Qingyun Town is the most remote town in the county, and the nearest township is 40 kilometers away.

After a whole night of running around, we finally settled down in this town.

Although this town isn't very big, it's far superior to Qingyun Town, at least it has a more modern feel.

To avoid being exposed, we did not stay in a hotel in town. The Jiang family acted swiftly and decisively, spending 130,000 yuan to buy a detached bungalow on the edge of town.

Having found a place to stay, I slept until noon, and then got up to examine the golden rooster I had brought back.

Previously at the altar, everyone thought the golden rooster was made of pure gold, but after I learned that the rooster's head was a key, I gave up that idea.

Gold is a very soft metal; even biting it with your teeth will leave a noticeable mark. If used as a key, it is easily broken and deformed.

Inside the courtyard, I used the blowtorch prepared by the Jiang family to bake the chicken's rear end for a while. I found that after the gold on the surface melted, the metal inside did not change.

As I was fiddling with it, Monkey walked into the studio: "Young Master Duan, can your craftsmanship really replicate that key?"

"Even if I haven't eaten pork, I've always seen pigs run. I've learned some skills from Su Jialiang. And the key that connects to the chicken head isn't too complicated. First, use silicone to demold it, and then leave the rest to the Jiang family. Tianxia Group deals in antiques, so replicating something so simple isn't difficult."

When I was in Henan, Su Jialiang took me to visit the Su family's workshop, where I saw workers using the lost-wax casting method to reproduce bronze artifacts.

In the earliest times, plaster was used to imitate bronzes. However, plaster is hard and lacks elasticity. Improper mold separation can easily lead to difficulties in demolding. Therefore, it is labor-intensive, requires high technical skills, and is not very effective in replicating fine patterns.

In addition, plaster material is very easy to leave residue on the surface of cultural relics, especially when making replicas of some objects with loose and fragile surfaces, plaster casting poses potential risks.

With the development of technology, plaster has gradually been replaced by low-temperature tin-lead alloys or resin-based materials. These materials have good toughness and are not easy to adhere to the surface of bronzes, making them easier to work with.

I used to watch the master craftsmen at the Sujialiang factory making molds, and it seemed like they were doing it like a machine on an assembly line, easily producing one. It wasn't until I tried it myself that I realized how difficult it was.

The molds I get after demolding are either not hard enough or full of air bubbles.

After several attempts, I still couldn't get a satisfactory result, so I had no choice but to call Su Jialiang and ask him to teach me some techniques.

Su Jialiang was very efficient; he directly found a mentor to provide me with video tutorials.

With the guidance of a professional craftsman, I finally managed to create a replica of the key in one go.

Because the key is spiral, it must be rotated to take it out. The monkey lamented that he thought he would make a fortune, but in the end, all he brought out was a metal lump.

When Wei Shengnan woke up, the demolding on my side was already finished. After having someone send the items away, she made a few phone calls outside and then hurriedly came to me: "Duan Shenxing, I have good news. Our people in Ping'an Town have found out about Qu Ruilin and his group! They are posing as peddlers who buy mountain products and are staying at a villager's house under aliases. I have already had people keeping an eye on them!"

I immediately perked up: "What else did they find out? Besides the chicken head they stole from us, did they also get other animal heads?"

Jiang Man shook her head: "Currently, we only know their whereabouts. It's said that Qu Ruilin and his group are very cautious, living separately in two courtyards. The back window of the front courtyard faces the back courtyard directly. My people suspect that they are being watched around the clock. They asked me if they should investigate Qu Ruilin and his group, but I refused. I know those people are shrewd and I'm afraid that my subordinates might cause trouble if they act recklessly! I asked the mold maker, and the key replicas won't be delivered for at least three days. In the meantime, we can perhaps figure out how to get back what we lost!"

"Let's set off now, straight to Qingyun Town! Also, have your people... no, we can't use your people."

I thought for a moment, then took out my phone and scrolled through my contacts: "I'll call Old Zhou from the forestry station. He's a local. I can use his identity to arrange for Wei Shengnan's landlord to come out. That should be fine."

...

Old Zhou isn't a bachelor, but he's practically one.

After his son graduated from university, he settled down in Guangdong, got married, and had children. He originally planned to bring his parents there to take care of them after he made some money. However, his daughter-in-law disliked the fact that they came from the mountains and couldn't stand them no matter what.

Old Zhou was stubborn, and in a fit of anger, he moved back to his hometown. However, his wife was in poor health and needed to go to the hospital for check-ups frequently, so she stayed in another city with her son.

When we went to see Lao Zhou that day, we brought a lot of local specialties, which made Lao Zhou very happy. He even went to the cellar and brought out his daughter's red wine that he had been storing for more than 20 years.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, I asked Lao Zhou, "Master Zhou, did you make the appointment with Li Changyou that I asked you to help me with?"

"We made an appointment. Come to think of it, Li Changyou is actually my distant nephew! This kid made a fortune years ago by dealing in mountain products. He was the first family in Qingyun Town to own a tractor. Unfortunately, he didn't do anything productive. When he went to other towns to collect mountain products, he got into gambling and ruined his family in less than half a year! Not only did his wife and children run away, but he also had his leg broken because of debts. What a tragedy!"

When Lao Zhou mentioned Li Changyou, he gave me a look of disappointment and frustration. Then he looked at me and said, "Boss Duan, this bastard owes you money, doesn't he?"

I replied with a smile, "Master Zhou, what are you thinking? We're here to help alleviate poverty, not some loan shark gang. How could we possibly be chasing Li Changyou for debts? We just heard he's a cripple, so we were thinking of seeing if he's having any difficulties in his life and maybe giving him a targeted poverty alleviation quota or something."

Old Zhou sighed deeply: "Although Li Changyou and I are related, I advise you to give this spot to someone else! There are many poor households in Qingyun Village. If you help others, you are saving a family! If you help Li Changyou, no matter how much money you give him, that bastard will gamble it away!"

Just then, a middle-aged man in his early forties lifted the curtain and walked into the room, smiling at Old Zhou: "Uncle, we can't talk badly about people behind their backs, okay? I quit gambling a long time ago!"