Chapter 588: Keeping an Appointment

Hearing Wang Yan say this, Ma Du nodded repeatedly and smiled: "Your experience is too legendary, and they all admire you very much. Hearing me say that you have unique insights into literature and were the guide on my literary path, knowing I know you, they begged me to see you and listen to your guidance on the country and writing."

"You, after so many years, your bad habits haven't changed at all; you just know how to flatter. If it weren't for my good concentration, I would have been flattered to the sky by you long ago." Wang Yan smiled and pointed at him with the hand holding the cigarette, took a sip of tea, and said: "Then let's meet. It's always good to give you some face, isn't it? You arrange it; just call me directly when the time comes."

Ma Du grinned: "Thanks for the face, Lord Wang. Then let's set it for next Sunday, when you're resting, so it won't delay your work. I'll look for a place later to see what good restaurants there are. Now there are more restaurants opening, with all kinds of cuisines from north to south, so I'll find a delicious one."

"Broken" Hou chimed in: "Speaking of restaurants, Chunming, 'Cha Piao Xiang', 'Jiu Ba Qu', 'Ju Pengyou', you've already opened three. The wish of the 'Timen' (Nine Gates) is about to be fulfilled. When will this 'Zai Hui Lou' open? You don't lack money now, right?"

Han Chunming nodded: "This isn't because when I planned to open a restaurant before, Lord Wang told me to do affordable restaurants for the first three, and then do a high-end boutique restaurant, highlighting exquisite dishes, beautiful flavors, and fine service, specifically doing business for the rich, eating a meal that costs several months of salary for an ordinary family. I think this matter has a chance. This isn't because I'm looking for a good place. High price, good service, it must have a good place. I'm thinking of buying a big house, antique and unique, that would have a feeling, wouldn't it?"

"But such a big house is really hard to find. I've been looking for a year and haven't heard of any big house for sale. In addition, the master chef who cooks is also a problem, especially hard to find. It has to be studied carefully, so just wait." "Master, you will definitely live to be a hundred years old. Disciple will definitely open this 'Zai Hui Lou' for you. In the future, we will go there to enjoy it; it will definitely be more comfortable than it is now."

"I don't think it's necessarily your high-end restaurant that's enjoyable. If you ask me, setting up a shed outside, getting a plate of peanuts, blowing the cool wind, and drinking with people from morning to night—that's what's comfortable. If you open that restaurant, it sounds like it's detached from the masses. That's only because the times are good now. If it were ten years ago, everyone in this room would have to hang a sign and parade through the streets."

Old Guan scolded with a smile: "What are you saying? Isn't this just because the times are good? With money in your pocket, you start enjoying it. Disciple, just do it with confidence. Your Nine Gates Timen grandfather will live another twenty years, no problem."

"Broken" Hou laughed: "I, I just suffered from being born late. By the time I was born, it was already the Republic of China. The family had already failed long ago. Being able to leave me some things was my father thinking of me. Otherwise, I could have enjoyed two days of good life, and I wouldn't have become a 'dog meat' (a loser)."

Everyone laughed for a while. Wang Yan said: "Actually, there's no need to find a big house. You can find a building with high ceilings and put effort into the renovation. If you're powerful, you can even build a building and put a big house on the roof. At worst, find a place with good conditions in the suburbs and build a big courtyard yourself. If it really doesn't work, you can buy several small courtyards connected together, knock down the walls, and dig out a moon gate, and that's it."

"Lord Wang, where is it that easy? I don't have the strength to build a building. Building a courtyard is too far and not in our circle of activities, so it's meaningless. Buying connected houses requires finding that kind of detached house. If it's like our big miscellaneous courtyard, it can't be bought at all, and there are many troubles. It's just that you make it look easy, oh..." Han Chunming reacted while talking and slapped his palm: "Look at me, this is 'dark under the lamp'. Lord Wang, don't you have a three-entry big house on the edge of Beihai to store your treasures? Isn't that place just right? Shall we discuss it?"

"So you're thinking about my place. That was my mouth's fault; I shouldn't have chimed in." Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "Forget about selling it to you. I'm waiting for appreciation to pass it on to my prodigal son in the future. Wait until these days when I move those things out and clear it for you. I've renovated that house again and used a lot of good materials, so don't ruin it for me."

This house was the place where he had lived many times in the previous world. It just happened that he ran into someone selling it, so he bought it. The feeling of standing in the house was indescribable to outsiders. However, because of the scope of life, he didn't live there and used it to store those antiques.

Han Chunming smiled embarrassedly: "Don't worry, I'll definitely protect your big house well. It's just that I really couldn't find a place, so I thought of you. Do you need me to find a place to store those objects of yours? I have two houses that are empty, but they are a bit far and not as convenient as yours."

"No need. I'll go through the things in that courtyard later and donate a batch to the Palace Museum first to save the trouble. It will be almost done by the end of this month. You prepare well."

"Alright, then thank you first."

Old Guan said: "Don't do that. Your objects, your Nine Gates Timen grandfather hasn't finished looking at them yet. If you donate them like this, where will I go to see them in the future?"

"Hey, Timen grandfather is right. If you want to donate, wait until we've finished looking at them. Shall we discuss it? If you don't have a place, I'll find a place for you to store them." "Broken" Hou also chimed in to persuade.

They all wanted to handle and look at them one by one. Synthesizing the performance in the show, they were all true players. In fact, ever since 1981, after taking this group of people to see the things he collected, they had exchanged some things they liked for some calligraphy and paintings that Wang Yan was interested in. At the same time, new things were constantly being collected over the years, and their viewing speed was slow, always holding them in their hands to carefully observe. After four years, they hadn't seen many things at all; there were just too many.

Wang Yan waved his hand with a smile: "What's difficult about this? We all like these things, and we've been drinking together for so many years, so the character is guaranteed. I'll talk to that curator. I don't believe that if I donate so many things, I can't get you a pass? When the time comes, you can just go in and see them directly. Isn't that good?"

"That place has over a million items. Except for some individual ones that are not easy to handle, the rest can be seen at will. However, if you accidentally break them, you'll have to pay for them yourself. In addition, if you are interested, you can be a part-time job, count as extra-staff, and help them organize things when you have nothing to do. That's also a good thing."

"Broken" Hou nodded repeatedly: "Hey, this idea is good. Timen grandfather, what do you think?"

"If you say it's okay, then it's okay. Exerting some residual heat and helping to do things is also quite good. I really didn't expect that I, Nine Gates Timen, would have such a day. I haven't done any work in my life, but at this age, I'm going out to work for free." Old Guan shook his head repeatedly while speaking, but his face was full of smiles. Obviously, this job was quite good and he liked it.

"Lord Wang, what about me..." Ma Du hurriedly followed up, afraid of being forgotten.

"I'll get you one too. Go wander around when you have time." Wang Yan said very grandly, as if it were his own backyard. After all, he didn't seek return, donating tens of thousands of items, so he still had this treatment. Moreover, he also planned to mention the Palace Museum cultural creation matter to that curator, to create income for the Palace Museum, and also give more benefits to those staff members who could settle down and do practical work.

Although it was not the internet era now, the hype was the same. And this was a good thing to promote traditional culture, which counted as work performance. Even if the income might not be very high, it wouldn't lose money.

And this only required him to move his mouth, chat with people simply, and doing it casually was a good thing. How good...

After chatting and pulling some idle gossip for a while, Liu Jinyou, who had been listening for a long time and pondering for a long while, spoke: "Is opening a restaurant profitable?"

Taozi laughed and explained: "Uncle, you shouldn't ask like that. Lord Wang said, in this good time, as long as you are not stupid and dare to do it, you can make money by doing anything yourself. Just take our 'Ju Pengyou' now. After deducting various expenses, we can earn thousands or tens of thousands a month. This is money that an ordinary family can earn in two or three years without eating or drinking. You tell me if it's profitable?"

Liu Jinyou was mixing in Hong Kong, where the catering industry was already very mature. Therefore, relatively speaking, although the profit was still not small, it was not that profiteering, so he asked this question.

In the past month, besides playing with children and feeling family affection, this old guy had been wandering outside, going to places where the government was attracting investment to see what projects there were. The old guy's strength was actually at an average level. After divorcing and dividing the family property, he had about two million or so in his hands now. In a place like Beijing, the big things he could do were really limited. After all, this place was different. Even if there were many favorable policies, it wasn't something that a person with only that much total net worth could engage in. To catch a wolf with empty hands, one had to have a certain volume in advance. He didn't qualify.

Thinking for a while, Liu Jinyou asked: "Wang Yan, what do you think about me opening a restaurant?"

Wang Yan didn't expect this old guy to be able to get close to the restaurant. After all, he had a nephew-in-law like him, holding over two million Hong Kong dollars in cash, and he could still do the restaurant business.

However, thinking from another angle, it was normal. This old guy might indeed not be very good, but he was impeccable to the old Su family. In the original show, the villa worth millions was bought by the old guy for the old Su family. So considering the weak position of the old Su family in front of him, it was normal for this old guy to be afraid of having opinions and not dare to trouble him. After all, he had plenty of money now and was in a high position, and the old guy had no children to consider his afterlife.

Of course, it was good for the old guy to be sensible, and he should be sensible. How could he really not help at all? Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought this old guy over. Not to mention anything else, Su Meng pouting her big mouth would be a matter.

In the original show, this old fat boy got together with "Broken" Hou's daughter Hou Sue because of the restaurant. Now that this old guy mentioned it again, he just followed the trend. Currently, this old guy was quite sensible, so he didn't mind fulfilling it. Having a companion to muddle through life was also quite good.

Immediately, he nodded with a smile: "Of course you can. However, I suggest that if you can buy the place for the restaurant, buy it; try not to rent it. The restaurants opened by Chunming and Taozi all have their own places. I am also quite optimistic about the future form; this is a long-term investment, and the appreciation space is very large. However, this puts some pressure on your funds. A small building with two or three floors will cost at least hundreds of thousands. I think it's better for you to work in partnership with others, and use the remaining money to do other business. Marquis, didn't you mention before that you can't sit and eat until the sky is empty? Why don't you partner with my uncle?"

"Alright, with your word, I trust it. You go yourself later; we two will study it." "Broken" Hou shook his head and sighed: "This face was slapped too fast. Before, I said I, Broken Hou, lived in a broken house, ate sour food, and drank bad wine. This is always eating and drinking with you guys. Hey, this mouth has been spoiled. Drinking with peanuts at home has no taste at all. Sure enough, the gentle village is the hero's grave..."

Actually, it wasn't just his mouth that was spoiled. In addition, Hou Sue was always urging him to make money. At this point in time, Hou Sue's husband had already died, and it hadn't been long. Hou Sue had already begun to accept a new life, without much sadness, because her man was full of disasters and always suffered from illness. Now that it was over, it was a relief...

"I haven't seen a satisfied person in so many years; everyone has a lot and wants more." Liu Jinyou laughed, then looked at the others: "Who among you is short of money for business? Besides the money for opening the restaurant, there is over a million. If you need money, just say it; count me in for a share."

He wasn't stupid. After all, he had already bottomed out with Wang Yan, and then Wang Yan brought him to this place where cultural people talked about the past and present, rather than other banquets of this president or that bureau chief. This showed that his strength was about the same as the people in this room, or maybe even worse.

So he was straightforward and showed his bottom line. Anyway, with such an awesome nephew-in-law like Wang Yan here, he wasn't afraid of losing money at all. Who would dare to make him lose money? Maybe even if the business really lost money, others would return his money in full. This feeling, tsk tsk...

It was still Han Chunming who spoke first: "Why don't you give me the money? Next month I have to trade a batch of cars. Your money is in Hong Kong dollars, just right to exchange directly into dollars. The repayment time is three to four months, and I guarantee you can earn half. Just right, during this period, you can also study carefully what you want to do in the future."

"It's coming from Qiongnan, right? I heard..." Halfway through, seeing Wang Yan nod, Liu Jinyou paused, then nodded: "Done, let's talk in detail later."

The matter was settled happily like this. After chatting and laughing for a while, today's small gathering ended perfectly. Leaving Liu Jinyou, "Broken" Hou, and Han Chunming to discuss specific affairs, Wang Yan returned home.

Mr. and Mrs. Su went out for a walk to see the scenery, and Su Meng went shopping with friends. The little cub, who was already nine years old and would be in the third grade after school started, had become bolder due to the growth of his body and brain. Now he was no longer playing in the hutong near his home, but running around everywhere within the Second Ring Road of Beijing with a group of little friends.

Therefore, only Old Mrs. Su was at home. She was old and didn't want to move much. She just lay on the recliner under the old tree that had been there for decades in the courtyard, with a vertical electric fan not far away, sending coolness. The old lady was half-dreaming and half-awake, swaying, already approaching the end of her life.

Wang Yan had checked Old Mrs. Su's body; there was no illness, just simple aging of body functions. He also got some warming tonics to regulate her body. But according to the current situation, at most, she would live another seven or eight years. This point was not as good as Old Guan. In the original show, people had cerebral thrombosis, but they still survived to the new millennium. Being able to live was also a skill.

Without disturbing Old Mrs. Su, Wang Yan went to his large study, leisurely splashing ink and wielding his brush, painting a "Summer Cooling Picture." The painting depicted an old man approaching the end of his life lying under a tree, without the haze of facing death, only the indifference and detachment of the afterlife...

After his masterpiece was finished, the people who went out all returned home. Su Meng was arranging a pile of clothes and shoes she bought, for the whole family, as if she were stocking up. The clothes for the family had all been bought by her these years. She was taking them out one by one in the living room, gesturing to everyone.

Just at this time, the little cub who was running wildly outside returned home on time. He had experience; if he didn't catch the meal time, his mother could nag him to death...

So, after a group of people tidied up, they sat at the round table in the west wing to eat.

Su Meng was still nagging about what she bought. After talking for a while, she sighed and asked: "Uncle, didn't you go to the gathering organized by Wang Yan's group? How was it? Did you talk about any business?"

"It's done. I opened a restaurant with that 'Broken' Hou, and in addition, I invested in Han Chunming's car trading. Besides leaving some money for renovation and emergency use, all the money in my hands was spent."

"Okay, that Beetle of mine was traded by Han Chunming and the others."

Liu Jinyou questioned: "Aren't they all smuggled? Is it really okay?"

Without Wang Yan speaking, Su Meng explained: "Uncle, you don't think about it. Can you do big business without connections? Not to mention cars, just what I heard, there are many people trading approval slips. That one slip is tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. Where is this? Don't worry, they will definitely be able to handle the procedures. Otherwise, how did my car come? And I inquired recently that Han Chunming and the others are doing it on a small scale. After all, one car is a lot of money, and there are people doing much bigger things than them. If they are going to be unlucky, they will be the last to be unlucky; there are taller ones holding it up. Besides, isn't there still Wang Yan?"

"Don't." Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "This is ultimately a gray business. It's just that domestic cars can't make good cars now, and the import volume of foreign cars is not that large. And whether it's our own or imported, it's very expensive. Rich people aren't stupid; they definitely pick cheap ones with no big difference. But after developing step by step in the future, this business won't be doable. Uncle, you just do this once and earn a sum of money. If you are really that unlucky, you won't be affected; I'll make up for the money you lost. During this period, you just run the restaurant well and study doing other things. If there are problems, come to me at any time."

He didn't lack money. Anything that could be solved with money wasn't a problem. It was effortless and saved trouble, and it could buy happiness for the whole family. It was a good thing.

"No need. Even if I lose, it's my bad luck and I don't have the fate to get rich. I can live quite well just by guarding the restaurant, and I won't have to toss and turn in the future. If there's nothing, I'll just go out for a walk and lose some weight, which is also good."

Su Meng said: "Hey, this is right. Uncle, it's not that I'm saying, you are too fat. When a person is fat, there are diseases everywhere. You really have to pay attention."

Sunday, approaching noon, Wang Yan took a taxi to the entrance of a Sichuan restaurant. He was giving Ma Du face to keep the appointment. If you want to talk about it, this was the first time in the ten years since they met that Ma Du wanted to bring someone to him, which showed the power of fate.

Ma Du was still an editor, but at the same time, he was a tycoon with a net worth of millions. And Wang Shuo was just a newcomer who had just begun to show his edge in the literary world. Just like this, the two could still play together, which could also show Wang Shuo's charm. Of course, all this was built on the basis that Ma Du was relatively free and easy, loved to play, and didn't put on airs.

Perhaps it might also be influenced by his "Wang Mouren" (Wang Yan). After all, by now, Ma Du had long known his history of getting rich, and also knew that when they met in that hutong in Shichahai back then, Wang Yan was already a person with a net worth of hundreds of thousands. They were still three years apart, and yet he still took Ma Du to play.

In addition, of course, there was his low-key and approachable reason. People like to imitate the strong. Ma Du was still a bit flashy in his early years. After all, facing the improvement of his own status and the accumulation of wealth, maintaining a normal heart was very difficult, even if Ma Du was mature, he was ultimately a young man.

Playing with him for so many years, just as Ma Du said, he learned low-key to the fullest... ===== CHAPTER 589 =====