Chapter 6: Antique Furniture

After the matter was settled, Mr. Li and his two elder brothers finished their meal and hurried out to work. The more honest a person is, the more they dread being late for work, always feeling as if all eyes are upon them.

Mrs. Li and the two sisters-in-law tidied up the dishes before returning to their rooms to continue their chores—sweeping the kang bed, folding quilts, patching clothes. Once that was done, they set about preparing lunch. Women in this era, though mostly not employed outside the home, had no idle moments throughout the day.

The children at home did not have to attend school; they had just started their vacation a couple of days ago. They were well-behaved, not leaving the courtyard without adult permission, instead running about freely, shouting and playing.

Zhou Yuqin cradled her still-sleeping daughter as she returned to the west wing. The little one was at that clingy age, never wanting to be apart for even a moment.

“Dongzi, come in,” called the elderly Mrs. Li.

Li Xiangdong heard her and stepped into the east room just in time to see her retrieving an egg from the kang bed.

He had completely forgotten about this, but the old lady remembered.

She pressed the egg into his palm. “Remember to throw the eggshell into the alley, don’t let your mother see it.”

After instructing him, she turned and pulled a blue plaid handkerchief from beneath the quilt, unfolding it to reveal a stack of money.

“Take this. Grandma knows you have no money. This is the pension your grandfather just received. If it’s not enough, come and tell me.”

Li Xiangdong hurriedly refused, “I can’t take this money. You and Grandpa should keep it for yourselves.”

His grandfather said firmly, “If I give it to you, you take it. How much do your grandma and I really spend? My pension is all saved in the bank for you.”

Hearing this, Li Xiangdong felt a pang in his heart. The old couple always thought of him first. He could only repay their love with greater filial devotion in the future.

The Li family hadn’t divided their household yet. Each month, eldest brother and second brother handed over five yuan each for food; they kept the rest themselves.

The main expenses were covered by Mr. Li, who didn’t concern himself with the details.

Over the years, he had spent quite a bit renovating this courtyard, and only in recent years had his pension begun to accumulate.

Usually, he occasionally bought sweets for the great-grandchildren, saving the rest in the bank for Li Xiangdong.

Mrs. Li urged him to put the money away quickly. “Put it in your pocket, don’t let your mother or sisters-in-law see.”

Hearing this, refusing the money would only hurt Grandpa and Grandma’s feelings.

Besides, he worried that if he kept declining and someone saw, his mother might only roll her eyes at him, but if the sisters-in-law found out, it could cause trouble.

Coming out of the room, Li Xiangdong had an egg in his left pocket and money in his right.

He suddenly felt full of confidence; the old saying was true—money bolsters a man’s courage.

With nothing else to do, he accompanied his grandparents back to the large dining table in the living room to chat.

“Huh?”

While eating earlier, he hadn’t paid attention. Now, staring at the table before him, he carefully examined the floral patterns and stripes on its surface, then crouched to peer underneath, finally standing to circle around it.

It was an early Ming Dynasty red sandalwood eight-immortals table.

In his previous life, when he was younger, he hadn’t understood such things. Only after forty, treating it as a hobby, did he begin exploring various fields, though his knowledge was superficial.

Still, he could recognize a genuine antique at a glance.

He remembered that after his eldest nephew Li Xiaojiang married and moved into the back house, his father had moved this table there.

Later, when Li Xiaojiang and his wife replaced their furniture, they used this table as firewood.

Such a sin!

Thinking of it now made Li Xiangdong’s heart ache.

This lifetime, he took charge of furnishing his eldest nephew’s marriage and had taken this table back on his behalf.

Only, the matching bench made of willow wood was missing.

“Grandpa, Grandma, where did this table come from?”

Grandpa Li smiled mysteriously, “You noticed, huh? It’s a good thing, right?”

Li Xiangdong was surprised, “Grandpa, you understand these things?”

Mrs. Li, sitting nearby, started teasing her husband, “What does your grandpa know? Don’t listen to his nonsense.”

“What are you saying, wife? I don’t know where this table came from?” Grandpa Li was displeased, unwilling to be spoken of that way in front of his grandson.

Seeing their good grandson’s curiosity, Grandma Li urged, “Old man, quit talking rubbish and tell Dongzi the story of this table.”

Grandpa Li, seeing the eager look on his grandson’s face, spoke proudly: “During the great tide of humanity, when the families across the alley were being raided by the Red Guards, I picked up this table.”

“The people living across the alley were quite particular; their belongings couldn’t have been bad.”

So that was how it was.

Li Xiangdong was a child then and hadn’t joined the chaos; he spent his days playing with childhood friends, paying no attention to such matters.

He had just thought Grandpa really understood antique furniture.

But this story of ‘picking up’ it likely had another meaning—surely his grandpa hadn’t just found it lying around someone else’s house...

“Dongzi, your grandpa didn’t steal it,” Grandpa Li said, unhappy. Li Xiangdong had grown up close to them; if he had any doubts, they knew without needing to ask.

Li Xiangdong chuckled awkwardly, offering no protest.

Grandma Li interjected, “Don’t think so badly of our grandson. Dongzi, listen to Grandma. Those were chaotic times. They raided house after house from dawn till dusk. The crying and wailing kept your grandpa and me awake.”

She shuddered a bit, patting her chest, then continued, “They were old neighbors. Grandpa feared someone would get hurt, so he took your father and Weiguo and Weimin, your uncles, and planned to go see for themselves.”

Grandpa Li cut her off; he didn’t want to tell his wife and grandson more of these stories.

“I’ll finish the story. When I and your father went out, those people were already gone, loaded onto trucks. This table must have been too big to fit, so it was left in the alley. I brought it back.”

In Li Xiangdong’s memory, these events were so far away—spanning two lifetimes and decades—that many details had faded.

He knew some of his grandfather’s words were just to humor him.

Truth or fiction, he didn’t mind or dwell on it. After all this time, this redwood table was the Li family’s heirloom!

“Grandpa, Grandma, I want to move this table to my west wing room.”

With so many children in the house, he couldn’t bear leaving it here, worried it might get scratched or knocked.

Grandpa Li, seeing how much he prized it, asked, “It’s really something special, isn’t it?”

Li Xiangdong gently tapped the tabletop and whispered, “This is old Ming Dynasty redwood furniture.”

“How much is it worth?”

Grandpa Li wasn’t surprised that his grandson knew about such things. In his heart, this grandson, despite disliking formal study, was sharp in other ways.

Li Xiangdong answered honestly, “It’s not worth much—just the price of a table.”

Old furniture only began to appreciate in value in the 1990s, when collectors from Hong Kong and Taiwan entered the market.

Nowadays, such pieces were unwanted; people preferred new-style furniture.

“Dongzi, what’s so good about this old table? Besides, your room isn’t big enough for it.”

Grandma Li didn’t understand what redwood antiques were; to her, it was just a dining table.

Li Xiangdong smiled, “It doesn’t matter if it won’t fit. I’ll just swap it with the table in my room.”

“But your table is new, and you got it at your wedding. We can’t trade that for this old thing,” Grandma Li worried, fearing her good grandson might lose out.

Li Xiangdong chuckled, “Don’t worry, Grandma. When have I ever made a losing deal?”

He thought to himself: The things before my rebirth don’t count!

After a busy morning and a bit more casual chat about family matters, the elderly couple, feeling tired, went back to their room for a nap.

Standing alone in the living room, Li Xiangdong lifted the table and took two steps—he hadn’t even left the room before setting it down again.

He couldn’t carry it any further.

It was too damn heavy—he almost threw out his back!