The renovation of Xiang Jin's brother's house was nearing completion. In order not to delay the progress and ensure the quality of the decoration, Xiang Jin and her grandfather immediately returned to Shanghai after the Mid-Autumn Festival to continue to keep an eye on the house.
But before going back, Xiang Jin still asked her grandfather, "Grandpa, will you be back during the National Day?"
Her grandfather was playing with the little baby in his arms. When he heard her question, he immediately said, "The Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day are just a few days apart. The Mid-Autumn Festival is back, and I won't be back on the National Day. I'll wait."
When your brother's house is renovated and the furniture is moved in and placed, I'll come back. What, is there anything you want me to bring back?"
Xiang Jin said, "No, I just said that my parents and aunt are going to have a BJ during the National Day. You can meet up then."
Her grandfather was silent for a moment, and then said, "I'm gone this time. Let's see you again during the Chinese New Year. Anyway, they are both in good health and have no background, so it doesn't matter if they are missing this time."
Xiang Jin nodded and followed him.
Her grandfather didn't come back for the National Day, but Yan Chen and his uncles and aunts came back. It was the day after Xiang Jin and her parents arrived in Beijing. However, the two old people didn't tell them in advance, so when they came back
Xiang Jin and the others did not go to pick them up at the airport. The two old men took a taxi back by themselves.
But this time when he saw Yan Chen and his aunts and uncles, Xiang Jin clearly noticed that his aunts and uncles seemed to have become much more haggard and older in the past year. Especially Yan Chen and his aunts, who had a lot of hair on their heads.
I have gray hair.
"Uncle, aunt, why didn't you give us a call when you came back? We could drive to the airport to pick you up. Do you think you took a taxi back?"
Uncle Yan Chen waved his hand, "It's convenient to take a taxi back."
Yan Chen's aunt added, "We are just afraid of troublesome you."
Xiang Jin asked, "What's the trouble with this? Are you so polite to us?"
Yan Chen's aunt said, "We didn't catch a plane this time, we came back by train."
Xiang Jin and the others were surprised. Xiang Jin blurted out, "Isn't it easy to buy plane tickets?"
Yan Chen's aunt said, "That's not the train ticket we bought originally."
A few people nodded.
Grandma Mo looked at her son and daughter-in-law in front of her and asked, "Why did you suddenly think of coming back?"
Yan Chen and his aunt said, "Come back to see you. We won't be back for the Chinese New Year this year, so I will take advantage of this National Day to come back and see you. There are also Chen Chen, Jin Yatou and the others. Alas, Jin Yatou."
, where is the child? Where is the child? Come take it out and show it to us."
Grandma Mo was the first to say, "Go and wash up first, go and get tired. The child is sleeping right now. I will take him out for you to see when he wakes up."
The two of them heard the child sleeping and nodded.
Grandpa Zeng asked, "How many days will you stay when you come back this time?"
Yan Chen and his uncle said, "Plane No. 6."
Grandpa Zeng nodded and then fell silent. Yan Chen and his uncle said to Yan Chen, "Chen Chen, Jin Yatou, you come with me." After saying that, Yan Chen and his uncle stood up from their seats.
Then he picked up the suitcase in front of him and Yan Chen's aunt's suitcase, and headed towards Jin's study.
Xiang Jin and Yan Chen looked at each other, and then heard Yan Chen's aunt say to them, "Go."
"Oh, okay!" Xiang Jin and Yan Chen immediately turned around and followed.
When they arrived at the study, Yan Chen and his uncle had already opened one of the suitcases. Then Xiang Jin saw that there were several volumes of the painting in his suitcase, and a pair of them, about thirty or forty years old.
A centimeter-high blue and white porcelain vase, and a pair of 20- to 30-centimeter-high painted vases.
"Close the door."
The two turned sideways, and Yan Chen quickly walked over and closed the door.
"Uncle, what are you doing?" The two of them approached and pointed to Jin the things in his box. Yan Chen also looked at his uncle.
His uncle said, "I will retire next year. I have discussed with your aunt that after I retire, I will sell the house we have there and then move back to the capital.
These are some antiques, calligraphy and paintings that I have collected over the years. Our house over there will be disposed of at that time, so I will take all these things back and store them with you in advance. I heard your grandma said that you were renovating them before.
We dug a basement in another house, so we can see if we can temporarily put all our things in your basement?"
Yan Chen nodded, "Well, we plan to store some wine in the basement, and we plan to open a winery by then."
His uncle nodded, and then opened another box. This box also contained some porcelain and calligraphy and paintings. However, the porcelains in this box were all single works, unlike the two in the previous box.
The models come in pairs.
He carefully took out the porcelains from the two boxes and placed them on Yan Chen's desk. He asked them to pick two of them, and then pick two calligraphy and paintings, as if they were gifts to them.
wedding gift.
Xiang Jin and Yan Chen refused, saying that it was too expensive and that they had already given them red envelopes from the country.
Yan Chen and his uncle said, "That one is a full-moon gift for Xi Bao. It's not for you, so I won't do the math. Choose two. I still have them over there, but I haven't gotten them back yet.
I’ll look for an opportunity to transport it back later.”
Yan Chen frowned, "Uncle, why do you have so many antique calligraphy and paintings?"
His uncle seemed to have seen what he was thinking, and said, "Don't worry, they are all obtained through formal channels, and they are also very clean. Your uncle and I have basically invested all the wages in these years.
.
I, like Jin Yatou, just took a chance and bought it at a low price from people who didn't know about antiques or from my family."
The two of them nodded, and then Yan Chen became rude and said to Xiang Jin, "Go ahead and choose two things you like."
Xiang Jin shook his head, "I don't know how to choose, so uncle, why don't you just give us a slightly cheaper one?"
Yan Chen and his uncle said, "The prices we brought back this time are not cheap."
Xiang Jin said "oh".
Yan Chen and his uncle directly handed the pair of painted vases to them, "Just this pair of auspicious screens with flowers blooming. This has a good meaning and looks festive."
Xiang Jin looked at Yan Chen, "Isn't this too expensive?"
Yan Chen reached out and took it directly, "Thank you, uncle!"
Oops, you are so rude?!
Xiang Jin clicked his tongue!
His uncle said, "Why are you thanking me? You are the only close nephew I have! As long as you and Jin Yatou are well, my uncle will be very happy."
Over the years, you have been taking care of your grandparents for us. Your aunt and I are very grateful to you. When you paid for them to buy a house in the provincial capital, we were not polite to you," followed him
He took two more scrolls and handed them to Xiang Jin.
"Thank you, uncle!" Xiang Jin caught it, "But we haven't taken much care of my grandparents. They have always taken care of us. At most, they can live with us and not be so lonely.
That's all, let's just take care of it
, that’s what us juniors should do, so uncle and aunt, you two don’t feel bad. It’s just due to the nature of your work, and you didn’t mean to stay away from your grandparents. We all understand this.
, can all understand it.”
Their uncle nodded, "It's hard to believe that you two children are so sensible and sensible. My uncle is very pleased and happy!"
Xiang Jin and Yan Chen put the two things in their hands aside, and Yan Chen said to his uncle, "Then you make a register of all your things, and I will store them for you when the time comes.
stand up."
His uncle said, "No need to register anything, why don't I worry about you two?"
Yan Chen said, "Okay, then you can put the things on the table back into the box and lock them. I will put them away for you when the time comes."
His uncle nodded, and then put the porcelain bottles back into the two boxes.
"Aren't your parents here? Why haven't you seen them? Your grandparents are not at home either," suddenly, Yan Chen's uncle said again.
Xiang Jin said, "During the National Day, many real estate projects are offering preferential policies. My brother and my aunt wanted to take advantage of the National Day to buy two more houses here, so they went out to look at the houses together early in the morning.
My grandma is sleeping with Xibao. My grandpa came back during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so he didn't come back on the National Day. He stayed in Shanghai and planned to wait until my brother's house was completely renovated.
I’ll come back later, but it won’t be long, maybe only half a month.”
Their uncle nodded, "Oh, that's right? Are the discounts for buying houses here now big?"
Yan Chen said, "It's okay. Many properties offer 15% off or 10% off. They are sold at 95% off. There are also some other free benefits. Compared with usual purchases, the discount per square meter is only 100, 200 or 23% off."
Looks like a hundred."
Their uncle then asked, "Are you still planning to buy during the National Day?"
Yan Chen said, "We won't buy it."
Yan Chen and his uncle were stunned for a moment. He was obviously a little surprised. He didn't expect that they would take advantage of him?
Xiang Jin explained to him, "Although the preferential policies are indeed quite attractive, the wool still comes from the sheep after all. In fact, they are just raising the price in disguise."
Besides, they already have enough real estate on hand, including dozens in Shanghai, dozens in provincial capitals, and dozens in BJ, so it’s almost done. They will also build their own houses next year.
So there is really no need to hoard so many houses.
"Uncle, are you still planning to buy it?" Yan Chen asked his uncle.
His uncle said, "Your aunt and I also plan to buy two more properties."
Yan Chen nodded and said nothing more.
His uncle then asked, "Didn't your grandfather say that he would be resigning on National Day? Has he resigned now?"
Yan Chen said, "It will be a few days before he comes back."
His uncle nodded again, "Now he can finally have two days of leisure."
"yes!"
After his uncle packed up the porcelain bottles, he moved them to a hidden corner of the study, and then said to Yan Chen, "Will you take some time to help me put them away?"
Yan Chen nodded, "Yeah!"
The three of them came out of the study together, and then saw their aunt and grandparents with solemn expressions on their faces. Xiang Jin asked, "What's wrong? None of them seemed very happy."
"
Their aunt said, "It's nothing," and then stood up, "I'm going to wash up and change into clean clothes before I come out."
Yan Chen and his uncle said that he also wanted to wash up, and then the two of them left.
Watching their retreating figures, Xiang Jin asked the two old men beside him, "Are uncle, aunt, and the others the matter?"
Their grandmother sighed and said to them, "I'll tell you later."
"oh!"
Yan Chen immediately said to Xiang Jin, "I'm going to put the things away."
"Okay, go ahead!"
At about three o'clock, Xibao woke up. After feeding him, Xiang Jin took him out to show his uncle and aunt. After meeting Xibao, they both looked very fond of Xibao.
The look on his face, especially that of Yan Chen and his aunt, made them want to fix their eyes on Xi Bao.
, she hugged Xibao and kept laughing, "Xibao, your name is Xibao? We Xibao woke up, it turns out you look like this, you look so much like your father, it's so
They are printed in exactly the same mold, right? Xibao is also a very handsome young man!"
Xibao stared at Yan Chen's aunt with a pair of black phoenix eyes, and then frowned. Yan Chen's aunt said, "Why, you don't know me? That's right, you don't know me, I am
Your aunt, this is your uncle, we are your parents’ uncles and aunts, Xibao also has uncles, and will also have aunts in the future..."
The little guy stared at her for a while, then yawned, and then began to squint his eyes, "Oh, it's time to go to sleep."
Xiang Jin reached out to take it, "Then give it to me, aunt?"
Their aunt said, "It's okay, I'll just hold him. I like this kid. He looks like a smart and energetic master at first glance."
So Xiang Jin retracted his hand again.
Sure enough, the little guy fell asleep after a while.
Xiang Jin reached out to hug Yan Chen again, but Yan Chen and his aunt still refused to let go, "Let me hug you for a while. I haven't hugged such a small child for decades, and I don't know if I will have the chance to hug him again."
Yo?"
Xiang Jin was stunned, and then looked sideways at Yan Chen, who also had a confused look on his face.
Their grandmother then interjected, "It's better to give the child back to them and let them take it back and put it to sleep on the bed. If you hold it like that, be careful that the child will become used to being held and it will be difficult to put it to sleep in the future."
"
Yan Chen and his aunt were stunned for a moment, then took Xi Bao back to Xiang Jin, "Take it back to sleep," but her eyes were still reluctant to part with it.
Xiang Jin took Xi Bao back to sleep, but Yan Chen still stayed there talking to them.
When it was nearly five o'clock, Xiang Jin, her parents, and their group came back, and Yan Chen asked them, "How do you like it? Is there anything suitable?"
Ouyang Bo said, "The two properties I looked at today are average and not my ideal type. I will go and check out some other properties tomorrow."
Xiang Jin asked, "What's going on with those two properties today?"
Ouyang Bo said, "One is that the elevator is too crowded. There are eight households on two elevators. What's the concept? There are eight households on one floor, but there are only two elevators. If there is an emergency, there is no hope of being able to take the elevator.
I quickly went downstairs, and the proportion of green area there was also very small.
The other property has a poor floor plan and poor layout of the rooms, living room and dining room. The living room is long and very narrow, and none of the houses have entrance halls or gardens, and the free area is also very small."
Their aunt added, "That's because the balcony is very small."
Ouyang Bo nodded, "That's right! Oops, today's run was in vain."
Xiang Jin said, "It's okay. The National Day lasts for several days anyway. You can take your time and look at it before you buy it."
Ouyang Bo said, "Sister, the National Day is for office workers like you. People like us who work with the soil all year round are not that long. The National Day holiday is not that long. My aunt and I will go back on the 4th.
When the time comes, I’ll go back and harvest the fruits again.”
Yan Chen asked, "Hey, how are your fruits this year?"
Ouyang Bo said, "Because of the rainy weather for a period of time this year, a lot of seedlings were flooded and a lot of fruits were lost. Therefore, the output will be reduced by about 20% this year. However,
The price this year is a bit higher than last year’s, so overall it’s still the same as last year.”
Yan Chen said, "That's still okay!"
Ouyang Bo said, "But I don't know next year, because I don't know what the price will be next year, and there are many seedlings that were planted some time ago this year. This growth requires a process, and some are grown in one year."
It can grow and bear fruit, but some of them take three to five years to grow and bear fruit again.”
Yan Chen said, "There is no way."
Ouyang Bo sighed, "Yes, there is nothing we can do!"
Xiang Jin's mother asked again, "Where is Xibao? He fell asleep again?"
"Ah, I'm sleeping."
Ouyang Bo asked, "Why does this child sleep so much? How many times have Xi Bao opened his eyes since I came here?"
Xiang Jin said, "Children grow tall by sleeping. Newborn babies like them usually sleep for more than twenty hours a day."
Ouyang Bo said, "Damn, I can really sleep!"
Xiang Jin's father said, "You weren't that good at sleeping when you were a child!"
"Can I sleep like that?" Ouyang Bo looked in disbelief.
Xiang Jin's father asked, "How can it be false?"
At night, Xiang Jin and Yan Chen were lying on the bed. Xiang Jin said to Yan Chen, "Do you feel that your uncle and aunt are a little different when they come back this time? How should I put it? Well, they are a little strange, and they look worried.
?Yes, he looks very worried."
Yan Chen said, "Well, I feel it."
Xiang Jin asked him, "Do you want to ask uncle privately?"
Yan Chen said, "I asked, and he said it was nothing and told me not to think too much."
"Oh, forget it, since they don't want to tell us, let's just pretend we don't know."
"Well, go to sleep," Yan Chen hugged her into his arms.
Xiang Jin nodded, "Yeah!"
After several days of running around and working hard, Xiang Jin, her brother and her aunt finally bought two houses in Chaoyang District. Her brother bought two houses with an area of more than 120 square meters, and her aunt bought two houses.
Two houses of more than 80 square meters.
The two people are in the same community, but in different buildings and floors.
On the second day, Yan Chen and his uncles and aunts also followed Xiang Jin and his buddies to check out some real estate properties, and finally bought two houses in the HD area, both of which were 978 square meters.
Look.
On October 4th, Xiang Jin's brother and his aunt were the first to go back, while her parents and Yan Chen's aunt and uncle left on September 6th. After that, the family returned to its previous tranquility.
Because Xibao doesn't take milk powder, Xiang Jin cannot return to the company for the time being, so she can only continue to work at home.
After more than two hours of work, Xiang Jin got up and went outside to get some fresh air. Then he saw Grandpa Zeng and Grandma Mo coming in from the outside holding a pot of flowers.
She walked over and saw that the two pots of flowers were blooming vigorously and were quite beautiful. "Grandpa and grandma, did you buy flowers? What kind of flowers are these? They are pink and yellow in color, and there are clusters of them."
A bunch of them, pretty good-looking?"
The two old people laughed, and Grandma Mo showed the flower in her hand to her, "Do you think it looks good?"
Xiang Jin nodded, "Yeah, it's beautiful. I think I've never seen this kind of flower before. In my impression, chrysanthemums, roses, hibiscus, osmanthus and the like are usually blooming this season."
.”
Grandma Mo smiled and said, "This is not bought from outside, this is grown by your grandfather in the yard of your house over there."
Xiang Jin immediately remembered that a basement was dug in the courtyard house not far from here at the beginning of summer, so all the soil was piled in the yard, and later it was spread flat.
In the yard, their grandfather planted flowers and plants there. He said that when the time came, they would be placed in her and Yan Chen's company, so that they would not have to buy other flowers outside.
She had been there once before, but at that time they were still digging the basement and had not planted flowers and plants yet. When her grandfather officially started planting flowers and plants, it was only after the basement was dug and decorated, which was not long ago.
It's only a month or two at most.
"Oh, are they all blooming now?" Her grandfather would occasionally go over there to take care of the flowers and plants, such as watering them, fertilizing them, etc., but he would only go there every few days, and every time he went there he would go there.
It was he and his grandmother who went shopping in the mall and then stopped by there.
Grandpa Zeng nodded, "Well, open it a little."
Xiang Jin asked, "How many pots of this flower have you planted?"
Grandpa Zeng said, "This flower is called Beautiful Evening Primrose. It usually blooms in July and has a flowering period of two months. I don't plant many of them, only about twenty pots. I have only bloomed two pots so far."
, just these two pots in the hands of your grandma and I, if you like them, then you can take them and put them there?"
Xiang Jin waved his hand, "No, no, just leave it alone. Oh, grandpa, besides this evening primrose, what other flowers and plants have you planted?"
Her grandfather said, "There are many, there are still about ten varieties, each of which has about ten or twenty pots, but there are only seven or eight varieties that bloom. Do you think it will be convenient for the two Xiao Chens recently?
Come here and pick some flowers and plants to put in the company."
Xiang Jin nodded and said, "Grandpa, grandma, I have a suggestion, what do you think? In our company, we don't need to put too many flowers and plants, just a few pots of indoor green plants.
It's enough. I suggest you sell the flowers and plants that are blooming and waiting to bloom."
"Sell it?!" The two elders looked surprised. Obviously they had never thought about selling for money. Grandpa Zeng said, "Then I will have to find a place to set up a stall?"
Xiang Jin said, "There's no need to find a place or set up a stall. Don't we have two melon and fruit shops here? I'll ask them to clear out a place for you when the time comes. The place doesn't need to be big, just one.
Two more square meters would be nice.
When the time comes, we will put a shelf there, and then you can put your flowers and plants on that shelf, and then clearly mark the price. If the customer sees it and likes it, they can just buy it for you there.
You don’t need to go to the store to keep watch. You just need to remember how many flowers and plants you put in the store and how many pots of each type. The store staff will buy them for you when the time comes.
The money is given to you.
It's easy and you can make money. The most important thing is that it's winter and our store has heating, so you don't have to worry about the flowers and plants freezing."
The two old men's eyes lit up and they thought her method was good, but Grandpa Zeng said, "Wouldn't that take up the place where your fruits are placed?"
Xiang Jin said, "No, we just need to adjust the placement of the fruits. For example, the distance between the two fruits we placed before was one meter. Now we will shorten the distance between them.
Make it 90 centimeters or 80 centimeters, and the remaining area will be used to place flower stands for you."
The two old men nodded after understanding, so Grandpa Zeng said, "Okay, I agree to sell those flowers and plants in your fruit shop, but you don't have to give us the money, you can keep it yourself."
, your grandma and I will eat and live with you every day for nothing, so we won’t charge you any money.”
Grandma Mo quickly expressed her position, "That's right, that's right, if you take the money, don't give it to us."
Xiang Jin said, "How can that be done? It's the fruit of your labor. Besides, we ourselves are also making money. To put it bluntly, our daily income is many times higher than yours. That amount of money
, you should just keep it by yourselves. When the time comes, you can buy Xibao a toy or something if you want, and we won’t refuse."
The two old men laughed, and Grandpa Zeng said, "That must be bought. Even if we don't sell flowers, we still have to buy them for him. They are our descendants."
Xiang Jin just smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll call the people in charge of the two melon and fruit shops later and ask them to come home in the afternoon. Then I'll give them an explanation. And grandpa, you
When I see it, how high and several levels should the flower stand be?"
"Oh, good!"
At around three o'clock in the afternoon, the people in charge of the two melon and fruit shops came. Then Xiang Jin explained it to them and asked his grandfather to explain it to them. After hearing this, they both nodded and went back to get started.
.
Within a few days, Grandpa Zeng moved some of the flowers and plants in the yard to Lianggua Fruit Store. He followed Xiang Jin’s instructions and put no more than two pots of each variety of flowers in one store, so that
Only then will things become more valuable when they are scarce.
And those flowers must be half-open and half-open, because when they bloom, others will see a real effect, and the part of the flower that others buy back can continue to bloom for a period of time.
He also followed Xiang Jin's other suggestion, which was to clearly mark the prices on all the flowers and plants, so as to avoid bargaining. If you really like them, they won't care about the price he marked, and the other party will simply buy them.
If he doesn't like it or is reluctant to part with the money, he won't ask again.
So on the day he put those flowers and plants up, he sold several pots in the melon and fruit shops on both sides, making Grandpa Zeng and the others earn nearly 2,000 yuan. Mainly because he bought several pots of orchids that were very good.
, the price is also high.
Like other ordinary flowers and plants, he sold them for a few dollars, a dozen dollars, and a dozen dollars, but he sold two kinds of orchids, plus a few pots of pink, white, and purple Phalaenopsis.
The flowers are very good, and they are sold at prices many times higher than those of ordinary flowers and plants.
Especially the Phalaenopsis, which has many and delicate flowers. Anyone who likes flowers and plants will like it after seeing it, so he directly bid several hundred yuan for a pot, but some people still bought it without blinking an eye.
Just buy it and go.
So after that, Grandpa Zeng became more and more interested in taking care of his flowers and plants. As long as there was nothing going on at home, he would wander to the yard over there to tend to the flowers and plants.
Today is not about dividing plants, tomorrow is about cuttings, or the day after tomorrow it is about sowing that, or else it is about watering flowers, fertilizing, weeding, and potting.
If the yard over there couldn't keep them, he would move them back to the yard here to raise them. Now there are pots of flowers and plants every one or two meters in the corridors on several sides of their house.
Now, even though it is already late autumn, everywhere you look is a bleak scene, but Xiang Jin and his family are still a lively scene, with all kinds of flowers blooming one after another.