The 93rd day of being eavesdropped on
He Chunlian and her mother-in-law were very angry with Lin Lianhua, but they could not find any words to refute them and could only leave with hatred.
On this day, Gu Jinshui rushed to get two bottles of mountain ginseng wine from someone else. He did not like drinking, but he thought that his master usually liked to drink a glass of wine while reading before going to bed at night, so he packed up the wine, bought brined beef, pig ears, and peanuts, and went to the old man's house.
The old man was rehabilitated last year, and the original house was sold and replaced with a small courtyard house near Gu Jinshui's home.
He was reluctant to move at first, but Gu Jinshui persuaded him softly and hard, and sent his daughter to act as a lobbyist, and then he invited the old man to come.
There is no other way. Mr. Xi is already 73 years old. Who would let him live so far away at this age? If he lives closer, he can visit him every morning and evening and take care of him. If anything happens, he can find out in time.
When he arrived at the door of the old man's house, Gu Jinshui heard laughter coming from inside, as if there were guests.
He was secretly surprised. The old man was so lonely that he didn't even pay attention to the newspaper deliveryman. Who is here? He knocked on the door, then walked straight in, shouting as he walked: "Master, I brought something for you. Which room are you in?"
This small courtyard faces north and south, with three main rooms, and private rooms on the left and right. There is also a well and a pomegranate tree in the yard.
The old man came out of the main room and said, "Why are you shouting? Do you think I'm deaf?"
"Hey, Master, your hearing is very good. I'm shouting so loudly because I'm afraid you're doing something shameful and I'm afraid I'll see you."
Gu Jinshui teased and put the wine and food on the table.
They usually talk like this, and if you don't know, you might think they have a big grudge against each other.
"Old Xi, is this your apprentice?" The curtain in the next room was raised, and an elegant old man walked out.
The old gentleman was stunned when he saw Gu Jinshui, "Hey, why are you here?"
"Isn't this Professor Bai? Why are you here with my master?" Gu Jinshui was no less surprised than Professor Bai, and even looked at the old gentleman in surprise, "Master, is this your friend?"
"Nonsense, what? Can't your master have a friend?"
Xi Han retorted rudely, and nodded to Professor Bai, "This is my apprentice, he is useless, and he has barely entered the industry in the past few years."
He said so, but his tone was clearly very proud.
Professor Bai certainly would not take Xi Han's words seriously.
He was a very good person, and said with a smile: "Old Xi, don't lie. I have seen the ability of your apprentice before. Such a big vase, my apprentices all misjudged it, but he saw it clearly and was able to explain the tricks, which convinced my students."
Xi Han smiled.
He said to Gu Jinshui: "Go and get some wine glasses. It's dinner time now. I was thinking of going out to eat with Lao Bai. Fortunately, you brought wine and food, which saves us trouble."
"Don't worry, don't worry." Professor Bai waved his hand quickly, "I'm leaving now, so I won't bother you."
"Don't worry, Jinshui, just go."
Xi Han said decisively.
Gu Jinshui naturally listened to his master and went to the kitchen to get plates and wine glasses. Fearing that they would not be full with just this, he ran out and bought a pound of steamed buns.
Professor Bai looked at Gu Jinshui busying around, buying steamed buns and setting up the dishes, and couldn't help but praise him: "Old Xi, your apprentice is good, he is very hardworking, my students can't compare with your apprentice."
"That's what he is good at, he is hardworking." Xi Han said, "How can he compare with you top students."
Gu Jinshui smiled and said, "My master said that, I dare not compare with you Peking University students, how can I compare, come, Professor Bai, this is the real old mountain ginseng wine, sent by a rural friend, you must try it."
He poured Professor Bai a full glass.
Xi Han's eyes twitched, and he glanced at the foolish apprentice.
Such a good wine, why pour so much for outsiders, just give it as a token of his appreciation.
Gu Jinshui saw the old man's expression, but he suppressed his smile and pretended not to see it, and kept inviting Professor Bai to eat and drink.
Professor Bai was also a straightforward person, not shy at all. After three glasses of wine, he became much closer to Gu Jinshui, and said: "Jinshui, we two are destined to be together. I said before that I needed your help with something, but I was stuck these days. I was thinking of looking for you these days, but I met you here. This shows that we are destined to be together."
"Hey, don't talk nonsense. Whose apprentice are you destined to be with?"
Xi Han was not very happy and said something.
Gu Jinshui laughed and said, "Professor Bai, my master must be very happy to hear your words. He thinks I am a golden commodity and everyone wants me. But in fact, only my master can think highly of me. He is really suspicious."
Professor Bai obviously knew the temper of the old man and was not surprised at all. He said, "Are there many kinds of fate? It doesn't have to be a disciple. I think it's enough for Jinshui and I to be friends regardless of age. I really want to ask him to help me with something. There will be many benefits."
Obviously, Professor Bai was serious.
Gu Jinshui looked at the old man. If this happened outside, he could make his own decision. But if it happened in
front of the master and he was the master's friend, he would have to get the master's nod.
Xi Han asked, "What can stump you?"
"It's a painted pottery." Professor Bai said calmly, "Our school has been thinking about buying some antiques as teaching aids recently, so that students can see the big open door, so as to avoid being laughed at outside, saying that archaeologists can't even tell the real from the fake. It just so happens that a student bought a Neolithic painted pottery jar. Other professors said it was a big open door, dating back to the Neolithic period, but I think it looks like a later imitation, so I want to ask an expert to help judge it."
In fact, it would be better and more appropriate to ask Xi Han for this matter.
But Professor Bai knew Xi Han very well. Since those ten years, old Xi never helped others to judge things outside, even friends.
When he saw Gu Jinshui speaking so logically that day, he decided to ask him for help, but he didn't expect that Gu Jinshui was actually Xi Han's apprentice.
"Is that all?"
Xi Han said calmly, "Jinshui, just go there when you have time. I don't think it's a big deal."
"Then I'll listen to you, Master, Professor Bai. Just let me know when you can."
Gu Jinshui agreed immediately without any hesitation.
Professor Bai said yes repeatedly and toasted Xi Han and Gu Jinshui.
Before leaving, he agreed with Gu Jinshui to go to Peking University tomorrow afternoon and someone would pick him up then. After
seeing Professor Bai off, Gu Jinshui went back to the house and glanced at the table. The two bottles of ginseng wine had been put away. The old man came out of the house and said to Gu Jinshui with his hands behind his back, "Old Bai is pretty good to deal with. It won't do any harm if you get to know him more."
Gu Jinshui knew that the old man wanted to pave the way for him, and said with a smile, "Thank you for setting the stage for me today."
Xi Han snorted, "Just don't embarrass me tomorrow. They are doing serious archaeological research. Many of those people have become stupid because of reading too much, but they are still quite arrogant, not all of them are like Lao Bai. "
When Gu Jinshui heard the tone of the old man, he knew that the old man must have seen those people's faces before, and patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I will show them my skills later, and I guarantee that they will drop their jaws."
The slogan was released, and Gu Jinshui really did it temporarily after returning. He found several books written by the old man before and read them one by one.
He has collected quite a few things in the past few years, mostly porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, and ancient coins, but not many pottery. The reason is that pottery is not easy to sell, and it is too old. It is a bit risky to trade in this way. It is better to do porcelain
, calligraphy and paintings, which are safe. But Gu Jinshui also collected one or two good pottery.
For example, there are pottery pots with double handles and folded shoulders and pottery plates with triangular patterns. Although there are not many pottery pots, Gu Jinshui is not afraid to see pottery.
The next afternoon.
Gu Jinshui went to the university. As soon as he walked to the door, he saw the few idiots who had been making trouble a few days ago standing there.
"Guangwen, people are coming." The classmate pushed Qian Guangwen.
Qian Guangwen also saw Gu Jinshui, and his face was a little embarrassed, but he still walked forward, "Mr. Gu, our professor asked us to pick you up." " You
made such a big fuss to pick me up, so many people came."
Gu Jinshui joked.
Qian Guangwen was even more embarrassed. He was afraid of losing face, so he wanted to pull his classmates over to help him look good. "Our professor said that he had invited you with great difficulty, so we have to be more solemn."
This was quite pleasant to hear.
Gu Jinshui nodded and asked Qian Guangwen to lead the way to find Professor Bai.
Professor Bai was in the office at the moment, arguing with several professors.
When Gu Jinshui came, they were arguing fiercely. A professor in a suit pointed to the painted pottery basin with human face and fish pattern on the table and said, "Professor Bai, how can this thing not be an opening? You couldn't explain it before, and now you want to invite people to see it. Don't I say, aren't you wasting everyone's time?"
Professor Bai was obviously a little excited, but he still suppressed his anger and said, "Professor Lin, what you said is not right. How can it be considered a waste of everyone's time? Don't we buy these things to let students gain more knowledge? I feel suspicious about this thing. We should find out whether it is real or not, otherwise it will be bad to mislead the students."
"Okay, you just think that what my students bought is fake, how about I pay for it, isn't it okay?" Professor Lin showed an impatient look on his face and spoke in a very aggressive tone.
Gu Jinshui felt that this man was quite rogue when he heard this.
Professor Bai's consideration made sense, and it was obviously not for the money, but he brought up the money. Looking at the way Professor Bai bought the vase for the students before, you can tell that this person is not short of money and is not stingy.
"Professor Bai!" Gu Jinshui greeted him.
Professor Bai just realized he was here, and he was immediately relieved. He pulled him over and said, "Professor Lin, I emphasize again, this is not about money, this is a question of whether the item is real or fake. You can say I'm genuine, or you can say I'm reckless, but I've invited someone to help us judge whether this item is worthy of the name or not."
Before Professor Lin could say anything, a fat man next to him became unhappy. He was not very old, probably in his early twenties, well-dressed, and you could tell from the looks of him that he came from a well-off family, so he looked quite innocent.
"Professor Bai, aren't you being ridiculous? Who did you hire? How do we know if he's trustworthy?"
"He's the owner of an antique shop in Panjiayuan. He has a good eye. Guangwen bought the Xianfengnian vase from him."
Professor Bai introduced.
Gu Jinshui was quick to notice that the fat man opposite him was looking at him with disdain. "He's just an antique shop owner with no education. You let him judge it. Professor Bai, you're kidding. So many professors in our school have said it's real. Why do you insist it's fake?" If he was a
thin-skinned person, he would be angry.
But Gu Jinshui had a good attitude. Not only did he not get angry, but he secretly admired the old man's foresight. He didn't know if it was because he had experienced it before or what.
He had just arrived and realized the discrimination of the regular team against these unconventional people.
But Gu Jinshui knew that the quality
of one's eyesight had nothing to do with academic qualifications. In the years he had been in the antique business, he had seen many high-ranking officials and intellectuals who had made mistakes, and he had also seen
people with little education or even illiterates whose eyesight was better than the others. For example, an old man who shoveled the land that he knew before, he was over 50 years old, had no education, and could only write his own name, but he could tell whether pottery was real or fake. He had such a sharp eye that he could tell immediately whether it was real or fake with just one glance.
"Sun Zhiping, please be respectful to others!"
Professor Bai's face flushed and veins on his forehead bulged.
He was so angry that his voice was shaking.
"Professor Bai, it's okay, it's really okay. I don't have much education. I just graduated from junior high school and haven't received my diploma yet." Gu Jinshui was very open-minded and didn't bother with Sun Zhiping at all. "You trust me and asked me to come. I won't refuse. Let's just look at the things directly. Whether I have the ability or not, whether the things are good or not, we have to try them first."
Professor Bai felt a little sorry for Gu Jinshui.
He pointed to the painted pottery basin on the table, "This is it. I have to trouble you to see if it has a door?"
Gu Jinshui looked at everyone and asked, "You don't mind me trying it, right?"
"Just wait and see, I want to see what you can say." Sun Zhiping's tone was a little arrogant, looking at people with squinted eyes, with an arrogant look.
Professor Bai stared at him for a few times, but he didn't intend to change his attitude.
Gu Jinshui picked up the pottery basin directly. The basin was made of red clay, with a flat fold and a square round lip. The inner wall was decorated with two sets of symmetrical human face and fish patterns. The shape was vivid and cute, and quite interesting.
After looking at it for a while, Gu Jinshui put it down and asked, "What price did you pay for it?"
"Eight hundred yuan was given to me,"
Sun Zhiping said proudly.
Gu Jinshui laughed and shook his head, saying, "You overpaid for it. If you go to Sichuan to buy it, you can get it for thirty yuan."
Sun Zhiping and others were stunned. Professor Lin asked with a sullen face, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that we overpaid?"
Gu Jinshui took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands. Hearing this, he was stunned for a moment and laughed, "Oh, sorry, you didn't understand what I said. I mean that this thing is 100% fake."
"How can it be fake? Do you know about painted pottery? There is rust on it!"
Sun Zhiping pointed at the pottery basin and asked excitedly.
The spit flew to Gu Jinshui's face.
Gu Jinshui stepped back and said, "Brother, it's very common to make mistakes in the antique circle. Everyone has bought fake works. You don't need to be so excited. This thing is just a later imitation. Look at the craftsmanship, it's still from Sichuan."
"You're talking nonsense!" Sun Zhiping was angry and picked up the painted pottery basin. "It's really boring to compare with an uneducated person like you."
"Zhiping, put the thing down. Since they say it's fake, they can definitely tell the difference." The smile on Professor Lin's face was like the thin ice on the pond in early spring, faint and fragile.
Gu Jinshui smiled and said, "That's easy to explain. First of all, I knew it was a waste of time before I even tried it myself. It's just a feeling."
Professors in the surrounding offices heard that there was a lot of excitement here and came over to join in the fun.
One professor couldn't help but said, "You can rely on your feelings? This is too mysterious."
Gu Jinshui said, "Don't worry, our feelings are sometimes more accurate than knowledge. It's like these two people walking in front of us with their backs to each other. We can't see their faces clearly, but we can definitely feel who is a man and who is a woman, right?"
"That does make sense."
The professor touched his chin, "Then how do you rely on your feelings in this line of work?"
"It's very simple, just watch and practice more. If you see too many real things, you will feel something is wrong when you see the fake ones." Gu Jinshui said, "Of course, it's not just based on feelings, you also have to pay attention to details. Who has hot water? Bring me a cup."
Qian Guangwen hurriedly poured a cup of hot water and handed it to Gu Jinshui.
Gu Jinshui took it and was about to pour it on the painted pottery. Sun Zhiping suddenly became anxious: "Hey, what are you doing? What if you pour such hot water on it and it gets damaged?"
As soon as Sun Zhiping said this, Professor Bai and others looked at him strangely.
Professor Lin coughed against his lips, "Zhiping, these things were used to hold water in the past, and the temperature of firing the painted pottery is 800 to 1,000 degrees Celsius, how could they be scalded?"
Sun Zhiping was embarrassed, "Teacher, I'm just afraid that he will damage it."
"Don't worry, this pottery basin will not be damaged by scalding." Gu Jinshui said as he poured hot water onto the pottery rust outside the basin, "But the pottery rust can't be saved."
Everyone saw the hot water pouring down, and the pottery rust outside the pottery basin was shaking and about to fall off. Gu Jinshui pushed it with his hand, and the rust fell off.
Gu Jinshui took the rust in his hand and said, "Look, this is another place that proves this thing is fake. Real pottery rust grows on pottery, just like black spots on the human body. It is hard to remove it even if you use hot water, let alone scald it. But fake pottery rust will fall off when it is scalded, and it also has a fishy smell. If you don't believe me, smell it."
Everyone took the pottery rust and passed it around to smell it. It really has a fishy smell.
"And here, you see I just poured water here, and the water was absorbed. This is also a manifestation of fakery. Real painted pottery is fired at such a high temperature, and the density is needless to say. If you pour water on it, it will flow down. How can it be absorbed?"
Gu Jinshui said, pointing to a water mark on the pottery basin.
Everyone took a closer look and it was indeed true!
Faced with such irrefutable evidence, Professor Lin and his apprentice had nothing else to say but to admit that the item was indeed fake.
"This really opened my eyes. I am so grateful to you today, otherwise this fake item would have almost misled the students." Professor Bai was very grateful to Gu Jinshui and even took Gu Jinshui to dinner.
Gu Jinshui smiled and said, "You're welcome. I'm just helping out casually. Forget the meal. We've reserved some for you at home."
"How about this," Professor Bai felt a little uncomfortable when he saw that Gu Jinshui was adamant about not wanting to be treated to a meal. "A friend of mine at a newspaper wants to find someone to write some articles on how to identify antiques. He asked me to do it, but I've been busy teaching students lately and I really don't have the time. How about you help him by writing an article?"
"Me?"
Gu Jinshui was tempted, but also a little hesitant. "Will my family not despise my academic qualifications?"
Although Gu Jinshui did not feel that he was inferior to others in any way, he was considered a well-known person in Beijing in the identification of antiques, but some people just liked to use their academic qualifications as an excuse.
"Why can't you?" Professor Bai said, "If you agree, then my friend will get the upper hand. You are such an expert, so the ingredients must be genuine. Besides, you can also advertise your store." Professor Bai
laughed and teased, "Good wine needs to be known far and wide. This reputation will be good for you and your store. As for academic qualifications, many people in our industry are latecomers. Don't look at me as a professor of archaeology now. I studied literature back then. What does it have to do with this?"
Gu Jinshui was convinced and nodded, "Okay, then I'll try it later."
Professor Bai gave Gu Jinshui his friend's phone number and name, and said that he would let his friend contact him soon.
The response was quick, and they called the next day and decided to let Gu Jinshui write a 1,800-yuan tofu block.
He Chunlian and others were all surprised.
He Chunlian held her bowl in her hand and watched her son writing an article with a sad face. She was amazed and shook her head, sighing, "This is really unimaginable. I never dreamed that my son would be able to write an article and publish it in the newspaper."
"Grandma, his mother is you."
Gu Yousi kindly reminded her.
He Chunlian gave her a brainstorm, "You don't have to say it, but grandma knows that grandma is lamenting the fickleness of fate. Maybe our family can produce a great writer."
Gu Yousi could only say that her grandma was really bold.
He just wrote a piece of tofu, and it hasn't been published in the newspaper yet, and he has become a great writer.
But she obviously didn't realize that this was a great thing in the eyes of the people around her.
Gu Yinxing even dragged Yan Qian back with him, "My brother is so amazing, when the newspaper comes out, he must leave two copies for us, and I will take it back to show it to Grandpa Yan Qian and Grandma."
"You haven't made any progress yet, keep a low profile."
Gu Jinshui coughed and waved his hand, but his expression was obviously quite proud.
On the day when the tofu block was in the newspaper, He Chunlian bought 100 newspapers directly and not only gave them to her friends in the entertainment circle, but also took Gu Yousi to deliver newspapers door to door, and praised her son for his success, "Oh, this child was in the newspaper without saying anything. Yes, it talks about how to identify antiques. If you are interested, you can take a look."
The Gu family did not have a close relationship with the neighbors nearby, but this time they gave such a newspaper, and the relationship became closer.
When everyone heard that it was the owner of the antique shop who was in the newspaper, they looked at him with a higher opinion. Some
even took their own things to let Gu Jinshui help them to check them out, and their attitude was very polite.
Gu Yousi saw it and thought about it.
She took a newspaper and held it out before the morning reading class as if nothing had happened.
The classmates around couldn't help but look over, "Yousi, why did you bring a newspaper to school?"
"Oh, nothing, it's just that my dad's article was published in the newspaper, and I wanted to take a good look."
Gu Yousi's face was very calm, as if nothing had happened.
But the children around him shouted out, "Your dad was published in the newspaper, isn't that amazing?"
"It's not so bad, just made a hundred yuan." Gu Yousi waved his hands, "Earned a little money to support my family."
The children were stunned by the number.
A hundred yuan, this is a huge amount! !
So, in less than half a day, the whole school knew that Gu Yousi had a father who was a great writer, and he could make money just by writing.
Gu Yousi was very proud for a long time, thinking that it was no wonder that her grandmother was willing to deliver newspapers door to door. It was really nice to be praised.
However, in the afternoon, she ran into trouble.
Her Chinese teacher came to her with a smile, "Yousi, your father is so amazing that he can even be on the newspaper. You, his daughter, can't fall behind. Why don't you participate in our essay competition this time?"
Gu Yousi's face almost turned green.
She is an adult, and she was asked to participate in an essay competition. How could she write about my favorite person or something I like? !
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