After Xue Chen and Rong Yi finished the transaction, they left Ren'en Hospital on foot. First, they called Jingyunxing in Urumqi to inquire about the situation there.
I learned that a series of documents such as licenses have basically been completed. I have also negotiated a cooperation agreement with the Urumqi branch of Hongyun Mining, a subsidiary of Shenguang Group, including leasing machinery, hiring personnel, etc., and everything is ready.
Prepare, just wait for Xue Chen to point out the location of the jade mine, and then you can start construction.
Xue Chen made a calculation in his mind. In three days, the old man in the hospital bed would be in good health, and he could leave the capital and return to Urumqi.
He remembered that Liulichang Street was not very far from Ren'en, so after talking to Jing Yunxing on the phone, he walked towards Liulichang Street.
He knew a lot about Liulichang, but it was all through the Internet and some books. In fact, this was only his first time here.
From a distance, he saw a somewhat unusual street. As he knew, Liulichang Street was all imitating the buildings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with red bricks and green tiles, overhanging eaves and pavilions, and red lanterns hanging next to the doorposts.
, antique, a bit interesting, and seems to have a bit more profound cultural atmosphere than Panjiayuan.
Entering Panjiayuan is like entering an antique market, with a more chaotic feeling, while coming to Liulichang is a different experience, with a richer sense of history, which makes people feel more comfortable.
The facades on both sides are all antique buildings, with wooden plaques hung high and dragons and phoenixes engraved with large characters. There are Jigu Pavilion, Qingyuntang, and Ziqi Tower. Each has a different name, each with its own characteristics, and sells different types of cultural antiques.
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When passing by a photo studio, Xue Chen unexpectedly saw a photo hanging in front of the door. He took a closer look and saw that it was Mr. Qi Baishi, a great painter in modern times.
Mr. Qi Baishi in the photo is wearing an inside-out fox fur coat, a black and purple Turkish-style winter hat on his head, and is holding this fan.
It looked a little weird. Fox fur and fans should not exist in the same season at all. When he saw the self-written words on the photo, Xue Chen smiled.
"A swinging fan can beat the summer heat, and a fur coat can keep out the cold. We must guard against both of them every day, no matter how crazy people are."
A few lines of doggerel fully demonstrate Mr. Qi Baishi's lonely, free and upright temperament.
After stopping to look at this photo for a moment, Xue Chen continued to move forward. After walking a few steps, he just passed by a shop with a Gudezhai sign. An imposing black extended Lincoln parked in the shop.
In front of the door, just a few steps away from Xue Chen.
Wow.
The car door opened wide, and five or six people got out of it. At the same time, four or five people came out of the shop called Gudezhai. The people they welcomed were surrounded by stars like stars holding the moon. Xue Chen also
I met him, it was Zhuge Yi, the veteran Jianghu who had worked in Liulichang for forty years whom I met yesterday.
Zhuge Yi was surrounded by people who came out of the car or walked out of the shop. They all faced Zhuge Yi with a smile and a very respectful attitude.
Zhuge Yi was wearing a blue cotton Tang suit, with a row of white buckles in the middle of his upper body, which looked like ivory, which further showed that he had the aura of a master.
Xue Chen glanced at Zhuge Yi and then at the Gude Zhai. He saw a brand new red lantern hanging and even the two doorposts were wrapped with a piece of red paper. He realized that this shop should be here today.
A special day? There is probably a celebration or event.
Zhuge Yi walked towards the store and briefly exchanged greetings with the people who came out to greet him. Inadvertently, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure standing a few meters away from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but pause at his feet and looked over carefully.
That's right.
"Xue Chen?"
Zhuge Yi stopped and made a sound in surprise.
Seeing that Zhuge Yi noticed him, Xue Chen walked forward, gave a slight salute, and said hello: "Mr. Zhuge, we meet again."
Zhuge Yi nodded and asked: "Are you here?" Although he only met once, he had to say that Xue Chen left a very deep impression on him. He did not find the real work of Tang Yin, but Xue Chen
It was discovered, and it took a short time to uncover it intact. No matter what, it is not something that ordinary people can do.
"I have always heard about Liulichang, but I have never been there, so I came to visit today." Xue Chen replied.
"Oh, that's right." Zhuge Yi nodded and said immediately, "Today is the 20th anniversary celebration of Gudezhai. Why don't you go up and sit down and have a cup of tea?" Gudezhai also has 20% of his shares, which can be regarded as
As a young master, inviting Xue Chen is naturally not considered overdue.
"Being respectful is worse than obeying orders." Xue Chen didn't have anything else to do. When he saw Zhuge Yi inviting him, he agreed.
When the two of them were talking, the people around them also stopped and looked at Xue Chen more, but no one knew him, and no one knew who he was. He could actually let Zhuge Yi appear in person.
Although Xue Chen was an old friend of Zhuge Yi's, he didn't pay much attention to it, just thinking that Xue Chen was the child of an old friend of Zhuge Yi's.
Xue Chen followed Da Liu into the Gude Zhai shop.
Although they are both antique shops, Gudezhai is much grander than the three antique shops he runs. The lobby on the first floor alone is more than 200 square meters. It is decorated in an antique style and is very grand. There is a faint fragrance floating in the air.
The scent of sandalwood makes people unconsciously feel that this antique shop has a lot of heritage.
The hundreds of dazzling antiques placed on the tall brown-red wooden shelves also prove this point. This Gudezhai is indeed not simple. I am afraid that it must be among the best in the entire street of Liulichang.
You can't find such a grand antique shop in the entire Yunzhou Province. There's nothing you can do about it. After all, this is Liulichang, a nationally renowned cultural street. It receives millions of tourists every year. Only such a huge passenger flow can support it.
Such a big antique shop.
The group of people walked directly up the steps to the second floor.
There is a large square hall on the second floor of Gudezhai, which is about more than 100 square meters. It has obviously been carefully decorated, with hundreds of chairs neatly placed.
At this time, there were about 60 or 70 people present. They were all seated, drinking tea and chatting. There were bursts of laughter from time to time. The atmosphere was very harmonious and interesting. Many of them were wearing coats and gowns, and some were wearing suits and ties.
, it’s really a combination of Chinese and Western.
As soon as Zhuge Yi appeared, 90% of the dozens of people present stood up and greeted him with fists in their hands. It was obvious that they all respected this veteran of Liulichang very much.
Zhuge Yi was warmly invited by everyone to take a seat, which was the most spacious and eye-catching place in the entire hall. Xue Chen was self-aware and did not come up to him. He just found a chair next to him and sat down. Fortunately, someone poured him a cup of tea.
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Sitting next to Xue Chen was a young man who looked two or three years younger than him. He had a smiling face and seemed to be a very kind person. He greeted Xue Chen with a smile and asked: "
Brother, which family's apprentice are you from?"
"Apprentice?" Xue Chen just picked up the tea cup and put it to his mouth, and was stunned when he heard the words.
"Oh, so you're not an apprentice, but a buddy? Or are you here to join in the fun with your elders?" the young man on the side continued.
"Oh, yes, I'm just joining in the fun." Xue Chen nodded and said with some confusion, "Why did you just ask me which apprentice I am?"
"Hey, you look like a layman at first glance. You don't know the rules here. Let me tell you." The young man seemed very happy to meet a layman and finally had a chance to show off. "Did you see that?
, there are four circles of seats in this hall, and whoever sits in that circle is particular about who sits in that circle."
Xue Chen took a closer look and saw that it was indeed like this. All the chairs were arranged in four circles, and in the center were two Eight Immortals tables side by side, with more than a dozen plates of dried fruits placed on them.
"Only the top figures in the antique industry in Beijing can sit in this innermost circle, such as Mr. Zhuge Yi, who has been in the industry for decades."
"In this second circle, the people sitting there are all well-known people. Most of them are shopkeepers and big collectors of some stores, such as the boss of Jigugu Pavilion, and the fat man who looks like Maitreya Buddha. He has hundreds of pieces at home.
The collection is worth hundreds of millions.”
"In this third circle, there are some ordinary people sitting there, such as appraisers from some antique shops, and some small collectors."
"In this last round, it's just people like you and me who come to join in the fun, or apprentices and clerks from some shops. Hey, it's good to have a seat. In the past, everyone had to stand.
"
After listening to this person's introduction, Xue Chen nodded understandingly, thinking that it is indeed a capital city, and a seat has so many particulars.
"I'm Hong Qing, an apprentice at Purple Air Tower. What's your surname?"
"Xue, Xue Chen." Xue Chen and Hong Qing simply shook hands.
While the two were chatting, people arrived one after another. Hong Qing knew many of them. When one came in, he gave Xue Chen a brief introduction.
Three of them are sitting in the middle circle with Zhuge Yi, which shows that their status in the capital's antique circle is very important. According to Hong Qing's introduction, two of them are seniors in the antique world, and one of them is still
The Palace Museum receives a subsidy, and the only younger person in his fifties is the vice president of the Beijing Antiques Association.
"It's not easy to be the vice president. It is said that in the former Qing Dynasty, my family was a noble. When I was a child, the marbles that other children played with were made of glass and iron, but the marbles he played with were Hotan mutton-fat jade and other people's amber.
There are flies, mosquitoes and other little things inside, and there is a giraffe wrapped in amber in the Yu family. Of course, this is all a joke, just saying that the Yu family has been glorious."
Xue Chen listened to Hong Qing talking non-stop, thinking that today was really not in vain, it was quite interesting, and he got to know so many people, although no one seemed to know him except Zhuge Yi and Hong Qing beside him.
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When the time came to 10:30 in the morning, the hall on the second floor was basically full. Only a few chairs in the outermost circle were empty. A middle-aged man sitting in the second circle of chairs, that is,
The shopkeeper of Gudezhai stood up and walked to the center to salute people from all directions with fists in his hands. (To be continued)