Siheyuan: Returning to 61 to collect waste

Xia Zhongyuan said: "Brother Ye, you have a slender physique, look gentle and refined, and have such strong physical strength. I admire you."

Hearing this, Ye Chuan laughed heartily and replied, "Brother Zhongyuan is not bad. You are the only one who can force me to use my skills in all these days!"

Xia Zhongyuan was quite happy at first, but after thinking for a while, he felt that Ye Chuan had something else in mind: "Brother Ye, why do you sound like you are teasing me!"

Ye Chuan laughed and continued to move forward. When he pedaled with all his strength, he felt that the chain could not bear all the pressure, so he had to slow down for the time being.

The three of them did not slow down at all. After arriving at their destination, Fatty Han and Xia Zhongyuan, who were exhausted and sweating, sat on the side of the road to catch their breath.

Ye Chuan half-jokingly asked, "What's wrong with you? Why are you sticking out your tongue? Are you trying to lower your body temperature?"

"Get out of here!" Xia Zhongyuan said unhappily. He had no strength left at the moment.

A glance at the watch revealed that they had arrived half an hour early, at 8:30.

Ye Chuan took out a cigarette and smoked it with enjoyment, looking up at the stars and blowing a smoke ring, as if nothing had happened. "Brother Ye, are you still human? Aren't you tired?" Ha Hanzi couldn't help but sarcastically said when he saw that the other party didn't sit down.

At this time, a figure came over, saw Xia Zhongyuan and Ha Hanzi sitting on the ground, and hurried over to shout: "Brother Zhongyuan, Brother Dazhuang, you are here?"

Xia Zhongyuan pointed at Ye Chuan and said, "This is my friend Ye Chuan."

The man approached Ye Chuan, staring at his gentle face, and felt that his boss's temperament was completely different from his own boss, but he still bowed deeply and said respectfully: "Hello, Brother Ye!"

Ye Chuan nodded and casually threw a cigarette to the other person, who immediately burst into tears of gratitude.

Xia Zhongyuan felt that he had recovered a little, so he stood up and introduced himself to Ye Chuan: "Brother Ye, this is Wang Jingang. He sent the news that we arrived two hours earlier than we arrived today."

"Will the clock seller be there today?" Ye Chuan swallowed his cigarette and asked. "I think so. I have seen him there for two consecutive days." Wang Jingang answered. "How far is it from the clock shop?"

"It's not far, just pass through those residential areas.

Brother Ye, you see this place may be remote, but there are actually many vendors setting up stalls here.

Thinking of this, Ye Chuan realized that the area between Fengtai and Dongcheng was sandwiched in the middle. The watch shop had a greater impact on them, but this side was affected. "Fatty Jin, have you finished resting? Get ready to go!"

Ha Hanzi struggled to his feet after hearing this, holding his knee with one hand, and asked Wang Jingang to push the bicycle while he followed closely behind with a staggering step. "You can't recover after resting for half a day?" Xia Zhongyuan laughed.

Ha Hanzi sneered in response: "I've long forgotten what you looked like just now!"

The two of them joked with each other, making Ye Chuan next to them laugh happily.

Xia Zhong was originally very serious and his speech was not very fluent. After following Ye Chuan for a long time, Ha Hanzi's verbal battle skills have improved, and he was so angry that the other party screamed and wanted to fight desperately. "Be gentle (control yourself), this will affect the residents!" Ye Chuan scolded with a smile, stopping the noise they made.

The two stopped arguing. Xia Zhongyuan took out a cigarette box and handed each of them a cigarette. The atmosphere quickly returned to calm.

After passing through a residential area, the noise became clearer. "We're here!" Wang Jingang said.

Ye Chuan has excellent eyesight and can vaguely see many figures in front of him.

This place is extremely remote and there is no lighting at night, so buying things depends entirely on flashlights.

The vendors are close together, different from the general market, where the distance between them is very close. "Brother Ye, there is a small corn field in front, and the clock seller is near there."

Wang Jingang pointed into the distance, but Ye Chuan had already seen the corn fields.

The few of them continued to move forward. In the dim night, they could only see the road beneath their feet and the blurry figures on both sides.

Getting closer, Ye Chuan immediately saw an object covered with red cloth on a stall. Was it the Western-style wall clock that Wang Jingang mentioned?

After taking a few steps forward, someone suddenly pulled his sleeve, and a voice in his ear said, "Brother Ye, this is the guy."

Ye Chuan was sure that it was the man he had seen before, so he half-knelt over to him. "Brother, what are you selling? Why are you covered with a cloth?"

The stall owner came straight to the point: "An old wall clock!" His tone was neither enthusiastic nor cold, and he had no intention of uncovering the red cloth.

There are all kinds of people in the world, and there are always some people who are unique. For Ye Chuan, this does not hinder them. He smiled and asked: "Can I take a look?"

The boss said nothing, but gently pulled the red cloth off the item, revealing an exquisite handmade clock.

This scene deeply shocked Ye Chuan's heart. He remembered seeing Western clocks and watches on display when he visited a museum in his previous life, but the size of the clock in front of him was obviously much larger than those exhibits.

Moreover, he had only seen it through a glass display case before, but now he can directly touch and feel the reality, and the shock he brings is undoubtedly even stronger.

He tried to pick it up, but found that he could hardly lift it with the strength he normally used to hold an ordinary watch. "Man, this thing is quite heavy!" The stall owner finally spoke, with a hint of pride, and told him, "You know, it weighs 50 kilograms, and you will definitely not lose money if you buy it.

The copper itself is worth a lot of money.”

Ye Chuan smiled slightly, this was a realistic evaluation.

At least half of the fifty-jin bell is copper, and as time goes by, it will only increase in value, not lose value.

He turned on the flashlight to illuminate the watch, and was even more amazed at the exquisite craftsmanship of the clock. "Brother, look, there are diamonds inlaid on the clock face, red and green." The stall owner pointed and said.

Ye Chuan smiled and said, "Those are not diamonds, they are glass, which was also called colored glaze in ancient times.

How can foreign clocks really use gemstones?"

The stall owner obviously knew what Ye Chuan said. He did not deny it, but just chuckled twice.

He stayed here for more than ten days. Although there were a few people who were interested in his clock, they were scared away by its price. However, this young man was obviously a connoisseur of value.

Ye Chuan continued to study the Western-style wall clock. The clock was divided into two parts, the bottom layer was the dial and the upper layer was the decoration.

If I am not mistaken, this is a Western-style chime clock that makes a sound every hour to tell the time. It should have been invented in the late 18th century or early 19th century, and has a history of more than a hundred years.

At that time, this type of clock was only owned by the nobility because it integrated a dual system design: one system was responsible for the clock operation, and the other was a timekeeping device, which was a testimony to the development of science and technology.

This clock adopts a design that combines Eastern and Western styles. It may have been given as a gift by missionaries or diplomatic envoys to royal relatives or other important officials in the mid-Qing Dynasty.

Looking at it, Ye Chuan's love for it grew deeper and deeper, and its collection value was incomparable. "Is this wall clock still usable?" Ye Chuan asked, showing some concern.

The stall owner was speechless for a moment, and replied embarrassedly: "I remember it would tell time on time when I was a child, but I don't know what happened later. It shouldn't be a big deal, just fix it."

Ye Chuan shook his head regretfully and said, "There are no such professional craftsmen nowadays. Once a part is missing, there is nowhere to find it, and repairing it is almost impossible."

The stall owner knew very well that this was indeed his family heirloom. Although he had taken it apart when he was young, he had installed a few extra spare parts and the clock could no longer operate accurately and never told time again.

He knew it was a mistake he made.

Ye Chuan did not blame him, but instead made a reasonable suggestion: "Forget it, if it's broken, just leave it as a decoration. How much do you plan to offer?"

After thinking for a while, the stall owner said, "Then let's pay one hundred and twenty yuan."

"My friend, if this clock is still intact, I would buy it for 200 yuan!" He said this mercilessly, "but it will only be a decoration at home, so this price is too high."

The stall owner was silent, but he knew that what Ye Chuan said was true. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Give me a price!"

Ye Chuan moved but did not give a price immediately. Instead, he threw the problem back: "You are the stall owner, the items are yours, any price I give you would be unreasonable.

Just name a price, and if it suits me, I'll pay immediately. If it doesn't, we'll turn around and leave without any hesitation."

Ye Chuan almost made the final decision, which made the stall owner hesitate. After thinking for a while, he said, "I... 80 yuan is fine."

Hearing that the other party was still a little hesitant, Ye Chuan was secretly delighted in his heart, but remained calm on the surface.

He nodded after a few seconds and responded, "Deal."

Hearing Ye Chuan's slightly reluctant tone, the stall owner breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Chuan took out eight large-denomination RMB notes and handed them over. Then he carefully wrapped up the antique alarm clock, tied a knot, and casually threw it to the fat man named Han beside him.

Fatty Han took it but almost dropped it, the clock was quite heavy. "You don't even dare to lift a clock?" Xia Zhongyuan said coldly. "Then why don't you try it too?"

Fatty Han was annoyed by the other party's doubt on his ability. You can laugh at yourself for being stupid, but you can't belittle your own strength. "Don't think you can lift it!" Fatty Han took the clock complacently and followed Ye Chuan holding it up.

Walking in front, Ye Chuan couldn't help but laugh secretly. These two idiots were still competing to see who was stronger. If no one was watching, they would have been put into the system space long ago.

After walking a few steps forward, Wang Jinbao gestured to the side: "Boss, the lighters are here!" Looking in the direction Wang Jinbao pointed, Ye Chuan saw a man sitting on the ground, wrapped tightly, with a piece of cloth in front of him, on which were placed more than a dozen lighters.

He was talking to a neighboring vendor.

Ye Chuan walked over, bent his legs and squatted, picked up a lighter and examined it carefully.

These lighters all come from the British Empire. They are probably made in the 1940s and use diesel as fuel.

He opened the lighter and checked the asbestos core and the hammer. He concluded that there was nothing wrong with it except that the diesel inside was gone. "How much is it?"

The stall owner was obviously unhappy that he was interrupting his conversation with the customer, and said unhappily, "Two dollars!"

Only two dollars each? Although not expensive, it's too cheap! Ye Chuan secretly guessed that the stall owner might not know the value of the lighter.

In the United States, this type of lighter is worth at least ten US dollars. If you bring it back to China, the production volume is small and you can increase the price without worrying about lack of buyers. How could it be only two yuan? This is different from the previous antique alarm clock.