Liang Mulan turned sideways and asked the servants to bring over the presents Lin Nuan brought.
A servant brought over a dark blue box…
"What is this? It's so huge…" Lin Jingquan said as he stood up to unwrap the present himself.
Inside the navy blue box was a Southern Song dynasty Longquan celadon vase with a lavender gray glaze.
Lin Jingquan paused in surprise, then carefully raised the vase and walked to the French windows. He held up the vase and scrutinized it under the sunlight.
Under the golden sunlight, the lavender gray glaze appeared like jade, the surface glistening brightly. It was so clear that one's reflection could be seen upon it…
Lin Jingquan hurriedly asked the servants to bring over his spectacles. After putting his glasses on, he scrutinized it for a long while, rapping his fingers against the vase and listening to the sound it produced. As he confirmed it was the genuine thing, his eyes lit up…
"As green as jade, as clear as a mirror, as loud as a chime stone!" Lin Jingquan removed his glasses and held the vase up as if it were a treasure, his voice full of delight. "I've been looking for this vase for the longest time! No matter how I tried, I couldn't find it. How did Huai'an locate this?"
Lin Nuan was rather surprised to see this Southern Song dynasty Longquan celadon vase with a lavender gray glaze too. In the past, in the room where Lin Jingquan placed his collectibles, Lin Nuan had seen an identical one.
All these years, Lin Jingquan had a habit of collecting antiques, and he was especially fond of this Song-Tang dynasty vase.
Thirteen years ago, Lin Jingquan had bought one Southern Song dynasty Longquan celadon vase with a lavender gray glaze at an auction. Back then, he had said that there was another of that vase and that he would have no regrets if he was lucky enough to collect the pair of them while he was still alive.
Lin Nuan wondered, how did Fu Huai'an even know that Lin Jingquan liked that vase?
Seeing the perplexed look on Lin Nuan's face, Lin Jingquan knew that Lin Nuan wasn't aware of it beforehand…
Lin Jingquan closed his eyes and handed the vase to the servant. "It was thoughtful of Huai'an!"
Lin Jingquan withheld the joy in his voice as he spoke, but his expression was nowhere near as restrained as his deep voice. Liang Mulan smiled with a hand over her lips…
With regards to the pair of vases, one was in Lin Jingquan's hands, while no one knew of the whereabouts of the other one. Because of that, the price had continuously been on the rise!
Originally, one of the vases alone would already command an exorbitant price. Now that they formed a pair, it would be considered a priceless treasure.
"I'll go put this vase up!"
Lin Jingquan went to his collectibles room with the vase and remained there for a long while…
Liang Mulan glanced at her wristwatch and said, "Your dad is probably admiring his vases in his collectibles room!"
Only later, when Fu Huai'an came over with Tuan Tuan, did Lin Jingquan finally come out of that room.
Tuan Tuan had made a piece of artwork in school. When he saw Lin Jingquan, he stood by Lin Nuan's legs in a reserved manner, his little hand tugging at her clothes. He looked up at Lin Nuan, and upon seeing her nod at him, Tuan Tuan walked to Lin Jingquan and handed the little handmade card to him. "Grandpa… happy birthday!"
Lin Jingquan's heart was about to melt when he saw the fair and tender chubby Tuan Tuan. He took the card under the little one's anticipating gaze, then stroked Tuan Tuan on his little head before reaching out to lift him onto his lap, opening the card and looking at it with Tuan Tuan…
Although what Tuan Tuan drew in the card looked sort of weird, Lin Jingquan wasn't stingy with his praise, insisting on saying that Tuan Tuan had great talent in drawing and that he was going to keep the card forever!
Knowing that Lin Jingquan was his mama's Papa, Tuan Tuan didn't resist, sitting obediently on Lin Jingquan's lap as Lin Jingquan hugged him, cooperatively nodding and smiling in an obedient manner.
Liang Mulan grabbed hold of the chance to ask Tuan Tuan, "Does Tuan Tuan prefer a little brother or a little sister?"
Lin Nuan was rendered speechless.
She knew that Liang Mulan was changing her target to forcing her to give her grandkids, seeing that she was having no success in urging Lin Chen to get married…
Tuan Tuan recalled what Lin Nuan said the other time, about little sisters resembling Papa and little brothers resembling Mama, so he earnestly replied, "Little brother!"
"Then quickly get Mama to give birth to a little brother for you, okay?" Liang Mulan said with a beam.
The chubby little Tuan Tuan looked earnest as he nodded his head. "Papa is terrific! It'll be quick!"
Lin Nuan's face exploded with redness in an instant.
Fu Huai'an was rendered speechless.
This couple had never imagined that Tuan Tuan would recite what Fu Huai'an once said to coax him to sleep. Lin Nuan wanted to crawl into a hole and not show her face!
The child's innocent words nearly made everyone in the house burst with laughter.
What would a kid merely as big as Tuan Tuan know? It must have been the adults who said it, and the kid was merely reciting what he heard.
Liang Mulan held back the urge to laugh. Seeing the way Lin Nuan could no longer sit still, Liang Mulan finally stopped talking about this subject!
Lin Jingquan's birthday celebration was a simple one. Although Second Uncle Lin, Lin Jinghui, was incredibly busy, he still managed to make it for his elder brother's birthday.
Although Fu Huai'an was already considered his nephew-in-law now, Lin Jinghui still remembered the debt of gratitude he owed Fu Huai'an for saving him last time, so he spoke in an extra polite tone with Fu Huai'an.
During the dinner, Lin Jingquan asked Fu Huai'an about the Southern Song dynasty Longquan celadon vase with a lavender gray glaze. Fu Huai'an said that it had taken him a long time to find it. Several days ago, when he found out who its owner was, he had rushed over to persuade the collector to part with his beloved vase.
Lin Jingquan hadn't expected that Fu Huai'an would personally seek the vase for him. After all, he used to be at the management level of a company, so he knew how busy matters at a company could get. This was especially so since the Kaide Corporation was such a huge corporation, and as the chairman, Fu Huai'an's schedule should be incredibly busy!
Lin Jingquan was inevitably touched to see that Fu Huai'an had gone to such lengths to get him the present, so he got the servants to bring over a rare red wine that he brought back from a French chateau two years ago, for Fu Huai'an to taste.
Lin Nuan had thought that since Lin Ran wouldn't be around, Gu Shaoting wouldn't be showing up. Unexpectedly, not long after the dinner started, the door guards called to say that Young Master Gu, Gu Shaoting, had arrived.
Gu Shaoting brought Lin Jingquan an ink slab. Having been by Lin Jingquan's side for so many years, Lin Nuan was able to tell the good ones from the bad, so she could tell that this ink slab was one of good quality!
Back when Gu Shaoting had a marriage agreement with Lin Nuan, he wasn't so attentive at Lin Jingquan's birthday. He had considered Lin Jingquan's interests when giving him an ink slab, so one could tell he had put some thought into the gift.
Lin Nuan put some food onto the plate of Ji Yun, who was sitting next to her. When she thought of Lin Ran, she couldn't conceal the smile in her eyes.
By the time dinner ended, Tuan Tuan had fallen asleep slumped on Lin Nuan's shoulder…
Liang Mulan was afraid that Tuan Tuan might catch a cold if he went out asleep like that, so she invited Lin Nuan and Fu Huai'an to stay at the Lin residence for the night.
Fu Huai'an rejected her under the pretext of sending Ji Yun back to the villa.
Fu Huai'an understood Lin Nuan, and he knew that she cared about Lin Ran's feelings and was unwilling to go over that line in Lin Ran's heart!
Lin Ran had now let go of the past and was willing to interact with Lin Nuan. But Lin Nuan feared that if she wasn't careful, she would cross over that boundary in Lin Ran's heart. Hence, in her interactions with the Lin family, she inevitably acted with caution.
After sending Ji Yun back to the villa, Lin Nuan, Fu Huai'an, and Tuan Tuan didn't leave but stayed overnight to rest there.