Chapter 15 Chapter 15 It's even

Song Yiping's regiment was on a mission in Zhaojiagang. He was away on a business trip and did not come with them. The deputy regimental commander led the team.

He was returning from a business trip and happened to be passing through Ningyi County, so he got off the bus there, intending to stop by and find out more about the situation.

As he got off the bus and was about to leave the station, he saw a woman waving her ticket and running towards him, shouting as she ran. It seemed she wanted to catch the bus next to him and asked him to help her flag it down.

He had good eyesight and recognized her from afar; she was the girl he had seen at the photo studio last time. He quickly went over and stopped the car, saying, "Please wait a moment, driver, someone wants to get on."

The driver stopped the car upon hearing the noise.

Song Yiping thanked the driver, and Yan Ruyi had already run over.

She was so focused on running forward that she didn't see the person clearly. It wasn't until she got close that she recognized Song Yiping and blurted out, "It's you."

Song Yiping said in a deep voice, "Hello..."

The ticket seller leaned out of the window and urged Yan Ruyi, "Comrade, are you getting on or not? If you are, hurry up and get on the bus, we're in a rush to leave."

Song Yiping said, "Let's get in the car first."

He naturally took the travel bag from Yan Ruyi, carried it to the car for her, found a window seat, and placed the travel bag on the luggage rack.

The ticket seller kept urging her on, and Yan Ruyi didn't have time to say anything else. She thanked Song Yiping, then sat down and watched him leave.

The car started quickly, and she couldn't help but turn her head to look at Song Yiping. To her surprise, Song Yiping also turned his head to look at her, and their eyes met again.

She was caught peeping at someone again, but this time Yan Ruyi wasn't guilty.

It's true that she was spying on Song Yiping, but Song Yiping was also looking at her.

The two were now even, and she waved to Song Yiping in a generous manner.

When Song Yiping saw her turn around, he took a few steps toward her as if he wanted to talk to her, but before he could get there, the car drove away.

He seemed to say something, but because he was far away, Yan Ruyi couldn't hear it clearly.

The car turned a corner, and soon he was out of sight.

I don't know what he said.

When Yan Ruyi saw Song Yiping again this time, she was not as shocked as the first time; she accepted it well now.

Sure enough, no matter how strange something is, once you see it enough, you'll get used to it.

The car kept stopping and starting along the way, and after getting off the car, we took a bus, finally arriving in the city at 2 p.m.

Today is Sunday, so Yan Ruyi didn't have to go to work and went straight home.

Just as she reached the entrance of the alley, Grandpa Li from the public phone booth called out to her, "Ruyi, you're finally back! A comrade has been calling you, but your mom said you're not home, that you're on a business trip. So he left his phone number and asked you to call him when you get back. He sounded quite anxious. I gave the phone number to your mom, so remember to call him back."

It must be He Zaixian who contacted her.

Good news came as soon as she got back. Yan Ruyi felt as if the TV was beckoning to her, so she took off running home.

Grandpa Li poked his head out again, "That man said his surname was He, and that once he told you, you would know who he was."

Yan Ruyi: "I understand, thank you, Uncle Li."

Ye Hongzhen and Zhao Cuifang sat under the shade of a tree, picking vegetables and chatting idly.

Zhao Cuifang lived next door to them. In fact, the two were related by marriage. Zhao Cuifang's husband was introduced to them by Ye Hongzhen, and the two had always been quite close.

As the two were talking, they faintly heard footsteps coming towards them. They sounded like they were running quite fast. Ye Hongzhen said to Zhao Cuifang, "It sounds like my daughter is coming back."

Zhao Cuifang: "It sounds plausible to me too."

Ye Hongzhen stood up, intending to go to the courtyard gate to greet them.

Zhao Cuifang: "Has Ruyi been gone for about a week now?"

Ye Hongzhen said, "It's been exactly a week. This is the first time I've been away from home for so long in my life. I bet I've been missing home for a long time. Look how fast I'm running."

Zhao Cuifang laughed and said, "I miss my mom."

Before Ye Hongzhen even reached the courtyard gate, Yan Ruyi rushed in and immediately asked, "Mom, where's the phone number? Did Uncle Li tell you to give it to him?"

The words of concern that were about to come out of her mouth were swallowed back by Ye Hongzhen. "...I put it on your bedside table."

Yan Ruyi rushed into the house without even greeting Zhao Cuifang.

Ye Hongzhen turned to Zhao Cuifang and said, "The first thing she asked for when she came in was her phone number. I think she doesn't miss home at all, nor does she miss her mother. She doesn't want her mother anymore."

Zhao Cuifang laughed, "Why would you argue with your own daughter about this? Maybe she's in a hurry to return someone's call. Didn't you say that person called several times?"

These words reminded Ye Hongzhen, who loudly asked Yan Ruyi, "That person has made several phone calls, and they sounded quite urgent. Who is looking for you?"

Yan Ruyi came out of the house with the phone number in her hand. Her mind was filled with thoughts of television, and she blurted out, "Television."

After saying that, she ran off to call He Zaixian back.

Ye Hongzhen thought she had misheard and asked Zhao Cuifang, "Why did she say 'television'?"

Zhao Cuifang said, "I heard those three characters too. Is there really someone with that name? Wasn't it supposed to be someone surnamed He who called?"

The two were completely baffled.

Yan Ruyi went to call He Zaixian back, and from afar she could hear Grandpa Li's loud voice, "Looking for Ruyi? She just got back. I've already told her, and she should be here soon. Why don't you hang up now, and I'll have her call you back when she gets here, or you can call back in five or six minutes..."

As they were talking, he looked up and saw Yan Ruyi had arrived, so he quickly shouted into the phone, "Don't hang up, Ruyi is here."

Holding the microphone, he shouted to Yan Ruyi, "Ruyi, hurry, Comrade He is calling again, it's urgent!"

Yan Ruyi went over and took the microphone from Grandpa Li. As soon as she said "hello", He Zaixian on the other end said anxiously, "Comrade Yan, you're finally back. If you hadn't come back, I was planning to go to Ningyi County to look for you."

Before Yan Ruyi could ask him, He Zaixian told her the whole story.

The person who actually wanted Yan Ruyi's help this time wasn't him, but a friend of his.

His friend, Li Guangyan, like He Zaixian, was also an American Chinese who enjoyed collecting antiques. However, while He Zaixian preferred porcelain, Li Guangyan preferred ancient calligraphy and paintings.

Not long ago, Li Guangyan heard that a man in the circle named Yao Dehou wanted to sell a painting by Fan Songshi called "Sparrows Playing with Persimmons".

Fan Songshi was a painter during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Song. He was not very well-known, and only this one painting has been passed down to posterity.

Li Guangyan had seen this painting before at Yao Dehou's place and liked it very much, so he really wanted to buy it.

However, Yao Dehou did not want to sell at the time, and Li Guangyan did not want to take what others wanted, but he kept it in mind.

As soon as he heard that Yao Dehou wanted to sell the painting, he immediately bought it without even haggling over the price; whatever Yao Dehou asked for was the price.

However, Yao Dehou did not have a good reputation in this circle. He had cheated people with fakes in the past. Li Guangyan lived abroad and was not very familiar with Yao Dehou's character. He only found out about this after buying the painting. He was worried that this "Sparrows Playing with Persimmons" painting was also a fake, so he asked someone to appraise it.

However, because Fan Songshi is not well-known and only this one painting has been passed down to the world, it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity based on the brushwork.

As for other aspects, opinions differed, with some saying it was genuine and others saying it was a fake. Li Guangyan was so anxious that he had a heart attack.

He Zaixian went to visit him and, after hearing about this, recommended Yan Ruyi to him.

Compared to others, He Zaixian now trusts Yan Ruyi more. "Why don't we find Xiao Yan and have her take a look?"

Li Guangyan had heard He Zaixian mention Yan Ruyi before. He Zaixian's precious Tang Baici was the one who had his eye on her.

He Zaixian said that Yan Ruyi recognized him at first glance.

Although this young Comrade Yan is not old, his expertise in ancient porcelain is quite profound.

I just don't know if she has any knowledge of ancient calligraphy and paintings.

Li Guangyan, in his desperation, asked He Zaixian to help him contact Yan Ruyi, just to try his luck. Unfortunately, Yan Ruyi had gone to Ningyi County and stayed there for a week.

Li Guangyan was an impatient man, and he also had business to attend to and was in a hurry to return to the United States, so he was extremely anxious. If Yan Ruyi didn't come back soon, he might actually drag He Zaixian along to Ningyi County to look for Yan Ruyi.

After hearing He Zaixian's explanation, Yan Ruyi readily agreed, "Just tell me a location, and I can go there right now."

He Zaixian arranged to meet at Yunxiang Tea House.

Yunxiang Teahouse is not far from the factory's residential compound; it only takes about 10 minutes to get there by bike.

After the two agreed on the terms, Yan Ruyi hung up the phone and went home to tell Ye Hongzhen, "Mom, I'm going out for a bit."

Ye Hongzhen, "Are you going to see that guy called Television?"

Yan Ruyi, "..."

That's not wrong, though. He Zaixian is generous, he'll definitely earn enough to buy a TV today.

Yan Ruyi: "It's him."

I excitedly hopped on my bicycle and went out.

Ye Hongzhen exclaimed in surprise, "There really is such a name!"

Zhao Cuifang, "It's probably a foreign name. Those foreigners always have such strange names. There are also names like Big Radish, Worse to Die, and Spicy Shredded Chicken."

Ye Hongzhen thought it made sense, but she was a little worried: that person had called her daughter several times, and her daughter had just returned and was rushing out in a hurry. Could she have secretly started dating someone?

Otherwise, who would be in such a hurry to see?

This name doesn't sound legitimate at all. Could it be a scammer who made up a fake name?

Or, as Zhao Cuifang said, he was a foreign devil.

I absolutely refuse to marry a foreigner. If he goes abroad with me, separated by mountains and rivers, I'm afraid I'll never see my daughter again.

Ye Hongzhen became increasingly restless and stood up, saying to Zhao Cuifang, "You sit down, I'll go make a phone call to her aunt."

My daughter and her aunt have always been close. What she doesn't want to tell her, she might have whispered to her aunt.

She should ask Ye Hongjuan.

She went to the reception desk and called Ye Hongjuan.

When Ye Hongjuan received Ye Hongzhen's call, before Ye Hongzhen could even say a word, Ye Hongjuan launched into a rapid-fire speech, "What a coincidence! I was just about to call you to ask when Ruyi would be back. And here you are! I heard from Dr. Liu that Commander Song is coming back this afternoon. She said that once Ruyi is back, she'll arrange for the two of them to meet and finalize things as soon as possible... What? Ruyi just got back? Oh my, did these two plan this beforehand? Even their photos are one-inch, and they're both back from their business trips one after the other. That's fate! I think this marriage is definitely going to happen. Just you wait and see, sister. I'll discuss with Dr. Liu where to meet, and I'll get back to you once the time and place are set. That's all for now, I'm hanging up."

The microphone went dead, and Ye Hongzhen hadn't even gotten a chance to say a word.

But she was secretly pleased with herself. It wasn't until she left the phone booth that she remembered why she had called Ye Hongjuan.

A note from the author:

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Oh my god, if I hadn't seen your comments, I wouldn't have known yesterday was Qixi Festival. I'm such a poor soul with no one to love me... Here's a belated blessing: may everyone be happy and receive so many gifts you won't know what to do with them!