A simple act of helping with home renovations turned into an incredible discovery for Thornton, founder of Asian Sweet Hearts, and his wife Mei, when they uncovered bottles of vintage baijiu and a box of antique Chinese coins hidden behind a wall in Mei’s family home.
Thornton met Mei while travelling across Asia after his divorce — a journey that changed his life and inspired him to create Asian Sweet Hearts, an Asian dating platform connecting people across cultures through genuine relationships. Years later, that same spirit of curiosity and connection led to another extraordinary story.
While visiting Mei’s hometown in northern China, Thornton offered to help her father with renovation work on their family house. Having worked as a builder in his younger years, it was second nature for him to lend a hand. But as they began dismantling an old partition wall, something unexpected happened — the sound of clinking glass and the discovery of a hollow cavity within the wall.
Inside, they found several dusty, wax-sealed bottles of baijiu and a small wooden box filled with antique Chinese coins. The items appeared untouched for decades, preserved perfectly behind the plaster.
Curious about the history of their find, Mei’s family decided to investigate. With help from local elders, they managed to trace the descendants of the house’s previous owners — who, remarkably, still lived in the same village.
When informed of the discovery, the elderly family members were overwhelmed with emotion. They explained that the items had once belonged to their late grandfather, who had spent years talking about a missing coin collection and his prized bottles of baijiu. He had always believed they had been stolen long ago.
As it turned out, he had hidden them himself during renovation work many years earlier — and simply forgotten about them after building the partition wall that concealed them.
In a touching gesture, Mei’s family decided to return the baijiu and coins to the original owners. The moment of reunion was filled with gratitude and laughter, as the elderly family members reminisced about their grandfather and the stories he had shared.
To celebrate the unexpected turn of events, both families gathered together and opened one of the old bottles. Though the baijiu had aged beyond its prime, the occasion was rich with meaning — a toast to memory, honesty, and the ties that quietly connect people through time.
“It was an incredible experience,” Thornton said. “Helping with the renovation was a simple thing — but what we found reminded us that life’s most beautiful moments are often hidden just out of sight, waiting to be rediscovered.”
The remaining bottles and coins now rest once again with the original family — and both households have promised to stay in touch, meeting each year to share a meal and raise a glass in honor of the grandfather whose hidden treasure brought two families together.
