Chapter 25 New Year's Eve
Yu Yin finally saw what was printed on the back of the coin. It had the words "Dang Shi" and some Manchu characters that she couldn't understand.
According to her superficial understanding of ancient coins, this Qixiang Chongbao Dangshi coin is very rare and is known as the king of Qing coins. It hides a special historical event. After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, his six-year-old son succeeded to the throne with the reign title "Qixiang". Later, the Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an launched a coup, and the reign title "Qixiang" was abolished and changed to "Tongzhi". The two Empress Dowagers ruled the world together, which is also a reign title familiar to later generations.
"Qixiang" existed for only about two months. Because of the short time, not many coins were produced during this period, and they were destroyed, so there are very few Qixiang treasures handed down.
After a long pause, Zhao Xinzhi looked at Zhao Xinxian. "The Qixiang treasure forged by the Baoyuan Bureau is such a rare treasure. Where did you get it?"
The number of Qixiang Chongbao coins minted by the Baoyuan Bureau is generally accepted to be in the single digits. One such coin is worth millions of Hong Kong dollars and is in short supply.
Zhao Xinxian said: "My old friend accidentally mentioned that he knew a collector who had this coin. He had seen it with his own eyes and had a certificate of authenticity. I knew you would like it, and after several rounds of negotiations, the collector was finally willing to part with it."
The two of them appreciated the coins while chatting, and the others were called over to appreciate them together.
Perhaps it was because Yu Yin brought something to Zhao Xinzhi at the right time that pleased him, so he would occasionally ask her a few questions.
Yu Yin had already done a lot of homework for this, and organizing Mr. Lang's ancient coin exhibition helped consolidate her knowledge, so she was not mute and could say a few words.
After they talked for a while, Zhao Xinzhi, Zhao Xinxian and Zhao Shunian went to his private study on the fifth floor to discuss business cooperation.
Zhao Xinxian claimed the Qixiang Treasures were a New Year's gift for Zhao Xinzhi, but this was merely a prelude; business was the ultimate goal. Zhao Shi owned numerous ports around the world, and Zhao Shunian was working on a major international port project. Zhao Xinxian wanted to capitalize on the opportunity and participate in it, strengthening his shipping company's position.
Ms. Yu Yinping was the only one left in the library, and she was worried about what to talk to Ms. Heping about.
Ms. Ping suddenly walked over to a vase on the bookshelf. Yu Yin thought she was going to discuss its origins, like discussing coins, but she unexpectedly said, "The placement of this vase is very clever. From the perspective of feng shui..."
Only then did Yu Yin realize that Ms. Ping believed in feng shui and numerology, and that she grew up in a place where feudal superstitions also existed. She had previously dismissed this, but now she applied it flexibly and engaged in a serious discussion with Ms. Ping. She felt that people were often slapped in the face.
It was precisely because she had some knowledge of these things that she opened up Ms. Ping's mouth and she didn't have to worry about having no topics to talk about, which would make the situation awkward.
………
We had a reunion dinner in the evening. The whole family sat around the long wooden table and talked lively. Usually, everyone ate quietly and didn't talk much.
There were many people dining tonight, so they were using separate plates, so there was no need to worry about the wide and long table preventing everyone from getting their food. The dishes the servants brought to them were individually portioned, simply presented on the plates, not large portions, and they would take a different plate after each dish they ate.
There were more than a dozen people dining, and more than a dozen dishes. Yu Yin felt that there were a lot of dishes to wash after the meal.
The braised lion's head was placed in front of Yu Yin. She looked at the lion's head soaked in the broth and wondered if Zhao Yunbin and Zhao Yunli's hands would be sore from chopping so much meat. Or would they just chop a portion and share it with the three elders?
With this question in mind, Yu Yin ate the lion's head in silence and thought it tasted pretty good.
At this time, the third uncle Zhao Xinxian praised the two brothers Zhao Yunbin for their hard work and said that the lion's head dish tasted very good and was to his liking.
Ms. Ping, the third aunt's wife, also said that she envied Zhao Xinzhi for having such a filial son, as her children had never cooked a meal for her.
Zhao Xinzhi earned enough face in front of his younger brother and sister-in-law and spoke a few humble words.
Zhao Yunli said, "Why don't Third Uncle and Third Aunt stay here for a few more days? They can keep my dad company."
Zhao Xinxian said: "Now that I'm retired, I don't have time. My son and daughter are undecided about some things, so they asked me to go back with them on the sixth day of the New Year."
Ms. Jian chimed in, "As the saying goes, an elder in the family is like a treasure. Without elders to look after the family, the younger generation feels uneasy. Don't you agree?"
When Ms. Jane said this, she praised the three elders, and her eyes finally fell on Ms. Li.
She still missed the days two years ago when Zhao Xinzhi refused to give up power. At that time, she thought that Zhaoshi was handed over to Zhao Yunli, but in the end, it was all in vain.
Ms. Li responded, "I think that's quite right. It seems like Yunbin and Shunian always come back to discuss major decisions the group needs to make. Unlike my second uncle, who takes on more responsibility for his own company affairs, I handle everything on my own."
The second uncle Ms. Li referred to was Zhao Yunli.
Zhao Xinzhi handed over some of his assets to Zhao Yunli to set up his own business, and also provided him with a large sum of funds to support his operations. From then on, Zhao Xinzhi would not interfere in related matters, leaving him with full authority. From then on, this was Zhao Yunli's family business, and he could no longer interfere in Zhaoshi's affairs, but would only be a shareholder who received dividends.
Ms. Li's words stung Zhao Yunli and Ms. Jian. Compared with Zhaoshi, those industries were nothing.
Mrs. Lian watched the verbal battle between the sisters-in-law of the eldest wife with great interest.
The filial and affectionate scene just now was exposed by the two of them.
Zhao Xinzhi stepped in to end the conversation, "We're all family. If Yunbin and Yunli need my advice, I'll definitely help. Don't say those things during a reunion dinner."
Zhao Jinian was the first to leave the table. He felt annoyed when he saw this fake scene.
When Zhao Jinian left, he suddenly stood up and left without saying a word. The elders were still there, and he left under everyone's gaze.
Zhao Yunli's dissatisfaction was revealed on his face. He thought this behavior was very uncultured. He quickly suppressed his dissatisfaction and did not vent it. He decided to wait until he returned to the West Tower to talk about it.
Only Zhao Xinzhi and Zhao Shunian were present and ignored Zhao Jinian's departure. Zhao Xinzhi had completely given up on him. Only those who had expectations of him would feel disappointed and dissatisfied. How could there be disappointment if there were no expectations?
Yu Yin looked away and noticed Zhao Shunian beside her concentrating on cutting and eating abalone. She leaned closer and whispered to him, "Is it really that delicious?"
"Not bad, the best so far."
Yu Yin also tasted the delicious abalone. She instantly forgot about Zhao Jinian's departure. She didn't care about some irrelevant people. She was just watching the show.
………
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