Zhuang Rui chuckled and said, "Uncle-Master, please drink as much as you like. I'll get you more when you're done..."
Gu Tianfeng glared at Zhuang Rui, annoyed, and said, "Do you think this is a cabbage leaf? You can buy this at the market, but you can't buy it even if you have money. Your grandfather probably gets a ration of it too. This is pre-Qingming Longjing tea..."
After the old man's explanation, Zhuang Rui realized that just these two cans of tea were worth tens of thousands of yuan. Longjing tea picked before Qingming Festival is called "Mingqian," and tea picked before Guyu (Grain Rain) is called "Yuqian." There's a saying: "Yuqian is top-grade, Mingqian is a treasure." Furthermore, the tea leaves are said to be "a treasure if picked three days early, and worthless if picked three days late." Longjing is a circular spring that never dries up, even in severe droughts. The ancients believed this spring connected to the sea and contained a dragon, hence the name Longjing (Dragon Well). True Longjing tea is actually quite rare, coming from only a few trees around the Longjing spring. Its production is scarce, and it was used as tribute tea in ancient times. Most of the tea on the market comes from the four locations of Shifeng, Longjing, Yunqi, and Hupao.
After the water boiled, the old man carefully scooped out three or four tea leaves with a tea spoon and put them into two glasses. He poured in about half a glass of boiling water, swirled the glass, poured out the water, and then poured in two-thirds of the water. The old man brought the glass to his nose and took a deep sniff, just like a mischievous child.
Zhuang Rui also picked up his cup. The buds stood upright, the soup was clear and bright, and a delicate fragrance filled the air, turning the entire transparent glass a greenish hue. He imitated the old man and took a sniff. Instantly, the aroma filled his lungs and cleared his mind.
“Xiao Zhuang, look at this tea leaf, isn’t it one bud and one leaf? This is commonly known as ‘one flag and one spear,’ and it’s considered the finest tea. My youngest son often gives me some tea as a gift, but it’s far inferior to yours…”
As the old man spoke, he picked up his teacup, admiring it as if it were a work of art, praising it as he looked at it.
"Uncle-Master, if you like it, I'll find some for you often in the future. By the way, Uncle-Master, have you finished carving that piece of variegated jade from last time?"
Zhuang Rui had come for this purpose today. Seeing that the old man was fixated on the tea he had brought, Zhuang Rui could only ask him a question.
Gu Tianfeng chuckled and said, "Hehe, I was just about to praise you for becoming more composed, but you're still too impatient. The things are ready, right here in this room, you just haven't seen them yourself..."
"In this house?"
After the old man finished speaking, Zhuang Rui ignored him and stood up to take a closer look around the room.
Old Gu lived in a small courtyard house. His main room wasn't very big. On the table in the middle, besides the teapot and cups, there were only two boxes of tea.
"Wait a minute! Something's not right!"
Zhuang Rui's eyes swept across the table, and as soon as he looked away, he realized that he seemed to have missed something. Looking back, he noticed that there was a tray for holding fruit on the table.
The tray contained some fresh fruit: grapes, cherries, bananas, apples, and peeled pomegranates. The red seeds were quite tempting to Zhuang Rui, as he hadn't eaten pomegranates for several years. However, the most eye-catching items on the tray were two pink longevity peaches, each about the size of a fist. Under the light, they were pinkish-white, and the fine fuzz on them was clearly visible.
In this freezing weather, I wonder who brought all this fruit for the old man. But nowadays, with greenhouses, seeing these things in winter isn't unusual. Zhuang Rui only glanced at it curiously before looking away and continuing his search around the house.
"Uncle-Master, are you kidding me again? There's nothing in this room!"
Zhuang Rui searched for a long time but couldn't find his jade material. The room was simply furnished, with only tables and chairs and a washbasin stand by the door; there wasn't even a cabinet.
"Haha, you little brat, you're blind!"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Old Master Gu burst into laughter, as if he had done something very proud of himself.
"Blind?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood, and his eyes immediately turned to the fruit tray he had just been examining.
"This...this was carved from that piece of jade?"
Zhuang Rui could hardly believe his eyes. Although he hadn't used his spiritual energy to observe, he had noticed that the pink peaches seemed to have some fuzz that hadn't been washed off, and some of the fruit even had water stains on them. This was one of the reasons why he hadn't paid much attention to them at the time.
"That's really true!"
When Zhuang Rui touched the tray with trembling hands, he discovered that even the tray was carved from a single piece of jade, and the bananas, apples, peaches, and other fruits on it were all fake.
Zhuang Rui counted them carefully: purple, green, yellow, black, white, red, pink, and several other colors. Almost every color was used, making the most of each one. It looked messy, but it was actually well-organized and lifelike. Zhuang Rui had been fooled earlier. This kind of carving and ingenious design was truly ingenious.
"Wow, Master Uncle, this is truly incredible! Your skills are absolutely unparalleled..."
As Zhuang Rui looked at them, he couldn't help but admire them. Fruit is known to prolong life, and these two longevity peaches are an even better omen. Zhuang Rui was certain that giving these to his grandfather as a birthday gift would be a unique and irreplaceable item.
The old man took the fruit plate ornament from Zhuang Rui's hands, his eyes filled with reluctance. He said with a sigh, "Good craftsmanship also requires good materials. Young Zhuang, this is my final piece. From now on, I will no longer carve objects..."
Since acquiring this piece of material, Gu Tianfeng racked his brains and devoted all his energy to completing it over three months, expending countless efforts. When the ornament was finished, he also felt that his health was not as good as before. This was also the most satisfying work of his life. Zhuang Rui's reaction just now also made the old man extremely satisfied.
"Uncle-Master, you're not old at all! You could easily work for another ten years..."
Zhuang Rui was slightly taken aback when he heard Gu Tianfeng's words. Then he realized what was going on and looked at the old man. He noticed that the old man had several age spots on his face and more wrinkles. He looked much older than when he first met him in Nanjing. Zhuang Rui knew that the old man had probably exhausted his energy and spirit for this piece of jade.
Zhuang Rui felt a little guilty. In the past six months, he had asked the old man to carve many items for him. He should find an opportunity to use his spiritual energy to help his senior uncle Gu with his body.
"Getting old is getting old, it's not like I'm going to die, what's there to be ashamed of? I'll mind my own business less in the future and I'll have some peace and quiet. I can go out and visit old friends when I have free time. Do you want me to work myself to death for another ten years?"
The old man chuckled and scolded Zhuang Rui, then put the ornament back on the table. Although he still felt a little reluctant to let go of the profession he had worked so hard for all his life, Gu Tianfeng was still quite proud to have carved such an object in his later years. This thing would be a masterpiece in any era.
Zhuang Rui picked up the jade ornament and examined it for a while. He noticed that the old man had not left his mark on the object, so he said, "Uncle-Master, I won't take this object away yet. Please have your bell mark engraved on the base. You must leave it!"
"Alright, I guess I didn't spoil you for nothing..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the old man smiled happily. No one would be unwilling to leave their name on the objects they handle, especially a work that is bound to cause a sensation upon its release.
If it were an ordinary object, Gu Tianfeng wouldn't have asked Zhuang Rui; he would have simply left his name on it, as that would have greatly increased its value. However, this ornament was far too precious, so he didn't rashly make a cut to leave his usual mark. Hearing Zhuang Rui's words, he was greatly gratified.
"Uncle-Master, today's raid on the old house was quite an eye-opener..."
Zhuang Rui chatted with the old man for a while, telling him about his experience of searching the old house today. Of course, he didn't mention that he used his spiritual energy to see the fake objects in the next room, but that he accidentally pushed the door open and saw them. When the old man heard this, he burst into laughter.
"Over sixty years old? Heh, that might be some kind of secret passed down from before Liberation..."
Gu Tianfeng, being a native of Beijing, was quite familiar with these scams and immediately explained them to Zhuang Rui.
Before liberation, there were four major sects in the martial arts world: Bee, Hemp, Swallow, and Sparrow. There were also eight minor sects: Gold, Leather, Color, Hanging, Flat, Round, Tune, and Willow. The "sects" referred to the martial arts industry.
The term "bee" also refers to a group of people swarming together to commit fraud. In terms of style, it probably describes a swift and decisive action, like a strong wind sweeping through.
Ma, also written as Ma, refers to a lone individual committing fraud; Yan, also written as Yan, refers to using women as bait to commit fraud; and Que, also written as Que, refers to a group of people spending money to buy official positions and then making a fortune.
As for the Eight Minor Sects, they were mostly people who made a living by traveling around. For example, the Golden Sect, also known as the "Towel Sect," was a general term for itinerant fortune tellers who made a living by fortune telling and physiognomy. The Storytelling Sect was the profession of storytelling. The profession of acrobats was called the "Color Sect." The profession of horse riding and martial arts was called the "Divination Sect." In general, the Four Sects were purely shady and fraudulent ways to make a living, while the Eight Minor Sects made a living by their skills. In the 1980s, the Eight Minor Sects were very popular. Those monkey tricks performed on the roadside were all done by the "Divination Sect."
"You're lucky, kid. Otherwise, you would have really suffered a big loss. This is how the Fengmen do things. I bet the neighboring houses are all setting traps. Once you buy your things, that yard will probably be empty..."
Old Master Gu was right; that courtyard house is now completely deserted.
Zhuang Rui had originally planned to go and take another look in the next day or two, but after hearing what the old man said, he gave up the idea. As the saying goes, the buyer is never as shrewd as the seller. Others make a living this way, and it's probably not so easy for him to take advantage of them.
"Uncle-Master, it's so cold today. I'm not leaving tonight. Do you have a place to sleep?"
Seeing the weariness on the old man's face, Zhuang Rui decided to wait until he fell asleep before helping him tidy up his body. Judging from the results of treating his grandfather, the spiritual energy, while unable to completely cure some diseases, could effectively slow down the aging of the human body, and was quite effective for the elderly.
Without much thought, Gu Lao pointed to the room next to the main hall and said, "There are plenty of rooms. I'll sleep over there, you can go to the side room. Xiao Yun and the others stay there when they come. Everything is ready..."
Chapter 421 Wedding
The next day, Zhuang Rui returned to the courtyard house with the jade fruit plate ornament. Because the old man, who had been cleansed by his spiritual energy, felt refreshed and in excellent condition as soon as he woke up the next day, he spent half an hour leaving his mark on the bottom of the ornament and handed it to Zhuang Rui to take away.
In the following days, Zhuang Rui had more free time. Ouyang Jun was busy with his own wedding and didn't have time to bother Zhuang Rui anymore. For several days in a row, Zhuang Rui stayed in his house to read and review, and occasionally accompanied Bai Shi for a walk in the garden.
The weather is getting colder and colder. It has even snowed heavily these past few days. The entire courtyard is covered in white snow. The pavilions, rockeries, and ponds all look like they are dressed in white. The lotus leaves in the pond have also withered and will not be able to grow again until next spring.
Stepping outside, the snow in the yard was knee-deep. Hao Long was shoveling snow with a shovel. Little Nannan was just as excited as Bai Shi when she saw the snow. Dressed like a little cotton ball, she pulled her parents and Zhuang Rui to build a snowman in the yard.
Winter can be tough for people, but the white lion is even more energetic. As the king of the snow mountains, its thick fur allows it to sleep soundly in the snow at sub-zero temperatures, which is enough to keep it warm. Standing in the snow in the yard, if the white lion doesn't move, it seems to blend into the world.
However, looking at the increasingly large white lion, Zhuang Rui was also a bit troubled. Although the white lion was not even a year old yet, in another two years, he would need to find it a mate. But judging from the current situation, finding a female mastiff that could match the white lion would be really difficult. He might even have to take it to Tibet to see if they could find a suitable female mastiff. ...
After a few days of leisure, Zhuang Rui got busy again. First, there was Ouyang Jun's wedding, where he was drafted to be a groomsman, which really wore him out.
Because Ouyang Jun actually hired a beautician, who not only finished dressing himself up, but also spent a long time smearing powder or something on Zhuang Rui's face, making him look like a pretty boy. This made Zhuang Rui very depressed, and he was even more dissatisfied with the androgynous beautician. Why was she arguing with him, the best man, instead of taking good care of the groom?
The wedding was held in the Fangfei Hall of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Although there weren't many people attending, it was a very high-profile event. Zhuang Rui saw some of the people he often saw on TV in person today.
Although some of the older men had already retired, when they were in power, they held the future and fate of many people in their hands, and their every move carried an air of authority, which made the atmosphere of the wedding somewhat solemn.
In addition, there were some of the bride's friends, all big names in the film and television industry. If it were Zhuang Rui a year ago, he might have taken a notebook and asked them for autographs one by one. However, Zhuang Rui is used to these things now. With his wealth increasing and the fact that he gained the identity of Ouyang Gang's grandson, Zhuang Rui has become more and more composed.
Although Zhuang Rui had no interest in these people, he couldn't resist the fact that quite a few female guests were interested in him as a groomsman, especially the socialites from the entertainment and business circles. They couldn't help but inquire about the groomsman's identity and whether he had a girlfriend, which annoyed Zhuang Rui to no end.
"Okay, even if I was quite interested in you when I was a teenager watching movies, you're over forty this year, and your skin is starting to sag. And you're asking your buddy for his business card..."
After getting rid of a veteran actress, Zhuang Rui hid in a corner, wiping away cold sweat. Of course, he could only think those words in his heart; it would be too hurtful to say them out loud.
These female celebrities are really in great shape; they're all wearing skirts in this freezing weather, and the slits are getting lower and lower. One of them is even wearing a cheongsam with the slits reaching her waist, revealing black panties that are quite alluring.
Zhuang Rui was eager to see her, but he wasn't in a hurry. After attending Liu Chuan's wedding in Pengcheng the next day, he would go to Hong Kong immediately because Lei Lei's maternal grandfather's family was having a banquet there, and Qin Xuanbing was going back. Although it would only be for one day, it was still better than Zhuang Rui spending every night video chatting with the computer and then masturbating when he was feeling restless.
The people who came today were all of high status, so there was no need for them to force drinks and cause a scene. Ouyang Jun found a follower to pour the drinks, and Zhuang Rui, the best man, was able to have some peace and quiet. After getting rid of the celebrities and socialites, he hid at an inconspicuous table and ate and drank by himself.
"Hey bro, you've settled in Beijing, didn't you even bother to say hello to your old man?"
After Zhuang Rui finished eating and drinking, he was pondering whether to call his sister and brother-in-law to leave together or to slip away on his own when he suddenly felt someone pat him on the shoulder from behind.
"Hey, it's Brother Song! I've been so busy lately, I'm totally out of it. Brother Song, how about coming over tomorrow... Tomorrow won't do, Da Chuan's getting married, I have to rush back to Pengcheng. I'll call you in a few days, come over for a visit..."
Zhuang Rui turned around and saw that it was Song Jun, an old acquaintance. He quickly took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered one to Song Jun. He hadn't contacted Song Jun in Beijing for a while, which was a bit wrong of him. He had even said he wanted to see Old Master Song's collection.
"Yeah, Liu Chuan sent me an invitation when he came to Beijing a while ago, but I don't have time to go back. My dad's health always gets a bit off in the winter, so I have to stay here and keep an eye on him. I'll give you a red envelope later, please give it to Liu Chuan for me..."
When Song Jun spoke, his face was a little somber. His father's poor health had a huge impact on them. These old folks, whether a person was lucid or confused, as long as they were still alive, had a certain intimidating power.
"Alright, if you can't leave, that's fine. I'll pass on your message: when I get back, I'll also go see the old man..."
Although Zhuang Rui didn't care much about politics, he often heard the name of Old Master Song from his maternal grandfather and knew that the two families had a good relationship. He was thinking of helping the old man if he had the chance, but this matter required some thought. Otherwise, if he met one person and the other's health improved, it would inevitably arouse other people's imaginations.
"If the old man's health doesn't improve, I won't be able to go to the Myanmar jade auction next year. By the way, brother, have you decided yet, are you going or not? Fatty Ma called me a few days ago to talk about it..."
During Song Jun's trip to Pingzhou, he became friends with Fatty Ma. Of course, Fatty Ma also deliberately befriended him. After returning from Pingzhou, the two kept in touch frequently.
"Okay, to be honest, I've taken over a jewelry store in Beijing, and I'm currently struggling to find the right jadeite raw materials. I absolutely have to make a trip to Myanmar, and I was just thinking of asking you if you'd like to come these next few days..."
Zhuang Rui had already found out that the Myanmar jade auction would be held from January 1st to January 7th next year, a total of one week. His postgraduate entrance exam was in late January, so the two dates did not conflict. In addition, given the pressure of raw material shortages at Qin Ruilin's Beijing store, he had already decided to go to Myanmar.
Song Jun shook his head with a wry smile and said, "I'll have to see how the old man is doing then, whether he can leave. I might not be able to now, I'll call you then..."
Old Master Song was the pillar of the Song family. If he were gone, the Song family wouldn't immediately fall into ruin, but its influence would certainly be greatly diminished.
After attending Ouyang Jun's wedding, Zhuang Rui rushed to Pengcheng to attend Liu Chuan's wedding. Taking advantage of Liu Chuan's wedding, he had a reunion with a group of old classmates. This occasion was not like being in Beijing. Zhuang Rui was so drunk by a group of classmates that he was completely disoriented. So much so that he was still a little dizzy when he boarded the plane to Hong Kong.
Zhuang Rui kept a low profile during his trip to Hong Kong. Apart from making a brief appearance at Lei Lei's wedding, visiting the church to witness a Western-style wedding, and listening to some platitudes about how he would cherish her and take care of her for the rest of his life, he and Qin Xuanbing stayed in the hotel, expressing their passion.
In just over a month, Qin Xuanbing seemed to have matured even more, and her tall figure had become more voluptuous. Her fair and delicate skin, her soft and boneless body, and her deep, alluring moans, all from the bottom of her heart, filled the hotel room.
Women's stamina is generally stronger than men's. After a full day and night of passionate lovemaking, Qin Xuanbing looked even more radiant, while Zhuang Rui looked a bit dejected with dark circles under his eyes. He wasn't drunk when he boarded the flight back to Beijing, but his legs were a little weak when he walked.
Chapter 422 Visiting the Sick
"Xiao Rui, hang that lantern a little higher, yes, yes, a little higher. It's tilted, straighten it..."
The courtyard where Grandpa Ouyang lived in Yuquan Mountain was filled with a festive atmosphere. Zhuang Rui stood on a ladder and, under his mother's direction, hung red lanterns at the gate, each with a large "longevity" character written on it.
Tomorrow is the old man's 90th birthday. Zhuang Rui has been busy here these past few days. This morning, Ouyang Wan felt that some of the lanterns were hung too low, so she pulled her son up and hung them up again.
Although the old man had many staff members, his children and grandchildren naturally felt it was their duty to do their part. Not only Zhuang Rui, but even Ouyang Lei made time to come over. Red lanterns were hung everywhere in the courtyard, and longevity characters were posted. It was much more festive than Ouyang Jun's wedding.