When Li Chu came out of the bedroom again, he was wearing a gray Zhongshan suit. It was new, made just last month, and he had never worn it.

"That's more like it." Li Qin nodded in satisfaction this time.

"Sis, Qiu Nan took them out before, so I didn't pay attention. There are three new items hanging in the closet, as well as a shirt."

"I always see Qiu Nan making clothes for you, why are you still wearing such old clothes? Be more careful in the future, don't cause Qiu Nan any gossip."

"Okay, sis."

"Alright, go ahead and go. What about those two paintings and calligraphy pieces you brought back?"

"It's in the study."

...

Half an hour later, Li Chu rode his bicycle to the road where Xu Damao's old restaurant was located.

It had been a long time since I'd ridden a bicycle. When I tried it out in the yard just now, Wang Yueyue, who ran out after hearing the noise, found it hilarious and laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up.

He pushed his bicycle slowly eastward along the road and soon saw the shop his sister had told him about.

There was no signboard at the entrance; they just pasted a piece of paper with the four large characters "装表字画" (meaning "installation of calligraphy and paintings") on the glass.

He propped up the car, took the two paintings and calligraphy pieces from the box from the back seat, and went inside.

"Comrade, would you like to have your calligraphy and paintings mounted?"

As soon as I entered, a voice asked.

Li Chu looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man who looked to be in his sixties sitting inside the glass counter, holding a pipe in his hand.

"Hello, is your surname Chen?"

“Yes, it’s me. And you are…” The old man behind the counter put down his pipe and stood up.

"Oh, Wang Ziwen is my brother-in-law. He came here today to ask you if you can restore calligraphy and paintings."

Point Guard Here

"Repairing calligraphy and paintings?"

The old man surnamed Chen hesitated for a moment after hearing this, and then asked, "Could you let me take a look at the items first? I can't say anything without seeing the specific damage."

"I brought the calligraphy and paintings." Li Chu placed the two boxes that were under his arm on the counter.

"What I find strange is that although the place where this calligraphy and painting is stored is quite damp, it feels like it was taken out of the water and then dried out. It starts to crumble as soon as you move it."

Old Chen was just about to open the box when he heard Li Chu's words and paused. Then, he carefully removed the elastic band from the box and gently opened it.

The calligraphy and paintings in the box were not only yellowed, but also had some cracks at the edges.

Old Chen looked at Li Chu with some suspicion: "Comrade, where did you find this? It can't be..." He pointed a finger downwards as he spoke.

His action startled Li Chu for a moment. He looked down at his feet and it took him a while to realize what the other person meant.

It seems people mistook him for a tomb raider.

“Master Chen, you’ve misunderstood. This was collected by a friend twenty years ago. He’s no longer with us. We’d forgotten about these things before, but we found them when the neighborhood committee was taking over the house and we were cleaning up our things.”

Old Man Chen was still somewhat skeptical of Li Chu's words. If he hadn't told Li Chu to call Wang Ziwen "brother-in-law" as soon as he entered, he probably would have been kicked out by now.

"Has Old Wang not gone to the opera these past few days?"

"Huh? My brother-in-law never listens to opera."

After he finished speaking, Li Chu realized that the other person was testing him or didn't quite believe him.

"Young man, I'm sorry, but I have to be careful. If this thing really came out from below, that's a crime."

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Li Chu waved his hand; what could he say?

“It really doesn’t seem like something caused by dampness.”

Old Chen explained, and then he opened the other box and looked inside. It was in the exact same condition as the first one.

"I'm sorry, I can't fix this. If I open it rashly like this, the painting will probably be completely ruined."

“Master Chen, what do you think caused this? When I first saw it, I also doubted that it was caused by dampness.”

"It's hard to say, there are too many possibilities. Like I just said, it could be that it came out from below, or it could have been watered and not properly treated."

Old Chen closed the two boxes again, tied them with elastic bands, and pushed them towards Li Chu.

"If we're talking about who could possibly do the restoration, Old Ma from the museum is one, but if we'd like to ask Old Ma to help..." Old Chen shook his head.

"As for whether there is anyone who can repair the city of Beijing, I can't think of anyone for the time being."

Li Chu looked at the two boxes on the counter with some regret: "Alright, then I won't bother you any longer. Thank you for your guidance, Master Chen."

"I couldn't help at all, so there's no need for thanks."

Seeing that the old man was still wary of him, Li Chu didn't linger any longer, picked up the two boxes, and took his leave.

After watching him ride away on his bicycle, Old Chen quickly came out from behind the counter, went straight to a small shop next door, greeted the owner, picked up the phone on the counter, and dialed a number.

He was still a little worried, so he called to confirm.

He knew that Wang Ziwen had a brother-in-law, but he had never met him. He had only heard that he was in the military, but the two of them didn't match the age he knew.

As far as he knew, Wang Ziwen's brother-in-law was over fifty years old, but the young man just now looked to be only in his thirties.

No one answered the phone, and Old Man Chen hung up in disappointment. He looked up at the clock on the wall of the convenience store and realized that the guy couldn't possibly be home at this time. If he wasn't mistaken, he was definitely over at Shichahai.

Thinking of this, he went back to his shop, pushed out a bicycle, locked the door, and rode off towards Shichahai.

When he arrived at the teahouse, it was bustling with activity. It was getting cold, and the old men were worried about not having a place to play chess.

You can't go up to the second floor, but there are four chess games in the lobby on the first floor, and even more people are watching.

"Old Wang, Old Wang, come out here, I have something to ask you."

"Old Chen, what's wrong?"

"Come on, let's talk at the door." Old Chen forcibly pulled Wang Ziwen down from a chess stall and led him to the door.

"What's all this secrecy about? I'm playing chess, and I'm about to win."

"Stop talking nonsense. I'm asking you, I remember you said you have a brother-in-law, is that right?"

"That's right, this teahouse belongs to my brother-in-law, so what?"

"How old is your brother-in-law?"

"It seems to be fifty-one, but..."