Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 99 Taobao

Chapter 99: Treasure Hunting

"Sweetheart, why are you so beautiful? What’s rarer, you’re just so adorable!"

Shen Yiguang was definitely a master at flirting.

Minmin hummed, but still couldn’t resist curving the corners of her mouth upwards.

As they stepped out of the room, Shen Yiguang’s cool outfit surprised Shen Yixiang and her sisters for a moment, then they instantly turned into fangirls, "Brother, you look really sharp today!"

"Where did you buy it? Let me see, it looks so good! I’ll buy one for your brother-in-law when I get a chance."

"Sister, our brother-in-law isn’t as tall as our brother, brother-in-law is both dark and short, wearing that would look like he fell into coal, might as well call him a wooden post, I bet someone would believe it. Unlike our brother, who has style when he walks out."

Shen Yidong looked at Shen Yixiang and frowned, "Yixiang, your brother does look sharp, but there’s no need to put down your brother-in-law like that."

He saw the two sisters were still uneasy because of the argument they had during the meal just now.

Shen Yiguang didn’t stop it and told everyone he needed to go to the county to buy stuff.

Shen Yixiang wanted to go too, "I haven’t been to the county in a while either, brother, take me with you."

Shen Yiguang refused, "There’s something your sister-in-law and I have to do, if you need anything, I’ll bring it back."

Shen Yixiang pouted her lips.

"Why go there? Let the couple be together, how can we intrude? Sometimes we need to know our place, Yixiang," Shen Yidong took the opportunity to lecture his younger sister.

Shen Yixiang’s face turned red, and she glared at him.

Minmin didn’t bother with their sisters’ tiff, though Shen Yiguang had already told the Shen elders about going to the county, but out of respect for the elderly, Minmin still made a special trip inside to inform them once more.

Chen Guizhi smiled kindly and instructed her, "Go early and return early, remember to wear enough clothes, and have Yiguang buy anything you like."

Minmin cheerfully agreed.

Shen Yidong watched her, feeling yet another bout of envy.

Shen Yiguang wanted to look at the Xinhua Bookstore area, but Minmin suggested, "Let’s go to the waste recycling station instead, they should have some books there."

She only vaguely remembered later that during the ’campaign,’ many books, antiques, and the like had ended up in the recycling station, truly a horrific waste.

Shen Yiguang looked at her, raised his eyebrows.

"How do you know?"

Minmin counted on her fingers and shook her head, "I figured it out."

Shen Yiguang smiled and shook his head.

The recycling station in the county is state-owned, and the staff there did not even bat an eye when Yang PeiMin and Shen Yiguang said they were going in to look for things. Obviously, they were not the first to do so. They pointed them to an area, "Go and search on your own."

Yang PeiMin, well-prepared, took out tattered gloves, masks, and fire tongs and handed them to Shen Yiguang, "Put these on."

Shen Yiguang looked at her in surprise and then smiled, "Minmin, what other novel things do you have in your belly?" As he spoke, he reached out and touched the top of her head, this girl who always brought him surprises.

Yang PeiMin smiled without saying a word.

This wasn’t anything novel; it was just that others weren’t as particular as she was.

Shen Yiguang’s affection for her and his casual encounter made him sigh.

The two successfully scavenged some exercise books, textbooks, and other books. Yang PeiMin also found several sets of complete antique paintings and calligraphies. Shen Yiguang, seeing her interest, also fetched quite a number for her, although she did not take some that had no value for collection.

Shen Yiguang was interested in the wood, "Fourth Uncle was a carpenter by trade, skilled in making furniture and even carving flowers. People from faraway places would seek him out to make furniture for them, especially for weddings to make wardrobes and beds, managing to produce a set of patterns from one go. There were even those who came to become his apprentices, bringing gifts and almost breaking his doorstep with their visits, and it was joked that his daughter’s matchmaking prospects couldn’t compare to his fame."

"But now that he’s getting older, he gradually accepts fewer jobs... When I was a child, I loved playing at his house. A simple piece of wood in his hands, after shavings flew about, turned into a delicate piece of furniture... Fourth Uncle, seeing how much I liked it, simply kept me by his side and taught me hands-on."

"If he saw these pieces of wood here being used as firewood, wouldn’t it keep him up at night?" Shen Yiguang murmured to Yang PeiMin softly.

He was holding a piece of deep, lacquer-like broken table leg, pointing it out to her, "This is rosewood, commonly known as ’small-leaf sandalwood.’ The grain of small-leaf sandalwood is not very obvious, look here, those who don’t know wouldn’t notice and would just use it like any other wood. Initially, small-leaf sandalwood is orange-red in color, turning to deep purple like lacquer over time, almost invisible rings. This piece in our hand already has some age to it. Rosewood is considered a top-quality wood, very fine and easily polished, emitting a unique fragrance when smelled closely, but just faintly. If there’s no fragrance or if it’s too strong, it’s probably fake."

Shen Yiguang spoke with stars in his eyes, spirited and radiant, looking both handsome and sunny.

Yang PeiMin didn’t understand timber, she blinked and just stood there, deciding it was better to just enjoy the view.

Shen Yiguang dove into the pile of furniture scrap, even finding carvings made of Agarwood and educating her about them. Yang PeiMin joined in enthusiastically.

Whenever she found something potentially valuable, she would quickly take it to Shen Yiguang to confirm. When he said it wasn’t, she wasn’t discouraged; when he confirmed it, she looked as if she was gathering the entire night sky’s stars in her watery eyes, feeling as if she had captured the whole world.

Shen Yiguang was deeply touched, his eyes slightly moist. At that moment, he really wanted to hold her in his arms, embed her into his body, carry her wherever he went, never to be separated.

After bartering for a while and picking out numerous broken table legs and wood pieces, the uncle from the recycling station came over, examined them, and asked hoarsely, "What’s all this for? Didn’t you say you were looking for textbooks?"

Yang PeiMin smiled, "Uncle, it’s like this, we just got married and are tight on money. There’s not a decent piece of furniture in our house. Although these have broken legs and corners, if we fix and nail them, we could still use them. The rest, we’ll just burn as firewood. Of course, we won’t take these for free; you give us a discount, and we’ll pay."

Shen Yiguang stood by, smiling as he watched her.

The uncle’s eyes flashed with happiness, "Okay, these are indeed damaged, but they come from illustrious backgrounds, used by wealthy families in the past. Fixed up, they could be even sturdier than some furniture over there. And for the books in your hands, how about 50 cents?"

Yang PeiMin promptly paid him, also got some cloth strips from him to secure the wood, and Shen Yiguang carried them back.

Yang PeiMin, with her hands swinging freely, followed behind him and then noticed her man’s brand-new clothes were stained.

She quickly checked her own, she was wearing a plain cotton outfit she’d worn a few times before and it, too, was unfortunately stained. She couldn’t help but slap her forehead, wondering why she wore something so nice to pick over garbage. In the end, it still had to be washed by herself.