"Why? Rare opportunity, Brother Zhao. In the past, there was raw silk in China that won the gold medal at the Panama World Exposition, and now the country can come up with silk, tea, and porcelain. You're a silk leader, why don't you participate?" the man was amazed. Although colleagues in the industry know that Zhao Shinan has no intention of doing business in recent years, and it is only a temporary power for the reorganization faction to lose, now the smoke of the struggle between the Xishan faction and the reorganization faction has long disappeared, and it is time to make a comeback. Zhao Shinan, who was high-spirited back then, how could he have no fighting spirit at all?

Zhao Shinan's thoughts seemed to be floating far away, boundless. He has known the ups and downs of life. Now it seemed to him that nothing was interesting. After being persuaded by his peers for a long time, Zhao Shinan did not react, so he had to shake his head and sigh away.

A few days later, not only in the silk industry, but also in the entire Yangzhou City, the old and young women and children knew that there was such a selection. Those who represent the country must first be selected from each province, and each province must naturally be selected from each province, district, and city. Yangzhou City was published in the newspaper, posted notices door-to-door, and did propaganda in a multi-pronged manner. For a time, Yangzhou City was very lively, today to fight tea, tomorrow to fight brocade, some people want to participate in the election, some people want to use this to play signs, some people just want to have fun. All kinds of fighting methods, everyone is very happy to watch.

Although Mrs. Zhao was in the courtyard of the deep house, she had also heard of it, and asked Zhao Shinan: "Shinan, silk is the ancestral inheritance of our family, so you really don't participate?"

Zhao Shinan's gaze was very empty: "I didn't participate." Nothing interesting. He turned and walked away. Only the old lady Zhao was left in a daze, which was boring? Now in the eyes of his son, what is interesting? Even Si Heng, who was squatting at his feet and playing with wood, didn't have the heart to take a second look, what else could he think was interesting? I couldn't help but say to Si Heng angrily: "Don't learn from your father in the future, for the sake of a woman, you will lose seven souls and six spirits, and you don't care about anything." After saying that, I felt that I was really dizzy, what can a five-year-old child understand.

Zhao Shinan did not return to the house, but got up and went to the Chengyue brocade weaving factory that had been sealed in the west of Yangzhou City. Opening the door of the warehouse, Zhao Shinan lit the gas lamp. The eyes full of Chengyue brocade, as in those years, are full of rooms, brilliant as clouds. Back then, the Yiren smiled here, and the appearance of being in the brocade was as if it was yesterday. Zhao Shinan sat on the ground without formality, and remembered the situation of the year, every detail, and every look in his mind clearly.

Du Hengqiao smiled and said, "Is it the pattern of fireflies?" Du Heng turned his head and smiled: "This one is the best." Du Heng hesitated: "What if you can't choose anything else, only this one?" Scene after scene, Zhao Shinan was distressed with blood, but he was still willing to reminisce, willing to indulge in the past and not want to extricate himself.

He muttered to himself in a low voice, "Heng'er, if you were still here, would you let me participate in the selection?"

Instead, he smiled and said, "Yes, according to your temperament, you will definitely support me." Thinking of this, his mood suddenly lifted up, but he said dejectedly: "But if you are gone, even if I win, who will I win?"

Zhao Shinan didn't know how long he sat on the ground, even though it was spring, until the night wind blew his back cold, Zhao Shinan got up like a woke stake, silently turned off the gas lamp, and locked the door of the weaving factory. That night, he was drunk again, and he saw Du Heng again when he was drunk. In the morning, I came to serve in the middle of the summer, and when I saw the corners of Zhao Shinan's lips, it was a rising happiness.

The month-long selection was coming to an end, and the Jiangdu Provincial Office, to which Yangzhou City belongs, sent several commissioners to check the progress. The provinces have also taken this as a serious matter. After all, he fought for face, and his achievements were also brilliant when he came back.

The commissioner's residence in the east of Yangzhou has now become a venue for various selections, and many people have taken their treasures to participate in the evaluation. There are porcelain from Zhang Sanjia in the east of the city, raw silk from Li Sijia in the south of the city, wood carving from the five families of Wang in the north of the city, and silk from the six families of Zhao in the west of the city. The competition of silk in the official residence is the most intense, and there are many merchants who make silk in Yangzhou City, all kinds of colors, all kinds of styles, competing for beauty. Only Zhao Shinan never moved.

And on this day, a middle-aged man dressed very ordinarily brought a suitcase and entered the official residence. When I arrived at the silk exhibition area, I looked at the silk that was already being selected, gently hooked my lips and smiled disdainfully, and opened the box generously.

The people around came over, and there were several squares of silk in the box. Yangzhou is not lacking in silk connoisseurs, just look at the color, is the boutique. Someone couldn't help but go up and touch it, and sighed: "This silk is good and smooth." The people around couldn't help but look at the middle-aged man carefully, with a robe and a horse coat, he was very energetic, looking at his eyes, he shouldn't be a local.

Someone said, "I think I can choose this silk." Another person pouted: "It's not our Yangzhou people, let's go here to make a lot of fun, go back to your own place to run for election." But the middle-aged man seemed to be deaf, looked around, and asked, "May I ask everyone, which one is Zhao Shinan?"

It turned out that he was looking for the Zhao family to fight for brocade, and some people persuaded him: "You better forget it, the Zhao family will not participate." Some people also said: "Go to the third room, it is the commissioner of the official residence, you should go and ask you if this silk can participate in the selection of Yangzhou, don't think about fighting with the Zhao family." ”

"Why?" the man asked curiously, "Isn't the Zhao family's brocade the best in Yangzhou City?" ”

An insider sighed and said: "The young master of the Zhao family has been blocked several times, and now his mind is no longer on silk." ”

The man was stunned for a moment, turned around a few times and found that there was indeed no silk of the Zhao family, and he didn't go to the commissioner to ask about the evaluation, so he simply took the silk and searched all the way, and when he arrived at the door of the Zhao family's old house, he said to the people guarding the door: "I want to see the young master of your family, Zhao Shinan." ”

The doorkeeper glanced at him and asked, "Do you know my young master?"

The man's voice was very quiet: "It happened a few years ago, he asked me to find him in the future, and he also bothered the little brother to pass it on." ”

The gatekeeper said to him: "The young master has gone out, and I don't know when I will come back." He pointed to the stone outside the courtyard wall and said, "Wait there." The other goalkeeper winked at him and smiled. Zhao Shinan doesn't know when he will come back every day, and the sun is setting at the earliest, and it's just morning, doesn't it make people wait in vain.

And the man sat on the stone and waited. A subordinate who came out couldn't stand it and said, "Why are you playing with him?" He said to the man: "You go around first, my young master is not sure, and he will come back after dark." ”

But the man didn't care, and sat down on the stone: "It's okay, I'll wait." "I walked such a long way just to find Zhao Shinan, are you afraid of waiting for a few hours? The man went to a nearby store to buy a few steamed buns to eat, and did not leave the door of Zhao's house the rest of the time.

It wasn't until the second half of the night that Zhao Shinan came back drunk, and as soon as he walked to the door, someone walked up and shouted, "Mr. Zhao Shinan?"

Zhao Shinan turned his head, shook his head and said, "Who are you?"

The man clenched his fists and said, "You shouldn't have seen it in Xia Tian." But do you still remember that eight years ago, in Nanjing, you and your wife once went to a silk and satin shop, and they saw through the fake Oriental brocade in the store?"

As soon as Zhao Shinan heard the word "madam", his brain, which was still drunk just now, suddenly sobered up, and after thinking about it carefully, he remembered the time when Du Heng drew his sword to help others identify fake Oriental brocade in the shop by the Qinhuai River. Zhao Shinan responded slightly: "Well, remember, what's wrong?" Saying that, Zhao Shinan raised his hand and led the man into the guest hall: "Said in the house." ”

The man followed, sat on the chair and paused, and said, "Mr. Zhao, I don't often go to the store in Nanjing, it's all taken care of by the shopkeeper, I didn't expect that kind of thing to happen, I'm ashamed." At that time, we also made silk ourselves, but it was not as good as Mitsui's Toyo Nishiki. After listening to the shopkeeper relay your words, I later learned that your family's Cheng Yue Jin is world-famous. I'm ashamed. Over the years, I have been pondering, improving my own brocade, and now it is a small achievement, so I came to ask Mr. Zhao for advice. The man said the back, a little excited

Zhao Shinan suddenly dealt with a shopkeeper back then, and this is the real owner. I remember that back then, Zhao Shinan said arrogantly: "Yangzhou City Zhao Shinan, I'm waiting for you." Now they really came to the invitation, but he has long lost his fighting spirit.

Zhao Shinan smiled faintly at the man: "If you want tea, I am always welcome." But Doujin, I'm not interested. ”

But the man was very stubborn: "I came specifically for Doujin, and I came to look for you." Do you think my brocade is not good and not worth comparing?" the man said as he opened the box in his hand and showed it to Zhao Shinan.

Zhao Shinan hurriedly stood up and pressed the man's hand: "No need. It doesn't matter if it's good or not, I really don't have the mind. You're late. Sitting on the chair as he spoke, no matter how the man provoked, he still refused to play.

The man couldn't see it, shook his head and sighed: "When I heard the shopkeeper talk about it, I only thought you were a real man." For this brocade, I have been thinking hard all these years, that is, I will come to you one day. But you don't even compete, this is really ------ "The biggest pain of the hero's sword is that the other party has washed his hands. The man's repeated persuasion was ineffective, so he had to leave the Zhao family in a huff.

The selection of Yangzhou City is about to end, this day a well-known newspaper in Shanghai suddenly published a commentary article, the title is "The Lost National Treasure", in the commentary article first talked about the development of China's silk, from the Western Han Dynasty is a unique rarity in the world, to the fact that it is now being overtaken, the comment is very profound. The biggest highlight of the article is that it praised Cheng Yuejin of the Zhao family, and expressed regret that Cheng Yuejin has disappeared from prosperity to now.

This article comes at the time of the selection of items for the Universal Exposition, which seems to have a different meaning. And that author, under the pseudonym Marcin.