Chapter 695: 695 Hobby
"Tomorrow, let’s find a carpenter to make some boxes. This way, it’ll be safer to store them."
"Sure, I’ll pack these porcelains.
Yuanyuan, I’m suddenly feeling that what I learned in my childhood wasn’t in vain."
"How could it be in vain? Having more skills never hurts."
"Now I get it. That time when my grandfather sighed and said he was giving up, I felt so uncertain inside, not knowing what the past twenty-odd years were for."
"Feeling settled now? At peace?"
"Yes, I do feel that way now. I believe what I’m doing is legitimate. It’s kind of like putting what I learned to good use."
"Isn’t that great? We’re collecting bit by bit, and maybe in the future, we can live off this."
"Yes, that would be wonderful. We must continue to collect together."
They lived their days like this, with genuine smiles on the faces of both young women.
Su Yuanyuan’s mood also became much calmer, no longer angry about the betrayal, and she didn’t feel lonely.
They had collected so many things by now, filling up ten boxes.
The sanatorium even specially cleared out a storeroom for Su Yuanyuan.
This was actually arranged by Zeng Zhenqing, who was always watching over Su Yuanyuan, feeling a sense of guilt towards her. So, he tried to make up to her in other ways.
Because it was inconvenient to drive, the two of them walked everywhere. Even if they went to distant villages, it was no problem, just a bit tiring.
By the end of April, they had switched to lighter clothing, spending every day in the sun and wind. Though their heads were well covered, they still tanned.
One day, Yuanyuan said, "Hongling, we’ve been to every village around here. How about we see what another county has to offer?"
"Sure, I’ve been thinking about that for a while now. Look, today, we didn’t find anything."
"Alright then, let’s drive out for a few days."
The two young women readily agreed. Su Yuanyuan informed the person in charge there, and the next day, they drove off together.
They had a map in hand and asked several people along the way.
By afternoon, they arrived at a relatively wealthy-looking village in the neighboring county.
They found the village chief and said, "We’d like to stay in the village temporarily to collect some old items.
Rest assured, we won’t underpay."
Su Yuanyuan did all the talking because Zeng Hongling’s Mandarin carried a Southern accent, slow and hard for people to understand.
"Alright, I’ll notify everyone. You two ladies can stay at Widow Li’s place."
Su Yuanyuan understood the village chief’s sentiment. Indeed, it wouldn’t be suitable to stay with a family that had men.
The two were led to Widow Li’s home. They were quite satisfied, as they had spent over two months in the countryside and were accustomed to the local conditions.
But Widow Li was truly clean. Her courtyard and house were spotless.
The two had already arranged with the village chief. They wouldn’t stay for free and would pay one dollar a night, leaving both parties content.
They had brought luggage, so they felt quite at ease.
Widow Li looked to be in her thirties. Not particularly striking, but she seemed well-liked.
Dinner was shared together. The women took out the dried fish they brought and some pickles made by Master Li.
The cornmeal porridge was cooked just right, fragrant with the smell of grain.
Early the next morning, people started arriving.
Zeng Hongling immediately set up a table outside the courtyard.
"Everyone, don’t rush. Think about what you might have from your ancestors. We collect everything, but it must pass our appraisal."
Just then, an elderly lady with bound feet trembled as she approached.
"Young woman, take a look at this. It’s something handed down from my grandmother. I’ve worn it for decades."
After speaking, the old woman carefully took out a handkerchief-wrapped bundle, opening it to reveal a pair of gold bracelets.
Su Yuanyuan and her partner had been collecting antiques for a long time, but it was their first time someone offered gold jewelry.
Zeng Hongling took it and examined it carefully.
She nodded towards Su Yuanyuan, indicating their well-practiced teamwork.
"Ma’am, how much do you want for this pair of gold bracelets?"
"Young woman, I haven’t exchanged them at a bank. They say banks don’t weigh them properly. My mother once told me this pair weighs six taels."
Su Yuanyuan calculated in her head. Back then, gold was measured with sixteen taels to a pound. The bank now offers between seven and eight dollars per tael, at best eight for the finest pieces.
"Ma’am, the bank offers seven to eight dollars per tael, so I’ll give you fifty dollars for this pair. Does that sound good?"
"Alright, alright, fifty it is. You’re really kind-hearted."
The onlookers and those wanting to sell were tempted.
A pair of bracelets for fifty dollars; the bank certainly wouldn’t offer that much.
Su Yuanyuan took out the money, "Ma’am, count it. Neighbors, please help look, five bills total."
The old woman with bound feet carefully put away the money and shuffled off.
People saw this and were informed, "If you have anything valuable, be it gold and silver, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain, ornaments, Copper Coin, silver coins, we’ll buy them."
The second person was also an elderly woman, carrying a wooden box. She had initially been the first to arrive but was afraid of being deceived, so she hadn’t approached earlier.
Having seen Mrs. Wang sell her gold bracelets and get a high price, she also had a similar pair, each of six taels. She had inquired at the bank, which offered only forty dollars, whereas here she would get a whole ten dollars more.
She hadn’t sold hers last time, thankfully, as now she could get ten dollars more.
Plus, all the items she held could be sold to them, as no one else was buying Jade and such currently.
"Ma’am, what would you like to sell?"
"Young woman, I want to sell everything in this box." The elderly woman placed the box on the table, hiding her reluctance from the villagers.
But she feared being robbed or deceived.
Zeng Hongling opened the box, finding quite a lot inside.
She examined each piece. The first was a transparent cicada, likely a plaything for wealthy women.
"Yuanyuan, the Jade Cicada is of excellent quality, worth twenty dollars."
Su Yuanyuan took out a paper and pen, noting everything. There were so many items, it was prudent to document them. They used to keep records for old objects collected before.
The second item was a small Jade Horse, not as fine as the Jade Cicada.
"The Jade Horse is worth at most ten dollars. The hairpin five dollars, this Peace Pendant can go for ten dollars. This pair of Jade Bracelets fifteen dollars. The gold bracelet can also fetch fifty, this gold pendant ten dollars. The gold chain ten dollars."
Su Yuanyuan noted everything down. Zeng Hongling returned all the items to the box, waiting for Su Yuanyuan to quote the price to the lady.
"Ma’am, we can take all of these." She listed the prices again. "Ma’am, are you satisfied with the prices?"