The fourteenth night of the first lunar month.

The moon and stars are sparse, and the weather is still so cold that people gasp.

According to the old customs of Huizhou, the thirteenth is the day of the lights, and in this last year, it should be a festival for the whole city to travel. In some peaceful and prosperous times, the Lantern Festival is even more lively than the Spring Festival, but now the taste of the New Year is getting weaker and weaker, and the development of science and technology has brought more and more convenience to people, and at the same time, it has also separated the emotions that should have been face-to-face communication.

The Lantern Festival only leaves the custom of eating rice balls and dumplings, and the lanterns are even rarer.

The return of Cao Gongsu is a big event in Huizhou. After settling in the industrial park of the new district, the implementation of modern management in Shanghai has turned the originally dirty and messy ink room into a demonstration industrial factory.

However, the old mansion of the Cao family is still in Z County, and it has been repaired several times after decades. Cao Morong was on a cane, and the lighting facilities in the house were laid a few years ago, and there was water and electricity.

"It has always been said that fallen leaves return to their roots, and fallen leaves return to their roots. I'm going to come here after I retire, and I've walked around these days, and there are almost no people who can know me. Xilan, things are not people. ”

Cao Xilan smiled slightly, older people always love to sigh about the world, such complaints, Cao Xilan is naturally used to hearing them, he diverted the topic and asked: "Grandpa, tomorrow Doumo, what about the product in our company?"

"What do you think has a better chance of winning?"

Cao Xilan had a plan in his heart, and said: "The two-thousand-year-old Qingqilin pine tobacco boutique and the Huangshan pine tobacco are currently the two best pine inks in the company, both of which are hand-made boutique models made with high-quality old pine cigarettes. ”

Cao Morong smiled: "You come with me." ”

The two walked through the main hall to the back room. This old house, Cao Xilan, a rich child who grew up in Shanghai with a golden spoon in his mouth, naturally has never been here. He doesn't like such Hui-style ancient houses, but he is still used to the high-rise buildings and busy urban life in Shanghai.

After this ink fight is over and Cao Gongsu's performance rises, he will naturally return to Shanghai. Compared with the ink industry, Cao's Pictures is the asset he yearns for.

Cao Morong said as he walked: "Xilan, I often tell you that people can't forget their roots. Keep the ancestral industry, this is the root of the Cao family's heirs, you become a tool, so grandpa left this ancestral industry to you, you have to understand grandpa's intentions. ”

"I understand. ”

Cao Morong took out the key to the wing room and said, "Here, this is the last chance for your great-grandfather to turn over to our Cao family." I've been here two or three times back then, and now, I'll give you the key to open it. ”

"A chance to turn over?"

Cao Morong nodded, "Go ahead." ”

Cao Xilan took the key, opened the lock on the door, and pushed the door open.

"Ahem. He turned on the light switch next to him, and the room smelled of dust.

Cao Morong stepped into the wing, his eyes swept over several large wooden boxes that were empty on the side, and said, "Go, open them." ”

Cao Xilan muttered, "This is an antique left by the ancestors?"

"When ink was made, the ancestors would leave a batch of fine products in case of emergency. Later, when your great-grandfather moved his family to Shanghai, he was worried that the family would fall into the middle of the road, so he specially left a few large boxes of backhands to make a comeback. Of course, these boxes never worked again. Your great-grandfather gave me the keys on his deathbed. ”

Cao Xilan opened the box, lifted the asbestos paper used to prevent moisture, and saw the ink ingots neatly stacked in the middle, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"This ...... It's!"

"The purple light jade during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, this is ...... Tianchen Baomo in the Jiaqing period, well, these are ......"

Cao Morong looked at the patterns on the ink ingot, like a few family treasures, and told the story. Some of these inks are inscribed with the age, and some are uninscribed. This time, if it is said that the quality of the product is compared, Cao Morong's opinion is not as good as the heritage.

No one could have imagined that the ancestors of the Cao family could see so far and leave such a fortune for their descendants.

Cao Xilan cautiously picked up an ink ingot, looked at the gold painting and inscription on it, and said: "Grandpa, these old inks without a year name and with Cao Gongsu's brand can be used to fight ink!"

Cao Morong nodded and said, "Naturally." Even if it has an era name, it doesn't matter. After all, this is what our Cao Gong Plain Ink Factory produces, who can deny it?"

"It seems that you have already made up your mind, and I was worried about the fraud of the surname Zhong. ”

Cao Morong smiled confidently: "Ouyang Kaishan called, he realized that something was wrong at this time, and it was already too late." Now I am still counting on the five percent shares of Cao's Pictures, hehe, I gave it a chance, do you think I was stupid enough to choose to make peace after seeing the opportunity?"

Cao Xilan didn't answer, because this was not what Cao Morong said to him, but more like muttering to himself.

"So which one are you going to take to fight ink?"

"Which one is a hundred times stronger than the hole cards he prepared this time!" Cao Morong's eyes were sharp, like an old lion waking up.

……

……

Zhong Yue eats hand-wrapped rice balls, which are almost the size of a small egg, and have a small pointed head, such hand-wrapped rice balls, compared with the quick-frozen rice balls in the supermarket, they taste softer and sweeter.

Gu Qin sat on the side, also filled two for himself, and said, "Dad said that he would wait for you to finish eating tomorrow." ”

"Our dad has a treat?" Zhong Yue took a bite of the rice balls, and the lard and sesame filling were fragrant.

Gu Qin lifted the sideburns in his ears and glanced up, "It's my dad, what is our dad, it's really shameless you!"

Zhong Yue smiled: "It's our dad in the future." ”

Gu Qin said, "Cao Gongsu is an old brand, are you ready to deal with it?"

"How else can you deal with it? With strength, I believe Zhong Buqi. ”

Gu Qin smiled: "Stinky beauty." Zhong Yue, when did you become so cheeky?"

Zhong Yue took a sip of the clear soup, and there was a faint fragrance of osmanthus in the faint light, "Guess?"

“……”

"Why don't you go back tonight?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I'll just ...... I'd like to learn from you. Let me tell you, my painting skills will scare you, the ...... I painted last time" Zhong Yue paused.

"What did you draw?"

"Uh...... The shrimp I painted, Professor Cao Danqing in Shanghai said that it has the style of Baishi Weng!"

Gu Qin smiled: "Do you think I don't know? You are Cao Danqing's disciple, he is touting you like this, isn't he bragging about himself?"

"How could it be! Mr. Cao is a principled person!"

"Don't try to trick me!"

"There really is no ......"

Gu Qin smiled: "Okay then." ”

Zhong Yue was excited, "Really?" He didn't expect that Gu Qin really agreed. Isn't it, what should I prepare......? Wouldn't it be a little embarrassing to buy it now?

Gu Qin looked at Zhong Yue's scheming appearance and said, "Then you have to hurry up and prepare." ”

Driver Zhong smiled knowingly: "I'll come when I go!"

"Wait. ”

"Huh?"

Gu Qin stood up and asked, "Don't you have pen, ink, paper, and inkstone at home, why are you going?"

"It's not...... I...... You...... That ......"

"Hurry up, my dad said, he will come to pick me up at ten o'clock, don't you want to make a bad idea!"

“……”