The cautious Nancy Stewart called the admissions office of Yanjing University again. After some inquiries, he learned that this research institute was newly established this year, with unclear research topics. Although the institute was affiliated with Yanjing University, it actually belonged to the National Academy of Natural Sciences, and the tuition fees were set by them—Yanjing University had no say in the matter. However, the admissions were indeed real, and recently, Nancy Stewart was not the only one calling to ask about it.

Having received definite news, Nancy Stewart was naturally overjoyed. Although his sister’s academic performance was good, there was still a gap between her and top universities like Hua University. Now that she had the opportunity to study there, Nancy Stewart was determined to support her no matter what, even if it meant selling everything he owned. He began to take stock of his possessions, and after calculating, Nancy Stewart was a bit dumbfounded.

Over the past two years, Nancy Stewart had made some money from running a street stall, but after deducting rent, living expenses, and pocket money for his sister, he only had a little over twenty thousand yuan saved up. Even if he added the fifty thousand his father gave him when he came back for last year’s Spring Festival, the total was still less than eighty thousand yuan—more than twenty thousand short of the required one hundred thousand.

With his sister due to report to Yanjing in just over a month, and unable to contact his father, who was drifting somewhere across the ocean, Nancy Stewart was getting anxious. That’s why, when the middle-aged man hinted at his stall the other day about old items, he finally parted with his artificially aged bronze “Hoopoe.”

Chapter 3: The Reason

“Second Brother, so what if that kid tricked us out of eight thousand yuan? We can just find another place to do a deal and make it back. Is it really worth staking out here all day?”

At the east exit of the Luochuan City antique market, two people squatted at the mouth of an alley, smoking. The lean one was the middle-aged man who had previously approached Nancy Stewart, and the younger man beside him looked impatient. The weather was unusually hot this year—even though it was only mid-May, the temperature at noon was already over thirty degrees. Just squatting here doing nothing was enough to make them sweat and stink.

Both Nancy Stewart and David Carter had judged correctly—this group really did make their fortune by grave robbing and selling ancient relics. People in their line of work usually slept during the day and worked at night. But today was the opposite: they were out in the heat, which made the young man uncomfortable and irritable.

“What do you know? You think I care about that eight thousand yuan?”

The one called Second Brother, Brian Cooper, took a hard drag on his cigarette, ground the butt out under his shoe, and said gruffly, “That kid’s bronze artifact has never appeared on the market or in any major museum. Even if his is a replica, it must have been copied from a real piece. As long as we keep an eye on that kid, we can get our hands on the genuine article.”

“Second Brother, how much did they offer over there that you’re so invested in this?”

The young man’s name was William Cooper, the fifth brother in the Brian Cooper family. In their line of work, people were usually from the same village or family, because outsiders couldn’t be trusted. In the old days, grave robbing was a family affair: the son would go down into the tomb, while the father kept watch at the entrance. Sons betraying their fathers for profit happened from time to time, but fathers never betrayed their sons. Over time, this became an unwritten rule in the trade.

Although not as strictly followed nowadays, most grave-robbing gangs were still bound by blood or village ties, rarely accepting outsiders. Brian Cooper’s gang was just like this—everyone’s surname was Wu, all related by blood, with the most distant relation still within five degrees of kinship.

“Fifth, the job’s not done yet. Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. Have you forgotten the rules?”

Hearing William Cooper’s question, Brian Cooper’s face darkened. In their business, the division of labor was very clear: some scouted for tombs, some dug the tunnels, some went down to retrieve items, and others found buyers. Everyone was responsible for their own part, and no one could overstep.

Years ago, Brian Cooper had been involved in smuggling cultural relics in the south and had built up many contacts, so he naturally became the one in charge of finding buyers for the gang. Everything dug up was handed to him, then Brian Cooper would take photos and send them to his old clients. If someone was interested, they’d negotiate a price, and finally Brian Cooper would deliver the goods and complete the deal.

In this sense, Brian Cooper’s gang was self-sufficient, maximizing their profits. Some grave-robbing gangs, after all their hard work, had no buyers and had to sell their finds at rock-bottom prices, ultimately benefiting the middlemen.

“Second Brother, I didn’t mean it like that.” Seeing Brian Cooper’s face darken, William Cooper immediately felt a bit guilty. In their gang, aside from the elder they all called Third Master, Brian Cooper had the highest status. After all, the sales channels determined their profits—if the goods didn’t fetch a good price, they’d all be left with nothing.