Life in siheyuan era

Zhou Zhiyuan raised a question for Zhou Zhining and also needed to solve one himself.

Of course, finding Qin Huairu to make clothes shouldn't be a problem.

The next morning at six o'clock, Zhou Zhiyuan, having finished his morning exercise, walked into the quadrangle courtyard.

Today was Sunday, and the quadrangle courtyard was quiet, with the neighbors still sleeping in.

But walking into the middle courtyard, one would see a voluptuous figure; she was very punctual.

Qin Huairu stood by the pool, scrubbing chamber pots. Seeing Zhou Zhiyuan, she greeted him warmly, "Zhiyuan, off to morning exercise?"

Her attitude remained the same, unperturbed by the previous night's news, and she didn't curiously ask about his right hand, giving him a sense of ease.

Zhou Zhiyuan responded and walked to the pool, standing still and softly saying, "Sister Qin, I want to discuss something with you."

Hearing him speak, Qin Huairu turned off the faucet, put down the chamber pot, and looked up at Zhou Zhiyuan.

This was a respectful attitude, fully displaying her politeness.

Seeing her expression, Zhou Zhiyuan sighed inwardly before saying, "My mom wants to make me two sets of clothes, but her eyesight is failing, and her cervical spine isn't too good. I'm afraid of tiring her out, so I want to ask Sister Qin for a favor."

Hearing this, Qin Huairu smiled happily and replied briskly, "Bring them over. I'm back from my parents' home, and I'll make them for you tonight."

She had agreed with Wang Dali to go to her parents' village in J County this morning, returning in Wang Dali's car on his second trip, saving three cents.

Zhou Zhiyuan knew what she was doing at her parents' home. Silly Zhu told him that Qin Huairu wanted to introduce her beautiful cousin, Qin Jingru, to him.

He knew the outcome of this matchmaking program. Qin Huairu would be busy for nothing, and Silly Zhu would be disappointed.

But he wouldn't interfere with the plot's development; he just wanted to make it clear to Qin Huairu, "My mom doesn't want to trouble you, so I suggested that whatever the price is for making a set of clothes outside, I'll give you that much money. Only then did my mom agree."

Hearing him say this, a cloud of gloom appeared on Qin Huairu's face, and her bright eyes showed a glistening color, as she said sadly, "Do I still have to give money for making two sets of clothes for you? Is there no sentimentality at all?"

Qin Huairu spoke of sentimentality, and Zhou Zhiyuan also had something to say to her: "Sentimentality also needs a limit; it's not good to exceed that limit."

Hearing him insist on giving money, Qin Huairu sighed softly and slowly said, "I also have a condition. It costs two yuan to make a set of clothes outside, but I only want one yuan, not a penny more; the same goes for washing clothes for you. You spend five yuan washing clothes outside, but I'll wash them for you for at most two yuan."

This attitude made Zhou Zhiyuan slightly stunned. Qin Huairu's reaction made him secretly praise, "Smart enough."

Qin Huairu grasped one point: Zhou Zhiyuan's right hand was disabled, and he was afraid of tiring out Lin Shurong, so the only way was to find someone to make clothes and wash clothes for him. She wanted to take on this task to get closer to Zhou Zhiyuan.

If she insisted on not taking money, Zhou Zhiyuan would definitely not look for her, but if she charged half price, he would have to look for her. Spending one yuan instead of two, even if the wary Lin Shurong didn't say anything, Zhou Zhining wouldn't allow it.

Qin Huairu's reaction was very quick, extending from making clothes to washing clothes. Her proactive attitude left Zhou Zhiyuan speechless, and he could only chuckle softly, nod slightly, and turn to walk towards his room.

Qin Huairu then turned to look at his back, feeling that she hadn't guessed wrong. Zhou Zhiyuan was scheming, and the previous conversation confirmed it for her.

The three-way trial the night before made her start to ponder Zhou Zhiyuan. Xu Damao felt that Zhou Zhiyuan was quite sinister, and Qin Huairu felt the same way.

He had tricked Xu Damao, but Xu Damao couldn't find a single handle, and even First Uncle couldn't find fault with him.

Qin Huairu discovered that Zhou Zhiyuan was different from Zhou Zhining, implementing punishment on the three children, Bang梗, without first seeking the opinions of their parents.

He made the decision on behalf of the Zhou family, revealing his decisive personality.

Qin Huairu had been in contact with the Zhou family for two years, knowing that the real decision-maker in the Zhou family was Lin Shurong, and also knowing their personalities.

Lin Shurong was a straightforward person, kind-hearted and helpful.

Zhou Dehou was honest and kind, and Zhou Zhining was unrestrained; none of them were scheming.

But Zhou Zhiyuan was a scheming person, and a ruthless character at that.

Moreover, his right hand was crippled, allowing him to receive more care from Lin Shurong, and his words might be more effective than Zhou Zhining's.

Understanding these things, Qin Huairu had to consider how to approach Zhou Zhiyuan. Seeing him take the initiative to come to her door this morning, she absolutely couldn't miss this opportunity.

But she didn't want to earn Zhou Zhiyuan's money; she just wanted to approach him through this method, thereby gaining his favor and support.

Qin Huairu was indeed smart. Her intelligence made Zhou Zhiyuan feel that he had made a mistake, being a bit careless in this matter.

He had set a trap, and as long as Qin Huairu fell into this trap, Zhou Zhining would understand one thing: Qin Huairu valued interests very much.

And Zhou Zhining valued feelings and disregarded interests. When he believed that Qin Huairu was approaching him only for interests, he would stay far away.

Zhou Zhiyuan calculated clearly, but Qin Huairu's charging half the money made his calculations fall through. Returning to his room and sitting at his desk to think for a while, he turned to look at the heated kang, where Zhou Zhining was still sleeping in.

Looking at Zhou Zhining, Zhou Zhiyuan thought of a possibility: when Zhou Zhining woke up, Qin Huairu would definitely tell him, and would also gain his favor.

Foreseeing this result, Zhou Zhiyuan sighed softly, knowing that he had underestimated Qin Huairu.

But he still believed that Qin Huairu was a woman who valued interests, and as long as he continued to throw money at her, he would definitely make her reveal her true colors.

And the problem he faced was earning money, so he shifted his focus to earning money.

Lin Shurong was helpful, and Zhou Zhiyuan's reason made her sigh and solemnly reply, "That old man is quite pitiful, but you can't give him breakfast every day."

Lin Shurong felt that she couldn't do this, but Zhou Zhiyuan had thought of a solution, "The old man's neighbor's child is getting married soon, and the neighbor couple will move into his courtyard tomorrow, not only solving their housing problem but also being able to take care of him."

Hearing this, Lin Shurong accepted his explanation, looking at the painting scroll in his hand but not asking about it. In her mind, it wasn't a big deal for Zhou Zhiyuan to give away Zhou Zhining's paintings.

But she didn't know Zhou Zhiyuan's purpose. Zhou Zhining's paintings were meant to earn commission fees, and his intermediary work started today.

Zhou Zhiyuan wanted to be an agent, and the first thing was to understand the market situation, not letting the buyer take advantage and not scaring away customers. How to do this business? Mo Youji was an expert.

Early in the morning, he came to visit Mo Youji, buying ten sesame cakes for breakfast, handing the sesame cakes to Aunt Tao, and walking into Mo Youji's room.

Mo Youji, who was already seventy years old, didn't sleep in. He took a stroll in the morning and was waiting for Tao Jin and his wife to bring breakfast when he saw Zhou Zhiyuan come in, smiling and saying, "Running over so early must be something."

"Let you take a look at two paintings and give me a price." Zhou Zhiyuan wasn't polite, moving the tea tray as he spoke and spreading the painting paper on the table.

One was a "Gold and Green Landscape Painting," with several small boats floating on the golden water surface, and cliffs and green trees on the shore. Hidden under the green trees was a house, and one could see a person in the red-columned house. He was reading, he was drinking tea, what was the person in the painting doing? It depended on what you thought.

Mo Youji carefully looked at this painting and exclaimed, "A masterpiece! The only flaw is that it's slightly immature."

"There's no way not to be immature. He was only eighteen years old when he created this painting."

Zhou Zhiyuan revealed his hand, and Mo Youji carefully looked at the signature, smiling and saying, "The recluse of Hidden Phoenix Mountain, Zhou Zhining, is your brother, right?"

Zhou Zhiyuan replied, "Never mind who he is, what's the market price?"

Mo Youji stroked his white beard and pondered for a while, sighing and saying, "The price of calligraphy and paintings depends on the painter's reputation, but the best investment opportunity is before the painter becomes famous, but this is the most uncertain thing."

Saying this, he turned to look at Zhou Zhiyuan, then smiled and said, "With you as his younger brother, it's estimated that the recluse of Hidden Phoenix Mountain will definitely be very famous in the future. How about this, I'll collect it for two hundred yuan."

Mo Youji wanted to give money, but Zhou Zhiyuan hurriedly said, "I didn't want to take your money. Please give me a price. If you like it, I'll give you this painting."

"Not possible..." Mo Youji replied in a deep voice, "Your brother has just started out, and he absolutely can't return empty-handed. The commission fee is to give him confidence. You see..."

Mo Youji pointed to the painting and said, "This painting has a golden and green glow, a magnificent artistic conception, and vigorous brushwork. This is the painting style of General Li, and after thousands of years of inheritance, few people can paint this style anymore. Just based on this brushwork, it's worth this price."

Having determined the price of the "Gold and Green Landscape Painting," Mo Youji opened this painting and saw the "Pine and Crane Painting" below, saying in surprise, "This is Shen Quan's painting style! Your brother is proficient in both General Li and Shen Quan's painting styles, which is very rare."

Hearing him praise, Zhou Zhiyuan said proudly, "My brother is a genius."

"Indeed a genius, but don't look at me, it's just two hundred yuan, no price increase."

Mo Youji fixed the price at two hundred yuan, and Zhou Zhiyuan curiously asked, "You're quite rich?"

Mo Youji smiled, about to reply, when he saw Tao Jin and his wife come in with food, closing his mouth and stroking his beard.

As the saying goes, wealth should not be flaunted. Mo Youji wouldn't reveal his bottom line in front of Tao Jin and his wife.