This is his second home, and he is also very happy...
The script has been written, but if the protagonist is not there, the play cannot be performed.
Cheng Sizhou felt a little disappointed, but he could understand it. Not to mention that Zichuan was a boy, even if he was a girl, he would be extremely nervous when meeting his parents for the first time.
But if I miss this opportunity, I will have to postpone it again before I can make any progress.
Not wanting to keep his master and mistress waiting for too long, Cheng Sizhou sent a message to Wen Zichuan, saying that it was cold outside and if he really didn't want to go in, he could just take a taxi home and he would bring him something delicious later.
After sending it, he looked around again, but still didn't see anyone, so he had to walk in alone.
"Put it down. We don't need your help. Go upstairs and sit with your master for a while." Lin Xin was wearing an apron, and the few white hairs on her temples looked a little messy. She pursed her lips and smiled, then pushed him to the stairs.
"Master's wife, just keep it simple and don't get tired." Cheng Sizhou put his arm around her shoulders. After not seeing her for a long time, she seemed to have aged a lot.
"Go ahead. It's cold. We'll eat upstairs later." Lin Xin patted him on the back and went about his business.
During the New Year holidays, Jiang Yunli, who had already retired, was not idle. He sat hunched on the sofa, with a pair of reading glasses on his nose, flipping through paper documents with some effort. When he saw Cheng Sizhou coming, he quickly packed up his things and made room for him.
"Come on, sit down." Jiang Yunli stood up and poured a cup of tea and handed it to him, "Have a sip of hot tea to warm you up."
Cheng Sizhou took the tea, thanked him, and found that the cup was made of high-quality porcelain and bamboo. The white porcelain was delicate, the bamboo weaving craftsmanship was also good, and it could also insulate heat. Although the tea was a little hot when it went into the mouth, it was warm and comfortable in the hand.
"It was sent by your master's wife's old colleague, a native of Shu, and it's a specialty of their area," Jiang Yunli introduced.
"Oh, yes," Cheng Sizhou put the gift box on the table, "This is for you and Master's wife."
Jiang Yunli took a glance at it. He was a tea drinker and understood tea. The long, square box was either filled with cigarettes or tea.
"Why spend so much money? There are only two of us in the family, and we can't finish this little bit of tea in a few months."
"What's the big deal about drinking tea? If you're used to it, I'll bring you more. If you're not, you can give it as a gift to someone else, and I'll bring you something else."
Jiang Yunli looked at him and said, "It's been a while since we last met, but you seem to be more talkative now than before."
Cheng Sizhou did want to please his master and mistress, but since the protagonist was not there, no matter how attentive he was, it would be of no avail.
"When Master was here, I didn't feel anything different; after Master left, I see nothing similar." He put down his teacup and spoke in a profound manner.
"You little bastard! That's nonsense! I'm retired, not gone!"
"Oh, I was wrong. You deserve a beating!"
Cheng Sizhou smiled and slapped himself twice. He wanted to just flatter someone, but the words slipped out before he could think through them. After his master reminded him, he realized that he had used the wrong allusion.
"It's New Year's Day, what are you two doing?" Lin Xin came over with a plate of stir-fried vegetables. "There are so many historical allusions, it's possible that Xiao Zhou got it wrong. Isn't it enough that the intention is the same? We're about to eat, don't make it like we're at work. You scared a good kid."
"Look, your master's wife is so biased that it's all over the Pacific Ocean! Heaven and earth are my witnesses, you hit yourself, she saw it all, but you still blame me." Jiang Yunli took off his reading glasses and smiled rarely.
Lin Xin was too lazy to argue with him, so he walked to the table, set the dishes, and told them to wash their hands.
When Cheng Sizhou came back after washing, he saw his master's wife was about to sit down, but her attention was attracted by something and she suddenly stopped.
She almost immediately walked over, took down the photo frame on the cabinet, folded the stand, and put it in the drawer: "Old Jiang, what a fool! Why would he take it out for no reason?"
In fact, Cheng Sizhou saw the photo when he first arrived.
It was a family photo he was very familiar with, taken on June 16, 2000. He and Jiang Anyi were born on the same day, month, and year, and that day was their tenth birthday.
Jiang Anyi knew early on that they were going to take a family photo, so she had to invite her good friend to come along, so this family photo includes Jiang Yunli, Lin Xin, Jiang Anyi and Cheng Sizhou.
The developed photos were owned by the Jiang family and the Cheng family had one.
But ever since Jiang Anyi's accident, Ms. Wang put the photo away. Although Cheng Sizhou hasn't seen it for many years, he can still recall all the past events at a glance.
"It's okay, Xiao Zhou, sit down and eat." Lin Xin stood between him and the cabinet, as if this way they could pretend nothing had happened.
"Oh, okay, you sit down too." Cheng Sizhou turned his eyes away. If it wasn't necessary, he wouldn't mention the past and make the two elders sad in vain.
As soon as Jiang Yunli came back and saw the situation, he understood.
For eighteen years, neither you nor I mentioned it, and it has become an unspoken understanding between the two generations.
"You're welcome, eat more." Lin Xin placed a plate of sweet and sour pork ribs in front of Cheng Sizhou. This was her specialty and she always made it for him.
Cheng Sizhou thanked his master's wife and raised his cup to toast his master.
He can't drink much, but today, he has to drink with his master. Fortunately, his family is together and no one is forcing him to drink, so he has no worries.
The heater was on in the room, and I felt a little hot after drinking a few sips. I looked outside through the gap in the curtains. I saw fluorescent dots dancing under the street lights. It must be snowing.
"Auspicious snow means a good harvest!" Jiang Yunli felt relaxed after drinking it. He looked out the window and breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, probably in every lighted window, there is a happy family, happily reuniting and feasting.
Wen Zichuan received the message, but did not take a taxi to leave.
He walked around to the back of the building, and a ray of warm light from the windowsill happened to hit him. He seemed to hear the sound of clinking glasses, as if he could share the joy of family reunion.
But it was too cold on a snowy night.
He couldn't explain why he didn't leave. Perhaps he was just obsessed with waiting, waiting for Cheng Sizhou to finish his meal, and then go home with him.
Or maybe if he deceived himself once, Brother Zhou would not hate himself for being a coward who fled from the battlefield.
So his mother understood him. What made him who he was was related to all his experiences. Born in such a family and growing up with such difficulties, his biggest fear was being looked down upon.
After all, no matter how low one's self-esteem is, it will hurt when it is dismembered, and it will take a long time and a lot of comfort to resolve.
The situation he faced with Cheng’s parents in the hospital was still vivid in his mind, and he really didn’t dare to come again.
The cold air brought by the flying snow rushed up, and the injured part of Wen Zichuan was particularly sensitive to the cold. He stomped his feet, put on the hood of his down jacket, squatted down without caring about his image, and curled himself into a ball.
"Master, I have something to ask you." Cheng Sizhou spat out a slippery piece of bone. "Do you know that six-handled porcelain gui that was on display last time? Is it the real thing or a replica?"
"A replica? Why do you ask?" Jiang Yunli frowned. "Have you met Gu Yanxun?"
Sure enough, he couldn't hide it.
"I met him by chance. I was curious about why he left Dengbo, so I asked him a few more questions."
"The matter with Xiao Gu was, after all, a misunderstanding."
"What misunderstanding?"
"Old Zhang is the most amiable person. In all his years as a leader, I've never seen him lose his temper with anyone," Jiang Yunli recalled. "The tour group that year was introduced by the embassy, and the authorities attached great importance to it. But they clearly came prepared, and they kept asking questions about a few special artifacts in the collection. Old Zhang was furious, but he dared not speak out."
The "Old Zhang" that Jiang Yunli mentioned is Zhang Hongliang, the director of Dengyuan Museum.
"Special collections? Those national treasures that aren't exhibited abroad."
"Almost. The six-handled porcelain gui you mentioned isn't a national treasure, but in principle it won't leave the country."
"I understand. Teacher Gu has walked into trouble."
"Actually, Lao Zhang didn't take it to heart. It was the people below who were used to reading people's expressions and thought Xiao Gu had offended their leader. Word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until the story got out of hand. But no matter how good Lao Zhang's temper was, he was still the leader, and he couldn't possibly apologize to Xiao Gu. But Xiao Gu was determined to leave."
"Ultimately, it's all caused by those foreign tour groups. But they're too arrogant. We have so many cultural relics flowing out, and they're still eyeing our collections back home."
"The field of cultural relics protection is a long and arduous journey! Take the war years, for example. Planes dropped bombs from the sky, and teachers and students risked their lives to protect these relics. It's the same now, except it's become a war without the smoke of gunpowder. You are young and full of vigor, and it's easy to be led by those with ulterior motives. You must distinguish right from wrong and protect our own things."
"So the six-eared porcelain gui is real?"
"Are you just sitting there doing nothing for the archaeological team? With so many people watching over the excavation site, who would dare to cheat? Besides, it was Old Zhang who led the team himself back then."
Cheng Sizhou was influenced by everything and had heard about the archaeological team.
In the early years of archaeology, there were not as good equipment and conditions as there are today. Various detectors can be used to determine the orientation and shape of tombs or ruins, and more reliance was placed on human experience.
Anyone working in this field wants to have some achievements to show for themselves. This not only affects the success of their future academic career, but is also closely related to their future prospects and reputation.
But to achieve something, both strength and luck are often indispensable.
Cheng Sizhou had heard that a professor took his students to explore a field, but they didn't find anything after digging for a year. Then another professor came and dug a shovel one meter away from them and discovered the ruins of an ancient city that shocked the whole country.
You mean the guy in front, who should he cry to?
So although the six-eared porcelain gui is special, it should be the proof of Director Zhang's "fame in one battle" back then. It would be strange if he didn't get angry when Gu Yanxun ran up to him and questioned the authenticity of the porcelain gui.
"Look at you two, you're so busy chatting that you haven't even taken a few bites of the food, and it's all cold." Lin Xin scolded, "I'll go heat it up for you."
"Master's wife, let me do it." Cheng Sizhou quickly stood up, took off his coat, and went to get an apron.
The master and his wife were both short, and the apron was also a small size. Cheng Sizhou could barely fit it into his head. Not only could he not fasten it at the back, but it also scratched the keychain hanging on his waist.
He thought the key was in the way, so he took it and put it on the dining table.
"Forget it, I'll do it." Seeing his embarrassment, Lin Xin narrowed his eyes and smiled. He quickly took off his apron, put it on himself, and went to heat up the food.
"What kind of jade is this? Where did you get it?" Jiang Yunli fiddled with the end of his chopsticks, "Don't you like these? I made you a jade Guanyin when we were little, but you had to tear it off after wearing it for only two days."
"It was given to me by a friend. It has no name. It must be a piece of unearthed jade."
"It's a piece of unearthed jade, but the hole in the middle is too big. It doesn't look like a jade pendant, and it doesn't look like a jade ring."
"Master, do you also understand jade?"
"I don't know much. But since it's unearthed jade, you should be more careful. If the source is legitimate, that's good. If it's not legitimate, then you have to do what you need to do."
"Understood, Master."
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