"Okay, that's all for today." A man in a neat blue cotton jacket put down what he was holding, dusted himself off, and said to the little boy behind him.
The little boy behind him was wearing a big cotton hat. The hat was very delicately made, with a piece of rabbit skin sewn on both sides of the ears to wrap his ears. A thin rope was tied into a bow at the chin to ensure that the hat was airtight.
"Okay--" the boy responded in a clear voice. As he spoke, his head, which was originally looking at the ground, was raised up, revealing a delicate and pretty face.
The round little face, having shed the baby fat from childhood, looks even more handsome, with thick eyebrows slightly raised, a pair of clear, dark big eyes that flutter from time to time, and dense eyelashes curled upwards, like two small fans, scratching your heart with the blink of his eyes.
Gu Xiashi looked at his little nephew and couldn't help sighing that the child was so good-looking. With Jiang Dahai's burly appearance, when they walked together, others would think Xiaobao was his son.
When he thought of this, Gu Xiashi couldn't help but smile proudly.
"It's hard to find anything good these days. Everyone either hides their stuff more carefully or they smashed and burned it all in the past. It looks like there's no need to come to the city after the New Year."
Gu Xiashi touched the little gadget hidden in his cotton-padded jacket, and thought that he had only found this little thing today, so he couldn't help but sigh.
After listening to his uncle's words, Jiang Yilu looked at the scrap recycling station that had been turned almost upside down by the uncle and nephew, and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
After all, their county is not a wealthy county, and it has never produced any dignitaries since ancient times. The antique treasures circulating in the county are limited, so it is not easy to find treasures.
However, Jiang Yilu couldn't help but smile when he thought of the treasures he had secretly hidden in the space in the past two years. Those were all his future start-up funds.
Gu Xiashi usually looked for smaller antiques. All the large antiques he identified were collected by Jiang Yiliu into the space when he was not paying attention. Now the antiques in the space have piled up into a small mountain. Gu Xiashi did not suspect anything when he did not see those antiques the second time he came. After all, the recycling station was cleaned up every once in a while. He would only think that those things were all broken up and disposed of. Apart from sighing, he would not have any other thoughts.
"Well, if you found something good today, your uncle will hide it carefully for you. When you grow up and these antiques become valuable, your uncle will return them to you."
Gu Xiashi stretched out his hand to his nephew. In the past few years, he had taught Xiaobao a lot of knowledge on distinguishing the authenticity of antiques. Sometimes, Xiaobao could pick up good things right under his nose. Gu Xiashi was worried that his nephew was still young and it would be bad if he was seen by someone with ulterior motives. After all, these things would cause trouble.
Therefore, usually, the things Jiang Yilu found would eventually be taken away by Gu Xiashi and kept on his behalf.
Jiang Yiliu had little harvest today. He only found a few ancient books with relatively simple bindings. One of them was already worn out. When Jiang Yiliu turned the pages, he was worried that the paper would weather and break. He only dared to turn the first page and didn't dare to move any further. The words written on the book were all ancient characters that he didn't recognize. He could only guess that it was an ancient medical book. As for what it talked about, he didn't understand.
Apart from the medical book, the remaining books are the most popular enlightenment books such as the Three Character Classic, which don't seem to be worth much.
Gu Xiashi was only a half-baked person in the study of antiques. Although he spoke very well, he actually just read a few more books and learned a little from the lonely old man at the head of the village who claimed to be a descendant of the Qing Dynasty. The old man was probably a playboy back then. He was most proficient in the appraisal of miscellaneous artifacts. He never taught Gu Xiashi anything about poetry, calligraphy and painting. So when Gu Xiashi saw the ancient books handed over by his nephew, he was a little at a loss.
"It looks like it might be a good thing, but the book is too tattered. I guess no one would want it if I put it away." Gu Xiashi shook his head. Ancient books like this were the most troublesome things nowadays. Not only were they too hot to handle, but there was no telling whether they would be able to sell them in the future. It was really a big hassle.
Gu Xiashi directly advised his nephew to throw away those books. Jiang Yilu took the most worn medical book while his uncle was not paying attention, intending to take it back to let Grandpa Bai have a look.
In the past two years, he has been learning martial arts with Huo Wu and also wanted to learn medicine from Bai Fangqiu. However, rebirth is not omnipotent. Even if he has an extra memory of another life, it does not mean that he can succeed in everything he learns.
Studying medicine was his biggest setback. Although he had memorized the medical skills that Grandpa Bai had taught him, he was still at a loss when it came to those complicated subjects and the profound theories of Yin Yang and the Five Elements. Bai Fangqiu sighed more than once. With his talent for memorizing, he could only be a good medicine dispenser. If he were to see patients, the weeds on the graves of these patients would probably be three feet high.
Jiang Yilu was hit by these words and finally gave up his enthusiasm for studying medicine. However, he never gave up the idea of studying medicine with Bai Fangqiu. If he couldn't do it, he still had four sisters. There must be one who could do it. After a few years when traditional Chinese medicine was rehabilitated, studying medicine would be a good way out.
He originally thought that his gentle and considerate eldest sister might be the most suitable to study medicine, but he never expected that it was his second sister with the hottest temper who won the old man's favor in the end. Now, except for school days, Grandpa Bai would take his second sister to the mountains to teach her to identify herbs. I don't know what benefits Grandpa Bai gave to grandma, but grandma didn't seem to be dissatisfied with the second sister stopping working.
Jiang Yilu wanted to take this medical book back and show it to Grandpa Bai, but he didn't know if it would be useful to them.
Gu Xiashi took his nephew, tidied his clothes, and walked outside.
"You've found the comic books. You, as a father, really love your children." The gatekeeper smiled at the two of them while cracking melon seeds.
"What can I do? I only have one son, and he insists on reading picture books. Can I, as a father, persuade him?" Gu Xiashi smiled helplessly, holding a few picture books that he had prepared long ago.
In order to avoid suspicion from others, they only came to the recycling station once every one or two months. Even so, the gatekeeper was still impressed by the "father and son".
"Only one child? That won't do. There's been talk of family planning recently. It's said that a family can only have one child in the future. I don't know if it's true or not. Young man, you're still young, so hurry up and have more children with your wife, otherwise you'll regret it when you're old."
The elder sister looked at Gu Xiashi and said noisily, "What's the use of having a child? Who knows if the child will be filial in the future? What if he is an ungrateful person? It will be too late to regret in the future." After saying that, she realized that Jiang Yilu was standing next to Gu Xiashi, and smiled awkwardly with her hands covering her mouth, "But this little kid is smart and cute. He will definitely have a bright future. You two don't have to worry about it anymore, hahahaha——"
Jiang Yilu looked at the other person's exaggerated smile with a frown on his face, but he remembered the family planning that the other person had just mentioned. In his previous life, family planning really started in 1971, which was next year. He didn't expect that their county was well-informed and the news came so quickly.
Jiang Yilu remembered that in his previous life, they were not strict in checking family planning at the beginning. It was not until the late 1970s that the Women's Federation began to check it strictly. Almost all pregnant women who violated the regulations were arrested and forced to have abortions. Those who were not pregnant were also required to have an IUD. At that time, almost the entire county was filled with pregnant women who had more children than allowed and were fighting a guerrilla war with the Women's Federation. Some even fled back to their parents' homes far away, and only came back secretly after giving birth.
Jiang Yilu remembered all this because he remembered that his aunt would be found out to be pregnant in the first half of next year, and this plan would just be launched at that time. That child was what Jiang Dazhen had been looking forward to for a long time. Ever since she gave birth to Meng Xiangxue, she had always wanted to have another daughter. At that time, family planning was not strictly enforced, and almost all pregnancies were given birth. However, Jiang Dazhen miscarried that baby. She said that she went to the hospital to have the baby aborted in order to respond to the country's call.
The whole family scolded his aunt for being stupid, but Jiang Yilu felt that there must be something hidden behind it. He still could not forget the look of his aunt coming home with red and swollen eyes when he was a child.
During that period, Aunt Jiang was in tears almost all the time, until the uncle came to the house and talked to the aunt in the room. The aunt finally went back with the uncle. From then on, the aunt loved them even more, and gave them all the love she had for her unborn daughter. In the hearts of the sisters, the aunt was closer to them than their own mother.
Jiang Yilu thought that he must find out the truth of this matter in this life and help his aunt keep the child she loved so much.
"Xiaobao, Xiaobao——"
Gu Xiashi waved his hand in front of his nephew several times: "You want those books in the recycling bin, how about I go and get them back for you?"
Gu Xiashi saw his nephew in a daze and thought he was thinking about the books he had not taken out, so he turned around and was about to go back.
"No, I just thought about the meat buns I had in the morning and I was craving for them!" Jiang Yilu came back to his senses and held his uncle's hand. What a joke, the book was already in his space, and his uncle didn't find anything when he went back. Wouldn't that be a bad thing?
Seeing him licking his lips greedily, Gu Xiashi smiled and said, "It's just a few buns. Uncle will buy them for you. Eat as much as you can first."
Gu Xiashi patted his chest and promised proudly.
Speaking of his uncle's source of income, Jiang Yiliu was a little curious. He had never seen his uncle make money, but every time he took him out, his uncle looked like he had plenty of money, whether it was money or tickets. And now at home, it seemed that no one except him knew that his uncle had such a rich family property. Even his grandmother didn't know what his uncle was doing. In front of his family, he was still that useless, second-rate guy who depended on his mother for support, so no one was willing to introduce him to a partner. Jiang Yiliu wanted to persuade him, but his uncle would threaten him that he would never take him out again, and the situation remained at a stalemate.
"What's so good about getting married? How can you be free alone? When I get old, will you and your sisters still look after your uncle and ignore him?"
This is a sentence that Gu Xiashi often said. Jiang Yilu thought that his uncle's ideas might really be beyond this era, and the later generations' non-marriageism was more suitable for his current ideas. However, if this sentence spread now, many people would probably point at his head and call him a lunatic.
After his rebirth, Jiang Yilu no longer felt that it was necessary for people to get married and have children. However, if possible, he still hoped that his uncle could find someone who understood him and live a happy life.
"Okay, these things are for your mother. Let her make new clothes for Dani and the others. They are already grown up, but they still wear coats made from her old clothes every day. If they date someone in the future, they will be looked down upon."
Gu Xiashi carried out some cloth from the supply and marketing cooperative and said to Jiang Yilu, "Dani will be 17 after the Chinese New Year. In the countryside, she is old enough to find a partner."
Because the junior high school in the county was closed, Dani had nothing to do after graduating from elementary school. Old Mrs. Miao wanted her to come back home to work, but Jiang Dazhen found an apprenticeship for her niece, with a salary of more than ten yuan a month, and she has been living in the county town these days. In this way, Jiang Dani completely lost contact with Teacher Rong, which made Jiang Yiliu feel relieved.
He didn't want his eldest sister to get married so early, but he could still accept making new clothes.
"You'd better keep an eye on your mother. Don't let your grandmother take these fabrics away again. This New Year, I want your elder sisters to come to your house wearing new clothes." Gu Xiashi reminded solemnly. It was not that he was narrow-minded, but that Old Lady Miao had too many criminal records.
The New Year is coming soon. Jiang Yilu feels unhappy when he thinks of that troublemaker at his grandma's house and that mean aunt. But when he thinks of his kind grandma, he can only bear it.
Sooner or later he would have to find a way to make his elder and second uncles separate the family property, so that his grandmother would not be killed by that woman again in this life.
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