Chapter 23

Jiang Ping, of course, did not go to school after leaving home; instead, he rode his bike straight in the opposite direction. With the memories of his previous life, he knew that the collector who was very interested in ancient books should currently be living in Huahua Alley in the old city district.

It is said that Huahua Alley has a history of several hundred years, and even in Suzhou, an ancient city, it can be considered a street with a long history. As soon as Jiang Ping rode his bike to Huahua Alley, he immediately fell in love with the place.

This narrow old street is full of traces of history everywhere, whether it's the road paved with blue stone slabs or the traditional style houses with white walls and black tiles, all of which seem to transport time back a hundred years.

Huahua Alley, which can only accommodate two cars side by side, has a slowly flowing river on one side and residential courtyards on the other. Many households have tall trees in their courtyards, with dense branches extending over the walls onto the street, providing shade for pedestrians. On the river side, neatly laid stone slabs extend directly into the river in many places, allowing people to stand on the slabs and have an intimate contact with the river water.

However, although the scenery in Huahua Alley is pleasant, many people believe that such scenery will soon disappear. The reason for this belief is that there is a rumor that this old street with a history of several hundred years will soon be demolished, and a real estate developer plans to build a high-end residential area here.

However, with the memories of his previous life, Jiang Ping knew that Huahua Alley was ultimately preserved in its original form, thanks to Zhao Guoquan, who later became the mayor of Suzhou. It was he who firmly opposed the commercial development plan of the real estate developers to develop Huahua Alley and the surrounding old streets, and instead preserved this area with well-preserved ancient buildings in the Jiangnan region as a form of protection for ancient culture.

Although Zhao Guoquan's decision was met with many doubts at the time, the facts proved that his decision was very correct. A few years later, the area around Huahua Alley became one of the famous scenic spots in Suzhou, not only well-known within the province and across the country, but also attracting many foreign tourists to visit.

The houses in this area also became the most expensive real estate in Suzhou, and were often in high demand. Owning a house near Huahua Alley had become a symbol of status and strength, and no one was willing to sell.

Of course, for Jiang Ping, the events a few years later were just a passing cloud. At the moment, he only wanted to sell the set of ancient Qing Dynasty books in his hands. However, Jiang Ping only knew that the collector named Sun Wenhai lived in Huahua Alley, but was not sure which house it was. He pushed his bike along Huahua Alley for a while and saw that the door of a courtyard ahead was open, with a kind and gentle old lady sitting under the shade of a tree. He quickly sped up and went forward to ask where Sun Wenhai lived.

Jiang Ping came to the old lady and greeted her with a smile, "Old lady, hello."

The old lady also nodded at Jiang Ping and then asked him with a smile, "Young man, are you here to rent a house?"

Jiang Ping was taken aback for a moment and then noticed a piece of paper on the door, which read "House for Rent" in beautiful calligraphy.

Seeing these four characters, Jiang Ping realized that the old lady thought he was there to rent a house. He quickly shook his head and said, "You misunderstood, I just want to ask you about someone."

Although Jiang Ping was not there to rent a house, the old lady's attitude towards him did not change. She still smiled and asked, "Oh, who are you looking for?"

Jiang Ping politely asked, "Is there a Mr. Sun Wenhai who lives in Huahua Alley? I have something to talk to him about, but I don't know which number he lives at."

"Oh, you're looking for Xiao Sun." The old lady pointed behind her and said, "He lives at No. 325. Just go a little further and you'll see it."

"Thank you, old lady." Jiang Ping thanked the old lady and then continued to push his bike forward.

The old lady looked at Jiang Ping with an appreciative expression and muttered to herself, "This young man is quite polite. There aren't many such young people nowadays..."

Of course, Jiang Ping did not know that he had left a good impression on the old lady. With her guidance, he quickly found No. 325 in Huahua Alley, a very quiet courtyard.

Jiang Ping gently knocked on the courtyard door, then stepped back two steps and waited quietly. Based on his knowledge of Sun Wenhai from his previous life, he knew that Sun Wenhai was a person who valued etiquette and tradition. Therefore, Jiang Ping deliberately behaved politely, which would leave a good impression on Sun Wenhai and be beneficial for the upcoming transaction.

After a while, the courtyard door was slowly opened. A middle-aged man with a lean face appeared from behind the door. When he saw Jiang Ping standing two steps away, a trace of appreciation flashed in his eyes.

The middle-aged man glanced at Jiang Ping, confirmed that he did not recognize this young man, and then asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"Is this Mr. Sun Wenhai's home?" Jiang Ping asked politely, "I have a set of ancient Qing Dynasty books and would like to ask him to take a look."

This lean middle-aged man was indeed Sun Wenhai. According to his character, he would not usually chat with strangers. However, upon hearing that Jiang Ping had a set of ancient Qing Dynasty books, Sun Wenhai, who loved books, could not help but be interested. He nodded and said, "I am Sun Wenhai."

"Hello, Mr. Sun." Jiang Ping introduced himself, "My name is Jiang Ping, and I am a senior high school student at No. 2 High School."

Upon hearing that Jiang Ping was a high school student, Sun Wenhai became more interested. In his impression, today's students were more interested in computers and game consoles and had little interest in ancient books. The fact that Jiang Ping brought a set of ancient books to visit him made Sun Wenhai's impression of him even better.

Therefore, Sun Wenhai, who rarely made exceptions, stepped back two steps and said to Jiang Ping, "Come in and let's talk."

"Thank you, Mr. Sun." Jiang Ping expressed his gratitude and then followed Sun Wenhai into the courtyard.

Sun Wenhai led Jiang Ping to a room on the east side of the courtyard. The room had several tall bookshelves, filled with line-bound books. Jiang Ping, being an expert, could see at a glance that there were more than a thousand books in the room. According to his knowledge, Sun Wenhai's collection was much larger, and the other books might be stored elsewhere.

However, even the thousands of books in front of him were enough to make one marvel. Jiang Ping knew that collecting so many books required a great deal of effort and money, and his eyes involuntarily showed more appreciation.

Sun Wenhai was also paying attention to Jiang Ping's reaction. Seeing his reaction, he nodded inwardly. He could tell that this young man truly understood ancient books, and he became more eager to see what Jiang Ping had brought.

===分割线===

This is the third update for today. I continue to seek your support in terms of collections and recommendations.

Thank you to the reader "?????合格" for the tip.

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