“Forget it, if you don’t want to go to school, then don’t. Once I’ve learned about antiques and made some money, no one will dare look down on us again.”

Shaking his head, Frank Quinn took his sister’s hand and walked toward the The Brooks Family residence.

The snuff bottle incident had greatly inspired Frank Quinn. He decided to postpone handling the household registration and use that money as capital, switching from picking up scraps to collecting them. Even if he could only collect one valuable item a month, it would be far more promising than just picking up trash.

With Old Brooks’s word and Samuel Brooks’s support, those few boys who didn’t like Frank Quinn didn’t cause any trouble. After having lunch with his sister, Frank Quinn was called into the back hall by Old Brooks.

“Little guy, do you really want to learn about antique appraisal?”

Jack Brooks had a good impression of Frank Quinn, but he couldn’t see through the child’s fate. Coupled with the fierce aura and the sign of a short life on Frank Quinn, he subconsciously didn’t want to get too involved.

“Grandpa Brooks, yes, this one hundred yuan is my tuition!”

Frank Quinn nodded earnestly and placed ten ten-yuan bills in front of Old Brooks. He was a very sensitive person and could vaguely sense the old man’s thoughts.

“Forget the money. Giving you two hundred yuan was already a bit little, you don’t need to give me anything.”

Old Brooks waved his hand. He had a large business in Taiwan, managed by his third son. Although not a tycoon, he was well-off and didn’t care about such a small amount of money.

“You’re a smart kid, you understand the saying ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’ As the saying goes, in troubled times gold is valuable, in peaceful times antiques are prized. Now that the world is at peace, the antique market will rise.”

Looking at Frank Quinn, the old man’s eyes were full of approval. He continued, “A master leads you to the door, but practice is up to the individual. Here, you can look, but you can’t ask questions. Can you do that?”

This requirement of only looking and not asking showed that Old Brooks was tempted. If Frank Quinn could survive this calamity in his fate, he would take him as a disciple. If not, then nothing more would be said.

Frank Quinn nodded and said, “I can, Grandpa Brooks, don’t worry, Frank Quinn will never cause you any trouble.”

“Good. Today I’ll tell you about this snuff bottle. It’s a fine thing. Back in the day, I had one made in the imperial court, but I have no idea where it ended up…”

When Jack Brooks was in Taiwan, he had served as a martial arts instructor at the presidential residence and had come into contact with many precious antiques, with knowledge far beyond the ordinary.

In 1992, not many people in the mainland collected antiques, let alone in this remote small town. Jack Brooks usually had no one to discuss these things with and was feeling quite stifled. Now that he started talking, he couldn’t stop.

He talked for two or three hours straight, until his mouth was dry, but Frank Quinn was a great listener, occasionally flattering him, which made the old man very pleased.

The old man’s words, full of references and stories, made Frank Quinn’s eyes shine. He never imagined that a small, broken glass bottle could have so much to it.

“All right, tomorrow I’ll tell you about calligraphy and paintings. Go find Samuel now.”

Looking at the time, it was about when the children practiced martial arts. The old man stopped talking, but just as Frank Quinn was leaving the room, he called him back and reminded him, “Don’t run around these days, and don’t get into fights or try to act tough. If I find out you do, don’t come here again.”

Although he knew some physiognomy, Jack Brooks was not a professional. He could only see that Frank Quinn would face a calamity within a year or so, but had no way to resolve it, so he could only give this advice.

“Grandpa Brooks, I understand.”

Frank Quinn nodded in agreement and ran out of the room, full of excitement. The knowledge the old man shared today was like opening a window for him, letting him glimpse a world he had never seen before.

With Old Brooks’s care, the lives of Frank Quinn and his sister changed greatly.

Instead of hanging around garbage dumps as before, the two now walked the streets and alleys, collecting scraps like toothpaste tubes and waste paper from households during the day, and practicing martial arts at The Brooks Family in the evenings.

Frank Quinn was at the age of growing, and with better food, in less than half a year, he shot up in height at just thirteen years old, reaching nearly 1.7 meters, and his body developed strong muscles.

Chapter 0006: Passing Away

“Samuel, how is Grandpa Brooks’s health?”

After studying antique appraisal with Old Brooks for more than half a year, the weather gradually turned colder. Just a few days before the New Year, the old man, whose health had never been good, suddenly fell ill.

This unexpected change took all the joy out of the New Year for the entire The Brooks Family. Samuel Brooks’s father also rushed back from Taiwan, because this time the old man was seriously ill, and it seemed his time was truly near.

Although he could no longer listen to the old man talk about the past and present, Frank Quinn, who had long regarded him as a master in his heart, still came every morning to visit the old man.