Chapter 45: Having Friends Come from Afar

  A happy night passed, and in my dreams, Su Ya Xin's pure, lovely and sweet face kept appearing. When I woke up, it felt like I had a good dream that I hadn't had in over 20 years. The only thing missing was not having someone to lean on when getting out of bed in the morning.

  Promoted to consultant, Qu Wen no longer needs to punch in and out like others, living a life of two points and one line. He has ample time to arrange his schedule freely. This is also what Guquan wants, hoping that he can use this time to continuously enrich himself and perfect himself.

  The lyrics are clear in his heart, no matter whether it's for his own future, to repay Gu Quan's kindness, his parents' support, or Su Yaxin's love, he must keep moving forward to live up to everyone's expectations.

  After simply having breakfast, I originally wanted to spend the day reading books. Just as I opened the book, I suddenly received a call from Gu Quan, saying that Zhao Haifeng would arrive at the airport later and hoped he could pick him up.

  The master's orders cannot be delayed, so I grabbed a piece of clothing and hailed a taxi downstairs, heading straight to Longcheng Airport.

  The airport in Longcheng is not big, and there are not many flights a day, so it's not necessary to hold up a sign like in big cities. As Zhao Haifeng followed the sparse crowd out, Qu Wen couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.

  "What's with you being all wrapped up like a rice dumpling, are you hatching chicks?"

  Zhao Haifeng wore a leather jacket and trousers, a blue shirt with a tie, over 1.7 meters tall, with a straight waist, very much like a successful man and a model. Unfortunately, being handsome also means being unlucky.

  Compared to Beijing, Longcheng is still like a warm oven for nearly eleven months. A thin T-shirt and casual pants are standard equipment, if you add a leather jacket, it's strange not to sweat.

  Zhao Haifeng glared at Qu Wen with a fierce gaze: "How was I supposed to know it's so hot here, don't you have winter?"

  "No!" Qu Wen shook his head. For northerners, Long City really didn't have winter. When the north was below minus ten or even twenty degrees, Long City was only around six or seven degrees, which was already what locals considered winter.

  "However, it's you, how did you suddenly think of coming here."

  Zhao Haifeng's luggage was simple, just a small backpack. He rubbed his temples with his hands: "Master said that I couldn't learn more things by just staying in the capital, so he told me to go out and take a look around. I didn't know where to go for the time being, so I came to you guys. I can follow Master to learn some things and also find you as company. If you don't welcome me, I'll buy a return ticket."

  Looking at Zhao Haifeng's sweating profusely, Qu Wen was still laughing non-stop: "Now that you're here, don't think about leaving. Coincidentally, we're going to hold a new Stone Festival, and there will be many rare stones for sale. Maybe you can find some treasures among them."

  "Well, this is also one of my goals." Zhao Haifeng replied readily, as if he had planned it long ago.

  The stone culture of Longcheng can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty or even further. In 815 AD, the great writer Liu Zongyuan was demoted and served as a governor here. Seeing the stones at the foot of Longbi Mountain in Longcheng, he found that they were fine-grained, glossy, with overlapping patterns like clouds, bright colors, pure black and shiny, making them an excellent material for making inkstones. He recorded this in his article "A Record of Scenic Spots near the Capital": "The waters of the Zhen River flow from north to east, all under the big wall. Below it are many beautiful stones that can be used to make inkstones."

  Liu Zongyuan later had some unusual stones collected and made into exquisite inkstones, which he gave to his close friend Liu Yuxi.

  Liu Yuxi got the inkstone and couldn't bear to put it down, and in "Thanking Liu Zihou for sending a layered stone inkstone", he replied and highly praised the "Dragon Wall Willow Inkstone", from then on the reputation of Longcheng's strange stone spread throughout the world.

  After the reform and opening up, with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the enthusiasm for stone appreciation and play in Longcheng has also risen, affecting many countries around the world. Every year, countless people come to sell stones and collect stones here.

  To expand the unique stone culture and city reputation of Longcheng, a 30,000-square-meter Stone City was built in the city in 1999. The Stone Festival is held every two years to showcase the unique charm of various stones to the world through Longcheng.

  According to Gu Quan's request, Qu Wen arranged Zhao Haifeng in the best four-star hotel in the city. Accompanied him for an afternoon stroll in the city, and finally went to pick up Su Yaxin from work together to go to Gu Quan's home.

  When he saw the beauty, men couldn't help but take a second look. But as soon as Qu Wen said she was his girlfriend, coupled with his furious expression, Zhao Haifeng immediately withdrew his gaze.

  "I didn't expect Master's granddaughter to be so beautiful, you little scamp has got the best of both worlds."

  Qu Wen clenched his fist and said, "You dare to look at my woman, you're asking for a beating."

  "How dare you! You're my senior master, which makes her my junior mistress. Can't I even look at the road?"

  The two of them were too busy laughing and joking, and for a moment they didn't notice Su Yaxin's face had turned red like an overripe apple, almost to the point of bleeding. Qu Wen's words were like pouring hundreds of kilograms of honey into her, although she felt embarrassed, but in her heart, it was sweet and pleasant.

  The Gu's house was originally quite large, over 130 square meters, but it was filled with antiques, paintings, and countless books, making it feel somewhat cramped when there were more people.

  Gu Zhong didn't fear anyone daring to come here and rob him, because he lived in the ZF compound, a house purchased through connections with good friends. From the compound's main gate to his home, there were two security checks, without an insider's explanation and guidance, ordinary people simply couldn't get in.

  Having seen Qu Wen's appetite, Gu Quan had his wife prepare a big table of dishes early on. Su Ya Xin was very obedient and helped out in the kitchen, causing Qu Wen to nod repeatedly in approval.

  "When looking for a girlfriend, look for someone like this; when marrying a wife, still marry someone like this!"

  Gu Zhong has lived for over 70 years, with rich life experiences. From last night, she noticed that her granddaughter was a bit off. When she returned home, her face was slightly flushed, and joy was written all over her face, like a blooming flower in spring. Unfortunately, she was very tight-lipped, only saying that she had dinner with Qu Wen and didn't say anything else.

  A meal can make someone so happy, even if Gu Quan were to die, he wouldn't believe it. He thought there must be some hidden reason behind this, a big one at that. Coincidentally, Qu Wen came over for dinner today, and quietly pulled him aside, saying in a serious tone: "Ah Wen, tell me the truth, what did you do to Ya Hua last night?"

  This matter Su Yaxin was too shy to say, Qu Wen actually didn't want to talk about it either, they were both first-timers, their faces were all red, and when asked by their elders, they felt just as ashamed as Su Yaxin. After humming for a while, he smiled foolishly and said: "We... actually this matter shouldn't be hidden from Master, Yaxin agreed to be my girlfriend, you old man don't be unhappy."

  "What?!"

  Gu Zhong was taken aback, but he didn't have time to be happy about it. He cleared his throat and put on a serious expression, saying sternly: "You young people's business, I don't want to interfere with as an old man. Since you've talked about it, take it seriously and don't bully my family's Ya Heng."

  "Don't worry, Master. Yaxin is the best girl I've ever met, and I won't let her down." Qu Wen's heart was greatly relieved, knowing that Su Yaxin had lost both parents at a young age, and her closest relatives were her grandparents. Now that Gu Quan hadn't objected, it seemed that meeting the parents was basically a done deal.

  Gu Quan didn't say a word, just smiled and nodded, letting Qu Wen join the table for dinner. He even intentionally gave his partner a wink, deliberately letting Qu Wen sit next to Su Yaxin.

  Gu Hui's wife, Jia Jing, had always heard her husband say that the new apprentice was very good and matched their precious granddaughter perfectly. Now that she saw him, after carefully looking at him for a while, she couldn't help but nod in satisfaction and said in a low voice: "The young man is not bad, indeed matching Ya Xin."

  Su Ya Xin didn't hear the sentence, but Qu Wen heard it clearly. Since Ling Jue's recovery, not to mention how much stronger he had become, his five senses were far clearer than ordinary people, and even if a needle fell on the ground, he could discover it immediately.

  After chatting for a while, Gu Hui finally brought the topic back on track: "Haifeng, what did Guo Qiang say to you when he came?"

  Zhao Haifeng put down the chopsticks in his hand, with a serious expression: "Master said that staying in Beijing can no longer learn much, let me come out and take a walk, to find treasures among the people by myself. Otherwise, I will only be an appraiser for my whole life and cannot become a true collector."

  "Hmm! Collecting antiques, appraisal is one aspect, treasure hunting is another, buying and selling is yet another. If you only know how to tell genuine from fake but not the market value, you can't become a great collector. Relying solely on auctions will lead to bankruptcy even with a mountain of gold and silver. On the other hand, searching for treasures in the countryside not only broadens one's experience but also brings unexpected gains if luck is on your side."

  What Mr. Gu said is reasonable, at auctions, a casual item can be tens of millions less or hundreds of millions more, if not for the family's extremely strong financial foundation and exceptional ability to make money, who would dare to buy things recklessly in auction houses? Moreover, not everything sold at auction houses is genuine, especially some small domestic auction houses have an even lower reputation.

  "So I thought for a long time and felt that Little Shifu's luck is not bad, so I came to borrow some luck from him, and also take the opportunity to visit the Qishi Festival in Longcheng, maybe I can dig up some treasures here first."

  "Then just stay in Longcheng for now, this stone appreciation may not be as good as jade jewelry, but it also has a certain value. After mastering the stone appreciation, you can become an expert in the industry and earn a lot of money. After the Stone Festival is over, you and Awen will go to the Southwest together. In previous years, basically all of them were dug up in the Northeast and South, only the Southwest has not been thoroughly dug up, maybe we can find something."

  Considering all this, he had some personal thoughts in mind. Qu Wen and his granddaughter were just starting out, and they couldn't be forced apart again. They needed to give young people more time together for their feelings to solidify. Moreover, he was getting older and wouldn't always be able to take Qu Wen around himself. With Zhao Haifeng following them, they could take care of each other on the road and avoid accidents. Besides, with the Zhao family's background, most problems could be resolved.

  As soon as he heard that he had to go on a long trip, Qu Wen's heart felt a thousand regrets. He still wanted to spend more time with Su Yaxin, and it would be best if they could blossom into something. Now, he was afraid that this dream would have to be temporarily put on hold. He hastily ate a few mouthfuls of rice, as if every second counted.

  "Master, can I take Yaxin to watch a movie later?"

  Gu Quan and his wife exchanged a glance, then laughed: "As long as you're back by 11 o'clock, tomorrow go with Hai Zhao to the Dream Stone Studio in Qishi City and tell the boss that I'm busy for the next two days. Naturally, I'll attend on the day of the Qishi Festival."

  "Alright." Qu Wen responded readily and hastily turned to Zhao Haifeng: "Then I won't bother you, go downstairs and get a ride yourself later, tomorrow morning I'll find you at the hotel."

  In front of Gu Quanzhong, Zhao Haifeng didn't dare to make a scene. He had the urge to strangle Qu Wen to death in his heart. Without a good expression, he waved his hand: "Leave, you this guy who values lust over friendship!"