Xia Youyou sent her mother home, "Mom, I suddenly remembered that there is something I didn't buy. I will be back soon."
"Did you forget to buy something? I'll go with you." Liu Hui put down her things and prepared to follow her.
She quickly stopped her and said, "Mom, it's just a little thing. I can go by myself. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." After saying that, she didn't wait for her to react and went straight out the door and ran outside.
Liu Hui sighed, "This kid!" She knew she had a secret, so she didn't ask any questions. A girl wouldn't make it this far out there without some tricks up her sleeve. She knew Youyou meant no harm.
Xia Youyou didn't know that her mother had guessed her secret. She had just passed the entrance of the alley and wanted to go to the scrap yard to see if there was anything that interested her. She didn't have the mentality of picking up bargains, because the things in the "Four Olds" were smashed and burned, and there was very little left.
She walked through alleys and finally arrived at the scrap yard. She thought no one was there, but unexpectedly, the old man from yesterday was sitting outside in the sun.
Xia Youyou walked over and greeted him, "Uncle."
The old man, drowsy from the warm sun, opened his sleepy eyes when he heard the voice. It was the girl who bought the bed yesterday. "It's you. What's wrong? The bed wasn't made up yesterday?"
She waved her hand, "The bed is fine. I just came to see if there's anything I need."
The old man had met many people who came here to pan for gold, but no one had ever found anything valuable. Yesterday, she happened to see the pearwood Qiangong bed she had taken out to dry, and she probably knew it was a good thing.
"Then go in and look around. Just bring out anything you want and let me see it." This scrap yard had been run by the Red Guards since the "Four Olds" movement, and the good stuff he'd collected from other places was all mixed in there. He was old, his health declining, and he couldn't protect these goodies. Since this girl was a connoisseur, he'd let her have her way.
Seeing that the old man was very decisive, Xia Youyou went to the place he directed and slowly looked through the books.
She wasn't familiar with antiques, but she'd stumbled upon pearwood yesterday after her father once told her about a pearwood auction in Chinese history that fetched a whopping price. That's when she remembered it. Later, she started following news about national treasures, including museums, which she'd seen online.
She looked around. The piles of things in the room weren't messy, but rather organized. There was a pile of wood, a pile of metal, a pile of broken porcelain, and a pile of books. She picked up a book from the pile and flipped through it. She remembered that Cao An was going to find her a university. She would be a graduating student in the future, so there was no need to ask her to start over. She could study at home, though, as she knew all the subjects. She only had a limited understanding of politics, which was not relevant to the era.
She scanned the pile of porcelain; most were broken, left there in case someone came along and found some decent pieces to take home as pickle jars. She didn't know much about porcelain, but she did notice a few with attractive patterns and picked them up to examine.
It was a gourd-shaped porcelain vase, the entire body of which was covered in mud, making it difficult to see the full shape. She then looked at the bottom of the vase. She didn't know if it was intentional, but there was a hole in the bottom, which seemed to have just removed the writing. She actually liked the gourd, but it was useless after she took it home, and the bottom was broken, so she couldn't hold anything.
She set the gourd back down and picked up another small bowl. It also had a noticeable chip on it, probably a leftover from someone else's selection. She held it up to the window; it still let in some light, giving it a shimmering, jade-like quality. After setting it down again, her peripheral vision caught sight of the pile of metal not far away.
It wasn't exactly filled with wire or anything, because there were even bicycles. Several were piled together, all rather tattered. She didn't go over, just stood there glancing at them. Nothing interested her, so she didn't bother flipping through them to avoid getting scratched.
She squatted down in front of the pile of books again, which were mostly in tatters. She removed a pile of large-character posters covered in dust, the words barely visible. Some of the books were covered. High school Chinese? Her eyes lit up. If only she could find the complete set.
After peeling back all the big-character posters on the pile of books, she found a pile of haphazardly stacked books inside. She excitedly began to flip through them one by one, wondering why this part was so neat while the rest was so messy.
Xia Youyou found a complete set of high school textbooks from the pile, and surprisingly, she stumbled upon a famous work in the corner. It wasn't in good condition and was a bit worm-eaten. Never mind, she'd take it back and try to repair it.
I originally wanted to look at some other books, but then I remembered that I had just told my mother that I would go back, so I didn't waste any more time and picked up a pile of books and went out.
"Uncle, how much would you like to pay for this book?" After buying the bed yesterday, she only had about twenty yuan left. She hadn't been able to find a black market to sell food these past two days, so she couldn't spend too much.
The old man was a little surprised. He took a look at the books. They were just some high school textbooks. He had thought she was out to get gold like everyone else, but unexpectedly... he suddenly saw the ancient book she handed over. A smile appeared in his cloudy eyes. She was indeed a connoisseur!
"Give me 50 cents." Just give it as a token of your appreciation. The book is not worth much.
Xia Youyou didn't expect it to be so cheap, but it was true. Yesterday, the pear wood thousand-work bed only cost her 10 yuan. She smiled and said gratefully to the old man, "Thank you, old man."
The old man waved his hand. "It's just a few books." As for that rare copy, even though it was already tattered, giving it to someone else would only start a fire. So, it was better to give it to her.
She said goodbye to the old man and went home with the book in her arms. She happily called out to Liu Hui at the gate.
"Mother!"
"Hey~" Liu Hui was preparing to cook in the kitchen. Upon hearing this, she put down the dishes, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked out of the kitchen. "What did you buy? You look so happy?"
Xia Youyou held up the book in her hand and showed it to her. She had put the ancient book away and would try to repair it after removing the insects in the evening.
"I bought some books. Didn't my brother say he would send me to school? I don't want to go! Mom, can I buy some books and study at home? Please don't send me."
"Oh, you kid." Liu Hui couldn't stand her coquettishness and steadied her dizzy hand. "Talk to your brother when he comes back."
"Then you have to speak for me!"
"Okay, okay."
The two were chatting enthusiastically in the kitchen when the door opened. "What are you talking about? What good things can I say for you?"
"Brother, why are you back?" Xia Youyou looked at him happily. It was not even noon yet.
"I'm on a mission nearby and have nothing to do this morning, so I'm coming back to eat before I leave." The food in the bureau's cafeteria is terrible. It always makes him sick, and he has to eat a lot when he gets home. It's better to save some rations for the bureau; it's a waste to give it to him.
"Okay, then I'll cook." Liu Hui continued to clean up the dishes she had just put down.
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