Mixed in 1980

Chapter 131 This is a family heirloom

The moment he took the bridge cards, Chen Fan's pupils contracted and his hands couldn't help but tremble.

Is “The Awakening Age” such a big deal?

While being surprised, Chen Fan was also thinking, how should he answer this question?

After pondering for a while, Chen Fan thought that there was no need to hide anything. He should just say what he thought at the beginning. If he didn't even have the courage to tell the truth, what was the point of writing a book?

"With the reform and opening up, and integration with the West, facing the impact of the wealthy Western world and Western culture and economy, many people will lose their cognition."

Secretary Yan nodded slightly, said a few more polite words, and then asked Wang Jingyi to leave. Chen Fan walked them all the way to the door and only turned back after the car had gone far away.

"Who is Chen Fan? Why is he so mysterious?"

Xu Jinqiu looked at the bridge cards in Chen Fan's hand. The person brought by Wang Jingyi hardly spoke from beginning to end.

"He didn't even mention his identity, so he must be a big shot."

Zeng Ali also came over and took the bridge cards from Chen Fan. Just as he was about to open them, he froze when he saw the signature on the cover of the cards.

Seeing this, Xu Jinqiu looked over and was stunned for a moment. Then she screamed, threw herself on Chen Fan, wrapped her legs around Chen Fan's waist, and kissed Chen Fan.

Zeng Ali looked at them, her pretty face blushing, and she couldn't help but slap Xu Jinqiu on the leg: "You two are done, there's a living person next to you."

"Sister, I'm so excited!"

Xu Jinqiu felt pain and got off Chen Fan: "Sister, aren't you excited? How about I lend you Chen Fan so you can vent your emotions."

Zeng Ali handed the bridge cards to Chen Fan, grabbed Xu Jinqiu's ear and walked into the house, regardless of Xu Jinqiu's begging for mercy in pain. Today, he wanted to let this girl know what it means to vent her emotions.

Chen Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This girl really deserved to be punished. She was obviously afraid of Zeng Ali, but she always got punished. Yet she liked to tease the elder sister.

Not bothering to pay attention to the two sisters' playfulness, Chen Fan took the bridge deck back to the house, poured out the cards, and looked at them one by one. It was just an ordinary deck of bridge cards.

But the signature on the shell is enough!

Xu Jinqiu walked in with messy hair. Seeing the bridge deck, she couldn't help but get excited. She hugged Chen Fan and kissed him hard: "Go find your second brother tomorrow and frame it. From now on, this deck of cards will be our family heirloom."

"Framing?" Chen Fan was stunned.

"Take it over, second brother knows what to do. Otherwise, the bridge cards will get damp and fade in a few years." Xu Jinqiu emphasized.

"Second brother also has this skill?" Chen Fan was curious.

"Second brother definitely doesn't have it, but he knows someone. Don't you think about where he works? Just take it."

Chen Fan then remembered that Xu Jinxia had taken over his mother-in-law's job at Liulichang. "Then I'll go there tomorrow and I must find the best master and use the best craftsmanship."

The next morning, before Chen Fan left the house, Wang Jingyi came to his door.

The two of them had a tacit understanding about what happened yesterday and did not mention a word. Wang Jingyi told Chen Fan that "Awakening Age" had passed the review and would begin serialization next month.

This month is too late!

The 15th has passed, the People's Literature Magazine has already been published, and "The Most Beautiful Youth" has also come to an end in this issue.

Next comes the publishing work.

Wang Jingyi reminded Chen Fan that when he had time, he should go to the publishing house to settle the royalties for the number of copies of "The Most Beautiful Youth". The first print run was still 20 copies, so more copies would definitely be printed in a short period of time.

"I'll go over when I'm not busy in a few days."

Chen Fan was naturally happy to get money, and the amount was not small. "The Most Beautiful Youth" had a total of 36 words, with only 16 words in the first volume and 20 words in the second volume.

The first print run of 20 copies was worth 2000 yuan, and the number of additional prints must have been quite large. The first volume has already been printed 50 copies, and sales are still increasing.

After seeing Wang Jingyi off, Chen Fan didn't delay. He picked up his bag, hailed a tricycle and headed straight for Liulichang, which was cut in half by Nan Xinhua Street and divided into Liulichang East Street and West Street.

After the new century, a magnificent art gallery bridge was built here to reconnect the East and West Streets and was named Liulichang Bridge, but it no longer exists now.

The last time Chen Fan came to Liulichang was to select a Hetian jade heart-shaped buckle for Xu Jinqiu, but he was not really familiar with the place. Having lived for two lifetimes, he had no interest in antiques or artworks.

I have watched quite a few treasure appraisal programs, but to sum it up in one word: scam!

If you buy the wrong thing, it's called making a mistake, but you can't get angry. You have to admit it. This is called paying the tuition fee. Compared with people in this industry, even those who sell fake goods can be called: conscientious merchants!

At least if you sell fake goods, you can get three times the compensation!

If you buy a fake product, not only will you get three times the compensation, you will also be laughed at for taking medicine, and then you can only laugh at yourself and say: forget it, just consider it as tuition payment.

The sign in state-owned restaurants that says "No beating or scolding of customers without reason" is not as overbearing as this one.

After all, the antique business is a circle. There is nothing wrong with people in the circle making a living by relying on their eyesight, but if you are not in the circle and dive in headfirst, you will become a fat sheep.

While thinking about all sorts of things, Chen Fan got off the tricycle and followed the sign to find Qingyun Hall, which mainly sells stationery such as inscriptions, seals, pens, ink, paper, and inkstones.

"Hello, comrade. May I ask if Xu Jinxia came to work today?"

Qingyuntang is currently affiliated with the Cultural Relics Store, and its main purpose is to earn foreign exchange. Its service attitude is the same as that of the Friendship Store, which is relatively good.

The salesperson glanced at Chen Fan and said, "Hello, comrade. What can I do for you, Xu Jinxia?"

Although smoking is not allowed in the store, Chen Fan still took out a cigarette and handed it over: "I am Xu Jinxia's brother-in-law, I need to see him if you need anything."

The salesperson put the cigarette to his ear and showed a surprised expression: "Xu Jinxia's brother-in-law? Are you Chen Fan, the writer Chen Fan?"

"Uh...how do you know?"

"Xu Jinxia has mentioned to us many times that you should write a message for me later. Please wait a moment, I will call someone for you." The salesperson ran to the back and came back soon. Not only did he call Xu Jinxia, he also held a book in his hand: "Comrade Chen Fan, can you write a message for me?"

Chen Fan took the book, which was "Chen Fan's View of the World", and asked Xu Jinxia to wait for a moment. He then asked the salesperson, "I don't have a pen. Do you have one?"

The salesman took out a pen from his jacket pocket. Chen Fan took the pen and turned the book to the second cover: "What do you want to write? Or is it okay?"

"I want to give it to my sister, Zhang Xiaoyan, who is in her second year of high school this year and wants to go to college next year."

Chen Fan thought for a while and wrote a sentence: Aim high, keep your feet on the ground, let your dreams fly, and live up to your youth - to Zhang Xiaoyan.

Finally, sign your name.

The salesperson happily accepted it, looked at the words on it, and grinned: "Thank you, Comrade Chen Fan. You guys continue chatting. I'll go over and get busy first."

"You are busy!"

Chen Fan waved his hand politely and looked at Xu Jinxia: "Second brother, are you busy right now? I have something to ask you."

Xu Jinxia smiled and said, "What's the matter? We don't have many customers here every day. If you have something to do, why are you here instead of going home?"

Chen Fan looked around and made sure that no one was around before taking out the bridge cards: "I have something that needs to be framed. Qiu'er asked me to come find you."

"Frame this?" Xu Jinxia frowned.

"You look."

Chen Fan showed the signature on the shell. Xu Jinxia opened her mouth wide. Chen Fan quickly reminded her, "Don't make any noise. Just keep it to yourself."

Xu Jinxia held back for a while before she said, "How did you get this?"

Chen Fan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Can this thing be robbed or stolen? The old man gave it to me. Don't ask so many questions. Just ask if it can be framed."

"Yes, of course. Qingyun Hall mainly sells rubbings, and its mounting technology is first-class in the entire Liulichang. Come in with me."

"I won't go in. Just do it for me." Chen Fan handed over the bridge cards directly.

"Aren't you afraid that I might lose it?"

"Then I'll let Qiu'er take care of you. She wants to keep this deck of bridge cards as a family heirloom."

"Then you wait."

Xu Jinxia shuddered. Her own sister was a sinister person who had cheated her since she was a child. If she lost her heirloom, she would go through a lot of trouble.

After arranging things neatly, Xu Jinxia came out and saw Chen Fan admiring the rubbings hanging on the wall. She joked, "Buy a few to serve as a front man?"

"Don't give me that. I don't understand this stuff. Besides, these are just rubbings, not real ancient paintings. If you can bring out a few ancient paintings, I will take them away immediately."

"What good things are you thinking? Where can we get so many ancient paintings? All the antique shops have to send them to museums. The only things you can buy in Liulichang are works by modern masters."

"Whose are they?" Chen Fan's eyes lit up.

"Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi, Wu Changshuo, Fu Baoshi, Li Keran, Huang Binhong, Gao Jianfu, etc. There are quite a lot of paintings by famous modern artists."

Chen Fan was stunned. Is there such a good thing?
"Is it expensive?"

"That's definitely expensive. It's priced by the foot, ranging from 8 yuan to more than 20 yuan per foot. A three-foot painting would cost one or two months' salary."

Chen Fan's eyes widened, and without saying a word, he took out all the money he had on him. After thinking for a while, he kept five dollars and stuffed the rest into Xu Jinxia's hands.

"Second brother, please buy me a painting by a modern master."

"Are you crazy?" Xu Jinxia calculated, 450 yuan. This kid is really rich. He always carries several hundred yuan with him when he goes out.

"Just buy it for me. I'll pick it up at my house on the weekend. Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'm going back." After Chen Fan finished speaking, he turned around and left.

I am not interested in art, but I have no grudge against money.

Paintings by modern masters are worthless now, but in twenty years, they will be extremely expensive. Collect a few and keep them so that if you go bankrupt one day, you will have a foundation for making a comeback.

Even if you can't use it yourself, you can pass it down to your family!
It doesn’t cost much anyway.

The key is that you don’t have to worry about it yourself. My second uncle works in this area and knows the ins and outs of this industry very well. You just have to pay the money.

"Hey, what's going on?" Xu Jinxia felt a toothache while holding the money.

Can this money be spent?
If the sister knew that her brother-in-law was such a spendthrift and that the money came from her hands, she would probably be ruined.

That girl can do it.

Chen Fan didn't care about that. He sat on the tricycle, humming a ballad all the way. When he returned to the courtyard, he unexpectedly saw Zeng Ali at home: "Sister, didn't you go to work?"

Zeng Ali glared at him and said, "You came back because Zheng Yana was angry. Have you thought about what you promised her? That lady has been pestering me all morning."

"Didn't I ask you to talk to her about becoming the president? Once you become the president, your income will increase dramatically. Why would she still think about those things?" Chen Fan's original intention was to drag it out.

Once Zheng Yana becomes the president, she will be able to collect money from the 18 editorial teams, and her income will be much higher than that of being the editor-in-chief, so there will be no need to hold meetings on Mondays to discuss new projects.

We are not short of money anyway!
If you really want to start a new project, Zheng Yana will be the president herself, so she should solve problems by herself.

"Zheng Yana doesn't want to be the president!"

"No, is she sick? She keeps asking me for projects and making money. Now I want her to be the president and increase her income, but she's not happy about it? She's spoiled!"

PS: The first update is here! There will be another update in the evening~
(End of this chapter)