Chapter 754
There was a commotion at the door; the important guests had arrived.
I saw Grandpa Qin leading Grandpa Tang in, followed by Qin Xue and Grandma Huixin.
Old Master Qin shouted with full energy:
"Yuanzheng, Miaomiao, I'm here! I brought two greedy guys with me, please don't be offended!"
Su Miao hurriedly went up to him with a bright smile:
"Grandpa Qin, I'm so happy to have such a distinguished guest! Grandpa Tang, Grandma Tang, please come in."
Mr. Tang looked around the yard and nodded repeatedly:
"What a nice yard! What a nice yard! No wonder Ziyi said he wanted to renovate our half-collapsed old house. It would be so comfortable to stay here!"
Grandpa Tang and Grandma Tang came, and the three members of the Tang family, who had just been sitting in the yard drinking tea and eating snacks, were inevitably scolded.
"Hey! Look at my unfilial descendants, they just come here to eat and drink for free, and have completely forgotten about me, an old man."
Old Master Tang puffed his beard and glared, but his eyes were full of smiles.
Uncle Tang quickly asked several important guests to sit down and said:
"It's so hot, I'm afraid you won't want to go out! Now that you and Uncle Qin are here together, isn't it just right?"
"Humph! If I hadn't met your Uncle Qin, your mother and I wouldn't have been able to catch up."
Mr. Tang took the tea bowl, took a sip, and his eyes lit up, "Hmm? This tea is good!"
Then, he looked at Su Yuanzheng with longing:
"Yuanzheng, do you have taro braised pork today? The one you brought during Chinese New Year."
He looked like a child asking for candy.
Su Yuanzheng heard this and replied respectfully:
"Yes, yes, don't worry, Mr. Tang, we'll have plenty of your favorite braised pork and sour porridge today!
How about you try this sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root? It's fresh out of the pot and still hot."
Old Master Qin solemnly handed the ancient painting in a Huanghuali wood box to Su Miao. The wooden box was carved with delicate lotus patterns, and the copper lock had oxidized and turned black, indicating that it was a very old item.
"Girl, this is a little gift from Grandpa Qin. Others may not understand it, but you should understand it as you are studying this major. It is not a waste to give it to you."
Su Miao took it with both hands, and his fingertips trembled slightly when they touched the cold surface of the wooden box.
She carefully opened the copper buckle, revealing a scroll wrapped in bright yellow silk.
As she slowly unfolded it, a faint scent of sandalwood wafted out.
"This is it!" Professor Wen, who was standing not far away, suddenly walked over quickly, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "Could this be Qiu Ying's 'Spring Dawn in the Han Palace'?"
The scroll slowly unfolded, revealing dozens of ladies engaged in various activities in the spring gardens.
Some are dressing in front of the mirror, some are playing the zither and reciting poetry, and some are fanning butterflies. The figures are vivid, the folds of their clothes are flowing, and the pavilions and terraces are meticulously crafted, even the carvings on the window lattices are clearly visible.
The most amazing thing is that the pearls and jade on the ladies’ hair in the painting are actually decorated with real gold powder, and they still shine brightly after hundreds of years.
Old Master Qin stroked his beard and smiled, "This comrade has good eyesight, but this is not an authentic work by Qiu Ying, but a copy made in the imperial court during the Jiajing period. Although it is not an authentic work, it cannot be said to be a fake."
"Grandpa Qin, this is my homeroom teacher, Professor Wen, who is quite knowledgeable about calligraphy and painting," Su Miao introduced.
"Oh! No wonder! Come and appreciate this painting. What do you think of it?" Old Master Qin laughed heartily, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out.
Professor Wen's hands were shaking with excitement. He suddenly pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on before he dared to touch the scroll.
"This copy is truly remarkable! This inscription... this seal... Oh, old sir, this is priceless. Look at the lines and the brushwork; it completely captures the spirit of Qiu Ying's original."
Seeing that Professor Lian Wen agreed, Su Miao shook his head slightly: "Grandpa Qin, this is too expensive, I can't..."
Mr. Qin suddenly raised his voice:
"Silly girl, such a beautiful courtyard of yours deserves such a fine painting. How can it be complete without something beautiful to protect the house? Go, hang it up now! Let everyone get a taste of the elegance of the ancient painting!"
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Su Miao finally nodded.
Professor Wen volunteered to help hang the paintings, and even asked someone to bring white gloves and a soft-bristled brush, handling them with the same care as if they were fragile items.
When the scroll was finally hung in the center of the main hall, sunlight shone through the carved window lattices onto the silk scroll. The ladies in the painting seemed to come alive, and the entire hall was shrouded in a hazy ancient atmosphere.
"It really fits. This painting looks like it was meant to be hung here." Grandma Huixin sighed softly.
The guests in the courtyard all gathered to admire the painting. Old Master Tang squeezed to the front and squinted his eyes to examine it carefully:
"Good boy! Lao Qin, you are really generous! Huixin, where are the gifts we brought?"
Grandma Huixin patted her forehead and said, "Oh! Look at my poor memory. I left it in the car. Ziyi, go get it. Xiao He is in the car."
Tang Ziyi responded and turned to walk out. Su Miao heard someone in the car and followed him out:
"Brother Ziyi, who's in the car? Who's Xiao He?"
"He's Grandpa Qin's driver. Usually, Grandpa Qin has someone following him when he goes out." Tang Ziyi explained.
"It's so hot in the car. Can we invite him in? It should be okay if he doesn't drink, right?"
"Okay, I'll talk to him."
Tang Ziyi leaned over and said to Xiao He, "Brother He, the gift my grandma brought was left in the car, and I came to get it. Also, the host invited you to come in and have a party. My parents are here too, so it's okay."
"This...but the leader hasn't given the order, so forget it." Xiao He was sitting in the driver's seat, neatly dressed, and fanning himself.
Su Miao cleverly turned around and ran back to ask, her skirt fluttering as she ran, like a light butterfly:
"Grandpa Qin, can I ask Brother He to come in and sit down with me?"
"Ah, yes, yes! I hadn't thought of it before you told me. Let Xiao He come in and relax. No need to wait in the car." Old Master Qin waved his hand and agreed readily.
When she went out to pass the message, Tang Ziyi had already got the box. She bent down and said to Xiao He who was sitting in the car:
"Brother He, it's hot in the car. Let's get together in the yard. I've already told Grandpa Qin."
"Okay, thank you, Su."
Xiao He gave her a bright smile in return, then took out a small box from his backpack, handed it to her, and said:
"Congratulations on your new home. This is a small gift I made myself. I hope you have a safe journey and abundant wealth."
Su Miao opened the small box, and inside was a wooden carving of a golden toad. It was finely polished and oiled, and looked very exquisite.
It seems that Xiao He knew early on that the leader would come to have a housewarming party, and he also found out that their family was in business, so he prepared gifts in advance.
He wouldn't mind if he wasn't invited in, after all, this was his job.
But if he encountered the current situation and the host came to invite him, he could not go empty-handed.
Su Miao couldn't help but admire that anyone who could be the leader's driver was not an ordinary person. He had to have a very smart mind.
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