Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  The moment he reached the dining room, the boy collapsed in a chair out of exhaustion. He was so tired that even his eyes lost their focus as he stared blankly at the antique wooden ceiling. He could not help but look soulless.

  “Tired, aren’t you? The guest room may be quite far from the dining room, but you can just take it as a morning exercise,” jokingly said the maid.

  “This place is really huge!” he exclaimed between pants. “Walking such a long way made me even hungrier.”


  “What do you want to eat? I can get the kitchen staff to prepare it for you.”


  “I like eating noodles.” He told her carefully.

  “I see. Are you okay with noodle soup?”


  “Yes!”


  She then headed for the kitchen.

  Taking advantage of her absence, Baby Chu curiously surveyed his surroundings and studied the dining hall’s furnishings.

  The spacious dining hall had a modern Chinese-style decor; the table and chairs here were made of expensive, superior-quality red sandalwood. The average folk might not know this, but even a string of such beads cost significantly, yet this old money household had their furniture, cabinets, and even the folding screens made of such wood.

  Red sandalwood, also known as Chinese rosewood, was better than its counterparts in terms of hardness, smoothness, and delicateness. In terms of medicinal value, it had a fragrance that could balance the surroundings’ scent. This was why the boy felt refreshed when he smelled its faint scent upon stepping into the dining hall.

  The ceiling, on the other hand, was made of Laos’ black rosewood, which was priced at a staggering six figures per ton for the authentic ones. Of course, the pure ones were the best. In fact, this wood had another name but was later termed as such by national standards.

  It was jaw-droppingly expensive, but the Gu family did not hesitate to mass-order the wood and build the ceiling with it. If one had to calculate its worth in terms of money, it would cost tens of millions to build a ceiling as large as this dining hall. It looked muted but luxurious at the same time.

  The kid approached a shelf, where he found an exquisite vase. Due to surmounting curiosity, he failed to resist lifting it off the shelf and holding it in his arms. Right at that moment, the maid’s gentle voice floated over. “Do you like eggs?”


  “Ah!”


  Startled, his hands shook and he very nearly dropped the vase on the ground. Good thing that he was quite agile and managed to catch it in the nick of time. The boy heaved in relief, then he turned around in apprehension.

  “Big sister, this vase is really pretty. Is it very expensive?”


  The maid was surprised to find the vase in his arms, but she nodded to his question anyway. “Yes, it is, but that’s not a normal vase. It’s a cultural relic, made of vitreous enamel using the cloisonné technique, from the Song and Ming dynasties.”


  “.……”


  His hands nearly trembled again.

  He had seen documentaries about the Forbidden City’s cultural relics, so he was fully aware of one thing: All relics were priceless!

  “It must be worth a lot of money, then!” He carefully probed.

  “Mhm. If we put it up for auction, the minimum bidding price will at least be a few million.”