Chapter 9 They Are Priceless

• Rosie was not in the mood to talk to Keith. She chatted with other guests, and soon, the dinner started.
• Ian reached the hotel about an hour later. His face was drenched with sweat. In fact, he had to walk to the hotel since he had used up all his pocket money to buy the metal scraps.
• With the trash bag in his hand, Ian walked into the hotel in a hurry. He did not dare to leave the bag outside the hotel as he was afraid people would take it away.
• "Guess what the fool is carrying?”
• “I think it’s a gift. He can’t possibly come to his wife's birthday party without bringing a present, can he?”
• “Well, it doesn’t look like it. It sounds like they are metal scraps inside the bag.”
• “Really? Let’s ask him to show us later.”
• Hearing that, Ian was not bothered at all. He put down the bag on the empty seat and began to eat. "I'm starving to death!” he said.
• Rosie was furious. Is he a pig? How could he sit down and eat as soon as he arrived? Not only is he late, he even brings a trash bag with him. Did I not give him enough pocket money that he has to collect trash from the dump now?
• Keith could not help but snicker. “I feel so sorry for him. Not only is his body weak, but he also has to collect trash from the dump. No wonder he is so hungry now. But we can’t blame Mdm Young. After all, he has to do something for a living, right? But it seems that the only job he could do is to collect garbage.”
• Hearing that, Rosie could not help but frown. She somehow regretted asking Ian to the party. Nonetheless, she kept silent since many of her colleagues were around.
• Although Ian knew Keith was mocking him, he was not a bit bothered. He knew Keith was jealous of him marrying Rosie.
• Ian did not want to argue with Keith. He was too hungry and was more interested to gobble down all the food.
• However, Keith had no intention to let Ian off. He picked up Ian’s bag on the seat and threw everything out. “Let’s see what he gives Mdm Young for her birthday!”
• Keith knew what was inside the bag since he saw Ian at the dump that afternoon. He only wanted to humiliate Ian in front of everyone so that Rosie felt ashamed and divorced him.
• Keith was going to be promoted soon. Not only that, he came from a well-off family. He was confident he could win Rosie over. However, he had to get rid of Ian first.
• The hall quieted down when Keith threw all the metal scraps out from Ian’s bag. All the guests could not believe their eyes. “What? I can’t believe such a beautiful lady is married to a crippled man who is collecting garbage!” One of the guests whispered.
• “Did he do it on purpose? Nowadays, people can do anything to get famous!”
• “Maybe he’s from a very wealthy family. He did it on purpose to test if the woman loves him or for his money?”
• For a moment, the onlookers in the hall began to murmur.
• However, tears began to well up in Rosie's eyes. If her colleagues were not around, she would have thrown the plate on the table to Ian on the spot. It’s too humiliating. How could he bring a bag of trash to my birthday party? Did he want to humiliate me on purpose?
• Nonetheless, Ian was not bothered at all. After all, they did not know the value of the metal scraps. He slowly finished his food and muttered, “Give them back to me.”
• “Haha. Do you think I want your trash?” Keith picked up all the metal scraps and stuffed them back into Ian’s bag. However, he looked happy humiliating Ian in front of all the guests.
• “Have you had enough? Go back first if you’re full!” Biting her lip, Rosie glared at Ian.
• Although Rosie had tried her best to restrain her anger, anyone could feel that she was enraged.
• Ian felt confused. He scratched his head and asked, "Are you angry with me? Didn't you ask me to come for dinner?”
• “Get out of here now!”
• Rosie could not hold back her anger anymore. She splashed a glass of wine on Ian’s face.
• Ian was stunned, and his heart sank. He was disappointed that Rosie was also a shallow woman. She did not seem to appreciate him at all. Forget it. She is not even my real wife! Ian mused.
• Forcing a smile, Ian took his bag and wanted to leave. However, before he walked out of the hall, an old man approached and stopped him. “Young man, can you let me see what’s inside your bag?”
• "No." Ian shook his head. All the metal scraps inside the bag were his treasure. How could he show them to a stranger?
• “Huh? Did he really take rubbish as treasure? Why can’t he show the old man?”
• “He’s an idiot! What do you think?”
• “What’s going on? Why does the old man want to see what’s inside the bag? What’s there to see for a pile of rubbish?”
• For a moment, the hall was in an uproar again. It seemed that the old man did not look like an ordinary man.
• The old man was not bothered by what the others said. He stared at Ian’s bag and asked again, “Just let me have a look, can I?”
• Ian was hesitant. However, since the old man begged him, he opened the bag for a while. “You can only take a look!”
• The old man looked inside the bag for a few minutes before he raised his head and asked, “Young man, may I ask where you got all these?”
• “I picked them up at the dump and recycling center!” answered Ian casually.
• "How about I offer five million to you, and you sell me everything in the bag?” The old man asked tentatively.
• "What! Five million for a bag of trash? Is he crazy?”
• "The old man must be crazy. Perhaps he just escaped from the mental hospital, and they happen to know each other!”
• "No, that old man appeared on TV before, but I can't remember his name.”
• All of a sudden, the hall was in an uproar. Even Keith was stunned. He could not believe one would offer five million for a bag of metal scraps.
• Rosie could not help looking at the old man too. She also felt that the old man looked familiar, but she could not remember where she saw him before. However, judging from his clothes and temperament, he was definitely not an ordinary person.
• Does his bag full of trash really have something precious? That’s why he goes out for the whole day looking for them? she mused.
• Just as everyone was wondering, Ian said something that made everyone gasp. “No, I will not sell them no matter what. They are priceless.”
• “Yes, I know, they are priceless.” The old man wiped the sweat on his forehead and looked at Ian with pleading eyes. He continued, “What about I give you five million to use them for once? Not only that, I can grant you a request.”
• Hearing that, everyone could not help but exclaim. They could not believe what they heard. Five million for a bag of trash, and the fool declined to sell it.
• What the hell is this pile of scrap metals? Why are they so valuable?
• Seeing that the old man did not look like an ordinary man, Ian agreed reluctantly. “All right then. I’ll let you use them for one time.”
• “Thank you!” In a hurry, the old man nodded at a man at the door. A man in a black suit came in and handed him a check respectfully.
• The old man took out a glittering blue pen from his chest pocket and wrote on the check. Together with his business card, he handed the check to Ian and said, “Young man, call me. I will pay a visit personally.”
• "Okay." Ian nodded and put the business card into his pocket.
• "I’ll excuse myself ." The old man put the pen back into his pocket and got on a Rolls-Royce outside the hotel with the help of the man in the black suit.
• At that moment, the hall went silent. Everyone had a complicated expression. There must be something valuable in Ian’s bag and someone noticed it.
• “The pen the old man was using just now is worth 3 million if I’m not mistaken. It was auctioned at the auction house last year. Not to mention the Rolls-Royce. It is a limited edition. I could only say that the fool must have something valuable inside his bag.”
• “What? I still doubt it. No matter how valuable the bag of trash is, it can't be worth like diamonds?”
• "That's right. Perhaps they are just putting up a show!”
• Nonetheless, Ian was not bothered at all. He could tell at a glance that the old man had an unmentionable disease. He probably wanted to borrow the cauldron to refine some medicinal pills too. Otherwise, he would not have offered 5 million for it.
• However, ordinary people would never know the value of the cauldron. The old man was definitely not ordinary.
• Ian turned around and walked toward the table where Rosie was. He then picked up a glass of wine.
• Rosie glanced at Ian and felt nervous. Is he going to splash me back? she wondered.