Volume 3 Summer Rain Chapter 0322 Circle
As soon as Ma Modu entered the room, he set his eyes on the two vases with flowers on the long table in the living room. If he was not mistaken, these two should be blue and white porcelain from the Ming Dynasty.
While playing cards, his eyes would occasionally glance at the two vases, then look elsewhere. After a while, he noticed that the painting in the middle of the long table was also extraordinary.
The content of the painting is a very common "Jiujiu Xiaohan Tu", but the technique seems to be very sophisticated and it might be the work of a famous artist.
Look at the shelf against the wall filled with videotapes, which clearly shows the extraordinary status of the owner.
"Nan Batian, where is your honey? Why can't I see it?"
Wang Li pulled the cigarette from his lips, and as he shook it, all the ashes fell on his thighs. He shook it casually, then turned to ask Nan Yi.
"He has a proper job."
"Oh, where do you work? If the job isn't good, I can arrange for you."
"Stop bragging, you don't even know how to live your life."
"I'm not exaggerating. It's hard to arrange for men, but there are plenty of places to arrange for women. Movie theaters, state-owned canteens, and non-staple food stores are all available."
Nan Yi said calmly, "21 years old, department level, you can arrange a good unit for me."
"Shh, think I'm talking nonsense." Wang Lu slapped his mouth and said, "College student, right?"
"She is my classmate, and she came back from studying in the United States."
"That's no wonder. I thought it was impossible for him to crawl so fast at such a young age. Which hole did he come from?"
"bank."
Nan Yi did not hide anything about Liu Zhen's work. For Wang Lu and other children from big courtyards, it might not be possible to get things done, but it was very easy to find out the background of a person working in the capital.
He has connections everywhere and can find out something about everything.
"Which bank? I'll go get a loan from her some other day."
"Universe Bank."
"Nonsense, is there such a bank?"
"You'll see it in a few days."
As soon as Wang Lu thought about it, he realized that the bank should still be in the preparation stage.
"Then Liu Zhen is the elder, a pioneer. He should not be too wild in the future."
“Is the word wild appropriate?”
"Who cares? Just listen and understand. Nan Batian, it seems like you are just a gigolo."
"If you get the chance in the future, I'll see if you'll eat it." Nan Yi said with a playful smile on his face.
"Nonsense, if there's food, of course I'll eat it. What's wrong with being a gigolo? It's not shameful. I say, Nan Batian, where were you the past two days? I called you several times, but no one answered."
"I'm going back to the village to take care of the crops. If I don't take good care of them, there will be a poor harvest next year."
"Oh, I forgot you were the monitor of the Earth Maintenance Team. When spring comes next year, remember to bring back some sweet potatoes. I haven't eaten roasted sweet potatoes for a long time."
"How could I possibly grow something as cheap as sweet potatoes? I only grow plants that are good at writing and climbing trees. I plant a climbing tree in the spring and harvest a bunch of scum in the fall."
"Hey, I just published an article in a magazine, and you know all this?"
"Oh, when did Wang the Rascal become a cultured person?"
"Don't be careful, don't be careful, don't praise your buddies, buddies can't help but be praised." Wang Qi said happily, took another cigarette from the cigarette box, then crumpled the cigarette box into a ball and threw it on the coffee table, "Do you have any cigarettes?"
"I don't smoke, where did the cigarettes come from? What do you smoke?"
"If you can buy it, buy 555. If you can't buy it, buy Hongtashan, the one with a white shell."
"You're really welcome."
Nan Yi glanced at the group of Beiqi brand cigarettes huddled together. The cigarettes cost only twenty-five cents or something.
"When I come to visit you, you have to serve me with good cigarettes and good wine."
Nan Yi called the tiger cub to the side and said, "Go buy a 555 and a Hongtashan. Go to the Friendship Store to buy them. There are too many fake ones out there."
As he said that, Nan Yi went to the drawer and took out a few foreign exchange coupons.
Wang Ju raised his eyes and saw the foreign exchange certificates in Nan Yi's hand, so he asked, "Nan Batian, do you have a way to exchange for foreign exchange certificates?"
"What are you asking? If you want to buy something, I'll give it to you at a one-to-one ratio. If you want to sell, you'd better give up and run your restaurant. It's just 2 cents profit, isn't it embarrassing?
By the way, is Ye Chengtuo in the store? The thing he asked me to find out has come to light. I found out that someone has a batch of them. They are 65 yuan each, which is quite cheap. "
"How are the things?" Wang Li asked as he put the playing cards on the coffee table.
"I didn't see him. I just made a few phone calls. It shouldn't be a bad idea. He's an acquaintance of an acquaintance. He won't cheat me."
"That's great. Is it in Yangcheng?"
"Well, tell Ye Chengtuo to call me and tell me how much he wants. I'll ask someone else to keep it and let him go down to inspect the goods and pay for it."
" What message do you need? I'll call him now. We've already bribed the old man in the communication room of the 301 Hospital. I'll call him and he'll help me call." Wang Lu said as he stood up and went straight to the phone on the long table without even asking Nan Yi.
After finishing the call, he sat back in his seat and picked up the playing cards. "Who's next?"
"You, a pair of cocks, do you want one?"
"Yes, why not? Four threes, can you afford it?" Wang Qi played cards for a while, then turned back to Nan Yi and said, "Seriously, Nan Batian, do you have any way? Introduce me, I'm going crazy with poverty."
"Isn't your restaurant doing well? You make three to five hundred a day, which means you make a lot of money in a month. What are you thinking about?"
"I earn a lot, but my expenses are high. Not to mention the three big items, I smoke and drink every day. I won't talk about the alcohol, but Erguotou is a lot of money. I spend several dollars a day, which is not easy to spend."
"I wasn't kidding when I told you last time. You should just give up. You're not cut out for business. You're just fine as a weight."
"He's nothing. In the first half of this year, he was in jail for half a year because of a failed electronic watch."
Nan Yi really didn't know that Ye Qi would do such a thing, but when it comes to doing business, he still thinks that Ye Qi is much more reliable than Wang Qi. Of course, this is only relative. In fact, neither of them is cut out for business.
"Oh, you've had a broken heart, no wonder you love Who Who."
"Wow, Nan Batian is really advanced. He loves whoever he wants and has such a saying."
"Little boy, not bad, you even know a little English."
"Nonsense, last time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wanted me to be a translator, I didn't think so. Who am I? Am I the kind of person who serves people? I just like to run a restaurant and serve the people."
"Just continue living your life in vain. How about making a pot in the evening?" Nan Yi asked.
"Whatever. You decide."
"Okay, then you guys continue playing, I'll go get some mutton." Nan Yi stood up from the sofa, walked to the clothes rack, and put on a yellow leather coat.
"Please give me more. I need at least 20 kilograms at a time."
"I'll bring you two live ones. If you can't finish them, I'll stuff them in for you."
"Go buy some and see if I can finish it."
It is not easy to buy mutton in a grocery store. Mutton is not available in large quantities, and it has to be eaten by the Hui people. If Nan Yi wants to buy mutton, he can either go to the suburbs of the city to look for it, but it is too late. He can only go to Donglaishun to buy it at a high price.
Nan Yi bought a large piece of uncut frozen mutton at Donglaishun, and then went to the grocery store to buy some offal from an acquaintance. Even if it was an acquaintance, these days, if you wanted to eat something good, you had to get along well with the salesperson at the grocery store, otherwise, you would have nowhere to buy it even if you had money.
When they returned to the old house, Wang Jue's grandson saw the huge pile of mutton and instantly burst into laughter. "Nan Batian, you are too honest. I said 20 kilograms, but you really brought back so much."
" Just wait, I'm going to cut up all the mutton. If you can't finish it, I'll kill you. This mutton costs dozens of dollars."
"Don't look at me through the crack in the door. Wait, I'm going to go to the toilet first. Do you think I can finish it? Where is your toilet?"
"The east toilet is upstairs, on the left side of the stairs."
"Fuck, what the hell, why are you pretending to be an intellectual?" Wang Lu complained and walked up the stairs.
After Wang Jue left, Ma Modu asked Nan Yi, "Nan Yi, are those vases from the Ming Dynasty?"
"Yes, they are from the official kiln during the Yongle period." Nan Yi glanced at the two vases and remembered that these two vases were given to Men Saner by Li Xiangrong, and then given to him by Men Saner.
"Can you get started?"
"Just look around, I'll get you something to eat."
After saying that, Nan Yi went into the kitchen and started making the hot pot base.
The soup base in Beijing is basically vegetarian, that is, just add a little seasoning and boil the water. The taste depends entirely on the dipping sauce. Nan Yi makes it at home, and he always uses pork ribs, chicken, etc. to make the soup base, which makes it taste more fresh.
Just get a pot and it won’t take much time for Nan Yi to prepare the soup base. Then he cleans the copper hot pot and puts the charcoal rack on the dining table.
He found a planer and quickly planed out several large bowls of mutton rolls. He put them on the table and asked the three of them to start eating.
"Nan Batian, this is not good. The mistress hasn't come back yet."
"Take a break. You don't seem to be such a disciplined person. Let's stop and eat first."
After putting handfuls of Erguotou and beer on the table, Wang Lu was no longer polite and asked the other two friends to start eating, leaving Nan Yi busy preparing the vegetables for the hot pot.
"Shit, I didn't notice that this Erguotou is not ordinary." Wang Lu ate a few slices of mutton, then picked up the Erguotou on the table and took a look at it. This Erguotou is not ordinary. "Old Ma, take a look, it's the Ming Tombs brand."
Ma Modu took it and looked at it. It was indeed true. "Is this the first batch from 1973?"
"It should be. Apart from Red Star and Niulanshan, Ming Tombs is the most authentic Erguotou, especially the first and second batches, which are both craft brews." Wang Lu said, and then shouted to the kitchen: "Nan Batian, where did you get this wine?"
Nan Yi came out of the kitchen holding two pots of vegetables and put them on the table. Then he sat down, wiped his hands on his apron, took the bottle of wine, poured himself some wine, and said:
“This wine is nothing special. When it was first launched on the market, no one wanted it. Everyone only recognized Red Star and Niulanshan. The winery had a lot of it in the warehouse and gave it away to people everywhere in those years.
I bought a yard, and this wine was found in the yard. There were about thirty bottles. I opened one and it tasted quite authentic, so I kept it. "
"This wine is not bad. I'll take two bottles away later."
"You probably can't carry it anymore. When you finish eating the mutton, you should be carried away. Can you bring the weight over?"
"Come, but it's going to be later. The store is busy with customers right now."
"Come on, have a drink first." Nan Yi raised his glass, clinked it with the three of them, put the glass in his mouth, took a sip, and drank most of it .
"Xiao Min, what kind of film are you shooting recently?"
"I haven't acted for a long time. After filming "Golden Deer" in 1981, I haven't had any filming since. Recently I've been helping out on the crew of "Under the Overpass", a film produced by Shanghai Film Studio, starring Gong Xue and Zhang Runshe." Shi Xiaoming said.
"Hmm? What are your working connections? Are there any films for you to do at Shanghai Film Studio?"
"Beijing Film Studio, thank you very much, Mr. Xie is my teacher." Shi Xiaoming said lightly, hiding his pretentious air very well.
“Oh, I see.”
Nowadays, except for a few big-name stars, they can generally only shoot films for their own studios and there is no such thing as taking roles everywhere.
Especially when Shi Xiaoming was talking about helping with behind-the-scenes work in the crew, there are a lot of such people in every production studio. Their own studios are already under-utilized, so why would they need to seek external assistance?
It was quite an honor for Shi Xiaoming to find a job in the crew of Shanghai Film Studio, but since he was Xie Tian's disciple, it was not a problem.
Xie Tian is a veteran in the film industry. Everyone in this business has to give him some face.
"Is Master Gong Xue pretty?"
"Of course she is beautiful. I have never seen anyone more beautiful than her in the country."
"Really?" Nan Yi thought, "Prettier than my own Sophie?"
"I have seen all the leading actresses in China, and compared to them, Gong Xue is still the prettiest. If you have seen her in person, you will know that her face shape is not good and is not suitable for the big screen. She is not as pretty in the film as in real life."
"Oh, I heard that the four great classics are all going to start filming?" Nan Yi asked casually while taking a bite of mutton.
"No, I only know that Journey to the West has already started filming, and Dream of the Red Chamber is still in preparation. They have set up an actor interview site in the Overseas Chinese Building, and it's been made very loud."
"Then why don't you try? If you can't play Jia Baoyu, you can always play his father."
"Forget it. There is no role suitable for me. It's good for me to do odd jobs in the crew. The salary is about the same and there is not much work. The leading actors only get a few more bonuses. It's exhausting and boring."
At that time, the actors all received salaries. How much money they could get each month depended on their salary level. It was how much they should get. That is, when there was a movie to be filmed, they would get more subsidies and bonuses.
So at this time, the atmosphere of competing for the leading role is not serious. No matter whether you play the main role or the supporting role, you will get paid. Playing a supporting role is better, as you get more money and less work.
Nan Yi chatted with the three of them in a haphazard manner. He talked about restaurants with Wang Lu, antiques with Ma Modu, and movies with Shi Xiaomin. In short, he did not ignore anyone.
It was half past seven when Liu Zhen came back from overtime work.
As soon as she walked into the living room and saw the smoky house, her brows furrowed.
" You're back . Have you eaten?"
When Nan Yi saw Liu Zhen, he stood up and went to greet him.
"I ate something at work. Why didn't you tell me you were coming back today?" Liu Zhen took off his coat, shook it a few times, and handed it to Nan Yi who was already waiting to take it.
"I called your office, but no one answered."
"Oh, I went to a meeting."
"Go up and wash your face first, and then we can eat something together."
"Um."
Liu Zhen nodded, exchanged a few words with a few people, and went upstairs.
"Wang the rogue, put out your cigarette and get rid of the smell. Liu Zhen is feeling uncomfortable and can't stand the smell of cigarettes. "
"What's wrong?"
Wang Li threw the cigarette butt to the ground and twisted it with his heel.
"Pregnant."
Nan Yi didn’t know whether Liu Zhen was pregnant or not, but he said so anyway. Other reasons would seem pretentious, so this was the only appropriate reason.
"Then quickly find two books and let's fan the smoke."
"Goodbye, you guys stand for a while, I'll get an electric fan to blow."
As Nan Yi spoke, he went to a room to find an electric fan, plugged it in and blew it brightly towards the dining table.
When the smoke had almost dissipated, Nan Yi lit some agarwood.
In order to take care of Liu Zhen, we can't drink or smoke at the same time. Otherwise, the meal won't taste good and everyone will leave if their stomachs aren't filled.
Nan Yi escorted everyone out of the hospital gate and handed each of them a bottle of wine. "I'm sorry that I didn't let everyone enjoy the food today. Let's go to a different place another day and make sure everyone can enjoy the food."
"Okay, we understand. Today's situation is special. Come to my place tomorrow. I'll call a few friends, and we'll have a drink and a cheek dance." Wang Lu said as he hit Nan Yi on the chest.
"Get lost, the situation is tense now. If you want to run into a gun, do it yourself, don't take me with you."
"Hahaha, let's go. We've gained a lot today. I'll take some with me after I'm full."
