Siheyuan's Journey Through the Ages

Chapter 34 Reunion with Relatives
"Uncle, what's your name?"

"My name is Guan, Guan from Guaerjia." Uncle Guan put down the bag on his back and said with a bow.

So he is a descendant of the Qing Dynasty nobles. He was testing me, but what did I know as a kid? "It's Uncle Guan. My last name is Ma. Just call me Xiao Ma."

The broker named Guan opened the bundle calmly. There were ten satin boxes in total. They looked quite exquisite. He began to open the boxes one by one and slowly introduced them to Ma Qing. Ma Qing watched his performance silently and found it very interesting. He would agree with him from time to time and appreciate them. Naturally, he asked Xiao Qi for identification in private.

"There are ten pieces of porcelain in total, eight are fake and two are real. They are a turquoise green glaze folded rim bowl from the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty and a blue and white high-foot cup with dragon pattern from the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. They are not bad, it depends on whether you like them or not." Xiao Qi said lightly.

Wow, the authenticity rate is 20%, how conscientious of them?

Ma Qing touched here and there without interrupting the broker named Guan's introduction of the goods. As soon as Ma Qing picked up an item, the broker named Guan would start praising it, asking why he was working so hard to sell a fake product.

Ma Qing picked up the box containing the turquoise green glaze folded-rim bowls from the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. The bowls were a pair, with light and elegant colors, neither superficial nor flattering, soft but not scattered porcelain luster, and delicate and smooth body. Then he picked up the Qing Dynasty Yongzheng period blue and white high-footed cup with dragon pattern, which looked soft, handsome and noble in style.

"Not bad, not bad, they are really beautiful. Uncle Guan, how much are these two pieces? I want them." Ma Qing said generously.

The broker Guan was stunned at this time, looking at Ma Qing speechless, and after a while he said: "As expected, heroes emerge from youth, you have a good eye, these two pieces are 300 yuan, the world is not good, these things are not worth eating or drinking, if it were in the past, this would have to be changed to a small courtyard."

"Uncle Guan, you are not being honest. You say the world is bad, but the food is not good enough to eat or drink. If it were in the past, you would have to buy a small courtyard, but you want 300 yuan. Now you can buy a small courtyard in the suburbs of Changchun."

The broker named Guan was stunned and pointed at Ma Qing, "You, you, can't say that."

"Okay, Uncle Guan, I really like this thing. I'll take it for sixty yuan. I'm here to visit relatives, and I don't have that much money with me."

"No, no, 60 yuan for 20 kilograms of rice is too much of a loss."

"What are you talking about? Rice is only 1 cents per pound now. How come you only bought 1 pounds of rice?"

"You're kidding me, kid. Rice with tickets is sold at 1 cents per pound, but you only gave me money but no tickets." The broker named Guan shouted.

"Of course food is precious now. I heard that before the liberation of Changchun, two pancakes could be exchanged for a young girl. You are comparing prices with food, so I can't do anything about it." Ma Qing said indifferently.

"You're bargaining too hard. I asked for 300 and you offered 60." The broker named Guan said anxiously.

"This deal doesn't depend on how much you bid, it mainly depends on how much money I have, right?" Ma Qing said shamelessly.

"You should raise the price a bit. 60 yuan is too low." The broker named Guan negotiated. It seemed that this guy was in urgent need of money.

"Okay then, I'm a very straightforward person, I'll give you another 10 yuan."

The broker named Guan naturally disagreed, and he and Ma Qing continued to persuade each other, and finally the two sides reached a deal for 80 yuan.

The broker named Guan held the 80 yuan in his hand, sighed, packed his bags, and said goodbye and left.

Ma Qing looked at the remaining fifty yuan on his hand and felt a little bad. This time he went to his aunt's house, and there was only this little money left. After deducting the travel expenses back to the city, wouldn't he only have twenty yuan for mobile expenses? Ma Qing also planned to make a big purchase in this land of white mountains and black waters to buy the pigs, cattle and sheep he needed. This money was definitely not enough. Impulsive consumption was not advisable. Ma Qing put the newly bought porcelain into the space while staring at the large pieces of gold and piles of silver dollars in the space. He felt inexplicably irritated. Should he go to the black market to exchange money? No, no, the risk is too great. If he encounters a black market, his little arms and legs will definitely suffer. "Brother Xiaoqi, can the material manufacturing function make money?" Ma Qing shouted.

"In theory, there is no problem. We have a small amount of paper and cotton in stock. The components of the pigment can be converted into energy using a material manufacturing machine. About 200 kilograms of material loss can produce 1 yuan, but are you sure you want to do this?" Xiao Qi replied in a light tone.

"Oh, forget it. This is a bit beyond my bottom line. After all, my education does not allow me to do this." Ma Qing said shamelessly.

"In fact, even if you made it, you can't use it, because if the counterfeit money made by the material manufacturing machine enters the real world for circulation, it violates the underlying logic that I cannot influence the operation of the real world. I will not allow you to take the counterfeit money out of the space." Xiaoqing said sarcastically.

"Then you say Jill, you're teasing me."

"I'm just telling you that my level of ability is as high as my moral level." Xiao Qi said proudly.

"Then give me a Coke, ice cold, because I'm really mad right now."

"Okay, it's still 200 kilograms of material loss. Are you sure you want a cup of Coke?" Xiao Qi confirmed.

"Yes, right away. It's just 200 kilograms. I'll go out and find a place for the robot to dig 200 kilograms of soil. It's so easy." Ma Qing shouted.

"You use robots so frequently, it will have a very bad influence on you in the future."

"I know, I know, I will control myself, but now I really want a bottle of ice cola." Ma Qing shouted stubbornly.

A few minutes later, Ma Qing picked up a glass of ice cola from the tray brought by the butler robot and drank it in big gulps.

Ma Qing burped loudly. It was still the familiar recipe and the familiar taste. A glass of ice cola brought Ma Qing back to the dreamland of his previous life.

The next morning, in the hotel cafeteria, Ma Qing used all the remaining food coupons in his hand to buy food, had a hearty breakfast, and embarked on his journey to Jilin.

JL City, also known as the "River City of the North", is located in the transition zone from Changbai Mountain Area to Songliao Plain, with the momentum of "facing Changbai in the distance and surrounding Songhua nearby".

When Ma Qing stepped onto the platform of Jilin North Railway Station, he couldn't help cursing the current trains: "It takes more than three hours to travel more than a hundred kilometers, stopping at this station and that station. Your father's butt is hurting again."

524 Factory, Jilin Jiangbei Machinery Factory, where Ma Qing's aunt and her family worked, is located on Zunyi West Road, Longtan District, JL City. It is an old military enterprise formed by the relocation of four military factories in Liaodong, Liaonan and Jilin Seventh Office. Ma Qing couldn't figure out why her aunt from the old city would marry to Jilin, maybe it was love.

The biggest advantage of this era is that the city is not big. I came out of Jilin North Station and walked to my aunt's house while asking for directions. It took me about half an hour to get there (is half an hour's walk considered far or close?).

When they were almost there, Ma Qing took advantage of the fact that no one was around and replaced his backpack with the one containing food. Ma Qing felt proud that his arrangement had finally worked.

Ma Qing had a friendly and cordial exchange with the security guard at the gate of Jiangbei Machinery Factory and waited for his aunt in the security room.

(End of this chapter)