After dinner, Lu Jiaxin said she wanted to go for a walk and asked Gu Wenfeng to accompany her. Xue Mao wanted to follow, but she found an excuse to stay.

Walking along the road to a more secluded place, Lu Jiaxin said, "You didn't tell Zhao Dajun about the treasure hunt, did you?"

Gu Wenfeng shook his head. Before Lu Jiaxin expressed her opinion, he did not reveal a single word to Zhao Dajun.

Lu Jiaxin was immediately relieved: "Brother Gu, don't tell him about the treasure hunt. Find an excuse for him to return to Sijiu City."

Although Gu Wenfeng had just guessed from this, he still asked: "Miss Lu, can you tell me why?"

Lu Jiaxin was silent for a moment and then said, "Through our contact over the past few days, I feel that given Zhao Dajun's personality, he will most likely ask me to donate the treasure once I find it."

Gu Wenfeng was surprised: "Miss Lu, why do you think so?"

Lu Jiaxin had her reasons for thinking this way: "My second uncle and his family wanted to occupy my house, but I fought back. He thought I was disrespectful. One of my nieces dropped out of school due to a family change, and I sponsored her to continue her studies. He thought it was more meaningful to support others than to spend money recklessly."

How should I put it? Zhao Dajun's character and ability were fine, but he liked to stand on the moral high ground and make comments. And she hated this kind of person the most.

Gu Wenfeng didn't want Zhao Dajun to go back, so he thought for a moment and said, "Miss Lu, I'll test him tonight. If he really wants to, let him go back."

"Try it out first!"

Lu Jiaxin hoped that Gu Wenfeng would stay and help her, so she was willing to give him this face.

Gu Wenfeng is tight-lipped but capable, and has connections in the ancient capital. The last one was beyond her expectations. But it was also a good thing, as there were people to help her when she encountered difficulties.

In the evening, Gu Wenfeng chatted with Zhao Dajun and turned the topic to antiques. He said that one of his comrades had an heirloom at home. Later, because there was no room for the family and they always quarreled, the father of his childhood friend sold the treasure and bought a house for each of his three sons.

"What treasure?"

Gu Wenfeng said: "The imperial edict of Emperor Yongzheng was written by him. This emperor's handwriting is very popular and is said to be of great research value."

Zhao Dajun frowned and said, "Brother Feng, didn't you persuade your comrades to donate their things?"

Difficulties are temporary and can be overcome, but once the things are sold there is no way to research them.

Gu Wenfeng sighed inwardly. Zhao Dajun couldn't stay. His comrade's treasures were passed down from his ancestors, and he wanted them to donate them. It would be even more so if Lu Jiaxin really found treasures in that house. They spent so much energy and money, can you expect them to donate them all? And whether to donate or not is up to them to decide.

The next morning, Gu Wenfeng said to Lu Jiaxin, "Miss Lu, give me five days and I will send the army back."

"Okay, but you have to keep him from knowing about the treasure hunt."

After the conversation last night, Gu Wenfeng dared not tell Zhao Dajun: "Don't worry, I won't tell him. Miss Lu, the house is too dilapidated and needs to be repaired before we can live in it. It's a good opportunity to let Dajun help me repair the house in the next few days."

Free labor, if not used, it will go to waste.

After the two finished talking, the group set off. On the way, Gu Wenfeng told Lu Jiaxin that the house was a large courtyard with three entrances, and Sun Xun lived in the first entrance; the second and third entrances belonged to Sun Xun's uncles. Sun Xun's father had three brothers, and when the family was divided, they drew lots to get the first entrance. Sun Xun's family was the only adult male, so the family lived in such a spacious house. His uncles and aunts had a large family, with more than 20 people living in the house.

Gu Wenfeng did not hide it: "Those thugs were hired by Sun Xun's cousin. But we bought the house with our own money, and the formalities are complete. It would be a waste of effort to use such despicable means."

Lu Jiaxin was mainly worried that the Sun family would suspect their intentions.

Gu Wenfeng smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. The house is in Xue Mao's name, and they told others that it was for him to start a family. Later, when they inquired about Xue Mao's background, they all said that he was lucky."

She felt relieved as no one in the Sun family became suspicious.

After taking two buses and walking for more than ten minutes, we finally arrived at the Sun family's house.

Gu Wenfeng pointed at the open gate and said, "There used to be three gates here, with small gates on both sides. Later, only one gate was left, and the others were built with bricks."

Lu Jiaxin looked at the mottled old doors and walls, which had a strong sense of history. It was a pity that they would all be demolished in a few years to build high-rise buildings.

After passing the entrance door, Lu Jiaxin found a door on the left and a long corridor on the right.

Gu Wenfeng opened the door, and then closed it after everyone went in. "If the door is not closed, the people from the Sun family will come in and out and treat this place as their own home. After Xue Mao lost twenty yuan, the axe I bought also disappeared, so they are not allowed to come in again."

At first, they were afraid that the Sun family would suspect them of having ulterior motives, so they tolerated it even if they went too far. But after they lost money and things, they no longer had any concerns and refused to let them in. Their reasons were legitimate and they were not afraid of being suspected.

As soon as she walked in, Lu Jiaxin understood why Gu Wenfeng said that this house was uninhabitable. The original color of the walls could not be seen, and there was even a lot of grass growing on the walls of the yard. The doors and windows were all broken, and two of the rooms did not even have doors. In the house, the sun shone in through the gaps. If it rained, the house would become a pool.

The yard was originally spacious, but there was a vegetable patch on the left, a tin shed and a chicken coop on the right, and three poles in the middle for drying clothes.

Lu Jiaxin said in disbelief: "Didn't Sun Xun's family live here before? Why is the house so dilapidated and messy?"

This house doesn't look like anyone lives there.

Gu Wenfeng said: "Sun Xun likes gambling and never cares about his wife and children. But the doors and windows were broken by other members of the Sun family before they moved away. When we first came here, it was even dirtier and messier. Xue Mao and I spent a long time cleaning it up."

Lu Jiaxin thought those two families were disgusting. They didn’t have the money to buy the house, so they resorted to such a shabby thing: “The iron shed and chicken coop were all demolished, and the clothes drying pole was moved to the wall.”

Gu Wenfeng was not surprised that she wanted to live here. If a group of people did not live here, going back and forth every day to find the entrance to the secret passage would arouse the suspicion of the Sun family.

Lu Jiaxin and Xue Mao stayed to clean up the house, while Gu Wenfeng and Zhao Dajun went back to the rental house to move things.

After Lu Jiaxin looked at the six rooms, she wondered where the entrance to the secret passage would be built. It couldn't be in the yard, otherwise it would have been discovered when planting vegetables or turning the soil or building a tin house or a chicken coop.

The probability of the kitchen and the woodshed is also very low. In the feudal era, men in large families did not enter the kitchen. It is said that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. According to the TV shows I watched in my previous life, the entrance to the secret passage is either in the bedroom or in the study.

(End of this chapter)