Siheyuan: Returning to 61 to collect waste

The box had obviously been placed in the corner for a long time, and sawdust kept falling off when it was held in the hand.

Ye Chuan opened it carefully, his eyes lit up, and he found two inkstones placed one above and one below it.

"Duan Inkstone!" he exclaimed softly.

When I picked up the first inkstone, I saw that its texture was warm and delicate, and the patterns were intricate.

Turning to the back of the inkstone, there are six big characters written on it: "Made in Chaotian during the Daoguang period"!

Ye Chuan has now mastered advanced appreciation skills. Based solely on the quality and inscriptions on the inkstone, he determined that it was a Duan inkstone from Chaotiankeng. Unfortunately, its exquisite craftsmanship did not allow it to be a tribute to the court.

Chaotiankeng is a place where Duan inkstones were produced, but the ore was only mined in a late period. However, the inkstones are of excellent quality and were very popular in the Qing Dynasty.

The carving on this inkstone is mediocre and not particularly exquisite. It is more suitable for appreciation and daily use rather than collection.

From the traces of use, it can be seen that the original owner used it frequently, but it has not been polished for a long time.

There is another inkstone below the inkstone, wrapped in yellow silk and covered with mold spots.

Ye Chuan originally did not have high expectations for the next inkstone, guessing that it should not be a rare item like the one next to it.

He lifted the yellow silk, his eyes narrowed instantly, and his breathing became rapid.

This inkstone is also finely carved, and can be described as a work of exquisite craftsmanship. It is delicate to the touch, and you can tell it is quite old just by the feel. It is indeed a top-quality choice.

"Longyan Pit!" he whispered.

He turned the inkstone over carefully, and his fingers trembled slightly.

There is a striking big character "止" on the inkstone, and in an inconspicuous corner there is a bean-sized character "米".

Looking at these two words, a legend emerged in his mind.

When I was in school, the teacher told the students this story as an interesting one.

At that time he thought it was a fabricated history to highlight the high cost of Duan inkstones.

Mi Fu, a great calligrapher in the Song Dynasty, was extremely obsessed with inkstones.

One summer evening, he was writing in a small pavilion beside a pond in his mansion when he suddenly heard the croaking of frogs as loud as drums, which annoyed him and made it difficult for him to write. On a whim, he picked up small stones and threw them into the water, but this failed to stop the noise.

Mi Fu, furious, grabbed a large inkstone with the word "stop" engraved on it and threw it into the pond. With a gurgling sound, the frog sounds suddenly disappeared and the pond water turned into ink in an instant.

That night, his servant salvaged the inkstone and regarded it as a family heirloom.

From then on, this pond was called the Ink Pond, and the pavilion where Mi Fu threw his inkstone was called the "Inkstone Tou Ting".

At that time, Ye Chuan just laughed it off when he heard this story, but he didn't expect that it concealed the true history.

This inkstone is extremely exquisite. With Ye Chuan's current eyesight, he is sure that it is a treasure from the Song Dynasty. The word "止" is conspicuous, and the "止" is so small that it is hardly noticeable. It is almost certain that it belongs to Mi Fu.

Given Mi Fu's status, reputation and wealth, he would never use ordinary works. Moreover, the inkstone is likely to be a real tribute bestowed by the court.

The inkstone flickered suddenly, and then quickly returned to normal.

Ye Chuan stared at the energy value of the system and was surprised for a moment.

On the energy slot, the number clearly marked is 1829. The inkstone made by Mi Fu just now brought an astonishing 1200 energy points.

“Incredible!”

The energy value harvested this time has doubled all the previous accumulations, which is enough to prove that this inkstone is a genuine work of Mi Fu.

Ye Chuan carefully put the two inkstones and the wooden box into the system space.

That Duan inkstone is just right as a gift for Senior Xu. It is both valuable and suitable for giving as a gift. It is a very suitable birthday gift.

Fatty Han didn't notice the situation here, and even if he noticed it, he wouldn't care too much. In his eyes, neither the inkstone nor the seal stone was as important as half a steamed bun.

Today's waste recycling harvest is extremely satisfying: two seals, two famous inkstones, and the most critical 1200 energy points.

After cleaning up, it was almost time for lunch, so the two of them stopped by to inform Teacher Li of today's results.

Teacher Li praised them highly for their efforts. A truckload of waste was finally weighed at only six dollars, so Teacher Li simply charged only five dollars, and the rest went right into their pockets.

Ye Chuan certainly didn't mind the one dollar, and Fatty Han was overjoyed, smiling as brightly as a flower. The one dollar meant a lot to him, because he usually only earned one dollar for a whole day's hard work, and now he earned double the salary in one day, how could he not be happy?

Fatty Han tied the waste tightly onto the car, piling it higher than the truck. Books occupied the highest position, all carried in sacks. Ye Chuan followed closely behind on foot, and in just ten minutes he was sweating profusely.

Two days later in the morning, after the two of them reported in, Ye Chuan planned to go to the steel mill that day.

He originally wanted to put the steel mill at the end of his itinerary because it was a large factory and could perform better than those smaller factories and mines.

His last trip to Beijing made him miss the Beijing Second Electronics Factory. In this type of factory, due to the high discard rate of electronic products, many unusable components would be piled up in warehouses, waiting to be processed.

If he could clear out all the discarded electrical equipment in the warehouse, it would only be a matter of time before Ye Chuan became a millionaire.

After checking in, Fatty Han was about to drive his tricycle when he was stopped:

"Fatty, don't be in a hurry, let's go to the steel mill together today.

"

"Steel rolling mill?" Fatty Han was stunned for a moment.

Although he could understand the waste products that Ye Chuan got from Jinghua Glass Products Factory and Bowen Printing Factory, the impression he had about the steel company was completely different, as it was a very important name in the entire region.

Everyone in the district knows that the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill has a high reputation and the employees working here are very respectable.

If a couple works in the same factory, they will be the talk of the town.

Fatty Han had seen with his own eyes before that the two factory leaders treated Ye Chuan with such courtesy. It seemed that Ye Chuan, this new friend, had a good relationship with the director of the steel rolling mill?

Fatty Han is not stupid, he is just honest and not foolish.

With Ye Chuan's strong ability, he will definitely be able to have a better life by following him, which is much more cost-effective than fighting alone.

More than a dozen colleagues rode out to carry out their tasks, but only two of them walked out leisurely, which was a bit unique.

Director Tang couldn't help but murmur in his heart when he saw all this on the windowsill, but considering that Ye Chuan's performance was too outstanding, he did not interfere.

As long as he can bring back a few truckloads of waste materials every month, he will turn a blind eye to it, as long as it's not excessive.

“Director, this guy is too arrogant and too blatant!” Deputy Director Tan’s face was a little gloomy.

In fact, he was called deputy director only because of his good work performance. In fact, there was not much difference between him and an ordinary salesperson.

Ye Chuan's work performance was so dazzling that it aroused envy. Deputy Director Tan was naturally worried that his position might be threatened, so he took this opportunity to make sarcastic remarks in front of Director Tang.

Director Tang did not have any opinion of Ye Chuan because of this sentence.

Ye Chuan's grades are so outstanding, not to mention he has Director Wang's recommendation.

He knew Deputy Director Tan's intention, but he just smiled and did not express his opinion.

Ye Chuan was not anxious about this. He chatted with Fatty Han while slowly walking towards the steel mill. It took him half an hour to reach the door.

Looking at the stern guard post at the factory gate, Fatty Han couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Other factories only have one gate guard on duty, but the steel rolling mill here has four or five security personnel stationed there to strictly check people coming in and out.

"Brother Ye, our business...can we get in?" Fatty Han asked nervously.

Working in large state-owned factories, these people always act in a haughty manner, and it is not easy to seek their help. It is not enough to just pass cigarettes and say nice things, it also depends on their mood.

"I don't know either!" Ye Chuan replied.

Fatty Han asked worriedly, "Then...what should we do?"

Ye Chuan walked towards the entrance in silence and was stopped by security personnel.

"Who are you? If you have official business, please show me a letter of recommendation. If not, please stay away from the door!" the man said.

Ye Chuan explained with a smile: "Comrade, I'm here to see Director Yang. Could you please help me notify him?" There was a hint of compliment in his words.

The security guard looked at Ye Chuan for more than ten seconds and then asked, "Do you have an appointment?"

Ye Chuan was stunned, then shook his head.

"You will inform them immediately even though there is no appointment or letter of recommendation? There are at least ten people coming here to see Director Yang every day. Do you want to inform them one by one?" he asked.

The security guard sneered. They had indeed received instructions from the section chief that if anyone who wanted to collect scrap came to see Director Yang, they could just let them pass.

However, the young man in front of him looked gentle and even handsome. He was not riding a tricycle and did not look like a scrap collector.

Ye Chuan had no idea why.

If he knew, he could get away with it even if he came on two tricycles.

"Comrade, I have talked to your Director Yang before. Please help me inform him. Thank you very much!" After giving the kind words of advice, he took out a box of Daqianmen and handed it to the security guard.

After taking the cigarette and examining it, the security guard looked at Ye Chuan again. Finally, he nodded and went back to his booth.

He had no authority to call Director Yang directly, so he had to report the matter to the head of the security department first.

"Chief Yu, someone at the main gate is looking for Director Yang and said they have reached a consensus with him.

"He reported this over the phone.

"That man didn't ride a tricycle, and he looked clean and gentle. He is definitely not a rag collector!" Yu Zeyi speculated in his mind after listening to his subordinate's report.

When Yu Zeyi heard that Ye Chuan didn't ride a tricycle, he thought it was unlikely. After all, he remembered that Ye Chuan was a very gentle young man when they met last time.

Maybe, I just didn’t bring it with me today.

He told his men to wait a moment, then rode his bicycle hurriedly to the main entrance of the steel mill.

As soon as he stopped his bike, he saw the familiar figure outside the door.

With the help of Section Chief Yu Zeyi, Ye Chuan and Fatty Han easily entered the factory gate.

The guard just now secretly felt lucky: Fortunately, he made that call to his superior, otherwise he would have delayed Director Yang's work and would have been held responsible.

Although he didn't know Ye Chuan's background, he still received the two of them politely and apologized for the last investigation of Ye Yongshun.

It has nothing to do with Yu Zeyi. Hou Weike is responsible for investigating and questioning. That is their duty.

Of course Ye Chuan would not vent his anger on the other party because of this, he just smiled and walked away.

Yu Zeyi was quite curious about the specific relationship between Ye Chuan and Director Yang. He parked his bicycle outside the factory gate and led Fatty Han and the other man into the office building.

Just like Granny Liu when she first saw the Rong Mansion, Fatty Han kept exclaiming in praise along the way.

The steel rolling mill is huge, with more than a dozen production workshops alone and dozens of warehouses of various sizes.

It also includes supporting schools, kindergartens, lecture halls, canteens, libraries, bathrooms and other complete facilities, which are dazzling to the eyes.

Ye Chuan also sighed at this scene. Although he came from the future, in the era he was familiar with, he rarely saw state-owned enterprises so busy and well-equipped.

He often heard reports about a factory's declining performance or large-scale layoffs.

This was his first time entering a state-owned enterprise that accommodated tens of thousands of people. He was shocked by the prosperity before him. The scale of the enterprise was even larger than the university he remembered attending.

The journey from the rolling mill door to the office building took nearly twenty minutes.

Fortunately, it was early morning, otherwise they might have been sweating profusely in the scorching heat.

Yu Zeyi attentively escorted the two to the factory director's office on the top floor and knocked on the door gently.

Director Yang, who was concentrating on his work, saw the door being pushed open and Yu Zeyi and two others came in. Among them was Ye Chuan, who had had a conversation with him once and had left a deep impression on him, so he couldn't help but stand up to greet them.

He walked up to Ye Chuan with a friendly smile on his face.

"Hi, Xiaoye, you're here?" His enthusiasm surprised Yu Zeyi.

In his mind, the factory director usually maintains a steady and calm attitude, so how could he be so affectionate to a twenty-year-old young man?

Ye Chuan smiled and stretched out his hand to shake hands with Director Yang. "Director Yang, will my sudden visit disturb your work?"

This calm and composed attitude further shocked Yu Zeyi: this small waste collector with an unknown background could remain calm and composed in front of the director of a large state-owned factory with tens of thousands of employees.

He really didn't believe how deep Ye Chuan's background was. Although he was acquainted with him through the leader's family, was it possible for someone with such a deep background to have a father who became an ordinary porter and for himself to do such a low-level job as waste collection?

"Xiao Yu, thank you for your hard work.

If you are alright, you might as well go back to work first." Director Yang said kindly.

Yu Zeyi originally wanted to take a closer look, but after being told to do so by the factory director, he had to say goodbye, and he was full of curiosity about Chuan.

Obviously, Director Yang had just shown great concern, and he should be much more polite when he meets Ye Yongshun in the future.

In the office, Director Yang personally poured two glasses of water and handed them to them.

Ye Chuan and Fatty Han quickly stood up and took it.

It was a great honor to receive such a hospitality, and their originally carefree sitting posture seemed disrespectful.

"Xiao Ye, how is your situation at the recycling company?" Director Yang asked with a smile.

"It's not bad. My colleagues are very caring. Although the conditions are difficult, it's relatively comfortable."

"The company looks at the volume of business, and once it reaches a certain standard it won't be particularly busy."

Ye Chuan smiled and said, "I also want to thank Director Xu and several other factory managers. They handed over most of the waste to Manager Lu and Factory Manager Lu, allowing me to demonstrate my abilities in front of my superiors."