Siheyuan: I am a big capitalist after the founding of the People's Republic of China

The old man led the two people to his residence in Dazhalan Hutong. People who knew the old man greeted him along the way.

The old man didn't make tea for me after breakfast. Li Zihang in the yard looked at the house, which was also a traditional Beijing-style courtyard. The house was well preserved.

The old man lived alone in the house. He had no one to serve him. In the middle of the north room, Li Zihang chatted with the old man, waiting for the antique shop's expert to arrive.

Li Zihang: "Grandpa, can you please show me the things you want to sell? Don't worry, we will talk about the business after the expert in the shop comes."

The old man simply went back to the inner room and took out the antiques he was going to sell.

After a while, the old man went back and forth to carry antiques to the main room one by one.

Li Zihang looked at the antiques on the table and couldn't help but admire them.

At this time, the old man's voice came from the inner room: "Two boys outside, come over and help."

Li Zihang and Wen San went into the inner room and helped the old man take out a pair of large plum bottles.

He turned his head and glanced at the bed where the old man slept, but this glance almost made him pop his eyes out.

The old man slept on a bed covered with a yellowish ivory-white mat. With the reflection of the light, Li Zihang looked at the material of the mat and it looked more and more familiar.

It wasn't until the old man woke him up that he came to his senses.

Li Zihang was still a little absent-minded when he returned to the hall. The old man saw what he was thinking and said directly, "Boy, don't let your imagination run wild. I won't sell the treasure on my bed. Don't have any bad ideas."

"You have a sharp eye, you spotted the treasure right away."

The old man was talking in a cryptic way, leaving Wen San confused, but Li Zihang knew the answer.

Li Zihang: "Grandpa, can you let me in to see the treasure?"

The old man looked at Li Zihang's anxious expression and said reluctantly, "You can just take a look, but don't have any bad thoughts."

Li Zihang: "Old man, look at what you said. This is a new society. How dare I, a kid?" After saying that, he stood up and walked into the house.

The more he looked at the ivory-yellow mat on the bed, the more he was surprised. The material was exactly the same as ivory. Li Zihang was very familiar with ivory. He had ivory ornaments and various ivory brands at home. He had come into contact with too many of them. Naturally, he could tell the material of this mat at a glance.

The ivory mat was embroidered with golden silk around the edges. On the 5-centimeter embroidered edges, golden phoenixes were embroidered with bright yellow silk threads. On the horizontal edges, there was also a line of Manchu characters that Li Zihang could not understand.

Li Zihang returned to the hall and said to the old man, "Grandpa, can you tell me the origin of that cool mat?"

The old man recalled and thought for a moment before saying, “I’m sure you’ve figured out who I am, young master.”

Li Zihang nodded to indicate that he knew his identity.

The old man said, "Back then, the Qing Dynasty was still in existence. When I was about your age, I was sold into the palace by my family and castrated to become a slave. At that time, an old eunuch took me in as his godson. At that time, the Qing Dynasty had already been plagued by internal and external troubles. We slaves also worked in the palace in fear every day."

"They were afraid that if they made a mistake, they would be beaten to death by their masters who were in a bad mood. At that time, many eunuchs, chamberlains, and palace maids began to think about their future."

"The chief eunuch at the time took me in as his own grandson, hoping that I would have someone to take care of me in my old age after I left the palace."

"When I was a little older, the emperor was driven off the throne. Not long after, the old Buddha also passed away. We servants secretly stole the items in the palace one by one."

"At that time, I was working for the old Buddha because of my uncle's appearance. After the old Buddha passed away, we, a group of servants, were also driven out of the palace by Yuan Datou."

"At that time, when I left the palace, I was searched, but the soldiers didn't know the value of the mat. I just took it out with me."

"Most of the treasures in my house are from my grandfather. After I send the old man away, these treasures will naturally be mine."

"Over the years, apart from some sold by my godfather, some were sold by me. The rest are all here."

Li Zihang: "Old man, why are you telling me your past? Aren't you afraid that I might have evil thoughts?"

The old man smiled and said, "Young Master, do you know that the maids and eunuchs who were driven out of the palace at that time needed to be sold, and most of the treasures in their hands were sold to your shop."

"Let me put it bluntly. Compared to what you have, my stuff is nothing. If it were someone else, I would be very secretive and sell the stuff in my hands one by one slowly."

"But today I met you, young master. I don't plan to keep these things. I don't want to be remembered by some villains. I might even lose my life by then. It's better to exchange them for some money to make me feel at ease."

"During the Republic of China, your family was well-known in the market for counterfeit goods, and collected a lot of good things from fallen princes and nobles. So I'm not worried."

Li Zihang: "Old man, since you trust me, please tell me the conditions on how to sell me the ivory mat."

The old man smiled and said nothing, shaking his head.

Li Zihang also understood what the old man meant. He put aside his thoughts and began to appreciate the antiques on the table and on the floor.

It didn't take long to figure out everything: 12 treasures, 6 bottles and jars, 5 jade seals, and a painting.

One of them is a Yongzheng monochrome glaze rouge red covered cup, which is a pair with the one in the breakfast shop. The tea lid, tea cup and tea mat are all intact.

A Fanshengsha Yongzheng-era pink-glazed plum vase with the Eight Immortals pattern.

A Qing Yongzheng lake blue glaze plate.

A Qing Kangxi blue and white bowl with pine, bamboo and plum patterns.

The last piece is a blue-ground enameled lotus bowl from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.

There are five jade seals, including two chicken blood stone seals, two Hetian jade seals, and one Tianhuang stone seal. All of them are personal seals of Emperor Qianlong's study.

As for the painting, he really didn't know who painted it. He hadn't started learning about antiques such as calligraphy and painting yet. He could only identify it when someone from his antique shop came.

While waiting, Li Zihang suddenly had an idea.

So I immediately said to the old man, "Old man, you see, you have no one to take care of you now. I know that in the past, people like you would like to have godsons, grandsons, and the like."

"Or you can adopt a child from another family to take care of you in your old age. I'll find you a grandson and adopt him to be yours. He'll take your surname and carry on your family line. I'll also find you a woman to take care of your daily life. Do you think it's okay?"

When the old man heard this, he immediately stood up excitedly. Then he sat back down disappointedly. His expression was a little lonely.

Li Zihang knew something was going to happen when he saw the old man like this. So he struck while the iron was hot and said, "Grandpa, what are you worried about? If you have anything to say, just tell me directly. If I can't do it, my old man can definitely do it for you."

The old man looked at Li Zihang and said, "Let me make this clear first. If you want me to give you these treasures for free, then don't even think about it."

Li Zihang: "How could that be? I'll pay you what you want. Not a cent less. My only request is that you sell me the ivory mat as well."

The old man smiled and said, "After all this time, you still want to take my treasure."

Li Zihang smiled and said nothing.

Old man: "Boy, are those things you just said true?"

Li Zihang: “Absolutely true.”

The old man said, "How can you guarantee that after I sell the things to you, the boy I adopted won't run away, or cheat me out of my money and then run away? Besides, what if I can't move anymore and he treats me badly? I can't get any help from heaven or earth, what can I do?"

Li Zihang: "Don't worry, the grandson I find for you will definitely be an orphan, a poor one, and not very old."

"As long as you are truly kind to him, I don't believe he is an ungrateful person. Don't worry, when that day comes, I guarantee with my ancestors' credit that I will definitely come to see you often."

The old man squinted at Li Zihang, as if he could see through him. After a while, he said, "That's fine. As long as you can get the job done, I'll give you the mat."

"Let's make it clear first. When the time comes, we'll pay the money and deliver the goods."

After hearing this, Li Zihang looked at the old man speechlessly.

The old man ignored his gaze and continued, "You have to get this done for me as soon as possible. I don't want to wait too long."

Li Zihang: "Come on. It will take no more than a week. Then I will take you directly to see the child."...