The Hand Reaching into the Vase chapter 1

This Vase Is Worth $2 Million

There is an old city in the Midwest of the United States. It’s not big, but it’s quite famous. Firstly, there are many people into antique collection here. Secondly, there are a lot of people who are fond of cricket – fighting. Thirdly, there is a nationally – known antique appraiser named Jack. Jack is an outgoing and cheerful person, but recently he often frowns and looks worried. All this is because of his son, Tom.

Since Jack’s wife passed away, he has indulged Tom in every way. However, Tom is not up to the mark. After failing the college entrance exam this year, he hung out with some hooligans in the city and learned to gamble with crickets. When they got together, the stakes of a single game could reach thousands of dollars, and even the police had taken notice of them.

One day, Jack was in a bad mood because of his son. Suddenly, his good friend, Mike, rushed in like a gust of wind. As soon as he entered, he asked Jack for a loan. He said that his daughter needed a kidney transplant the day after tomorrow, and it would cost $150,000. But Jack only had $50,000. Even if he gave it all to Mike, it wouldn’t be enough. What could they do? Mike’s tears welled up. After a while, he thought for a moment and said, “Oh, Jack, I have a family – heirloom porcelain. Could you take a look at it? If we can sell it, the money won’t be a problem.”

Jack asked, “What kind of porcelain?”

Mike lowered his voice and said, “A multicolored flower – butterfly vase.” Then he described the appearance of the vase in detail. Jack immediately knew it was a valuable item. He was both surprised and delighted. He had a friend named Mr. Brown from New York. Mr. Brown had opened a company in Los Angeles and his whole family had moved there. Three days ago, Mr. Brown came to Jack and said that his father had been collecting antiques all his life but had never found a good vase. His wish remained unfulfilled, so he entrusted Jack to keep an eye out for a good one. When Mike heard this, he urged Jack to contact Mr. Brown quickly. Jack made the call, and it so happened that Mr. Brown was about to rush back to Los Angeles from another place because his father was critically ill. After hearing the news, he cancelled his flight and agreed to come the next morning to see the item. Seeing that there was hope for the money for his daughter’s operation, Mike thanked Jack profusely and left.

The next morning, Tom rubbed his eyes and came out of the bedroom. He saw his father and Mike looking at a large vase. The vase was incredibly beautiful, over a foot tall, with a small mouth and a bulging belly. It was painted with colorful butterflies that seemed to be dancing, so vivid that they almost looked like they were about to fly off the vase!

At this time, Mike asked Jack, “How much do you think it’s worth?” Jack said with certainty, “This is a high – quality official – kiln porcelain from the ancient times. It’s worth $2 million.” Hearing that the vase was worth so much money, Tom beside them curled his lip. He didn’t believe it at all. All he cared about was cricket – fighting.

Then Jack called Mr. Brown again and detailed the situation of the vase, assuring him that it was a rare and excellent item. Mr. Brown was overjoyed and said, “I’ll come with cash to pick it up in an hour.”

The deal was almost settled. Mike was extremely grateful. He was in such a hurry that morning that he hadn’t had breakfast yet. So he invited Jack and Tom to have breakfast together. Tom wanted to wait for a cricket – fighting friend. They had agreed to have a gambling game that morning, so he didn’t want to go. Jack carefully placed the vase at the innermost part of the table and went out with Mike.

After they left, Tom took out his cricket jar and put it on the table. He lifted a corner of the lid, wanting to take another look at his precious cricket. To his surprise, the cricket was just sitting there in the jar, motionless. Tom got anxious and lifted half of the lid. When he reached out to touch the cricket, it suddenly jumped out. Tom was so scared that he almost lost his wits. He fixed his eyes and saw that the cricket had landed on the table. Afraid of scaring the cricket, he slowly inched closer and reached out his hand little by little, trying to cover it. Just when his hand was still a few inches away from the cricket, it jumped again and landed right on the mouth of the multicolored vase! Oh no! Tom was both anxious and scared. He didn’t dare to move rashly anymore!