640 Mutton Lane (1/2)

Mutton Lane, Xisi area.

There was a white iron arch with the words [Geological Display Hall of Jewelry Street] carved on it in red at the entrance to the street.

The words were written haphazardly, and they were not eye-catching as the calligrapher did not inscribe his or her name.

The pedestrians paid no attention at all to the iron arch as they walked past it, just like what they had done for many years, and they would continue doing the same thing for the coming years. There was no need for them to pay particular attention to this kind of thing.

Academician Du excitedly opened the back door of the Rolls Royce and gazed profoundly at the street.

This place harbored his hopes and dreams when it came to China as a brand new country, and he had spent his youth—almost half a century—on nurturing the mining industry of China. He was young and confident when he started his journey, and he had weathered through plenty of obstacles as well as enjoyed his fair share of success.

Even though Mutton Lane was not an elegant name, this placed symbolized the hardships Chinese geologists had to weather through as they traversed the country, made their way through perilous mountains, and conquered uninhabited lands.

Academician Zhu still remembered how the place was like when he first visited it as a young child.

Academician Du could not help but take a deep breath. It was such a beautiful and familiar place.

”Cough, cough, cough.”

A car happened to pass by, and the exhaust smoke entered his lungs.

Zuo Cidian, who was sitting in the front passenger seat and was reluctant to get out of it, saw this. He could not help but shook his head. ”This academician is really a difficult patient, isn't he?”

Ling Ran and Tian Qi got off the car after Academician Du, and they sized up their surroundings curiously.

The name Mutton Lane itself had an old and localized air, and the area was still a little reminiscent of the bygone years. However, it looked modern at the same time because of the bustling tiny shops along the street.

A few passersby and shop owners sized up the Rolls Royce without bothering to hide the fact that they were looking. The appearance of a Rolls Royce Phantom in the jewelry street was definitely a strange sight.

”This used to be the back door of the Geology Department, and there's a geological display hall in front of it. In the past, movie screenings were often held here…” Academician Du walked over and introduced the place to them as he remembered the past with nostalgia. ”The Jewelry Trading Center is right in front of the geology department, and people often like to go there to trade when they have a lot of jewelry with them.”

Ling Ran listened quietly to Academician Du. He was not good at socializing and did not like to chit-chat either. However, considering the fact that Academician Du was a patient and that his current behavior was influenced by his illness, Ling Ran decided to try his best to put up with Academician Du and listen to him.

”I have a shophouse in Mutton Lane that's situated along the street, and it's now a jewelry shop too. My eldest grandson is watching over it. There's a storeroom behind the shop. Half of the jewelry there are pieces he buys and sells for fun, and the remaining half is my collection.” Academician Du smiled and continued, ”It's a lot easier to collect jewelry pieces compared to other things. They are stones, so they can withstand harsh environments. I just needed to modify the place a bit so that the pieces are well-kept.”

Zuo Cidian sucked in a sharp breath when he heard what Academician Du said, ”You have a shophouse in Beijing?”

”I did sell off part of my collection, but I also bought other pieces after that. I need a place to display all the pieces, right? My wife told me that I had dedicated my youth to geology and made my son a geologist. She said that I shouldn't get my grandson into the field of geology, because he's not only our grandson but also our son's son. My son is not willing to have his son venture into geology either.” Academician Du lowered his voice a little. ”Geologists have to endure a lot of hardships. It's a bittersweet experience, but it's more bitter than sweet.”

Zuo Cidian could not help but become silent.

If he had a say in whether to send his son to medical school, he would still give some consideration to it. But he really did not have it in him to make his grandson a doctor. Of course, he would only face this dilemma if he ended up having a grandson.

Unlike Zuo Cidian, Academician Du had a grandson right now. He raised his chin a little and laughed out loud, ”My eldest grandson is pretty talented at collecting things, though. He's pretty good at purchasing quality pieces. Sometimes, he would even get great bargains from the market for quality pieces. If you guys like this kind of thing, you guys can bring him along for a shopping trip later.”

Zuo Cidian gasped in astonishment and said, ”Even though your job is hard, your wallet sure has it easy. The pieces you collected when you were younger are probably tremendously valuable now, as I heard that people back then didn't use to collect jewelry pieces. I'm sure that you've profited a lot from this.”

”It's a rising trend.” Academician Du smiled. ”Antique and vintage jewelry pieces only became rather valuable a few years ago. And the gems are mostly the ones that fetch high prices. There are still not many people who like stones that are not gems.”

Zuo Cidian asked questions, and Academician Du answered them one by one. This made the atmosphere pretty lively. However, Ling Ran and Tian Qi did not care about all these.