Redeem Prize

"Little brother, can I call my friends to come and take a look at this item of yours?" The elderly man pointed at the rice paper on the table and spoke to Xu Mo.

His friends, just like him, were experts who had spent most of their lives studying the field of "Redology" (the study of *Dream of the Red Chamber*).

"Of course, I don't mind," Xu Mo replied with a smile, shaking his head. "I put it in the museum precisely to show it to everyone."

Seeing that Xu Mo didn’t refuse, the elderly man immediately thanked him, pulled out his phone, and took a photo of the item along with its box. He then sent the photo to his friends.

He even made a round of phone calls, notifying each of them personally.

Previously, Xu Mo hadn’t deliberately publicized the fact that he possessed Cao Xueqin’s original manuscript of the last forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber*. He had simply placed the manuscript in the museum.

As a result, it had only caused a stir within a small circle and hadn’t yet spread widely.

But now, things were different. With a prominent Redology expert leading the charge in spreading the word, it wouldn’t be long before the news of Xu Mo possessing the original manuscript of the last forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber* would spread far and wide, causing a sensation across the literary world!

After making several phone calls, Redology experts from various regions quickly booked the earliest flights available, preparing to head to Ram City to witness the last forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber* firsthand.

Of course, even if these experts moved as quickly as they could, they wouldn’t arrive until the next day.

After notifying all his friends, the elderly man turned back to Xu Mo, his face filled with curiosity.

"Little brother, where did you get this?"

The last forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber* had been lost so thoroughly that, prior to this, there hadn’t been even a single trace of them in the literary world.

There were several theories about why the last forty chapters had been lost, with each camp holding its own opinion, and no one able to convince the others.

But now, with the reappearance of the last forty chapters, the Redology world would likely unite under a single narrative.

"I found it by chance while cleaning out my old family home," Xu Mo casually made up an excuse.

He certainly wouldn’t say that it was a reward from a system—no one would believe him anyway.

As for claiming he had dug it up somewhere… that would be too legally risky, and Xu Mo didn’t want to invite trouble for himself.

"Found it in an old house? So it’s been passed down in your family…" the elderly man murmured.

Who would have thought that the last forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber* had never been lost at all? Instead, they had been sealed away in a box, hidden until now, when they finally saw the light of day.

The elderly man silently thought to himself: What a tragedy! The treasure that everyone thought had been lost forever had actually been sitting in Xu Mo’s home all this time, only to be revealed now.

Of course, it wasn’t too late for it to appear now. At least he had been able to see this undeniable cultural treasure within his lifetime, fulfilling a dream he had held for so long.

"Little brother, do you know much about *Dream of the Red Chamber*?" After learning the origin of the manuscript in Xu Mo’s possession, the elderly man enthusiastically began discussing the novel with him.

"I know a bit, but certainly not as much as you do. I heard from Captain Han that you specialize in Redology?"

"..."

The two of them chatted back and forth like this.

The elderly man even completely ignored Han Fei, who was standing nearby.

The more he talked with Xu Mo, the more he found him agreeable, and the more he began to like him. In fact, he even started to entertain the idea of forming a sworn brotherhood with Xu Mo.

"Little brother, I feel like we’ve hit it off so well! How about we become sworn brothers right here? We don’t have to be born on the same day, but we can vow to die on the same day…"

Before he could finish, Xu Mo quickly waved his hands. Absolutely not!

"Old sir, you must be joking," Xu Mo said.

Han Fei’s father-in-law had to be at least seventy or eighty years old. Swearing to die on the same day? That was not appropriate!

Xu Mo wasn’t ready to die just yet.

Han Fei, who had been sitting nearby, also couldn’t stay silent any longer.

"Dad, you can’t joke about something like that!"

Naturally, Han Fei didn’t want to see Xu Mo and his father-in-law becoming sworn brothers. After all, there was a generational gap between them!

If Xu Mo became sworn brothers with his father-in-law, wouldn’t that make Xu Mo his uncle?

That just wouldn’t do!

After much persuasion from both of them, the elderly man finally dropped the idea and stopped thinking about forming a sworn brotherhood with Xu Mo.

This trip had only been for the elderly man to see Cao Xueqin’s original manuscript with his own eyes. He didn’t have any other ulterior motives.

Any serious research or discussion would have to wait until all the Redology experts had gathered.

So he didn’t overstay his welcome with Xu Mo. Before long, he had Han Fei take him away.

...

The next day.

Redology experts from various regions arrived in Ram City one after another, and they all gathered together.

Han Fei’s father-in-law met them at the airport, and once everyone had arrived, he prepared to lead them to Xu Mo.

Today, Xu Mo had taken another day off.

Part of the reason for his leave was to visit the lottery prize center to claim the seven-million-yuan jackpot he had won with a ticket he found the previous night.

The other part of the reason was to host the visiting Redology experts in his capacity as the behind-the-scenes owner of the private museum.

At the lottery prize center.

"Hello, I’m here to claim a prize."

Having been through this process before, Xu Mo was now quite familiar with the steps involved.

The staff, however, were stunned when they saw Xu Mo’s familiar face.

They recognized him.

Not only because Xu Mo had once appeared on a popular TV show, but also because he had come to claim a prize just two days ago!

And now, here he was again, claiming another prize!

The staff clearly remembered that the last time Xu Mo had won seven million yuan, and now he was here to claim another seven million.

They couldn’t help but feel as if they were stuck in some kind of loop!

Who the hell wins seven million yuan twice in a row?!

The amount wasn’t the main issue—it was the frequency with which Xu Mo was winning!

He had just won seven million in the previous draw, and now he had won again.

Just as they were about to guide Xu Mo through the prize-claiming process once more, someone dressed in a "Snow King" mascot costume walked through the door, catching everyone’s attention.

As everyone knew, only those who had won a major prize would show up at the prize center dressed like this. The reason was obvious.

The onlookers immediately erupted with excitement.

"Wow, that outfit… did they win a huge prize?"

"Definitely. Wearing that in the middle of summer? They must have won tens of millions!"

"Think bigger—it’s probably hundreds of millions!"

"Hundreds of millions? Another lucky winner who cleared out the prize pool?!"

"Holy crap, let’s go take a look!"

The "Snow King" figure walked somewhat furtively up to the prize counter and whispered to the staff, "Hello, I’m here to claim a prize."

The staff member was completely baffled.

The biggest prize for this draw was seven million yuan, and the winner had already arrived.

If it weren’t for the fact that they had just dealt with Xu Mo, they would have thought this "Snow King" was the jackpot winner.

At that moment, Xu Mo, who hadn’t yet started the prize-claiming process, curiously looked over at the "Snow King."

He thought to himself that this guy must have won a huge amount, otherwise he wouldn’t be dressed like that in such hot weather.

As Xu Mo was sizing up the "Snow King," the "Snow King" also noticed Xu Mo.

"Captain Xu? What are you doing here?"

...