Old Man Guan was very pleased with Wang Yue. The neighbors in the alley were envious, too.
Scrap Monkey was a perfect example!
As a collector of antiques, Scrap Monkey knew very well that Old Man Guan had plenty of them. Since they were about the same age, he couldn't help envying Old Man Guan's good fortune.
So when he saw Wang Yue, a man with such a busy schedule, still making time every week to accompany the old man to the opera, he turned to Han Chunming and said,
"Han Chunming, look at Wang Yue. He treats Old Guan better than a son would.
"But what about you? How many treasures have I given you? You still haven't built me an opera house."
Han Chunming immediately protested. "Scrap Monkey, you have to be fair! I've helped Sister Hou plenty over the years. Otherwise, do you think you and your daughter would have such a good relationship now?
"But what about you? You actually tried to compete with me for that landlord's dragon-and-phoenix bed. Tell me, aren't you ashamed?"
After starting his vegetable delivery business, Han Chunming had helped Hou Sue'e open a small greengrocer's shop. It sold fresh vegetables every day and did excellent business. By now, she was worth tens of thousands of yuan.
Now that Hou Sue'e had money, and knew Han Chunming had helped her out of respect for Scrap Monkey, she treated him with even greater respect. After years of estrangement, the father and daughter had finally reconciled.
As for the dragon-and-phoenix bed, it had been passed down through the family of an old landlord in the countryside nearby.
Beds back then were made of wood, and the kind used for beds in landlords' homes around Beijing was now exceedingly rare.
Han Chunming and Scrap