Siheyuan: Qin Huairu is a lucky charm for her husband

Chapter 2224 Professor Chang Gains a Lot

This old rascal cares about his reputation, so he naturally wouldn't tell acquaintances that he's here to sell things.

However, Lin Chen wouldn't let him get away with it. Since he'd run into him, he might as well take advantage of the situation! He could make some money off him anyway...

"Oh, I just brought my uncle out for a stroll today. He wants to pick up a few trinkets to take home. Uncle Niu, do you have any connections to get the real thing?"

The old man, without mentioning Lin Chen, proactively stated his purpose. Master Niu glanced at the people beside Lin Chen and chuckled. After all, he was there to sell something; wasn't this a coincidence?

"So that's how it is, hello comrade! I do have a few good things here that I'd like to find a kindred spirit for. Comrade Lin, please come with me."

Old Niu was a regular here, so he wouldn't carry anything with him. He then led Lin Chen and the other man away from the crowd…

Lin Chen whispered something to his father-in-law, and then the two of them followed.

After winding through two narrow alleys, Uncle Niu stopped.

"Comrade Lin, wait a moment, I'll knock on the door."

"I believe in Uncle Niu, go!"

After knocking rhythmically a few times in front of the courtyard gate, the gate quickly opened from the inside.

"Comrade Lin, please!"

Without hesitation, Lin Chen led his father-in-law directly into the courtyard.

As soon as the three entered the courtyard, Uncle Niu immediately changed his address to Secretary Lin.

"Since we're all acquaintances, Secretary Lin, I won't beat around the bush. My friend is looking to sell a few paintings and calligraphy pieces and some small trinkets. Take a look and if you like anything, just name your price."

Lin Chen first glanced at his father-in-law, then shook hands with Uncle Niu.

"Don't worry, Uncle Niu, as long as my uncle likes it, the price is negotiable. I guarantee I'll give you a fair price; we're not short of money! Even tickets are fine..."

After a few chuckles, Uncle Niu took out the treasures he wanted to sell. These were all things he had collected in his early years, but now he had to reluctantly part with them to make a living.

To save face, Mr. Niu only said he was helping a friend handle it...

Professor Chang is a professional; without Master Niu's introduction, he could tell that the painting was an authentic late work by Shi Wan Laoren, one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea has passed

"Xiao Chen, take a look too. The things Comrade Niu brought are all quite good."

Lin Chen had already scanned them! These were all genuine, though not rare treasures. But they were perfect for his father-in-law to play with…

"I'm not watching! I trust that Master Niu won't fool us..."

Lin Chen said that not looking at it showed his trust in his father-in-law's judgment, which also gave Niu Ye face.

After a hearty laugh, Old Niu took out a large sandalwood pen holder. Pen holders made of small-leaf sandalwood, twenty centimeters in diameter, are a favorite among cultured people. Old Niu certainly knew how to cater to their tastes…

"I think this comrade is also a cultured person, so consider this a gift from me. No matter how many items are traded today, I'll give them all to this comrade. Consider this little trinket as a token of friendship."

It was normal for Master Niu to curry favor with Lin Chen; he had gotten into fights with the people in the courtyard several times... Lin Chen never investigated it further.

Today, Lin Chen is trying to make his father-in-law happy, so naturally he won't take Niu Ye's things for nothing.

"Since you're so generous, sir, we won't stand on ceremony! My uncle will take them all; name your price!"

Professor Chang had originally planned to buy just one or two items, but his son-in-law bought the whole set. Excluding the pen holder, these six paintings and calligraphy pieces, along with the two jade artifacts, are quite valuable.

Even Master Niu didn't expect the other party to want to take everything away; Secretary Lin is too generous!

"Since Secretary Lin has said so, I'll just go for it and give you this price. How about it?"

Lin Chen had seen these items before entering the hospital; normally, they would cost around a thousand yuan to take all nine. Now, Master Niu was asking for only eight hundred, which was truly a painful decision!

At this moment, Professor Chang hesitated. He only wanted to take the calligraphy and paintings of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. He didn't want anything else! He was worried that his wife would scold him for spending eight hundred yuan of his son-in-law's money.

"Xiao Chen, how about..."

At this moment, Lin Chen, who was drinking tea, got up and picked up the large pen holder.

“Deal, Mr. Niu is indeed generous. Your friend should have gotten more for these things than this, and he even lost money after storing them for several years! Here’s what we’ll do: I don’t have enough money with me, so I’ll give Mr. Niu some more national grain coupons to compensate him. That way, you’ll have something to show him when you see him.”

The refined grains that Qin Huairu and the others ate were all produced by the space itself, but Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, and their families ate grains from the grain station.

Maintaining one or two subordinates is fine, but having hundreds requires careful consideration. Anyway, having two meals a day in the space is no problem for Lin Chen.

Because of the large number of people involved, Lin Chen never took advantage of the country, since resources were limited. If Lin's subordinates ate more, others would starve... So every year, Lin Chen would secretly subsidize the East District Grain Station with a batch of grain, since the station manager was a member of the Lin family and no outsiders would know.

Old Niu originally had ten items to sell, but it took him more than ten days to sell just one.

Old Niu was exhausted from staying up all night every day, so now that Lin Chen wanted to buy everything, he was naturally willing to sell at a low price. Losing a little money was fine; he'd consider it a good thing to build a good relationship...

"Secretary Lin, you're too kind. Well... then I'll thank you on behalf of my friend!"

Old Niu could easily earn a year's salary as a level seven worker just by selling a few items. As long as he didn't mess around, it would be enough to feed a family of three for two years...

Now it's Professor Chang who's embarrassed. He doesn't dare to reveal his relationship with Lin Chen in front of Master Niu. Now that his son-in-law has spent so much money on him, how is he going to explain it to his wife and daughter when they get back?

After packing up the goods, both parties settled the payment and goods. Lin Chen then made an appointment with Master Niu to have a drink together at the tavern before leaving Huangchenggen.

Professor Chang only expressed his concerns after getting back into the car.

"Lin Chen, how much do you earn a month? This will cost you several months' salary."

Chang Xingyu hadn't told his parents that the Lin family had more money than they could spend, so it was normal for Professor Chang to be worried.

"Dad, don't worry! I make about three hundred yuan a month with my allowance. I've also made some money by picking up bargains over the years. So it's all small change. I'll explain to Xiaoyu and Mom."

Professor Chang finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this; these things were more than his and his wife's annual salary. He knew he'd get scolded if he took them back; this son-in-law was truly remarkable.

Lin Chen returned with a full load, but Tong Zhi and his group did not have such a smooth journey.

When Da Zhuang and his group arrived, they couldn't open the door at all, which made the group of guys scratch their heads in frustration.

"What do we do now? It seems they've locked the door from the inside!"

The group assumed Yan Bugui and his men had locked the door, unaware that they had blocked it with the bed. Even if they tried to break it open, they couldn't...

"It seems tonight isn't a good time to act. Let's retreat and think of another plan."

Unable to open the door, the six men had to retreat, while the others inside had no idea Tong Zhi and his gang were coming. Having not slept well the night before, they were now sleeping like logs.

Tong Zhi and his group cursed under their breath as they went downstairs, but they stopped in their tracks as soon as they reached the first-floor corridor.

"Shh, Tongzi, Xiao Hu, look what that is."

The people walking in front immediately stopped and looked in the direction Da Zhuang pointed.

"ladder?"

Was it there when we came?

……