Sister Ying left the shop after half an hour.
I ate my boxed meal, thinking about the Xuande kiln.
Before, when I said I could make the Xuande kiln indistinguishable from the real thing, Sister Ying was very interested.
But after I finished fixing the Xuande kiln, she seemed to be indifferent again.
It was the same with burying the stove.
The day I finished the stove, I had intended to tell her, but I forgot later.
Then the shop was robbed, and the matter was never brought up.
So many days have passed, and she only came to ask me now.
Even if she trusted me, she wouldn't have been so indifferent for so many days.
And just now, she only asked me where I buried the stove, without asking for the specific location.
The pond behind the farmhouse's back mountain is not small, and it's not easy to find.
Thinking about it, I felt that Sister Ying must have had other plans.
Only then could it be explained.
But I couldn't ask too much about her specific plans.
After all, I was completely clueless about her now, as if someone I saw often had suddenly become a stranger.
I sighed, and for some reason, I lost my appetite.
I've been in Guangling for so long, and there's been no progress on my father's matters.
I had vowed to give my father an explanation, but now I was completely in the dark.
I tidied up the table and took out my father's notebook from my waist.
I carried this notebook with the ancestral "Seven Stars Nine Secrets Profound Sky Secret Art" every day, even sleeping with it under my pillow.
I opened the notebook with the cowhide cover and read it from beginning to end again.
I had read the contents of the notebook countless times. The information was fragmented, neither like a diary nor like research notes.
For example, several pages were just words, either place names or people's names.
The problem was that I had never heard of the place names written, and the names were even more speechless.
Names like "Goudan," "Erhua," or "Old Village Chief," etc.
It was completely incomprehensible.
Let alone clues, it was difficult even to understand.
After flipping through it for a while, I put the notebook away.
My thoughts returned to Sister Ying.
...
In a blink of an eye, only one day was left in the ten-day period.
During this time, Sister Ying hadn't visited the shop.
As I estimated that the Xuande kiln could be unearthed tomorrow, I thought she should come, right?
But I waited until past eleven o'clock at night and didn't see her.
After waiting for another half hour, I gave up. I picked up the iron hook by the door and was about to close it when a figure darted in.
Before I could see who it was, I heard a man's voice: "Is Boss An not here?"
I turned around and saw a man wearing a black leather jacket, liberation shoes, and a shifty look.
"Who are you?" I frowned slightly.
The man asked displeasedly, "I'm asking you. Is Boss An here?"
"What do you need to see Sister Ying for?"
The man glanced at me impatiently and said, "Tell Boss An that I've got what she wants. Meet me at the old place with the money."
After speaking, the man darted out without looking back.
I was left in a daze.
After thinking about it, I closed the shop door and went to a small store that was still open. I used the landline to call Sister Ying.
After explaining the situation to her, Sister Ying mused on the phone for a moment and said, "Wait for me at the entrance of Hongyuan. I'll come to pick you up later."
Hearing this, it was clear that Sister Ying was going to take me somewhere.
After hanging up the phone, about ten minutes later, Sister Ying's car stopped in front of me.
"Xiao Fei, get in."
I opened the car door and got in. It was almost midnight.
"Sister Ying, where are we going?" I asked.
"Help me appraise something," Sister Ying said.
Hearing this, I didn't ask any more questions.
The car quickly left the city and drove along the national highway to a village.
When we arrived, I found that Hong Yunpeng and his son were also there.
They were standing by a Santana car, smoking.
When they saw me and Sister Ying, Uncle Hong looked confused: "Young lady, why did you call Xiao Fei here?"
Sister Ying said, "One more person, two more eyes."
Uncle Hong nodded, then knocked on the window of the Santana.
Soon, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and carrying a briefcase got out of the car.
When he saw Sister Ying, he grinned and said, "Boss An."
"Professor Li, let's go in."
Sister Ying greeted him and led the way towards a self-built house.
I knew I was here tonight to appraise something.
That Professor Li was likely an academic expert.
But I was a little curious, what was the item that needed appraisal in the middle of the night?
As we walked into the yard of the self-built house, four or five people were standing inside, making quite a scene.
Sister Ying seemed unconcerned and walked directly into the house.
We followed her in.
There were several bunk beds in the living room. The bedding on the beds clearly hadn't been changed for a long time, and the cement floor was covered with yellow mud.
Cigarette butts and instant noodle boxes were scattered everywhere, and an unpleasant smell permeated the air.
In the center was a square table, and the playing cards on it had not been put away yet.
"Boss An is here?" A man walked out from the inner room.
This was the same jacket man who had come to the shop earlier.
"Where's the goods?" Sister Ying asked indifferently.
The man grinned, walked under a bunk bed, and pulled out a cardboard box from inside.
Then he placed the cardboard box on the table.
"This is what you want," the man said, licking his lips.
Sister Ying winked at Hong Yunpeng, who quickly stepped forward, trying to take out the item from the cardboard box.
Just then, the jacket man grabbed Hong Yunpeng's hand: "Boss An, we had an agreement, money for goods... I've brought the goods, but I haven't seen the money yet."
"Uncle Hong," Sister Ying called out.
Uncle Hong stepped forward, and only then did I see the plastic bag he was carrying.
He placed the plastic bag on the table, and the jacket man eagerly opened it for a look.
From my angle, I couldn't see what was inside, but from the greedy look in the jacket man's eyes, I was sure it was all money!
"Let's inspect the goods."
Sister Ying said, and then sat down on a chair nearby.
Hong Yunpeng quickly took out something wrapped in red cloth from the cardboard box.
Just as I was wondering what it was.
Hong Yunpeng unwrapped the red cloth, startling me.
A Xuande kiln?!