"Impossible." Aunt Gao still didn't believe it. "Unless they're twins, how could they look so alike that I mistook them for twins?"
“Zhao Zhao does have a cousin who looks a lot like her,” Aunt Hao said quietly. “She came to see Zhao Zhao today. I accompanied her here myself. Some people in the village should have seen her.”
Those watching the spectacle outside immediately nodded in agreement: "That's right, that's right, I've seen it too, they really do look very similar."
"However, there's an old saying that goes, 'Catch the thief with the stolen goods, catch the adulterer in the act.' You only glanced at him from afar and didn't catch anyone. You didn't care about the consequences and just kept yelling at one person. That's not appropriate." Aunt Hao looked at Gao Sangu and continued, "If you're so capable, catch that man too. Since this happened in our village, it's probably one of the men in our village."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Gao's sharp gaze immediately pierced the men watching the commotion outside, sending chills down their spines.
"Come here, all of you, and let me see if your figures are similar." Aunt Gao rushed out again in a flurry.
Those who had been gathered at the entrance to watch the commotion immediately dispersed.
"Why are you running away? You won't let me see, are you all feeling guilty?" Aunt Gao's voice gradually faded into the distance and soon disappeared.
Aunt Hao looked at Xing Zhaozhao with a bitter face and said, "I think I really am getting old, and my eyesight is not good anymore. They are all taking advantage of me like a fool."
As he spoke, his eyes reddened. Thinking of what he had said to Xing Zhaozhao before, he wished he could slap himself twice.
Xing Zhaozhao quickly comforted her, "How could that be? They're just too good at lying."
Aunt Hao sighed and said, "I feel like I've had a run of bad luck these past two years. Nothing good has happened. I just got to know Zhang Wenming, and then Lin Wan came along. Oh, right, Lin Wan just ran into Zhang Wenming when she saw me off. It's like adding insult to injury. I'm really having a run of bad luck. I need to find a good day and secretly go to my third aunt's place to ask her to get rid of this bad luck for me."
Captain Gao, who was standing nearby, overheard the conversation and immediately glared at him: "What bad luck are you talking about? This is a new society, why are you still indulging in these feudal superstitions? Do you want to be criticized and denounced?"
Aunt Hao quickly smiled and said, "I was just saying, just saying."
"You can't say anything, or if someone overhears you, you'll be in big trouble," Captain Gao scolded.
"Yes, yes, yes, I won't even mention it anymore," Aunt Hao quickly agreed.
Captain Gao then left with his hands behind his back, as he needed to hurry back and tell his wife that his eldest grandson had found a girlfriend and that they could start getting married.
After Captain Gao left, Xing Zhaozhao approached Aunt Hao and asked, "Auntie, you just said that Lin Wan ran into Zhang Wenming at the door when she saw you off?"
"Yes." Aunt Hao nodded, looking at Xing Zhaozhao's thoughtful expression, a thought flashed through her mind, and she quickly realized: "You don't mean you think they..."
“That’s right,” Xing Zhaozhao said. “After Lin Wan saw you off, she came back and soon after, she also said she wanted to leave. Even though she didn’t want to leave before, I told her to…”
Aunt Hao clapped her hands and said, "What you say makes sense. But when did they start dating? I think she's only been to our village twice, right?"
Xing Zhaozhao shrugged and said, "Who knows? Birds of a feather flock together; a single glance might be enough to hook up."
"Of course, this is just our guess, and there is no evidence, so if she comes again in the future..." Xing Zhaozhao looked at Aunt Hao.
Aunt Hao understood immediately, patted her chest, and said, "Don't worry, leave everything to me."
Having recently acquired a Tang Dynasty bronze mirror from Qin Shi, Xing Zhaozhao originally planned to make another trip to the gate as soon as possible to find Mr. Lu, and also to find a good buyer for the incense that the old principal had personally made.
However, on second thought, she felt a little embarrassed for troubling them so many times, especially those elderly men, so she chose a nice day and went into the mountains again, heading straight to the hot spring she had found before.
She hadn't been there for several months, and the wild strawberries and wild mushrooms she had picked before had all grown back. She picked them all and filled her basket to the brim.
Back home, she divided everything up. She kept some for her own children, some for Xiao Qinshi and Fu Lan, and distributed the rest among the old men. She also kept one portion for Mr. Lu and Zhou Huaixi. If he were still in China, there would be two portions left: one for Lao Qinshi and the other for Fu Hong.
After tidying up, Xing Zhaozhao carried her basket and went to the door again. Almost a week had passed since she had eagerly run to those old men to inquire about Gao Mingcheng.
"Hello, gentlemen, it's been a long time." Xing Zhaozhao greeted the gentlemen with a smile.
"Here you are, Xiao Xing." Several elderly men greeted Xing Zhaozhao warmly when they saw her.
"By the way, Xiao Xing, didn't you come over last time to ask about the Iron-Blooded Warrior? If you want to find him, you can actually..." Grandpa Song remembered Xing Zhaozhao suddenly rushing over last time and reminded her.
When Xing Zhaozhao heard Grandpa Song mention Gao Mingcheng, her expression froze for a moment. Before Grandpa Song could finish speaking, she shook her head with a smile and said, "No need, I won't look for him anymore. How could ordinary people like us possibly be worthy of someone like him?"
"Actually..." Grandpa Song wanted to say something, but Xing Zhaozhao interrupted him without hesitation.
"By the way, I brought some nice things for you today," Xing Zhaozhao said with a smile.
The eyes of the elderly men lit up simultaneously, and even Grandpa Song quickly forgot what he was about to say and looked at Xing Zhaozhao expectantly: "What good stuff?"
Xing Zhaozhao unloaded her basket and handed out the small, pre-packaged gifts to the elderly men one by one: "This is for Grandpa Song, this is for Professor Wu, and this is for Grandpa Xu..."
Upon receiving the gifts, the elderly men couldn't wait to open them and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, these wild strawberries and wild mushrooms are so fresh! Were they just picked?"
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and nodded: "I just went into the mountains to pick them yesterday. They were picked before, and this is a new batch that has grown. I'm giving them to you gentlemen to have a taste these days, thanks to the care you've given me."
They had known Xing Zhaozhao for quite some time, and the gentlemen accepted her kindness with smiles, saying, "Then we won't stand on ceremony."
Xing Zhaozhao took out two more portions from her basket and handed them to Professor Wu.
Professor Wu was somewhat surprised: "How come I still have some?"
"I would like to trouble Professor Wu to pass these two copies on to Mr. Lu and Mr. Zhou. If Mr. Zhou is no longer in the country, then his copy will be given to Professor Wu," Xing Zhaozhao said.
Professor Wu replied with a smile, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. It's true that Professor Zhou is not in the country anymore, which is perfect for me to gain an extra benefit for nothing."
Xing Zhaozhao handed over another cloth bag, smiling as she said, "I didn't get this for nothing. Please give this to Mr. Lu for me."
Professor Wu reached out and took it: "What is this?"
"I found a bronze mirror, supposedly from the Tang Dynasty. Could you please help me appraise it, Mr. Lu? If the price is right, you can help me sell it directly, and I'll take the commission as before," Xing Zhaozhao said.
Professor Wu opened it, examined it carefully, and nodded earnestly: "Don't worry, leave it to me."
"Okay, I have other things to do, so I'll be going now. You guys have fun." Xing Zhaozhao said, slung her basket back over her shoulder, waved to them, and left.
Across the street, a man, his head and face completely wrapped in a black down jacket, stared intently at Xing Zhaozhao. He pulled out a photo from his phone, confirmed it was correct, and immediately made a phone call. After saying something, he hung up and followed Xing Zhaozhao over.
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