Chapter 17

Huo Yuanxing had originally planned to head to Shenbei Road out of habit today.

He worked in the area three days a week, and after finishing work, he would often stop by to see the excitement. Occasionally, if something caught his eye, he would buy it, but generally, he looked more than he had purchased.

However, an esteemed elder was recently celebrating a milestone birthday, so he came to find a suitable gift and test his luck. To his surprise, he stumbled upon someone skilled in the art of six lines.

Huo Yuanxing had a passion for studying the plum blossom divination and the six lines technique as a personal interest he couldn’t share with outsiders.

During those years, there were virtually no places to learn or resources to study from unless one had a family background.

He had been fascinated for a long time. Without anyone to guide him into the field, he relied solely on old books he managed to find for his studies. Though his perseverance was remarkable, his progress was slow. Seeing someone actually use this legendary technique today made his eyes light up like bulbs.

Huo Yuanxing pulled Lu Yongzhang out of the crowd, trying hard to suppress his curiosity, and first made some small talk: “The price of those cups is a bit high. Last month, I saw a decent ivory fan for only 70 yuan.”

“It’s alright. I’m buying these for my girlfriend to symbolize that we’re in sync,” Lu Yongzhang replied with a smile. He spoke eloquently and charmingly, with a handsome appearance that greatly made Huo Yuanxing admire him. He might have called him “brother” if he weren’t so young.

“Where did you learn your six-line technique, little brother?” Huo Yuanxing asked, his curiosity almost palpable.

“It’s not exactly from a master; I’d say it was taught to me by a friend,” Lu Yongzhang replied.

He recalled the mysterious old man with the white beard, and calling him a close friend wouldn’t be an exaggeration. After all, during those years when he faced death, if it hadn’t been for that old man’s warnings, it was hard to say whether he would have lived long enough to save Zheng Xiaorou during the coup.

Huo Yuanxing’s expression brightened. Since it wasn’t a family tradition, then asking for advice wouldn’t be too presumptuous, would it?

While he was contemplating this, Lu Yongzhang casually asked, “Are you looking to buy something?”

After witnessing the technique performed right in front of him for the second time, Huo Yuanxing became overly excited, losing all his usual composure. He looked like his five-year-old son savoring an ice cream: “Oh yes! I came today hoping to test my luck! If it won’t take up too much of your time, could you give me some advice? Since I’m quite a bit older than you, let’s call me ‘big brother,’ how does that sound?”

Lu Yongzhang smiled, “It would be my honor.”

Though he knew who Huo Yuanxing was buying for, he still asked about the recipient and his budget as a formality.

Huo Yuanxing, on a fixed salary, felt a bit embarrassed as he expressed his financial constraints while still wanting to purchase something genuine.

“This way.” Lu Yongzhang pointed at a lacquer box hidden among a pile of replicas and whispered, “A rhinoceros skin lacquer box with auspicious patterns, and the condition is decent.”

Luo Xing guarded his items, thinking, “What’s this? He’s taken everything for himself, and wants to bring someone else toclean it

Noticing Luo Xing’s defensive posture, Lu Yongzhang merely shot him a casual glance before bending down and separating the pile of mismatched goods into two groups.

Others couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but Luo Xing’s face turned pale in an instant.

Within those two piles, one consisted of restored items—pieces he had expertly repaired from originally damaged components—while the other pile contained purely modern reproductions, skillfully crafted but still identifiable as fakes to a discerning eye.

Yet this man before him had effortlessly separated them.

A chill crept up Luo Xing’s back.

This level of discernment was unparalleled. Even members of the Luo family who were still engaged in the business wouldn’t possess such keen insight; not even his grandfather, who had exceptional skills, could compare. Who could identify such differences with just a glance, without even needing to touch them?

Although the weather was cool, he could feel cold sweat trickling down his forehead. This man had closely examined the rhinoceros horn cups just moments ago, which made it clear he was taking this matter very seriously.

Although Huo Yuanxing had average discernment, it was evident that Lu Yongzhang had seen through the vendor’s items. He immediately stepped forward and picked up the lacquer box. “What’s the asking price?”

“What’s the asking price?”

The same words uttered by Lu Yongzhang made Luo Xing shiver with cold dread.

Did he dare to name a price?

On a typical day, if he managed to make two sales, he would certainly indulge in some good wine at home. But today, he felt he was in for a massive loss!

He decided to treat this as a lesson learned; from now on, if this kid came around, he would close up shop!

With a pained expression, Luo Xing extended five fingers.

Fifty—this price was within Huo Yuanxing’s budget. He instinctively glanced at Lu Yongzhang, and upon seeing him nod slightly, he promptly agreed to buy it.

Once Luo Xing received the money, he quickly packed up his stall, fearing that if he didn’t leave soon, he wouldn’t be able to keep the rest of his items either.

What a bad day.

Huo Xingyuan had never bought anything so straightforwardly before. He held the lacquer box in his hands and played with it for a while, pondering deeply before issuing an invitation, “Little brother, if you have time, would you mind coming to my place to have a look? I have a few other items I’d like you to take a look at.”

Lu Yongzhang glanced at the sky and politely declined without showing emotion. Huo Xingyuan felt a bit regretful. He wanted to take the opportunity to show him the items to discuss the art of Yi, but he could only rub his hands together in anticipation and ask, “Could I have your contact information, little brother?”

Lu Yongzhang generously provided his work details. Huo Xingyuan carefully tucked the paper into his pocket and sighed, “How do you know so much at such a young age?” He truly did not want to let the young man go.

As if he could see through Huo Xingyuan’s thoughts, Lu Yongzhang nodded politely, a faint smile on his face. “We will meet again.”

They would definitely meet again.

However, to Huo Xingyuan, it felt like merely a parting phrase thrown at a stranger. He watched Lu Yongzhang walk away under the golden sunset from Shenbei Road, feeling somewhat disappointed.

When Lu Yongzhang returned home, he meticulously cleaned the two rhino horn cups before placing them under the lamp for a closer examination.

This pair of rhino horn cups had been a gift from the most renowned talent of the Da’an Dynasty, the painter Xu Shengpei, to his wife for her sixtieth birthday.

The cups were granted by Empress Zheng, and the inscriptions were carved by Xu Shengpei. It was unexpectedly through this small stall that he had received them, leaving him unable to avoid contemplating the coincidences in a life filled with such remarkable happenstance.

Xu Shengpei was famously afraid of his wife, who had only one primary spouse throughout his life and never took a concubine. The couple grew old together, and their relationship became a celebrated tale.

He gently stroked the smooth surface of the rhino horn cup as if caressing the years that had passed. To him, returning this pair of cups to Zheng Xiaorou was no less than a silent confession of his feelings.

He placed the cups into a velvet bag and set the bag by his pillow. That night, usually someone who could set aside all his worries upon going to bed, he found himself tossing and turning.

—o—o—o—

After tidying up and reading for a while the next day, he grabbed his things and headed to knock on the door across the hall.

“Brother Lu! Hey, Brother Lu!” Zheng Tianlei cheerfully rushed up to him, wrapping his arms around Lu Yongzhang’s in overwhelming joy. “My sister is reading; shall we go over soon?”

Lu Yongzhang nodded slightly and stepped inside, first greeting Father Zheng and Mother Zheng.

Father Zheng looked at this young man with approval, but his gaze flickered at the items Lu Yongzhang was holding. “Little Lu, you don’t have to be so polite when you go over there.”

“Of course,” Lu Yongzhang replied.

“What ‘of course’? No need to bring so much,” Father Zheng insisted.

Zheng Tianlei eagerly supported Lu Yongzhang, saying, “This is Brother Lu doing my sister a favor; Dad, don’t do this. People will think it’s a joke.”

The sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs, and Zheng Xiaorou appeared, her face slightly flushed as she saw Lu Yongzhang at the bottom of the stairs. “You’re here?”

“Are we leaving?” Lu Yongzhang asked, a bright smile on his face. “It wouldn’t be polite to head straight there without eating, so I thought we should go a bit earlier?”

“Okay.” Zheng Xiaorou didn’t catch Father Zheng’s earlier comments, assuming he had just arrived. “Let’s go.”

With Zheng Tianlei present, Lu Yongzhang found it nearly impossible to have a conversation with Zheng Xiaorou.

Zheng Tianlei chatted incessantly, his voice nonstop.

The bus ride from Sanzhu Li to Zheng Tianchao’s house required ten stops, and it was only when Zheng Tianlei realized that his sister was the one sitting next to Lu Yongzhang in a two-person seat that he decided to sulkily take a seat behind the driver.

On a Sunday, there weren’t many passengers, and the two settled into the last row of the bus.

Without Zheng Tianlei joking nearby, a moment of silence fell between them, and after a while, Zheng Xiaorou glanced at the net bag in his hands and softly remarked, “You don’t need to bring these to my brother’s house; he works at a food factory, so we have plenty to eat at home.”

“This is my token of appreciation.” Lu Yongzhang sat upright, his posture straight. “I hope your brother will like me.”

The word “like” sounded in her ears like an electric spark, buzzing and crackling. Zheng Xiaorou’s heart raced.

Upon recognizing her different feelings toward Lu Yongzhang, it became hard for her to avoid overthinking his words, and her heart raced even faster.

As they sat in silence, they reached their destination. Zheng Tianlei, worried they might miss their stop, jumped into the middle of the bus like a monkey and called out to them, “Sister, Brother Lu, we’ve arrived!”

It took a few more minutes to walk from the bus stop to Zheng Tianchao’s house, and Zheng Tianlei dutifully recounted stories from his childhood. “Oh, I was definitely more scared of my brother than my dad, but don’t worry, Brother Lu! I’ll protect you! I won’t let my brother intimidate you.”

“Well, I appreciate that,” Lu Yongzhang replied with a sincere smile.

However, when they entered the door, Zheng Tianlei’s promise quickly proved to be an empty assurance.

Zheng Tianchao’s home was also in an old-style alley, and the space was even smaller than Zheng’s family house, which was which was truly a cramped place.

Zheng’s sister-in-law was a diligent woman. During the day, the small room served as a reception area; at night, a curtain was drawn to transform it into a bedroom for the three of them.

At this moment, a small round table was placed in the center of the room, and four dishes, and a soup, were already steaming.

Only upon seeing this could one understand why Father Zheng and Mother Zheng did not come; the place was simply too small.

On the way over, Zheng Tianlei had already explained to Lu Yongzhang that this house had been left behind by their grandfather, and naturally, the eldest son got to live there when he married.

As the three entered, Zheng Tianchao, with his large, copper-bell-like eyes, fixed his gaze on Lu Yongzhang. Zheng Tianlei pleaded, “Brother, be a bit more courteous.”

Lu Yongzhang stepped forward, slightly bending at the waist, and greeted, “Elder brother, sister-in-law, I’m Lu Yongzhang.”

Zheng Tianchao grunted in response, moving aside to let them in, but his eyes never left Lu Yongzhang. “Come in and sit.”

His expression remained stern, making him seem even more like a man determined to marry off a daughter than Father Zheng.

Five-year-old Zheng Xiaocheng clung to Zheng Xiaorou’s leg, looking up with a smile. “Auntie, this uncle is handsome! When I grow up, I want to marry him!”

Lu Yongzhang responded with a warm smile, “But this uncle only likes your aunt.”