The wooden door of No. 76 Hanjia Hutong slowly opened.
Li Jie carried the scroll on his back and walked out of the courtyard. Bao Shi did not come out with him and stayed inside. He guessed that Bao Shi had something to discuss with the bald man.
In the courtyard, after Li Jie left, Shao Pohou asked loudly.
"Big Er quilt, what's wrong with you today?"
Unexpectedly, the bald man's reaction was beyond Rohan's expectations. He rubbed his hands with a flattering smile on his face.
"Can you lend me some money?"
Bao Shaanshi frowned and glared at him.
"Please explain things clearly to me first."
The bald man smiled and said: "Okay, okay, let me tell you, the thing is like this. You also know my situation. Since Lianlan left, the two boys in my family have broken off relations with me.
Something happened to my younger son recently, and he is in urgent need of money. I am scraping together things here and there, but I am still short of seven hundred yuan. Counting today's payment, I am still short of three hundred yuan."
After listening to the bald man's explanation, Baoshao couldn't help but think of his relationship with his daughter. Although the reasons were different, the results were very similar.
If Chunming hadn't been the mediator, he would probably still be in a cold war with his daughter.
Thinking of this, Bao Pohou couldn't help but feel soft in his heart and let out a sigh.
"Okay, I borrowed this money. Next time you have something to talk about, don't think about taking advantage of it."
The bald man's face lit up when he heard this, he stepped forward, excitedly took the hand of the broken man, and kept thanking him.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"Alright! Alright!"
There was a look of disgust on Shapoh's face, and he quickly took out his hand, then picked up the sack on the ground and walked unsteadily toward the door, waving his hand as he walked.
"I'm leaving first. I'll get the money for you tomorrow."
On the other side, Li Jie rode his bicycle towards Mr. Guan's house. The old man had three major hobbies in his life: good wine, good things, and good chess. He received good things, so naturally he wanted to share them with the old man.
When passing by the supply and marketing cooperative on the way, Li Jie guessed that the old man's wine was almost finished, so he bought another bottle of Maotai and took it with him.
In July, the sunshine gradually became fierce. As noon approached, the old man had long since disappeared from the rocking chair in the yard.
"Old man, I'm back. I received a good item today. Please take care of it."
Li Jie walked into the house and saw the old man sitting on the couch with his eyes closed. After hearing the words 'good thing', the old man suddenly opened his eyes and saw the wine in Li Jie's hand, with a smile on his face.
Add another three points.
"My dear grandson, you did a great job. Come on, bring it over and let me take a look."
Looking at Mr. Guan's direct eyes, Li Jie smiled and handed over the Maotai he was holding. The old man snatched the bottle and held it in his arms.
"Not bad, not bad."
I couldn't wait to unscrew the bottle cap, and the aroma of wine suddenly filled the room. The old man took a deep sniff, with a look of intoxication on his face. After a while, the old man put down the bottle and patted the table.
"This wine comes at just the right time. The little lazy cat will be back from the exam soon. Let's have a few drinks at noon to celebrate."
After saying this, the old man just remembered that there was something he hadn't read and immediately added.
"By the way, here's what you just said. Take it out and take a look."
"Here it is!"
Li Jie patted the box containing the scroll, then walked a few steps to the left, placed the box on the table in the main room, took out the paintings in it, and slowly spread them out.
After hundreds of years of existence, even if the overall painting is still very well preserved, the process of removing the painting must be cautious, and violence is not advisable.
As the scroll slowly unfolded, the old man focused all his attention on the painting.
Li Jie knew that it was not appropriate to disturb the old man at this time, so he took a few steps back, leaving enough space for the old man.
Tick tock, tick tock, time is passing. The old man frowns for a while, reaches out his hand to gently touch the scroll, and moves back and forth to appreciate the painting from different angles.
It was not until half an hour later that the people from Guan Xiaoguan arrived, but the sound had already arrived.
"Grandpa, I'm back!"
Mr. Guan woke up instantly and no longer cared about admiring the paintings. He turned around and walked out of the house, asking as he walked.
"How did you do in the exam this morning?"
As the old man got older, his steps became slower and slower. Before the old man could walk out of the room, Guan Xiaoguan walked in.
"Don't even look at who I am, of course... Hey, Brother Chunming, are you there too?"
Li Jie smiled and nodded, pointed at the painting on the table and said.
"Well, I just collected a painting this morning and sent it over to show the old man."
Although the old man is very knowledgeable about antique calligraphy and painting, Guan Xiaoguan, his granddaughter, has no interest in calligraphy and painting. Guan Xiaoguan speaks in a very calm tone.
"oh."
The old man obviously knew his granddaughter's temperament and had never forced Guan Xiaoguan to learn antique appreciation from him. He looked back at the clock, then took out ten dollars from his pocket and ordered.
"Hey, take the money, go out and buy some food and drinks, and celebrate at noon."
It was so hot outside, and she was already dripping with sweat from the walk back. She didn't expect to go out to buy groceries, and Guan Xiaoguan's face suddenly fell.
In the end, Guan Xiaoguan took the money and embarked on the road to buy groceries with heavy steps, because she knew that her grandfather would definitely take 'Brother Chunming' to study calligraphy and painting together, and there was no point in resisting.
After watching his granddaughter leave, the old man paced back to the painting.
"That's right, that's right. It's an authentic work. You're ready to start teaching now. I have nothing left to teach you."
In fact, the old man has long planned to let Li Jie become his master. In the past year, Li Jie has collected good and bad things from the Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and the Republic of China. Without exception, they are all genuine.
None of them are eye-catching.
Even if I were to collect it myself, I guess the old man wouldn't be able to do better.
Li Jie smiled and shook his head. Seeing that the old man was about to walk back to the couch, he took the initiative to reach out to support the old man.
"Then I'm done today?"
The old man simply said: "Well, let's go out."
"Okay, then I will leave today." Li Jie walked away and changed the topic immediately: "They say that having an old man in the family is like having a treasure. From now on, if I collect good things, you will always have to keep an eye on me."
The old man replied with a smile: "Well, no problem."
While waiting, Li Jie told the old man everything that happened during the collection of paintings.
Soon, Guan Xiaoguan came back with the cooked food. Judging from the packaging style, he should have bought it at the restaurant at the entrance of the alley.
Today is the last exam. The old man has already heard from Li Jie about his granddaughter’s exam results. If nothing else, she will definitely have no problem going to college.
Therefore, the old man was very happy and had a few drinks at noon. If Guan Xiaoguan hadn't stopped him, he would have swallowed most of the bottle of Maotai.