Mixed in 1980

Should we stop at Chapter 424?

Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own; people are the world of their own. Places like Panjiayuan are the arena for these people to display their talents.

All this talk is just about making a living.

Here, you'll find legitimate businesses as well as all sorts of swindles and frauds; all kinds of ways to make a living will be on display.

Among these people, there is a type who are very discreet, often moving between various stalls, but often disappearing in an instant.

He's a thief!

If thieves had different levels, the thieves at Panjiayuan would be at the very top. Although they all steal people's belongings, at least they have some cultural connection to the game.

In other words, stealing in Panjiayuan requires not only excellent skills but also a keen eye, as the items stolen are antiques, cultural artifacts, jade, and jewelry.

If you don't have a good eye, the stolen items might not be worth much.

The reason for choosing to commit crimes here is simple: if successful, the value is high; even if unsuccessful, the value is difficult to assess, and the perpetrators are often detained for violating public order.

The thief in front of me is one of these kinds of people, and he's a habitual offender. He goes in and out of police stations and detention centers like it's home. He was a seasoned criminal in the past.

But this time they miscalculated!

Hearing Chen Yanyin's words, my thighs trembled. Jadeite, glass-type jadeite, imperial green jadeite, jewelry... these are all deadly things.

"I never intended to steal the jade."

“I think this bracelet is worth a few hundred yuan, you can’t calculate it like that…”

As she spoke, she squatted down and burst into tears.

But is it useful? The value of stolen goods depends on what was stolen, not on the thief's subjective opinion. He deserved it.

Chen Yanyin doesn't have a saintly heart.

The police were also very happy. A simple theft case had turned into a major case, and the key was that the perpetrators were caught red-handed, which was a stroke of good luck.

But things also became complicated.

After the statement is taken, the bracelet's value needs to be appraised by an institution, and the bracelet itself needs to be kept as evidence. Subsequently, a public prosecution and court hearing will be initiated.

After a flurry of activity, Lu You left first.

Chen Yanyin stayed for quite a while, and before she even left the police station, her phone rang. She swiped to answer, and Ye Ling's voice came through: "Where are you?"

"Where's the police station?"

"How did you end up at the police station? What happened?"

"If you run into a thief, find a place to sit for a while, and I'll come find you later."

"I'll go find you."

Ye Ling rushed to the police station, which was only a few hundred meters away. She waited at the station for a short while before Chen Yanyin came out.

After Chen Yanyin recounted the story, Ye Ling said irritably, "You should be more careful. You know Panjiayuan is a mixed bag, yet you still took that treasure out with you."

"Who knew we'd run into a thief."

Chen Yanyin chuckled and took Ye Ling's arm: "Let's go shopping. I just saw a star and moon bracelet and was haggling over the price when I was interrupted."

Ye Ling smiled and joked, "They've all left, yet you still go back to look for them. You're obviously a sucker. Do you think the stall owner will lower the price for you?"

"That's true. I'll ask again when I get back. Let's go look at Hetian jade first. There are more and more colors on the market now, and some of them are quite interesting."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ling's lips twitched slightly.

Having known Chen Laosi for three years, I have a fairly good understanding of her. When buying jade, jewelry, and antiques, she doesn't treat money like money.

Liking it is the most important factor!

On the other hand, Chen Laosi's hobby is very profitable. From a young age, Xu Jinqiu took her shopping sprees, and the value of the items they bought increased dozens or even hundreds of times.

People say she spends money recklessly, but she also makes a lot of money.

Their first stop was Yu Xi Treasures, which mainly deals in jadeite, red agate, and Hetian jade. Chen Yanyin had been there many times and could often find some exquisite pieces.

As soon as she entered, Chen Yanyin's eyes lit up, and she quickly walked towards the boy who was looking at the goods: "Lu You, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you again so soon."

“It is quite a coincidence.” Lu You was slightly taken aback.

Chen Yanyin saw that he was holding a white jade bracelet: "Buying Hetian jade? This bracelet is of poor quality and the structure is too rough."

Lu You touched his nose: "I don't know either, I just want to buy one for my mother."

"I owe you a favor from earlier, so let me help you look at some options. What price range are you planning to buy? I guarantee I'll find you the best one in that price range," Chen Yanyin said with a smile.

"Thanks then, around 30,000."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanyin frowned slightly. Thirty thousand yuan could buy a decent brand or a bracelet, but a bangle was a different story.

Only large pieces of material can be used to make bracelets!
After a moment's hesitation, Chen Yanyin led Lu You to another counter: "What do you think of the bracelets here?"

"Is this Hetian jade?" Lu You asked in surprise.

Several of the bracelets were half white and half caramel-colored, quite different from the white jade and jasper he was familiar with, but they were all quite beautiful.

Chen Yanyin explained, "This is Qiemo material, which is also Hetian jade. It hasn't been hyped up in the market yet, so the price isn't high at the moment, but the quality is excellent."

As he spoke, he asked the sales assistant to bring out the bracelet.

He took out a high-powered flashlight from his bag, picked up a bracelet and shone it on it: "You can't see any obvious structure, but the light shines through, which means the texture is very fine." He turned off the light and said, "Look at the color. The white parts are white enough, the sugar parts are rich enough, and the oiliness is also very good. Among Qiemo jade, this is considered top quality."

Lu You nodded slightly, looking troubled: "This price is way beyond our budget."

Priced at 60,000!

Chen Yanyin didn't take it seriously: "Don't worry, we can negotiate the price. Thirty thousand is enough."

Upon hearing this, the sales assistant looked troubled: "Miss, we can only offer a maximum discount of 20% on this bracelet. Would you like to add something else?"

Chen Yanyin smiled, took out her phone, and dialed a number: "Boss Zhang, I'm in your shop, you're upstairs. Okay, I'll wait for you."

A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing a retro cardigan and a beaded necklace walked over quickly: "Miss Chen, it's been a long time."

Chen Yanyin smiled slightly and greeted, "Boss Zhang, it's been a while. Your shop has acquired quite a few interesting items."

Mr. Zhang joked, "Not at all, my things are not worthy of your attention."

"Mr. Zhang, you're too modest."

Chen Yanyin shook her head slightly and picked up the bracelet she had just seen: "My friend wants to buy this bracelet. How about 28888? You'll get lucky, and I'll get lucky too."

Mr. Zhang agreed: "We'll do as you say."

After saying that, he asked the waiter to issue a receipt and then wrapped up the items. After paying, Lu You thanked Chen Yanyin and wanted to treat her to a meal.

Chen Yanyin declined, saying she wanted to look around some more.

Ye Ling remained silent throughout, only asking curiously after seeing Lu You off, "I thought you had taken a liking to me, which is why I offered to help."

Chen Yanyin rolled her eyes at him: "Are you crazy? I'm not a fangirl. He was the one who helped catch the thief just now, so I'm just returning the favor."

Ye Ling joked, "It's like a hero saving a damsel in distress."

Chen Yanyin said irritably, "Get lost, I'm not in the mood for that. Let's not talk about this anymore, let's go shopping. We won't be able to get the bracelet back anytime soon, let's find a replacement."

They won't get it back until the court verdict is announced.

That's called evidence!

After browsing around, Chen Yanyin bought a lot of bracelets made of various materials. She didn't necessarily intend to play with them; she would just keep many of them as collectibles.

Ye Ling was not surprised.

Over the three years I've known her, I've seen her buy a huge number of bracelets. The elders have said that she's been like this since she was little, and her collection could fill several rooms.

As for how much, she herself couldn't say.

After shopping, the two returned to Ya'er Hutong. They planned to eat at home today. Ye Wan was also at home, heavily pregnant, having been there for several months.

Ye Ling went over to support her sister: "Brother-in-law is the same. His own wife is heavily pregnant, and he went to Hong Kong."

Ye Wan smiled slightly and gently patted her sister's hand: "It's only been a few days, how come you have time today? Aren't you busy with experiments?"

Ye Ling shook her head slightly: "I just finished a group of tasks. This afternoon I'm going shopping with Chen Laosi. I'll be graduating in a few months, and then I need to take a good rest."

"Yeah, I'll take a few more months off then."

Ye Wan touched her big belly: "I'm staying at home today, chatting with you. Sigh... Now that my belly is so big, my family won't let me go to work. I'm so bored."

Ye Ling laughed and scolded, "Don't be ungrateful. Aunt Xu is just worried about you. She didn't quit her job; she only went back to work because you're pregnant."

Ye Wan started working before getting married.

After spending more than half a year fully familiarizing herself with the process, Xu Jinqiu stopped managing affairs and completely handed over the foundation to her daughter-in-law.

This year, I had no choice but to go back to the game.

He was looking at reports on his laptop, and the more he looked, the more his brow furrowed. The foundation's expenditures had been decreasing year by year, especially in the last six months, when expenditures had plummeted, which clearly indicated that something was wrong.

The problem isn't with the people or the accounts; it's with the foundation's operations.

Since the 1980s, the foundation's direction has been very clear: to build Xinghuo Hope Primary Schools, donate teaching buildings, and sponsor impoverished students.

In the 1990s, after Guan Xiaoyu adopted Zhou Jingshu, he added another business to his work: donating to build welfare homes and orphanages, and providing them with financial assistance and corresponding scholarships every year.

Since the beginning of the new century, fewer schools have been built!
The coverage of Xinghuo Hope Primary School was already wide enough, so the second phase of the plan was launched, and the construction of multimedia classrooms, libraries, football fields, etc. began.

Six months ago, most of the second phase of the project was completed.

This is the main reason for the sharp decrease in expenditures. The second reason for the sharp decrease year by year is that with continuous economic development, the number of students living in poverty is also decreasing sharply.

Even in welfare homes and orphanages, the number of people has been declining year by year, unlike in the 1990s when the scale was still very large, more than ten times that of now.

Have we achieved many of our goals?

Looking at her husband, Xu Jinqiu was stunned for a long time, feeling a strange mix of emotions. Should she be excited about accomplishing something? But she also felt that something was missing.

Chen Fan pinched his wife's nose and said, "Teacher Xu, it's been thirty years, haven't you had enough yet? Each generation has its own things to do, isn't that good?"

Xu Jinqiu hummed softly, took a step forward and leaned into her husband's arms: "Then what about the foundation? Are we just going to shut it down like this? Those employees have been with us for thirty years."

"Of the earliest group of people, apart from those you poached, all the others stayed. Some of them had their children take their place after they retired."

"We can't just stop like that, can we?"

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(End of this chapter)