Chapter 86: The Blue and White Porcelain Bowl

Lin Xiangnan enjoyed the pine nuts and walnuts that Aunt Hua had sent over that morning.

In the afternoon, when she went to visit Lin Xiangnan again, Aunt Hua knew she couldn’t bring those things again. So after dinner, Aunt Hua went to her room to search for something.

She finally found a bag of coffee and a bag of chocolate truffles.

Seeing this, Political Commissar Xu quickly advised, “Mom, chocolate is fine, but forget the coffee. Only you can drink that stuff.”

“Coffee is the only thing that’s a bit special. Lin doesn’t lack other things,” Aunt Hua said nonchalantly, “I just wanted her to try it. It’s fine if she doesn’t like it.”

Gu Zhenhua’s current salary was 101 yuan. Hu Meili could support her family with a salary of 38 yuan, so Gu Zhenhua’s current salary was more than enough to support two people.

In their housing complex, people who didn’t have too much of a burden didn’t lack food and drink. They couldn’t afford to eat meat every day, but they could afford to eat it once a week.

After Gu Zhenhua left in the afternoon, Aunt Hua took the cat and dog to Lin Xiangnan’s place, claiming it was to invite her for coffee.

Lin Xiangnan found it amusing and said proactively, “Aunt Hua, do you have anything you want to braise? We can put it in the pot together. It’s not much work.”

“Oh, if you put it that way, I won’t be polite. I was just going to ask you for two bowls of braising broth to braise some stuff at home. You wait here, I’ll go buy some meat on the street.”

Aunt Hua left the cat and dog with Lin Xiangnan and went home to get money and tickets before hopping on her bicycle to buy things at the food store.

Lin Xiangnan hugged Da Huang and squeezed its face, “Meow meow meow~”

Seeing that no one was around, Lin Xiangnan went to the kitchen and took out two pieces of beef to feed the cat. She wanted to feed Xiaotian too, but Xiaotian wouldn’t eat.

Aunt Hua returned quickly, “I bought a chicken and two pig trotters. We’ll each have a trotter this afternoon.”

“Braised pig trotters with coffee?” Lin Xiangnan was taken aback.

Aunt Hua shrugged, “I can’t conjure up steak and bread for you. Just make do with it.”

Lin Xiangnan couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Aunt Hua, you’re quite the player.”

It was clear she had lived a lavish life in her youth and was quite fashionable.

Aunt Hua didn’t shy away from her background. Her family was a big capitalist before liberation, but she had joined her classmates in the revolution and had made contributions.

After liberation, her family donated all their money to support national construction. The man she married died on the battlefield.

During the most turbulent times a few years ago, Aunt Hua was fine. She just avoided the limelight and didn’t seek advancement.

Things had gotten much better in the past two years. She had retired and moved into the military housing complex, so there wouldn’t be any trouble.

Lin Xiangnan’s ancestors were either poor peasants or workers, and her identity was even more “red and expert.”

It was perfectly safe for the two of them to drink coffee together.

The braising broth that Lin Xiangnan made had a strong aroma. The meat had only been simmering for a short while, but the aroma of the meat had already wafted out, making people’s mouths water.

Even those who weren’t familiar with Lin Xiangnan came to her house to strike up a conversation.

“What kind of ingredients did you use for the braised meat? It smells so good!”

Lin Xiangnan casually said, “I just used whatever I had at home. I just threw some things in.”

“Oh~ it really is fragrant. Can you spare me a bowl of the braising broth?”

Before Lin Xiangnan could speak, Aunt Hua helped refuse, “I’m so sorry, I’ve already reserved the remaining broth. I can’t share it.”

In the housing complex, a woman’s reputation was closely tied to her husband’s. No one dared to embarrass someone in public. After being rejected, they could only leave, no one dared to pester her.

But Aunt Hua still felt it was a bit troublesome and suggested, “Why don’t you lock your door and come to my place?”

That way, people who came to smell the aroma would see the door closed and wouldn’t bother asking.

“That’s a good idea.”

Lin Xiangnan packed up her things and moved to Aunt Hua’s place with her.

The courtyard where Lin Xiangnan lived was ordinary, but Aunt Hua had made her own home very elegant. There was a patch of chrysanthemums blooming in the corner.

Even the stones surrounding the chrysanthemums seemed to be arranged with great care.

Lin Xiangnan wanted to take a closer look at the flowers, but her foot tripped over a stone in the corner.

She lightly kicked the stone and found it was quite special. It had a natural pattern of a galloping horse, extremely realistic.

This wasn’t just any ordinary stone, it was a natural wonder! In later generations, it would fetch a high price at auction.

Lin Xiangnan brushed off the dust on the stone and put it back in place.

But when she turned around, she saw another stone shaped like a piece of marbled pork.

A meat-shaped stone? That was also very valuable in later generations.

One stone could be a coincidence, but two stones? She didn’t believe it was a coincidence.

Lin Xiangnan turned to Aunt Hua with a strange look, “These stones…”

“My kids just like these strange and wonderful stones. Don’t mind them.” Aunt Hua casually reminded her, “Don’t look at the stones. Come have some coffee. If you break this stone, my two little brats will come crying to you later.”

These things weren’t valued much now, and they weren’t worth much. Besides, the Hua family was very casual about these two stones, they even had dirt on them.

Lin Xiangnan touched her nose and didn’t want to ask further, she just said, “Your kids have a good hobby. You should support them more.”

“I only have these two little ones. If they make a fuss, how can I not give in?” Aunt Hua didn’t mention the stones anymore, changing the subject, “Come try the coffee I brewed for you.”

Lin Xiangnan couldn’t stand the pure bitterness of black coffee, she needed sugar and milk.

Aunt Hua wasn’t polite to her, so Lin Xiangnan wasn’t polite to her either. She directly said, “There’s not enough sugar, Auntie, can you get me some more?”

“I mixed up the sugar and salt when I was cooking last time. I’m a bit distrustful of myself now.” Aunt Hua said awkwardly, “Come with me to get some.”

Before going to Zhang Dapang’s place for training, Lin Xiangnan was also at this level, so Lin Xiangnan didn’t mind and followed Aunt Hua to the kitchen to get sugar.

Opening the cabinet, Lin Xiangnan was looking for sugar, but she saw a blue and white porcelain bowl in the corner.

“Is this an eight-treasure pattern?” Lin Xiangnan’s knowledge was limited and she couldn’t tell what the pattern was, she turned to Aunt Hua and asked, “What kind of bowl is this?”

Aunt Hua looked at her and said in a daze, “It’s a rice bowl.”

Lin Xiangnan didn’t believe her, she picked up the bowl and saw a few words imprinted on the bottom, “Made in the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty.”

“A blue and white porcelain bowl from the Ming Dynasty imperial kiln?”

Aunt Hua looked surprised, “Ah? You mean this bowl? How could it be?”

Lin Xiangnan smiled and carefully put the bowl back in place, “Yes, I’m just making it up. There are no other bowls in the cabinet besides rice bowls.”

The safest place for a bowl was in the cupboard.

If it was placed in a box and kept preciously in the cabinet, if it was found during a surprise inspection, it would be the end.

It was best to leave it like this, casually placed.