The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 29 Scholarly Family
There was a mountain of furniture piled up here and there in the warehouse. Liu Hua's first feeling was that it was extremely unsafe. If it fell down, his life would be in danger.

"Look for yourself, man. What kind of desk do you want?"

The master casually pointed to a pile of furniture, just like the Northeastern people buying cabbage for winter storage at the vegetable market in his previous life, and bought all the piles here and there.

Liu Hua walked up to it and saw more than a dozen tables stacked together. They were Chinese-style desks, and there were also desks that looked like office desks later.

Liu Hua took a quick look and fell in love with the desk at the bottom. It was a good piece of goods, made absolutely of small-leaf red sandalwood, with a layer of tung oil on the surface. Judging from its age, it must be at least 150 years old, if not 200 years old.

"I want this one."

The master smiled and said, "You have a sharp eye, kid. Among all these things, this one is made of the most solid materials, has the best craftsmanship, and is an antique, so it's not cheap."

"Just tell me the number."

"What do you mean I have to give you a number? There are rules. This table is one hundred and one."

Liu Hua waved his hand: "You issue the invoice and I'll pay."

After paying the money, Liu Hua did not rush to receive the goods, but instead wandered around in front of the master in a sneaky manner.

"What else do you have to do, kid?"

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Look, I bought a desk, which shows that I come from a scholarly family. Just having a desk is not enough."

"Why, you still need the Four Treasures of the Study?"

Liu Hua shook his head: "No, in the study of this scholar, there must be some calligraphy and paintings, otherwise the table would be wasted."

The master smiled and pointed at Liu Hua with his hand: "Boy, you are so boring. I don't know what you mean. Do you want to exchange some antiques, calligraphy and paintings?"

"You are not wise."

The old man ran to the counter, took out a few paintings from the scroll, and unfolded them one by one: "See, these are things from the three dynasties of the Qing Dynasty. I won't mention the literary style of the Qing Dynasty. The best things can't be sent to the commission shop. They are all slightly famous, but they are only slightly famous."

Liu Hua made some appraisals and found that people like Lu Baozhong and Zhang Baixi held high positions in government and their calligraphy was somewhat famous in the industry, but it was far less sought-after than the Four Masters of the Qing Dynasty.

Liu Hua didn't like it either, and pouted his lips and said, "If there are no masters' works, you can use modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting works."

"That's a lot." The master took a handful out from another roll jar and said, "They are all famous people in modern times. The production is high, but the price is not high. There are still only a few people who know the business."

Liu Hua looked through them carefully and found works by Li Keran, Pan Tianshou, Qi Baishi, Wu Yuru, Huang Binhong and others.

These are worthless now, but in thirty or forty years, they will be priceless treasures.

For example, Huang Binhong's last work was auctioned for more than 300 million yuan, and there are many paintings by Li Keran that are sold for tens of millions or more, and there are several that are sold for over 100 million yuan.

"I'll take them all." Liu Hua said generously, "Please keep any Li family landscape paintings for me in the future. I'm proud of his style."

"You should have said so earlier." The master ran behind the counter and took out a dozen more paintings: "These are all modern and contemporary paintings."

Liu Hua actually saw Yu Youren's calligraphy and said in surprise: "You have all Yu Youren's calligraphy here?" "He was the director of some procuratorate, and some people are afraid of being implicated."

Others may be afraid, but Liu Hua is not. When the time comes, he will put it into the space and never let it see the light of day, then he won't have to worry about it.

"Hey, there are paintings by Mr. Mei here." Liu Hua said in surprise: "This is rare."

"He is a big star in Peking opera, but his calligraphy and painting are really not worth mentioning." The master commented with a smile: "There are many people who are better than him in calligraphy and painting these days. In this aspect, he is just an amateur."

Liu Hua painted more than 300 pieces, and he collected these 20-odd pieces of calligraphy and paintings. After 30 or 40 years, this pile will definitely be able to exchange for several small goals.

When going out to hire a car, Banerye only asked for one dollar and took me to his house. This price was absolutely cheap.

While no one was paying attention, he put the calligraphy and paintings into the space. Banerye tied the desk with a rope and gave each of his good friends a desk in the yard.

The third aunt looked at Liu Hua standing nearby and asked anxiously, "Hua Zi, you've become rich now, and you're buying new furniture. Do you want to throw away the furniture now?"

"Third Aunt, your Third Uncle is so arrogant that he claims to be from a scholarly family. This is a desk, and I don't have any old ones at home, so how can I discard it?"

Jia Zhang was sewing shoe soles at the door. When she heard Liu Hua's words, she began to laugh at the third aunt: "They call them a family of scholars, but Yan Fugui is just a stingy old man trying to flatter himself. I have never seen a family of scholars who likes to take advantage of others so much."

"Jia Zhang, I'll tear your mouth to pieces." The third aunt put her hands on her hips and cursed, "We are a family of scholars. No matter how scheming we are, we are better than you. You are trying to get something for nothing, and you are illiterate. You don't even know how to write a word when a carrying pole falls down."

"Come on." Jia Zhang stood up, the soles of her shoes dancing in her hands made a whirring sound. "You want to fight me with your small body? I can't beat you to death."

The third aunt compared the two people's stature. She was thin and skinny, while Jia Zhang was stupid and fat like a pig. She knew the result without even doing anything.

The three aunts took a step back and said, "Wait until our boss comes back and we'll hold a general meeting to criticize you."

"I'm afraid of you." Jia Zhang puffed out her chest and said, "Don't you see what kind of person your Yan Fugui is? He only knows how to take advantage of others every day. In our yard, does anyone listen to what he says? It's like farting."

The third aunt squeezed out an idiom from between her teeth: "It's insulting to society."

Jia Zhang said disdainfully: "We are not from the same family, and we are not from the same door. You are also able to speak sourly. You are making me so jealous."

Liu Hua could only shake his head helplessly. This was a war between old women and men could not get involved. What's more, he was a young man and would be criticized if he just watched the fun.

I could only take the onlooker to my room, put the desk by the window, and looked at it carefully. I realized it was a mistake. I didn't buy a matching chair and bookshelf. Now it looks a bit discordant.

It is no longer realistic to go to the consignment shop today. The road is not close. I have a stool at home, so I can make do with it for now. As for the bookshelf, those books have been piled on the kang for half a year anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I tolerate it a little more.

I have to buy a desk lamp and some electrical wires and sockets while there is still time. It will be easier to connect the wires during daylight hours, but if it gets dark and everyone turns on the lights, I’d feel embarrassed to turn off the power.

Nowadays, the whole courtyard shares one power switch, and the electricity bill is charged according to the lamp holder. Since there are no other household appliances, it is relatively fair.

I rode my bike to the supply and marketing cooperative and saw a note posted on the wall. The content of the note had appeared in many historical articles, saying that customers should not be beaten or scolded at will.

These days, you have to have a good attitude when you buy things, otherwise the supply and marketing cooperative will put you on the blacklist and you won't be able to reason with them.

　Ask for monthly tickets and collection
　　
　
(End of this chapter)