The door creaked open, and there was a sound of conversation outside.
Xue Qing stood up suddenly and said with a smile: "My grandpa is back."
But soon she frowned again and said complainingly: "I told grandpa that Mr. Cheng, you would come today, why did he bring someone home to chat."
With a quick trot, Xue Qing ran out of the living room and headed straight for the door.
Cheng Yu also stood up at this moment, murmuring in his heart, could it be that Xue Qing's grandfather didn't really want to see him, so he deliberately went out for a walk in the morning when he knew he would come to visit, and even brought his neighbors back to chat?
But no matter what, Cheng Yu was a junior, and he couldn't sit like this either emotionally or rationally, so he walked out of the living room and stood in the yard to greet Xue Qing's grandfather, Professor Li.
Soon, Cheng Yu saw an old man wearing a Chinese-style double-breasted cotton coat and a pair of thick-soled old-style cloth shoes walking around the screen wall with his hands behind his back.
As he walked, the old man looked back, smiled, and nodded frequently, and a man's voice came from behind him.
The voice was not loud, and Cheng Yu couldn't hear clearly what the other party said, but it didn't matter because soon, Cheng Yu saw the person who spoke.
Well……
It turned out to be the little Mr. Carpenter. Cheng Yu was quite surprised. Did it really happen that the Mr. Carpenter also came to visit the old man, or did Xue Qing mention to the old man another purpose of Cheng Yu's visit to him and change the target to the old man?
Made an appointment?
But no matter what, Cheng Yu hurriedly took two steps forward and took the initiative to greet the old man and Mr. Carpenter.
"Professor Li, Mr. Mu, hello both of you."
Professor Li was in good spirits. Of course, Cheng Yu had already known about the old man before he came. However, when they met now, he saw that the old man's face was glowing and he did not look like an ancient old man at all.
"This is Xiao Cheng, hehe, hello, hello, welcome to my home. Sorry, have you been waiting at home for a long time?"
Professor Li also quickened his pace, and Cheng Yu hurried forward to meet him and took the old man's outstretched hand.
Mr. Carpenter also smiled and quickened his pace, and Cheng Yu naturally shook hands with him.
"I made an appointment with Mr. Li yesterday. It's almost the Chinese New Year, so I thought I would come and visit Mr. Li.
It was originally agreed that I would come over in the afternoon, just in time to accompany Mr. Li to the Old Summer Palace, but Mr. Li called me again in the morning and said that a child was coming to the house, so he asked me to come over in the morning.
I have heard about your little friend, and I am very familiar with your father's name. I have already prepared my mind and knew that your little friend is young, but this meeting really surprised me. He is too young."
When Mr. Carpenter said this, Cheng Yu completely understood. He said a little cautiously: "If I had known better, I wouldn't have told Xue Qing in advance. I would have made Mr. Mu come here early in the morning."
Then, Cheng Yu turned to look at Professor Li and said, "Mr. Li, thank you very much."
Professor Li laughed and said: "We are all guests at home, and Xiao Qing is at your place, so I also want to ask you to take more care of me. This is also a perfect opportunity. I asked Xiao Mu to come over earlier, so that he would not have to worry about it all the time.
The day and night passed in a chaotic manner. Stop standing around and go inside and sit down and chat."
As he spoke, Professor Li walked up the steps. Cheng Yu quickly made a gesture of invitation. Mr. Carpenter nodded slightly and followed Professor Li up the steps.
Cheng Yu took two steps and then followed.
After entering the room, the three of them sat down respectively. Xue Qing said obediently: "Uncle Mu, please sit down for a while and I will make you a cup of tea."
Mr. Carpenter smiled and waved.
Xue Qing walked to the door, but suddenly remembered something, picked up a bag that Cheng Yu had brought before, and said, "Young Master Cheng just brought some fruits. I'll wash them for you."
Mr. Carpenter laughed and said, "Xiaoqing dislikes me for not bringing a gift!"
Xue Qing covered her mouth with joy and ran out long ago.
"I heard from Xiaoqing that you just came back from the United States. How was your rest last night?" Professor Li asked with a smile.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Li. I had a good rest last night. I arrived at the airport at around nine o'clock. Isn't this the North Fifth Ring Road? It's also close to the airport. I checked into the hotel at ten o'clock and had a good sleep.
I slept until about seven o'clock in the morning."
"Xiao Cheng, your daily living habits are quite good?"
Cheng Yu hurriedly waved his hand, glanced at Mr. Carpenter, and said, "It's really not good. If something happens, I have to sleep in the middle of the night and almost have to get up at noon."
"You don't think so when you are young, but when you get older, you will know the harmful effects of irregular work and rest on the body. I am not one of those old dogmas. The ancients rested at sunset and worked at sunrise. That was due to conditional restrictions. But work and rest still need to be done.
Try to be as regular as possible. You can't make enough money, and a good body is more important than any amount of wealth."
"Thank you, Mr. Li, for your advice." Cheng Yu said politely.
Mr. Carpenter laughed and said: "Mr. Li, please don't tell young people this. The pace of life is so fast now. Sometimes young people are not willing to extend the battle line until late at night. Many times they have no choice."
"As I get older, I inevitably become a little wordy."
Cheng Yu hurriedly said: "Mr. Li also cares about us young people. It is always right to listen more."
Professor Li nodded and said, "Xiao Qing told me that besides seeing me, do you have anything else to do when you come home?"
Cheng Yu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, glanced at Mr. Carpenter, and said: "I didn't know about the relationship between Xue Qing and Mr. Li before, and she didn't tell her either.
If Mr. Li hadn't called the company that day, and my partner happened to receive the call, I'm afraid we would still be kept in the dark.
Due to circumstances and reasons, I should come to visit you, Mr. Li. And the other thing happened to be just a coincidence.
When my partners learned about the relationship between Mr. Li and Xue Qing, I was in Baoan discussing cooperation on a project with a TV program production company."
Mr. Carpenter interrupted: "I heard that when Mr. Xiao Cheng went to Bao'an, didn't he cooperate with that girl Qin Manyuan? That girl was short of money during this period and approached me, but the conditions were too harsh and I couldn't help. She said yes
Mr. Xiao Cheng helped solve her financial problem?"
Cheng Yu nodded and said: "I went to Bao'an originally because of Qin Manyuan's affair with Sister Man, but on the plane, an incident happened. The other party happened to be the wife of a manager of Sister Man's company, and she was also the one I talked about later.
One of the project leaders of the program production company we cooperated with.
At that time, I felt that the production of entertainment programs was also a new investment direction.
Investors like me always have a lot of sudden ideas.
After understanding it, I feel that this is also a new investment channel.
In recent years, many industries have not been very prosperous, and the financial market has not been dynamic enough. However, people's entertainment life has become increasingly rich.
So I thought maybe this can bring me some new ideas, which are really feasible, and can also help the company's clients find some investments with better returns."
Professor Li listened, nodded and said: "I don't know much about investing, but Xiaocheng's idea is very good. Traditional investment channels have narrowed, so he actively expands other external channels. Although professional matters should be left to professionals.
It’s always good to operate, but actively look for new paths.”
Mr. Carpenter also nodded and said: "It's not a particularly new idea, but it is indeed relatively rare for investment banks to do this. We all have more or less exposure to investment in the entertainment industry, but the main idea is
But it is to expand the company's business scope, rather than looking for simple investment channels. Mr. Xiao Cheng's concept is relatively new."
Cheng Yu smiled and said: "Actually, this is also the thinking of a frog in a well. I thought I was actively innovating, but after calming down and thinking about it, it was just a feeling of expanding my business scope.
However, in the past, most of the companies that made such investments across industries established one company for one project.
After the project is completed, only a very small number of companies will continue to operate, and most of them are one-time sales.
And for the vast majority of those investments, investors have to be involved in the process and development of the entire project from the beginning of the project.
What I think of is pure investment, just like venture capital, trying not to get involved in the project itself.
But this is an idealized product, just like this project. I really wanted to invest some funds in them, but in the end, the project plan proposed by the other party required me to join in. "
Mr. Carpenter laughed and said: "This is normal. Mr. Xiao Cheng's way of thinking is indeed different from the way we interact with the entertainment industry in the past. But whether it is investors or program producers, the way they are used to is still the way most people are used to.
The method you have chosen. If you really give up and don't care at all, they will be at a loss what to do."
Cheng Yu obeyed and quickly waved his hand and explained: "Mr. Mu, you misunderstood. The other party asked me to participate, not in the production process of the program. But in the program itself, there is something special. They want me to participate in the program.
.”
"Being a guest?" Mr. Carpenter asked.
Cheng Yu nodded, and Mr. Carpenter laughed and waved his hands quickly: "I just went to a variety show not long ago, and the ratings of that show were pretty good.
I also had a friend there at the time, the cook. You know? We have been friends for many years.
. He spoke, and I was not opposed to these things. I thought it would be a good idea to just play around and relax for two days.
But I regretted going there.
Watching variety shows on TV and joining the show in person are two completely different concepts.
I might as well say it bluntly, no matter what program, there are scripts, but some programs have a slightly greater degree of freedom.
But these scripts are simply harmful to those of us who have nothing to do with acting.
To tell you the truth, in that show, many of the scenes that were later aired were actually the result of repeated recordings many times.
Mr. Xiao Cheng, if you had participated in that program, you would know that the recording process was far from as smooth as the footage after it was broadcast.
It's no different from making a movie, recording one segment after another.
So I later said that I never wanted to participate in the recording of any entertainment program again."
Cheng Yu understood that Mr. Carpenter was actually declining.
So he smiled and didn't rush to speak, lest people think he was a little aggressive.
Xue Qing walked in at this time carrying a tray, which contained a cup of tea, a purple clay pot, and a fruit plate.
"Uncle Mu, you have tea."
Xue Qing placed the tea cup in front of Mr. Carpenter, and then handed the purple clay pot to Professor Li.
"What are you talking about? I just heard something from Uncle Mu saying that he never wanted to participate in the recording of an entertainment program again? But you didn't hear what Mr. Cheng said about the program, so don't refuse in such a hurry, right?"
Saying that, Xue Qing winked at Cheng Yu.
Mr. Carpenter laughed and said: "Before I said anything, the customer was already online automatically. I am a casual person, and I am not used to treating restraint as casual things." As he spoke, he
Looking at Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu also smiled, nodded, picked up the teacup, and congratulated Mr. Carpenter.
"I understand what Mr. Mu said. No matter how casual these programs are, they must be guided and restricted by scripts. In this case, let's not talk about this topic for now."
Xue Qing was stunned. She didn't expect Cheng Yu to give up so quickly.
Little did she know that in Cheng Yu's mind, Mr. Carpenter was not a particularly good candidate. He has more than 20 million Weibo fans, and no matter how few real fans there are, there are still several million.
The system tasks Cheng Yu accepted required the approval of at least 10% of real fans. He was really worried that too many fans would cause unnecessary losses to his tasks.
It's just that Mr. Carpenter has always been close to the entertainment industry, and he has a unique side online. With his participation, the program will be more topical.
In the early stages of the program proposal, there were only a few guests that everyone could think of, so Cheng Yu thought there was no harm in asking.
Since Mr. Carpenter has now stated that he has no intention of participating, there is no need to force such a thing.
Moreover, his program requires these people to put down their pretensions and treat themselves as ordinary people. Even if Mr. Carpenter does not refuse now, he may not be able to refuse when he hears the content of the program.
Mr. Carpenter was a little surprised when he heard Cheng Yu's words. He originally thought that Cheng Yu would still want to fight for it no matter what.
Who knew Cheng Yu would give up so easily.
That's good, it saves you a lot of trouble. After he participated in the previous show, he really didn't want to participate in the recording of any more variety shows.
At least in the near future, there is no such idea.
After a casual chat, Cheng Yu began to ask some questions about writing, calligraphy and painting.
Professor Li is the authority, so naturally he is basically the one introducing them.
When it came to the painting hanging on the north wall, Cheng Yu realized that it was also the work of a modern famous artist. However, he didn't know much about the brushwork and artistic conception that Professor Li mentioned. Most of the time, he didn't know much about the painting.
Just nodding and cooperating.
"Mr. Li, I see that there is a mirror, a vase and a clock on your desk. Are you from Huizhou?"
During the conversation, Professor Li actually saw that Cheng Yu had almost no knowledge of calligraphy and painting, and could at most distinguish some basic materials. If Mr. Carpenter hadn't been present, he would have lost interest.
Now that I heard Cheng Yu suddenly ask this question, I felt a little more energetic.
"Do you know Huizhou culture?"
Cheng Yu said modestly: "I don't know much about it, I just happen to have read some books about Huizhou culture. I generally remember that the arrangement of the mirror on the left and the vase on the right, with a clock in the middle, is a metaphor for the Huizhou area."
"Oh? Haha, very few people know this now. Even many young people in Huangshan and Wuyuan areas don't understand the significance of these furnishings in the old house. Xiaoqing, do you know?"
Xue Qing blinked, shook her head, and said: "I remember asking you when I was a child. The vase and clock are both antiques. I can understand them here, but the mirror is simply a modern handicraft. You can't
Leave it alone, I don’t quite understand. But that happened when I was very young, and I can’t remember what you answered at that time. It seemed like four words..."
Cheng Yu said: "Peace for life."
Professor Li nodded slightly, and Xue Qing also said: "Yes, yes, it means peace for life."
"Xiao Cheng, I want to test you. Look, three of the four words "lifelong peace" are in one-to-one correspondence. So how do you explain this new word?"
"The book I read said that there was only peace in the early years. In modern times, after the sound of bells, it became a lifelong peace. This life is actually the sound of a sound, which is directly different from the meaning of a bell.
.”
Professor Li nodded and said, "Well, this is probably the most common and reasonable explanation."
"But I have some ideas of my own."
"Tell me about it."
"My whole life is to obtain the bell, of course there is no problem.
But an ordinary desk clock, even if it can ring, can only tell the time at half o'clock.
The self-melody once every half hour is somewhat inconsistent with the meaning of the word "lifelong".
Moreover, if there were only bells at this interval, why did they have to wait until modern bells were introduced to add them?
In ancient times, if you put a hammer on the side of an ancient bronze or iron bell, some people would knock it twice when they saw it.
Isn’t that also the sound of a bell?”
When Professor Li heard this, he smiled slightly and said, "It's a bit interesting."
Cheng Yu continued: "Actually, I just read a book at the time, and then I thought about it and checked some more information.
Basically, I just have a targeted look at it, and I don’t read the entire article.
However, I am certain that in the early years, there were two porcelain vases and a mirror placed on the table of the old house of the Huizhou people.
One of the porcelain vases is used to hold the owner's hat.
If there is a hat on it, it means the owner is at home; if there is no hat, it means the owner is out.
I don't quite understand this. After all, the bill is in the hall. Outsiders, even close people, didn't push the door in without permission, right?
Guests should already know if there is anyone in the house, so why should they look to see if there is a hat on the bottle?
Moreover, the arrangement of two bottles and one mirror has actually been used throughout ancient and modern times. Later, after the bell was introduced, it was still two bottles and one mirror.
Only in recent decades has it been gradually simplified to a bottle, a mirror and a bell.
I think it means that this means relying on the four words of lifelong peace."
At this time, Xue Qing interjected: "In ancient times, if all the furnishings had to be included, wouldn't it mean that it was peaceful?"
Mr. Carpenter obviously didn't know much about this, so he nodded and said, "Yes, what kind of explanation is Pingping?"
Both of them looked at Professor Li. Obviously, they both knew that Cheng Yu only had a partial understanding of this matter, so they both hoped that Professor Li could give an answer.
But Professor Li looked at Cheng Yu with a smile, seeming to encourage Cheng Yu to continue talking.
Cheng Yu thought for a while and then said: "So, I was wondering whether the bottle with the hat and the hat would form another word.
The mirror on the left and the vase on the right represent calm, which is placed according to the ancient reading habit from right to left.
The bottle in the middle looks like a pen holder, but is actually a hat stand. It can be regarded as having no bottle legs. After the cap is put on, there is no bottle head, so only the bottle body is left.
Add the clock, and this is a lifetime of peace.
Probably in Huizhou dialect, there is no distinction between front and back nasal sounds."
Professor Li listened and asked with great interest: "But you also said that there were no bells in ancient times, so how do you explain the word "end"?"
Cheng Yu thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "I really don't know about this. Mr. Li, please don't test me, you should teach us."
Xue Qing also shook Professor Li's arm and said, "Yes, Grandpa, don't take the exam and tell me the answer quickly."
Professor Li laughed loudly and said: "It's not easy. This kid Xiao Cheng is a bit like us in doing historical research. It's not easy to figure it out to this extent."
"Mr. Li, please give me an answer. Isn't this exciting?" Mr. Carpenter said.