Du Zhaohui wasn’t working efficiently and still hadn’t given her a response.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t answer Jim’s question:

“Let’s wait a bit longer, it should be soon. Did you find the seller?”

Jim handed Xia Xiaolan a paper: “Ben Field, currently living in Los Angeles, is a construction businessman. Before 1969, he lived in San Francisco, then moved to Los Angeles and started his construction business. If we can prove that was the Yu family’s vase, I believe he’s connected to Xu’s disappearance.”

“Ben Field was the one who sold the vase?”

Jim nodded, “His construction business wasn’t doing well last year, so he sold the vase for cash flow. That’s what I found out, but he insists he bought the vase by chance at a secondhand market.”

It wasn’t sold by Xu Zhongyi, nor taken from him?

In 1969, two years after Xu Zhongyi’s family disappeared, Ben Field had been living comfortably in San Francisco – why did he suddenly move to Los Angeles?

Los Angeles wasn’t far from San Francisco, less than two hours by plane.

Xia Xiaolan thought Ben Field warranted further investigation.

“What about the San Francisco gang you previously suspected? Any unusual movements?”

Jim was somewhat embarrassed. Confirming the deceased wasn’t Xu Zhongyi had completely overturned his initial investigation. If he hadn’t tracked down Ben Field as the vase’s seller, he wouldn’t have dared face Xia Xiaolan.

“My San Francisco informants haven’t provided more leads. I still maintain the Xu family’s disappearance is connected to local gangs. The police now suspect Xu killed someone and fled with his wife and child… But Xu had just arrived in America – how could he cover his tracks so thoroughly? He wasn’t a professional hitman.”

Xia Xiaolan pondered: “I hope your deduction is correct. I don’t fully trust the San Francisco police either – they were so perfunctory with this case back then!”

Racial discrimination hadn’t disappeared even after 30 years; Chinese people in America received even less respect in the 1980s.

When they thought the deceased was Xu Zhongyi, they didn’t want to investigate.

Now that they confirmed the deceased was another unidentified Asian male, they claimed Xu Zhongyi was the killer.

“I will uncover the truth.”

Jim prepared to visit Ben Field in Los Angeles again. This time he had leverage – the San Francisco police didn’t know about the vase yet. If Ben Field wouldn’t tell him the truth, he’d have to face a police investigation.

When Xia Xiaolan mentioned finding the vase’s seller and having a detective investigate, Grandmother Yu’s spirits lifted:

“The style and pattern look like Yu family belongings, but we need to see the mark to be sure.”

Yu’s family items had distinctive marks; Grandmother Yu couldn’t confirm just from photos.

They needed confirmation from Hong Kong… Both Xia Xiaolan and Grandmother Yu were somewhat certain this vase was one of the antiques Xu Zhongyi brought to America.

What were the odds that the seller happened to live in San Francisco before 1969?

Living in San Francisco meant he had opportunities to contact Xu Zhongyi.

Could this Ben Field have been one of the gang members back then?

Probably not, or Jim would have discovered that.

Xia Xiaolan felt they needed multiple approaches. The San Francisco police had their investigation – whether or not Xu Zhongyi was a killer, finding him would be good. Jim was pursuing the truth along his line of thinking, while Grandmother Yu would accept the San Francisco television interview. With multiple angles, they were bound to make progress!

After confirming with the San Francisco television station, Xia Xiaolan and Grandmother Yu carefully discussed how to handle the interview.

“Though Americans always talk about humanitarianism, TV stations will ask anything for ratings. They’ll keep bringing up the police’s suspicion that Uncle Xu killed someone and fled…”

This was Xia Xiaolan’s main concern.

Grandmother Yu waved it off, “If I can’t handle this, why search for my son?”

At the appointed time with the television station and local newspapers, Grandmother Yu appeared immaculately presented.

The San Francisco media had imagined a pitifully dressed, crying Chinese old lady who would become flustered at their questions… No, they thought she wouldn’t even know where to put her hands and feet when seeing the camera.

Grandmother Yu was bound to surprise them!

The old lady’s white hair was perfectly groomed. At her age and after years without maintenance, beauty wasn’t a consideration.

Moreover, Grandmother Yu was accustomed to maintaining a stern expression, her facial features naturally looking serious.

If there was a typical representation of a fierce old lady, Grandmother Yu embodied it perfectly!

But her bearing was excellent.

She wasn’t timid at all.

She faced the cameras confidently and spoke English, needing no translator. She sat there without a trace of stage fright.

The reporters, who had prepared sharp questions, suddenly felt hesitant to speak.

Grandmother Yu began on her own:

“In 1966, my son came to America with his wife and their 5-year-old child. To help them settle in America, I let him bring a box of gold and some Chinese antiques. After arriving in America, he only sent one letter back to China, happily telling my husband and me that he would definitely obtain American citizenship and soon return to bring us over… Twenty years have passed, and my son has vanished. Not only did he never return for us, but San Francisco police now say he’s a fugitive murder suspect. This conclusion is unacceptable not only to me but also to my deceased husband.”

The cameras hadn’t stopped rolling since they started.

Coming to America in 1966 with a box of gold?

Plus several valuable Chinese antiques.

That meant wealth even in China!

A wealthy Chinese family attempting to settle in America, first disappearing for 20 years, then the story twisting to make him a murder suspect according to San Francisco police – this story had significant news value.

San Francisco had a large Chinese population, and the television station had been reporting this news for several days, just without interviewing Grandmother Yu herself.

After Grandmother Yu finished, a reporter finally asked a question, though his focus was somewhat skewed:

“Could you be more specific? You mentioned Xu brought a box of gold to America, but that’s too vague. How much did it weigh exactly?”

The reporter wanted to calculate the value of the gold Xu Zhongyi brought to America.

America used “ounces” rather than grams or taels for gold, with 1 ounce equaling about 31g, Xia Xiaolan quietly reminded Grandmother Yu. After mental calculation, Grandmother Yu stated confidently:

“In American units, about 320 ounces of gold bars.”

320 ounces?

Even Xia Xiaolan gasped – that full box of gold Xu Zhongyi brought must have been around 10 kilograms.

The reporters couldn’t help whispering among themselves.

In 1966, gold was worth 35 dollars per ounce. According to Grandmother Yu, the gold Xu Zhongyi brought to America was worth over ten thousand dollars.

That was over ten thousand dollars twenty years ago. Hell, weren’t Chinese people supposed to be poor? This was poverty?

“Then the Chinese porcelain…”

Gold could be directly converted to money, but antiques needed specific buyers. The gold Xu Zhongyi brought was for expenses in America, but the truly valuable items were those antiques. In Grandmother Yu’s eyes, each piece was worth more than a box of gold – though she wasn’t sure if Americans of that era would have agreed.