Before setting off, Chu Wan tidied herself up a bit, changing into the wool sweater Feng Luxi had given her and wearing a blue tracksuit over it.
She was slender and looked quite young, so it would be difficult for her to appear dignified. She might as well just wear sportswear.
In the past two years, the women’s volleyball team has achieved remarkable feats on the international stage, and sportswear has suddenly become very popular, with students and young people who have just started working loving to wear it.
She tied her hair into a ponytail again, looked at herself in the mirror, and although she had lost some weight, she still looked alright. She looked refreshed, with bright eyes and a lot of energy.
When she went out, Lu Jianzhao was waiting for her at the door. When he saw her come out, his eyes lit up.
Before, Chu Wan’s clothes were indeed quite unfashionable, extremely so. Even when she changed into a cotton-padded jacket, she still looked like a silly child who had stolen an adult’s clothes.
Now, she was wearing a trendy, blue tracksuit, which actually accentuated her figure.
Slender and delicate, with her hair tied in a ponytail, her small face, no bigger than a palm, looked exceptionally refined and fair. Her single eyelids also had an indescribable charm, making her look like a vibrant high school student.
The key was those eyes; they were so bright, it was as if they were infused with light.
He stared at Chu Wan blankly for several moments.
Chu Wan asked in confusion, “Hmm?”
Lu Jianzhao coughed lightly, looking somewhat embarrassed. “Let’s go.”
The two walked out of the alley together. As they walked, he couldn’t help but glance at Chu Wan again and sighed.
Chu Wan, who grew up in the countryside, was actually an ugly duckling, but with a little dressing up, she might become a swan.
She didn’t need to dress too flashy; just simple, refreshing sportswear, which was common everywhere, already created a beautiful image that seemed to only exist in poetry.
Chu Wan didn’t pay attention to Lu Jianzhao’s thoughts; she was only thinking about the old man.
… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
The two of them took the tram and met up with Su Hongyan. When Su Hongyan saw Chu Wan, her eyes lit up. “You don’t look like yourself at all. At first glance, you look like a city girl!”
Chu Wan simply smiled.
She wouldn’t care if she was treated differently just because she changed her clothes; such praise or belittlement wasn’t worth her attention.
The three of them went to a large courtyard with a front gate. The courtyard looked like it used to be grand, with a gate with a rolled-up roof. But now it was obviously dilapidated. The once bright courtyard had been haphazardly expanded with kitchens and small houses all in a mess. The passageway was barely wide enough for the three of them to pass through.
The courtyard was like a maze, and with the sun blocking out the light, it was pitch black. Su Hongyan began to wonder, “Could this be a shady establishment?”
Lu Jianzhao didn’t seem to care. “That’s how all the courtyard houses in Beijing are.”
After making some inquiries, the three of them finally found out where the old man lived, but a young man opened the door instead.
The man was wearing a loose batwing sweater, wide-leg pants, and big cotton slippers—a mismatched outfit that gave off a nonchalant vibe. He had a handsome face and was tall and thin. He casually leaned against the threshold, a chicken-wing-wood chopstick1 in his mouth, his peach blossom eyes sizing up the group.
Upon seeing this, Su Hongyan blushed slightly and quickly said, “We’re looking for an old gentleman, the one who smokes a pipe, and he’s quite thin…”
She described it to him, and then regretted it a little, realizing she had forgotten to ask their last name.
The man listened, somewhat indifferently, took the chopsticks out of his mouth, and said lazily, “That’s my dad. He’s not home right now. What do you want?”
Su Hongyan said, “So you’re his son. We heard from the old man that there are some old things here, so we wanted to come and take a look.”
The man nodded and glanced at the group. “Come in, feel free to look around.”
Once inside, it was found to be crammed full of broken and old things, with old furniture missing arms and legs all piled up, even reaching the ceiling.
Chu Wan glanced at it and recognized some purple sandalwood and huanghuali, but no one would buy them anytime soon. It would take years to recoup the cost, and they were heavy, so she naturally didn’t want them.
Su Hongyan and Lu Jianzhao were already dazzled by what they saw. Who would have thought that in such a messy and chaotic courtyard, there was a hidden gem, a treasure trove of all sorts of old gadgets.
Both of them were clearly excited, looking around curiously.
At this moment, the shop owner was sitting on the edge of a bed eating noodles with soybean paste. There was also a black and white TV that he had assembled himself in the room, which was lit up and currently playing Huo Yuanjia2 with static.
Chu Wan whispered a reminder, “Observe more, touch less, and be careful to stay calm.”
Su Hongyan and Lu Jianzhao exchanged a glance and quickly nodded.
The two of them had heard some things and knew that even if they had their eye on something, they must not show it. Once you show it, people will see that you like it and will raise the price.
One should know that in the antique market, many things were actually without price. If you see something you liked and wanted, and someone else found out, then it’s worth runs from 50 to 100 hundred yuan.
You’re really tempted by something, and they just doubled the price on you. What could you do about it?
Unlike clothing or other commodities, antiques were not something that could be made in dozens or hundreds of pieces at once. Almost every antique was unique, and once you missed it, it was gone forever.
If you missed out on a large blue-and-white porcelain piece, then you missed out on that particular style, and you might never encounter it again in your lifetime.
Therefore, sellers often took advantage of this mentality of buyers; the more you liked something, the higher the price they would ask for.
As a buyer, once you’ve set your sights on something, you must remain calm, keep it to yourself, and never reveal it.
As she looked around, Su Hongyan noticed a large fish basin with a sunflower-shaped opening against the wall, its with blue and white lotus patterns.
These fish basins were traditionally placed in courtyard houses, used by wealthy families. They would keep a few goldfish, with the goldfish and water lilies complementing each other, along with some other flowers and decorative items.
There’s an old saying, ‘A trellis, a fish basin, a pomegranate tree, a fat gentleman, a fat dog, and a plump girl’, which describes this perfectly.
However, Su Hongyan wasn’t looking at the fish basin but rather at the beads inside it.
It was filled with beads, all sorts of colors, materials, styles, and sizes!
In fact, a single bead was nothing, but when so many beads were placed together and complemented each other, they emitted a dazzling and moving light in this dark room.
Su Hongyan was immediately amazed and asked the shop owner, “What is this?”
The shop owner slurped up a mouthful of noodles with soybean paste, didn’t even look up, and casually said, “Beads.”
Su Hongyan was a little unhappy. “Beads? What beads? Why don’t you explain clearly?”
Upon seeing this, Chu Wan slowly explained, “These beads must have been attached to door curtains of sedan chairs in the past. It was taken apart and then placed together like this.”
In the past, wealthy families had very particular customs regarding the door curtains of their sedan chairs. They would use colorful glass, agate, pearls, and other beads to make the curtains, weaving them together with silk threads. The wealthier the family, the more elaborate the sedan chair door curtains were. They were also used to enhance the family’s image.
During the Republic of China era, the Qing dynasty’s bannermen were in dire straits, and they gradually sold off their belongings. In the end, even the beaded curtains of their sedan chairs couldn’t be kept and were sent away.
The basin full of beads was clearly collected and stored away on purpose; collected over time, they now came in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Chu Wan didn’t want to waste time on this. “Let’s look at something else.”
However, Su Hongyan was quite interested. The sight of so many beads piled together was quite impressive, so she asked the shopkeeper, “How much are these?”
The shop owner still didn’t look up, casually saying, “It depends on the specific beads; the prices vary. Which one do you want?”
Su Hongyan was tempted to browse and shop. “Okay, I’ll take a look.”
She squatted down there, grabbed a handful, and slowly picked through them.
Pearls and Jade Beside Me in the ’80s translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
T/N: This is an example of basin with ‘sunflower-opening’, with the edges scalloped like petals.
But the fish basin mentioned in the story is larger. Probably something like this.
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Here are this story’s advance postings per Patreon Tier:
…Devoted 2nd Male Lead
Chapter 17.2 — Explore the Courtyard
Chapter 18.1 — The First Stirrings of Love, Save the Day
Chapter 18.2 — The First Stirrings of Love, Save the Day
Chapter 19.1 — Four Men, One Drama
… Awakened Villainess
Chapter 19.2 — Four Men, One Drama
Chapter 19.3 — Four Men, One Drama
… Unattainable White Moonlight
Chapter 20.1 — Caught in the Act
Chapter 20.2 — Caught in the Act
FOOTNOTE:
- Chicken-wing wood chopsticks are premium, durable tableware crafted from jīchìmù (鸡翅木), a dense hardwood named for its distinct grain patterns that resemble tiger stripes or chicken feathers
↩︎ - The Legendary Fok was a 1981 HK-produced TV series about the life of martial artist Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910). It also aired in mainland China and other parts of Asia and was a massive success, sparking a kung fu craze. His life was adapted to film and TV many times, where he was depicted as a great hero who defended Chinese dignity from foreign aggression. ↩︎
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