Chapter 7 Rongbaozhai

  The night Mu Ya Ping returned from Xiangshan, he announced at the dinner table with a radiant face that he would officially take over the business of Rong Bao Zhai tomorrow. Mu Tian Yi saw his son's excited expression and was naturally delighted, so he ordered wine to be served. Mrs. Mu worried about Ya Ping's physical condition not being able to withstand the effects of alcohol, but Ya Ping indicated that his body had no problems and took the lead in drinking a cup of wine.

  The family was in a joyful atmosphere when the second brother's wife, Hou Jingru, suddenly spoke out: "Xiangyun privately went to Xiangshan, what is the reason? And she didn't even tell her family." Mu Yapeng had no choice but to say that he invited Xiangyun himself, but unexpectedly, Hou Jingru became even more unreasonable, saying that the eldest brother was biased and her words were full of jealousy. Mu Yapeng saw his rarely seen third brother, He Ping, with a lazy and sloppy appearance, as if he had nothing to do with him. The second brother, Wei Ping, looked somewhat embarrassed, seemingly helpless in the face of his wife's unreasonable behavior.

  This dinner ended in disarray, and as for what each of them did after returning to their own rooms, Mu Ya Ping was unaware. Wan Qiu returned to her room and blamed herself, saying: "Elder brother, I agreed to let Xiang Yun go to Xiang Shan, but I didn't expect things to turn out like this. It's caused you trouble." Mu Ya Ping said: "Second Brother's wife made a scene today, why didn't you speak up? You're the elder sister-in-law, and in the future, this household will be handed over to you to manage. You can't be so weak; normally, you should show the dignity of an elder sister-in-law, or else you'll suffer."

  Wan Qiu said: "It's so good to have a harmonious family, why do you want to stir up trouble? I'm naturally weak and have never quarreled with anyone. You want me to show my authority, but I can't do it. I think in the future, this household should be managed by Xiangyun." Mu Ya Ping said: "No way, Xiangyun will go out to work in the future, letting her manage the household is a waste of her talent." Wan Qiu's eyes widened instantly upon hearing this.

  Nothing happened that night, and the next day Mu Ya Ping finished breakfast and went out. Wan Qiu was worried and saw him off to the door, as if they were going to reenact the scene of "Eighteen Farewells". Looking at Wan Qiu's infatuated expression, Mu Ya Ping felt a warmth in his heart. He told Wan Qiu to go back inside and not worry, saying he would be back tonight.

  Mu Ya Ping walked out of the alley and onto the main street, looking around. There were not many pedestrians on the street, probably because this was not a bustling area. The clothing of the people on the street had distinctive characteristics of this era, with long gowns and black and gray outfits visible everywhere. Having seen numerous films and TV shows depicting this era, Mu Ya Ping did not feel out of place.

  Occasionally, a rickshaw or a carriage with a canopy would appear, carrying ladies and gentlemen, young masters dressed in suits, driving through the streets while loudly shouting to show off the prestige of the master on board. Occasionally, a rare black sedan would speed by, kicking up a cloud of dust behind it, showing off even more to the pedestrians, its owner even more prominent.

  Mu Ya Ping stood at the street corner, looking around like a country bumpkin who had just entered the city, his eyes almost not enough to take in everything. The day before yesterday and last autumn when he went up Xiangshan Mountain, because he was sitting in a sedan chair with a canopy, and there were curtains on the sedan chair, plus his thoughts were elsewhere, so he didn't carefully observe the scenery on the street. Today was different, he was completely walking onto the street as a sightseer, naturally wanting to pay attention to what he saw. Probably Mu Ya Ping's silly appearance attracted people's attention, and not a few glances were cast in his direction.

  Mu Ya realized he was being foolish and shook his head in self-mockery. He hailed a rickshaw and instructed the driver to go slowly, wanting to take in the sights along the way. Rongbao Zhai was located in the Liulichang area, and speaking of Liulichang, it was a famous place in Beijing.

  In the Liao Dynasty, this place was not in the city but in the suburbs, and it was called "Haiwang Village" at that time. Later, during the Yuan Dynasty, an official kiln was set up here to burn glazed tiles. Since the Ming Dynasty established the inner city, due to the construction of palaces, the scale of the official kiln was expanded, and the Liuli Factory became one of the five major factories of the Ministry of Works at that time. After the outer city was built during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, this place became a urban area. The Liuli Factory was no longer suitable for burning kilns in the city, so it moved to the current Liuliqu Village in Mentougou District. However, the name "Liuli Factory" has been retained and passed down to this day.

  At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, when Manchu and Han Chinese lived separately, Liulichang was located in the outer city, so many Han Chinese officials lived nearby. Later, guild halls from all over the country were also built nearby, and officials and scholars who came to take the imperial examination often gathered here to visit the book market, causing the prosperous book markets of Qianmen, Dengshi Street, and Chenghuang Temple during the Ming dynasty to gradually move to Liulichang. Book merchants from various places also set up stalls, built houses, and sold large quantities of rare books here.

  Prosperous streets, convenient conditions, gradually formed "Kyoto elegant tour". Made Liuli Factory develop into the largest book market in Beijing, forming a cultural landscape of cultural gathering. The famous Shangwu Yinshuguan is located here. Accompanied by cultural related pen, ink, paper and inkstone, antiques, calligraphy and painting, etc., also developed vigorously. And Rongbao Zhai, as the largest and most renowned store in Liuli Factory, also engaged in calligraphy, antiques, and could reproduce fake products to achieve authenticity, making it famous.

  Talking about antiques, also known as ancient artifacts, was later referred to as antiquities. In literary circles, "antiquities" became "wenwan", meaning elegant playthings for the literati. From a historical and cultural perspective, it is also acceptable because playing with these antique objects is not something that ordinary people can understand. One must possess knowledge of history and culture to appreciate them, and their significance is broader than just antiques, as they encompass new things, not just old ones. To be frank, antique shops are generally prepared for the rich and those in power, and poor scholars dare not ask about them.

  Mu Ya Ping admired the scenery on the street, and soon a magnificent palace appeared before his eyes. When he arrived at the Chinese Gate, he ordered the carriage driver to stop, and the driver asked in surprise: "Young master, aren't you going to Liulichang? Why are you getting off here?" Mu Ya Ping smiled and said: "I'm not getting off here, I just want to take a look. Don't worry, I'll pay for your carriage today." The carriage driver's anxiety turned into joy.

  Then Mu Ya Ping took out a silver dollar and said, "Is one silver dollar enough?" The driver was overjoyed and said, "Young master, you are too generous, I will listen to your orders at any time." Mu Ya Ping said, "Master, take a rest first, I'll take a look around." Then he lifted his legs and walked towards Tiananmen Gate, at this moment Mu Ya Ping's mood was slightly excited.

  As the Tiananmen Gate Tower gradually became clear, he found that there were soldiers standing guard at the gate tower, and Jinshui Bridge also had soldiers guarding it. It was obvious that the Forbidden City was not allowed to be visited. He looked at the old marks on the outer palace wall, and suddenly a sense of vicissitudes rose in his heart. In Mu Ya-ping's inherent impression, the Forbidden City should be glittering with gold and jade. He knew that two years ago, Feng Yuxiang led his troops to drive out Emperor Xuantong from the Forbidden City, and now the Forbidden City was uninhabited and had been taken over by the Republican government as state-owned property.

  Mu Ya Ping was feeling melancholy, and the sound of a sentinel loudly driving people away came from the Jinshui Bridge. He couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, this imperial city with its hundreds of years of history, this magnificent palace that symbolized emperors and generals, could only make people imagine and guess at the lives of past emperors, silently showing off its former glory to the people.

  "Wow! The Forbidden City is actually like this, how does it feel a bit old? My father and I described it as not being this way." "Exactly! The Forbidden City should be glittering with gold and jade, how did it become like this, it's hard to look at." Two women speaking in southern dialects conversed, drifting into Mu Ya Ping's ears. He turned his head to see two women wearing moon-white tops, black skirts, white socks, and black leather shoes standing there, admiring the view.

  It's not hard to see that these are two women from the south, each carrying a rattan box, with an innocent glow on their young faces. They are obviously newly arrived in Beijing to study. Women of this new era have broken free from family constraints and bravely stepped out of their homes to pursue knowledge, exuding a different kind of beauty. Just then, one of the girls noticed Mu Ya Ping staring at them blankly, and quickly pulled the other girl away, perhaps thinking Mu Ya Ping was up to no good.

  Upon arriving at Liulichang, a bustling scene unfolded before Mu Yapeng's eyes. Liulichang Street runs through the factory district, Xinhua Street, Huoshen Temple, and Tudi Temple, spanning over 800 meters. The road is lined with mostly low-rise houses, but the pedestrians strolling along this street are distinctly different from the rest. Apart from scholars clad in long robes and spectacles, there are also wealthy individuals dressed in Western suits and leather shoes. Mu Yapeng felt that the gathering crowd seemed to be at odds with the surrounding architecture.

  The cart driver knew the exact location of Rongbaozhai, so Mu Ya didn't worry about not being able to find it. The cultural atmosphere here was very strong, with names like Yingshan House, Ruichengzhai, and Cuwen Pavilion constantly flashing before his eyes, making him feel a different kind of charm, and a warm feeling overflowing in his heart.

  At this time, he found that Tong Baosheng, the manager of Rongbaozhai, turned out from a small alley. The alley was crowded with people, and the stalls were almost invisible. Mu Yapeng hurriedly ordered to stop the car, and at this time, Tong Baosheng also discovered Mu Yapeng and said: "Young master, you've recovered from your illness, I've been waiting for you every day!" This man was a partner found by Mu Tianyi, and had been working in Rongbaozhai for over a decade. He was self-taught and was an absolute master in the field of calligraphy, painting, and antiques. Therefore, Mu Tianyi entrusted him with important tasks to assist Young Master in managing Rongbaozhai.

  Mu Ya Ping said: "Tong Shifu, what's wrong? You've always been fine, what are you busy with?" Tong Bao Sheng hastily said: "Young Master, this won't do, the term 'Shifu' is a respectful title and shouldn't be used casually. You should still address me as Guan Shi like before." Mu Ya Ping said: "The capable one becomes the teacher. Actually, I've been wanting to call you Shifu for some time now, Tong Shifu! From now on, that's what I'll call you." Tong Bao Sheng was even more certain that Young Master had indeed changed and felt that he seemed more confident. However, Mu Ya Ping changing his address to him was quite pleasant.

  Mu Ya Ping told the rickshaw driver that he could leave, but the driver insisted on serving him for the whole day. Mu Ya Ping couldn't persuade him otherwise and had to go along with it. Mu Ya Ping noticed that Tong Bao Sheng was holding two small butterflies and asked: "Master Tong, what are you holding in your hand?" Tong Bao Sheng replied: "Young Master, I found these at a street stall. Although they look insignificant, I think they're from the imperial kiln of the previous Ming dynasty. I spent two silver dollars to buy them. Do you know how much we can sell them for if we resell them?"

  Mu Ya Ping, who knew nothing about antiques, asked: "Master Tong, how much is it worth?" Tong Bao Sheng said: "It can be sold for at least 500 silver dollars. Now I go to the street stalls every morning to take a look. Don't underestimate the street stalls, there are good things hidden inside." Mu Ya Ping looked at Master Tong's face, and his thoughts on the road suddenly became clearer.