Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 97

The Buddha statue I bought yesterday was indeed a product from the Republic of China era. If it weren't for the large yellow croaker hidden inside, He Yuzhu would have definitely been cheated.

Back at the tavern, Xiangcao noticed the pearl hairpin in Xu Huizhen's hair and couldn't help but ask, "Did Zhuzi buy this for you?"

"Yes, Sister Vanilla, do you think it looks good?" Xu Huizhen asked happily.

"It looks good," Vanilla said, a hint of sourness in her voice.

He Yuzhu didn't approach them. He turned around and saw three old men in the courtyard drinking around a table. In particular, a vase about a foot tall was placed in the middle of the table, which was quite eye-catching.

He Yuzhu carried a two-ounce bottle of liquor to the table and said, "Gentlemen, I'll add two ounces of liquor for you."

“The pillar is still the most impressive,” Xu Wude praised.

Yi Zhonghai's lips twitched. He thought to himself, "You, Xu Wude, were also ripped off for 50 yuan. And now you're praising him for being generous with a bottle of wine that's not even worth two cents? It's as if you've forgotten how he ripped you off."

He Yuzhu asked, "This bottle is nice, who bought it?"

Liu Haizhong said proudly, "Old Xu picked this out for me."

Yi Zhonghai lent 400 yuan to He Yuzhu. In addition, Jia Dongxu got into trouble and went to jail. The Jia family couldn't even afford to eat. Any money they had was used to help the Jia family.

Only Liu Haizhong had money in his hands, and under Xu Wude's influence, he spent a high price to buy a porcelain vase.

He Yuzhu asked, "What period is this bottle from? How much does it cost?"

Liu Haizhong said proudly, "This is a polychrome porcelain vase from the Kangxi period, a rare treasure on this stall."

"Really? Can I have a look?" He Yuzhu asked.

Liu Haizhong hesitated for a moment before saying, "This is a precious treasure. You must handle it with care and make sure I don't bump or knock it over."

"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

As He Yuzhu spoke, he picked up the bottle from the table and held it in front of his eyes, examining it carefully.

After 10 seconds, it indicated that the experience points had increased by 1.

He Yuzhu also identified the origin of the porcelain in his hand. Judging from the shape, it was a polychrome porcelain vase from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately, the one in his hand was a Republic of China imitation, and a very crude one at that.

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, polychrome porcelain vases were divided into eight categories. Among them, the celadon polychrome vases were mainly large flower vases, which were often decorated with floral and bird patterns.

The bottle in front of He Yuzhu had unclear patterns and paintings, the brushstrokes were stiff and weak, the lines were rigid, and the brushwork was intermittent. The painting only had the form but lacked the spirit.

Using one's spiritual power, one can see that this porcelain is not only a counterfeit product, but it was also broken and then pieced back together.

He Yuzhu looked at it for a while, and only put the bottle on the table when no one else offered any advice.

Liu Haizhong said proudly, "How about that? Are you envious? I spent 25 yuan to buy this polychrome porcelain vase from the Kangxi period."

"That's great, congratulations Grandpa Liu." He Yuzhu smiled and offered his congratulations, his bangs beaming with joy.

He Yuzhu asked, "Uncle Yi, why didn't you buy one? Do you think Uncle Xu would cheat you?"

These words made Xu Wude's eyelids twitch, and he hurriedly said, "Zhu Zi, when have I ever lied to anyone?"

“That’s right, your Uncle Xu isn’t that kind of person,” Yi Zhonghai said. “How could you not know I didn’t buy it? You’ve already borrowed all the money.”

"What are you talking about? What money did I borrow from you?" He Yuzhu retorted directly.

Yi Zhonghai certainly couldn't reveal the reason for borrowing money, since both things were shady.

Yi Zhonghai snorted and said, "I misremembered. It wasn't you who borrowed it; it was Dongxu who borrowed it."

Although He Yuzhu could tell that the porcelain Liu Haizhong bought was fake, he had no obligation to help him authenticate it.

They're all bad people, why bother playing the villain?

It was his skill to persuade them to buy the porcelain; he could just watch the show from the sidelines.

The three senior students from the management school finished their drinks, and then Liu Haizhong, holding the bottle, swayed back home with a smug look on his face.

The next day, Liu Haizhong, that big mouth, went around telling everyone that he had bought a polychrome vase from the Kangxi era with Xu Wude's guidance, and now Xu Wude's reputation was spreading.

After acquiring the appraisal skill, He Yuzhu opened a new door. He would visit the stalls every day and quickly became familiar with the people selling antiques.

There are a total of 8 antique shops on this street. He Yuzhu will visit them to check them out, but he's just trying to get acquainted with them. It's wishful thinking to try and find a bargain from them.

However, there were many good deals at the stalls. They would have people appraise the items, but their skills were limited, and they would sometimes make mistakes. He Yuzhu had been there for a long time, and he would occasionally make a purchase, buying one or two items.

The appraisal experience that a single antique can provide is limited. It's impossible to keep gaining experience from just one antique. Therefore, He Yuzhu can only browse around every day, looking for bargains while handling different antiques to increase his experience.

Although many of them are counterfeit or inferior modern items, they still fall under the category of antiques, and we have experience in identifying them.

He Yuzhu's peaceful life was soon disrupted. One day, He Yuzhu went to the grain and oil store and said, "Boss Su, send me another ton of 81 noodles."

After He Yuzhu opened his shop, he needed 200 jin of flour every morning to sell steamed buns. Moreover, He Yuzhu would secretly stuff some flour into his space to continue increasing his inventory.

"Brother He, your business is booming! The flour we sent last time is already gone in just a few days," Manager Su said with a smile.

Although He Yuzhu didn't lend him money last time, he had a good reason and even helped him with his business, so the two had a good relationship on the surface.

He Yuzhu said, "I also gave some to relatives, otherwise it wouldn't have been so fast."

He Yuzhu buys a lot, so he gets the wholesale price here, only 16 cents per pound. It's normal for him to resell it to relatives.

Shopkeeper Su didn't ask any further questions. He just said with a bitter expression, "Brother He, there's something I need to tell you first. The wholesale price has already increased by two cents. I can only give you 18 cents per pound now. The retail price is over 20 cents."

"The price has gone up?" He Yuzhu asked in surprise.

Shopkeeper Su nodded: "The price has been rising for several days now."

He Yuzhu said, "Manager Su, that's not very friendly of you. Why didn't you tell me you raised the price?"

"This! I thought it was just a small fluctuation, who knew it would go up and not fall back down." Manager Su quickly apologized.

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you send me three tons of flour, and I'll go and raise the money for you."

"Sure, I'll deliver it to you this afternoon," Manager Su said with a smile.

He Yuzhu only had enough money for one ton of goods, which was 40 yuan more than the previous 320 yuan. He didn't even have enough money on him.

He only gave 320 yuan as a deposit, and when he returned to the tavern, he asked Xu Huizhen, "How much money is left on the counter?"

"The other 500 is for my brother to buy me liquor tomorrow." Xu Huizhen asked, "How much do you need?"

"Give me all of them, and I'll try to scrape together some more."

"If we give them all away, how are we going to serve the wine tomorrow?" Xu Huizhen asked.

"Borrow on credit first, pay later."

He Yuzhu used to deliver a batch of liquor and settle the payment on the spot. He never delayed payment for his goods. After all, they had just started dealing with each other. Xu Huizhen's brother was just an employee and didn't have much influence, so he could buy liquor on credit.

However, having already dealt with their distillery several times, I should be able to get some credit and stock up on a batch of goods.

Xu Huizhen nodded: "Okay, anyway, many taverns buy on credit, and we've been doing this for so long, we should be able to do it on credit too."

Then he asked, "What do you need so much money for? You're not going to buy antiques, are you?"

He Yuzhu was usually engrossed in the antique market, and Xu Huizhen had tried to dissuade him several times, worried that he would become so obsessed with it that it would interfere with the tavern's business.

When I first heard that he was going to spend so much money, I assumed that He Yuzhu wanted to buy some antiques.

"No, I need to buy flour."

He Yuzhu explained in two sentences.

"What? The price of grain has gone up again?" Xu Huizhen asked.

"Yes, not only has the price of flour gone up, but the prices of other grains like beans and corn have also increased, which is why I ordered three tons of flour at once."

"Are you trying to make a living? Last year's price increases were outrageous, and now they're going up again this year?"

"There's no other way, so I'm going to buy more."

He Yuzhu recalled that it was in 53 that the grain market was vigorously rectified, and the entire wholesale and transportation system was nationalized, which cracked down on those unscrupulous grain merchants.

Only now do we realize it was 51. Doesn't that mean the grain market will still experience drastic fluctuations next year and the year after? Otherwise, it wouldn't have prompted the leaders to take action to rectify the situation in 53.

After all, food is the foundation of life, and fluctuations in food prices directly affect the lives of every household.

The grain coupon system was not implemented until 1955, and then it was gradually extended to all other daily necessities.

Xu Huizhen quickly took out all the money and handed it to He Yuzhu, then told Dayong and his family to store some food if they had any money at home.

In the afternoon, Manager Su arranged for someone to deliver three tons of flour. When He Yuzhu went to pay the bill, he saw that there were even more people buying grain.

On the second day, when He Yuzhu went to exercise by the moat, he told Tian Zao about the rising grain prices.

Tian Zao said, "We have also noticed signs of this. It seems that there are still quite a few enemy agents hiding among the people. We cracked down on a group of them last year, but they are still not giving up and are stirring up trouble again this year."

"Now that the leaders know, I can rest assured."

Tian Zao said, "You happen to be right across from the grain store. Keep an eye out for anything unusual."

"sure no problem."

Although He Yuzhu agreed, he felt unsure about the matter. Hundreds of people came and went from the grain store every day; how could he tell who was the problem?

Every morning, He Yuzhu would personally buy meat, add seasonings, and hand it over to Dayong and the others to braise. On weekdays, he would practice martial arts and do carpentry. When he got tired, he would go out and buy some local specialties.

Having recently spent all his money, He Yuzhu brewed a pot of tea, sat at the doorway basking in the autumn sun, and could vaguely hear storytelling coming from the teahouse in the distance.

After watching for a long time without finding anything unusual, just as I was thinking of going to the backyard, I suddenly saw a familiar figure walk into the grain store.

Who is this woman?

He Yuzhu felt that the woman looked familiar, but he couldn't recognize who the young woman in the floral dress was.