The letter said that there was a hidden mechanism behind the bookshelf in the study. When it was opened, there was a basement with several boxes left for her.
But it’s better not to move for now, just know the place.
There is no need to worry about putting things inside. The mechanism is very secretive and will not be discovered by outsiders unless they know the location in advance.
If there is anything you don't want others to know, you can put it in there.
Walking into the study, Jianshu opened the mechanism according to the method in the letter, and saw a basement appeared right below the study. It was very dark inside and there was no light.
Jianshu took out a flashlight and walked down the stairs. The basement was small, with a few boxes and two boxes on the shelves.
Walking forward and standing beside the shelf, Jianshu opened the small box on the left, and the first thing that caught his eye was a few property deeds.
He took out the house deeds and a passbook underneath.
The letter said that two of these deeds belonged to the old houses of the Jian and Qiao families, both in Beijing; one was to the current courtyard; and the remaining one was to the Qiao family's residence in Shanghai.
Holding a few house deeds, Jianshu's hands were shaking with excitement.
Although Jianshu does not know the specific location of the house in Shanghai, the two houses in Beijing are within the Second Ring Road. A courtyard house within the Second Ring Road will be priced at a sky-high price in the future.
What he holds in his hand is not just a piece of light paper, it is a symbol of wealth.
Of course, Jianshu wouldn't be stupid enough to sell them for money. These things will be priceless in the future, and you may not be able to buy them even if you have money.
In comparison, the passbook next to it doesn’t seem that attractive. It’s just 50,000 yuan, how can it be as attractive as a house!
Jianshu felt that he was a little too proud and didn't care about the 50,000 yuan anymore.
Put everything in the box. These are treasures and must be kept well.
The box on the right is larger and looks like an ancient dressing box.
The exterior is brown and made entirely of mahogany. It may seem old at first glance, but a closer look reveals the exquisite workmanship in the details.
The first layer of the box is a pair of mutton-fat white jade pendants, half the size of a palm, and smooth all over. Even though Jianshu is not very knowledgeable, he can still see that both the material and craftsmanship are top-notch and very valuable.
The second layer contained several seals, one of which was a bloodstone seal with Jian Shu's name engraved on it. This was a gift for Jian Shu's first birthday, carved by Jian Yucheng himself. Although the craftsmanship was ordinary, it was filled with a father's love for his daughter.
There are also two Tianhuang stone seals, which are the private seals of Jian Yucheng and Qiao Ling.
As soon as the third layer was opened, Jianshu was dazzled. Inside was a complete set of headwear, including center-picked, center-split, full crowns, top hairpins, sideburns, flower ornaments, etc.
The workmanship is exquisite and unique. Many of the techniques have long been lost. Today, this headpiece is no longer just a piece of jewelry, but a work of art.
The top luxury jewelry from later generations are nothing but little brothers compared to it, and their brilliance is gone.
The Jian family had a queen in their ancestor's family. This is a set of headgear bestowed by the emperor, and it also has the palace mark on it.
You have to know that the top craftsmen in ancient times all served the royal family, and this set was the pinnacle of craftsmanship at that time.
Later it was given to the Jian family and became a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation.
After Jian Yucheng and Qiao Ling got married, he became the child of Qiao Ling. The couple had only one daughter, so they left her to Jian Shu.
Among those boxes, one of them was full of gold bars. Perhaps because of the shock before, Jianshu was surprisingly calm when he saw the box of gold bars.
The remaining boxes were filled with books, calligraphy and paintings. They looked quite old, but were all well preserved.
From the letter, Jianshu also gained a basic understanding of the backgrounds of the two families.
The Jian family and the Qiao family are old friends. The Jian family has been officials for generations, while the Qiao family later turned to business.
The Qiao family has been a family of scholars for generations, with many of them having passed the imperial examinations and become successful candidates in the imperial examinations. The highest-ranking official was a second-rank official. Although they gradually declined due to the lack of descendants, their legacy should not be underestimated.
By the time of Jianshu's great-grandfather Qiao Hongxi, he was dissatisfied with the court atmosphere at the time. Qiao Hongxi was unwilling to take the imperial examination to become an official in accordance with family security. He disagreed with his family and turned to business in anger.
Perhaps he had some talent, as his business grew bigger and bigger. Seeing that he was determined, his parents could not change his mind and had no room for maneuver, so they acquiesced.
With the help of his family and his own abilities, Qiao Hongxi's business was booming and he became a wealthy man.
The Qiao family has few descendants, and Qiao Hongxi only has one son, Qiao Jianzhang, the grandfather of Jianshu.
Later, the country was in turmoil and the people were living in poverty. Qiao Jianzhang gave up the smooth career his father had arranged for him and chose to follow the army.
Later, he met Jianshu's grandmother in the army. The two became revolutionary comrades and gave birth to Qiao Ling.
However, they were busy everywhere and had no time to take care of the child, so they sent Qiao Ling to Qiao Hongxi to be taken care of by him.
Later, due to the shortage of funds in the army, weapons, ammunition, anti-inflammatory drugs and other medicines were in serious shortage, so Qiao Jianzhang sold his property to support the war of resistance.
Qiao Hongxi had no objection to this. After all, without a country, there would be no home.
Afterwards, he used his connections to buy a lot of urgently needed medicines such as penicillin.
The Jian family and the Qiao family are old friends, and their old houses are both in Beijing. Although the Qiao family later moved to Shanghai for business reasons, the friendship remains.
Later, the only sons of both families chose to join the army, and they happened to meet in the army. With the friendship between their ancestors and the comrades-in-arms on the battlefield, the two men were like brothers.
After years of war, only one child from each family survived.
After liberation, the only children on both sides got married and became a family.
Some things that happened in the early 1950s made Jian Yucheng feel a little uneasy.
I am worried that things will escalate and affect a wider range of people.
Jian Yucheng was worried that the family would be affected in the future, so he quickly disposed of the remaining assets, leaving only the two old houses and the Qiao family's headquarters in Shanghai, where Qiao Ling grew up.
Fortunately, Jian Yucheng and Qiao Ling keep a low profile, and people around them basically don't know their origins.
After years of war, there were only a few old friends left from the Jian and Qiao families. Even if they met again, they might not recognize each other.
Jian Yucheng exchanged most of the money he earned from handling his business for gold bars, used part of it to buy this small courtyard, and deposited the rest in the bank.
After everything was done, Jian Yucheng and Qiao Ling gradually stopped mentioning their families. In that era, the early death of relatives was normal and did not arouse suspicion.
In this way, the two of them gradually faded from other people's impressions, until today, no one around them knew about them.
At least Jianshu used to know nothing about his family background. He only knew that his grandparents, uncles and second uncles were martyrs, and he had no other relatives.
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