Once the work was finished, Gu Wei certainly couldn't let people help him for nothing.
However, if offered money, no one would accept it.
Therefore, he came up with a compromise.
Besides treating everyone to a meal, I'll make sure to treat them well.
Before leaving, I gave each family a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes and five catties of extra-fat pork.
However, he handled this matter discreetly, and no one knows about it yet.
On the round table to the side, there were chicken, duck, fish, meat, and ribs.
There was only one cold dish and one vegetable dish with dipping sauce, which could be considered vegetarian.
We didn't eat this well even during the Chinese New Year.
So everyone ate with gusto, their mouths greasy and their mouths full, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Gu Wei, having already eaten plenty of oil, didn't crave meat as much and focused on vegetables.
When he picked up another crisp radish to dip in the sauce, he noticed that Zhao Zhenghong's husband, who was sitting diagonally opposite him, was staring at him, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Dazi, what's wrong?"
After these two days of getting to know each other, Gu Wei and Zhao Zhenghong became much more familiar with each other, and she also learned more about her husband.
Of Zhao Dajiang's three sons-in-law, only Jin Hongda and Zhao Zhenghong were married through a love marriage. The two had a very good relationship, and the Jin family had not said anything about it.
Otherwise, Zhao Zhengyuan wouldn't be able to live at his third sister's house all day long, even though he works at the foot of the mountain.
Jin Hongda quickly said, "Brother Gu, there's something I need to tell you. A neighbor of mine came to me last night, wanting to exchange an old item passed down from his ancestors for a watch."
Zhao Zhenghong naturally knew about this, but he had forgotten about it because he was busy today.
Gu Wei paused involuntarily, raising her eyes to look at him: "What old object?"
"I saw it. It's a big bowl, and it's definitely quite old." Jin Hongda said, looking at Gu Wei with some trepidation.
"Let's go take a look after we finish eating. If it works out, you'll definitely get a reward for your hard work."
Gu Wei spoke casually, but his heart was pounding.
He suddenly had a breakthrough in his thinking and realized that he had narrowed his path again.
A collector once said that in the 1980s, there were genuine antiques everywhere.
Previously, he had even thought that since this place was located in a remote forest area, it might not have such a thing.
And that's how they came knocking on our door?
Jin Hongda waved his hand sheepishly, "Brother Gu, no need, I..."
Gu Wei interrupted him with a smile: "What do you mean you don't need to? There's no reason for your hard work to be in vain. My rule here is that whoever helps make the connection will receive a fee."
"Oh well."
Jin Hongda was secretly overjoyed.
He had long envied his brother-in-law and father-in-law for helping Gu Wei sell watches and earning a hard-earned living.
His relationship with his brother-in-law Zhao Zhengyuan was even closer than that with his eldest and second sister's husbands.
Therefore, he knew that his brother-in-law would soon have enough money to buy a television.
They've only been married a short time, yet they're already able to afford such a large item.
It's impossible for him not to have some thoughts in his mind.
The others at the table, while eating and drinking, also listened attentively to the conversation between the two.
Zhao Dajiang couldn't help but say, "Even if it really is an old item, Gu Wei, you'd be at a disadvantage if you traded it for a watch, wouldn't you?"
“Yeah, this stuff isn’t like wild ginseng or tiger penis and deer penis, which can be used in medicine and have great uses.” When Zhao Zhengyuan was running around, he did encounter some that he wanted to trade, but he didn’t have the expertise, and he also felt it wasn’t worth it.
Gu Jianguo also chimed in, "Besides, we don't know much about old things, so we're easily fooled and misled."
Gu Wei understood that it was normal for them to think this way, because the industry itself was very complex, and they didn't know that antique collecting would become so popular decades later.
"I wouldn't say I'm losing money. I have clients who are willing to buy these old items; I didn't think they were available here before. However, I definitely need to screen them when I buy them, and if I can buy something with money, I won't use a watch."
The cost of Gu Wei's quartz watches would be less than ten yuan in modern times.
In 1984, no matter how much tuition he paid, he could afford it.
As the saying goes, "If you don't open for business for three years, you can live off it for three years when you do."
He'll become incredibly wealthy once he receives a few genuine items!
Apart from Zhao Dajiang and Zhao Zhengyuan, Gu Jianguo and the others present also had a look of ecstasy in their eyes.
After all, there are far more people who own old items than those who possess wild ginseng or tiger penis.
After the meal, Gu Wei took out the prepared items and let them take them with them.
Zhao Dajiang immediately became anxious: "This is unacceptable! The little bit of work we did is nothing compared to what you helped us with!"
Tang Jiamei quickly added, "That's right, we're so happy to be able to help you in any way."
Li Guizhi and Gu Jianguo also said urgently, "You've helped us a lot, arranging jobs for us and providing food and lodging. Isn't it only right that we do some work?"
"If we accept it, what kind of people will we be? We'll be scolded to death every time we see your grandfather and father!"
Zhao Zhengyuan and Zhao Zhenghong, a married couple, also refused.
Gu Wei had long anticipated this scene.
He smiled and said, "Since none of you want them, I'll give each of you a watch."
Zhao Dajiang shook his head vigorously: "That's even more impossible! We'll only work for two days, and that'll be more than someone else's monthly salary!"
"Anyway, it's either one or the other, you decide for yourselves. And as everyone knows, I don't smoke."
Gu Wei kicked the ball to their feet.
Finally, everyone was forced to accept the cigarettes and meat with reluctance.
Afterwards, Gu Wei followed Jin Hongda to his neighbor's house.
My neighbor's surname is Wu, and his family also moved here from another place.
The Wu family only had one old woman with bound feet.
When they saw that Jin Hongda had indeed brought people over, and upon hearing that it was to exchange watches, they immediately took out an old item wrapped in several layers of cloth from the locked cabinet.
Gu Wei carefully took it and examined it frame by frame.
The bowl is entirely blue, surrounded by small blue flowers that intertwine and look very pretty.
He looked at it and saw that the bottom of the bowl was engraved with the words "Made in the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty".
Although Gu Wei knew nothing about antiques.
But intuitively, it looks like the real thing.
He won his first battle; could it be that he actually managed to snag a bargain?
Grandma Wu stood with her hands behind her back, squinting as she stared intently at Gu Wei, not missing a single change in his expression.
"How about it? This is a treasure passed down from my ancestors. Can you exchange it for a watch?"
Gu Wei gently placed the bowl on the kang (a heated brick bed) in front of the old lady, lowered his eyes and said, "Actually, I don't really think this bowl is any good. But for Da Zi's sake, I'll exchange it for you."
Grandma Wu's cloudy eyes immediately flashed with an astonishing light: "Then give me a new women's watch."
Gu Wei quickly took out a watch from his bag and completed the transaction with the old lady.
Unbeknownst to Gu Wei, shortly after he and Jin Hongda left, one of the old lady's family members returned.
Grandma Wu excitedly showed her new watch to her youngest son, and then said proudly, "I ran into a clueless guy who didn't know anything. The antique shop only offered fifteen yuan for our big bowl, but I managed to trade it with him for a watch!"
"Quickly send a telegram to your uncle, tell him to bring over some old things from home to exchange for the watch! If you're too late, that silly boy might not be able to get it when he realizes what's going on!"
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