As soon as Mrs. Li left, Pei Manning locked the door and returned to the Xumi Realm, where she cleaned the ivory ball with clean water.

Because there are many layers of carving, and some places are carved very finely and repeatedly, they are filled with mud and dirt, which makes it difficult to clean.

This kind of ivory ball is also called a ghost ball, which means supernatural workmanship. The craftsmanship is very complicated and superb. The one Pei Manning bought is carved with mountains, rivers and animals, with exquisite and transparent patterns, and is exquisite and wonderful.

After Pei Manning washed it clean, she placed it in the Xumi world to dry. After admiring it for a long time, she remembered the rosewood makeup box she had bought with the item, and then she took it out.

This makeup box looked like it was quite old, with a layer of patina on the surface. Pei Manning followed the method she remembered and pulled out the tightly interlocking wooden strips one by one.

There was a small compartment inside, containing several rotten land deeds and a rotten bank deposit slip. As for the other papers, they were so rotten that it was impossible to tell what was originally written on them.

The only things that were not damaged were a painting on kraft paper and a key.

However, the content of this painting is a bit strange. It looks like a topographic map with many small dots marked on it. When the dots are combined, they look like the distribution map of the Xu Constellations in the Twenty-Eight Constellations.

There are no other words on it, only a few simple symbols. Perhaps only the person who drew this picture knows what each symbol represents, right?

Pei Manning didn't understand, so she locked the brown paper in a box on the dressing table, then flipped through the damaged deeds and letters. From the parts that were still intact, she vaguely saw the words "Shanghai Road", and the bank deposit slip was also from the Shanghai Bank.

The original owner of this box should be from Shanghai, but for some reason, it ended up in Nanjing, got soaked in water, and was sold as waste?

As for the letters, the ink had all been smudged, and one could just barely make out the first two words, which looked like "Azuma..."

During this time, Pei Manning found a lot of old things in the flea market. From these things, one can vaguely guess what kind of ups and downs their owners have experienced, as if uncovering one secret and unknown story after another.

…

When Mrs. Li returned home, she heard the sound of model operas.

Old Li was lying on a rattan chair with a single-speaker radio on the table next to him. He closed his eyes and leisurely followed the beat with his hands.

"You're back?" As soon as he heard the door close, Lao Li opened his eyes and asked with a smile, "He Zhi, why have you been so gloomy these days?"

Mrs. Li looked a little unhappy and hung the bag behind the door: "Why else?"

Old Li held the armrest and sat up slowly: "I told you a long time ago not to meddle in other people's business, but you just didn't listen! You said that even if you want to introduce someone to me, you should test the waters first, is that okay now?"

"How could I know that this girl who looks normal could be so unreliable? Being the daughter of the deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee, how glorious it is! How many girls are fighting for a date? Who wouldn't rush to see him as soon as they heard about it? Who would push away such a good opportunity from heaven?"

Sister Li got angry just thinking about it. Although the two families were already five generations apart, they both had the surname Li, passed down from the same ancestor, otherwise she would have wanted to marry her daughter to him.

If any of her nieces and nephews are good-looking, would it be her turn to introduce them to Pei Manning next door?

"You told the son of the vice-chairman of the Family Revolutionary Committee? How did the girl react? She didn't move at all." Old Li was puzzled. It seemed that this girl's family was quite powerful.

"Look at me! I'm so angry that I haven't even had the chance to say anything about the man's situation! Fortunately, I haven't had the chance to say anything yet. Even if she is willing this time, I wouldn't dare to introduce her." Otherwise, my son will be bewitched by his wife in the future and listen to his wife in everything. Her distant cousin is so powerful that she will tear her apart!

Lao Li asked: "Then how are you going to get back to your sister-in-law?"

"Just find a reason and it won't work. Anyway, there are plenty of girls willing to see you!"

Old Li nodded at her a few times with his hand and said, "What are you doing? You called your wife's mother-in-law here first, and she was satisfied. Now you are telling your mother that it won't work. Isn't this offending her?"

Sister Li was also a little worried, and her tone became anxious: "Isn't this all for our soldiers? As a father, you don't even think of a solution, and I'm counting on Sister-in-law to help arrange a job. Isn't this just desperate?"

Old Li was speechless: "Then you should ask the girl first if she is willing or not!"

"You don't know, there are many people who want to introduce daughters-in-law to my sister-in-law. I'm just afraid that someone will take the first place. Jianrong is so picky, isn't he? He doesn't like this one, and he doesn't like that one. But Pei Manning next door has such a beautiful face and figure that every man who has seen her would be tempted! I thought that if Jianrong's marriage was done, my sister-in-law would be relieved. Why don't you help us get a job in the army for this matter?"

"Jianrong is the son of the deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee after all, so it's not unfair to Pei Manning. Both parties must be satisfied with this marriage. Who would have thought that Pei Manning, who usually looks gentle, would have such ridiculously high requirements! The son of the deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee may not be pleasing to her. I want to see what kind of person she can pick out. Isn't her brother an officer in the army? If there is something wrong, find her a son of a military commander!"

Lao Li poured her a glass of water and said, "Alright, alright, you're angry too. Think about how to deal with this matter first. Don't make things difficult for both sides and offend both sides!"

Sister Li sat down on the chair and sighed, "This is my first time as a matchmaker and I have no experience. I will never do such a hard and unpopular thing again."

…

That being said, I still have to respond to my cousin's wife.

Carrying a few kilograms of apples, two cans of maltose, a few cigarettes bought with special tickets for cadres, and two bottles of Maotai liquor, Sister Li went to her cousin's house.

Her cousin's wife, however, was no longer surprised by these gifts. She sat on the sofa and asked the so-called "distant relative" but actually a nanny to pour two cups of tea for her.

Sister Li smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, I came here today just to tell you that the woman has replied."

My cousin's wife never thought of any other possibilities, and said calmly, "Then let's find a time, when Jianrong is free, and have the girl come to our house to see him."

Sister Li was in a dilemma, so she begged Xiao Dong: "Sister-in-law, this is what happened. Pei Manning's family said that she is still young and needs to stay for two more years."

When my cousin's wife heard this, she could tell that this was a polite refusal, and her face immediately turned unhappy. It has always been their family that chooses the girl's family, and the girl never chooses them. She immediately lost her good impression of this girl who took advantage of her looks to get what she wanted.

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't work out. Our Jianrong can find any kind of girl."

She still disliked the coquettish look of that Pei girl. If she persuaded her son with some persuasion, maybe her son would listen to this girl in the future.

"Yes, sister-in-law, we need to find a better guy like Jianrong. Pei Manning looks cute, but she is very opinionated. I'm afraid she won't be obedient in the future."

"What do you mean by obedient?" Li Jianrong walked out of the house.

"It's nothing, Jianrong. You've woken up. There are buns in the pot that are warm. Eat them before going to work. It's cold today, so put on more clothes before going out." As soon as she saw her son, a smile broke out on her sullen face and she quickly changed the subject.

After all, it's nothing to be happy about.

Li Jianrong took the buns and went out, then called his lackeys from the back and said with a gloomy face, "Go, tell me what's going on with Pei... Pei what's Ning who lives in Yanzi Lane?"

Ever since his father came to power, Li Jianrong has been able to get whatever he wants these years. There have always been women he doesn't like. This is the first time he is looked down upon by a woman, and he feels uncomfortable.

A few days ago he heard that this distant cousin's neighbor had a very pretty girl and wanted to introduce her to him, but he didn't take it seriously.

Every introduction says this, wanting to praise the woman to the highest degree, but in reality, she is just so-so.

He is not obsessed with that girl called Pei Something Ning now, and he, Li Jianrong, is not a mean person. It's just that he is uncomfortable and will definitely not let others have an easy time. He doesn't know what's good for him. What the hell is this?

…

Pei Manning didn't know yet that an unexpected disaster had befallen her.

She usually stays at home and rarely goes out. She spends most of her time at home, drawing some sketches, planting crops in the Xumi world, and harvesting vegetables. The fruit tree seeds she planted before finally bloomed.

Because the other half of the field separated by the Xumi River was inaccessible, the area she could plant was limited, so she only planted one of each type of fruit tree, occupying less than an acre of land.

After the fruit trees grew, Pei Manning drove the chickens and ducks into the orchard and then built a fence around it to prevent them from destroying her flowers, herbs, vegetables and food.

When I went out, I went to relatively fixed places. I would either take the tram to the Xinhua Bookstore, or go to the flea market, or go to the grain and oil station and the state-owned vegetable store.

As the year was coming to an end, more and more people were buying things in department stores and flea markets. Pei Manning was squeezed in the crowd and almost couldn't get out.

She followed the tide and once again ran into Zheng Geng coming out of a second-hand electronic component store.

Pei Manning couldn't help but feel strange. Didn't Zheng Geng say that he would stay in Nanjing for a few days and then return to his hometown? He had said this to Han Jingchen before.

But after so long, he still hadn't returned. As far as she knew, the time on the letter of introduction he brought with him had already expired, right? He definitely couldn't stay at the guesthouse, so where did he usually live?

Soon, Pei Manning knew the answer, because she saw Zheng Geng walked into a yard not far from the flea market, and the person who opened the door was his partner from last time.

Pei Manning was not a person who liked to meddle in other people's business, although she guessed that Zheng Geng might be hiding something from Han Jingchen and doing something speculative in secret.

She walked straight home, and just as she reached the door, she saw a tall, thin man leaning against the alley, smoking a cigarette, looking around absentmindedly with his eyes narrowed.

Pei Manning lowered her head slightly, half of her face buried in her scarf, and did not go home, but went straight to the door of Mrs. Xu's house.

Before he had taken two steps, he was stopped with a smile on his face.

"Don't go, little sister."

Pei Manning raised her eyes, her gaze was very calm: "I don't know you, please make way."

The gangster's eyes suddenly widened, staring at Pei Manning's face without moving. After a while, he came to his senses and said with a smile: "You don't know me? It's like being familiar the second time. Now you know me, right? My name is Wu Dezheng, you can just call me Brother Wu."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but touch Pei Manning's snow-white and smooth face.

Pei Manning dodged his outstretched hand and said, "Get out of the way, or I'll scream!"

Wu Dezheng laughed shamelessly and said, "Okay, go ahead and let them see us having sex in the alley."

Pei Manning looked unhappy. This kind of scoundrel would only say some unbearable words, confuse right and wrong, and throw dirty water on her.

"What do you want to do?" she asked in a low voice.

"Your name is Pei Manning, right?" Wu Dezheng tugged at her scarf.

Pei Manning's eyes flickered slightly. It turned out that he came specifically for her.