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

The old man walked straight up to Li Zihang and asked directly.

"Kid, did you buy the Qing Empress' headdress?"

Li Zihang was confused by this sudden appearance.

"you are?"

"Don't worry about who I am. Did you buy the things?"

Li Zihang was a little annoyed by the old man's tone and attitude, but he still answered politely.

"Yes, I bought it. What can I do for you, sir?"

The old man didn't say anything and wrapped it in a piece of flowered cloth, which had three layers inside and three layers outside.

All I saw were brand new stacks of big black cows sticking out.

"Seven thousand and nine here!"

As he said this, he took out more than a hundred coins from his pocket and put them on the pile of money.

"Add this hundred plus and sell the things to me. You didn't even leave the house. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, you earned what others would eat for several months."

Li Zihang looked at the old man speechlessly. He was short of that little money! What a joke.

Li Zihang was annoyed by the old man's tone and attitude.

"Hey old man, did you go out this morning without taking your medicine?"

"Young master, can I take out seven thousand and nine without saying anything to buy these things that are not edible or drinkable? I just need your money!"

"Why are you pretending to be a boss in front of me~"

The old man was also furious at Li Zihang's words. He was unhappy that someone else got the treasure he had been longing for first.

Li Zihang's words of adding fuel to the fire made him so angry that smoke almost came out of his nose.

"Little brat, do you know your grandfather's identity? When I was playing hawk and dog, your father was not even born. How dare you blow up in front of me."

The quarrel here attracted Li Shibai and the other two people from upstairs. The clerk hurried over to calm down the anger.

"Old man, are you trying to show off to me? Well, I'd like to hear what you have to say."

The old man's expressionless face also changed.

"Little thing, then you better listen carefully."

"People who want to save face, when they see me, they all call me Master Guan politely. People who are unfamiliar with me will also call me the Nine Gates Commander when they see me."

"You're getting mad in front of me. Is that good enough for you?"

Li Zihang hadn't spoken yet. Li Shibai, who came down from upstairs, spoke first.

"Nine-Gate Commander? What a great authority. Judging from your age, you are probably a descendant of the late Qing Dynasty, and at most you are just relying on the name of your ancestors. Now, you can only be considered a rich poor man."

Uncle Guan was suddenly exposed. He felt a little uncomfortable. He refuted without leaving any room for maneuver.

"Why? Even if I'm down and out, at least I've had my fair share of glory. What do you have?"

Then I remembered to ask who Li Shibai was.

Li Shibai: "I am the uncle of the brat you called me. Am I qualified to talk to you?"

Without waiting for Uncle Guan to answer, he spoke immediately.

"Nine Gates Admiral? This is at most the most glorious time of your ancestors, right?"

"You are not qualified to compare your family background with ours!"

"Twenty years ago, this kid's family's business was ranked among the top three in the city. Since you call yourself the governor of the Nine Gates, you must have heard of Tianshun Business, right?"

When Mr. Guan heard the name of Tianshun Trading Company, his heart sank. He knew that he had hit a wall.

"To be blunt, if we go back another 80 years, our ancestors, who served as officials in the Qing Dynasty, numbered more than a hundred."

"Go back 200 years. Our ancestor was a first-rank official during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. He was promoted from Minister of War to Governor-General of Sichuan and then to Governor-General of Liangjiang. Isn't he more powerful than your ancestor?"

"If we go back 400 years, there were countless officials of all ranks in the Ming Dynasty. I'm afraid your ancestors were still half-savages at that time!"

"If you compare yourself to our ancestors, you are not even worthy of carrying our shoes."

"Have you heard of the Jiangnan gentry? Do the officials and nobles know about it?"

"Even now, as long as you can recognize a few words and read a newspaper, you must be familiar with this kid's grandfather!"

As Li Shibai finished speaking, there was no more sound in the consignment store.

When Uncle Guan heard about Tianshun Commercial Bank, he knew who Li Zihang's grandfather was. Some time ago, he saw his grandfather donating money while he was at home, drinking and bragging with his old friends. He said that the old man really brought honor to the young and old men in Beijing.

When I heard Li Shibai say that during the Qianlong period of their ancestors, some of them were appointed as the first-rank Minister of War, Governor-General of Sichuan and Chongqing, and Governor-General of Liangjiang.

Being familiar with the history of the Qing Dynasty, he instantly understood who their ancestors were.

He has been collecting antiques for many years and is no stranger to history.

Follow the clues and trace it back to the Jiangnan gentry.

Famous people with the surname Li from the Ming and Qing dynasties suddenly came to his mind.

After figuring all this out, Uncle Guan's family background, which he was so proud of, was completely defeated.

The old and young who survived the late Qing Dynasty all had an inexplicable sense of superiority. Even if they were reduced to begging for food, they still felt nobler than their peers.

Those who are a little bit stronger can hardly eat at home, and will wipe their mouths with pig skin when they go out. They will also say that they are tired of the big fish and meat at home, and want to drink a bowl of rice soup to relieve the greasiness.

If you are better off, and have some money in your pocket, you must show off when you go out.

You can humiliate, beat, and scold people like them, but you must never pity them. Otherwise, they will feel that their self-esteem is insulted and may treat you as their mortal enemy.

Of course, having said that, when it comes to status and position, their ancestors are better than their ancestors, or are about the same.

They will also bow their heads when they should and admit their mistakes when they should. They are definitely more honest than most people.

That lackey is not much stronger than a traitor.

Of course, they are lackeys only compared to their noble counterparts.

For example, your family is the descendant of a prince, and he is the descendant of a third-rank official. You make fun of him, and he thinks it is his honor.

If you are of lower status than him, you will see. Even if you are richer than him, he may call you "grandpa" in public, but he may spit at you behind your back!

Just like the man in the old tavern, he spent all his money and even sold his house to invite the queen to dinner. He booked the place several times in a row. He was so poor that he had to beg for food, but he didn't even look at people. Others gave him food out of pity. He didn't even say thank you.

Li Zihang looked at him and recognized his uncle, whom he was not familiar with yet. He recounted the glory of their ancestors.

Suddenly, he felt that his family was very awesome. He usually didn't feel that much. But when someone else said it, the feeling was different.

Uncle Guan's expression had changed by then. The rage he had shown at the beginning had long since disappeared. Now he had a flattering smile on his face. He was like a completely different person.

"So it is, young masters. I am an old man who is blind and ignorant. You two treat me as a boring old man, just to kill time. Don't bother with me."

"Well, today, I will invite you all to Dejuquan to eat roast duck and apologize to you all."

Then he clasped his fists and apologized to Li Shibai.

Li Shibai turned his head and looked at Li Zihang, indicating whether he agreed to go.

"Forget it, old man. Now that this thing is in my hands, don't think of anything else."

Uncle Guan said smugly, "No, the things are in your hands, which is a protection for them. I only ask you not to let these treasures leave the country in the future. If you really want to sell them, please let me know. I will raise the money even if I have to sell everything I have."

Li Zihang looked at the old man, who was about the same age as his grandfather. He nodded and bowed when he spoke.

The anger in my heart has long gone.

"You are overthinking this. These are our ancestors' things. We can't let them drift overseas."

Uncle Guan nodded and murmured to himself, "That's good, that's good."

Afterwards, Uncle Guan shamelessly begged him to give him the set of hairpins so that he could admire them again.

Li Zihang generously let him see it. Then several people began to appreciate the hairpins while chatting about the craftsmanship and materials of the headdresses and what kind of hairpins to wear on what occasions.

I learned from Grandpa Guan that this set of hairpins is the headdress of Empress Dowager Longyu. This is only a part of it.

Everyone listened to Uncle Guan telling stories about the past. Various things about the old Buddha and Empress Longyu. The contents were all strange and varied. Unconsciously, they were attracted by the story scenes.

Finally, the staff who went to the bank to confirm the authenticity of the check interrupted several people, which ended the discussion.

"Here is my address. You can come see me when you are free. If you have any questions about old objects, you can always ask me."

After that, he left the address he had just written down and stood up to say goodbye.

Li Zihang watched Uncle Guan leave. Some ideas came to his mind. Maybe he could use him to get in touch with the old and young circle.

In the past six months, there has been no movement from the old eunuch, except for the last time he acted as a middleman. So far, I have visited him twice, and apart from arguing, I also wasted two of his banquets.

"Comrades, the check is fine. Please keep it."

After Li Zihang took the bill, he gave a few more instructions.

"I say the same thing. If you have good stuff, keep it for me. Don't worry that I can't afford it. If the phone call doesn't work or I'm not here, send someone to my house and say hello. Keep the stuff for me."

"That's fine! Please come often in the future."

Unlike the staff in department stores, they will become impatient if you ask a few more questions and roll their eyes if you say too much.

They have a stable job and a fixed salary. No one is intimidated. If they are happy, they will give you a good face. If they are unhappy, you can try it. It is common for them to hit customers.

This consignment shop sells many items on consignment, and they are not actually the store's own goods. Their wages depend entirely on the store's business.

Business is bad, and they can't pay wages, and they are two months in arrears, or they pay half of the wages and owe the other half. That's a common thing. So their attitude is much better. If the customer's request is not excessive, they will try their best to meet it.