Chapter 34, Brother-in-law!
Organizing science lectures, if done well, can enhance the reputation of the cultural relics bureau leaders, and they will be the ones who receive praise.
If you mess things up, it's because you lack personal ability, can't take responsibility, and end up taking the blame for your superiors.
Zhao Dongsheng would never do something so foolish.
He can give pointers with words, but he won't personally organize such an event.
Zhao Dongsheng said, "I'm just worried that Comrade Yan and Comrade Xia are both young and inexperienced, and I'm afraid they might make another mistake. Not only would the public laugh at us, but we also wouldn't be able to explain it to the leaders."
Qian Yingjing said, "You don't take the lead when we ask you to, and you say young people have no experience when we ask them to. The country is advocating for younger cadres, and you're going against the national policy."
There's a saying that everything has its counter, and the best way to deal with Zhao Dongsheng is to use money. With just one sentence, he silenced Zhao Dongsheng.
Zhao Dongsheng said, "Alright, alright, since you all support me, I won't say anything more. There's just one thing: if something goes wrong, don't ask anyone to clean up the mess."
Qian Yingjing said, "That's alarmist. Xiao Yan, you and Xia just go for it. If you need my help, just let me know."
Yan Ruyi said, "Thank you, Teacher Qian."
That was it; he had accepted the task.
Once I actually agreed, I wasn't as panicked as I was at the beginning.
With proper planning, even a mess can be turned into a treasure.
Moreover, this isn't even a complete mess.
Whenever she had free time, Yan Ruyi would get together with Xia Pengfei to discuss how to take the crucial first step.
Yan Ruyi said, "First, we need to decide on a venue, where to hold the lecture. Once the venue is decided, things will be much easier."
Once the venue was decided, the public was mobilized, and the cultural relics bureau sent someone to do popular science education, the task was considered completed.
Xia Pengfei said, "Didn't Teacher Jiang just say that we should start from Xinli Subdistrict? Then let's set the venue at the Xinli Subdistrict Office."
Yan Ruyi's first thought was also the Xinli Subdistrict Office.
The courtyard of Xinli Subdistrict Office is large enough to accommodate 1,200 people without any problem.
There's a main road outside the yard, and even if there's not enough room to stand inside, there's still room to stand outside.
Moreover, because of Grandma Wang's incident, she is now quite familiar with the leaders of Xinli Subdistrict, and having acquaintances makes things easier.
If they went to other streets, the leaders of the street offices wouldn't recognize her and Xia Pengfei. Seeing that they were young, they would look down on them and might not even be willing to provide a venue, let alone cooperate in doing other work.
The two decided that the first lecture would be held in the compound of Xinli Subdistrict Office.
Yan Ruyi told Jiang Dongming and then went to Xinli Subdistrict Office with Xia Pengfei.
Director Li was deeply impressed by Yan Ruyi. After Yan Ruyi explained her purpose to him, Director Li readily agreed, saying, "Our subdistrict office will definitely cooperate fully. You can use the venue as you like. We are also very experienced in mobilizing the masses. Leave it all to our subdistrict office."
Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei were both surprised that it was done so smoothly.
They thought it would take a lot of persuasion to secure the venue, and on the way there they were discussing whether to treat Director Li to a meal.
After all, the neighborhood committee doesn't benefit much from organizing such events; in fact, it increases their workload.
Director Li readily agreed, which was a good start.
After thanking Director Li, the two left the street office. Xia Pengfei was very confident. "A good start is half the battle. Now that we have the venue, we don't need to worry about mobilizing the masses. The street office has taken care of that. As for the speakers, Teacher Qian, Teacher Fu, and Director Xu have all said they're available whenever needed, unless they have other work assignments. Director Xu from the antique shop has also been informed that he can come anytime if needed. As for Teacher Zhao, he can come or not if he wants. It's not like we can't get things done without him."
Yan Ruyi was also full of confidence.
She announced this when she got home from get off work that day, asking Ye Hongzhen and the others to support her work and to make sure she attended the science lecture.
Ye Hongzhen fully supports her daughter's work. "Officer Li from the neighborhood office came to our house today to inform us that Mom will definitely go. Not only Mom, but your Aunt Cui and Aunt Li will also go. Mom has already told them all."
He then asked Yan Ruyi, "Daughter, will you be going to speak on stage then?"
Yan Ruyi said, "This time, Teacher Jiang will be the main person in charge, and Xia Pengfei and I will assist Teacher Jiang."
Li Yan's eyes darted around, and she tentatively asked Yan Ruyi, "Ruyi, since the experts from your cultural relics bureau are here, why don't you take this opportunity to show them that little bowl that Grandma gave you? What if it's a valuable antique? I mean, what if? Our family would be rich!"
Yan Ruyi: "That little bowl? I threw it away a long time ago."
Li Yan, "...Throw it away?"
Ye Hongzhen said, "You didn't want Ruyi when she was offered to you, but now you're eyeing it. Ruyi is in this business; does she not know whether something is an antique or not?"
These words pierced Li Yan's heart. She regretted it; why hadn't she accepted them back then?
The first lecture was scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
When Yan Ruyi and her group arrived at the street office, Director Li was directing people to move tables and chairs into the courtyard.
A few people were scattered around in the courtyard, including Ye Hongzhen, Zhao Cuifang, and Aunt Li, who were close to Ye Hongzhen.
Director Li came over and shook hands with Jiang Dongming. "The venue will be set up soon, and the audience has been notified and is arriving one after another. You can go to the office to have some water and rest."
As a result, even after Jiang Dongming started speaking, there were very few people who came. Not to mention the main street outside, even the courtyard was sparsely populated.
Most of the people who came were close friends of Ye Hongzhen; she had brought them along to support her daughter.
Even these few people only half understood what was being said, and later they simply started chatting idly below, and some even left after listening for a while.
Only Ye Hongzhen, to support her daughter, forced herself to listen even though she couldn't understand.
To prevent himself from falling asleep, he even broke off two small sticks and used them to prop open his upper and lower eyelids.
Yan Ruyi could see everything clearly from above, and she was afraid that if her mother dozed off, the stick would poke her mother's eyes again.
After the lecture, Director Li was quite embarrassed. "We did go door-to-door to persuade them, and everything was agreed upon at the time. They said they would definitely come, but I didn't expect them to change their minds at the last minute."
Seeing that things were not going well, Director Li sent people to go door-to-door to call for help halfway through the process. However, everyone had their own explanation, with some saying that their granddaughter had defecated and they couldn't leave.
Some people say that toothache is better when lying down, but worse when standing.
Others said they would do their laundry at home.
...
I'm busy anyway.
Yan Ruyi lay sprawled on the bed. "It's clearly a good thing, and we're not even charging any money, so why isn't anyone going to participate?"
Ye Hongzhen hit the nail on the head: "In the past, if you didn't attend a meeting notified by the street office, you were considered to have a problem with your stance. Who would dare not go? But it's different now. You won't be labeled if you don't go. There's no benefit in it, so no one wants to go. And if you go, you won't understand anything. You might as well stay home and do more work."
Besides, your teacher, Mr. Jiang, really isn't good at teaching. He's so rigid and methodical, like he's reading aloud. It's so sleep-inducing; if my eyelids weren't holding me up, I would have fallen asleep long ago.
Actually, Yan Ruyi almost fell asleep while sitting on it.
Professor Jiang is full of knowledge, but she is definitely not cut out to be a lecturer. Just like her professor who taught natural history in college, she was full of knowledge but couldn't express it. The teacher was anxious, and the students listening to the lectures were also bored.
The first science lecture ended in failure.
Zhao Dongsheng offered his hindsight advice with a hint of schadenfreude: "I told you this method wouldn't work, but you wouldn't listen. The masses don't have that kind of awareness. Now, about 80% of the masses think that our cultural relics bureau is just like that, lacking in competence. Next time we organize this kind of activity, even fewer people will listen."
Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei ignored his sarcasm and huddled together to summarize their experiences and lessons learned.
The two of them summarized three lessons.
First, the pre-event publicity was insufficient, resulting in a lack of buzz.
Secondly, Teacher Jiang's lectures were not engaging and failed to capture the listeners' interest.
Third, and the biggest problem, is what Ye Hongzhen said: there are no benefits and it's a waste of time, so no one is willing to go.
Xia Pengfei scratched his head. "If we gave each person two eggs, they would definitely be willing to go. But our Cultural Relics Bureau is just a low-level department, and we don't have the spare money to buy eggs."
"If you don't have money to buy eggs, you can use other substitutes."
Xia Pengfei, "What should we use instead?"
Yan Ruyi pondered for a moment, then wrote four large characters on the paper: Free Treasure Appraisal.
Xia Pengfei understood immediately.
In addition to its routine work of appraising cultural relics, the appraisal center also provides appraisal services to individuals based on public needs. However, the appraisal is not free; a certain appraisal fee is charged, and the more valuable the antique, the more expensive the appraisal fee.
Of course, if you sell the antique directly to an antique shop, there will be no appraisal fee.
But there are always people who don't want to sell, or don't want to sell to antique shops.
Although the official regulations stipulate that antiques can only be sold to antique shops, there has always been a private antique trade, because private transactions offer higher prices, and some people are willing to take the risk.
Therefore, some people have been deceived. Even He Zaixian and Li Guangyan, who have been in this industry for many years, have not been immune to being cheated.
Not only buyers get cheated, but sellers also suffer losses. For example, the Tang white porcelain plate that He Zaixian bought last time, if the seller knew the true value of the plate, he would definitely not have only paid 10 yuan.
Using free treasure appraisal as a gimmick would definitely attract people.
Even if they don't have any antiques to be appraised at home, they'll still come over to join in the fun.
Moreover, this allows for the on-site acquisition of cultural relics and antiques.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Xia Pengfei clapped his hands, "Xiao Yan, that's a great idea!"
Qian Yingjing glanced at Zhao Dongsheng and said, "I told you, the new brain works better and has more ideas."
Zhao Dongsheng said, "Let's wait until it's actually done before saying that."
Adhering to the principle of getting up wherever you fall, Jiang Dongming said, "Then let's do as Xiao Yan says, and we'll still be in Xinli Street next week."
He also realized that he wasn't cut out to be a teacher, and said to Qian Yingjing, "Old Qian, are you free next week?"
Qian Yingjing replied, "Yes, I'm free anytime. If you're not free, I'll go next week."
That's how the second lecture was decided.
The last lecture ended in failure, and Director Li felt that their street office also bore some responsibility, so he said that this time they must do their best to mobilize the masses to participate.
Yan Ruyi felt it was necessary to stir up some more buzz and create momentum.
After returning home, he told Ye Hongzhen about his plan.
Ye Hongzhen readily agreed, "Okay, Mom will take care of it."
She may not have many other skills, but she certainly has the ability to spread rumors.
Although Jiang Dongming wasn't the main speaker at the second science lecture, he still went along because he was worried.
Not only Jiang Dongming, but also Director Liu, Xu Licheng, and Zhou Ling from the Finance Department went along.
Zhou Ling brought money with her. If anyone wanted to sell antiques, she would issue a receipt and settle the payment on the spot.
The group was stunned by the scene as soon as they arrived at the Xinli Subdistrict Office.
The courtyard was full of people, huddled together in groups of three or five, chatting animatedly.
"I heard that last time the cultural relics bureau went to the countryside to collect antiques, there was a family with an incense burner that the bureau recognized. They said it was from some era, but I don't remember the exact era. Anyway, they took it for 5,000 yuan. The family didn't even know it was an antique. They thought it was taking up space and almost threw it away. They really made a fortune."
A collective gasp filled the air.
One woman said, “My husband only earns 86 yuan a month. It would take him five years to earn 5,000 yuan.”
Ye Hongzhen chimed in, "Take a look around the house. If you find any old items, bring them over and have the cultural relics bureau take a look. If they're really antiques, you'll be rich! Otherwise, if you accidentally throw them away, you'll regret it to death later."
Zhao Cuifang said, "I only heard about it. A family secretly sold a set of bronze artifacts to an antique dealer. Later, when they were arrested, they found out that the set they sold was not bronze, but bronze. The state does not allow private trading, and if caught, you will go to jail. Who would have thought that such a small difference in wording?"
Aunt Li said, "I had to come and listen to the experts talk. After all, they're professionals in this field and know a lot. Otherwise, if the police arrest you one day, you wouldn't even know why."
...
When Ye Hongzhen saw her daughter arrive, she winked at her.
Director Liu asked Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei in a low voice, "Did you two arrange all of this?"
Xia Pengfei refused to take credit, saying, "It wasn't me; it was all Xiao Yan's idea."
Yan Ruyi said with a grin, "I just had my mom fan me a little to create a nice atmosphere."
She allowed her mother to exaggerate a little, but she didn't expect her mother to go this far.
Her mother really dared to sell an incense burner for 5,000 yuan.
However, the atmosphere was definitely there; otherwise, so many people wouldn't have come.
Although most of the people came to watch the excitement, at least it wasn't so quiet anymore.
After Director Liu and the others sat down, Director Li from the subdistrict office picked up the microphone. "Everyone, please be quiet. I'll say a few words first. You all know what the meeting is about today, so I won't go into detail. I just want to say that everyone here today is an expert from the Cultural Relics Bureau. They've sacrificed their rest time to come and educate you about cultural relics. Don't think this knowledge has nothing to do with you; it's actually very relevant. I heard what you just said—that guy who trafficked in bronze artifacts is still in jail..."
A woman chimed in, "Director Li, say a few words already. You've said so many already. Hurry up and let the expert speak. We're all waiting."
A burst of laughter erupted below.
Director Li said, "I know what you're all waiting for, but we have to listen to the experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau first before we can proceed with the appraisal."
"I know, I know, hurry up and do it."
"Then I won't say any more. Everyone should be quiet while listening. If you have any questions, you can ask them after Teacher Qian finishes speaking."
After Director Li finished speaking, he said to Qian Yingjing, "Teacher Qian, shall we begin?"
Qian Yingjing nodded and took the microphone.
Unlike Jiang Dongming, Qian Yingjing was not serious and rigid. In addition, he had worked in an archaeological team before and had a lot of interesting stories to tell. He combined them with his knowledge of cultural relics and made his stories vivid and interesting.
Many of the people who came today were just there to watch the excitement, and they are even more looking forward to the treasure appraisal event later.
At this moment, everyone was captivated by Qian Yingjing, and no one dared to chat idly. Following Qian Yingjing's explanation, they would burst into laughter one moment and express regret the next.
Director Liu turned his head and whispered to Jiang Dongming, "I didn't expect Lao Qian to have this ability."
Jiang Dongming felt that he was indeed inferior to Qian Yingjing in this respect.
Qian Yingjing spoke for about an hour.
After he finished speaking, the audience was still eager for more and called out to him, "Teacher Qian, please speak a little longer!"
Qian Yingjing said, "Today is Sunday, so I won't take up any more of your rest. We'll continue next time we have the chance."
With Qian Yingjing's session over, the main event of the day was about to begin: a live treasure appraisal.
The courtyard suddenly became lively.
Quite a few people actually brought what they thought were antiques.
The variety is extensive, including earthenware jars, bronzeware, porcelain bowls, silver coins, copper coins, tea sets...
Another person carried over a pig trough.
This person has a relative from Liujiagou. A couple of days ago, his relative came to the city and stopped at his house.
He heard from his relatives that there was a family in Liujiagou who had a stone trough in their house. They always thought it was a pig trough and even thought it was not very useful and wanted to throw it away.
As a result, it was discovered by experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau, who said it was an ancient inkstone washer, extremely valuable, and it was transported back to the Cultural Relics Bureau like a treasure.
The family originally didn't want the money and wanted to donate it to the country, but the cultural relics bureau still gave them a reward of 30 yuan. Later, a reporter interviewed them, and the couple was featured in the newspaper. They were very honored.
He thought about how he also had a pig trough at home, which had been there for many years, ever since he could remember. After listening to his relative's words, he wondered if this pig trough could also be an inkstone washer.
Today, when the cultural relics bureau was appraising artifacts on-site, he called a few of his coworkers to carry this pig trough over.
Some people in the yard who recognized him laughed at him, "Fang Zhenlin, why did you bring the pig trough over here?"
Fang Zhenlin said, "What do you know? This thing might be an ancient inkstone washer. You know what an inkstone washer is? It's what ancient people used to wash inkstones. If it really is an inkstone washer, I'll hand it over to the state on the spot."
Qian Yingjing and Xu Licheng looked at it and told him that it was just an ordinary pig trough.
Fang Zhenlin was greatly disappointed, and the people who had just spoken to him started to laugh at him.
Yan Ruyi praised him at the right time, "Although this is not an inkstone washer, Comrade Fang's awareness is still worth learning from. It is because of people like Comrade Fang that countless precious cultural relics and antiques have returned to the state and flowed into the national warehouse. Let us applaud Comrade Fang Zhenlin."
Yan Ruyi took the lead, and Ye Hongzhen, Zhao Cuifang, Aunt Li and the others followed suit. Soon, enthusiastic applause rang out in the courtyard.
Fang Zhenlin was initially a little disappointed and embarrassed by the laughter, but Yan Ruyi's praise immediately dispelled that disappointment and embarrassment. The group happily carried the pig trough away.
After a busy afternoon, we did manage to collect quite a few valuable antiques.
When she got home, Yan Ruyi collapsed onto the bed.
She was very busy today.
The machine tool family compound is under the jurisdiction of Xinli Subdistrict. Many of the people who went there today knew her, and some even asked her, "Ruyi, will you be looking after someone today too?"
Yan Ruyi said, "Show them to everyone who came today, except for Sister Zhou."
At first, people thought she was too young and few people sought her out for consultations. But later, they discovered that she was quick and accurate, so more and more people started seeking her out.
Besides appraising antiques, she and Xia Pengfei were also responsible for maintaining order at the scene. They were so busy all afternoon that they didn't even have time to drink water, and their voices became hoarse from talking.
I was full of energy at the neighborhood office, but when I got home, that energy just dissipated, and I just lay in bed and didn't want to move.
Yan Minghe ran over and poured Yan Ruyi a glass of water, then fawned over her and brought it to her, saying, "Sister, have some water."
Uncertain of why she was being so attentive, Yan Ruyi asked warily, "What do you want me to do for you this time?"
Yan Minghe chuckled, "Sis, can you ask Brother Song for me..."
Yan Ruyi: "Who?"
Yan Minghe: "Brother Song."
Although Yan Ruyi already had the answer in her heart, she still clung to a last glimmer of hope and asked Yan Minghe, "Who is Brother Song?"
"It's Brother Song who brought me back when I got lost last time."
Yan Ruyi, “!”
Who was it last time? They spoke righteously and sternly, and even specifically told me that I couldn't call the People's Liberation Army soldiers "brother," but rather "uncle."
It's only been a few days, and he's already calling me "Brother Song" all the time.
She's been so busy these past few days that she hasn't had a chance to settle accounts with him, but he came over first.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Yan Minghe decided to bypass the issue of address and instead said to his sister in a flattering manner, "Sister, could you ask Brother Song if the shell tank he made for me is finished yet?"
Yan Ruyi, "What are you making?"
Yan Minghe: "A tank made from empty bullet casings. Brother Song said last time that if I listened to him and didn't use a slingshot to shoot people or use glass marbles, he would make me a tank out of empty bullet casings. I did all of that. When will he be able to finish making the tank?"
After saying that, he took out his precious slingshot from his pocket and showed it off to Yan Ruyi. "This is the slingshot that Brother Song made for me. Ercheng and the others are so envious. They keep pestering me to have it. They even wanted to trade 10 comic books for it. They're dreaming. I wouldn't trade it for a hundred books."
Yan Ruyi felt that she must be hallucinating.
This is Brother Song again, a slingshot again, and a tank made from empty bullet casings...
She only stayed in Liujiagou for four days before her brother was bribed by someone surnamed Song.
Yan Minghe said, "Sister, Brother Song said he works right next to your workplace. When you have some free time, remember to ask him for me."
He'd already made grand promises to Ercheng and his group; if he still couldn't produce the shell-carrying tank, they'd laugh at him for bragging.
Yan Ruyi: "Yan Minghe, how could you ask for other people's things like that!"
Yan Minghe retorted, "Brother Song isn't just anyone."
Yan Ruyi: "Who is he? Who do you think he is?!"
A sudden inspiration struck Yan Minghe: Brother Song would take him home, give him apples, make him a slingshot, and even say he would give him a tank made from empty bullet casings...
Ercheng's brother-in-law is like that; he gives Ercheng gifts and buys him whatever he wants.
His eyes gleamed with intelligence as he bravely uttered two words, "Brother-in-law!"
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