Chapter Seventeen: All-Expenses-Paid Tour

  He only mentioned that it wouldn't take long, and Qu Wen estimated that it shouldn't be too long either. He packed lightly with a thousand yuan in cash and two cards and followed him on the road.

  I just earned 500,000 and didn't dare to tell my parents. I made such a large sum of money in just 20 days of work, afraid that the two elderly people couldn't accept it for the time being. Anyway, the total retirement pension of the couple is more than 5,000 per month, which is enough for living and even enjoying a little bit.

  The next day, Qu Wen arrived at the company early in the morning, wearing a sporty outfit, carrying a denim backpack, and wearing a pair of Nike running shoes. He looked lively and spirited, just like a college student.

  Gu Quan saw him slightly frowning, although he was already in his twenties, but having not been in society for three years, he was still a novice, a greenhouse flower, lacking enough maturity. It seemed that taking on the heavy responsibility of caring for his precious granddaughter in the future was still a bit too much for him.

  That's why Quwen was allowed to come out and make a difference. Firstly, I wanted to teach him something practical, and secondly, I wanted to observe and temper him. Since the past few days, I have discovered that my beloved granddaughter seems to have an extraordinary affection for this silly boy, and Quwen is indeed a talented person, so I had the idea of cultivating him.

  "Master Gu, where are we going?" Qu Wen smiled and came to Gu's side. Young people often have a lively personality, and occasionally taking a long trip makes them exceptionally excited.

  Beijing.

  "What..."

  Qu Wen was stunned for a moment, but his heart was filled with joy. What a great opportunity! He had never been to the capital city before, so he might as well take advantage of this business trip to do some sightseeing on the company's dime.

  "Master Gu, let me help you with your bag!" Without spending a dime, Qu Wen was even more excited to take a trip around the capital. Before Master Gu could say anything, he had already helped him put the bag on his back. The weight of 20-30 kilograms on either side was nothing to him.

  With a calm and composed expression, she nodded slightly, her gentle nature was quite good among the younger generation.

  It only takes three hours to fly from Long City to Beijing, plus the time spent on the bus, and it's exactly 12 o'clock when arriving in Beijing. The temperature in Beijing in July is similar to that in a small southern city, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and scorching sunlight that can quickly make people sweat.

  As soon as he came out of the airport, a middle-aged man came up to greet him, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his face, with a shiny pompadour hairdo, dressed in a white shirt and dark blue trousers, with a slightly bulging beer belly, giving off an air of success.

  "Master, you always come without notice, why didn't you tell me in advance? You got on the plane and then called me."

  She was a bit proud and cold, and said to the middle-aged man with a hint of indifference: "What's wrong, didn't I notify you in advance? Can't you come pick me up?"

  "There isn't any, it's just that time is pressing and there wasn't enough time to prepare. At this hour, all the well-known wine houses are already packed with people."

  He glanced at the middle-aged man: "I'm not here to eat, let's go to your house for lunch and have a simple meal, and then we'll have a good dinner in the evening." He pointed to Qu Wen: "This little guy is called Qu Wen, I want to take him to stay in Beijing for a while. This is my senior apprentice, Bao Guoqiang."

  Bao Guoqiang carefully took a look at Qu Wen, his handsome face and straight figure full of vitality, unlike many young people nowadays who always slouch with their waists, in their early twenties but already hunched over like a shrimp, making one feel weak and sickly.

  Especially when Guquan said this, Bao Guoqiang was secretly shocked in his heart. In those years, Guquan had deliberately taken him to Beijing for a tour and taught him a lot of knowledge about antiques at Panjiayuan and Liulichang. After that, under Guquan's guidance, Bao Guoqiang spent ten years studying hard and finally became a new generation of connoisseurs in the industry. Now looking at his master's intention, it is likely that he plans to take this young man as an apprentice.

  "Hello, welcome to Beijing." Bao Guoqiang shook hands with them enthusiastically and led them to a BMW 720 series luxury sedan.

  More than an hour later, the car slowly drove into a courtyard called Beichizi Street.

  The Siheyuan is a unique architectural form in our country, with a elegant structure and clever layout. In the southeast, northwest, and northeast directions, a house is built to form a mouth shape, perfectly embodying the meaning of home. The Siheyuan buildings are mostly located in Beijing, either on bustling streets or in quiet alleys; they come in all sizes, scattered like stars, with large ones occupying several acres and small ones only a few meters wide; some are single-family homes, while others have multiple households or even dozens of families living together, forming a living environment that conforms to human psychological needs and brings neighbors closer together.

  Twenty-three years ago, people living in quadrangle courtyards were mostly ordinary citizens. Whoever had two coins wanted to move into high-rise buildings, and the quadrangle courtyard became a civilian residence at that time. However, after the reform and opening up, with the development of real estate economy, the demand for villas and independent living environment from the rich made the quadrangle courtyard hot again. Until now, unless it is the original resident, people who move in later are basically wealthy and have a deep background.

  Bao Guoqiang's siheyuan belongs to the middle four, that is, a class of medium-sized siheyuan. In addition to the front door, there are two wing rooms on both sides, and four rooms in the front, which can accommodate eight households. I don't know when he bought it, if according to today's market price, without tens of millions, it's impossible to take it down. After renovation, the courtyard has a fake mountain pool, a leisure pavilion, and a rattan chair, looking quiet and peaceful, comfortable and cozy.

  As they entered the courtyard, a refined and elegant middle-aged woman walked out of the main house and exclaimed with enthusiasm upon seeing Gu Quan: "Master, you've arrived!"

  Gu Zhanchang faintly murmured: "Where's Xiaolin? Why can't I see her?"

  "Xiao Lin has to take the university entrance exam next year, so she's been having extra tutoring classes and hasn't been coming home for lunch. I didn't know Master was coming, so there wasn't enough time to prepare anything special, just asked Auntie to whip up a few small dishes. And who is this?"

  "He's Qu Wen, he'll be staying with me at your place for a few days. This is Guo Qiang's wife, Miao Zhen."

  According to Gu Quan's introduction, Qu Wen hurriedly called out: "Sister Qian."

  "Ah!"

  Qu Wen's sister called out, making Miao Zhen's heart feel sweet and tender. Given their age difference, she could almost be Qu Wen's mother, but this way of addressing her made her seem much younger. Earlier, when she heard on the phone that Shifu was coming, she hastily asked the nanny to go buy some good dishes. As the three entered the house, the meal was just ready, and she said excitedly: "It's hot outside, come in first."

  It's been more than four hours since breakfast, and Qu Wen's stomach had long been sounding the horn. As soon as he entered the house, he smelled a tempting aroma of food, and if it weren't for his embarrassment, he would have pounced on it and swept away all the delicious dishes on the table.

  Although he was at Bao Guoqiang's home, Gu Quan was his master, and as a master, he had to wait for Gu Quan to move his chopsticks before anyone else dared to eat.

  It seemed that Gu Quan had sensed Qu Wen's worries, so he didn't say much and sat down directly: "Don't stand around, let's eat first. Awu, you don't have to be polite."

  Politeness is just a surface-level thing, once on the battlefield, Qu Wen doesn't know what politeness means. Gu Quan and the other two were slowly eating and chatting, when Qu Wen finished off two bowls of rice, scratched his head, looked embarrassed, and held out an empty bowl: "Qiang Ge, can I have another bowl?"

  "Come on, how can you not? Young people should be like this, eating more to have energy. In my day when I followed Master to Beijing, my appetite was no smaller than yours." Bao Guoqiang said with a smile, turning around to let the nanny help Qu Wen refill his bowl of rice.

  Bao Guoqiang is humble and modest, although he hired a nanny, but following the teachings of his parents and treating everyone equally, he also lets the nanny sit at the same table during meals.

  He chatted with Qu Wen for a couple of sentences, then turned to Gu Quan: "Master, this time you come to Beijing just play around, let me take Ah Wen away."

  Bao Guoqiang was born to know that his master's personality is strong and stubborn, and he is over 70 years old but not at all willing to show weakness. He made an excuse to let him travel everywhere, actually it was because he was worried, afraid that he would overwork.

  "What's wrong, do you think I'm too old to take care of myself?" Gu Quan glared at him and continued, "You've already made a name for yourself in Beijing, and as soon as you step into Panjiayuan or Liulichang, people recognize your face from afar. If you follow me, what else can he learn? I have my own plans for this trip, so stop tagging along behind me."

  Bao Guoqiang knew it would be like this and didn't say anything more, so as not to upset his master: "Alright, I'll just take care of your food and drink."

  After lunch, it was already past two o'clock. Gu Quan, being older, had to take a good rest in the afternoon. Bao Guoqiang arranged for him to stay in the guest room and didn't go out again that day, giving Qu Wen half a day of free time.

  Unlike Gu Quanzhong, it was just after two o'clock in the afternoon when Qu Wen's spirit was at its peak. After bidding farewell to Bao Guoqiang, he came alone to Panjiayuan, the largest antique market in Beijing.