"I'm impressed! Xiao Fei, I'm completely won over by you," Hong Yunpeng exclaimed, giving me a thumbs-up. "You're younger than me, yet you understand so much more."
I smiled and replied, "I heard it from my dad."
"Your dad? What does he do?"
"He's a scavenger."
"Your old man must be a remarkable man," Hong Yunpeng said. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to raise you."
I chuckled and didn't reply. I raised my glass and took a sip of the wine, feeling a pang of bitterness.
My dad was indeed a remarkable man, and I wasn't even a tenth as capable as him...
Most importantly, whenever I thought of my dad, I felt an indescribable emotion.
Even now, I hadn't found out what kind of people those who forced him to his death were.
Sometimes, I even wondered if I would ever be able to find them.
When we left the restaurant, Hong Yunpeng was completely drunk, his speech slurred.
Seeing this, I knew it was impossible for him to drive me back.
So, I hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take Hong Yunpeng to the logistics company.
Seeing that it was still early, I decided to take a walk.
However, after walking for only about five or six minutes, Sister Ying's call came through.
"Xiao Fei, where are you?"
"I just finished dinner with Brother Hong, I'm on Hedong Road..."
"I'm coming to pick you up."
Before I could ask her what she needed me for, the line went dead.
About ten minutes later, Sister Ying's Crown car pulled over to the side of the road.
I got into the passenger seat and noticed that Sister Ying's expression seemed off.
"What's wrong, Sister Ying?"
She glanced at me and took a deep breath. "You've been drinking?"
"A little."
She stepped on the accelerator. "Want to have a couple more drinks with me?"
I was taken aback and instinctively replied, "Oh... okay..."
I expected Sister Ying to take me to a late-night snack stall to drink, but instead, she drove me to a residential complex.
As we entered the complex, I realized this was Sister Ying's home.
It was a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment, furnished entirely with Chinese antique furniture, giving the whole place a very retro feel.
I also noticed the absence of modern appliances like televisions, washing machines, and refrigerators.
There was a faint scent of bitter grass incense in the air, which I noticed was emanating from an incense burner on a long table.
"Make yourself comfortable," Sister Ying said, then went into a room and soon emerged with a bottle of red wine.
I caught a glimpse of that room and saw that the refrigerator, washing machine, and other appliances were all stored inside.
Sister Ying sat down and said, "This apartment belonged to my father, so the decor is all according to his preferences."
So that's why. I couldn't imagine Sister Ying being the type to like this antique style.
Given her usual stylish attire, she didn't seem like that kind of person.
Sister Ying poured me a glass of red wine. "If you can't drink it all, just have a little."
I nodded, took the wine glass, and asked, "Sister Ying, has something happened?"
"Hmm?"
"You seem to be in a bad mood."
Sister Ying picked up her glass and took a sip. "It's nothing, just that trouble has found me."
I was surprised. "Trouble?"
Sister Ying nodded, not elaborating on the nature of the trouble, but instead asked me, "Xiao Fei, have you found any clues regarding the Yixing teapots?"
Hearing her ask about this, I remembered my discovery and quickly recounted it to her. 138 Reading Network
Upon hearing my account, Sister Ying was visibly stunned, and she grabbed my hand. "Are you telling the truth?"
I nodded.
Without another word, Sister Ying stood up, grabbed her coat, and said, "Let's go to the factory!"
I hadn't expected Sister Ying to be in such a hurry, so I followed her to the factory.
The factory was deserted late at night. I found the Yixing teapots with the patterns, boiled some hot water, and demonstrated my findings to her.
When Sister Ying saw the patterns on the teapots, her eyes were filled with surprise.
She then ran to her car to get a camera and took pictures of all the patterns on the Yixing teapots.
I had planned to continue my demonstration, but Sister Ying said it was too slow.
She made a phone call, and soon a small truck arrived with two men I hadn't seen before.
As soon as they arrived, they followed Sister Ying's instructions and loaded all the Yixing teapots onto the truck.
Sister Ying lit a cigarette and said to me as she stood by the truck, "Xiao Fei, you've been a great help to me this time."
I smiled. "You're too kind, Sister Ying."
She was smiling broadly and asked me, "Xiao Fei, what do you think of Anyuantang?"
I wasn't sure what Sister Ying meant by this question, so I replied, "It's very good. The location is great, and the shop is spacious."
"What if I give it to you?"
"Huh?"
I felt my mind struggling to keep up. Give me Anyuantang?
What did she mean?
Sister Ying tossed away her cigarette butt, walked up to me, placed her hands on my shoulders, and said, "Xiao Fei, starting today, you are the owner of Anyuantang."
"Ah?" I was dumbfounded.
"I'll explain to Uncle Hong and the others later. From now on, you're in charge at Anyuantang." Sister Ying patted my shoulder, her eyes holding a hint of something more.
I was completely bewildered, not understanding the situation at all.
Just because I helped Sister Ying uncover the clues hidden in the Yixing teapots, she was giving me Anyuantang?
This...
As I was still trying to process this, the two men who had been moving the items walked up to Sister Ying. "Everything's loaded onto the truck."
Sister Ying nodded and said to them, "Alright, you guys go ahead. I'll be there shortly."
"Okay."
I subconsciously glanced at the two strangers and noticed that they both had tattoos on their rolled-up sleeves.
Before I could get a closer look, Sister Ying handed me a bank card. "Xiao Fei, take this."
"What is this?"
"Just keep it. The password is six zeros." Sister Ying took a deep breath, seemingly wanting to say more but hesitating.
For some reason, I felt like Sister Ying was keeping many things from me, and her current expression seemed more and more like she was about to...
"Xiao Fei..." Sister Ying smiled and adjusted my collar. "This is the outfit I bought for you. Remember to wear it, okay?"
"Okay."
Sister Ying patted my shoulder and then got into the car.
With a roar, all I could see were the red taillights of the car.
At that moment, for some reason, my heart felt a sudden panic, a feeling similar to when my father passed away.
A strong intuition told me that I might never see Sister Ying again!
Even though it was just a fleeting thought, it was incredibly clear.
Even I was startled by it. It couldn't be, could it?!