Xu Damao's Thirty-Six Stratagems in Siheyuan

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Lou Xiaohui, Qi Huan, Lou Xiao'e and her son, daughter, and Tan Yali, a group of nine people, flew to Kyoto.

"Brother Huan, welcome, welcome."

"Da Mao, I am here to bother you again."

"It's not that I'm being polite. You and I are brothers-in-law, and you're Xu Jun's father. We're brothers."

"Haha, it really feels like returning home. I won't be polite then."

February 2th, the sixth day of the first lunar month, is a good day for offering sacrifices.

Xu Damao, Xu Huan and Lou Xiaohui drove to Gubeikou again.

The scenery of Gubeikou is really extraordinary. Xu Huan stood on a raised part halfway up the mountain, overlooking the endless foothills.

"Da Mao, actually, you should not disbelieve it. We Manchus do believe it. You really found a good place for my old man. To be honest, since I met you, oh, no, I should say that my old man met you, it seems that my family has changed. Especially, after I met you, it really changed a lot. Do you know? In January, my daughter in Germany suddenly called me and said she missed me. Don't you think it's strange? Of course, the ending is not very good. She got divorced in Germany and had a child. This is not the point. The point is that my son in Philadelphia actually told me that he suddenly entered the Juilliard School to study for a doctorate. I was a little surprised that he suddenly turned over a new leaf. Originally, he wanted to come back with me this time, but the school said that it had to hold a concert to prepare, so he didn't come. Do you know how I felt at the time? Just like just now, I was standing here, feeling that my old man was talking to me, a little fantasy, a little ethereal, and a little real. I don't know if this wonderful feeling is because you are my great benefactor in the previous life of Qi Jiashi."

Xu Damao suddenly saw tears in the eyes of Qi Huan, who looked slightly older, and was somewhat moved.

"Brother Huan, I'm really not that great. In fact, Grandpa Qi left all the valuable things left in your family to me. Of course, if it weren't for me, he might have sold them at a low price. But that doesn't mean I don't remember the favor. The old man is a sentimental person and has always loved to eat. Do you want to go back and take a look at the treasures your old man left for me? I guess you haven't seen them before."

"Da Mao, stand here. Behind you is my father's grave. I have a small request."

"Brother Huan, you are obsessed. Brothers used to not be so polite."

"No, today I want to be in front of my father's grave, which is not far from my father-in-law's grave. With the two of them as witnesses, we can kowtow and become sworn brothers. How about that?"

"Hey, that's it? Okay, you are my dear brother in my heart. Well, let's kowtow to the old man with the incense burning at his grave."

Lou Xiaohui witnessed two men, whose combined age was over 110, kowtowed to each other and swore brotherhood. They kowtowed three times to the grave, then kowtowed three times to each other, and then stood up and hugged each other. It gave Lou Xiaohui goosebumps.

After returning to Beiqijia, they had another big drink and drank until they were staggering.

"Sister, what's going on with these two?"

"Humph, we have sworn brotherhood in front of our father and Qi Huan's father's graves. We are brothers now. You have changed from calling me elder sister to calling me sister-in-law. You will become my younger sister in the future. Tell me, is it fun to be with two old guys?"

"Big sister, let's talk about our own opinions. No matter what they do, I am still your biological sister. So, why don't you have a child of your own?"

"I'm not a bad person. Who is as stupid as you? You're like a breeding machine. Six. But Xiao'e, let me make it clear that Xu Jun is my son. I adopted him."

"Sister, you have the final say. I don't lack a son either. Haha, I'm not at a disadvantage, and Huo Huo is not at a disadvantage either. You have tens of millions of assets anyway. Besides, Brother Huan, my brother-in-law, is so able to make money now. By the way, how long will you stay in Kyoto this time? You won't leave in a few days, right?"

"I'm not leaving. Xu Jun and Qi Huan are leaving. At the end of this month, Xu Jun and Qi Huan are going to attend a carbon fiber material academic seminar held by Rice University in Houston. It seems very important. And Damao's three daughters are also going to school. I plan to stay in China for a while and want to travel around. Do you want to accompany me?"

"Look, my Bo Xu is still young."

"Isn't Aunt Tan in Kyoto? Bo Xu is not breastfeeding now, he just drinks milk powder and eats rice porridge. You and I are not young anymore, it's time to go out and see the world, maybe we can find a suitable investment opportunity. Let Damao go with us then. What do you think?"

"I'll ask him in a few days. I'm actually too lazy to think about it right now. I'll just go with whatever he says."

"I think so, otherwise you are a fool. You suffered a lot in Hong Kong before but didn't know how to resist. It's also thanks to our father's fairness, otherwise you would have been eaten up by others, leaving nothing behind. This time when I went back to Hong Kong and met Shi Caiping, I realized that this was the case. But I'm afraid Shi Caiping won't live for many days. Those two brothers are not easy to deal with. Fortunately, you don't have any contact with them, otherwise, you will really suffer."

"That's right. Besides, we are no worse off than my second and third brothers in Hong Kong. Maoyuan Real Estate now has a yearly rent of 60 million. Damao said that the property will appreciate in value, and sure enough, the value of the property has almost doubled now."

"Your man is really extraordinary. His method of making people younger is scary enough. We are so lucky. Otherwise, we wouldn't be where we are now."

Lou Xiao'e felt sympathetic and nodded repeatedly.

The next day, Xu Damao took Qi Huan, Lou Xiaohui and Lou Xiaoe to Yandaixie Street.

"Brother Huan, this is what the old man gave me. I think it's the most valuable thing." Xu Damao carefully placed a pair of partridge-glazed Jianzhan on the blanket on the big table. The pair was fired in the same kiln, and the kiln changes were different, but the two Jianzhan were indeed exquisite.

"Da Mao, I've never seen the old man play with these two things."

Xu Damao took out the large Tianhuang seal with auspicious beasts and said, "Have you seen this before?"

"Hey, I've seen this before. I heard my ancestor talk about the origin of this seal. In the past, my ancestor had a daughter who entered the palace. Because of her meritorious service in saving the emperor at night, Qi Jia was made a concubine. The emperor awarded her this seal, engraved with 'Baturuqi'. This is the greatest praise from the royal family to my Qi family. I didn't expect that I could see this seal again." Qi Huan took the seal and rubbed it, as if the glory of the past reappeared.

Xu Damao also showed Qi Huan the celadon-glazed brush washer, a large landscape painting by Ming Shen Zhou, a Ge kiln dragon-ear vase, a Hetian mutton-fat jade ring, and other miscellaneous items left by Grandpa Qi, and also let them appreciate other treasures that Xu Damao had left in the basement on Yandaixie Street.

"Da Mao, I'm ashamed that you are like this." Qi Huan gave Xu Damao a thumbs up.

"Brother Huan, we have to thank our father-in-law, Huijie and Xiao'e's biological father. He was the one who led me to the path of collecting. Don't mention it, this is really a legacy. Now I let Xu Nian and Zhiyu, maybe Shuying will also follow this path. In the future, we should preserve some treasures well and pass them down from generation to generation. It will be a waste of our life in this world."