Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 918 - 0918 Like-minded People 6

Chapter 918: Chapter 0918 Like-minded People 6

Feng Qingxue was startled and her eyes quickly darted around, the nimble wits she demonstrated were exactly like those of Xibao.

"I used to live in the Capital for a while and had heard the name Huang Qinghong. Later, I briefly met him and thought his name sounded very similar to yours, so I just asked. He is ’Hong’ and you are ’Bai,’ both following the ’Qing’ generation; don’t you think it sounds like you’re from the same family?" She fabricated a story on the spot.

"My name is Huang Qingbai, ’Bai’ as in the cypress tree, which symbolizes longevity and the hope for an elder’s lifespan. It’s not the ’Bai’ that means black and white. Don’t go changing my name willy-nilly, young lady!" Huang Qingbai earnestly corrected Feng Qingxue’s mistake and continued, "Huang Qinghong is my eldest cousin. The ’Hong’ is the one from ’red bean,’ not the ’red’ from the colors red, yellow, blue, green."

Feng Qingxue uttered an ’oh,’ "My apologies, it was my poor hearing that misheard it."

In reality, it wasn’t that she had misheard, but rather Uncle Li’s local accent wasn’t quite precise, causing her to confuse ’Bai’ with ’white.’

Huang Qingbai, clutching a painting he had dug out from a pile of waste paper, crouched and shuffled a couple of steps toward Feng Qingxue, "You know my elder brother? Do you know where he is? A while ago, I received a letter from home saying he was taken away by a group of students, and his children have disowned him. My sister-in-law died from anger, and my family still has no news of him."

After some thought, Feng Qingxue didn’t tell the truth, "If I get any news, I will definitely inform you. You work at the municipal cultural relics bureau, right? You live in the city, I presume? I should be able to find you."

"That would be a great help!" sighed Huang Qingbai, looking at the painting in his hands, "I don’t know what’s wrong with the world these days, precious cultural heritage has become like a malignant tumor. In previous years, at least the items in the relics bureau could be preserved, but since last year, our luck has turned for the worse. Wave after wave of disasters struck, with several cultural and historical sites in the city being completely destroyed. Relics have been going abroad batch by batch, entering factories, one after the other. It’s like my old heart has been cut out. While I can still move and have my salary, I thought of recuperating some of the cultural losses for the country. One day, the country will pay attention to this area."

Feng Qingxue was deeply moved.

Our compatriots always possess great resilience, living tenaciously no matter what era they are in, and there are always those predecessors who wholeheartedly serve the nation, sparing no personal sacrifice.

She remembered, decades later, many museum exhibits were items that staff members had scavenged from garbage dumps.

This meant that many others like Huang Qingbai were also working hard for the nation’s cultural heritage.

Of course, there were those who took advantage of the chaos, buying up treasures at low prices only to sell them to foreigners at high prices, earning their first pot of gold, and eventually becoming local tycoons.

"Although I have great respect for you, sir, this painting is of great significance to me, and I cannot give it to you," Feng Qingxue said.

"As long as it’s not really to plaster the wall, you just take it! Master Wen’s words are unique and have great artistic value. Take good care of it and wait until this rough patch has passed before bringing it out again." Hearing the words ’of great significance,’ Huang Qingbai knew that Feng Qingxue would not mistreat the painting; he had said it deliberately in front of Uncle Li.

Feng Qingxue’s heart felt lighter, and her tone softened considerably.

"Old gentleman, you work at the cultural relics bureau and yet frequently scavenge for items at garbage dumps, hasn’t anyone reported you?" With her space at hand, Feng Qingxue was especially cautious in her actions, and people like Huang Qingbai were truly rare.