Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

As the spacetime rift closed, Lin Yanzhou stood in the basement of the villa. The lights were still on, and sunlight streamed in obliquely from above the ventilation shaft, casting a warm yellow band across the floor. He glanced down at the silver ring on his left ring finger; the metallic luster on the ring's surface was more stable than before he left, the newly formed surface having completed its final fusion.

He went up the stairs to the living room. On the coffee table was a half-finished glass of water, next to which lay a half-open medical journal, and the sofa cushions were askew. Then he heard the sound of a door opening at the end of the hallway, and Lin Xiaoya came out from the direction of the bedroom, wearing a thin sweater, her hair pulled back, holding a phone in her hand, the screen still lit.

She paused for a moment when she saw him standing in the kitchen doorway, then took a few more steps forward: "You're back?"

"I'm back."

She looked him up and down: "This time you were gone for two days."

"It could take a few days or as long as half a month."

She turned and went into the kitchen, turned on the tap and washed her hands: "Xiaozhou went to school today and won't be back until this afternoon. Have you eaten?"

"not yet."

Lin Yanzhou took the gifts Xuan Shuo brought back from her ring. For Xiaozhou was a small, rough earthenware jar, its mouth sealed with wax, containing osmanthus-flavored candied fruit, made in the kitchen using this year's fresh osmanthus blossoms and local honey. The other gift was two sets of dresses for little girls, made of fine cotton woven locally in Xuan Shuo, in simple colors, with simple cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs and collar.

He wrapped the two items together in an old cloth and placed them on a corner of the coffee table. The one for Haozi was a ceramic bottle, its mouth sealed with a cork and wrapped in dried straw. Inside was glutinous rice wine from the north of Xuan Shuo, not very strong, but with a potent aftereffect. He found an inconspicuous coarse cloth bag, put the bottle inside, and placed it by the door, intending to take it over that afternoon.

Xiaoya heated up the food and brought it to the table: "Xiaozhou has been attending classes normally these past few days. She asked you twice, 'Has Uncle come back yet?' She didn't press you to ask where you went, she just said she'd show you something new when you get back."

In the afternoon, Lin Yanzhou went to see Hu Dahai first. The door of the Qingzhuan Guild Hall was ajar. When he pushed the door open, Hu Dahai was sitting in the rosewood armchair in the central hall, holding a purple clay teapot and pouring tea into a cup without stopping. "You're back? You've been gone for several days."

"Just a few days, only two. I brought a new batch of goods." Lin Yanzhou took out three items from his ring and placed them on the table—a celadon vase, a scroll of landscape calligraphy and painting from a previous dynasty, and an ancient jade paperweight.

Hu Dahai put down the purple clay teapot, picked up the celadon bottle, turned it over and examined it closely, then held it up to the light to check the glaze on the bottom. He didn't put it down: "This one is in good condition, a grade higher than the last batch. If we sell all three together, it'll be seven million eight hundred thousand. You kept a batch of silver ingots last time; are you going to sell them all together this time, or wait a bit?"

"The three items will be delivered today. There's also a batch of gold and silver; you can pick them up at the villa tomorrow."

Hu Dahai nodded, put down the celadon bottle, and picked up his phone to make a few adjustments. A moment later, Lin Yanzhou's phone rang; 7.8 million had been deposited into his account.

He put away his phone: "Boss Hu, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

"you say."

"You've been in the antique business for so many years, you've met a wide range of people. Do you know anyone in the technology sector?"

Hu Dahai paused his hand on the lid of the purple clay teapot, then looked up at him: "The science and technology department? Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"I have a batch of mineral samples with a rather unusual composition; no one on the market has ever seen them before. I'd like to have them appraised by professionals. They're not antiques; they're minerals."

Hu Dahai was silent for a moment, then put down the purple clay teapot and lowered his voice, saying, "I know someone on the north side of the mountain who has an advisory position with the Beijing Science and Technology Commission. His surname is Chen, he's in his sixties, retired, but he still has connections. He likes to collect odd and unusual things, not antiques, but new materials and new technologies. If you really have something worthwhile, I can put in a good word for you."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Hu."

"Let me make a call and ask first." Hu Dahai picked up his phone and, without trying to hide it from him, dialed a number.

After the call was connected, he briefly and respectfully explained the situation, without mentioning Lin Yanzhou's name, only saying, "A friend of mine has some special minerals and wants someone to take a look at them."

After hanging up the phone, he said, "Old Chen said we can meet. The day after tomorrow afternoon, at his home. I'll send you the address."

Lin Yanzhou left the Qingzhuan Guild Hall and drove to Haozi's place. Haozi was in the living room repairing the base of a table lamp, with screwdrivers and thin copper wires spread out on the floor. Hearing the door open, he looked up and asked, "You're back?"

"You're back." Lin Yanzhou took the ceramic bottle out of the bag and placed it on the coffee table. "It's glutinous rice wine produced in the north. It's not very strong, but it has a powerful aftereffect. Try it."

Haozi put down the screwdriver, picked up the ceramic bottle, examined the cork at the neck, and then weighed it in his hand: "Where did you get this?"

"It's homemade by a friend in the mountains."

Haozi didn't ask any further questions and placed the ceramic bottle on the dining table: "Okay, we'll have it with our drinks tonight."

Lin Yanzhou sat on the sofa for a while and asked Haozi how the equipment setup was going. Haozi said the equipment arrived the day before yesterday and they were currently setting it up. They expected to be able to produce a prototype by next Wednesday. Lin Yanzhou nodded after hearing this, then stood up to take his leave.

When he returned to the villa, Xiaozhou had already finished school. She was doing her homework at the coffee table in the living room. When she looked up and saw him enter, she excitedly ran over and hugged Lin Yanzhou: "Uncle, you're back?"

"You're back. I brought you some things." He placed the earthenware jar and the two sets of clothes on the coffee table and unwrapped the old cloth.

Xiao Zhou put down her pen, first looked at the earthenware jar, then unfolded one of the dresses to examine it. The dress was made of a coarser material than she usually wore, but the color was a plain one that she liked, with cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs. With the unique satisfaction of a child, she said "Thank you, Uncle Lin," but after folding the dress and placing it next to her schoolbag, she opened the earthenware jar again to smell the aroma of the osmanthus candied fruit before closing the lid and putting it away again.

Xiaoya came out of the kitchen, glanced at the two neatly folded dresses and the ceramic jar on the coffee table, then looked at Lin Yanzhou, asked no more questions, and turned back to the kitchen.

Lin Yanzhou sat in the living room, while Xiaozhou continued doing her homework, the pencil making a soft scratching sound on the paper.

He sat there, sensing that the minerals and powder inside the ring were still in their original positions. The silvery-white crystalline patterns and grayish-white metallic powder formed a stable and persistent sensing area at the edge of his consciousness, waiting to be brought to Old Chen the day after tomorrow afternoon, waiting to be disassembled, tested, and classified, waiting to find where they truly belonged in this era.