Start with a Siheyuan

Chapter 160 Lord Baylor

Mr. Baylor, Mr. Zhao, is a big figure in the antique circle in the capital.

It is said that his ancestors did serve as Lord Belle when they were in the Qing Dynasty, hence the nickname.

"If you're interested in this line of business, I'll see him tomorrow and ask him to come. You two know each other."

"I still have a little bit of friendship with him." The old lady said.

Hearing this, Li Lang became even more excited.

Uncle Zhao is one of the best people in the circle. If he can get to know him, he can at least learn a lot, which will help Li Lang collect antiques in the future.

"Grandma, do you really know Uncle Zhao? Why don't you make an appointment with him, and I'll meet him now?"

Li Lang couldn't believe it.

"You said that, when did grandma lie to you, but don't go, let him come here by himself, I still have some face." The old lady said.

When he stopped here, Li Lang was surprised again. He didn't expect the old lady to have such great energy to make Uncle Zhao come to the door in person.

Then the old lady waved her hand, ready to let him go back to sleep.

After all, it's not a big deal for the old lady, and she won't be too worried about it.

Li Lang saw the arrogance of the old lady, and immediately smiled.

……

The next morning, Li Lang came to the old lady's room early.

But while I waited for the old lady to get up and wash up, I waited for Uncle Zhao.

Li Lang's appearance was naturally noticed by the old lady.

"Don't worry, I've sent someone to deliver a message, and the kid will definitely come when he receives it."

"Just put your heart in your stomach now, he will definitely come here early as agreed." The old lady said.

When he heard this sentence, Li Lang was speechless for a while, what is the identity of Uncle Zhao.

At the very least, he is Lord Baylor, and now he is at the level of princes and nobles in the capital.

And the old lady directly called Uncle Zhao a "boy", I am afraid that only the old lady dared to call him that in this capital.

Li Lang and the old lady waited in the house for about half an hour, and not long after, two figures walked into the yard.

Both of them were wearing gray gowns and old Beijing canvas shoes, and they were quite Qing Dynasty style.

The person who came was Uncle Zhao, but Li Lang behind him did not know him, but he reckoned that his background was not small.

"Old lady, are you home? The junior came to see you today."

As soon as people entered, Uncle Zhao's voice came into the room.

The old lady stood up and said, "Here comes the man."

But before the old lady left the house, Uncle Zhao walked in.

Li Lang originally wanted to go up to say hello, but before he could speak, Uncle Zhao took the lead in bowing deeply to the old lady.

"Old lady, I haven't seen you for so many years, but you are still so energetic." Uncle Zhao said.

Looking at Uncle Zhao in front of her, the old lady was overjoyed, and quickly asked Uncle Zhao to sit down.

"Old lady, why did you remember to summon me? I thought you forgot about the boy?" Uncle Zhao said.

And Uncle Zhao's flattering look almost made Li Lang's jaw drop in shock.

"Hehehe, you haven't come to see me, old woman. If I don't ask you to come today, I'm afraid you will forget me." The old lady joked.

"Oops, old lady, what did you say about this matter? How dare you forget you? I'm not afraid of disturbing your old man's cleanliness. As soon as I heard that you wanted to see me today, I took me as a little apprentice and drove me to you No?" Uncle Zhao said.

"I called you here today because I have something to ask for your help. My grandson is very interested in antiques, so I want you to take him with me now." The old lady said.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhao got up quickly.

"Old lady, you are really pissing me off. You can just give orders if you have something to do. We can't talk about asking for words between the two of us."

The old lady nodded in satisfaction and looked at Li Lang.

"My dear grandson, I haven't seen Uncle Zhao yet."

Li Lang hurriedly got up and bent over, and said to Uncle Zhao respectfully.

"Junior Li Lang, I met Uncle Zhao."

Uncle Zhao stepped forward to help Li Lang up and looked him up and down.

"Good. Good. Good. This child is really a good-looking talent, and his eyes are very bright. It can be seen that he is a good seedling. For the sake of the old lady, I will take this child." Uncle Zhao said.

Upon hearing this, Li Lang quickly expressed his thanks.

Then the old lady chatted with Uncle Zhao about the past.

It turned out that during the Anti-Japanese War, the old lady not only made straw sandals for the Red Army, but also covered many people after the devils entered the city, so she was very famous in the capital, and many dignitaries respected her very much.

"I have an idea. I want you to accept my grandson as an apprentice. You can see if it works." The old lady said.

When he heard these words, Uncle Zhao looked a little embarrassed,

"Old lady, it's no problem for me to take your grandson with me, but you also know that there are rules in this industry. Although sometimes it's easy to lead someone, but our apprentices can pay attention to inheritance. Picking up such an apprentice when we first met, does that make people know that I'm not a joke?"

"After people know this, he will not be able to hold his head up in the antique world."

"Why don't you let me test him."

"In this way, even if I accept an apprentice, I am afraid that others will not have any opinions on me." Uncle Zhao said.

The old lady nodded.

After getting the old lady's consent, Uncle Zhao turned to look at Li Lang.

"Boy Liu, you heard what I said just now, right? We rely on our ability to earn our living in this profession. If you want to really enter this profession, then you have to show off your skills today. Let's see what unique skills you have?" Mr. Zhao Said.

Li Lang got up and saluted and said.

"Uncle Zhao, although I don't understand the value of antiques and their history, I have good eyesight since I was a child. You can test my eyesight."

These words immediately aroused Uncle Zhao's interest.

Soon Uncle Zhao asked Han Chunming to take out the two small porcelain bottles he just received two days ago.

Li Lang opened Jianzhen's Eye, picked up the porcelain bottle and looked around, then put it back where it was.

"Uncle Zhao, these two small porcelain vases should be about 100 years old, probably from the Guangxu period. It seems that they should be from official kilns, but I don't know the value." Li Lang said.

Uncle Zhao and Han Chunming were taken aback, because what Li Lang said was not wrong at all. They both confirmed that these two small porcelain bottles were indeed from the Guangxu period.

Although these two porcelain vases are not worth much in their eyes, they are of high collection value because they are from official kilns.

And the two of them never expected that the young man in his early twenties in front of him could just pick it up and look around before he saw it.

"Haven't you ever learned how to appreciate ancient times from others?"

Appreciation of ancient times can be regarded as a craft in the collection industry, which simply analyzes the approximate age of objects through eyesight.

Lord Belle looked at Li Lang and said, Li Lang shook his head slightly.

"Hahaha, you are really talented, you are really talented."

"Old lady, I didn't come in vain today. This time, the diamond let me pick up the treasure. I accept your grandson." Uncle Zhao laughed.

As soon as Li Lang heard that Uncle Zhao agreed to accept him as an apprentice, he quickly knelt down and bowed to his teacher.

No matter what era it is, as long as the ceremony of apprenticeship is indispensable, and only after the apprenticeship ceremony can one be regarded as a member of the master's sect.

"Okay, okay, okay. Since I promised to accept you as an apprentice and received your apprenticeship, I can't be stingy. I went out in a hurry today and didn't bring any presents. I'll give you these two small porcelain bottles."

After Uncle Zhao laughed twice, he handed the two small porcelain bottles to Li Lang.

Li Lang took it with both hands, and after thanking him, he got up.

"Master, congratulations on accepting such a good apprentice who understands etiquette."

The little apprentice on the side joked.

"From now on, you will be his senior brother. You can help your little junior brother well. I am very rare for you as a junior brother." Uncle Zhao said.

The old lady looked at the three people in front of her and felt happy from the bottom of her heart.

"Old lady, I plan to take my apprentice to Master Zhang's tavern, bring Master Zhang some books on this subject for Li Lang to read, and let him say hello to Master Zhang, you see Is it done?" Uncle Zhao said.

Although he had accepted Li Lang as an apprentice, in terms of seniority, the old lady was the biggest in the room.

Besides, Li Lang was the grandson of the old lady, so he naturally wanted to say hello to the old lady.

The old lady nodded in agreement.

After getting the old lady's permission, Uncle Zhao took Li Lang out of the yard.

Along the way, Uncle Zhao asked Li Lang many questions, and he didn't stop until he reached a small tavern.

As soon as the two got out of the car, a man also in a gray gown greeted them.

And this man is exactly Mr. Zhang mentioned by Uncle Zhao.

On the way, Li Lang heard Uncle Zhao say that this Uncle Zhang is also a great person, he is forthright, loyal, and has the style of an old man in the capital.

"Rare guest, rare guest, what brought you, Mr. Zhao, here? You need to have a good drink or two today." Master Zhang bowed his hands and saluted.

"Master Zhang, you are so polite, you actually came out to greet him in person, it really blows my mind." Uncle Zhao returned the salute with cupped fists.

After the two greeted each other, Master Zhang welcomed them into the tavern.

The three of them found a table and sat down, and then ordered some Beijing special snacks.

"Uncle Zhao, I was curious just after entering the door. The little brother next to you is a bit unfamiliar, unlike people in our circle." Master Zhang said.

Uncle Zhao took a sip of tea and looked at Master Zhang.

"I'm not afraid that Master Zhang will make fun of you. This is a bad boy I just accepted today. Please take care of Master Zhang in the future."

Grandpa Zhang was shocked now, and looked at Uncle Zhao in disbelief.

He knew that Uncle Zhao had not accepted apprentices for many years, and none of the apprentices he accepted was mediocre.

The young man in front of him must have some special skills to be favored by Uncle Zhao.

Thinking of this, Master Zhang became more and more curious.

"Based on your vision, Uncle Zhao, you won't accept apprentices easily. It seems that this little brother has some skills. Why don't you show me your hands?"

Uncle Zhao naturally knew what Master Zhang meant.

"Li Lang, Master Zhang wants to test you, what do you say?"

Uncle Zhao threw the words to Li Lang at once, and Li Lang naturally had to continue.

"The younger generation is not talented, but I still have some confidence in my eyesight. As long as Master Zhang shows the ancient relics to the boy, the boy will be able to tell his year." Li Lang said.

Master Zhang turned around and entered the room after hearing this, and when he came out, he had a teapot in his hand.

Put the teapot in front of Li Lang.

"Boy, take it and have a look, and tell me the year of this teapot later." Master Zhang said.

Li Lang picked up the teapot and looked around, then carefully returned the teapot to Master Zhang.

Mr. Zhang finally asked the teapot for the result.

"Master Zhang, this teapot of yours has a long history. If you want me to say that it can reach the Ming Dynasty, and it was the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the younger generation is right." Li Lang said.

This time, Grandpa Zhang was shocked.

"Uncle Zhao, your apprentice is really amazing, not bad at all." Master Zhang smiled.

Uncle Zhao later told Uncle Zhang that Li Lang had never studied antiques. Uncle Zhang was even more surprised and even said that Uncle Zhao had a successor.

Then Uncle Zhao and Master Zhang gave Li Lang some rules in the antique world, such as not being able to step over other people's stalls, only going forward or exiting, don't bargain with friends, and don't take other buyers Look at something in hand.
When the three of them were chatting vigorously, the little apprentice rushed out of Master Zhang's room with a pile of books in his arms.

Because Uncle Zhao said he was looking for books for Li Lang, he asked the little apprentice to come to Master Zhang in advance to sort out the books.

When the little apprentice put the book in front of Li Lang, Li Lang's eyes lit up, staring at the book in front of him.

Uncle Zhao looked at Li Lang, and naturally knew that Li Lang was eager to study, so he asked him to look at it first, and then point out what he didn't understand.

After Li Lang nodded, he picked up a book and devoted himself to reading it.
Unknowingly, it was evening, and Uncle Zhao didn't intend to disturb Li Lang when he saw that he was so absorbed in watching.

But looking at the sky, I knew it was getting late.

"Li Lang, it's getting late, take these books home and read slowly." Uncle Zhao said.

Only then did Li Lang realize the time, looked up at the sky, and found that it was indeed getting late, so he was about to get up and leave.

Before leaving, I returned a few books to Mr. Zhang.

"What? Are you not interested in these books?" Master Zhang asked.

Li Lang quickly explained.

"Master Zhang, it's not that you're not interested, it's just that I've read all the basic books and memorized them all."

Grandpa Zhang and Uncle Zhao were shocked again.

"Boy, antiques are not instant, since you said you memorized them all, then I will test you." Master Zhang said.

Afterwards, Master Zhang asked some questions about antique appreciation, and Li Lang answered them fluently.

Uncle Zhao and Master Zhang were shocked again, and they even said that Li Lang is a rare talent that cannot be seen in a hundred years.

After bidding farewell to Master Zhang, Li Lang returned to the yard.

For several days in a row, Li Lang would go back to the house to read books as soon as he got off work, and would take the books to the office to read when he had something to do.

On this day, Li Lang was reading antique books in the office as before, when suddenly the voice of the factory director came from outside the door.

"Li Lang, come out, I need to find you."

Li Lang put down the books in his hands and hurried out.

"Director, what do you want from me?" Li Lang asked.

"Now you immediately put down everything you are doing and come with me. There is a leader above us who wants to see you."

After the factory manager finished speaking, he pulled Li Lang and walked towards the parking lot.

(End of this chapter)