**Chapter 57**

  That evening, the two returned to Nan Guluo Alley. The courtyard was quiet and cold, and Zheng Sen seemed in low spirits. He first lit the kang (heated bed) in the west room for Daniu. He also brought in a charcoal brazier filled with honeycomb briquettes and left the window half-open to let the room warm up quickly.

  "Let's go to bed early." Zheng Sen tidied up and touched the kang, which was already warm, then took the brazier outside and closed the window.

  Daniu watched him head to the east room. After some thought, she spread out the bedding and then went to the east room herself. Zheng Sen was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, tossing firewood into the stove.

  "Can’t sleep. Want to talk?" Daniu said, as she entered the room.

  Zheng Sen looked at her and smiled. "Don’t worry about me. I’m fine." Then he stood up and said. "Sit here and warm yourself by the fire."

  The firewood was burning brightly, and a pot of hot water was boiling on the stove. Zheng Sen went into the room and brought out two enamel mugs, adding some malted milk powder and hot water. Soon, the sweet, milky aroma of the malted milk filled the air.

  Daniu carefully held the mug and blew on it before taking a small sip. Zheng Sen also took a sip, then pulled another small stool from the firewood pile and sat beside her.

  "My dad is the type who takes his work very seriously. He’s strict and principled. People like that are appreciated and trusted by their superiors. There’s no faulting his work ethic, but—" Zheng Sen pointed to his head—"His mind isn't flexible. He thinks everyone in the world does things the same way he does."

  Daniu sipped the malted milk, savoring its sweetness, and listened carefully without interrupting. "When I was little, I really admired him. Back then, I lived with my grandpa, and he always spoke highly of my dad. The thought that my father was such a brave soldier filled me with pride."

  Zheng Sen nodded, as if affirming his own words. "But he isn’t a good father, and you can even say he isn’t a good husband either. For him, work always came first."

  "When it came to family matters, he was clueless. Aunt Zhang knew his personality inside out, so no matter what happened, she could always convince him."

  Daniu could sense the resentment in his voice. Clearly, he had been wronged, but after some pillow talk, the bme had somehow shifted to him.

  Zheng Sen paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, when I think about it now, it’s not such a big deal. It’s all in the past." He shook his head as if trying to shake off the negative emotions.

  Suddenly, Zheng Sen realized that he hadn’t been very attentive to Daniu today due to his own mood.

  "How’s your arm? Is it okay?" he asked, remembering that Daniu had been busy making dumplings and cooking earlier.

  Daniu shook her head. "It’s fine. My hand has recovered too. Today, when I was making dumplings, my left hand was just as nimble as usual." Dr. Wang had said that the deep cut on her left hand might have damaged the nerves, but it seemed the "spiritual water" had worked wonders—she has recovered remarkably quickly.

  "That’s good. Tomorrow, I’ll take you out to explore the city," Zheng Sen said.

  Daniu nodded.

  The next morning, Zheng Sen went out to buy breakfast and returned with soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, millet porridge, and some pickled vegetables.

  "Where did you get all this so quickly?" Daniu was surprised. He had only been gone for a few minutes.

  "Just in the alley. There are a lot of street vendors there," Zheng Sen expined.

  As they were eating, Hei Zi (bck kid or bckie) showed up.

  "Have you eaten? Join us," Zheng Sen offered.

  Seeing that there was plenty of food, Hei Zi sat down and ate with them.

  After the meal, Zheng Sen started clearing the dishes and asked, "In your letter, you said my grandfather wasn’t doing well. Who told you that?" If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have come back this year, which had disrupted his pns. Yesterday, when he spoke with his father and older brother, they didn’t seem to know why he had returned.

  "Huh?" Hei Zi was taken aback. "It was Xiuli who told me. She even came to see me specifically to say that."

  Zheng Sen’s face darkened. "Are you stupid? Can you really trust what Xiuli says?"

  "He, look at what you said. What’s wrong with Xiuli’s words?" Hei Zi was a bit offended.

  "Look at you," Zheng Sen sighed. There was no helping it—Hei Zi had had a crush on Xiuli since they were kids.

  "Xiuli is your sister, right?" Daniu asked.

  Zheng Sen nodded. "Yeah. I don’t know what that girl is up to." He also remembered that the letters from home were also written by Xiu Li.

  Daniu thought for a moment and guessed something but kept her thoughts to herself.

  Zheng Sen pointed at Hei Zi. "You really screwed me over this time."

  "What? There is nothing wrong with your grandfather?" Hei Zi blurted out, then quickly spped his mouth. "Oops, that came out wrong. Of course, the old man is fine."

  "He’s moved to Princess Tomb (Gongzhufen) area. Can you do something for me?" Zheng Sen asked.

  "What is it?" Hei Zi replied.

  "He’s living there alone now. The pce is decent, but it’s a bit cold. Can you get a stove installed for him?" Zheng Sen took out some industrial tickets and money from his pocket. "If it’s not enough, cover the rest for now."

  Hei Zi took the items. "Don’t worry. Leave it to me."

  After Hei Zi left, Zheng Sen took Daniu out to explore the city. They first wandered around the neighborhood. Nan Guluo Alley was bustling, perhaps because the New Year was approaching, and there were many street vendors.

  By nine o’clock, Zheng Sen took her to the Wangfujing Department Store. It was huge, with a wide variety of goods. However, they didn’t have many tickets to use. "I’ll go to the bck market tomorrow to exchange some," Zheng Sen said. They had quite a few national grain tickets, and they should be able to exchange a lot with that.

  "Is the bck market safe? Doesn’t anyone monitor it?" Daniu asked.

  "It’s fine if you’re careful. Just exchange what you need and leave quickly," Zheng Sen replied, speaking from experience.

  Zheng Sen took Daniu upstairs to the watch counter, where brand-new watches were dispyed.

  "What are we doing here?" Daniu asked.

  "I want to buy you a watch. Since we’re engaged, I should get you something. Which one do you like?" Zheng Sen said.

  Daniu shook her head. "No, I already have a watch. Look." She rolled up her sleeve to show him.

  Zheng Sen knew she had a watch but had never seen what kind it was. When he saw it, he was surprised. "This is a Longines." He examined it closely. "It’s an imported one. Where did you buy it?" It wasn’t a cheap watch.

  "At the credit store in Harbin," Daniu replied.

  Zheng Sen smiled at her. "You’ve got good taste." With that, he didn’t insist on buying her another watch.

  The two of them wandered around for a while, buying some food but nothing else. Zheng Sen thought for a moment and said, "Come on, I’ll take you to the credit store of the capital."

  Seeing her watch, he realized Daniu had a unique eye for things, so he decided to take her somewhere more interesting.

  Credit stores sold secondhand goods, simir to pawnshops in the past. As soon as they entered, it felt like treasure hunting.

  The store had a wide variety of items, from small kitchenware like pots and bowls to rger furniture and decorations.

  Daniu first went to look at the bowls and ptes. She found a set of Qing-style blue-and-white porcein. Zheng Sen had an eye for such things. "These are probably from the te Qing dynasty. They’re not particurly valuable for collection."

  Daniu looked at him. "You know how to appraise these things?"

  Zheng Sen said proudly, "Back when I didn’t want to go home, I’d wander around the streets. I’ve seen everything."

  Daniu pointed to the ground. "I like them because there are many of them. Look at all these patterns and varieties. They’d look great if we used them at home." She had always liked tableware, and here were several complete sets. Although they weren’t ancient, the patterns were beautiful.

  Zheng Sen agreed and went to ask the saleswoman for the price. The woman, who had been chatting with someone else, gnced over and said, "Bowls are fifty cents each, small ptes are forty cents, rge ptes are fifty cents, and spoons and other small items are twenty cents each."

  The items weren’t expensive, and no tickets were needed, so they bought the entire set, which amounted to over a hundred pieces, costing a little more than fifty yuan.

  After buying the porcein, Daniu also took a liking to a chest of cabinets upstairs. The material seemed to be huanghuali (a type of rosewood), and it was very well-preserved. Zheng Sen also found a purple sandalwood stool.

  They didn’t find much else.

  The two hired a tricycle to take the items back to the courtyard house. Zheng Sen could tell that Daniu had a fondness for old items. That was easy to accommodate. After lunch, he took her to Liulichang. "This is an antique cultural street with lots of old items, calligraphy, and paintings. We’ll explore here today, and tomorrow I’ll take you to Panjiayuan."

  "I don’t know much about these things, but it’s fun to look around," Daniu said, her enthusiasm evident. This era was much better than the future, at least when it came to fewer counterfeit items. Most of the shops on the street were joint state-private enterprises, and they even provided receipts for purchases.

  They wandered around and bought an inkstone for eight hundred yuan, said to be a Song dynasty lotus leaf Duan inkstone. Although they couldn’t verify its authenticity, it looked genuine. They also bought three modern-made Duan inkstones from the Mazi Pit, each costing one hundred and fifty yuan.

  According to the shopkeeper, these inkstones were exported for eight hundred yuan each, so they felt they had gotten a good deal.

  They also visited a stationery shop and bought brushes and paper.

  "Let’s use these to practice calligraphy when we get back," Daniu said with a smile.

  "I studied calligraphy with my grandfather for three or four years as a child, but I’ve neglected it since. If you’re going to practice, we can do it together," Zheng Sen said.

  "Sounds good," Daniu replied, amused. While others bought tools to learn calligraphy, they were buying tools before thinking about practicing.

  They strolled into Rongbaozhai, a well-established shop. Inside, many calligraphy and paintings were hung on the walls. As they browsed, they noticed that some works by famous historical artists were quite expensive, costing thousands of yuan.

  Daniu then noticed a room with many paintings hung against the wall, all from modern times. She was drawn to a ndscape painting that looked familiar. After a moment of recollection, she checked the signature: Huang Binhong, _Spring Landscape_.

  "How much is this one?" Daniu pointed to the painting and asked.

  "Four yuan per square foot," the clerk, who was organizing the paintings, replied after gncing at it.

  Daniu’s heart raced. It was so cheap.

  She looked next to it and was even more surprised to see Qi Baishi’s _Shrimp_. "How much is this one?"

  "Six yuan per square foot."

  Daniu then carefully examined other works by well-known modern artists like Zhang Daqian and Fu Baoshi. After asking, she found that none of the prices were particurly high, with the most expensive being ten yuan per square foot.

  Daniu’s eyes lit up. She had brought a thousand yuan with her, leaving a hundred as backup. She spent the rest on paintings.

  She didn’t know much about modern artists, only having heard of these names during history lessons in school. But seeing the paintings brought back those memories.

  With nine hundred yuan, she bought dozens of paintings. Although Zheng Sen thought it would be better to buy Tang or Song dynasty paintings from the main hall—after all, they were antiques—he didn’t say anything. He arranged for a cart and had the clerk carefully pack the paintings for delivery to their home.

  By the time they got home, both were exhausted, so they just stored the paintings in the west room.

  "Do you like these paintings?" Zheng Sen finally asked. He hadn’t seen any calligraphy or paintings in Daniu’s home before, so he didn’t know she was interested in collecting.

  Daniu took out a ndscape painting by Fu Baoshi. "How should I put it? I’m not an expert in calligraphy or painting, but these are a kind of investment. Right now, these paintings are very cheap, but in ten, twenty, or thirty years, they won’t be at this price anymore." Since she had come across them, it would be a shame not to buy them.

  "These paintings could become family heirlooms in the future," Daniu said as she carefully put the painting away.

  Hearing Daniu say that the paintings could be passed down through the family, Zheng Sen felt a stir in his heart. "How do you pn to store these paintings?"

  Daniu frowned slightly. "I hadn’t thought about that. It is not appropriate to take them back with us; it would be bad if they got damaged during the long journey—long trips could damage them." But since they weren’t staying in the capital, keeping the paintings here would also be troublesome.

  Zheng Sen thought for a moment and said, "Let me figure something out."