Hua Kai and the others had dinner at Hua Wanhai's house. Hua Qingyi and Hua Qingyang stayed there to keep the old man company while Hua Kai went home with her parents.
After the Little New Year, the festive atmosphere in the village becomes stronger.
Hua Kai was thinking of taking advantage of these few days to go out and buy some antiques, but then this happened again. But now it seems that since she doesn't have to take care of things herself, she'll go out for a bike ride with her older brother starting tomorrow to see how things go. At this time, buying anything won't lose money.
The next day, Hua Kai told her parents about going to collect antiques. She didn't mention how much money she would make in the future, but just said that Ye Yifan's grandfather liked them. Anyway, she wasn't busy these days, so she just went out to take a look. She wouldn't be out all the time, just two or three hours a day would be enough.
The family has always supported what Huakai wants to do, because nothing she does is ever anything improper, and it never lasts too long, so there's nothing to stop her from doing.
In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the market closes early, usually before noon, as everyone is in a hurry to go home and prepare for the holiday. There aren't many people eating lunch at the market, so Gu Lanyan stopped selling pancakes and focused on preparing for the New Year at home.
Hua Kai and Hua Qingyi rode their bikes to a nearby village. That's the good thing about the countryside; once you get there, you can just go from house to house and ask around without having to hawk your wares. People are very simple-minded back then; asking someone for something or a drink of water is a small matter.
Hua Kai and Hua Qingyi started asking around from the very first shop, and surprisingly, they found quite a lot, especially bronze artifacts, partly because bronze artifacts are easy to preserve.
There are also calligraphy and paintings, but they are mostly badly damaged. As for things like flowers that I don't understand, I'd rather not accept them. I try to preserve things as intact as possible.
Because there are many things left behind by the Manchus in this area, even some people's pickle jars are antiques.
Some of the ornaments are passed down from the older generation. Many people in rural areas don't know what they are. They mostly recognize gold and silver, but they don't care much about things like red coral and turquoise. Some of them are strung into bracelets and necklaces for their children to wear for fun.
However, to be honest, Huakai doesn't know much about it either. She can only ask more questions and try her best to select well-preserved and complete items for purchase.
The prices aren't high, especially in Yantai. Copper items like paperweights are in high demand; if the price is double that of scrap metal brass, people will scramble to buy them. Many families used to sell these copper items as scrap.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, everyone is doing a thorough cleaning. These things are now considered junk by them, so they collect them when the flowers bloom, saying that their relatives like these old things, and many people have gone home to look for them.
In one morning, Hua Kai spent all 100 yuan she had on buying things, getting two bags full. She wasn't sure if everything was valuable, but one thing was certain: there were no scammers. They had found everything on the spot, and the prices were only slightly higher than normal items, so there was no chance of being cheated.
Hua Kai and Hua Qingyi pushed their bicycles back, and once inside the courtyard, they were both so tired that they sat down on the steps to catch their breath, because the bronze artifacts were so heavy.
When they returned, Hua Wanjiang and Gu Lanyan came out and helped carry the things into the house.
After tidying up inside, Gu Lanyan went to heat up some food for the brother and sister. At noon, they went to Hua Wanhai's house to cook and eat with the old man. Then they brought some back for Hua Kai and Hua Qingyi.
Hua Qingyang didn't come back after dinner; he stayed there with Hua Chongzhi. In case the old man needed to use the restroom, he and Hua Wanhai's son could take care of it.
Hua Kai and Hua Qingyi washed their hands, opened all the things they had bought, took rags and started wiping them, then put them on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) to air dry.
Hua Wanjiang looked at the two children and saw that they had brought back so many identical things. He was a little confused: "Kaikai, you said there are more than ten inkstones, and they all look pretty much the same. Even if Grandpa Xiaofan likes them, he can just get two new ones."
Hua Kai thought for a moment and said, "Dad, I don't know how to explain this to you. Anyway, there are more and more people in the city who like antiques now. These things are limited. You think the things left over from that era will only become less and less. So, things become valuable because they are rare, right? Won't they become more valuable in the future? Let's give some to Grandpa Ye, and we can keep the rest. Who knows if these things will become treasures in a few decades? Anyway, they are not expensive now. It's better than not being able to buy them later, right?"
Although Hua Wanjiang couldn't fully understand, he felt that since the child earned a lot of money and didn't have any hobbies, it wasn't anything improper if she wanted to do it, so he let them be.
So he said, "Then don't overwork yourselves, bring back less tomorrow."
Hua Kai replied, "I understand, Dad. We can only manage this for another three or four days, and then it will be the New Year."
Hua Wanjiang said, "That's true, I'll help you wash them." As he spoke, he also started helping Hua Kai wash these things.
In the afternoon, after Gu Lanyan finished tidying up her own home, she went to Hua Wanhai's house to cook. She was quite tired from working on both sides.
As dusk fell, Ye Yifan's car arrived at the door. He had been too busy these past two days, but he really wanted the flowers to bloom today, so he came.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Huakai standing at the entrance. The flowers were smiling so brightly in the sunlight that they seemed to melt Ye Yifan's heart.
Hua Kai stepped forward to greet her: "You've come."
Ye Yifan smiled and nodded: "Yeah, I missed you all, so I came to check on you."
Hua Kai said, "Come inside, I have lots of good things to show you."
Ye Yifan followed Hua Kai into the house and was somewhat surprised to see so many antiques displayed along the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed): "Did you collect these?"
Hua Kai nodded: "Yeah, my brother and I went to buy them. So much for only 100 yuan, isn't that cheap? We've only bought from two villages. We'll go to a few more villages these days and get more. Who knows, we might make a fortune from these things in the future."
Ye Yifan looked at the blooming flowers and laughed: "Your brain is really only good for making money. Are you some kind of reincarnated God of Wealth?"
Hua Kai laughed and joked, "Maybe so." Then she added, "Pick out some nice ones, I've packed them up, and they're waiting for you to take them back to the provincial capital for Grandpa."
At this moment, Hua Wanjiang came in from outside. He had just gone to deliver something to Gu Lanyan's place. When he entered the house, he saw Ye Yifan's car and knew that Ye Yifan had come. He happily went inside and said, "Xiao Fan is here."
Ye Yifan said, "Uncle, I didn't have much to do at work, so I came over for a meal."
Hua Wanjiang said, "Then today I'll have your aunt cook your favorite twice-cooked pork, and Qingyi and Kaikai will stay home with you to eat."
Hua Kai was so focused on the antiques that she forgot to tell Ye Yifan about Zheng Shuzhen's accident.
She quickly said, "I forgot to tell you, my grandma had a stroke and is hospitalized in the township hospital. My fourth uncle and aunt have both gone to the township, so our family has to take care of my grandpa and my fourth uncle's younger brother these days. We've been bringing food to cook and eat there. If you don't mind, you can come and eat with us."
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