Hehe, I have fulfilled more than my quota. Boss, you definitely don’t know how long your form teacher gave you.”

“How much longer could it be? At the minimum half a day, at most one more day. After that, it will be Saturday and Sunday. No matter how generous the teacher is, she won’t extend the leave until after the weekends.”

Xia Xu casually exposed Yang Bowen’s act.

Of course, he was still happy. After all, the extra day off meant that he didn’t have to come to school for three and a half days. Not only was it convenient to do things, but it was also more important to ensure his own safety.

“Hey, Boss, you’re amazing! When are you going to teach me a trick or two, you haven’t taught me anything yet”

“The books I ordered for you on the internet will be here soon. Learn these skills from books like criminal investigation.”

“No, that thing gives me a headache. I’ve been dozing off reading books since I was a child, otherwise I wouldn’t have…”

“That’s because you haven’t read anything you’re interested in, believe me…”

The two chatted as they walked towards the school gate.

However, the two obviously didn’t expect this, or maybe they didn’t expect this at all. Yang Bowen calling him ‘boss’ was clearly heard by Ma Bing and the others in the class.

“What the f*ck, what did I just hear? The man who came to apply for leave for Xia Xu called him boss!”

“I thought he was his uncle?”

“I get it, Xia Xu must have hired someone to apply for leave for him. This method is truly next level, I’ll try it another day.”

‘What are you thinking? The two of them are obviously familiar with each other. How could it be as simple as hiring someone to take leave? I think Xia Xu must be the legendary hidden wealthy second generation. He deliberately pretended to be poor because he wanted a girlfriend who didn’t want his money…’

“Aiyo, could he be here for me? Do you think I should agree?”

“Stop being a love-struck fool. Brother Xu has a clear goal. If he wants to find someone, he would find Tang Youxin. Didn’t you see how close the two of them have been recently…”

“If you ask me, Xia Xu is not a rich second-generation heir, he is a second-generation official. I heard from the man just now that he wants to learn criminal investigation. Maybe Xia Xu’s family is a big shot in the police force…”

When the two’s voices gradually faded away, the class exploded in discussion.

Xia Xu obviously didn’t know about these things, but even if he did, he wouldn’t care. It was just some minor rumors, it didn’t affect his leave application.

Whether it was right or wrong, snitching to a teacher was a disgraceful thing. Most people were unwilling to tell their teachers even if they were bullied, let alone others.

Moreover, even if someone snitched, the teachers would not make a mountain out of a molehill and ruin a student’s future. They would at most lecture them and call their parents.

This was a terrifying matter for other people his age, but it was nothing to him.

Xia Xu and Yang Bowen called for a taxi and rushed to the place where the old man was found.

The location he selected was correct. The old man appeared next to the construction site he had found last time. It seemed that the plot of «Person About to Die» was about to begin.

At the corner of the construction site, there was a small stall with dark blue fiber cloth laid on the ground and a few muddy artifacts on it coming into view.

The stall owner was a skinny old man wearing a camouflage uniform and a yellow helmet. His face and body were dirty, and his trousers were stained with mud stains from somewhere.

He then looked at the stall again. The blue fiber cloth at the bottom was a common kind of rain cloth. Due to the dust and dirt surrounding the construction site, it was covered with a thin layer of dust. There were six to seven old artifacts in the middle.

These artifacts looked quite legit. One of them was a mottled and ancient vase full of lines, two human figures that were slightly larger than a palm and was a pair, a goat statue of the same size, and a palm-sized bowl.

The items looked like they were made of white jade, but there was a thick layer of mud on the outside, making them look brownish yellow. At first glance, they looked like clay artifacts.

The most eye-catching thing was the last piece. It was a porcelain statue of Guanyin. It was not exquisite, but it was the largest in the entire stall, taller than an adult’s calf.

“Uncle, are these antiques?”

Xia Xu walked to the stall with Yang Bowen, squatted down with interest, and looked around.

“Shh, be quiet, I just dug it out from the construction site.”

The old man in the camouflage uniform looked guilty as he motioned for Xia Xu to be quiet. At the same time, he lowered his voice. “These are all good stuff. They were dug out together with my colleagues, so don’t attract too much attention.”

Xia Xu didn’t say anything. He picked up the two small figurines and looked at them. The figurines were well carved. After flipping to the bottom, he saw that the dents were clearly engraved with the words: Year of Qianlong Produced and Year of Cixi Produced .

“Uncle, although I don’t know much about this, is Cixi also considered a year?”

Seeing this inscription, Xia Xu couldn’t help but burst into a smile.

“How would I know?”

The old man looked honest. “I don’t know anything about antiques. I just happened to dig them out. My colleagues are waiting to split the money. If you really want it, I will sell it to you at a cheaper price..”