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

At the entrance of Emei Renjia Restaurant, Sha Zhu watched the two people riding away. He sighed unconsciously: "Having a bicycle is so convenient. I will buy one tomorrow."

Li Zihang and his companion rode their bicycles through the streets and alleys all the way to Liulichang.

Now, the Liulichang has been integrated into more than 80 cultural relics shops through public-private partnership. Some of the shop owners, or former shopkeepers, have been recruited as cultural relics experts of the Palace Museum. Some have stayed to look after the shops.

Nowadays, all antiques and collectibles in cultural relics shops are clearly marked with prices, and everyone is treated fairly. It is as standardized as it can be.

Li Zihang parked his car in front of a cultural relic store, intending to visit each store to see if there were any antiques worth buying.

In the antique shop, the salesperson saw that the two young men came in and ignored them.

Li Zihang looked at the jade, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings neatly arranged in the glass cabinet with clearly marked prices. He was delighted. He admired them one by one. He found that most of them were from the Ming and Qing dynasties. There were porcelains from official kilns, folk kilns, and various kilns. There were also pens, inkstones, and paper. Everything was complete.

Porcelain from the late Qing Dynasty, whether from official kilns or folk kilns, cannot attract him now. Don't ask why. Because the bowls he uses to feed his dog are all large blue and white bowls from the Guangxu official kiln. Another point is that during this period, antique cultural relics have not been destroyed during special periods. The number of them in existence is too large.

Antiques that are considered precious by later generations can be found in large quantities in antique shops.

Li Zihang walked to an incense burner. He asked the salesperson to take the burner out. He studied it carefully for a while and found that it was the same as what was written on the counter label. It was a Qing Jiaqing imitation Xuande burner.

Look at the price tag, 52 yuan. For ordinary people, no one would spend one and a half months' salary to buy a copper stove. But for Li Zihang, this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket.

Without saying anything, he paid for it. This shop mainly sells calligraphy and paintings. So after he bought the Qing Dynasty imitation Xuande furnace, he started to appreciate calligraphy and paintings.

After taking a look around, he actually saw something different.

Zhang Daqian's 2'7" lotus pond painting is only 8 yuan. Buy it with one word.

The key point is that this store has quite a few paintings by Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi, as well as some calligraphy and paintings by more famous modern painters.

Anyway, they were cheap, so he bought them whenever he saw them. Soon he bought more than twenty paintings, just like buying more goods.

In this era, all the famous modern calligraphy and painting masters are still alive. In addition, their works are too large, so their calligraphy and paintings are not worth much.

Zhang Daqian's landscapes, Xu Beihong's horses, Qi Baishi's shrimps, Lin Sanzhi's calligraphy, Lin Youren's calligraphy. Anyway, if he saw anything, he would buy it all.

A 39-character cursive calligraphy work by Lin Sanzhi is only 11 yuan. It can't be any cheaper. I bought them all.

Li Dewang, looking at Li Zihang who seemed a little crazy about buying calligraphy and paintings, quickly stepped forward and held him back.

"Little Third, you've already bought hundreds of dollars' worth of calligraphy and paintings. You can't buy any more."

At this time, the salesperson who was issuing tickets next to him was already dumbfounded. In a short while, he sold 27 paintings, 2 bronzes, and a folding fan. He thought that he had met the prodigal son of a wealthy family this time.

Li Zihang looked at the pile of calligraphy and paintings on the counter, and then looked at the few dozen dollars left in his bag.

He thought he had just visited one store. There were still 80 more stores waiting for him to visit. There were too many things to carry and he didn't have enough money. But he knew how to get people!

So I said to the clerk, "Hello, salesman. I bought so many things that it's hard to carry them. Can you deliver them to my door?"

The salesman was in a dilemma. After all, it was not a private transaction. So he went to ask the manager of the company. After getting his consent, he said he would pay for the shipping and deliver the goods to your door.

I borrowed the phone in the store and called my family to ask them to send the money. I told them about the home delivery. Then I continued shopping.

After wandering around, they had only visited half of the shops in Liulichang. As soon as they walked out of the door of a shop, Li Zihang felt that someone was following them.

He turned his head and winked at his elder brother, then nodded in the direction of the person following him.

After Li Dewang understood, he looked at his watch and said, "It's time for dinner. Let's go eat first."

The two came to a small restaurant on the side of the road and sat down.

Li Zihang: "Brother, that person has been following us for a long time."

Li Dewang: "Is there anyone from home who came out with you today?"

Li Zihang: "Yes. The one eating diagonally opposite is from our family."

Li Dewang: "That's easy. Call him over. Leave the rest to them. We finally got out for a stroll, don't let those people ruin our fun!"

After listening to this, Li Zihang stood up and walked towards the person who was secretly protecting him, and said loudly: "Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, here! I didn't expect to meet you here today."

As if he had met an acquaintance or elder, the man instantly understood Li Zihang's intention and followed him.

The three of them sat down at a table and started chatting.

Uncle Wang: "My two young masters, the man following you is not from our family. I will call a few old brothers to meet him later. You can continue to play. Don't worry."

Li Zihang: "It seems that I got carried away when I went out shopping today. I lost some money and people are worried about me."

Li Dewang heard this and said, "How can we not attract attention? We are two grown men, with a bicycle and a watch. The money you use to buy things is like paper. It's hard not to attract attention."

Uncle Wang: "You two, when you go out for a walk, don't go to places with few people. I think that person is a stalker. I will find you after I deal with him. I am leaving now."

Li Zihang looked at the departing guards. Absent-mindedly, he took out an antique pocket watch he had just bought to admire it.

This pocket watch is from Vacheron Constantin, an old pocket watch from 1885. The case is all gilded. On the front of the case, there is a floating image of a dragon flying across the sea. Inside the case, there is a photo of a Qing Dynasty prince. The person in the photo is wearing a dragon robe and a flower feather. The hands on the dial are no longer moving. There is Manchu inscription on the back of the case. The bracelet is gone too.

Everything else is intact, there are no scratches on the mirror. The rest are just a few minor bumps.

After finishing his meal, Li Dewang looked at his brother studying the pocket watch and asked, "Have you figured it out?"

Li Zihang looked up at his elder brother and said, "It should be a pocket watch that was custom-made by a prince in the late Qing Dynasty. As for which prince it was, I'll have to go back and ask grandpa."

Li Dewang: "So should we continue to stroll around or find a place to rest?"

Li Zihang thought for a moment and said, "There is a bookstore up ahead. Let's go in and read some books and take a break. We'll talk about it when we get any news from there."

On the other side, at the gate of the courtyard, the third uncle was sitting in the sun, watching the Li family's car returning home.

He stood up and walked into the yard.

In the middle courtyard, at Yi Zhonghai's house. The third uncle knocked on the door and went in and said, "Old Yi, the old man is back. Let's discuss what we discussed last time."

Yi Zhonghai, who was sitting on a stool reading a book, looked up at Yan Fugui and said, "Okay, let's go to the backyard and look for Lao Liu first."

In the backyard, Liu Haizhong was still cursing at his eldest son. After seeing Yi Zhonghai and Yan Fugui, he stopped scolding his son.

Uncle Three: "Old Liu, I'm telling you to stop taking your anger out on the child. This is the nth time you've hit the child this month."

The second uncle: "Go, go, go. What does it have to do with you if I beat my son? Just stay away."

The third uncle looked at Liu Haizhong like that and instantly became unhappy. Just as he was about to go up and argue with him, he was stopped by Yi Zhonghai.

"I say, you two stop bickering. Old Yan, have you forgotten what we are here for?"

Yan Fugui slapped his forehead and complained, "Look, I almost forgot about the important matter."

"Lao Liu, don't argue with me. The old man next door just came back. Should we do what we talked about last time? Otherwise, it will take who knows when. After this, I think that thing will be gone."

When Liu Haizhong heard this, he stood up and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go."

The three of them walked one after another to the back door of the Li family.

The second uncle was about to knock on the door when the first uncle stopped him.

"I say, Lao Liu! It's not polite for us to visit someone through the back door."

The third uncle also said: "That's the etiquette. You don't knock on someone's back door when you visit them. That's against the rules."

Second uncle: "Okay! Then walk a few more steps and go around the gate."