Chapter Fourteen In Hand

  The old man gently pushed open the somewhat worn wooden door and walked in, and I followed him into the wooden house.

  There was a candle flame in the wooden house, which looked so small in the wooden house. Although it was dark around, you could still see what was around.

  I looked around and saw that the walls of the wooden house were adorned with black donkey hooves hung from silk threads, as well as some strange objects whose names I couldn't recall.

  What the heck is this place? Why are there so many black donkey hooves everywhere? As I thought about it, I reached out to touch the nearest one, but suddenly a bamboo stick hit my arm. I felt a sharp pain and pulled my hand back. When I turned around, I saw an old man wearing a cotton-padded jacket holding a bamboo stick and staring at me fiercely.

  "Old fellow, this little monkey didn't do it on purpose, don't be angry, come on, little monkey quickly apologize to Uncle Ye." The old man said, giving me a wink.

  Looking at so many black donkey hooves in the house, I didn't think and bowed my head to apologize to the old man called Ye Bo.

  I finished speaking and apologized, then the old man who was called Ye Bo Bo no longer looked at me with hostility. He turned his head and said to Old Liu, "Old Liu, you usually don't come here for several months, what wind brought you here today?"

  The old man chuckled and said, "Old Ye, you're being unreasonable now. Look at those old friends of ours from the past, which one of them could tolerate the decorations in your house? Only I, when I have some free time, dare to come over and take a few glances." As he spoke, the old man pointed to the black donkey hooves hanging all over the room and that strange thing with an unpronounceable name.

  The old man paused for a moment, "Old Ye, you've been selling these antiques for so many years, how come you're still living in such a shabby wooden house? If not, you might as well stop selling these things and move into my place instead. I have two vacant rooms that are just idle, if you move over, we can play chess together to pass the time."

  Ye BoBo heard Lao Ye Zi's words and his beard was blown up "Lao Liu, you came today just to not give me a step down in front of the younger generation, right?"

  The old man chuckled and waved his hand, "No, old buddy, why do you think of me like that? This little nephew of mine is from Northeast China, he came here to relax for a couple of days. On the way back, he wanted to buy a black donkey hoof to give to his friends over there. It's strange, this little monkey actually wants a black donkey hoof that's over 50 years old. I'm not sure if you have one, so I brought him here to try our luck."

  When Ye Bo heard the old man say that he wanted a black donkey's hoof that was over 50 years old, his eyes suddenly revealed a strange light, and I, who was good at observing people's expressions, also caught this point. Could it be that Ye Bo knew what I wanted to do with a black donkey's hoof that was over 50 years old? This thought expanded infinitely in my mind.

  "50 years of black donkey hoof? What are you going to do with 50 years of black donkey hoof?" said Ye Bobo.

  Good grief, this sentence pushed me to the edge, I touched my nose, it's a habitual action of mine before I lie, of course, except for people who know me particularly well, nobody can tell that I'm about to use the "fish-eye pearl" technique.

  "My friend likes to collect black donkey hooves, this time he heard me say I'm going to Sichuan, and told me that if I come across any black donkey hooves over 50 years old, I must buy them for him."

  After hearing what I said, Ye Bo furrowed his brow: "Don't you have any in the Northeast? Why do you have to come all the way to Sichuan to buy?"

  "This sentence makes me sweat, my friend said he's been all over the Northeast and can't find any 50-year-old black donkey hoof, so I'm coming to ask you, old man."

  Ye Bo nodded and said "So that's how it is. I thought it was some grave robbers again."

  Are there really many people coming here to fight? Why did I hear that as soon as I arrived, there are so many people coming here to fight. Is it true that there are so many fights here? Upon hearing what Uncle Ye said, I had countless speculations, but I didn't dare say them out loud, after all, I'm just here to buy collectibles for a friend.

  "Lao Ye, you've completely misjudged this! The little monkey's family is a big business, how could they be involved in grave robbing? Only people who are short of money do that kind of thing. Ah, Lao Ye, after talking for so long, do you or don't you have the 50-year-old black donkey hoof?" Hearing what Old Man Ye said, thinking I was a grave robber, the old man immediately became displeased.

  "Yes, of course I do. I have ones that are over 100 years old, let alone just 50." As he spoke, Ye Bo Bo took a bamboo pole from the corner of the wall, one end of which had an iron hook. With a swift motion, Ye Bo Bo hooked the pole under a black donkey hoof and lifted it off.

  "Here, young one." He said, handing over the black donkey's hoof.

  I took it over smoothly, and unexpectedly really bought a 50-year-old black donkey hoof. Originally, I didn't have the confidence to actually buy a 50-year-old black donkey hoof, so there wasn't much money in my pocket.

  I took over the black donkey hoof and reached into my pocket to get the money. "Thank you, Uncle Ye, how much does this black donkey hoof cost?"

  Before Ye Bo could speak, the old man hastily said, "You're my nephew, why do you need to take money from me? With our relationship, Old Ye, you don't lack this bit of money. Wait a moment and come to my house, I'll have my daughter-in-law make ginseng soup for you to drink. This little monkey's brought back some good ginseng, you must try it."

  Upon hearing Old Master's words, Old Ye revealed a helpless expression and nodded his head. "You're really cunning, you old rascal."

  Since things had been said to this extent, I didn't insist on taking the money anymore. After chatting for a few more sentences, the old man and I walked out of the wooden house and headed in the direction of going back.

  On the road, I asked an old man why they always talked about grave robbing and tomb raiding. The old man first asked me back why I was asking this, and I used curiosity as an excuse to brush it off. After that, the old man told me why they always talked about grave robbing and tomb raiding.

  It happened about 1 year ago, in the spring of 1982.