Rebirth of the Forbidden City: The Troublemaker in the Courtyard

This middle-aged man, who looked quite elegant, invited Ning Yuan and Zhong Yuemin into the house and sat down, then poured each of them a cup of hot water.

Ning Yuan and his friend were not the reserved type, so after thanking him, they sat down, picked up their glasses and started drinking.

"Young comrades, what do you want to talk to Professor Qiao about?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.

It seems that curiosity is a common trait among all human beings.

Zhong Yuemin looked at Ning Yuan but did not respond. He was not afraid that their speculation would be leaked. After all, they were veterans and had a high status in the circle. If there were anyone who was so foolish as to dare to offend them, Zhong Yuemin would not mind teaching them a lesson.

He mainly felt that he had come here to accompany Ning Yuan, so he could just let Ning Yuan handle it himself.

Ning Yuan slowly put down the cup in his hand and spoke to the middle-aged man.

"We've met Mr. Qiao a few times at Lao Mo's Restaurant. I heard he's quite knowledgeable about antiques, so we came here to ask for his advice!"

After hearing these half-true and half-false words, the middle-aged man also believed them.

He smiled and nodded, then continued what Ning Yuan said.

"Mr. Qiao's knowledge of history and modern history seems to be well-known. I've also heard that Mr. Qiao is fond of some of the interesting things left by our ancestors."

Ning Yuan and Zhong Yuemin looked at each other without saying anything, and pricked up their ears to listen to him continue, but the middle-aged man suddenly stopped chattering, his smile disappeared, and his face turned serious.

After looking up and down at Ning Yuan Zhong Yuemin's attire, he smiled awkwardly and said, "You guys drink some water. Professor Qiao should be back around noon!"

Ning Yuan understood what was going on as soon as he saw the uncle's expression. He must have thought that he and Zhong Yuemin were thieves who came in advance to find out whether Mr. Qiao had any hidden secret tools.

Although they did come to investigate Mr. Qiao's background, the purpose of this investigation was fundamentally different from coming here purely to cause damage.

Ning Yuan and the others just wanted to find out whether Mr. Qiao was secretly trading antiques, calligraphy and paintings abroad.

According to Ning Yuan's idea, as long as Mr. Qiao keeps the items for himself to play with and appreciate, they will continue to cooperate for a long time.

If he really has other intentions, Ning Yuan will not only not cooperate with him anymore, but will have to bring people over to make him spit out the good stuff he has eaten.

Thinking of this, Ning Yuan became more frank. He took out another jade Guanyin statue that he had kept from his bag and placed it on the table.

"I've already given you a glass of water, but I haven't had the chance to ask you what your name is!" Ning Yuan asked the gentle and elegant middle-aged man while displaying the Jade Guanyin.

"Young comrade, you are too polite. My name is Liu Haidong. I just came back from Mei Country two years ago to support the construction of the motherland!" After introducing himself, the middle-aged man shook hands with Ning Yuan.

"Hello, Uncle Liu, this is my buddy, his name is Zhong Yuemin, and my name is Ning Yuan!" Ning Yuan also shook hands with Liu Haidong and introduced himself.

"Uncle Liu, let's be frank. We're not here to cause trouble. We're really here to look at something with Mr. Qiao. If you know anything, just tell us!"

As Ning Yuan spoke, he pushed the jade Guanyin statue on the table, which was the size of an adult's fist, towards Liu Haidong.

After listening to Ning Yuan's words, Liu Haidong felt relieved, especially after seeing that they actually brought the items with them.

His hand unconsciously picked up the small jade Guanyin, looked at it carefully, and couldn't help but admire it.

"Good stuff, really good stuff. These are the crystallization of the wisdom of our ancestors. Every time I think of those... ~"

The monologue suddenly stopped again. Liu Haidong came back to his senses and put down the Jade Guanyin in his hand awkwardly, changing the subject again.

"Professor Qiao really likes these things. It is said that his father was also a high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty and he also has a lot of experience with these things."

Liu Haidong's turn was very abrupt, but there was no way. If he continued, he would start to talk about that little thing again. Looking at Ning Yuan and Zhong Yuemin's attire, wasn't this what they did? If he continued like this, it would really be like pointing at a monk and scolding a bald donkey.

Ning Yuan and Zhong Yuemin naturally heard Liu Haidong's words clearly, but neither of them said anything. After all, since last year, this group of passionate young people have really personally made countless good things.

Of course, needless to say, Ning Yuan has become a different person at this moment, and under Ning Yuan's guidance, Zhong Yuemin has gradually realized the value of these things.

So the two pretended not to hear clearly. Ning Yuan asked, "Since their family was a high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty, how did Professor Qiao become an overseas Chinese?"

"It's a long story. After the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, Professor Qiao's grandfather felt deeply that the imperial court was corrupt. In anger, he resigned from his official position and returned home. I heard that he was invited by a foreign friend he had met at the Foreign Affairs Bureau. After the family sold their ancestral property, they went to Singapore, and later their business flourished."

Liu Haidong and Professor Qiao actually have some sympathy for each other. They are both wandering wanderers returning to their ancestral homeland.

The two are neighbors and colleagues, so they have some understanding of each other's family background.

"So that's why Professor Qiao is returning to China this time?" Ning Yuan suddenly realized. In modern history, there was indeed a wave of studying abroad in the southern Fujian area, so it roughly matched the facts.

(During World War II, Singapore was captured by the Japanese in the winter of 1942, but at the same time, they launched the Pearl Harbor attack, which led to the US military's defeat and subsequent defeats in the Pacific. After the war, because the US and Britain took over Singapore's construction, Singapore's reconstruction speed was very fast after 1945, and a large number of wealthy Chinese people emerged.)

"Professor Qiao's work is confidential. In recent years, many overseas Chinese like them have returned to serve their motherland after completing their studies. Of course, not everyone has such a rich family as theirs, haha!"

Liu Haidong said that Mr. Qiao still talked a lot about his family affairs, but as soon as he talked about work, he immediately became tight-lipped.

But at this point, Ning Yuan understood. It seemed that Mr. Qiao had indeed returned with great enthusiasm, and the things sold to him were unlikely to flow out of the country.

Zhong Yuemin also heard it clearly, and nudged Ning Yuan with his elbow, who nodded.

The trip for the two of them was not in vain. They learned about Mr. Qiao's background and position, which was an explanation.

After getting up and saying goodbye to Liu Haidong, I just walked out of the house and coincidentally ran into Mr. Qiao, who was still as imposing as ever, just entering the yard.