Chapter 43: Watching the Spring and Listening to the Wind

An Yinan adjusted the straps of her basket and quickly followed the old man to the Second Courtyard; she had never entered this courtyard before, and at this moment, it appeared to be filled with old wooden furniture.

The old man was standing in front of a table, holding a magnifying glass in one hand and examining something closely.

An Yinan walked over, and what came into view was an ancient painting; on it were strange peaks and grotesque rocks, towering ancient trees, a gentle breeze blowing, and the tinkling sound of a spring, with two high-minded recluses sitting opposite each other by the spring, listening to the wind and watching the water, creating an atmosphere of reclusive transcendence.

When An Yinan saw the poem inscribed above: "Looking down at the flowing spring, looking up to listen to the wind; the sound of the spring and the rhyme of the wind blend like the music of sheng and yong; why not write it on the zither, for there is no one left with the surname Zhong."

Well, she seemed to know what this painting was: Tang Bohu's "Watching the Spring and Listening to the Wind." (Required by the plot, unrelated to history.)

"Good painting, good painting." The old man nodded repeatedly, having no other words of praise, only these two words: good painting.

How could it not be a good painting? It was "Watching the Spring and Listening to the Wind"!

An Yinan secretly reached out her hand, and just by touching a tiny bit of the back of the painting, she felt that scorching sensation—it was an authentic piece!

"Alright, this painting is yours now, take it away." The old man waved his hand and tossed the magnifying glass into a drawer to the side.

An Yinan extended a finger and pointed at her own nose, "I take it away?"

The old man huffed indignantly, "Otherwise what? Tear it up for firewood? Do you think anything that ends up at the Waste Recycling Station can leave in one piece?"

Tear it up for firewood...

That really wasn't necessary!

"Can't you just put it away?" An Yinan hesitated; she already owed a huge favor, and it seemed to be getting harder and harder to repay.

The old man reached out and tapped An Yinan on the forehead, "I put it away? Where would I put it? I have no descendants, and I'm already half-buried in the ground; what use is it for me to keep it? Hurry up and put it away, don't let anyone see."

The old man was also taking a gamble; if An Yinan couldn't keep these things safe, it would be a life-threatening matter in this era, but if she could hide them safely, that was her ability; these would be her private possessions in the future, yet they would not be destroyed, she was still a person of Huaxia, and these things would also remain in Huaxia.

The old man always believed that the country was only sick for now, but sooner or later there would be a day of recovery; at that time, when everything needed to be rebuilt, the country would need history and civilization, and as someone with little power or influence, all he could do was try his best to preserve these cultural relics that represented history, hoping there would be a day they could see the light of day openly and honorably.

The old man thought for a moment and still gave a word of caution, "These are wealth but also a disaster; girl, if you choose to take them, you must also bear the risks."

An Yinan nodded without interrupting.

"I have only one request: don't let these things fall into the hands of outsiders; they must stay in our Huaxia, can you do that?" At this moment, the old man's cloudy eyes held a sharpness that seemed to pierce through her heart.

An Yinan nodded firmly, "Old man, don't worry, this era will pass, these ancient artifacts will reappear in the world, and they will absolutely not be lost abroad."

The old man nodded; this was all he could do.

"Come once a week from now on; I will leave behind whatever I can, and you should also watch your safety." After seeing the items from last time, it seemed the young girl had a very secure way of storing things, so he wouldn't interfere too much; as long as these ancient artifacts didn't fall into the hands of foreigners, he didn't care, and the more things that could be preserved, the better.

Safety! It must be safe! No one could search into her space, so how could it not be safe!

"Rest assured, sir." An Yinan wrapped the ancient painting casually in a newspaper, then took out the peanuts, braised beef, and two taels of liquor she had prepared in her basket, and only then placed the ancient painting into the basket.

The old man remembered that it was also this basket that had carried away those porcelains last time.

This basket was something else!

An Yinan finished eating with the old man, left the white flour on the table, and left with the large basket on her back; it was already twelve o'clock, and she needed to go to the Xinhua Bookstore.

Chen Shao had asked her to come at noon so he could take her to his home to recognize the place.

"You finally came; have you eaten? If not, go to my house to eat and try Chen Shao's cooking." Chen Shao asked hurriedly when he saw An Yinan.

An Yinan nodded immediately, "I've eaten, I've eaten."

The small wontons from the State-run Restaurant hadn't even digested yet...

"Alright then, let's go, I'll take you to recognize the place; next time you come early, you can come directly to my house to find me." Chen Shao led An Yinan through two alleys and walked to the front of a courtyard.

"This is my home; my wife is inside, you should meet her too; if you need any help, you can come over anytime." Chen Shao knocked on the door, and a female voice came from the courtyard, sounding very gentle and calm, "Coming."

The person who opened the door had a pair of delicate eyes with a sense of unspoken words, and her skin was a somewhat unhealthy white, "Old Chen, who is this young girl?"

Chen Shao stepped forward and supported his wife, "This is the Nan girl I told you about; she is a very brilliant translation genius."

"So it's you; I've long heard Old Chen praising you and have always been curious, and today I finally see you in person." Chen Shao's wife smiled at the corners of her mouth and looked at An Yinan with appreciation.

"Auntie, I'm sorry to disturb you today; I didn't bring much, but please don't mind these pastries." She had known she was visiting, so she had prepared two jin of pastries from her space, which counted as a decent gift for a visit.

"I heard from Old Chen that you are still down in the countryside; how could I let you spend your money!" Chen Shao's wife hurriedly tried to push them back, her face showing a bit of anxiety.

An Yinan smiled and placed the items into Chen Shao's hands, "Uncle Chen, my translation wages are quite good; now that I've recognized the place, I have an appointment with a friend, so I'll be going first; it will be another week before I come to the County again."

"Auntie, I felt very close to you the first time we met, and I'll have to trouble you more in the future, so please don't be so formal with me."

After An Yinan finished speaking, she turned and left, waving her sleeves without taking a single cloud with her.

"How could you take the child's gift?" His wife tapped Chen Shao, but because she lacked strength, it felt more like flirting.

Chen Shao put his arm around his wife, smiling, "This girl earns more money than we do, so don't you worry."

Thinking of the six magazines An Yinan had brought over, which he still had to send to the Post Office in the afternoon, based on the word count, as long as they passed, there would be at least three hundred yuan in translation fees; three hundred yuan in a week was almost his entire year's salary, and it would be over a thousand yuan a month; you wouldn't know until you calculated it, but it was shocking once you did.

An Yinan checked the time on her watch; it was still a bit early, and it would be at least after two o'clock before Liu Meijie was on her break.

She first organized the ration coupons on her person, then went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, bought two pairs of sneakers for An Xiangbei, and bought one pair of sneakers and one pair of cloth shoes for herself, spending a total of six yuan.