"But what?"

"However, my brother-in-law looks quite young. Judging from his appearance, he's at most in his thirties. So, Lao Chen, what exactly are you trying to do? Why are you asking about my brother-in-law?"

"Thirty-something? Are you sure your brother-in-law looks like he's in his thirties?" Old Chen didn't answer Wang Ziwen's question, but instead asked with some surprise.

"First, explain why you're asking these questions."

“Oh, it’s like this. A young man just came into my shop with two paintings and calligraphy pieces, asking me to see if I could repair them. He introduced himself as your brother-in-law, but I thought he was an imposter.”

"No, Lao Chen, are you crazy? Who would impersonate my brother-in-law for no reason?" Wang Ziwen felt like he was about to vomit blood. He had been dragged around and questioned for so long just for this.

"Hey, Lao Wang, don't be angry. The problem is that there's something wrong with the calligraphy and painting he brought, which is why I'm overthinking it."

"Something wrong? What's wrong?" Wang Ziwen opened the box and glanced at the two paintings and calligraphy pieces that had been brought back, but he couldn't see anything wrong with them.

Old Chen looked around before whispering, "That painting doesn't seem to have come from the right place. Your brother-in-law said it was left in a room for twenty years, and the room was too damp, which is why it turned out like that."

I looked at it, and it's simply impossible. The painting looks like it was dug out from underground, and it's just that it was well preserved underground, which is why it's so complete.

"Hey Lao Wang, I heard your brother-in-law's in the military. You can't do that kind of thing, not even things you've bought from someone else. Have you heard of Lao Jia from Liulichang? He got taken away by the police for accepting two items of dubious origin, and he hasn't been out for two months."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ziwen almost jumped up: "Old Chen, you can't talk nonsense. That painting was indeed found when we were cleaning the house. We've been wondering why it's changed into that state in just twenty years."

Seeing this, Old Man Chen didn't say anything more, he just nodded: "Alright, as long as you know what's going on, I'm going to play chess now, I'll go back first."

After saying that, he waved to Wang Ziwen, walked to the roadside, pushed his bicycle, and left.

He left, but Wang Ziwen was left feeling rather awkward by his words. She was in no mood to play chess anymore.

The siblings told him how the painting came to be. He hadn't even seen the house. He was furious just now, but he needed to get to the bottom of things first.

Thinking of this, he turned around and went inside, apologizing to each of his old friends who were playing chess and watching the game in the hall, and asking them to come back and play again tomorrow.

After everyone left, he didn't even bother to clean up; he locked the door and ran home.

When he ran back, panting, he found Li Chu and Li Qin, along with Li Qiaoyun, Wenxuan, and Yueyue, sitting in the living room watching the little rascal learn to walk.

Several loyal dogs stayed by their little master's side, showing how devoted they were.

"Hey, brother-in-law, why are you back so early today?"

"Come here, Xiao Chu, come out, I need to talk to you about something." Wang Ziwen didn't even bother to greet his nephew and directly beckoned Li Chu to come outside to talk.

"What's wrong, brother-in-law? Why are you running so fast?"

"I'm asking you, did you just go to Old Chen's place?"

"Yes, I want him to see if there's any possibility of restoring the calligraphy and painting."

"What did he say to you?"

"He didn't say anything, just that he was powerless to help. Oh, and he seemed to doubt my identity as well as the origin of the painting."

"Xiao Chu, explain to your brother-in-law where that painting came from."

"Brother-in-law, what do you mean?" Li Chu stared at Wang Ziwen with wide eyes.

"Old Chen told me that he suspects the painting was dug out from below." After saying that, Wang Ziwen also stared intently at his brother-in-law.

"What is all this nonsense? I don't know where those paintings came from, but my sister and I definitely took them from a house in the family compound."

Wang Ziwen finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; he had been genuinely worried.

In the past two years, more and more people have been getting into antiques, and the prices of those items have been steadily rising. Inevitably, some people have started to have ulterior motives.

After all, antiques are definitely valued for their rarity, and after those years of crackdowns, there were indeed fewer items available.

After being swept up by wave after wave of people, there's basically nothing of value left in the city.

Running to the surrounding rural areas? That's too much of a gamble.

If you still want to make money from this, what can you do? If it's no longer available above ground, then you can develop it underground.

After decades of decline, the profession of tomb raider has begun to develop rapidly again in the last two years.

What will inevitably follow is a blow.

"Xiao Chu, didn't you say there were some paintings and calligraphy in that room? What are you going to do about it now?"

"What else can I do? I plan to contact the museum tomorrow and ask them to handle it."

Now Wang Ziwen was completely relieved. It was good to have such a good relationship with them, and it saved her a lot of trouble, since her family didn't rely on this for a living anyway.

"Brother-in-law, you're showing a lack of trust in me and my sister."

"Hey, it's not that I don't trust you, it's that I'm worried you'll be scammed." Wang Ziwen quickly shook his head in denial. He dared not admit it; if his wife found out, she would scratch him to death.

Li Chu looked at her brother-in-law with a half-smile, but didn't say anything. After all, he was worried about the family.

"Brother-in-law, are you still going to the teahouse?"

"Forget it, I won't go today. I just closed the door."

"Then let's go inside; it's cold standing outside."

I have to say, I sweated quite a bit running back, but after standing at the door for a while, the sweat has dried up, and it's actually a bit chilly with the breeze.

As soon as I lifted the curtain and stepped inside, the little rascal who was standing there holding onto the coffee table saw his grandfather. He clapped his hands happily twice and walked over. After taking only two steps, he fell forward. He didn't cry, but stood up with the help of the dog next to him and continued walking.

And so, after falling three times over a distance of seven or eight meters, she finally managed to land in her grandfather's arms. She even clapped her hands in self-satisfaction and laughed heartily.

Babies this age are the most difficult to care for, as they are learning to walk and don't like being carried by adults; they want to walk on their own.

An adult following behind, bending over to support, can't keep up for long before their back gives out.

Fortunately, they have many dogs at home. Except for Da Sheng and Ba Jie, who are too old to move around, the other dogs will always stay by the child's side. The little rascal is also tough and doesn't cry when he falls down, just like he did just now.

The adults sat on the sofa chatting about everyday things, while Little Chou Bao, like a bandit leader, ran around the living room with several dogs, occasionally letting out a "ah" and laughing for a while, extremely happy.