Chapter 32 Who is Brother Song?
Song Yiping was skillful from a young age. He could make wooden guns, slingshots, bows, spinning tops, and more. He was self-taught and his creations were more exquisite than those made by adults.
The children in the military compound all loved to play with him and followed him around all day.
Several children, even older than him, called him "brother" and begged him to let them play with wooden guns or something.
However, after entering junior high school, he probably thought it was childish and stopped playing these games.
Today, however, he was climbing trees and making slingshots, which was quite unusual. If Aunt Liu were here, she would definitely say that he was possessed by an evil spirit.
Ignoring his parents' shock, Song Yiping picked a suitable branch, sawed it off, jumped down from the tree, and took the branch to the tool shed. He first peeled off the bark, then carefully sanded it with sandpaper, drilled holes... He worked on it until midnight before finally finishing the slingshot.
Although I haven't made this in many years, my skills haven't declined. After making it, I tried it myself, and it felt pretty good.
He used lightweight rubber bands, which looked delicate but were actually not very powerful, making them suitable for children to play with.
Finally, another coat of clear varnish was applied, and it was ready to use after drying.
He and Yan Minghe agreed that Yan Minghe would wait for him at the gate of the machine tool factory's residential compound at 6 p.m.
He drove there after get off work.
Yan Minghe was already waiting at the gate. When he saw a jeep approaching, he ran over from a distance, shouting, "Uncle!"
Song Yiping pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out, and handed the finished slingshot to Yan Minghe.
Yan Minghe was stunned when he saw such an exquisite slingshot for the first time. He wiped his hands on his clothes several times before finally taking the slingshot.
Song Yiping picked up a small pebble. "How does it feel?"
Yan Minghe put the pebble into his leather bag, then squinted his left eye, tightened the rubber band, and with a "whoosh," the pebble shot far away.
Yan Minghe was overjoyed, "Thank you, Uncle!"
Song Yiping coughed and said, "Call me brother."
Yan Minghe immediately betrayed his principles, saying, "Thank you, brother."
His efforts throughout the night were worthwhile. Song Yiping was satisfied and laid down a few rules with Yan Minghe: "No glass marbles, no aiming at people or animals, no aiming at glass windows, and no playing in crowded places. If you can do all that, I'll make you a tank out of empty bullet casings next time."
Yan Minghe now idolizes Song Yiping to the point of worship. He agrees with whatever Song Yiping says and nods like a chicken pecking at rice.
Upon hearing that Song Yiping was going to make tanks with shell casings, he asked Song Yiping, "Is it the kind of tank you see in the movies?"
"Yes, that's exactly it."
Yan Minghe burst into laughter so wide his eyes were almost closed.
Seeing that no one was around, Song Yiping asked him in a low voice, "Has your sister gotten off work?"
“My sister went to some ravine in the mountains. She left this morning. She said she would stay there for several days.”
Song Yiping, "..."
He drove very fast on the road, hoping to get there before Yan Ruyi so that when she returned, they could bump into each other and exchange a few words.
Little did they know that Yan Ruyi had gone on a business trip.
The place Yan Ruyi and the others went to was called Liujiagou.
Liujiagou is 200 li away from the city. You have to take a bus to Changping Town first, then transfer to another bus in Changping Town, and then walk another 3 or 4 li after getting off the bus to get there.
It was already noon when they arrived at Liujiagou.
Because they had called ahead, the village chief of Liujiagou was already waiting for them at the village entrance.
The village chief was a man in his forties, of medium height, with dark skin. Seeing that Jiang Dongming was the oldest of the three, he stepped forward and shook Jiang Dongming's hand, saying, "Hello, comrade, I am Liu Quangui."
"Hello Comrade Liu, I am Jiang Dongming."
Then, Xia Pengfei and Yan Ruyi were introduced.
Liu Quangui shook hands with the two teachers one by one, saying, "You three teachers have had a long journey. Your accommodations have been arranged. Please go and rest and have something to eat."
All three of them were assigned to the village committee compound.
From the village entrance to the village committee compound, it almost runs through the entire village.
It was lunchtime, and many villagers were squatting at their doorways eating. When they saw Jiang Dongming and his two companions, a woman asked Liu Quangui, "Village Chief, are they the experts from the city?"
Liu Quangui: "Yes, they will be at the village committee today and tomorrow. If you have any old things at home, take them over for the experts to examine on the spot. If they are genuine, the experts will accept them on the spot and pay you on the spot."
The woman said, "Our family has been poor farmers for three generations, so we don't have anything of that value."
Another woman chimed in, "Liu Yongming's family has some. They used to be very wealthy. I heard that during the war, they even used silver dollars to build walls. They were quite well-off."
"You're kidding me. Liu Yongming's grandfather was a drug addict and gambler. He squandered all the family fortune his ancestors had accumulated. His family is dirt poor now. Liu Yongming can't even afford to get married. If he had any silver dollars, he would have torn the house down long ago."
Liu Quangui introduced Liu Yongming's family to Jiang Dongming and the others, saying, "His family used to be very wealthy. My grandfather used to work for them as a farmhand and visited their home. I heard from my grandfather that there was a wooden shelf in their hall with many large porcelain vases on it, some as tall as half a person. Later, Liu Yongming's grandfather became addicted to opium and gambling. He smoked and gambled so much that he squandered all the family's wealth. Right after liberation, they were even classified as poor peasants. If it weren't for Yongming's grandfather's addiction to opium and gambling, many of the old things would probably still be around today."
Aside from Liu Yongming's family, the others were all ordinary farming families, with no notable figures in their families for generations. A few had indeed made their way in the world of wandering, but that was all before the liberation. However, in Baling, a large tomb was unearthed before liberation. In the chaos of war, no one cared, and the villagers dug up everything inside. I reckon those villagers have some valuable items hidden away.”
Liu Quangui led them to the village committee compound.
When they arrived, Zhao Dongsheng kept saying that Liujiagou was a poor, remote mountain village.
In reality, Liujiagou is not poor at all, at least not as poor as Zhao Dongsheng said.
The village committee's houses are all brick and tile houses, and the courtyard walls are also made of red bricks.
The houses in the village are mostly brick and tile houses.
Liu Quangui said that their village grows black fungus on the back mountain, which is collective property. Once the black fungus is sold, everyone in the village can share the money.
Xia Pengfei whispered to Yan Ruyi, "From now on, you have to learn to listen carefully to what Teacher Zhao says. You can listen to his academic statements, but you have to carefully consider everything else he says. I believe at most half of what he says, and sometimes I can't believe a word of it."
Yan Ruyi said, "I heard that he was initially sent here, but he refused to come on his own."
He's the one who didn't come, so why is he being sarcastic and critical of the three of them?
Xia Pengfei pointed to his head, "There might be something wrong with him here."
Yan Ruyi had heard Xu Qingmei say that Zhao Dongsheng's wife was particularly fierce and often beat him. Once, when the two were arguing, his wife hit him with a stool, knocking him unconscious. He later had to go to the hospital and get five stitches.
Perhaps his wife hit him on the head and damaged it.
They have been staying at the Liujiagou Village Committee for the past two days. The rooms have been arranged, with Yan Ruyi staying in the middle room and Jiang Dongming and Xia Pengfei staying on either side of her.
We ate at Liu Quangui's house.
Liu Quangui even specially killed a chicken to entertain the experts who came from the city.
However, they are paid for their food and lodging; this is a rule set by the Cultural Relics Bureau.
So the subsidies for going to the countryside are quite high, 5 yuan a day, and any extra money you don't use is yours to keep.
Otherwise, why would Zhao Dongsheng be willing to go to the countryside?
After dinner, we returned to the village committee compound.
Liu Quangui turned on the loudspeaker and announced, "Attention, fellow villagers! Attention, fellow villagers! Experts from the city have arrived and are currently in the village committee compound. If anyone has any old items that you'd like the experts to assess their value, bring them to the village committee. If they are indeed valuable, the experts will accept them on the spot and pay you immediately. The experts will stay in our village for one day and will leave for Baling at this time tomorrow. We don't know when they will be back, so everyone should hurry."
Before long, quite a few people arrived.
Most people came just to watch the spectacle, while others brought their own "old trinkets"—porcelain bowls, teacups, medals, earthenware jars…
There are quite a few items, but none of them have any research or collection value.
In the late afternoon, Jiang Dongming took Xia Pengfei and Yan Ruyi out for a stroll in the village.
Liujiagou is not a large village, with about a hundred households.
I wandered around the village for a while, but found nothing.
Xia Pengfei was a little frustrated. "It seems we're going to leave Liujiagou empty-handed this time."
Zhao Dongsheng will probably be smug when he finds out.
Jiang Dongming was in front, and Xia Pengfei and Yan Ruyi were behind.
Yan Ruyi glanced casually at a family's courtyard and quickly called out to Jiang Dongming, "Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Dongming turned around. "What's wrong?"
Yan Ruyi pointed to the courtyard next door, "Take a look at that stone trough in the corner."
Jiang Dongming looked in the direction Yan Ruyi was pointing and saw the stone trough in the corner of the wall.
Xia Pengfei also saw it. He grew up in the countryside and his family had always raised pigs. He thought Yan Ruyi had never seen a pig trough before, so he explained to her, "That's a pig trough. It's for feeding pigs. Most families that raise pigs have one."
Yan Ruyi said, "I've seen pig troughs before, but I think this one is quite different from the others."
It's more than just different; this is an antique from the Qingli era of the Song Dynasty!
Although she didn't know what it was for.
Jiang Dongming also noticed that the shape of this pig trough was different from the others, so he said to the two of them, "Let's go in and take a look."
As soon as the three of them arrived at the gate of the house, a big yellow dog ran out and barked at them.
Afraid of frightening Yan Ruyi, Xia Pengfei shielded her behind him, then picked up a stick and chased the yellow dog away.
A woman in her thirties came out by lifting the curtain. When she saw the three of them, she chased the big yellow dog away.
Although she didn't know why the three people had come to her house, she still warmly welcomed them into the yard.
The three of them went straight to the stone trough.
This pig trough is approximately 60 cm long, 50 cm wide, and 30 cm high.
It is indeed shorter than a typical pig trough, and the walls are also thicker.
It's probably been left outside for years, exposed to wind and rain, and now it's covered in a layer of mud.
Upon closer inspection, it is indeed quite different from the common pig troughs.
Seeing the three people looking at a pig trough, the woman took the initiative to introduce it to them, "This pig trough has been here since I married into the family. It's a bit small for feeding pigs, and the trough is too deep. The pigs have to stretch their necks to reach the food in the trough, so it's not very convenient. My husband had someone carve out a new one, but this one is also useless, so it's been sitting here. I think it takes up too much space, and yesterday I even told my husband to find some people to help carry it out and throw it away."
At the end, he looked pleasantly surprised and asked, "Could this be an antique?"
Yan Ruyi took out a handkerchief and wiped the mud off the outside of the pig trough, then called to Jiang Dongming, "Teacher Jiang, there are words carved on this."
There were indeed characters carved on the outer wall of the pig trough. Due to its age, the characters were a bit blurry. After a while, the three of them recognized the character "江" (Jiang).
Jiang Dongming asked a woman to bring him a basin of water, and he personally cleaned the pig trough inside and out. The characters carved on the outer wall were revealed and could be barely recognized. The top one was carved with "Autumn Moon over the River", and the bottom left had four characters carved with "Su Shi of Meishan".
Even Xia Pengfei noticed something amiss and exclaimed in surprise, "This isn't a pig trough, it's an inkstone washer!"
Jiang Dongming nodded. "It is indeed shaped like an inkstone washer."
The inkstone was originally placed against the wall. Jiang Dongming called Xia Pengfei and Yan Ruyi, wanting to move the inkstone away from the wall to see if there were any inscriptions on the other side.
The inkstone was too heavy, and the three of them struggled to move it. The woman joined in, and the four of them managed to move the inkstone a little so that they could barely see the other side.
As Jiang Dongming expected, there was a postscript engraved on the back.
The characters are too small and too blurry to be easily deciphered with the naked eye.
Su Shi was a great literary figure and calligrapher during the Song Dynasty. If this is indeed the inkstone washer he used, it would be extremely precious.
Xia Pengfei praised Yan Ruyi, "Xiao Yan, you're amazing! How did you recognize her at a glance from so far away?"
Yan Ruyi said modestly, "I just thought it didn't look like a pig trough, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect it to be an ancient inkstone washer."
Xia Pengfei snorted twice, "We'll see what Teacher Zhao says when we get back."
A smile also appeared on Jiang Dongming's face.
He now feels that Yan Ruyi is a lucky star; as long as she is around, there will be major discoveries.
The last time, the discovery of an ancient porcelain kiln already shocked the archaeological community.
This time it's Su Shi's inkstone washer, another major archaeological discovery.
The woman never expected that this unremarkable, seemingly useless stone trough was actually an antique.
She didn't know who Su Shi was, but judging from the distance, he must have lived quite a long time.
She was a little confused. She told Jiang Dongming and the others, and then ran out to call her man.
Before long, her husband returned carrying a hoe, and Liu Quangui came with him.
Jiang Dongming told him the truth: this inkstone washer was a historical artifact with little collection value, but it had great research value.
As for how the inkstone washer came to be, since all the elders in the family had passed away, the man couldn't explain how it ended up in his house.
Anyway, ever since he can remember, this thing has been sitting in the corner.
Their origins are now impossible to trace, but they will definitely take the items with them.
The man and his wife went inside to discuss it. A short while later, the man came out of the house and said generously to Jiang Dongming, "My wife and I have discussed it. Since it is an antique, we will not sell it. We will donate it to the country free of charge."
The man and his wife refused to accept the money, but after discussing it with Xia Pengfei and Yan Ruyi, Jiang Dongming still gave them a reward of 30 yuan.
Liu Quangui found a few able-bodied young men to carry the inkstone to the village committee compound and temporarily placed it in the room where Jiang Dongming lived.
In the following days, they went to nearby places like Baling and Xishang Village and received some things, but none of them were as precious as this inkstone washer.
The inkstone washer was kept at the Liujiagou Village Committee, and I took it with me when I left.
The inkstone was too heavy, so Liu Quangui specially arranged for a tractor from the village to take them all the way to the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau.
The tractor chugged along until it reached the courtyard of the Cultural Relics Bureau.
The commotion alerted everyone in the office; Director Liu and Zhao Dongsheng both came downstairs.
Xia Pengfei didn't rush off the tractor. Sitting on it, he patted the inkstone washer and exclaimed, "This trip was so worthwhile! We found a great treasure. See this? It's an inkstone washer by Su Shi of the Song Dynasty."
When asked how he discovered it, Xia Pengfei recounted the whole story with great enthusiasm, and finally exclaimed, "It was really a close call. That family thought it was in the way and was even planning to throw it away these past few days. Luckily..."
Zhao Dongsheng felt a little uneasy. If this really was Su Shi's inkstone washer, then Jiang Dongming and the others would have made a great contribution this time.
If it weren't for Yan Ruyi, he would have deserved some credit too!
She was so angry that she stormed upstairs.
Director Liu called over several able-bodied young men to carry the inkstone washing machine down and all the way to the appraisal center.
Further authentication is needed to determine whether it is indeed an inkstone washer from the Song Dynasty.
Once everything is completely confirmed, it will be announced to the public and then handed over to the museum.
Jiang Dongming gave Xia Pengfei and Yan Ruyi half a day off.
Yan Ruyi's bicycle was still in the bike shed, so she went to the shed to get it.
The cultural relics bureau's carport is in the southeast corner, with a row of shrubs planted outside, the shrubs being about a person's height.
When Yan Ruyi went over, she heard people talking in the bicycle shed.
As they got closer, they heard that it was Shen Zhimin and Tang Yanna.
Did they know that few people come here during working hours, so they came here to meet up?
This date sounds like an argument.
Tang Yanna stretched out her hand, blocking Shen Zhimin from leaving. "I won't break up with you. I know you're going through a tough time right now. I'm not afraid. No matter what difficulties we face, I'll stand by you. No one can separate us!"
Shen Zhimin was extremely agitated.
During this period, his family suffered one misfortune after another, with one bad thing after another.
First, the fertilizer plant said they weren't employees of the fertilizer plant, but had been living in the fertilizer plant's staff quarters. Other employees complained, so they told them to move out and find somewhere else to live.
Later, his mother was taken to the police station and detained for spreading rumors and slandering overseas Chinese who had returned to China.
Gu Shusheng granted him leave and told him to come back and handle family matters.
Many people have heard about his mother spreading rumors; it's an undeniable fact. What else can he do?
Sometimes he himself felt that his mother was a bit too talkative, saying whatever came to mind without considering the consequences. It would be good to lock her up for a few days to teach her a lesson, otherwise she might cause even more trouble in the future.
When he had some free time, he reflected on his experiences and realized that ever since he started dating Tang Yanna, things had never gone smoothly for him, and he had been frustrated at every turn.
To use a superstitious phrase, he felt that Tang Yanna was bad luck for him!
Moreover, Tang Zhengjun was also dismissed from his post and would not be able to get promoted in the future, so he could not help him with anything.
Just then, Tang Yanna's parents disapproved of their relationship, so he took the opportunity to break up with Tang Yanna.
Unexpectedly, Tang Yanna, that brainless girl, disagreed. When he came over to push his bicycle, she secretly followed him.
Shen Zhimin suppressed his frustration and said to Tang Yanna, "I don't want to break up with you either, but my family is in such a state now. Even if you are willing to date me, your family will not agree."
"I said that no matter what happens, I will stand with you."
"How can you stand up for me? Can you transfer me back to the testing center, or can you talk to the leaders at the fertilizer plant and let us continue living in the fertilizer plant's staff quarters?"
He didn't even dare to say what his mother did; it was too embarrassing.
Tang Yanna hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll go ask my uncle for help."
"Let's wait until your uncle agrees to help."
Shen Zhimin shook off Tang Yanna and left. Just as he rounded the bushes, he saw Yan Ruyi.
Yan Ruyi pretended not to see the two of them and went straight to push her bicycle.
When Tang Yanna saw Yan Ruyi, she assumed that Yan Ruyi and Shen Zhimin had arranged to meet there. Her eyes reddened even more. "Yan Ruyi, you broke your promise! You clearly said you wished me and Zhimin a long and happy marriage, so why are you still clinging to Zhimin and trying to get him to break up with me..."
Yan Ruyi quickly interrupted her, saying sincerely, "No, no, no, I still wish you a long and happy marriage. I just came to push my bicycle and didn't mean to disturb you. I'll be leaving right away."
Looking at Yan Ruyi, Shen Zhimin felt that she was more likely to bring good fortune to her husband.
Putting everything else aside, when they were dating, everything went smoothly for him.
He was determined to win Yan Ruyi back.
But before we can get him back, we need to get his mother out of there first.
Yan Ruyi is one of the victims. As long as she goes to the police station and tells the police that she will no longer pursue the matter, her mother will be released immediately.
Shen Zhimin called out affectionately, "Ruyi."
Tang Yanna's eyes were already brimming with tears, and his shout made her even more heartbroken. She pointed at Shen Zhimin, then at Yan Ruyi, and ran away crying.
Yan Ruyi got goosebumps all over and quickly pushed her bicycle away.
Fearing Yan Ruyi would punch him again, Shen Zhimin didn't dare to stop her directly. He followed behind Yan Ruyi, behaving subserviently, "Ruyi, my mother is easily swayed by people. She didn't mean to spread rumors about you. She was just instigated by others. She already knows she was wrong. Your mother beat her up and stood up for you. Could you go to the police station and plead for her release? She's not in good health, and I'm afraid something might happen to her at the police station..."
Yan Ruyi asked in surprise, "My mom hit your mom?"
Shen Zhimin quickly played the victim, “You don’t know? Your mother went to the fertilizer factory’s residential compound and beat my mother up without asking any questions. She was bruised and swollen. After beating her, she went to the neighborhood office to complain that my mother was spreading rumors and slander. Otherwise, my mother wouldn’t have been detained by the police station.”
Yan Ruyi was even more surprised, "Your mother was detained at the police station?"
Shen Zhimin, "They've been locked up for two days already..."
Yan Ruyi exclaimed, "My mom is awesome!"
While Shen Zhimin was still in a daze, he got on his bike and rode away.
When she got home, she hugged her mom and cuddled with her, saying, "Mom, I missed you."
Ye Hongzhen said, "If you really miss me, then quickly show your second sister-in-law the article she wrote."
"My second sister-in-law has already finished writing it?"
“Oh my god, she’s obsessed with writing. Whenever she’s home, she stares at me with those big eyes, saying she’s looking for something good in me. Those big eyes are like two searchlights, making me break out in a cold sweat. She doesn’t just look at me, she also looks at your dad, your second brother, Sihe, and even Xiaohua. Sihe and Xiaohua are avoiding your second sister-in-law now. You should give her a good look, and after you’re done, hand it in to her so she can get an award.”
Yan Ruyi felt that her second sister-in-law had the potential to become a great writer; she was too hardworking.
She bought some local produce in Liujiagou, including wood ear mushrooms, mushrooms, and persimmon cakes...
They even picked out a few pretty little stones for Yan Minghe.
When Ye Hongzhen saw the stone, she remembered to ask Yan Ruyi, "These past few days, Sihe has been carrying a slingshot every day, even sleeping with it. It's obvious that he didn't make the slingshot himself. He said that Brother Song made it for him, but you can't get any more information from him. Do you know who Brother Song is?"
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