"Hey, Mr. Zhuang, I received some pretty good hawk-training tools a few years ago. They were said to have been passed down from the Prince's Mansion back then, and they can't be sold even if I keep them. Why don't I have someone send them over for you to take a look?"
Li Dali did indeed have a set of these items. Just as he said, it had been auctioned on the black market several times, but no one was interested in it.
Chapter 772 Protective Gear (Part 1)
"A tool for training hawks, or an item from the prince's mansion?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment. If these things had survived until now, they would really be considered antiques.
You should know that the Eight Banners descendants of the Qing Dynasty not only played with falcons, but also cared about face. The things they took out had to be inlaid with gold and silver and be extremely gorgeous. They couldn't bear to lose face if they were anything less than that.
"Yes, back in Tianjin, there was a descendant of a Manchu family whose ancestors had squandered all their wealth, so they passed down the art of raising birds and training hawks. But these days, who can afford to keep hawks? So the guy sold his birds and hawks, and I happened to buy them..."
Li Dali never expected that the gadget he bought casually in the past would actually come in handy today. He had lived for more than forty years and this was truly the first time he had ever seen someone playing with an eagle.
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Li, I really need this. Why don't you have someone send it over for me to take a look? If I like it, you can name a price, how about that?"
"Hey, Mr. Zhuang, I was already taking advantage of you earlier, talking about money and stuff, it's just a little trinket, not worth much. I'll have someone bring it to you right away..."
Li Dali immediately took out his phone and dialed. He hadn't handled the Tang Sancai matter very well, but Zhuang Rui had given him 500,000 yuan in the end, which was quite a show of respect. President Li just wanted to give Zhuang Rui something to improve their relationship.
After hanging up the phone, Li Dali looked at Zhuang Rui and said, "Mr. Zhuang, the goods will be delivered in three hours. Why don't you... wait here?"
Li Dali lives in a city that borders Tianjin. It only takes two or three hours to get to Beijing by highway. He said three hours because he was leaving some leeway; he wanted to deliver the goods earlier rather than later.
"Okay, let's grab something to eat for lunch, then go play golf this afternoon, until your item arrives..."
It's said that this Mr. Li is a very shrewd person. If we ever need anything in the future, it wouldn't be bad to look for it in his black market. Zhuang Rui nodded and agreed.
Ouyang Jun's club has an 18-hole golf course built to international standards. After dinner, Zhuang Rui and Huangfu Yun brought Li Dali to the golf course.
To be honest, although Zhuang Rui had never played this before, he had good body coordination and after a few shots, he was playing quite well. Huangfu Yun had played golf abroad and his skills were even better than Zhuang Rui's. Only Li Dali had never played this before and was still a beginner.
However, playing ball is just about having a good time and chatting in this environment. Li Dali is very knowledgeable, and he talked about many things that even Zhuang Rui had never heard of, so the atmosphere was quite good.
"Hey, Jin Yu, get down here! You're grabbing everything, are you even letting me play anymore...?"
Zhuang Rui's shot flew out with a pretty good feel, and he was fully expecting to get the ball to base and then sink it on his next swing. Just as he looked up at the arc the ball was drawing in the air, a shadow flew by and the ball disappeared. "Oops!"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's voice, Jin Yu flapped its wings and glided towards him. It landed in front of Zhuang Rui, holding the golf ball in one of its small paws. It presented the ball to Zhuang Rui as if to show off its achievement, chirping smugly.
"Fine, I give up. Forget it, I'm done playing..."
Just now, after Zhuang Rui hit the ball, Bai Shi and Xue Er fought over it and retrieved it. Now the little golden eagle is causing trouble again, leaving Zhuang Rui, who had just gotten the hang of it, both amused and exasperated.
However, Zhuang Rui hadn't really planned to play ball seriously anyway. Seeing the white lion couple having fun with the golden eagle, he smiled broadly.
In Zhuang Rui's courtyard house, the golden eagle flapped its wings and flew from one end of the road to the other. The white lion could only practice its tortoise-like steps. It had its imposing presence, but it was also very suppressed.
Xue'er was especially excited today, running around non-stop. When she felt hot, she even ran into the swimming pool for a bath. The staff at the club knew that Zhuang Rui had brought her, so they didn't dare to stop her and could only fill the pool with water again.
"Should I take over this clubhouse myself?"
Suddenly, an idea popped into Zhuang Rui's mind: compared to his own courtyard house, this place seemed more suitable for the white lion and the golden eagle to live in. Moreover, the area outside was all farmland with few people, so the white lion and the golden eagle could live more freely.
However, Zhuang Rui couldn't make the decision himself because his mother really liked living in that courtyard house. It was very convenient for her to go out for walks or to the mall, and she could also go to the park to dance when she had nothing to do. If she lived there, it would be too lonely.
Furthermore, Zhuang Rui can't afford this place right now. Ouyang Jun mentioned it once when they were chatting last time: Yang Bo's mother offered 600 million yuan to buy this land and clubhouse, but Ouyang Jun didn't sell it.
Considering that the purchase alone would cost 600 million yuan, and the annual expenses for maintenance and security personnel would also be a huge sum, Zhuang Rui only had a fleeting impulse in his mind before abandoning the idea.
"Mr. Zhuang, my people have arrived. I'll go greet them..."
As the group was chatting under the parasol, Mr. Li's phone rang. After saying a few words, he stood up to get something.
"No need, just drive the car in..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head. Someone brings him something, and he's not even allowed to come in? That's not how it works. He waved over a caddy, took his walkie-talkie, and greeted the club manager.
About ten minutes later, a grass-covered electric vehicle drove up.
"Dad, I've brought the things over. They've all been wiped clean..."
The newcomer was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, probably visiting a private club for the first time. Although he tried to appear calm, his furtive glances around revealed shock and envy.
This man is Li Dali's son. The place where the family keeps its treasures is naturally off-limits to outsiders. Zhuang Rui needed the item urgently, so Li Dali had his son drive it over.
"Okay, wait here, we'll go back together tonight..."
Li Dali took the backpack his son handed him, turned to Zhuang Rui, and said, "Mr. Zhuang, this is my son, Li Jun. He's just a kid and doesn't know any better, so don't mind him. Come on, let's see if this stuff works..."
"Hehe, Mr. Li's son is so grown up already! Young man, sit down and rest for a bit, have something to drink first..."
Upon seeing that it was Li Dali's son, Zhuang Rui quickly greeted him.
Li Dali was very displeased with his son, who was sitting on a bench drinking a beverage. "Your father doesn't have that kind of attitude," he scolded, "Aren't you going to thank Uncle Zhuang?"
"No, please don't, Mr. Li, let's each pay our own. Young man, just call me 'Big Brother,' I'm not that old..."
Upon hearing Li Dali's words, Zhuang Rui quickly waved his hand, saying, "What a joke! I'm afraid it will shorten my lifespan if someone who's not much younger than me calls me 'uncle'."
"Hello, Brother Zhuang..."
Li Dali's son was quite perceptive. Seeing his usually dignified father become rather reserved in front of Zhuang Rui, he immediately followed Zhuang Rui's lead and called him "Big Brother."
"If you're bored, young man, you can go to the club. They have everything: a bar, a bar, and more..."
Zhuang Rui exchanged a few polite words, then took the backpack from Li Dali, pinched his right thumb and forefinger together, put it in his mouth, and let out a loud whistle.
When Zhuang Rui and Liu Chuan were little, they would go to the cinema to watch movies. During the film reel transition, the screen would go black for a while, and then the cinema would be filled with deafening whistles.
Zhuang Rui and Liu Chuan felt very proud at the time and tried to imitate him. After blowing their cheeks until they were swollen, they finally learned it. However, it wasn't until now that Zhuang Rui could actually use it. The move was indeed very dashing.
"Ya...ga..."
Suddenly, a clear eagle's cry rang out in the sky. Little Golden Feather seemed to be going through puberty, and its voice was becoming more and more like that of an adult golden eagle. With the cry, the little guy flew to the top of Zhuang Rui's head, flapped its wings, and landed on Zhuang Rui's shoulder.
"Wow, that's an eagle! Brother Zhuang, you're so cool, it's freaking awesome!" Li Jun, who was originally thinking about where to go for fun, suddenly stared wide-eyed. This was way more impressive than driving a luxury car with a pretty girl. If he had this, wouldn't all the girls be infatuated with him?
Upon hearing his son's words, Li Dali's face instantly turned bright red. He kicked his son and cursed, "You brat, who the hell taught you to swear? You need a good beating..."
"Alright, Mr. Li, it's just a kid's catchphrase, nothing serious..."
Zhuang Rui almost laughed. "Like father, like son," he thought. "Isn't this what you taught him?" Zhuang Rui didn't have time to appreciate Li Laoda's way of teaching his son. He immediately opened his backpack.
The first thing brought out was a heavy shoulder guard, somewhat like a modern vest, but very short, only covering the two shoulders. The sides were embroidered with various patterns in gold and silver thread, making it very ornate.
On both shoulders, several thick layers of cowhide were inlaid, and you could see claw marks on them.
Signaling Jin Yu to leave his shoulder, Zhuang Rui took off his suit jacket, put his arms into his vest, stood up and tried it on. There were two turquoise buttons at the collar that could fasten the two sides together.
"Jin Yu, come up here..."
Zhuang Rui greeted the little golden eagle that had just flown to the ground. The little guy flapped its wings and landed steadily on Zhuang Rui's shoulder.
"Push harder, push harder..."
Zhuang Rui stroked the little golden feather's sharp claws, signaling it to scratch harder. The little guy understood Zhuang Rui's meaning, and its two pairs of sharp claws instantly dug into the cowhide.
"Ouch!"
Jin Yu felt that he had a firm grip on it and couldn't help but shout excitedly.
"Not bad, this thing is good, I can't feel it at all. It's just that this kind of thing isn't popular anymore..."
Several layers of thick cowhide completely covered the little golden eagle's toes and claws, but Zhuang Rui was a little disappointed, as he couldn't very well take this thing with him when he went out.
If you go out dressed like this, let alone go to a formal occasion, even if you're just strolling down the street, someone is bound to call a mental hospital.
Chapter 773 Protective Gear (Part 2)
"This thing isn't very practical now, Mr. Zhuang. Take a look at this. It's quite nice, easy to carry around, and easy to store when not in use..."
Li Dali took out an object, which was probably also made of leather, from his bag and handed it to Zhuang Rui.
"Is this an elbow pad?"
Zhuang Rui examined it for a while before he could figure out its purpose, mainly because it was made with such exquisite craftsmanship.
This is a square leather case, about 40 centimeters in length and width. It is decorated with gold plum blossom patterns on both sides. The leather is delicate and tough. A circle of gemstones is inlaid on both sides of the leather, which sparkles with various colors in the sunlight.
On the inside of the holster, one side is made of bristles for adhesion, while the other side is made of fine down. When the two are combined, they can be glued together tightly. The holster can be fixed to the arm according to the thickness of an individual's elbow.
If Zhuang Rui hadn't used his spiritual energy to observe it and noticed the faint white spiritual energy contained within the object, he would have seriously doubted whether it was made using modern technology, because he had only ever seen that kind of technology on some modern items.
"Excellent, truly excellent. I never imagined such craftsmanship existed in the past. The wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated. Even if people today tried to make this, they couldn't achieve this effect..."
Zhuang Rui nodded repeatedly as he looked at it. It was clearly made of several pieces of leather sewn together. What was most remarkable was that there were no traces of sewing on the leather, and the leather was very soft. He wondered how the ancients had tanned it.
"Mr. Zhuang, this arm guard is made of the finest yak hide and has been tanned using a special method, making it extremely durable. It's over a hundred years old, yet it looks brand new. Would you like to try it on?"
Li Dali explained to Zhuang Rui that since they had decided to give it away, they should make sure that others remembered their kindness.
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui pulled open the leather cover, which looked like a square leather pad with both ends hanging down naturally. Once the bite joints were joined together, it would become a small arm guard.
After Zhuang Rui secured the leather to his left elbow, he raised his hand to test it. It didn't add much weight and looked quite nice.
"Jin Yu, come up here..."
Zhuang Rui raised his left arm, gesturing for the little guy on his shoulder to fly up.
"Splash..."
The little golden eagle flapped its wings slightly, and Zhuang Rui felt his arm tighten, then sink. The little creature was already standing on his elbow, its head held high, looking around.
"Not bad, this stuff is good..."
Zhuang Rui swung his arm back and forth. The little golden eagle now weighed two or three pounds. It flapped its wings and its claws gripped the arm guard tightly. The arm guard showed no signs of falling off. Although it was an artifact from more than a hundred years ago, it was still quite practical.
"Mr. Zhuang, there are some other small items here, please take a look..."
Back then, what Li Dali collected was a set of equipment for training eagles. However, the Manchu bannermen at that time raised eagles for the sake of face, unlike the hunters on the grasslands in the past who raised eagles for hunting.
Everything they used was extremely luxurious; they used the best craftsmanship and the most expensive items available at the time.
Zhuang Rui weighed the bag in his hand and felt that there weren't many things left inside, so he turned the bag upside down and placed it on the table. A silver chain and two small items rolled out of the bag.
"This chain is unnecessary..."
Zhuang Rui noticed that there was a buckle at each end of the chain, which was obviously used to restrict the falcon's movement when it wasn't being released. Zhuang Rui treated the little golden eagle like family, so naturally he wouldn't tie it up.