Chapter 38. Commander Song's alarm bells immediately rang...
Yan Ruyi never expected that Yan Ruping's jade bracelet would have a sequel, and one full of twists and turns.
Zhao Cuifang: "I just heard today that Li Chenghai and his parents went to your uncle's house to discuss the wedding. They argued about how much the bride price should be. Your aunt wanted 800 yuan, but Li Chenghai's family said they had already given your sister Ruping a jade bracelet, saying it was an antique passed down in the Li family and worth at least 1,000 yuan, which was more than enough to cover the bride price, so they wouldn't give any more."
Your aunt disagreed, saying that the bracelet was the bracelet and the bride price was the bride price, and the 800 yuan bride price could not be reduced by a single penny.
The two families started arguing over this. Later, your aunt probably got really angry and said that the jade bracelet Li Chenghai gave her was fake, and that the Li family was trying to scam her into marriage. The Li family denied it, and the two families started arguing—oh, it was a really fierce argument!
Zhao Cuifang's family and Yan Guolin's family live in the same residential compound; Yan Guolin's family lives right next door to Zhao Cuifang's family.
Zhao Cuifang's eldest sister had just given birth to a granddaughter. When Zhao Cuifang went to visit her, she happened to witness the argument between the Yan and Li families, which had attracted a large crowd of onlookers.
Zhao Cuifang peered over the wall and watched from beginning to end.
Later, Li Chenghai's parents felt ashamed and left.
The two families had a falling out over a jade bracelet.
Ye Hongzhen said, "Qiaoxiu always praised Chenghai for being honest and kind-hearted. Who would have thought he would pull this stunt?"
Li Yan came out of the house and asked Zhao Cuifang, "What was the final decision? Has the wedding date for Ru Ping and Cheng Hai been set?"
Zhao Cuifang said, "They've already set a date, but they haven't even agreed on the bride price. The two families are almost at each other's throats. This whole mess will be a lifelong thorn in their side, even if they get married."
Ye Hongzhen said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Ruyi saw through it back then and didn't want to say anything. But Qiaoxiu forced Ruyi to tell her. Even after Ruyi told her, she still didn't believe her and insisted that Ruyi was ignorant and making wild guesses. Let's see how she gets out of this mess."
Li Yan said, "Ru Ping and Cheng Hai are definitely not going to break up. Auntie is reluctant to let go of this marriage, and Cheng Hai's family background is what it is."
If it were her, she wouldn't be willing to break up either.
It's just a bracelet; besides, it's possible that Ruyi really misjudged it.
Ye Hongzhen said, "They come from a wealthy family and still use a fake bracelet to cheat people. The whole family is morally corrupt. They're scheming against people even before they're married. If this were my daughter, I would break off the relationship immediately."
Ye Hongzhen chatted with Zhao Cuifang for a few more minutes before going to cook.
Yan Ruyi said to Li Yan, "Second sister-in-law, the results of the last essay contest are out. Second sister-in-law Huihui went to check and said you won a fourth prize."
Li Yan was so engrossed in listening to the gossip that she forgot to ask Yan Ruyi about it.
She was stunned for a moment before realizing what she had just won, and exclaimed in surprise, "I really won a prize? How much is the fourth prize again?"
Yan Ruyi: "10 yuan."
Ten yuan was a windfall, and Li Yan couldn't wait to get her hands on it. "Did Sister-in-law Huihui say when she would wire me the money?"
She said it would probably be in the next few days. Keep an eye on the remittance slips in the next couple of days. There might also be sample newspapers that will be sent over in the next couple of days.
Li Yan was secretly delighted. "I told you I could win the award, but your second brother didn't believe me."
He went inside to brag to Yan Mingtao.
Ye Hongzhen came out of the kitchen and whispered to Yan Ruyi, "Keep an eye on your second sister-in-law and see where she's being asked to write articles, and make sure she writes more."
Although being stared at by Li Yan's big eyes was a bit unsettling, it was still better than her gossiping.
When your mind is focused on writing, you don't have time to chatter.
Yan Ruyi thought her mother was right, and she also felt that ever since her second sister-in-law started writing articles, she had a lot more peace and quiet.
"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for her."
Yan Ruyi had heard about Yan Ruping and Li Chenghai's affair, but she didn't care whether they got together or broke up.
To my surprise, I met my aunt and Yan Ruping the very next day.
It was still in the testing room next to the testing center.
At the appraisal center, people occasionally come to have their antiques appraised, so the bureau has set up an appraisal room specifically for people who come to have their antiques appraised.
The cultural relics knowledge lecture held in Xinli Subdistrict last time was very popular, and other subdistricts have also sent invitations to the Cultural Relics Bureau, hoping to hold similar lectures in their subdistrict offices.
Jiang Dongming and Director Liu discussed it and decided to arrange the second-row lecture in Nangang Street, with Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei still in charge of organizing it.
Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei went to Nangang Subdistrict to discuss holding a lecture with the subdistrict office.
Because it was Nangang Subdistrict that took the initiative to invite them, and they learned from the successful experience of Xinli Subdistrict Office, they made thorough preparations beforehand and finalized the time and place without much effort. After finalizing the arrangements, the two of them returned.
When Xia Pengfei reached the second floor, he heard that Gu Shusheng had returned, so he made a detour to the archaeological team's office.
Yan Ruyi went up to the third floor alone. When she passed the appraisal room, she noticed that the door was open. She glanced inside casually and thought the two people sitting inside looked familiar, like Shen Qiaoxiu and Yan Ruping.
She took a few steps back and checked again; it really was the two of them.
Zhao Dongsheng sat opposite them, holding a bracelet in his hand that looked like the one Yan Ruping was wearing.
When Shen Qiaoxiu heard someone passing by outside, she turned her head and was immediately dumbfounded.
Yesterday, because of the bracelet, she impulsively got into a fight with the Li family.
After Li Chenghai's family left, not only Yan Guolin complained about her, but Yan Ruping also complained about her, "Last time you said that Ruyi was talking nonsense, but you believed it yourself. You argued with them in front of so many people and made them lose face. Did you think about what would happen to me if the bracelet was real?"
Shen Qiaoxiu herself also felt a little regretful, fearing that she would ruin this good marriage.
However, she was stubborn and unwilling to admit it, "This is just a slip of the tongue. Their family wants to use the bracelet as a dowry, but what if the bracelet is fake and not worth much? And they won't give you any dowry at all. What will they give you as a dowry when you get married?"
Yan Ruping said, "When I got married, my family couldn't have given me no money at all, could they?"
Shen Qiaoxiu said, "When a girl gets married, isn't it true that the bride's family gives her money as a dowry? And that's only if the bride's family is reasonable. If they're unreasonable, they'll try to get the dowry money back to the bride's family. No way. At most, they'll just make a few quilts or give a washbasin and a towel and that'll be the end of it."
Shen Qiaoxiu categorized herself as belonging to the reasonable and understanding group.
If the Li family gives a bride price, she won't take a single penny; she'll give it all to Ruping.
The Li family was better off than theirs, so they made Ru Ping take all the betrothal money with her because they didn't want the Li family to look down on Ru Ping in the future.
But if the Li family doesn't pay a single penny of the bride price and expects her to pay extra for her daughter's dowry, she will be unwilling.
She couldn't tell the Li family, "You said this bracelet is worth 1,000 yuan, so consider it Ruping's dowry."
If she really said that, the two families would completely break off relations.
Yan Mingjun said from the side, "What's so difficult about that? Ruyi isn't the only one who appraises antiques. If you don't trust Ruyi, just take it to other experts to take a look, and they'll know whether it's real or fake."
Now that things have come to this point, Shen Qiaoxiu also wants to know whether the jade bracelet is real or fake.
If it's true, she'll definitely force Yan Ruyi to apologize to the Li family!
Besides Yan Ruyi, they didn't know any other knowledgeable people, so they could only come to the Cultural Relics Bureau.
Shen Qiaoxiu had inquired beforehand and learned that Yan Ruyi was not at the Cultural Relics Bureau today, as she had gone out on business. So she came to the Cultural Relics Bureau with Yan Ruping, hoping to ask the experts from the Appraisal Center to take a look.
Zhao Dongsheng specializes in jade, so Jiang Dongming arranged for him to receive Shen Qiaoxiu and her daughter.
The bracelet that Li Chenghai gave to Yan Ruping wasn't actually as obviously aged as Yan Ruyi had said.
The aging treatment is quite good; at least it's enough to fool laymen or people who don't know much about jade.
However, it's no match for an expert like Zhao Dongsheng.
Zhao Dongsheng said, "The jade is genuine. Looking inside, it resembles white jade pebble jade. You know what white jade pebble jade is, right? It's mainly produced in the Yulongkash Riverbed in Hotan County, Xinjiang. The outer skin is divided into two types: sandy pitted skin and color-stained skin. The most common internal features are waterweed-like patterns and nail-like patterns. High-quality white jade pebble jade is delicate, moist, and hard, making it very precious. However, this bracelet of yours isn't white jade pebble jade. It's made of ordinary white jade to imitate white jade pebble jade, and it's been artificially aged. You know what artificial aging is, right? It's..."
As Zhao Dongsheng was speaking eloquently, the bracelet in his hand was suddenly taken away by Shen Qiaoxiu. "Teacher Zhao, we don't want it appraised."
After finishing her sentence, Shen Qiaoxiu pulled Yan Ruping away.
We were having a good conversation, but without even saying goodbye, they suddenly took the things away.
This was the first time Zhao Dongsheng had encountered something like this, and he was a little stunned. By the time he came to his senses, he chased after Shen Qiaoxiu to ask her to pay the appraisal fee, but Shen Qiaoxiu and the other woman had already disappeared.
Zhao Dongsheng was furious. He said to Qian Yingjing, who was passing by, "When Xiao Yan passed by the door, I knew things were bad. Dressed like that, people would probably think we weren't a legitimate government agency and that the test results wouldn't be reliable. See, it came true. Before I could even finish speaking, the two of them left without even paying the test fee. I've wasted my time."
Qian Yingjing said leisurely, "Maybe they left because they thought you were too long-winded."
When Zhao Dongsheng conducts authentication, he likes to give long-winded explanations, starting from the origin, formation, composition, processing, and authenticity determination...
He won't give the final result unless he talks about it for an hour or two.
It often leaves people confused and bewildered.
Most of those who come for appraisal are laymen; otherwise, they wouldn't come.
People just want to know if it's true or false. As for what Zhao Dongsheng said, they don't understand it and don't want to hear it.
Listening to it is pointless and a waste of time.
Someone had raised this issue with Director Liu, who had also subtly criticized Zhao Dongsheng. However, Zhao Dongsheng dismissed it and continued his long-winded arguments the next time.
Qian Yingjing was referring to this very problem of his.
Qian Yingjing has never liked to meddle in other people's business, but ever since Yan Ruyi came to the appraisal center, Qian Yingjing has become particularly fond of arguing with him.
See? Ever since Yan Ruyi came to the appraisal center, she has not only affected everyone's work, but also the unity among colleagues.
But nobody listened to him!
Once outside the cultural relics gate, Yan Ruping complained to Shen Qiaoxiu, "Didn't you say Ruyi wasn't at work?"
Shen Qiaoxiu said, “When I came here, I specifically asked the gatekeeper. He said that Ruyi had gone out. He saw her riding her bicycle with a man. He said she went out to run errands and wouldn’t be back for a while. I didn’t expect her to come back so suddenly.”
They were afraid of being laughed at by Yan Ruyi, so they deliberately chose to come when Yan Ruyi was not around.
Unexpectedly, Yan Ruyi still caught him red-handed.
Shen Qiaoxiu felt remorseful. It wasn't a big deal that Yan Ruyi had seen them, but she was afraid that it would reach Ye Hongzhen's ears and Ye Hongzhen would laugh at her.
Yan Ruping said defiantly, "Don't bother getting it appraised. As long as we don't say anything, who will know whether it's real or fake?"
Shen Qiaoxiu: "Hasn't it already been told?"
Yan Ruping said, "It's all your fault. You didn't even tell me beforehand and just blurted it out. Cheng Hai is so angry that he won't talk to me now."
"It's all because of the Li family. They want to marry you off without spending a single penny. Our family can't even make a profit; I'll have to pay out of pocket for your dowry. What family would do such a losing business when marrying off their daughter?" Yan Ruping was even angrier. "They've arranged a good job for me. If it were anyone else, no matter how much money you offered, they wouldn't arrange it for you. Besides, our family might need their help in the future. If they help out, it will save the family a lot of money. Mom, you need to think long-term and not just focus on that dowry."
Shen Qiaoxiu thought about it and realized that her daughter had a point, so she comforted herself and her daughter, "Speaking of which, you are much luckier than Ruyi. The man she used to marry, Shen Zhimin, had a father who painted in an art museum. He painted for half his life but didn't make a name for himself. His mother didn't have a job either. They were far worse off than Cheng Hai's family. I heard that when Ruyi broke up with Shen Zhimin, she even hit him. Tsk, with her temper that can't stand to suffer any loss, it will be hard for her to find a good husband in the future."
Hearing this made her feel much better.
Thinking to myself, if they don't give a bride price, they don't have to. It's no big deal to spend money on the dowry.
In the long run, as long as the Li family remains in that position, they will not suffer any losses.
Just before she was about to leave work, Yan Ruyi received a phone call from a man named Yang Siyuan, who asked her to appraise a tricolor horse.
Judging from his voice, Yang Siyuan was not very old and spoke with a Hong Kong accent. He was afraid that Yan Ruyi would not be willing to help, so he brought up He Zaixian, saying that he and He Zaixian were friends and that He Zaixian had asked him to ask Yan Ruyi for help.
Yan Ruyi has always maintained contact with He Zaixian, and He Zaixian has also done a lot of publicity for her.
Moreover, the people introduced by He Zaixian are generally very reliable.
Most importantly, they are very generous with their money.
Yan Ruyi had originally arranged to meet Song Yiping at Xiang after work for dinner, and then go to see a movie.
Yang Siyuan spoke sincerely, and since He Zaixian introduced them, they could only make do with their partner for now.
He readily agreed, "Mr. Yang, wait for me at Xiangming Tea House. I'll come over after I get off work."
Xiangming Tea House and Xiangzailai are not far apart; it only takes 5 or 6 minutes to get there by bike.
After identifying the tricolor horse, she didn't miss her date with Song Yiping, which included dinner and a movie.
After Yang Siyuan hung up the phone, Yan Ruyi called Song Yiping again.
Song Yiping wasn't there, so Cheng Chao answered the phone. As soon as Yan Ruyi said "hello," Cheng Chao recognized her voice and said warmly, "It's sister-in-law. Our regimental commander has gone to the brigade commander's place. Is there anything urgent, sister-in-law? If so, I'll go and call him to come and answer the phone."
Yan Ruyi's face flushed when she was called "sister-in-law".
Song Yiping had told her that Cheng Chao was one of their own, and if he wasn't around, she should contact Cheng Chao and have him relay any messages to her.
She never expected that Cheng Chao would call her sister-in-law now.
Besides feeling shy, I also felt a little bit secretly pleased.
Thanks to Song Yiping, she's now a sister-in-law!
Since Cheng Chao already knew, Yan Ruyi said to him frankly, "There's no need to call him. Please tell him for me that I'll be going over half an hour later after work. He'll know where I'm going."
"Okay, I'll tell our regimental commander when he arrives."
Yan Ruyi thanked Cheng Guochao and then hung up the phone.
At this moment, only Zhao Dongsheng and Yan Ruyi were in the office.
Zhao Dongsheng kept his ears perked up, listening intently to Yan Ruyi's phone call.
Seeing that Yan Ruyi had hung up the phone, he asked her, "Xiao Yan, do you still know Commander Song?"
Yan Ruyi hadn't planned to go public with her relationship with Song Yiping so soon, so she just hummed in agreement.
She checked the time; it was time to leave work. She tidied up her desk and left.
Xia Pengfei just walked in, and Zhao Dongsheng asked him, "Xia, do you know what the relationship is between Xiao Yan and Commander Song?"
Xia Pengfei could guess a little, but since Yan Ruyi hadn't made it public, he wouldn't gossip about her behind her back.
Besides, why are you, a grown man, so gossipy?
Xia Pengfei: "I don't know, maybe we just know each other."
Zhao Dongsheng didn't believe it. They just knew each other, and they could go out together after work.
And what does that Mr. Yang do?
This young lady seems to be quite something; no wonder even Director Liu is protecting her.
Zhao Dongsheng looked down on Yan Ruyi more and more. He despised anyone who climbed to the top by clinging to powerful figures and lacked real skills.
Yan Ruyi rode her bicycle directly to Xiangming Tea House.
From a distance, I could see a young man standing at the entrance of the teahouse. He looked to be no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing a hat and gold-rimmed glasses. He was dressed in a plaid short-sleeved shirt and jeans, a style rarely seen in China, and he looked very fashionable.
Based on the Cantonese-accented Mandarin spoken over the phone, Yan Ruyi guessed that the person must be Yang Siyuan.
She got out of the car and went over to ask, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Yang Siyuan?"
Yang Siqing didn't recognize Yan Ruyi. When Yan Ruyi asked him a question, he guessed that the young girl in front of him must be the expert Yan introduced by He Zaixian. His eyes lit up. "I am Yan Ruyi. You must be Comrade Yan Ruyi. Uncle He said you were young. I didn't expect you to be so young. I only realized after meeting you that the old saying is true. There are mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people."
His Mandarin wasn't very standard, and he had a strong Hong Kong accent, so Yan Ruyi had to guess and make things up to understand what he was saying.
Listening to that is exhausting.
She was in a hurry to go on her date with her boyfriend, so she asked directly, "Comrade Yang, where is the tricolor horse you mentioned?"
"Oh, I left it at the teahouse, Comrade Yang, please come in."
Yang Siyuan made a gentlemanly gesture of "please come in".
Yan Ruyi thought to herself, "They just casually leave it in the teahouse, aren't they afraid of it getting lost?"
Once inside the teahouse, she understood why Yang Siyuan wasn't afraid of getting lost.
There was another person in the teahouse, holding an object wrapped tightly in velvet. As soon as Yang Siyuan entered, the person immediately stood behind him.
Yan Ruyi, “?”
Are these bodyguards we hired?
Being able to afford bodyguards means your family is either very wealthy or powerful!
They should be generous with their spending.
Yan Ruyi was filled with anticipation.
Yang Siyuan gestured to his bodyguard to place the items he was carrying on the tea table, and then opened the velvet cloth.
It is a sancai (three-color glazed pottery) horse, 70 centimeters tall and about 80 centimeters long. The horse's head is tilted slightly to the lower left, with its ears erect, eyes wide open, mouth agape, and four legs standing on a square board.
This sancai (three-color glazed) horse is predominantly white-glazed, with brown mane, and green and brown bridle and saddlecloth.
The colors are rich and bright, the proportions are balanced, and the figures are lifelike.
It feels like the horse is about to snort and start running at any moment.
There's just a small gash on my right calf near the hoof.
The saddle and bridle also showed some slight wear.
It was these minor flaws that made Yang Siyuan unsure whether it was real or fake. He was afraid that it was deliberately made to look old, so he asked Yan Ruyi to help him take a look.
Yan Ruyi said, "Mr. Yang, based on the shape, glaze, and accessories of this horse, it should be a work from the Gaozong period, and it is an authentic piece."
The Tang Dynasty had nomadic ancestry and loved and revered horses, so the most common burial item in the tombs of Tang nobles was the sancai (three-color glazed) horse.
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the Tang Dynasty's national strength gradually increased, and extravagance became rampant.
The sancai horse is no exception; both the glaze color of the horse itself and the accessories are extremely rich and vibrant.
In layman's terms, it means doing whatever is most eye-catching.
However, it is rare to see a piece with such a vivid shape and such beautiful glaze.
Although there is a small chip in the hoof and the saddle is somewhat worn, these flaws do not detract from its overall value, making it a truly precious piece.
Yang Siyuan said excitedly, "Comrade Yan, thank you so much. To be honest, before meeting you, I was very nervous, afraid that the tricolor horse I had gone to so much trouble to find was a fake. Now that you've said that, I feel relieved. Next week is my grandfather's 80th birthday, and tricolor horses are his favorite thing in his life. He will be very happy to receive this gift on his 80th birthday."
After saying that, he had his bodyguard open his briefcase, take out a stack of 100-yuan notes, and place them in front of Yan Ruyi. "Comrade Yan, this is my thank-you gift. It's just a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."
Yan Ruyi accepted it without hesitation.
Don't be coy; accept what you deserve without hesitation.
This further won Yang Siyuan's favor. He took out a business card from his wallet and handed it to Yan Ruyi with both hands. "Comrade Yan, this is my address and phone number in Shenzhen. If you ever go to Shenzhen in the future, please be sure to call me so that I can show you some hospitality."
Yan Ruyi accepted the business card. "Okay, if I have the chance to go to Shenzhen, I will definitely visit Comrade Yang. Comrade Yang, I have other matters to attend to. If you have nothing else to attend to, I will take my leave now."
As Yang Siyuan had his bodyguards rewrap the tricolor horse, he said to Yan Ruyi, "If there's nothing else, Comrade Yan, please go ahead."
As he spoke, he came out with Yan Ruyi.
Yan Ruyi saw Song Yiping as soon as she came out of the teahouse.
Song Yiping also saw Yan Ruyi.
Across from the Xiangming Tea House is a grocery store, and Yan Ruyi especially likes their chestnut cake.
Song Yiping left the military compound early, thinking that Yan Ruyi would arrive in a while, so he went to the grocery store first to buy some chestnut cakes for Yan Ruyi.
After buying chestnut cakes and leaving the grocery store, I saw Yan Ruyi and a very stylish young man coming out of the teahouse one after the other.
Song Yiping's alarm bells went off immediately. Without thinking, he strode over and said, "Ruyi."
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Author's Note: As someone with a sweet tooth, I was frantically dieting while simultaneously indulging in desserts and milk tea, successfully going from 110 to 120 pounds... Can anyone tell me how to control my cravings?
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