Chapter 23: Things Have Changed with the Passing of Spring and Autumn

  Xue Xiang was wearing a white changshan, lying on a purple wisteria chair to enjoy the cool breeze, and the chair was placed under a newly built grape arbor. He held a purple sand teapot in his hand, took a sip of tea, puffed on a cigarette, and was leisurely nourishing his spirit. The little girl was wearing a green dress, lying on a small desk beside Xue Xiang, doing her homework. Next to the book was a pile of colorful sugar cubes and chocolates. She wrote a few words, tore off a piece of candy, and before long, there were many sugar wrappers scattered around. Xue Xiang was afraid that she would eat too much and damage her teeth, so he scared her by saying: "Little treasure, eat less sugar, or you will lose your teeth. When the time comes, it will be troublesome to become a little toothless person. If you want, big brother will give you two golden teeth, and your mouth will shine with golden light."

  The little guy listened to Xue's words and was frightened, hurriedly spitting out the sugar in his mouth, frowning and saying: "I won't eat it again from now on, return all these sugars to Third Brother, I took them from his drawer without him knowing. Big Brother, someone wants to eat ice cream."

  Xue Xiangdao: "Ice cream is also sweet, from now on I'll eat more fruit."

  The little guy tilted his head and said, "But fruit is sweet too."

  Xue Xiang was speechless for a moment, and after thinking for a long time, he couldn't think of a fruit that wasn't sweet. He felt a bit embarrassed, so he put on his big brother's dignity and said, "Then let's choose the unsweet ones to eat." He didn't care whether the little guy could think of any unsweet fruits or not, and pushed this troublesome problem back to him.

  The little guy let out a cry and fell into Xue Xiang's trap, starting to think about what to eat next.

  It's already July. Xue Xiang's profit from reselling antiques is astonishing, earning tens of thousands of yuan in just two months, thanks to Mr. Chen's contribution. In just two months, Xue Xiang and his group collected over 40-50 pieces of art, including some fine works. They sold the better ones to Chen Kai, such as a Qianlong seal that earned them over a thousand yuan. They also got some paintings by Tang Bohu and ceramics from the Five Great Kilns, selling two pieces to Chen Kai for a few thousand yuan. However, their main profit came from the consignment shops they visited in Beijing's urban areas and surrounding counties, earning over 60,000 yuan.

  Li Siye and Lao San were overjoyed to see the business making money so quickly, their eyes shining brightly. They would have liked to quit their jobs and continue doing this, but they knew it was impossible without someone with connections like Xue Xiang helping them sell the goods. Moreover, they also knew that this venture carried enormous risks, and if not for Xue Xiang's backing, they wouldn't even dare think about it.

  Afterwards, Xue Xiang gave Lao San 100 yuan more than he had initially promised, almost equivalent to a year and a half of his salary. Li Siye's family was struggling financially, so Xue Xiang directly gave him 800 yuan, moving Li Siye to tears. He didn't say a word, just took the money and left.

  He knew what it meant to be deeply grateful, because words alone couldn't express his gratitude. This kindness he couldn't repay, but he had to let his children remember it.

  The better items that were collected were given to Old Man Chen, the next best ones were given to the nursery, and of course, the best items were kept by Xue Xiang. Among them, the most precious one was Su Shi's handwritten copy of "Shui Diao Ge Tou * Ming Yue Ji Shi You". Su Shi is a famous calligrapher, but his handwriting is extremely rare, and it's hard to come across any of his works. The most famous one is his "Hanshi Tie", which is now collected in the Taipei Palace Museum. This piece, along with Wang Xizhi's "Lan Ting Xu" and Yan Zhenqing's "Feng Nian Wen Gao", is considered one of the top three in the history of calligraphy. As for this treasure, it was naturally kept by Xue Xiang, who wouldn't think of selling it.

  Apart from the best items, some interesting small trinkets were also kept by Xue Xiang. For example, the purple sand teapot he was holding at that time was a work by the master craftsman Gu Jingzhou. Xue Xiang knew that one of Gu Jingzhou's purple sand teapots could sell for tens of millions in the future, but he didn't think about selling it. He liked this teapot too much to use it as a means to make money.

  What made Xue Xiang most satisfied was that he had collected over a dozen Japanese military swords. A few guys each took one officer's sword, and Xue Xiang kept one general's sword for himself. The remaining several soldier's swords and two officer's swords were also kept by him. These swords were mostly collected from the families of soldiers who had participated in the war against Japan. They were given more money than usual as a sign of respect to the veterans.

  The Japanese invasion of China left only a few general's swords in the country, but Xue Xiang's sword was not collected from a general's family. Instead, it was collected from a regimental commander's family. According to legend, this sword was obtained by a Soviet army lieutenant colonel in Northeast China and exchanged for wine with the regimental commander, who was then serving as a platoon leader.

  Not only are general's swords rare, but officer's swords are also extremely scarce. Lei Xiaotian and his friends didn't take any officer's swords because they were too conspicuous and not enough to go around. As a result, the two officer's swords were kept by Xue Xiang.

  In mid-May, Xue Xiang went to Beita Street to visit Little BeiBei. He was carrying a big bag of snacks he had bought at the food store. When he found No. 15, he saw that the gate was locked and was about to leave when he would come back next time. Suddenly, he was stopped by a woman in her forties who asked if he was Xue Xiang. Xue Xiang nodded and said yes. The woman patted her chest and said she had finally waited for him. Little BeiBei had left instructions before leaving, saying that there was a tall brother who would come to find him, and she had been waiting for over ten days. She went back home and brought out an envelope which she handed to Xue Xiang. Xue Xiang took it, thanked her, and turned around to leave. He opened the letter and saw that the handwriting was childish. At the top of the page, it said "Big bad egg Xue Xiang brother". Below it was a drawing of a small face with a scarf, crying, followed by a young man's face, also crying. The two faces were kissing each other. The drawing skills were poor, but from the short hair, he could tell that it was himself. From Little BeiBei's letter, Xue Xiang learned about what had happened before and after. It turned out that BeiBei's grandfather, who worked in Jiangnan, had been reinstated to his position and had sent someone to pick up BeiBei and her family at the beginning of the month to go south. Little BeiBei couldn't wait for him anymore and didn't know where he lived, so she left a letter with their neighbor to pass on to him. The letter was full of reluctance and blame, saying that when she came back to Beijing next time, she would teach him a lesson. She also said that she would grow up and become beautiful, and Xue Xiang wouldn't recognize her anymore. She told him to use the scarf he had given her as proof, and if he met a beautiful woman wearing that scarf in the future, it would definitely be her. At the end of the letter, there was another drawing of a small person with a smile on their face, holding three banknotes, indicating that she had discovered the money he had secretly given her. The letter ended with wishes for Xue Xiang to be happy every day. Xue Xiang read it and felt moved. He thought that when you give roses to others, your hands will still have the fragrance left on them. He had helped an old woman once, and the little girl had remembered him. When he thought of Little BeiBei, another beautiful figure appeared in his mind. That woman was indeed the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in this life or the next. They had only spoken a few words to each other, but she must have had a bad impression of him. Alas, he didn't even know her name. However, she seemed to work at a hospital and should be easy to find. But what would he say to her if he found her? Could he just say that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and they could be friends? That way, it wouldn't seem like he was being a rascal or a blind fool. In short, let fate decide.

  In early June, Xue Xiang led Kang Tong, Zhu Shijun, and Lei Xiaotian to send Li Hongjun, Liu Yuan Chao, and Sun Qianjin off at the train station. It was all thanks to Xue Xiang's connections that Sun Qianjin could join the army; originally, it was supposed to be Lei Xiaotian who would go, but he refused, saying that following Third Brother around was comfortable enough for him. As a result, the opportunity went to Sun Qianjin instead. When Sun Qianjin saw that he could join the army, why would he still want to drive a car? He immediately agreed. After everything was settled, Sun Qianjin's father, who was the director of the transportation department, even came to thank Xue Xiang in person, which ended up making things awkward between Xue Xiang and Sun Qianjin - given their relationship, there was no need for thanks at all.

  Zhu Shijun listened to Xue Xiang's suggestion and reviewed his lessons in preparation for the college entrance examination, which Xue Xiang said would definitely be held. Anyway, he wasn't worried, even if it wasn't held, wouldn't there still be San Ge accompanying him? Before the three of them got on the bus, Xue Xiang handed over a large package of money, totaling 1,000 yuan, and told them to take it and use it. Originally, the money they had earned, except for Li Siye and Cripple Old Three taking 1,100 yuan each, was all placed with Xue Xiang. Xue Xiang said let's divide it among everyone, but several people said it's just as well to leave it with you, we'd rather not take it ourselves and occupy space. Anyway, it's just for eating and drinking, so why not just have it here? In fact, Lei Xiaotian and the others were purely helping Xue Xiang out, and they didn't even take a penny of the capital, let alone make any money. Moreover, given their relationship, whoever had money wouldn't spend it alone.

  Li Hongjun and the others saw Xue Xiang giving them money, but they didn't want it. They already felt guilty for leaving their unit and pursuing better opportunities, even though they didn't say anything out loud. The group repeatedly said that they didn't need money in the army, and besides, weren't there allowances? Zhu Shijun joked after hearing this, "Your monthly allowance of eight yuan can barely cover your cigarette expenses, let alone buying decent cigarettes like Zhongnanhai. Just take it, don't be so proud." Xue Xiang also said, "Even with the allowance, we can still have some fun during holidays and build good relationships with our superiors, who knows, maybe we'll get promoted in the future." Li Hongjun and the others couldn't refuse anymore, so they accepted the money, but didn't know what to say. When the train started moving, the group tightly held hands at the window, each person's face covered in tears.

  It's been a whole month since Li Hongjun and the others enlisted, and their sadness has gradually faded. During this month, the three of them wrote many letters to Xue Xiang, all sent to his home, saying that they were scattered in different new recruit battalions, and that life was really too bitter and tiring. They said that if it weren't for the money Xue Xiang gave them before, they might not have been able to hold on. Lianlian complained that he shouldn't have come to be a soldier, and that it would have been better to stay in the 49th city as a hooligan. The three of them laughed after reading this. Among them, Sun Qianjin was the most resentful, saying that he had simply found trouble for no reason. Lei Xiaotian proudly boasted that he had foreseen this and should have followed San Ge to enjoy meat and wine.

  Xue Xiang, of course, couldn't let Lei Xiaotian and Kang Tong idle at home. He found Li Tianming, the military representative of the Dongcheng District Public Security Bureau, and stuffed Lei Xiaotian and Kang Tong in to become auxiliary police officers. At that time, the public security organs were not paralyzed like the first three years of the Great Movement, but they were still under military control, with the highest leader being the military representative rather than the director. The military representative of Dongcheng District was Xue An yuan's old subordinate, and during the Unification War, he had served as the commander of Xue An yuan's guard company. Later, he was transferred to other troops and eventually became the military representative of Dongcheng, a position he had held for over three years. Xue Xiang's reputation in Dongcheng was also inseparable from his ability to frequently bail people out. When Xue Xiang said he wanted to arrange for two people to become auxiliary police officers, Li Tianming didn't hesitate and told him to bring the people over to take photos, fill out forms, and establish their files. Just like that, Lei Xiaotian and Kang Tong transformed into "violent elements" of the violent organs, successfully infiltrating the revolutionary ranks. Lei Xiaotian and Kang Tong were extremely satisfied with this identity, wearing their auxiliary police uniforms and showing off their might every day.