Chapter 619
Old Master Qin's Collection
Chapter 619 Old Master Qin's Collection
Qin Huai accepted Grandma Qin's suggestion in just one second, saying that his grandparents were indeed farsighted and that they almost died from exhaustion in the kitchen of Qin Family Village.
Seeing that her grandson had given up the terrible idea of working himself to death during the New Year, Grandma Qin began to enthusiastically introduce the group of talented people on the list to Qin Huai.
The small list was a collection of Grandma Qin's wisdom, gleaned from her narrow defeat in the women's director election by three votes. It was fair to say that if conditions allowed, every pork vendor in town would have wanted to apply for a job chopping meat. The only person on the list with connections, the village chief's granddaughter, could only get a job tending the fire—a smoky and relatively unskilled task.
Compared to the list of helpers during the Lunar New Year, Qin Huai was actually more concerned about the condition of the rooms.
"Grandma, the bed in the room I asked you and Grandpa to help prepare has a cotton quilt, right? Director Xu is getting old, unlike Luo Luo and me. We two can sleep with a thin quilt at night. Luo Luo often complains that the room is not well-ventilated and is too hot, so she wants to sleep with the window open. Director Xu can't do that," Qin Huai said.
Of all the people who came to Qin Huai's house for the New Year, Factory Director Xu was definitely the one he needed to protect the most. Not only was he older, but he was also the only one there, and besides Zhou Hu, he was the guest Qin Huai cared about the most.
Speaking of Zhou Hu, Qin Huai has been making pastries at the welfare home during the day and sharing a room with Zhou Hu at night to build up their relationship.
Qin Huai didn't know if his favorability rating had improved, but his sleep quality had definitely improved.
For some reason, Zhou Hu wanted to charge Qin Huai 15 yuan to have his fortune told. Qin Huai, of course, wasn't short of 15 yuan, and transferred 15 yuan to Zhou Hu before turning off the lights the next night, asking him to tell his fortune about his marriage.
Then Zhou Hu calculated that Qin Huai had no marriage prospects.
Yes, there is no chance of marriage; she is purely alone.
Zhou Hu first had Qin Huai toss coins and calculate the I Ching to predict the situation in recent years. After finding that the situation was far from satisfactory, he began to look at Qin Huai's face and palm, and asked Qin Huai to give numbers and write words. Finally, he told Qin Huai to sit there without moving anything and let him calculate silently.
The calculations show that Qin Huai is a lonely and widowed place.
Qin Huai wanted to ask Zhou Hu if he had unintentionally offended him during the arrangements for Luo Jun's funeral, and if he had miscalculated the final payment, resulting in underpayment. Zhou Hu wasn't interested in earning that 15 yuan; he just wanted to insult him in this way.
What kind of things are these calculations?
He was destined for a life of toil, unable to hold onto money, and destined for loneliness. Qin Huai began to suspect that Zhou Hu's claim of having good interpersonal relationships was merely a prelude to something more. Those who frequently engage in fraud know that to insult someone, you can't just hurl insults from beginning to end; you have to lay the groundwork first, and then deliver the insults indirectly.
Qin Huai really wanted to ask Zhou Hu, "Do you know who I am? I'm the male lead in a system novel! Have you ever seen a male lead who's destined to be a hard worker, can't hold onto his money, and is lonely, but is still popular with everyone?"
What good is it for a male lead to be popular if he has neither a girlfriend nor money? What kind of male lead is that?
Of course, this was just Qin Huai's internal monologue. Qin Huai believed that Zhou Hu didn't mean to insult him; he must have genuinely calculated the result. After this calculation, Zhou Hu was even more confused and rambled on to Qin Huai about a whole bunch of methods, techniques, and theories that were like gibberish to him. After talking until Qin Huai fell asleep, the next day, with an embarrassed smile on his face, he asked Qin Huai if he could transfer another 15 yuan so he could calculate Qin Huai's fortune again.
Qin Huai chose to refuse.
It wasn't that Qin Huai was afraid Zhou Hu would give him some amazing results again; Qin Huai mainly wanted to see if this refusal could lead to a side quest, preferably one that was so simple that he could complete it simply by agreeing to let Zhou Hu tell his fortune.
Although the mission hasn't been solved yet, Zhou Hu really wants to do another divination for Qin Huai.
Sometimes, when Qin Huai looked at Zhou Hu's eyes, he felt that the other man's eyes were filled with pleading, "Please transfer me 15 yuan so I can tell your fortune. If that's not possible, 10 yuan will do."
Qin Huai figured Zhou Hu would find an opportunity to come see him again tonight, and he would then readily agree. If Zhou Hu's prediction was correct, he would praise Master Zhou for his superb skills, explaining that his previous inaccurate predictions were simply due to an accident or a lack of inspiration.
If Zhou Hu's calculations were still outrageous, he would comfort Zhou Hu, raise the banner of anti-feudal superstition, and while affirming Zhou Hu's professional abilities, say that there must be something wrong with him, and that it was definitely not Zhou Hu's fault.
Go all out and boost my favorability.
You can keep trying regardless of the outcome.
The script for Qinhuai is already written.
Grandma Qin hadn't noticed that her precious grandson had already started daydreaming, and said confidently, "Of course, the bed is all made. There's a quilt under the sheets, and the quilt on the bed is also newly made this year. It was specially aired out for several days because of the strong sun a couple of days ago, so it's warm and cozy."
"Do you think I don't know that old people are afraid of the cold? You young people don't know as much about this as we old folks. Your grandfather specially cleaned up the south-facing room to make sure the sun shines on the bed every morning. And your grandfather has already helped spread the word, ensuring that starting tomorrow, Director Xu will have endless chess games to play."
Qin Huai and Grandma Qin's version is that Director Xu is very supportive of Yunzhong Canteen and Huangji's business, describing Director Xu as a typical client. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why he would have a friend who is so old.
When facing the client, Grandma Qin and Grandpa Qin naturally had to provide a high-level reception. The new quilt that Qin Huai and Qin Luo couldn't sleep in was given to Director Xu first.
"That's good. Grandma, what would you like to eat tonight? I'll start now..." Before Qin Huai could finish speaking, the sound of a car horn came from outside.
Presumably, Chen Huihong and her group have arrived.
Qin Huai and Grandma Qin came out of the kitchen and saw Chen Huihong getting out of the car happily and taking out her suitcase from the trunk.
Chen Huihong had the most luggage, with two extra-large suitcases. When they were at the orphanage, Chen Huihong told Qin Huai that one of her suitcases was full of gifts for Qin Huai's family, but Qin Huai didn't ask what they were.
Now Qin Huai knows.
Air purifier.
As expected of Chen Huihong, no matter the occasion or where she goes, the first gift she gives upon meeting someone is always an air purifier.
Chen Huihong not only prepared air purifiers for Grandpa Qin, Qin's neighbors, the village chief's family, and the Party Secretary's family, but also prepared one for Qin Xiuli. It can be said that she made very thorough preparations.
Qu Jing also prepared a gift, but her gift was sent directly from Shanshi—supplements from their hospital.
Chen Gong brought half a suitcase full of dried goods, while Factory Director Xu prepared two cans of tea. One of them, Qin Huai, was easily recognizable by its packaging—it was the Phoenix Dancong tea that Factory Director Xu had brewed for everyone at the nursing home. Grandpa Wang's gift was also sent from Shanshi City; apparently, he had contacted a boutique fruit shop that Luo Jun often bought fruit from and received over a dozen boxes of fruit.
An Youyou performed steadily, bringing a box of milk and a fruit basket.
Only Zhou Hu, who wasn't in the same group, wasn't notified to prepare a gift. He left in a hurry and probably forgot about it, only bringing half a suitcase full of compasses, talismans, cinnabar, and other side hustle props.
Zhou Hu, bewildered, wanted to draw a peace charm for everyone present.
Qin Huai quickly pulled Zhou Hu to his grandfather and introduced Master Zhou to him: "Grandpa, this is my friend Zhou Hu, who is very good at feng shui and fortune telling. He is very famous in our area and his family has passed down feng shui skills for three generations."
"Didn't you say you wanted to change the layout of your house? I specially invited him to our house for the Chinese New Year this year, and also to help us check if there are any problems with the feng shui layout of our old house."
Hearing Qin Huai say this, Old Master Qin's eyes lit up with excitement. He grasped Zhou Hu's hand and said, "Master Zhou, you must be tired from coming all this way. Have some hot tea first."
"How much does the master charge? Are there any special considerations? We're here..."
“15 yuan a divination,” Zhou Hu blurted out. Hearing this, Old Master Qin became even more excited. You see, the cheapest fortune teller in town now charges 20 yuan a divination. These days, there aren’t many masters like Zhou Hu who insist on low prices and high volume with small profits.
Compared to Grandma Qin, Grandpa Qin preferred to engage in feudal superstitions, but he had one condition: he preferred feudal superstitions that were relatively inexpensive.
The fortune teller who predicted Qin Huai would have a younger brother and sister was still talked about by Old Master Qin for so many years and is still regarded as a true master. This is not only because the master's predictions were accurate, but also because the master charged very little. He only charged 5 yuan for that divination.
If he charged 50, no matter how accurate his calculations were, Old Master Qin wouldn't consider him a true master. When Qin Huai was a child, 50 yuan was quite valuable.
Seeing that her husband had relapsed into his old habit of seeking good quality at low prices, Grandma Qin smiled helplessly at Director Xu, led him to see the room, and introduced him to the chess players in the village, asking him which one he would like to play against first.
Thanks to the promotion by Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin, the old men in Qin Family Village who know how to play chess are all looking forward to competing against the legendary chess king from the Suzhou Nursing Home.
The others, dragging their suitcases, were led back to their rooms by their neighbors and the old Party Secretary. The reason so many people gathered in the Qin family's courtyard today wasn't to argue or fight over someone. Of course, everyone might have wanted to have a little fight to grab someone, but the main purpose was to pick up the person.
For the people of Qin Family Village, their village wasn't a well-known wealthy village in the surrounding area. There were no celebrities, no tourist attractions, and apart from Qin Huai making snacks to welcome villagers over for a lively celebration during the Spring Festival, there was nothing particularly special about it. Even dragon and lion dances and hiring opera troupes depended on the village's economic situation that year. In Qin Huai's memory, the village had only set up a stage three times in all these years, and most of the time, everyone had to go to the neighboring village to watch the performances.
The neighboring village is wealthy; they hire an opera troupe to perform every year.
Under these circumstances, everyone in Qinhuai felt very proud that so many of their friends were willing to spend the Spring Festival in Qinjiacun.
Even if Qin Huai didn't set a price or offer snacks when renting a room, many people in the village would still be willing to provide a warm welcome, at least the old Party Secretary and the village head would.
Not to mention that Qin Huai even paid for the room and snacks, so of course they had to be treated with extra hospitality. Many families had already prepared red envelopes, super-sized ones, the kind with a huge sum of 20 yuan inside. They were just waiting for Qin Huai's friends to pass by their door so they could swiftly hand them the envelopes, letting the guests from afar experience the warmth of Qin Family Village.
Zhou Hu took out a compass from his suitcase and, under the guidance of Old Master Qin, began to examine the feng shui of the Qin family's house.
To be honest, Zhou Hu with the compass did look quite like a charlatan.
Qin Huai followed along, listening to Zhou Hu use various professional terms. He saw Old Master Qin nodding repeatedly with a look of conviction as they moved from the front yard to the back yard, and then began to look at each room one by one.
When they saw the kitchen, Grandma Qin was inside making tea with hot water, and Qin Luo was next to her cutting lemons, looking like she was going to make handmade lemon tea.
Qin Huai quickly said, "Luo Luo, use the Phoenix Dancong tea that Factory Director Xu brought as the tea base. I want to drink Duck Shit Fragrance Hand-beaten Lemon Tea."
"Okay, bro." Qin Luo nodded quickly to indicate that he had noted it down. "Does Director Xu also want some Duck Shit Fragrance hand-beaten lemon tea?"
Qin Huai felt that Director Xu's stomach probably couldn't handle such a cold drink, but he wasn't entirely sure. What if Director Xu liked it? He said, "I'll go ask where Director Xu is."
"It feels like looking at your old homework notebooks from when you were little, brother," Qin Luo said.
Qin Huai: ?
Upon hearing Qin Luo's words, Qin Huai immediately forgot about Zhou Hu and hurriedly ran into the room. Sure enough, in the study—which was actually a small room with a desk where one could do homework and store miscellaneous items—he found Director Xu looking through his junior high school math workbooks, and Qin Congwen enthusiastically flipping through more workbooks in a box.
Qin Huai: ...
It seems I'll have to send a WeChat message to Zhou Hu later, reminding him to use his status as Master Zhou to advise Old Master Qin to declutter and throw away all the useless things.
Especially my childhood notebooks.
Qin Huai really didn't understand. Both Dean Qin and Old Master Qin loved collecting things, but they never looked at them; they just collected them purely for enjoyment.
Now Qin Huai understands a little better why Director Qin is so persistent in collecting the drawings of the children from the orphanage. But Qin Huai still doesn't understand why Grandpa Qin is so fond of collecting his own notebooks.
When Qin Huai graduated from high school, Grandpa Qin sold all the textbooks and draft paper to the scrap collector for 6 cents a pound. The only thing he didn't sell was the exercise books, all of which had been used. He kept them all in his old house in the countryside, and even had Qin Congwen drive a van to deliver them from Qiu County.
"Director Xu, look, this is Huaihuai's calligraphy practice book from when she was little. I didn't expect my dad to keep this too. It's been so many years." Qin Congwen excitedly pulled out another treasure from the box, shook off the dust, and handed the calligraphy practice book, whose pages were yellowed and stiff, to Director Xu.
Factory Director Xu took the calligraphy practice book and began to read it.
Qin Huai never expected that after experiencing the orphanage's painting exhibition, he would face the crisis of having to read calligraphy in his hometown.
Compared to the paintings collected by Dean Qin, the notebooks and calligraphy practice books collected by Old Master Qin are relatively normal. Moreover, Qin Huai's handwriting is quite good now, after all, he seriously studied hard-pen calligraphy for several years in junior high school.
Qin Huai still hasn't forgotten the four words "the idea precedes the brush."
But that doesn’t mean it’s not shameful to have others see these things.
"Dad, why did you bring all these things out?" Qin Huai had been observing from outside the door for a minute before finally asking.
Qin Congwen was still rummaging through the room when he said with a smile, "Your mom asked me to tidy up the study so that Luo Luo can do her practice tests tonight. Luo Luo brought a few test papers with her. She should finish them before the New Year. Once the New Year is over, she'll be playing like crazy."
"I was packing my things when Director Xu passed by and asked if I needed help. I didn't need any help with this little thing, so I just chatted with Director Xu."
“Speaking of which, this table is quite old. When you and Luo Luo were little, you used to do your homework at this table when you spent Chinese New Year at your grandfather’s house.”
“Hey, your grandpa still kept Luo Luo’s sketchbook from when she was little.”
Qin Huai quickly stepped forward, instantly understanding the source of the amusement of Old Master Qin and Dean Qin: "You still have this? Dad, let me see it!"
Factory Director Xu smiled and stood up, moving a stool from the corner behind Qin Huai, gesturing for Qin Huai to sit down and watch.
I have to catch a flight tomorrow, so I might not be able to update, or it might be a short update.
Updates might be a bit irregular during this period because I'm going on a trip with friends. (Our trip is a high-intensity special forces trip!) (Sometimes I really admire their energy!) (This trip was planned at the beginning of the year, and I originally thought I would finish the main story before the new year so I could slowly update the side stories during the trip, but the progress has been slower than expected.)
Please forgive me, dear readers.
The main text of this book is expected to be completed during the Chinese New Year period.
(End of this chapter)