On the east side of the Zhengyangmen city wall in Beijing.
There stands a weather-beaten train platform.
It was first built in the 27th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1901) and completed in the 29th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1903). It has a history of 81 years.
In the old days, this railway station platform was called "Zhengyangmen East Station of Beijing-Fengtian Railway". After the founding of Huaxia, it was renovated and expanded and renamed Beijing Railway Station.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Mo Zhexuan, Li Peizhen, and Li Wanhua came to a breakfast shop outside the train station. While eating breakfast, they waited for an important person. This person was Wang Yalin, who had returned to Yanzhao Province to visit relatives and recruit comrades.
Li Peizhen took a sip of pure milk, ate a piece of steamed bun, and asked, "Brother Xuan! What time will Brother Wang arrive?"
"He mentioned last night that the train was at five this morning, which would take four and a half hours. It should arrive around 9:30."
Mo Zhexuan smelled the soy milk in the bowl and took a small sip while suppressing his nausea, but he spat it out after tasting a little. It was really too unpalatable.
"It tastes bad, right? I can't get used to it. It has a rotten smell." Li Peizhen said as she took out a tissue from the table and handed it over.
"Indeed, it tastes the same as stinky tofu." Mo Zhexuan took it, wiped his mouth, nodded in agreement, and looked at Li Wanhua who was drinking with relish.
"Mr. Mo! Miss Li! I couldn't get used to drinking douzhi when I was a child, but I got used to it after drinking it a few times." Li Wanhua took a big sip of douzhi, ate some pickles and fried dough twists, and an expression of enjoyment appeared on her face.
"You two must be guests from out of town! Douzhi, a specialty snack of our old Beijing people, has a history of over 300 years. It's made by fermenting the leftover broth from grinding mung beans. It has a unique smell and a sour taste that's hard to accept, but you get used to it after drinking it for a while."
An old man wearing a tattered military coat at another table explained with a smile.
"Thank you, old man!" Mo Zhexuan nodded to express his gratitude, took another sip, and found that there was a sweet taste after swallowing.
"Mr. Li! I heard that you went to the suburbs to shop for treasures again. I think you got quite a lot this time!" The boss asked the old man in the military coat with a smile as he collected the dishes and chopsticks left by the customers.
"Alas... I just can't bear to see our country's treasures being lost among the people and unable to be protected." The old man explained with a trace of loneliness in his expression.
"You should buy less of those things! They're not worth much. Save some money for your grandson! If anything happens to you, your grandson will have to go to an orphanage."
The old man didn't say anything, but took out a few crumpled bills and put them on the table, then stood up and left quickly. His hunched figure revealed a sense of desolation.
"Mr. Yi! I've said a few words to you, and if you're still not happy, just take the money back!" The boss chased after him and returned the money to the old man.
"Boss! Do you know him?" Mo Zhexuan, who had been watching all the time, asked curiously.
"I know him! He's a famous junk collector in our neighborhood. He can barely make ends meet, but he still goes around buying worthless things. A foreigner saw something he liked and approached him to buy it, but the old guy refused to sell it. I think he'd rather it be buried in the ground."
"Oh! So that's how it is. Then he must be a collector!"
"Even if you're a collector, you still have to eat! This old guy and his grandson sometimes can't even afford food or tuition, yet they still insist on buying those junk."
After some investigation, we learned that the old man's name was Yijian, and he was a descendant of the once famous Emperor Xianfeng. His family was a veritable landlord before the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, not only was his property confiscated during the movement, but even his son was killed. Currently, the only thing left in his family is a grandson who is in junior high school.
When Yijian was young, he was a famous playboy with a special liking for antiques. Now, almost all of the monthly compensation given by the government is used to collect some strange old items. Sometimes he can't even pay his grandson's tuition.
This piqued Mo Zhexuan's interest. Ever since he raided the Friendship Store in Guangzhou last time, he had made up his mind to increase his investment in antiques. However, he had been delayed recently due to a series of things. Now he met an antique expert who could be recruited.
"Boss! Thank you." Mo Zhexuan took out a 50-yuan foreign exchange voucher from his wallet and handed it over, then immediately turned around and took Li Peizhen and Li Wanhua to the exit of the train station.
"Sir! I haven't given you the change yet."
"No, thank you for telling me this."
The boss looked at the backs of the people leaving and couldn't help but sigh at their generosity. These 50 yuan foreign exchange coupons could be exchanged for at least 150 yuan in cash on the black market.
"Brother Xuan! Why are you so curious about that old man?" Li Peizhen asked in confusion.
"Oh! Aren't I planning to open a company specializing in acquiring antiques and curios? The old man just now happens to be an expert in this field, so I can recruit him."
Mo Zhexuan explained with a smile.
The three of them stood in a good position and stared at the faces of people coming and going at the exit, trying to find Wang Yalin among them.
Finally, he found that there were too many people, so he quickly found a way to get a sign, wrote the three big words "Wang Yalin" on it, and held it high.
"Hey! Look, is that Brother Wang carrying a snakeskin bag on his back?" Li Peizhen had sharp eyes and suddenly noticed that a man at the exit had a figure very similar to Wang Yalin, so she quickly spoke.
Mo Zhexuan looked in the direction of the finger for a moment and found that the slightly rough face was Wang Yalin. He hurriedly shouted:
"Wang Yalin!"
Wang Yalin was shocked when he heard this. He looked up and saw Mo Zhexuan. He waved his left hand, a smile appeared on his face, and squeezed through the crowded crowd like a tiger descending from the mountain.
After a while, he came to Mo Zhexuan and his friends with a snakeskin bag containing something unknown.
"Mr. Mo! Miss Li! Long time no see."
"What are you carrying? Aren't you tired of carrying it?" Mo Zhexuan asked curiously.
"Oh! These are local specialties from our Yanzhao Province, Jinzhou duck pears and dates. I brought them here for everyone to taste." Wang Yalin said with a smile.
"Let's go! There are too many people here, let's go back to the hotel first." Mo Zhexuan responded, picked up the big bag of snakeskin bags, and walked out of the train station.
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