The room suddenly fell silent, and the couple looked at each other in bewilderment. Perhaps they had never thought that the treasure they thought was so good would be unwanted?
After a while, Zhang Guoqing stood up and was about to say goodbye and leave when he suddenly heard the woman ask, "Brother, how high can you drive?"
Zhang Guoqing frowned, "Sister-in-law, listen to me, if you don't need money, keep them. These things will be valuable again when the world changes, just like they were in the past."
After hearing what Zhang Guoqing said, the couple looked at each other for a long time. The woman spoke again, "Brother, you name the price first. If it's really low, we'll keep it for now."
Zhang Guoqing heard this and shook his head helplessly. "One hundred kilograms of national food coupons, plus one hundred yuan. Any more won't do. This amount is enough for me to go to Xinjiang and back twice."
He looked at Zhou Jiao and said, "Third brother, let's go."
"Brother, wait, more."
If Zhang Guoqing didn't understand that the other party didn't dare to keep these things, and couldn't keep them, then he was really crazy. The other party couldn't be without gold, and maybe there were some good things, but it was probably impossible to explode them.
He sighed, "How about I give you five paintings and fifty more? I'm willing to pay such a high price even though I haven't even seen the items yet, and I'm only offering it because you're honest."
"Or, you'd better not sell it. My brother and I will definitely forget about what happened tonight once we go out, so you don't have to worry about us letting anyone know. Find a place to bury it later, so that you can leave it for your grandchildren in the future."
"The child's father?"
The man looked at Zhang Guoqing steadily, opened his mouth hesitantly, and finally said, "Look at the calligraphy and painting first, and then add some if it's appropriate."
This time, it was Zhang Guoqing's turn to hesitate. He had no choice but to hesitate. He probably knew the other party had already seen that he wanted the five paintings. After a long while, he smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, I only know a few characters."
At this point, he looked at Zhou Jiao and said, "Third brother, how about you take a look at me? If it's passable, then we'll take it. If it's really not, then there's nothing we can do."
Seeing Zhou Jiao start to look at the paintings, Zhang Guoqing sat down on the edge of the kang and smiled at the couple who were staring at Zhou Jiao. "My younger brother learned paper mounting from a master in the provincial capital. He's not very proficient, but he's much better than me. Don't laugh at me, but without him, I usually wouldn't dare to collect antique calligraphy and paintings. Those things need some ink."
Seeing that the couple's attention was drawn to him, he continued, "I have a brother who spent a hundred yuan to buy a large box of calligraphy and paintings two years ago. Guess what happened to him later?"
"What's going on?"
"I almost drank pesticide. They were all fake! That's not even the worst. There was a friend who started a few years before me and had a beautiful collection of calligraphy, paintings, and books. But one year there was a flood, and they were all destroyed."
“What a pity…”
Zhang Guoqing clapped his hands, "That's right. So it's okay for us in this business to deal with wooden books, but we're worried about calligraphy and painting jars. Not only are there a lot of fakes, but we're also worried about accidents..."
Zhou Jiao listened to his nonsense while unfolding five paintings and glancing at them briefly, a smile flashing in her eyes. After a glance, she stepped back behind him and said, "They are all paintings by masters from the Republic of China."
"Oh, so you didn't lie to me, brother. It's really not worth much." Zhang Guoqing suddenly realized, "Okay, since you are so righteous, I can't be a villain who doesn't keep his word."
"I'm not talking about 150 yuan, I'm talking about 160 yuan plus 100 kilograms of national food coupons. What do you think? Brother, this is really the highest price. If it's more, I can only say sorry."
The man looked at his wife, and seeing her hesitant, he looked at Zhang Guoqing, "You're selling this painting for sixty yuan, which is quite generous! But these jade pieces are really good things. Can you add some more?"
"Yes, brother, it's not even enough to buy a sewing machine. We don't want more from you, just two hundred yuan and a hundred kilograms of food coupons."
Zhang Guoqing looked behind him embarrassedly and blinked at Zhou Jiao.
Zhou Jiao turned around immediately upon seeing this and muttered in a gruff voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "It's almost midnight, and you're still wasting time. Give me 180, or leave."
Zhang Guoqing smiled at them sheepishly, "My third brother is still a child, sorry to have embarrassed you. But he did say one thing right, one hundred and eighty, it's really late."
Having said that, the matter was finalized. Zhang Guoqing paid them 180 yuan and 100 kilograms of food coupons, tied the pair of jars with silk cloth and handed them to Zhou Jiao.
He took a large black bag from his bag, stuffed it first into a shoebox-sized paper box, then into a wooden box, then into a briefcase, and finally placed the five scrolls upright on top.
Holding these things, Zhang Guoqing said goodbye to them.
After walking for several dozen meters and seeing that there was no one around, he let Zhou Jiao back in. After all this hassle late at night, it was almost midnight when they returned to the guesthouse.
At this time, except for Zhao Chuangguang's room, Zhou Xiaozheng and several other men were still gathered together drinking and chatting, and the others had already fallen asleep.
Zhou Jiao and her husband went over to show their faces in front of her father to reassure him. But when they entered, they saw Zhao Dashan snoring and sleeping soundly, and Zhou Jiao almost died of laughter.
Zhao Yuanyuan was getting married tomorrow, but her father wasn't home and was drunk. Needless to say, it must have been her godfather's idea.
"Girls shouldn't stay up late, go to bed quickly. Go there early tomorrow with Xiaowu. I've already told your uncle Dashan that you will represent us there tomorrow."
Zhou Jiao nodded. Her father and uncles couldn't possibly attend the wedding.
"Tomorrow morning I'm going to the military district with your five uncles for a meeting. I've left a car for you. Don't forget to take the train the night after tomorrow."
Zhou Jiao rolled her eyes and said, "Okay. My mother is going to meet the Fang family's aunt."
Zhou Xiaozheng glanced at her and nodded. This kid… even when he came to play, he never forgot his business.
"Dad, have you told the uncles that the aluminum factory is moving?"
Zhao Chuangguang hooked his arm around Zhou Xiaozheng's neck in amusement, "Brother Zheng, look, my daughter is thoughtful. Girl, your dad has reminded us, go and have some rest, come back early the day after tomorrow, and we'll meet in the provincial capital."
"Get lost, she's my daughter."
Zhou Jiao smiled when she saw this. Her father could only relax in front of these old brothers. Life was really not easy and tiring.
After returning to the room, Zhang Guoqing patted her head and said, "You worry too much. These large factories usually allocate quotas to the region and don't recruit openly."
Zhou Jiao raised her chin proudly, "I know, but veterans are given priority. My godfather and my four uncles always have close confidants who have retired. This is a favor."
Zhang Guoqing stroked the top of her head in amusement and said, "Be careful, your parents-in-law will ask you for help! It seems that my eldest cousin Tongsuo has just graduated and is staying at home."
"Everyone's checking me out now. I'm a coward, so no one can say anything." Zhou Jiao said with a noncommittal smile. After combing her hair, she thought of the five paintings and calligraphy she had seen that night, and laughed with her hands covering her mouth.
“Who is the master of the Republic of China?”
Zhou Jiao winked and whispered in his ear, "Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, one painted a horse, the other painted a shrimp. Don't tell me you don't know who they are."
"My wife is so lucky," Zhang Guoqing said proudly. "I can pry out those diamonds inside and make you a crown."
“…”
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