Qi Yun pulled a brand new hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and handed it to the young man, "Same old rules, when the job's done, there's another hundred for you."

The young man nodded excitedly and pocketed the money.

"Follow me," Qi Yun smiled, leading the youth back to the house of the Uighur old woman.

Soon, the old woman opened the door and, seeing him again, showed a puzzled expression.

Qi Yun turned to the young man, saying, "Tell her I saw the chickens she keeps in her yard last time and want to choose a couple to take back."

The youth immediately translated this into Uighur for the old woman, who nodded slightly and stepped aside to let them into the yard, muttering something incomprehensible.

Translating for Qi Yun, the young man said, "She says the chickens are in the coop over there, you're free to pick any."

Qi Yun followed the direction indicated and saw a simple wooden chicken coop in the corner of the yard.

At the entrance of the coop was a pitch-black, feed-stained trough filled with corn.

Without delay, he walked towards the chicken coop.

Once he got there, Qi Yun casually picked out a chicken, then glanced at the trough.

The thing, which hadn't been cleaned for years, didn't look anything like silverware at all. If not for the faint gleam confirming this was indeed the Tang Dynasty Western Regions silverware described in intelligence, he would've doubted it.

After some thought, he stood up and addressed the young man, "Tell the old woman I want this chicken and ask her to calculate the price for me."

The young man nodded, took the chicken from Qi Yun's hands, and gave it to the Uighur old woman.

Turning back inside, the old woman fetched a scale with weights, tied the chicken's legs together, and hung it on the hook to weigh.

After a good while, she reported a number to the young man.

The young man turned to Qi Yun and translated, "She says it costs thirty-five bucks."

"Okay," Qi Yun nodded, pointed at the trough, and continued, "Ask her if I want to buy this thing to feed chickens, how much would it cost."

The young man looked at him, puzzled but didn't question further, translating the request to the Uighur old woman.

The old woman looked at the trough, then at Qi Yun, muttered a few words.

The young man translated, "She says this thing has been used for ages, it's worthless, if you want it, you can take it for free."

Qi Yun paused, then smiled at the Uighur old woman, "Thank you."

The old woman seemed to understand these two words and nodded slightly at Qi Yun.

"By the way, I'm a bit thirsty, can I come inside for some water?" Qi Yun turned to the young man, signaling him to translate this for the old woman.

After the youth translated, the old woman nodded and stepped aside to let them into the house.

The interior was simple, with some old furniture arranged in a reasonably neat manner despite being plain.

The old woman brought out a teapot and a few bowls, pouring sheep milk tea for Qi Yun and the young man.

Qi Yun lifted the bowl, took a sip; the rich milk fragrance mixed with faint saltiness was surprisingly good.

After finishing a bowl of sheep milk tea, he pulled a hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it to the Uighur old woman, who accepted it and turned to the inner house to find change.

Seeing this, Qi Yun said to the youth, "Take the chicken and the trough to the shop entrance for me, I'll add another hundred yuan for you."

Upon hearing this, the young man was overjoyed, "Alright!" and ran out enthusiastically.

During this interval, Qi Yun quickly took out the twenty-thousand cash from his pocket and placed it under the wool blanket on the kang.

When the old woman returned with the change, he was casually looking at the old photos on the wall.

The old woman handed over the change while muttering something unintelligible.

Qi Yun accepted the change, smiled and waved to her, then left.

At the store entrance, he paid the youth, then asked for a urea sack, put the trough in the bag, tossed it into the car trunk, waved his hand, and drove away.

After driving a short distance, spotting a drainage ditch by the roadside, Qi Yun stopped the car, retrieved the trough, and washed it in the ditch, finally removing the feed.

Nonetheless, it was still black and couldn't show its original appearance. He dared not scrape it, fearing damage to the precious silverware, so he packed it back in the bag.

Half an hour later, Qi Yun arrived at Shi Feng's shop on Antique Street.

Seeing him with the urea sack, Shi Feng showed a trace of doubt, jokingly said, "Old Qi, what are you up to? Haven't brought some country specialty for me, have you?"

Qi Yun chuckled, placed the urea sack on the table, "Test your vision." Then he pulled out the trough from the bag, handing it to Shi Feng.

"What is this thing?" Shi Feng paused, looking at the pitch-black and smelly object in front of him, full of doubt.

He reluctantly put on a pair of gloves and began examining the trough carefully.

"Huh, so light?"

Shi Feng weighed the trough, then fetched a soft cloth to gently wipe the surface, trying to remove the thick layer of grime.

Gradually, as the grime cleared away, a dim silver color was revealed.

"Made of silver? It's not worth much, is it?"

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