Chapter 34: The Treasure Hunting Company

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Once he was certain he could obtain a green card, Xiao Ran stopped worrying about returning to China. Instead, he decided to remain in the United States for the time being and continue his great treasure-hunting venture.

Given the current circumstances, many of China’s famous antique and secondhand markets had closed their doors.

Places such as Panjiayuan and Liulichang had only a handful of stalls and shops still open.

Many museums, including the Palace Museum, were also closed to the public.

If he returned to China, there would basically be nowhere for him to go treasure hunting.

As for traveling abroad to hunt for treasures, he could forget about it altogether. There was nowhere to even buy a plane ticket.

Under such circumstances, even with his x-ray vision, Xiao Ran could do nothing but honestly find a job after returning to China.

Traveling around the country in search of treasures was simply out of the question!

But Xiao Ran was no longer willing to live a rigid nine-to-five existence.

Otherwise, wouldn’t that mean wasting this incredible x-ray ability?

That was precisely why he had asked David to help him obtain a green card and remain in the United States, where he could search for treasures everywhere.

All the foreigners here were running around as if naked, competing to see whose life was tougher. They seemed fearless of death, but in reality, they were merely foolish.

Moreover, Xiao Ran had discovered that his x-ray ability not only made him stronger, but also seemed to have granted him extraordinary resistance.

Ever since he had arrived in the United States more than five months ago, he had remained perfectly safe, while everything around him had been in turmoil.

At first, he had assumed that he was simply lucky. Now, however, it seemed that his x-ray ability was the reason.

Of course, he still had to be careful to protect himself whenever he went out. He could not allow anyone to take an interest in him and have him seized for study as some kind of monster.

If Xiao Ran wanted to remain in the United States and continue his treasure-hunting venture, he had to change his current approach.

Simply put, he could no longer work alone, nor could he focus exclusively on valuable antiques, cultural relics, and works of art.

If he continued like that, it would only take a few more incidents before he attracted suspicious attention. He might even end up under discreet investigation by the police or the Internal Revenue Service.

To prevent that from happening, he had no choice but to engage in the other secondhand businesses that required a great deal of effort for little return, even if they merely earned him publicity at a loss.

If he wanted to operate a secondhand business, he needed to find sales channels within the United States and dispose of the worthless items locally.

That required a company or shop—preferably both a physical store and an online shop—as well as a sufficiently large warehouse.

A company and a warehouse meant hiring employees.

In fact, Xiao Ran also needed several employees to help clean out the warehouse. He could not keep taking Eileen along every time.

As for how many people he would hire, he would decide after acquiring a shop.

Xiao Ran explained his plans and invited Fang Yufei to help manage the online store and provide behind-the-scenes support for his livestreams.

The moment she heard his proposal, Fang Yufei’s eyes lit up like electric bulbs.

“That actually sounds kind of interesting. I suppose I can reluctantly come work for you, you poor thing!”

“Make sure my salary is paid on time, and it had better be generous. You’re not allowed to interfere with my studies or my rest.”

“Otherwise, I’ll post the story about you wetting your bed in elementary school on my social media!”

Fang Yufei spoke with an air of triumph, as if she were the boss.

Xiao Ran, on the other hand, looked utterly dejected.

“Did I hire an employee, or did I invite an old auntie to boss me around? This is so unfair!”

“Hahahaha!”

Fang Yufei burst into delighted laughter.

They then left USC and went to a nearby pharmacy to buy some iodine, anti-inflammatory ointment, cotton swabs, gauze, and other supplies. After that, they returned to Fang Yufei’s apartment to treat her abrasions.

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Xiao Ran had originally wanted to take her to the hospital, but the girl could not bear the expense.

For such superficial injuries, going to the hospital for various examinations and then having a doctor treat her could easily cost several thousand or even tens of thousands of dollars. It truly was not worth it.

As for visiting a private clinic, without making an appointment six months in advance, she could forget about being seen at all.

After returning to the apartment and treating her wounds, Xiao Ran went out and bought a fairly sumptuous dinner.

The two of them ate while chatting and joking together.

Fang Yufei was extremely interested in how Xiao Ran had suddenly become wealthy and pestered him with endless questions.

Left with no choice, Xiao Ran gave her a detailed account of what had happened.

Before they knew it, it was around eight in the evening, and darkness was gradually settling in.

Xiao Ran gathered up the trash and prepared to leave.

Just as he was about to go, he suddenly remembered something and turned back.

“Send me your bank account number, Yufei. I’ll transfer some money to you so you can get through the immediate expenses and pay your rent.”

Fang Yufei froze for a moment, then shook her head.

“I can’t take your money. Today’s problem has already been resolved, and my mother will be sending me money too.”

“Just pay me my salary once I start working for you!”

“I know a little about your mother’s situation as well. She isn’t exactly well-off.”

“Consider this money a loan. Once you come work for me, you can pay me back little by little.”

Xiao Ran shook his head as he spoke, his tone leaving no room for argument.

At those words, Fang Yufei’s eyes immediately grew moist.

It was impossible to tell whether she had been moved by Xiao Ran or had simply thought of the difficult circumstances she and her mother had endured.

After a moment of silence, she finally nodded and accepted.

“Fine. I’ll consider this money a loan. I’ll work like an ox and a horse to repay you in the future!”

With that, the girl began to laugh.

Xiao Ran immediately transferred ten thousand dollars to her, which was more than enough to cover her immediate living expenses.

Before leaving, he did not forget to remind Fang Yufei:

“Yufei, you must be careful of those scumbags from this afternoon.”

“If they come looking for trouble again, call the police immediately. I’ll bring David over to deal with them. I guarantee they’ll regret ever causing trouble.”

“Got it. When did you become so long-winded? You’re even more annoying than my mother!”

Fang Yufei nodded in response, her eyes filled with emotion.

Xiao Ran then left and drove back to UCLA.

On the way, he called his father and Uncle Fang to let them know he was safe.

During the calls, he briefly described what had happened but made no mention of the ten thousand dollars.

He was doing so to prevent Old Fang from becoming overly concerned and accidentally letting the secret slip.

…

Before long, it was around eleven at night.

Inside the apartment, Xiao Ran was livestreaming while searching online for information about various auctions taking place in the Los Angeles area over the next few days.

He did not overlook auction listings in nearby cities, either.

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If a good opportunity arose, he would not mind traveling to another city in search of treasure.

The people in his livestream were even more enthusiastic than he was. They practically wished he would attend auctions around the clock so he could bring everyone one bargain after another.

“Xiao Ran, tell us what auctions are happening over the next couple of days. We can help you decide.”

“That’s right. Pick an interesting auction. We can all have some fun together.”

Several viewers chimed in.

Xiao Ran glanced over the auction information he had gathered and began explaining.

“There are two storage-unit auctions in downtown Los Angeles tomorrow. Neither is very large—one has five units, and the other has six.”

“Both storage companies are located in the city, and their locations aren’t ideal.”

“I haven’t seen any information suggesting that the units contain anything valuable, so they probably aren’t worth much.”

As soon as he finished speaking, one viewer interrupted:

“Why are storage units in the city usually lower quality? Is there some particular reason?”

Xiao Ran smiled and explained:

“With the exception of Manhattan, most wealthy Americans in other areas live in the suburbs.”

“People who live in city centers are, by contrast, mostly from the working class.”

“Judging from that, storage units in the city are generally of poorer quality.”

Before he had finished, Big Spender chimed in:

“That’s exactly right. That’s how things are in the United States. It’s different from the situation back home.”

Xiao Ran continued introducing the various auctions.

“There’s a family estate sale in Pasadena tomorrow. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of San Diego will each hold a container auction.”

“There will also be a storage-unit auction in Burbank and another in San Fernando. Farther away, Portland will be holding an auction for lost luggage!”

As he went through the list, the livestream became increasingly lively.

“Wow! There are so many auctions in a single day, and they come in all kinds of formats. This is incredible!”

“You should go to the container auction. You might find something truly valuable!”

Xiao Ran shook his head and rejected their suggestion.

“Container auctions involve a lot of merchandise, and the items are often quite large. Without sales channels, they’re usually very difficult to get rid of. It would be a shame to treat them as garbage.”

“Until I establish my own company or shop and have a warehouse to store things in, I don’t plan to attend container auctions.”

“Unless there’s definite information suggesting that a container might be hiding some kind of treasure, I won’t participate in that kind of auction.”

Just then, one of his childhood friends suddenly asked excitedly:

“Does that mean you’re planning to establish your own company or shop?”

Xiao Ran did not deny it. Instead, he nodded.

“That’s right. I am. I’m planning to establish a small exploration company and acquire a shop as well. A secondhand store or an antique shop would both work.”

He then briefly outlined his ideas.

As he spoke, the livestream immediately became even more animated.

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