Life in siheyuan era

This small courtyard is Mo Youji's private property, with a layout of three rows of small houses: one horizontal and two vertical. The middle row serves as the main house, where Mo Youji resides, while Tao Jin and his wife live in the west wing.

Tao Jin is a self-employed individual, what would later be known as a private entrepreneur. He has a small stall in the DD market, making a living with his excellent watch repair skills.

Tao Jin's wife, however, doesn't work and, like the neighborhood aunties in the courtyard, spends her days washing and cleaning at home.

The couple only has one son, who works at the Beijing Watch Factory. He got married last autumn, and the couple vacated their room for their son and his wife, leaving them with no place to live.

The two families are old neighbors and have a good relationship.

Mo Youji watched Tao Jin grow up and knows that both he and his wife are honest and kind people, so he let them move into the west wing of his courtyard without charging rent.

Tao Jin and his wife are very grateful and take care of him with all their heart.

Mo Youji also doesn't let the couple suffer. He often pays for firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, carefully managing the balance so that the two families feel like one.

The two men stood outside the courtyard. Mo Youji gave a brief introduction before leading Zhou Zhiyuan inside. A middle-aged woman hurried out of the west wing and said to Mo Youji, "Uncle Mo, you're back! The stove in the hall is already lit."

Mo Youji replied, "Thank you for your trouble. Zhiyuan, this is your Aunt Tao, Little Tao's wife. This is my close friend, Zhou Zhiyuan."

His way of addressing Tao Jin's wife was quite traditional, while calling Zhou Zhiyuan a close friend was a way of elevating his status.

Zhou Zhiyuan bowed and greeted her, calling her "Aunt Tao."

Tao Jin's wife quickly returned the greeting, calling him "Mr. Zhou."

Hearing this title, Zhou Zhiyuan was slightly taken aback, but immediately understood. Mo Youji held a high position in the hearts of Tao Jin and his wife, which consequently raised his status as well.

He felt it was inappropriate, but unsure of Mo Youji's attitude, he turned to look at him, and heard him say, "Little Tao's wife, just call him Zhiyuan. Calling him Mr. Zhou is too formal."

After saying this, Mo Youji walked towards the main house. Zhou Zhiyuan followed him through the door and saw that the layout of the main house was very traditional. Between the east and west rooms was the hall, about fifteen square meters in size. An Eight Immortals table and four wooden chairs were placed in the center, and a portrait of a great man was hung on the front wall.

A tea set was placed on the Eight Immortals table, with four teacups arranged around a teapot.

Upon entering the room, Mo Youji knelt on the prayer cushion in front of the table and kowtowed three times to his parents' memorial tablets. He then carefully looked at the two photos, lifted the tablecloth, and crawled under the table.

Seeing his actions, Zhou Zhiyuan was not surprised. He slowly stepped forward, stood in front of the table, and bowed three times to the two memorial tablets and two photos respectively.

Straightening up, he carefully looked at the black and white photo of the young man. The long face resembled Mo Youji, and the eyes were like a clear pool of water.

While he was examining the photo, he heard movement from under the altar table. Zhou Zhiyuan stepped back, lowered his eyes, and watched Mo Youji crawl out.

Then he saw Mo Youji get up and walk out. Zhou Zhiyuan bowed again towards the altar table, slowly exited the room, and closed the door. He saw Aunt Tao coming in with a thermos, filling the teapot on the Eight Immortals table with hot water.

Aunt Tao went out, Mo Youji dusted off his clothes and sat down on a wooden chair. He looked up at Zhou Zhiyuan and beckoned him to sit down.

Zhou Zhiyuan sat down and glanced at the rectangular package on the table, which was what Mo Youji had taken out from under the table.

At this moment, he heard Mo Youji say, "Open it."

Zhou Zhiyuan looked at Mo Youji, and seeing the certainty on his face, reached out to open the package. He unwrapped the oiled paper and saw three books.

The spines of the three books were sewn with thread, and two traditional Chinese characters, "古究" (Gǔ Jiū), were written on the light yellow covers.

Mo Youji's voice came from his ear, "Flip through them and take a look."

Zhou Zhiyuan picked up a book and opened it, seeing several lines of traditional Chinese characters writing a passage, "Metal and stone are the relics of the ancients, cast into tools and objects, passed down to this day. Oracle bones, stone inscriptions, bamboo slips, bronzes, coins, pottery, ancient musical instruments..."

After reading a passage, he turned another page, and after reading three pages in a row, he gently closed the book. He looked up at Mo Youji, seeing a happy smile on his white-bearded face, and heard him ask, "Interested?"

Then he said in a deep voice, "Back then, when Little Chi went to the battlefield, I stayed at home and meticulously organized my studies over the years, combining my years of appraisal experience to write three books, naming them '古究' (Gǔ Jiū), meaning 'Ancient Investigation,' intending to give them to Little Chi when he returned..."

He was thinking far ahead. Appraising antiques and calligraphy is a profound skill, which can be used to earn a living or acquire wealth.

Mo Youji narrated in a deep voice, then slowly said, "These three books are useless to most people, but to some, they are secret manuals. You must keep them secret."

Zhou Zhiyuan stood up and bowed, then sat down and softly asked, "We only met yesterday, is it appropriate for you to give me such valuable research notes?"

Mo Youji replied in a deep voice, "They are useless to me now. I'm giving them to you to see what effect they will have."

Zhou Zhiyuan continued to ask, "Do you think I'm suitable?"

Mo Youji said pessimistically, "Whether you are suitable or not, I have no choice."

Seeing his serious face, Zhou Zhiyuan said displeased, "Can't you say that I have a full forehead and a square jaw, plus extraordinary bones?"

"Heh..." Mo Youji was amused by him.

Zhou Zhiyuan also chuckled, reached out and took the three books, putting them in his military satchel. He turned his head and saw Aunt Tao walking in with a charcoal basin.

Aunt Tao walked straight into the east room to heat the kang (heated platform bed) in Mo Youji's room.

Mo Youji said casually, "Go report for duty the day after tomorrow. These two days, get to know the environment around the unit."

Zhou Zhiyuan nodded and replied, "That's what I was thinking. I'll go scout around in a bit."

Mo Youji laughed, "You don't need to set me up, I'm not keeping you here for dinner."

Zhou Zhiyuan casually replied, "My food stamps are almost gone. Even if you kept me, I wouldn't be able to afford the food stamps."

Aunt Tao heard this and came out from the inner room, laughing, "If you stay here for dinner, do you still need to spend money and use food stamps?"

Aunt Tao spoke sincerely, but Mo Youji replied in a deep voice, "If this kid has no money or food stamps, it's because he's lazy. In the future, even if he gets a cornbread bun, he must pay with money and food stamps."

He was being picky with Zhou Zhiyuan. Aunt Tao laughed and walked out of the room.

Watching the door close, Zhou Zhiyuan turned to look at Mo Youji and asked in a low voice, "Do you want me to make money with antiques?"

Mo Youji replied indifferently, "The opportunity is rare. Collect what you should collect, earn what you should earn. Take the time to learn the knowledge here. If Liu Wenxiang looks for me again, I will introduce you to him. That hundred yuan will be your first deal."

One hundred yuan was not a small amount, but Zhou Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "You said that jade was very strange, can I start with that?"

He expressed a cautious attitude towards this business.

Mo Youji replied solemnly, "Knowledge is dead, the ability is to apply it flexibly. The important thing is comprehension. The stranger the thing is, the more it can trigger comprehension."

"Don't worry about whether you can identify it or not. You don't rely on this to make a living, so there's no need to value your reputation too much."

"There are not many great experts like me, and I can't guarantee that I'm proficient in everything. It's normal if you can't see it. For you, the key is whether it can trigger comprehension."

Mo Youji spoke a series of truths. Zhou Zhiyuan nodded slightly and continued to ask for advice, "How to trigger comprehension?"

Mo Youji replied in a deep voice, "Comprehension does not come from nowhere. Learn to know, be familiar from birth, think when familiar, solve when thinking. Eight or nine times out of ten, you can solve it. The remaining one or two cannot be solved by thinking. When you encounter something with affinity, you will suddenly understand."

Zhou Zhiyuan nodded again, expressing his acceptance of the teaching. He pondered for a while and said softly, "I understand."

Mo Youji asked, "Why don't you ask when to appraise that jade?"

Zhou Zhiyuan smiled, "Wouldn't asking that now be putting the cart before the horse?"

Mo Youji laughed loudly, and said happily as the laughter subsided, "You are a promising youth."

Zhou Zhiyuan did not respond to this. He stood up and replied solemnly, "Thank you, old man, for the gift of the books." Then he said goodbye and walked out.

Mo Youji picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea, raised the teacup to his mouth, and looked at Zhou Zhiyuan's back with a smile.

He wanted to take a disciple, and the phrase "You are a promising youth" revealed it. Zhou Zhiyuan couldn't possibly not hear it.

But he didn't accept the offer, holding a cautious attitude towards the matter of becoming a disciple.

This attitude pleased Mo Youji. The master chooses the disciple, and the disciple also chooses the master. The title of master and disciple is like father and son, and caution can reflect importance.

Mo Youji had high hopes for Zhou Zhiyuan, and felt that the two were destined at first sight. Zhou Zhiyuan had come to his door on his own.

Then, after observing him, he felt that this young man was open and honest, yet also witty, and his words and deeds were very much to his liking.

Especially his performance this morning, when Zhou Zhiyuan sat on the edge of the bed with his eyes slightly closed, Mo Youji seemed to see a detached and enlightened person.

But he wouldn't say that. When Zhou Zhiyuan asked, he said "calm."

Zhou Zhiyuan expressed satisfaction with his statement, calm being the best expression of mentality.

This attitude made Mo Youji determined to pass on his life's learning to Zhou Zhiyuan. This idea had been brewing for several years, and he had finally found a suitable successor.

Mo Youji was confident that the three "Ancient Investigations" were the bait. Zhou Zhiyuan had swallowed the bait, how could he not be hooked?