Chapter 13 13. Mr. Mu
Shi Liu followed Mu Hongxing through many twists and turns and arrived at a small courtyard. If she had not been brave enough, she would never have followed him to such a remote place.
Mu Hongxing knocked on the wooden door a few times: "Grandpa, I brought my friends over to play."
If her predictions were correct, Mu Hongxing's knocks had been patterned, three long and two short, like a code. Shi Liu wasn't wrong. Although private transactions were prohibited these days, there were plenty of people doing this secretly. Mu Hongxing's grandfather happened to be one of them.
A sturdy old man opened the door and welcomed the two people in.
Mu Hongxing said straight to the point, "Grandpa, this is Comrade Shi Liu. She wants to buy some albums for her stamp collection. Please pick out the best ones for her." Then he turned to Shi Liu and said, "Comrade Shi Liu, I'm going to go find my stamp collecting friends. Please wait a moment. I'll be back in half an hour at most."
Shi Liu nodded indifferently. School hadn't started yet, so she had plenty of time. Besides, she thought Mu Hongxing's grandfather might have other good things. Since she was already here, she certainly couldn't miss it.
The old man's surname is Mu. He used to be a carpenter who worked for a big capitalist. He was still worth a lot, but unfortunately he had a bad life. He lost his wife in middle age and his only daughter married the wrong person. Fortunately, he had a grandson to accompany him, otherwise he would have died long ago.
Sigh! These days, it's not easy for every family. Take Shi Liu for example. Although she's the family's favorite, her father was killed by bandits while protecting the village's property. Her mother gave birth prematurely upon hearing the news, which is why the original owner had always been in poor health. After all, premature babies are so difficult to raise these days. Her mother put a lot of effort into ensuring her safe growth.
Mr. Mu is indeed an old carpenter, his craftsmanship is really amazing. There are exquisite patterns carved on the stamp album. In addition, there is a special matching small box. Shi Liu was so attracted by it that he bought 10 of them at once.
Old Man Mu hadn't expected the young lady to be so generous. He quickly pulled out his treasured possession and began to introduce it: "Take a look at this jewelry box. It's a fine item from the previous dynasty, specially used to store bracelets. It has three layers, upper and lower, and can hold at least ten pairs of jade bracelets."
Shi Liu thought to herself, "The old man has a sharp eye. He even guessed that she liked bracelets." In her previous life, she loved wearing bracelets. She had three or four pairs of jade bracelets, all of them beautiful. But it's a pity that they were all gone after she traveled through time...
"How much?"
"This is made of rosewood and is exquisitely carved. If you really want it, the price is 65, plus some cloth coupons or meat coupons."
Shi Liu frowned: "Grandpa Mu, I really want to buy it, but your price is not suitable. You should know that these antiques are worthless now. You even want tickets. This is a bit too much." In today's society, you may not be able to buy things even if you have money. You need tickets, and cloth tickets are definitely rare items.
Old Master Mu also knew that he was asking for too much. He had used up all the money in the family to buy a job for his grandson. He thought the girl was generous, but he didn't expect her to be so shrewd.
Finally, Mr. Mu shook his head and said, "Forget it. If you want it, just give me 35. While antiques on the black market may seem cheap, they're not safe there, and many come from shady sources. This jewelry box in my family is a royal craftsmanship. It was the dowry of a princess from our ancestors, who was from the Tonggiya clan."
The Tonggiya clan was a famous family in history, so it was normal for them to have some good things. Shi Liu had never expected that the last feudal dynasty in both worlds was the Qing Dynasty, founded by the Aisin-Gioro family. If it weren't for the different histories of several dynasties in between, she would have suspected that she was reborn rather than traveling through time.
"Okay, 35 yuan." Shi Liu didn't bargain any more. He took out his small cash box and counted out 35 and handed it over. "Grandpa Mu, do you have any other good things? If so, I can exchange them for cloth."
"Do you have a cloth in your hand?"
Shi Liu nodded affirmatively: "A total of 10 feet, all army green." She had just obtained these cloths by signing in at the entrance of the department store. In addition, there were five bars of soap, two bars of perfumed soap and a Plum brand watch.
Even though Mr. Mu asked for cloth coupons at first, he didn't think the little girl could come up with many. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be a wealthy woman: "You wait." After saying that, the old man walked into the house without looking back.
Shi Liu narrowed her eyes, she knew that Mr. Mu must have more good things in his hands. She touched the cloth bag in her hand and secretly thanked herself for bringing a big cloth bag with her this time, otherwise it would be difficult to take the things out.
Old Man Mu walked over quickly and carefully placed the items on the table. "This pair of jade bracelets was also the dowry of that princess. Originally, there was also a set of hairpins, rings and other things. Unfortunately, my grandfather had a hard time back then, so he gave them away to show his connections. Now, only this pair of bracelets are left."
Shi Liu carefully took the jade bracelet and looked at it: "It's a full-color bright green." This is not worse than the imperial green. In later generations, such a bracelet would cost tens of millions. The most expensive jade bracelet she has ever worn was only 500,000, but she was still envied by some friends.
"It seems that the little girl is also knowledgeable. In this case, I won't say much. This jade bracelet is definitely enough to exchange for these cloths."
Shi Liu nodded with satisfaction: "Of course. What else does Grandpa Mu plan to exchange for?" He took out the cloth very happily.
Old Master Mu was also very satisfied. The little girl was cheerful, so he was naturally happy to interact with her more. Seeing that his grandson was old enough to start a family and build a career, he, as a grandfather, had to prepare the three turns and one ring for his grandson. "If the world wasn't like this, I wouldn't be willing to give it out no matter what."
As soon as the box was opened, it was filled with jewels and precious stones. Shi Liu carefully looked through it and said, "Grandpa Mu, these jewels are very well preserved."
Hearing this, Mr. Mu felt somewhat sad: "..." If this had happened before, he would have been a spendthrift.
Boxes of all sizes were filled with jewelry, the most beautiful of which were two emerald rings and an emerald necklace. There were also thirty pairs of jade bracelets, all of excellent quality, with almost no ordinary items; twenty gemstone rings; and about twenty necklaces, brooches, and bracelets.
Shi Liu had broadened her horizons, and she guessed that the real good stuff was still hidden in the hands of Old Man Mu. She didn't expect that she would meet a wealthy family. She didn't know how the old man protected himself.
Shi Liu had guessed this right. Grandpa Mu still had a few precious items in his hands, but not many. After all, all of the Mu family's ancestors were carpenters, and he was able to marry that princess thanks to his great-grandfather's handsome face. It can be said that most of the Mu family's assets came from the dowry of that great-grandmother.
(End of this chapter)
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