?

  I originally planned to visit Ah Gui's home and make some inquiries. After hanging up the phone, I had dinner at Ah Gui's house and left with my backpack. Before leaving, I gave him my phone number and some money, asking him to call me as soon as he received any news about Baozi.

  Out of the mountainous area, coincidentally there was a flight ticket for that day, got on the plane and arrived in Hangzhou at 8pm. Modern high-tech is really great! Thinking back to previous times when I had to rush to catch trains and transfer buses, my intestines were all knotted up from the bumpy ride, can't help but laugh bitterly, what was I thinking back then?! As soon as I came out of the airport, a black Audi stopped right in front of me, it came so suddenly that it startled me.

  Subconsciously taking a step back, I stared warily at the Audi in front of me. This was an old model of the Audi A6, which had been worth over a million yuan when it first came out, but now couldn't be sold on the market and had instead become a sought-after collector's item for some car enthusiasts. Its shape was square and low-key; if not for the four rings on the front, no one would associate it with the beautifully styled Audi.

  The car window slowly rolled down, revealing a thin face inside, with high cheekbones and sharp eyes staring at me. I didn't recognize this person, but just his gaze made me feel that he was not simple. In the past few years, I had met many big and small figures, but the person in front of me was extraordinary.

  Before I could react, the person in the car spoke up in a low voice: "Second Master asked me to come pick you up, get in." The car door was pushed open from the inside by him, and I got on, even more puzzled in my heart. What had happened? An urgent letter, who would have sent it to me?

  The driver's face was expressionless, and we didn't exchange a word the whole way. I rarely got to see my Second Uncle, but in my imagination, he was a luxurious person. However, his luxury wasn't showy; most of the time, he wore white or light-colored traditional Chinese clothing, only changing into normal clothes when going out. His residence was originally my grandfather's property, now renovated into a small white villa. Among my grandfather's three sons, my dad was honest and down-to-earth, while my Third Uncle had a rugged air about him. My Second Uncle, on the other hand, was said to have been quite the ladies' man in his youth, exuding an aristocratic aura. Later, perhaps because he was too showy, he was educated by my grandfather and became much more low-key after that.

  Our Wu family's roots are in Changsha, so my second uncle rarely leaves the city limits. In Hangzhou, there is a small property with only one clock point worker who regularly goes to take care of it. I occasionally help out and take a look. The car wound its way through the streets and entered a cluster of old apartment buildings in the southern district. This old housing area was originally about to be demolished, but someone proposed preserving the era's characteristics, and two groups of people were arguing back and forth. Those old buildings still stand today.

  Before long, the low-key old Audi stopped at the entrance of the alley, and the man got out of the car and walked in front of me, leading the way quickly. I thought to myself, "This road is more familiar to me than you." Suddenly, the person in front turned his head, and his sharp eyes stared at me, frowning and saying, "Second Master has been waiting for a long time, hurry up." Today was exhausting enough, walking on mountain roads all day, then rushing to book plane tickets, and even accidentally spilling water on the plane. What kind of karma is this?

  Following him with a depressed mood, the corridor was pitch black, and there were not many people living in the densely packed tube-shaped buildings. The lights were sparse and scattered. My second uncle's house was on the first floor. As soon as I entered, there were several dishes placed on the table, and my second uncle was sitting in his seat smoking, wearing a white Tang suit for home wear.

  I called out to Second Uncle as I entered, he looked up and beckoned me over, saying "Sit down and eat first." The dark-faced god behind him directly closed the door and locked it from the inside, which made me feel that something was off.

  I sat under the second uncle, and the second uncle extinguished the half-smoked cigarette. He said to the dark-faced god: "Old Lei, sit down." The dark-faced god nodded expressionlessly, turned around, walked to the wall, pulled the curtains tightly, and then sat down.

  A year ago, when Second Uncle came to Zhangjia Ancient Building to rescue me, he brought all the good hands by his side. At that time, I didn't see this Old Lei, where did he pop out from? Seeing my sizing-up gaze, Second Uncle spoke up: "Old Lei is a partner I knew when I was young, we haven't seen each other for over twenty years, now he's temporarily with me." What they were doing together Second Uncle didn't say, anyway this Old Lei with a dark face was quite impolite, after sitting down he just took his chopsticks and started eating, more at ease than even me.

  I poured a glass of wine for my uncle, and then added another cup in front of Old Lei. I saw that my uncle's attitude towards him was not bad, so I had to give my uncle some face. He raised his head, looked at me expressionlessly, pushed the wine glass back to my uncle, and then continued eating with a straight face. I stared, what kind of person is this? Dammit, he's Small Brother's relative, right?

  Second Uncle waved his hand and said, "Old Lei can't drink too much wine, let's eat first." During the meal, Second Uncle chatted with me about some family matters and asked about my plans after taking over. I shared my thoughts with him, and he pondered for a moment before saying, "I don't care about Old Three's affairs, but you think it's easy to turn things around? The people under your control will definitely rebel." This is something I've also thought about - in the antique business, truly profitable deals are all done privately. Those really good items aren't allowed to be traded for money. If we want to do legitimate business, we'll have to reduce our profits by at least 50%. But if we don't do that, I really don't know how long I can hold on - maybe not even ten years, and then I'll end up in prison.

  The water is too deep here, I'm just an ordinary person, at most with a little money. If it weren't for the experiences of these few years, I would be someone who gets goosebumps from watching chickens being slaughtered. Being able to manage my own shop is already not bad, taking over Third Uncle's entire business, I admit I don't have that ability.

  I let out a wry smile, raised my cup in a toast to Second Uncle and said, "Second Uncle, it's not that I'm not trying my best. You've watched me grow up since I was young, you know what kind of person I am. If you really don't care about the affairs of our clan, Third Uncle's efforts will be ruined sooner or later. Just consider helping me out a bit, even if you want to wash your hands of it all, at least give me some advice."

  Second Uncle drank wine, listened and frowned, saying: "Follow your father's moral character." After finishing, he suddenly paused, looked at me and said in a low voice: "What kind of person you are I am indeed clear..." He stopped halfway and changed the subject, chatting with me about family affairs.

  I ate slowly and carefully, but I was uneasy at heart. Looking at Second Uncle's expression, he didn't seem to be in a hurry, so I tentatively asked: "Second Uncle, you were in such a rush to call me back, what about the letter?"

  At this time, we also ate almost the same. When I asked him like this, he put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth and stood up saying: "You come with me." I followed him into the study room. This study room was a bit chilly, compared to Second Uncle's villa it was like a slum. On the right side against the wall there was a row of bookshelves, by the window there was a worn-out wooden desk. He took out a key from his pocket, opened the drawer and pulled out a white envelope which he handed over to me saying: "You look yourself."

  I thought Second Uncle had already read it beforehand, otherwise he wouldn't have looked for me so urgently. I didn't expect the letter to still be unopened.

  This isn't an express delivery, but rather the oldest kind of yellow envelope with a glued seal. The recipient's address is my store, and the sender's address reads: Nanwei Road Old Teaching Dormitory 1 Building 303. It seems to be sent from within the city. There is no name for the sender, but in a conspicuous position on the envelope are written these few words: No evil, open personally.

  It's clear that this letter is meant for me to see, so Second Uncle has never opened it. At the moment, he was also staring nervously at the envelope in my hand.

  This letter was originally nothing special, but as soon as I saw the handwriting on it, I instantly understood why my uncle was so nervous. Looking at the familiar me above, I couldn't help but pinch myself, damn it hurts!

  But I would never mistake this handwriting, doing the rubbing business, having a keen discerning ability for notes, this font... this font is actually Third Uncle's handwriting!

  I opened my mouth wide, looked up at Second Uncle, and saw that he was staring intently at the letter in my hand. "Big nephew," he said, "quickly read what Third Brother wrote... damn it, this little devil is still alive!"

  My mind is in a mess, after the fall of Western Queen Mother's country, my third uncle has not returned for almost a year. He was bitten by a wild chicken's neck at that time, and those who stayed behind to take care of him were all people with divided loyalties. I had almost given up hope for my third uncle's survival. But now, the letter in front of me suddenly makes my head spin. First, there is great joy, followed by even deeper doubts... If my third uncle is still alive, why hasn't he shown himself? Has something else happened?

  For a moment, my mind was in a mess. My second uncle saw me like this and sighed, saying: "You can't figure out anything by staring at it like that." I came to my senses and hastily tore open the seal.