At that very moment.
Aunt Yan came out of the kitchen.
Upon seeing Lin Yang, she cheerfully exclaimed, "Yangzi, you're here!"
However, after seeing what Lin Yang had brought, she said with a hint of reproach, "Yangzi, you just said you were coming, why did you bring anything?"
"Uncle Yan, let's talk about it later." Lin Yang patted Yan Zhaoqing on the shoulder first, then smiled and handed the large turtle in front of Aunt Yan, saying, "Aunt, I didn't bring much, but this turtle took a little effort to prepare. I thought it would help you nourish yourself."
"Wow, Yangzi, this giant turtle must be expensive!" Aunt Yan exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the enormous turtle.
"Thank goodness, I got it from a friend by chance."
As Lin Yang spoke, he took out Xie Fuchun's duck egg powder from his pocket and said, "By the way, Auntie, when I went to the department store a while ago, I saw a lot of people buying this, so I brought you a box too."
"Isn't this Xie Fuchun's duck egg powder?" Aunt Yan said with a hint of surprise.
She quickly waved her hand and said, "Yangzi, I'm already so old, I don't need this good thing. You should save it for your future wife."
Hearing this, Lin Yang thought of stuffing the duck egg powder into Aunt Yan's hand and said with a smile:
"Auntie, please take it. You and Uncle Yan have always taken care of me, and now that I have the ability, I definitely want to repay you!"
“You and Uncle Yan are my own uncle and aunt. As your junior, I'm buying you some things to show my respect. Are you going to refuse?”
"Alright! Yangzi, then Auntie won't stand on ceremony!" Aunt Yan stopped being coy and looked at the duck egg powder in her hand with a smile.
He then wiped his hands on the apron, sniffed it, and happily showed it off to Yan Zhaoqing:
"Old Yan, look at the things Yangzi gave me, they smell really good."
"This child is so thoughtful!"
Although the Yan family is not short of money, Aunt Yan also buys various skin care products on a regular basis.
But the filial piety shown by others is never the same as what you buy yourself.
"Lele, the child wants you to make turtle soup. Hurry up and bring it inside." Yan Zhaoqing said with a hint of helplessness, "You can brag to Xiaolong when he comes back later."
Aunt Yan happily brought the duck egg powder into the house, and after taking the large turtle, she looked at Lin Yang with a smile and said:
"Yangzi, don't stay outside. Come inside with your Uncle Yan and have some tea. Your aunt will make you some turtle soup."
Yan Zhaoqing added, "Let's go, Yangzi, let's go inside first, it's quite cold outside."
"Okay!" Lin Yang nodded in agreement, picked up two bottles of Moutai and a pound of pears, and followed Yan Zhaoqing into the house.
...........
Inside the living room.
After pouring Lin Yang a glass of water and placing it on the table, Yan Zhaoqing continued what he hadn't finished saying earlier.
It turns out that because of his reputation, he often gets carpentry jobs.
Some time ago, a Manchu remnant named Na Zixiu came to Yan Zhaoqing.
Ask Yan Zhaoqing to renovate his courtyard house.
This wasn't a big deal originally.
In Beijing, many impoverished old men and women of the former imperial family would occasionally find treasures passed down from their ancestors in their homes.
After selling these treasures, he can live a carefree life for a while longer.
When Yan Zhaoqing was taking on a job, he chatted with someone and discovered that this person named Na Zixiu had been selling a lot of antiques recently.
At first, Yan Zhaoqing thought that Na Zixiu was a particularly lucky old man from the old regime who had found a lot of his ancestors' treasures in his home.
However, when Yan Zhaoqing was preparing to lay wooden flooring in the master bedroom, he discovered that the self-repairman had actually asked him to use gold bricks for the flooring.
Yan Zhaoqing then realized something was wrong.
Lin Yang was stunned when he heard that the self-taught man had paved the ground with gold bricks.
He quickly said, "Wait, Uncle Yan, you're not mistaken, are you? Who is this self-taught guy? How could he possibly ask you to use gold bricks for the master bedroom floor???"
This is absolutely outrageous!
Seeing Lin Yang so agitated, Yan Zhaoqing was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Lin Yang might have misunderstood.
He couldn't help but laugh and explain:
"Yangzi, this gold is not that gold! The gold bricks I'm talking about aren't made of gold!"
"It's actually a type of square brick, scientifically known as Imperial Kiln Gold Brick!"
"These are paving bricks used exclusively for important buildings such as palaces during the Ming and Qing dynasties!"
"We call it a gold brick simply because it is fine and dense, and when you tap it, it makes a clear, metallic sound."
At this point, Yan Zhaoqing took a sip of tea and continued his explanation:
"Of course, there is another theory that these gold bricks were made in Suzhou and then sent to the capital for use, so they were also called Beijing bricks, which eventually became gold bricks due to their similar pronunciation."
After hearing Yan Zhaoqing's explanation, Lin Yang suddenly understood.
However, he then asked with a doubt, "Uncle Yan, why do you feel that this brick is not right? It's not made of pure gold, it's just a paving brick."
"Because the imperial kilns used to fire the gold bricks ceased operation as early as the thirty-fourth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign!" Yan Zhaoqing said with absolute certainty.
The 34th year of the Guangxu reign was 1908, so they stopped firing at that time.
Lin Yang touched the warm teacup, frowned, and said, "So, Uncle Yan, you suspect that the gold bricks you built yourself came from an illegitimate source?"
Yan Zhaoqing nodded with a look of respect, like an uncle.
"That's right!"
"I thought so!"
"Actually, I also contacted someone a few days ago to help me take a look at the situation of this gold brook."
"My friend's ancestors worked in the Imperial Workshop of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and his father was once in charge of the construction of the palace!"
"He saw many gold bricks with his own eyes when he was a child, following his father."
"So I wanted him to help me take a look and see where these gold bars came from."
"Unfortunately, he's been busy with something lately and hasn't had any free time."
Lin Yang pondered for a moment, then slowly began to speak:
"If what you said, Uncle Yan, is true, then it really is a pity that he has to study on his own!"
"After thinking about it, I realized that the gold bars he had must have come from only three places."
"One possibility is that the kilns in Suzhou have reopened, but that's basically impossible, as the local area simply doesn't have the financial resources to support it."
"The second one is that when the gold bricks were fired back then, someone hid them and kept them until now, selling them privately to Zixiu."
"The third one!"
At this point, Lin Yang frowned and said, "Then it is very likely that Zixiu pried open the gold bricks that were laid out somewhere."
“It shouldn’t have been pried open!” Yan Zhaoqing shook his head slightly and said, “Gold bricks will wear down a little after being used for a long time, but all the gold bricks I laid were new.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang frowned and muttered, "Then where did his gold bricks come from?"
Yan Zhaoqing hesitated slightly before saying, "Yangzi, I already have a guess in my mind, but I'm afraid that if I say it, things will get out of hand."
"Uncle Yan, you have a guess?" Lin Yang said with slight doubt, "Then what do you think? I'll give you my opinion."
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