Chapter 44 (Combined)
After much anticipation, two large, plump ducks arrived, and the stall owner immediately perked up. He said to Luo Huihui, "Comrade, you have a discerning eye! This powder box is called a Tang Dynasty twisted clay powder box. It's made by mixing two different colors of porcelain clay together, twisting them, and then throwing them on a potter's wheel. Because of its high craftsmanship, very few of these have survived to this day. You won't find another one like it on the entire antique street. I can tell you're a connoisseur and genuinely like it. If you like it, it's fate. It's a fixed price of 200 yuan for you."
Luo Huihui was shocked, "This powder box costs 200 yuan!"
"Boss, this is the one used by Yang Guifei. There's only one like it in the whole world. 200 is already a very cheap price for you."
After saying that, he lowered his voice and said, "I don't think you two are ordinary people. You should know foreigners or overseas Chinese. You can take it for 200 yuan. If you don't want to keep it, you can sell it to them. You can get at least 2,000 yuan. If you can take it to Hong Kong, you can get at least another zero. You can make at least 1,800 yuan by reselling it for 200 yuan. It's a sure thing. I'm just an ordinary person. I don't know any people like that. Otherwise, I wouldn't be selling it to you so cheaply. I set up a stall here every day. If you can't sell it for 2,000 yuan, come find me. I'll make up the difference."
Luo Huihui was speechless after hearing his flowery words.
She's not really stupid; she doesn't just blindly obey what the boss says.
The shop owner said that this powder box was used by Yang Guifei, but she didn't believe it.
Anyway, Yang Guifei won't come back to life to confront him, so whatever the boss says goes.
The boss might as well just say it was used by the Queen Mother of the West, which would make it even harder to verify.
However, she really liked the powder box, so she went to see Yan Ruyi, who was an expert, and asked for her opinion.
Yan Ruyi glanced at it, "10 yuan."
He casually picked up a dark, unsightly thing that was used to weigh down the stall cloth, saying, "We'll add this as an extra, otherwise we don't want it."
Luo Huihui took it and weighed it in her hand. "It's so heavy, what is this?"
Yan Ruyi said, "I don't know. It looks rather heavy. Sihe is practicing calligraphy, so I can take it back and use it as a paperweight for him."
Luo Huihui wanted to ask when Sihe started practicing calligraphy.
However, she knew that Yan Ruyi wouldn't say this for no reason, so she wisely didn't respond. Instead, she imitated Yan Ruyi, pretending not to care, and casually put the stone back.
The shopkeeper immediately exploded, "Comrade, this powder box of mine is a genuine antique passed down from the Tang Dynasty, used by Yang Guifei. It's a genuine antique. You only gave me 10 yuan back for 200 yuan, and you want to add an extra fee? Are you kidding me? You're obviously an amateur. Go away, if you're not going to buy it, don't waste other people's time."
Yan Ruyi didn't waste any more words with him, and pulled Luo Huihui away.
Luo Huihui was a little reluctant to part with the powder box, and Yan Ruyi whispered to her, "Even if you don't want to, don't look back. The boss will be calling us soon."
Luo Huihui was confused, but she still followed Yan Ruyi firmly.
The two had only taken a few steps when the shopkeeper called out to them, "Gentlemen, I can see you really want it, so I'll lower the price again, a rock-bottom price, 100 yuan. If you want it, you can take this as a bonus too."
Yan Ruyi was initially unsure, but after hearing his words, she felt more confident and said firmly, "Ten yuan. If you agree, we'll take it; if not, forget it. Don't bother calling us anymore; it's not worth the time."
Luo Huihui also realized what was going on and chimed in with Yan Ruyi, "Ruyi, let's not take it. I saw a stall up ahead with something similar to this one, but even prettier. Let's go check that one out."
This powder box is a fake antique; even if the seller sells it for 10 yuan, they can still make a profit.
As for the extra item, he didn't know what it was. He bought it for 2 cents. When he bought it, he felt it was nice to the touch, but he didn't know what it was. He just put it out there to try it out.
However, perhaps because of its inconspicuous appearance and heavy weight, it has been sitting there for a long time without anyone paying attention to it. Rather than keeping it stuck in my hands, I might as well give it to them all at once.
He pretended to be very distressed and said, "This was passed down from my ancestors. My family just happens to need the money. Otherwise, I wouldn't be selling it to you at this price. Seeing that you really want it, this powder box is destined to be with you. It's 10 yuan then."
At least nine out of ten antique sellers will say that their antiques were passed down from their ancestors, and that they only sold them because they were in urgent need of money.
It seems that their ancestors were all from prominent aristocratic families.
The descendants of these aristocratic families were all spendthrifts.
Yan Ruyi accepted the money without pointing it out, and took out her wallet to pay.
They didn't bring any bags, so they asked the shop owner to provide a net bag. The shop owner took the money, looked pained, put the two items into the net bag, and gave the net bag to Yan Ruyi.
After walking quite a distance, Luo Huihui finally asked Yan Ruyi, "Is this powder box fake?"
Yan Ruyi took out the powder box. "It's fake, but the workmanship looks alright."
Luo Huihui exclaimed "Ah!" and said with heartache, "Why did I give him 10 yuan if it was fake?"
According to her, the fact that the boss was selling fake antiques should have been exposed on the spot.
Yan Ruyi said, "This is the rule of this industry: no returns, no guarantees of authenticity, no price inquiries. If you make a mistake, you're out of luck."
Yan Ruyi took out that dark, unremarkable object again. "This is the one I've got my eye on. It's a Duan inkstone, from the Tang Dynasty."
This Duan inkstone is the most popular type of dustpan-shaped inkstone in the Tang Dynasty. It has a fine stone texture, a round and sturdy shape, and is carved with pine and cypress patterns inside.
Pine and cypress trees are symbols of longevity, making them a perfect gift for Grandpa Song.
Luo Huihui, “!”
Although she didn't study this, she still knew about Duan inkstones.
Especially noteworthy is the addition of the character "Tang" in front of it.
So even if the powder box is a fake antique, they still made a fortune!
The stall owner initially asked for 200 yuan, but the price was eventually negotiated down to 10 yuan, and the owner even threw in a genuine antique.
Luo Huihui sighed, "No wonder my second brother only dares to look but not to buy. Those who don't know anything about this get ripped off and are almost broke."
Yan Ruyi said, "You'll listen to me in a moment. Buy whatever I tell you to buy."
Luo Huihui nodded repeatedly, "I'll listen to whatever you say."
Despite being called an antique street, it's actually just a narrow alley. From one end of the alley to the other, it's at most 500 meters.
There were only about a dozen stalls.
There weren't many items, and most of them were fake or worthless old objects.
After browsing around, Yan Ruyi picked out a silver kingfisher feather hairpin for Luo Huihui. It was from the Xuantong era and she bought it for 5 yuan.
Besides these two, there's nothing else to choose from.
However, Luo Huihui was very satisfied to have received two good things on her first visit. Playing with the lotus hairpin, she said happily, "It's so beautiful. When I get married, I will use this to style my hair. Ruyi, what are you going to do with that Duan inkstone? You're not really going to use it as a paperweight for Sihe, are you?"
“I was planning to give it to Grandpa Song when I went to Yiping’s house.”
"Are you going to his house as a guest? He hasn't been to your house yet, has he?"
In Luo Huihui's mind, the man should go to the woman's house first, and then the woman should go to the man's house.
Commander Song hasn't even been to Ruyi's house yet, so why is Ruyi going to Commander Song's house first?
Yan Ruyi said, "I'm preparing in advance. His family isn't short of money, so I can't afford to give expensive gifts. I can only look for some exquisite and unique items. If I come across one, I'll buy it and prepare it."
Luo Huihui asked gossipily, "Did Commander Song discuss with you when he'd come to your house?"
Yan Ruyi sighed, "We haven't discussed it yet, but I'm afraid it won't be easy to get past my family. I don't know if he'll be mentally prepared when he comes back."
She had just parted ways with Song Yiping last night, but she already missed him today.
She rested her chin on her hand and said, "I wonder what Yiping is doing right now?"
Luo Huihui didn't quite understand. Are all people in relationships this clingy?
If she were to date Jiang Hao, would she still be this clingy?
The two of them played outside until late afternoon before going home.
On her way back, Luo Huihui passed by a butcher shop and went in to buy two jin (1 catties) of meat to make dumplings at Yan Ruyi's house.
The two had just entered the house when they saw Li Yan vomiting by the sink.
Yan Ruyi was startled. She parked the car and went over to help Li Yan. "Second sister-in-law, what's wrong?"
Luo Huihui: "Did you eat something that upset your stomach?"
Ye Hongzhen came out of the house with a glass of water and gave it to Li Yan to rinse her mouth. "She might be pregnant. Your second brother isn't home. Ruyi, why don't you take your sister-in-law to the hospital and have the doctor check her over so you can be at ease?"
Li Yan calculated the days and realized that she hadn't had her period for two months.
She and Yan Mingtao have been married for over a year and have been wanting a child, but haven't been able to conceive. Although neither Ye Hongzhen nor Yan Mingtao has said anything, she is quite anxious about it.
Her mother even secretly took her to see a doctor for a checkup. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with her and told her not to worry too much.
How could she not be anxious? She was hoping to have a boy.
She was overjoyed to suddenly become pregnant. When she got on Yan Ruyi's bike, she repeatedly told Yan Ruyi, "Ruyi, ride slowly for a while, don't let me fall."
Luo Huihui said, "I'll go too, to lend Ruyi a hand."
Yan Ruyi led Li Yan, with Luo Huihui following behind.
The three of them recently went to the Workers' Hospital.
Yan Ruyi and Luo Huihui knew nothing and did whatever the doctor told them to do. When the doctor examined Li Yan, they just lined up to pay.
After listening to Li Yan describe her symptoms and asking about her menstrual cycle, the doctor said to her, "It's probably early pregnancy symptoms. Let's get a urine test to confirm."
The urine sample has been tested, and the results will be available in a while.
Yan Ruyi helped Li Yan sit down on the bench.
After all that commotion, Li Yan didn't feel as bad as before.
Touching her belly, she said happily to Yan Ruyi, "It's probably a boy. Only a boy would cause this much trouble."
Luo Huihui's older brother's family had a girl. She said truthfully, "When my sister-in-law was pregnant with Juanjuan, she vomited even more than you. She vomited for two months straight. She couldn't stand any smell. If she smelled anything, she would vomit. It really took a toll on my sister-in-law."
Yan Ruyi also remembered, "When my sister-in-law was pregnant with Miaomiao, she also vomited like this."
Li Yan felt that these two were really annoying, and she didn't want to talk to them anymore, so she got up and went for a walk.
Luo Huihui realized what was going on and whispered, "Your second sister-in-law wants a boy?"
Yan Ruyi said, "She never said that, but once when I went into her room, I saw a lot of baby pictures on the wall, and they all looked like boys."
Her family doesn't have the idea of favoring boys over girls. Her sister-in-law gave birth to a girl, and her mother dotes on her like a treasure. Not to mention anything else, this summer alone, she made three dresses for Miaomiao.
I don't know where her second sister-in-law got her fixation on having a boy.
Before long, the test results came out. The lab technician held up the test report and shouted, "Li Yan, who is Li Yan? The test results are out. Come and get your report."
Yan Ruyi and Luo Huihui ran over together.
Both of them were unmarried and couldn't understand the test report, only seeing the word "positive" written on it.
Together with Li Yan, they took it to the doctor for examination.
After examining Li Yan, the doctor said, "She is indeed pregnant."
Li Yan: "Doctor, can you tell now whether it's a boy or a girl?"
The doctor said irritably, "Aren't boys and girls the same? How can you have such a strong preference for boys at such a young age?"
Li Yan said, "I just wanted to prepare the things for the child in advance."
Doctor, "It's still early. You can prepare a month before delivery. Just be careful, don't eat anything indiscriminately, don't do strenuous exercise, and try to avoid sexual intercourse for the first three months. If you have abdominal pain, come to the hospital immediately and come back for a check-up next month... Next one."
Even if they are unmarried, they know what having sex means.
Yan Ruyi and Luo Huihui were surprised by what the doctor said, and their ears were red when they came out of the examination room with Li Yan.
After a while, the cool breeze cooled my face.
Luo Huihui couldn't help but ask Li Yan, "Second sister-in-law, why do you still favor boys over girls?"
Li Yan said, "You're still young and don't understand yet. You'll understand when you get married. Let's just say it's auspicious."
Yan Ruyi didn't expect that she would suddenly be dragged into this. "What happened to me?"
Li Yan said, "Commander Song is an only child, right? After you two get married, even if Commander Song doesn't say anything, his mother will still hope you have a boy. I'm not saying this to be mean, but if you have a girl, she will definitely have a problem with you, and your life won't be easy. What mother-in-law doesn't want a boy? Besides, Commander Song is an only child, and his family is counting on him to carry on the family line. If you have a girl, you'll be cutting off their family line."
What Li Yan said was all too far-fetched for Yan Ruyi to imagine.
However, there was one thing she felt her second sister-in-law was wrong about.
“Our mom is different. Miaomiao is a girl, but Mom likes her just the same.”
Li Yan replied mysteriously, "You don't understand."
It's only because the eldest daughter was born a girl that she would be considered precious if she had given birth to a boy.
If Sihe gives birth to a girl in the future, then her son will be the only heir of the Yan family.
You can't see the difference now, but once she actually gives birth to a boy, the difference will become apparent.
What in-laws would prefer a girl to a boy?
Ye Hongzhen was anxiously waiting at home. When she saw them return, she quickly went to greet them and asked, "What did the doctor say?"
Luo Huihui: "Aunt Ye, you're going to be a grandma again."
The addition of a new member to the family is always a joyous occasion. Ye Hongzhen smiled and said, "I think so too. Xiaoyan, you should go back to your room and rest. Ertao should be back soon. He'll be so happy to know he's going to be a father."
Li Yan went back to her room.
Ye Hongzhen then asked Yan Ruyi in a low voice, "When you took your second sister-in-law to the hospital, Mom forgot to give you money. You paid for her medical examination, didn't you?"
It was indeed all paid by Yan Ruyi. When it was time to pay, her second sister-in-law was waiting on the side. Her second sister-in-law didn't mention the money, and she didn't ask her for it either.
The registration and examination only cost one yuan and fifty cents, so he said to Ye Hongzhen, "It only cost one yuan and fifty cents in total, you don't need to pay me. After all, I'm the aunt... Mom, does everyone prefer boys to girls?"
"They all have nothing but desires; if they don't have a boy, they want a boy; if they don't have a girl, they want a girl."
For some reason, he asked Yan Ruyi, "Did Commander Song tell you that their family must have a son in the future?"
Yan Ruyi blushed instantly. "How did we bring him up again? He's my second sister-in-law. She's obsessed with having a son, saying that you and Dad prefer a son."
Ye Hongzhen said, "I thought Commander Song had said something to you."
If the Song family really wants a son, then she'll have to reconsider this marriage.
Who can guarantee that I will definitely have a boy?
"Don't listen to your second sister-in-law's nonsense. Your dad and I aren't that biased. You didn't see how much your dad dotes on Miaomiao... Huihui wants to eat dumplings. You two go and cut some chives in the yard. We'll have chive and pork dumplings for dinner."
Li Yan came out of the house and overheard, "I can't eat meat now, and I can't stand the smell of chives either. It makes me want to vomit."
Ye Hongzhen said, "Then I'll cook some porridge for you tonight. You can eat it inside, and we'll eat it outside so you won't smell it."
Li Yan thought Ye Hongzhen would say, "Then I won't eat it," but she ate it anyway, which made Li Yan angry, so she went back to her room.
Luo Huihui whispered to Yan Ruyi, "If Second Sister-in-law doesn't give birth to a dragon prince, it would be a disservice to her airs."
On Saturday, before leaving get off work, Yan Ruyi held a debriefing meeting for Xia Pengfei and Liang Shi.
Let's make arrangements for next week's work.
She's been doing it for almost half a month now and is already quite proficient.
Song Yiping arrived at this time.
Yan Ruyi had her back to the door and didn't see him, but Xia Pengfei and Liang Shi did.
Song Yiping gestured to the two of them, signaling them not to interrupt Yan Ruyi.
After Yan Ruyi finished speaking, Xia Pengfei pointed to the door and said to Yan Ruyi, "Commander Song is here."
Yan Ruyi turned her head and saw Song Yiping standing at the door.
She immediately forgot her superior status and flew over like a bird, asking, "When did you get back?"
"Arrive at the military region at 3:30 PM."
Song Yiping took out two packets of crisp candy from his bag, one for Xia Pengfei and one for Liang Shi. "These are local specialties. I think they're pretty good. You should try some."
Xia Pengfei and Liang Shi were flattered and thanked him repeatedly.
It was time to leave work, so Xia Pengfei and Liang Shi packed up their things and left.
Song Yiping praised her, "Comrade Xiao Yan is becoming more and more like a leader."
Yan Ruyi proudly said, "I have now removed the word 'temporary' from my title. I am now the deputy director of the preparatory office of Jialide Auction House. Yang Siyuan is also a deputy director. He is mainly responsible for the infrastructure construction, while I am responsible for the overall preparation."
Song Yiping didn't really want to hear the name Yang Siyuan, so he asked her, "Then who is the director?"
"It's still Director Liu, but he's just a figurehead and doesn't do any work."
She pulled Song Yiping into her office and asked him, "They both got gifts, what about mine?"
Seeing that no one was around, Song Yiping quickly kissed her on the lips.
Yan Ruyi was so startled that she quickly pushed him away, "The construction workers are about to get off work, everyone will be coming out soon."
Song Yiping: "I was watching, there was no one there just now."
After saying that, he took out a jade Buddha pendant from his pocket and hung it around Yan Ruyi's neck.
When he returned from Lincheng, he wanted to buy Yan Ruyi a gift.
The person who received him said that Lincheng is most famous for its jade.
He went to a well-established local jade shop and picked out a pendant.
He didn't understand the significance of wearing jade, and the salesperson asked him if it was a gift for a man or a woman.
Song Yiping: "Give this to my boyfriend."
It's rare to see a man who remembers to buy a gift for his partner while on a business trip, especially a jade pendant.
The waiter enthusiastically explained to him, "Men wear Guanyin pendants and women wear Buddha pendants. Comrade, why don't you give your partner a jade Buddha pendant? It's for protection and peace."
He bought a jade Buddha pendant.
He wasn't superstitious, but he hoped that Buddha would bless Yan Ruyi with peace and good fortune.
The jade is emerald green, and Yan Ruyi's fair skin makes the jade appear even more vibrant and lustrous.
Song Yiping felt a surge of warmth in his heart and immediately realized that it was necessary to move up the time for his visit to his father-in-law's house.
He went to his father-in-law's house first, and then Yan Ruyi went to his house. After that, they could discuss the wedding arrangements.
He has prepared the gifts and the sentiments; all that's left is to visit them.
He consulted Yan Ruyi for her opinion.
Yan Ruyi consulted her mother's opinion.
Ye Hongzhen stood up and walked out, saying, "I'm going to ask your Aunt Cui."
Yan Ruyi didn't understand, "Why ask Aunt Cui?"
Ye Hongzhen said, "Your Aunt Cui knows how to calculate auspicious dates; tell her to pick a good one."
Yan Guoqiang said, "It's not like we're getting married, why pick a good day?"
"You don't understand, so don't interrupt."
Ye Hongzhen is very particular about auspicious days. Except for giving birth, which she cannot choose, she must choose an auspicious day for everything else.
Choosing an auspicious day ensures everything goes smoothly.
After Ye Hongzhen finished speaking, she went next door to find Zhao Cuifang and returned shortly afterward. "Your Aunt Cui said that next Sunday is an auspicious day. Your uncles and the others will be off work, so we'll invite them all over to take a look."
Yan Ruyi said, "Yiping has never seen anything like this before. We'll scare him further."
Yan Mingtao: "They're scared by this little bit of intimidation. How cowardly must they be?"
Yan Ruyi instinctively defended him, saying, "He wasn't afraid of going to the battlefield, but he's never met so many relatives before, so he probably doesn't know how to deal with them."
If everyone comes that day, there will be more than a dozen people, men and women, young and old. Yan Ruyi is worried that he won't even be able to remember who is who.
She was worried for Song Yiping, but Song Yiping comforted her, "I have a good memory, I should be able to remember it. If I really can't remember it, just remind me."
The matter of the new son-in-law coming to visit was thus settled.
Fang Yuru was even more nervous than her son. Song Yiping was about to leave when she stopped him again to check if he had forgotten any gifts, muttering, "There will be drinking today, so don't just keep drinking with your head down. If you drink too much, you'll lose control and it won't leave a good impression on you. Xiao Yan's relatives, so you should call them whatever Xiao Yan calls them. Xiao Yan's second brother is a year younger than you, so you should call him second brother too..."
Song Chengren said, "Even if he's not nervous, your constant chatter makes him nervous."
Fang Yuru said, "I'm just afraid he'll forget, so I'll remind him a couple of times so he'll remember it clearly."
Song Yiping said helplessly, "Mom, I've remembered everything."
Fang Yuru looked him up and down again.
Song Yiping was dressed casually today, wearing a white shirt and a gray jacket over it.
She paired it with khaki pants, had a fresh haircut, and looked radiant.
Fang Yuru was quite satisfied with her son's appearance. She patted him and said, "Go on, son. Mom will be waiting for your good news at home."
Yan Ruyi was still sleeping when she was woken up.
Someone knocked on her door; it sounded like her eldest cousin's wife. "Ruyi, get up quickly! The new son-in-law is almost here, and you're still sleeping in."
Yan Ruyi took her watch out of under her pillow and saw that it was only 7 o'clock.
She yawned, got out of bed, wiped her face, and opened the door. "Why are you all here so early?"
The room outside was packed with people.
My maternal uncle's family and my aunt's family have already arrived.
My uncle has four children: two sons and two daughters.
My aunt's family has two sons, both of whom are married.
I guess they didn't bring their kids because they were afraid of making too much noise with too many children.
But all the adults came; the eldest uncle's and youngest aunt's families together made a total of 16 people.
Including their own family members, there are a total of twenty-five people.
If someone were timid, seeing this scene would make their legs go weak just to walk in.
My two cousins were excitedly discussing how to get Song Yiping drunk when he arrived.
Yan Ruyi said, "You can't force him to drink. He can't hold his liquor, and he's prone to losing control if he drinks too much."
My cousin's wife exclaimed, "Oh dear, they're already protecting her before she even arrives!"
Second cousin, "You don't understand, people only speak the truth when they're drunk."
This is exactly what Yan Ruyi is worried about.
At the last gathering of Song Yiping's comrades, Song Yiping got drunk and said he wanted to kiss her, which was overheard by Wu Meili and Chen Feiyong, making her extremely embarrassed.
With so many people here today, and Song Yiping getting drunk, what if he says something shocking and her older cousin hears it? How embarrassing would that be? They'd tease her every time they saw her, and she'd be too ashamed to face them.
Ye Hongjuan said, "They know what's going on. They probably think Commander Song will be here soon. Go and freshen up. Even at home, you can't be too casual."
They pushed her back into the house.
There were so many people today that we didn't have enough tables, chairs, and benches at home, so Ye Hongzhen asked Yan Minghai and his brother to bring over some from Zhao Cuifang's house.
The women all went to the kitchen to help with the preparations.
Ye Hongjuan asked her sister, "Is Ruyi's uncle's family not coming?"
Ye Hongzhen said, "She said she had something to do at home and couldn't come."
When Li Chenghai first went to Yan Guolin's house, Shen Qiaoxiu came to call for people, and Yan Guoqiang and Ye Hongzhen also went.
Since it was the first time they had met, he gave Li Chenghai a red envelope.
Now it was Yan Ruyi's turn. Yan Guoqiang had specifically spoken to his eldest brother, but the couple said they didn't have time.
Naturally, the matter of red envelopes was not mentioned.
The eldest cousin's wife hit the nail on the head, "Isn't it because she thinks Ruyi's partner is better than Ping's, and she's so jealous that she simply doesn't come?"
Zhao Cuifang also came to help today, and chimed in, "I remember the last time she came, she said that if Ruyi found a better partner than Tianliang, she would cut off her head and give it to Hongzhen as a chamber pot."
Second cousin's wife said, "We have to get her here today, no matter what, so we can ask her face to face whether she still keeps her word."
Ye Hongzhen snorted, "It's better if they don't come. On such a joyous occasion, their presence would only cause trouble."
Even if they don't come, the red envelopes are still a must.
Ye Hongzhen asked Shen Qiaoxiu for it in person; Li Chenghai was also present at the time.
In front of her son-in-law, Shen Qiaoxiu couldn't refuse and gave him every penny.
Ye Hongzhen then left satisfied.
The red envelope is currently in her pocket.
Yan Minghe ran into the yard, shouting, "My brother-in-law is here!"
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