The Ming Dynasty Bowl, My Lottery Life

I woke up and realized I was lying in my bedroom from eighteen years ago. My SAT admission ticket was right there by my hand.

It had been eighteen years, but those exam questions felt as fresh as if I had just seen them yesterday.

I thought about how I ended up back here. I had literally worked myself to death just to save up for my younger brother's future wedding fund.

That is right. In my past life, I was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb for my brother.

Whenever I refused to help him, my parents would cry and scream. They used every moral trap to guilt-trip me until I finally gave in.

This time, I will not surrender. I am going to live for myself.

After filling out the application for the university I actually liked, I handed the form to my counselor. I then rushed to the small flea market behind the school.

In my previous life, I saw a large blue-and-white porcelain bowl here. It was mixed in with a stack of cheap soup bowls, sold as a set of ten for fifty dollars.

Later, someone bought it and turned it around for tens of millions. It eventually went to an auction house and fetched a record price of over a hundred million.

I hurried to the market and pulled out all the cash I had. I bought that entire stack of ten bowls immediately.

I pretended to check them one by one. When I saw the specific blue-and-white bowl among them, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest.

I gathered the bowls and started to walk away.

"Hey, young lady, could I take a look at the bowls you just bought?" an old man with a cane called out, catching up to me. "I would like to buy them."

I recognized this old man. He was the one who had sent that bowl to auction in my past life, making a fortune that shocked our small town.

Our town had many hidden treasures that people had not discovered yet. Fortunately, I knew exactly where they were.

"Sir, I bought these for fifty bucks. Were you planning to offer me fifty for them?" I stopped in a quiet spot near the local police station and looked him in the eye.

There was a small station right here. Even if someone tried to rob me, I was not afraid.

The old man noticed me looking at the station and could not help but smile. "You are a cautious child. How about this? We can sit on the steps of the police station while I take a look."

"Of course," I said. I walked over and sat down on the steps.

I had every reason to be cautious. I was not actually eighteen. I was in my thirties when I died.

The old man sat beside me. "Can I see it now?"

I reached into the stack and pulled out the specific porcelain bowl. "Be careful not to drop it. A Ming Dynasty blue-and-white piece this perfect is hard to find."

"Oh? Haha!" The old man laughed. He pulled a magnifying glass from his pocket and studied the bowl. "You can tell the difference between Yuan and Ming porcelain?"

"I am not an expert, but this feels like early Ming to me. Look at the spacing, the carved details, and the flat chrysanthemum patterns. The center of the flower has a grid pattern."

I pointed to one of the flowers. "Flower center with a grid pattern. Usually, these do not have year marks, but this one actually does."

The old man flipped the bowl over to check the mark on the bottom and nodded. "You say you are not sure, yet you listed every characteristic of Ming porcelain. Since you identified the era, I will give you ninety million for it."

Ninety million!

My palms started to sweat. "Sir, I am just an outsider. Based on the color, I can only guess it is early Ming. I do not know the specifics."

"You guessed correctly. Follow me to the bank," the old man said, handing the bowl back to me. "Do you have your ID?"

"Of course. I just finished my exams today." With ninety million so close, I started to calm down.

After getting my new bank card, I checked the balance at the ATM twice. There were so many zeros.

The old man did not leave. He made a call and summoned a younger man who arrived with a specialized case. They carefully packed the bowl away.

The old man followed me as I walked. "Rory Lowell, where did you learn all this?"

"I never officially studied it. I just heard the old-timers in town bragging about it. They said our area used to be full of ancient sites," I replied.

In my last life, I was forced to be a history teacher specializing in ancient eras because of my personal interests.

"Sir, why are you still following me? Are you trying to snatch my next find?" I asked.

"I pay fair prices. You wouldn't hate having more money, would you?" He handed me a business card. "My name is Sterling. You can call me Professor Sterling."

"Professor Sterling, if that dog's water bowl over there is a treasure, how much would you give me for it?" I pointed to a filthy bowl on the side of the road.

It was also a Ming piece, though it lacked a year mark.

"That thing is disgusting. How could it be anything good?" The young man behind the Professor sneered.

"It is Ming blue-and-white. You can just see the edge of a flat chrysanthemum under the dirt," I said, staying back.

In my previous life, someone with a sharp eye recognized it from that single flower. It sold for millions, though it was worth less without the year mark.

Professor Sterling rushed over immediately. He picked up the dog bowl and started wiping it with his handkerchief. "Rory, I will give you a million for this."

"Deal. Take me to a different bank. I need a second account. I do not like keeping all my eggs in one basket."

I just pointed my finger and made a million. I would be a fool to say no. Now that I had money, I could use my memories and knowledge to find my own luck.

Professor Sterling went to find the owner of the dog bowl to settle the deal.

The young man stood by me and said, "I am Miles. I am one of the Professor's grad students."

"Rory Lowell. Recent high school grad and future archaeology major at Columbia University, if I get in," I said. Columbia was my first choice.

Miles did not laugh this time. Professor Sterling returned holding the dirty bowl, his face wrinkled in a huge grin.

"Let's go. We will get your card set up. We should exchange contact info. I am staying in town for a while."

"I do not have a phone," I admitted.

Professor Sterling looked shocked. "You have all this money now. Why not buy one?"

I shook my head. "I do not plan on telling anyone I have money. If people know, they will try to take it. If I have a phone, it will be stolen."

"Then call me from a payphone or come to my hotel. If you do not show up, I will stay put. To the public, we will just say you are a local guide working for tuition money."

The Professor caught on quickly and stopped asking for my number. He was a very understanding old man.

To repay his kindness, I pointed at a heavy brick on the ground. "You can have this one for free, as long as you can carry it. It is a fragment of a Han Dynasty stone tablet."

Miles's eyes almost popped out. "No way."

"Professor Sterling, I am going home now. Thank you!" With this much money, I could do anythingDexcept support my toxic family.

Professor Sterling handed the dog bowl to Miles and pulled out his magnifying glass again, crouching over the brick.