Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 683 The Old Man Blocking the Way
The Intermediate People's Court is watching a program.

A very important person arrived at the front yard – Matchmaker Wang.

They could hear clanging noises coming from the courtyard, as well as shouts and curses coming from the central courtyard.

"Hey, this courtyard is really lively. It's strange that it's so lively when it's not a holiday."

In an instant, Wang the matchmaker forgot her purpose and rushed to the central courtyard to watch the commotion.

After watching for a while, Jia Zhangshi got so angry that she left home and that's when things calmed down.

The audience was left wanting more.

"Hey, Matchmaker Wang, what brings you here? Who are you introducing a potential partner to?" Yan Bugui asked enthusiastically.

"Haha, you guessed right, you were right."

"Who are you introducing potential partners to today?"

"I haven't decided yet, but I came to take a look first," said Matchmaker Wang, looking at Yan Bugui, clearly not wanting to introduce a potential partner to her son, Yan Jiecheng.

Yan Bugui had no intention of arranging blind dates for Yan Jiecheng: "Okay, you go ahead with your work."

"Alright." Matchmaker Wang nodded, looking around the courtyard to see who was still single or unmarried.

There are no rooms with reverse seating either.

"In the front yard, Yan Jiecheng is no good. Li Kailang is studying, so he's no good either. Cui Yuan has a girlfriend, and none of the other families have one."

"In the Intermediate People's Court, Jia Dongxu is dead. Sha Zhu has a wife. Sha Zhu's sister is in school."

"In the backyard, Xu Damao has a wife, Liu Guangtian, who is still studying. Chen Tongjing also has a girlfriend."

Chen Tongjing, a level-three fitter, finally found a partner some time ago and is currently in a relationship where things aren't quite right for him.

Matchmaker Wang carefully surveyed the front, middle, and back courtyards, but found no one she wanted to introduce to a potential partner.

Finally, attention turned to the people in the back room.

Bai Xiuwen and Xu Sinan are together, so that leaves four people: two men and two women.

These people were practically invisible in the yard, with little to no presence.

Originally, Wang the matchmaker was planning to leave, but since she was already there, she figured she might as well stop by and take a look.

"I wonder what their family situation is like? We'll find out if we go and check."

But at least I have a decent job, a house to live in, and a town household registration, so overall it's not too bad.

Everyone was home on the weekend, and Wang the matchmaker greeted them one by one, saying a few words to each of them.

While we were chatting, I took a look at their family background.

It's true that the four families weren't as well-off as Bai Xiuwen, which is normal, since not everyone is like Bai Xiuwen, with a bicycle and a radio.

Although the house didn't have any large items, it had all the basic household furniture, and it wasn't bad at all; in some aspects, it was even better than the Jia family's.

"Okay, if you want to find a partner in the future, just come to me, and I'll introduce you to someone."

"I'll have to trouble Matchmaker Wang then."

"It's no trouble at all, it's all what we should do."

Upon learning that the four had no intention of dating or getting married and were even thinking about saving money, Wang, the matchmaker, took her leave.

After Wang the matchmaker left, the four of them gathered together.

Zhang Wei joked, "With our looks, we still want to find partners? Matchmaker Wang must be overestimating us."

Li Qiang: "Yes, we all came here as refugees. In the past, we would have been hooligans and beggars. We didn't deserve to be called that."

Sun Guifang joked, "Maybe Matchmaker Wang thinks we're all like Bai Xiuwen, so capable that we can buy a bicycle and a radio in a year, and that's what we're all like."

Zhou Haiyan nodded: "That's really possible. It would be great if it were true."

"Hahaha--"

The four people made self-deprecating jokes, which made the audience burst into laughter and helped them overcome the discomfort of being compared to each other.

Because of that New Year's dinner gathering, everyone became much more familiar with each other and formed a tacit little group.

In the past, we saw each other all the time, but we were just nodding acquaintances. Now it's much better.

Before leaving the courtyard, Wang the matchmaker made sure to say goodbye to Li Kailang.

"Little Li, if you're looking for a partner in the future, come to me. I'll introduce you to someone, and I'll make sure you find a wife you can spend your whole life with."

"I'll have to trouble Matchmaker Wang to put in a lot of effort then," Li Kailang said, forcing a smile.

"No problem, no problem, I won't bother you any longer. I still need to check on the other courtyards."

After saying this, the matchmaker wisely left.

"I have nothing to do, so I need to find something to do."

The yard was so noisy that I couldn't even get a good night's sleep.

"Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've dealt with antiques. Since I'm free anyway, I might as well go check out the trust shop."

With that in mind, Li Kailang headed straight for the trust store.

In the past, Li Kailang would go to the scrap yard to pan for gold.

But the chances of finding gold at a junkyard are too low; you might not find anything even after three or four tries. It's better to try your luck at a trust store.

It's just spending money; money is the last thing he needs right now. Besides, going to a junkyard doesn't fit his current status.

Trust store.

In the afternoon, when everyone is feeling listless, there was only one young man sitting idly at the counter, yawning every now and then.

Upon seeing Li Kailang arrive, he merely lifted his eyelids slightly before propping his head up and squinting.

Li Kailang has completely gotten used to this kind of service mentality.

It's better to ignore it; at least I can still walk around and see what's going on.

The items on display are rich and varied, including jade, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings.

The most outrageous thing is that there's even a chamber pot.

The chamber pot was not only old and worn, but it also faintly emitted a peculiar 'fragrance'.

"Even if this thing is an antique, is it really necessary to bring it up here? I wonder who could possibly accept it."

"Who knows? If it were a girl's chamber pot, some perverts might like it."

The thought alone made Li Kailang feel disgusted, and he couldn't help but get goosebumps all over.

After looking at it for a while, Li Kailang's gaze fell on a jade pendant.

"Comrade, could you please bring me that jade pendant so I can take a look?"

Upon hearing this, the young man didn't budge an inch, coldly replying, "Just watch from there."

Li Kailang didn't care about the young man's attitude; he simply handed him a cigarette with practiced ease.

"Comrade, have a cigarette."

The young man glanced at the cigarette, saw it was a Zhonghua brand, and immediately put it away, his attitude improving considerably.

Before Li Kailang could speak, she took out the jade pendant, placed it in a small box, and then showed it to Li Kailang.

Although the young people are young, they know the rule that jade should not be handled by others.

Li Kailang didn't know anything about jade, but he thought the jade pendant was carved with lotus flowers, and the green color was even quite beautiful.

The lotus has a positive symbolic meaning, especially the line from Zhou Dunyi's "On the Love of Lotus": "It rises from the mud yet remains unstained; it is washed by clear ripples yet remains unpretentious."

In addition, there is a saying: "It can be admired from afar, but not touched."

The jade lotus flower being carved is right in my hand, so why can't I play with it?

Li Kailang looked at it from left to right and felt that the jade pendant was not fake.

"Comrade, how much is this jade pendant?"

The young man looked at Li Kailang with some surprise, not expecting that he would actually buy it.

"Twenty dollars."

"5 yuan."

"Do you think it's too expensive? If you think it's too expensive, then forget it."

"No, that's not it." Li Kailang shook his head, surprised that it was so cheap.

This 5 yuan is the poverty line for a person; he thought it was tens or hundreds of yuan.

'Sure enough, once you have a lot of money, you feel like it's worthless.' Li Kailang sighed inwardly.

'I almost forgot, there's a famine going on right now, who would spend money on these things?'

When it comes to famine, the situation and history have deviated somewhat.

Despite the accusation of famine, people across the country were actually doing relatively well.

We weren't exactly full, but we could eat every day and wouldn't starve to death.

"Okay, I'll buy it." Li Kailang nodded, too lazy to haggle, and handed over 5 yuan.

The young man hadn't expected him to actually want it, and to be so decisive in his purchase. 'Another rich man.' 'Alright.' After receiving the money and the receipt, the deal was done. The young man didn't try to persuade Li Kailang to buy anything else.

After all, no matter how much they buy, it has nothing to do with him, since he doesn't get any dividends.

Li Kailang continued strolling around and took a few more glances at things.

A jade bracelet, antique calligraphy and paintings, and a pocket watch.

Logically speaking, pocket watches and wristwatches have overlapping functions, so there's no need to buy one. But Li Kailang felt that buying a pocket watch would make him look cool.

Imagine someone asking for the time; you take out your pocket watch, click it open, say the time, and then click it closed again.

The movements were executed flawlessly in one go; that's really impressive.

These few items only cost a total of about 100 yuan, with the bulk of the money going to the pocket watch.

After all, these are industrial products, and anything involving industrial products is not cheap.

'That's enough buying so much stuff, let's get going.' the young man muttered to himself.

The things Li Kailang bought actually made the young people want to get rid of him, as they thought it would disturb his rest.
-
After leaving the trust store, Li Kailang planned to go back.

"Hey, hey, young man, wait a minute!"

Suddenly, a figure rushed over and stopped him.

"Sir, why are you stopping me?" Li Kailang said irritably when stopped by an unfamiliar old man.

The old man took a few deep breaths before saying, "Young man, did you buy something from the trust store? If so, I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you."

Upon hearing this, Li Kailang became interested: "What kind of business?"

Hearing this, the old man cautiously looked around to make sure it was safe before approaching and whispering:
"Young man, I have a nice item here, would you like to buy it?"

As he spoke, he took out a piece of yellowish white cloth from his clothes and carefully presented it to Li Kailang.

Seeing how cautious the old man was, Li Kailang immediately became very interested.

I took it from the old man and unfolded the yellow and white cloth layer by layer.

Immediately, the jade thumb ring wrapped inside was visible.

Putting aside the quality of the jade thumb ring, the jade itself is so clear and translucent that it is much better looking than the jade pendant he just received.

Li Kailang's eyes lit up. The jade thumb ring was not only beautiful, but the carved birds were also exquisite, and one could see the jade pendants lined up one after another.

When you gently touch it, you can feel the warm and smooth texture of the ring. It feels cool to the touch and is very comfortable.

Based on years of experience, one touch was enough to tell that this jade thumb ring was not stolen from a tomb.

This is a good thing.

It's still a well-preserved item.

I didn't have a good thumb ring myself; the ones I'd gotten from tomb raiding before weren't as good as this one.

Playing with the jade thumb ring, Li Kailang was determined to buy it and immediately made an offer.

However, Li Kailang pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Sir, are you planning to sell this jade thumb ring to me?"

“That’s right,” the old man nodded in agreement.

He risked everything to find Li Kailang because he had no other choice.

Things are different now than before.

Although he could eat, he wasn't full. It wouldn't matter once or twice, but he was always hungry.

With food shortages, everyone is focused on having enough to eat, so few people are willing to come to the trust store.

His old items were naturally unwanted, which worried him to death.

Having finally waited for Li Kailang to arrive, how could they let him go so easily? Regardless of whether he had bought anything or not, they had to ask him first.

This time I have to sell this jade thumb ring; no matter how precious it is, nothing is more important than having a full stomach.

Seeing that the old man was really interested in selling, Li Kailang hesitated for a moment and then asked directly:

"Sir, how much are you planning to sell this jade thumb ring for?"

First, check the price quoted by the old man. If it's low, you can buy it directly without haggling.

The old man was prepared and raised one finger.

"Ten yuan? Sure, I'll take it."

Upon hearing this, the old man became furious: "What 10 yuan? 100! This is my family heirloom, how can I sell it so cheaply?"

The old man boasted that the price was fair, even less, as this jade thumb ring was a precious item that he had always treasured as a family heirloom.

If it weren't for the current famine, and he were short of money, he would have to think twice about selling even if it were just 1 yuan.

He genuinely didn't rip Li Kailang off by asking for 100 yuan.

"Haha~"

Upon hearing this price, Li Kailang couldn't help but think of the aggressive advertising campaigns of some large online games: "Recharge now, 1 yuan equals 100 yuan, place your order now, or you'll miss out!"

Intentionally create a sense of urgency.

Li Kailang carefully wrapped the jade thumb ring and placed it on the ground: "Well, sir, this jade thumb ring of yours is too valuable. I can't afford it. You should find someone else."

He is rich, but not stupid, nor is he a sucker.

"Hey, wait a minute, let's talk this out."

The old man immediately calmed down. He had finally caught someone at the trust store, and now he was letting them get away. He didn't know when he would run into them again.

"You think it's too expensive? We can negotiate the price. How much do you want?"

Li Kailang held up one finger: "10 yuan."

"Ten yuan?! Young man, are you trying to rip me off?"

"Sir, you tricked me first."

"What do you mean I tricked you first? This jade thumb ring is my family heirloom, it's worth this price!" the old man said protectively.

Li Kailang was too lazy to argue with him: "Yes, yes, since you think I don't have enough money, why don't you sell it to a trust store and see how much they can offer?"

"You'll never reach 30!" Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

It turned out to be that young man.

"You little brat, get out of here right now!" the old man roared.

"Haha~" The young man chuckled, "His jade thumb ring is quite nice, but it's not that expensive. Be careful."

Upon hearing this, Li Kailang waved his hand and said, "Thank you!"

Then she looked at the old man and said, "Sir, how about this, I'll pay 30 yuan to buy it?"

"no!"

The old man immediately objected and put the jade thumb ring away.

Seeing that the old man didn't seem inclined to buy, Li Kailang didn't press the issue.

"Let's do it."

After saying that, he was about to ride away.

"Hey hey~" It was the old man who couldn't stand still first and immediately grabbed the handlebars of the bicycle to stop it from moving.

"Hey, what's wrong with you, old man? You won't let me buy anything, and you won't let me leave. Are you trying to force me to buy something?"

"Don't think I'm easy to bully just because I'm young. I'm a trained fighter, I've practiced a few moves!"

Seeing that Li Kailang really looked like he was about to fight, and that he didn't seem to want to buy it, the old man immediately looked worried.

"Young man, let's talk this out. I'll sell this jade thumb ring, can you..."

The old man raised one hand slightly, the meaning of which was self-evident: he wanted to raise the price.

The old man was in a weak position, and Li Kailang was also interested in buying, so he immediately retreated to advance.

"No way, I'm a gentleman who doesn't take what others cherish. You should keep your family heirloom for yourself; I can't afford it."

"Oh, no, no, no, I'll sell, I'll sell, I'm sincerely selling, just give me a sincere price." The old man pleaded.

"One price, if it's right, it's right; if not, then forget it."

Li Kailang held up 5 or 4 fingers: "Just 4."

Before he could even finish speaking, the old man swiftly grabbed Li Kailang's thumb and shouted, "50 it is! Deal!"

Having been tricked, Li Kailang rolled his eyes at the old man, who chuckled and remained unrepentant.

"Okay, 50 it is." Li Kailang was too lazy to argue with him and took out 50 yuan on the spot.

"Alright!" The old man took the money and handed the jade thumb ring to Li Kailang, afraid that he would regret it.

"They're gone." They left as if fleeing.

"Hmph~" Li Kailang shook his head and smiled helplessly. It was still uncertain who would suffer a loss. Looking at the jade thumb ring in his hand, he liked it more and more the more he looked at it.

"Getting a family heirloom for free isn't bad."

(End of this chapter)