After wandering around the first floor for a while, Tang Chen discovered a number of calligraphy and paintings that had not yet been hung up in the compartment. Curious, he went out to ask Liu Yong's eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Lin: "Sister-in-law, are these the newly acquired calligraphy and paintings?"
Liu Lin's female guests had almost all left, so she wanted to entertain Tang Chen properly, so she walked over with some snacks: "The ones over there were just cut out yesterday afternoon. They were all collected in the past few days."
"Let me see!"
Tang Chen was just curious for a moment, but she didn't expect that, driven by this curiosity, her divine right hand would actually find a masterpiece with powerful brushstrokes and realistic and "grand" scenes from among a pile of paintings: "...Oh my god!"
"What's wrong?"
"Hey, who painted this picture of a tiger descending the mountain?"
Look at the unique technique, the tiger's drooping belly, its imposing posture. Crucially, the inscription on the painting is quite insightful: "My old, fat man, a figure of ancient and modern beauty. He has unique ambitions, not seeking power or force. He sits and lies beside a green felt, leisurely passing the cold and heat. In his left hand, a fish; in his right, a shrimp. His heart is at peace, his body is plump, and he lives his life in peace." Is he without merit? Of course not.
Liu Lin looked at the painting in Tang Chen's hand and was suddenly shocked: "Hey! I don't remember ever confiscating this fat cat painting. They must be careless again. They even dared to accept such stuff!"
Tang Chen said that she would not comment on the painting's skills. The key point was that she really liked it: "Let's not talk about this for now, sister-in-law, hurry up and call the person who took this painting. I need to find him!"
According to the "confession" of the servant who was in charge of collecting the paintings, he had resorted to some cunning tactics in order to meet his quota. He had collected the painting from a family and was just thinking of keeping it temporarily to make up the number and replacing it when he found a better one. However, he was caught by the boss.
After Tang Chen had the painting returned to Liuxiang Tavern, he followed the address provided by the servant and found the door of the house where the painting had been received.
"This is probably the place. It's so quiet, a little creepy."
Looking at this deserted alley, Tang Chen couldn't help but shudder. Then, he mustered up his courage and knocked on the closed gate: "Excuse me, is anyone there?"
There was no movement in the courtyard. Instead, an old man sweeping the floor at the entrance of the alley not far away came over with a broom in hand, looking menacing and asking, "Who are you looking for?"
Tang Chen quickly stated his intention, "That old man, I want to find T.V. Soong. Does he live here?"
“…He’s not here, get out of here!”
As he spoke, the old man raised the broom in his hand as if he was going to hit someone. Tang Chen was frightened by this and did not dare to ask any more questions. She could only run away. As she ran away, she looked back a few times. The old man looked like he had seen an enemy; as if he would "sweep her out" in a minute if she dared to go back.
Tang Chen ran to the street, and after making sure that he could no longer see the ferocious old man, he stopped, put his hands on his hips, and panted heavily: "Let's wait until Lian Qiao arrives before coming back. It's still a bit dangerous to go alone."
In order to calm his wildly beating heart, Tang Chen bought a plum cake on the street and ate it before wandering back to Liuxiang Tavern.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Wang Yanzhou standing at her door, as if he had something to ask her. Tang Chen walked over quietly, just as he was about to scare him from behind, but was frightened by Wang Yanzhou who suddenly turned around: "You're back?"
Tang Chen slowly retracted his paw that was suspended in mid-air, smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, I'm back!"
Wang Yanzhou asked with a half-smile, "Boss Tang, how is your business?"
"That's...how did you know that?!"
Wang Yanzhou gently stroked Tang Chen's face with his hand, and said with some relief: "It's good that you have this intention. If you have any questions or problems that you can't solve, you can ask Chen Xin."
"Know!"
"Let's go," Wang Yanzhou said, pulling Tang Chen up and heading out. Along the way, Wang Yanzhou didn't tell her where they were going, but simply held her sleeve, without stopping or saying a word.
Tang Chen, who was already full of questions, couldn't hold it in any longer as his stomach growled. "Where are you taking me? It's almost time for dinner!"
Wang Yanzhou pulled her to a stop at the door of a house and asked with some dismay, "Besides eating, don't you have anything else to pursue?"
"Food is the most important thing for people, big brother. Even if you have aspirations, you still have to maintain normal human functions first. As the saying goes, man is iron and rice is steel. If you don't eat for a meal, you'll be hungry... panic."
Tang Chen looked at the key that Wang Yanzhou suddenly put in her hand and even paused to speak. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a little scared. She was afraid that she had guessed the reason for Wang Yanzhou's abnormal behavior today: "Whose key is this?"
Wang Yanzhou said nothing, only glancing at the copper lock on the front door. Tang Chen, who had been pretending to be confused and cheerful, now had a flickering look in his eyes, and a hint of panic could be seen: "This is, mine?"
"Open the door and go in and take a look."
When he pushed open the gate, everything he saw was very different from what Tang Chen had imagined. This empty yard, this empty room, this empty house that was neither big nor small, except for a few tables and chairs and a bed, there was nothing else.
Tang Chen was feeling disappointed, but she still tried her best to keep a smile on her face. She was trying to adapt herself to everything in front of her: "Wow, it feels like I can move in right away. There's a roof to keep me out of the wind and rain, a bed to sleep on, and a table and chairs to sit on. Not bad, not bad."
Wang Yanzhou knew that this place was a bit shabby, and he didn't expect Tang Chen to fully understand what he did. He just hoped that she could live a good life. "Everyday necessities can be prepared in a day or two. If you want to add anything later, you can buy it yourself."
After saying that, Wang Yanzhou took out a small wooden box from his sleeve and handed it to Tang Chen: "This is the title deed of the house, keep it carefully."
Tang Chen simply stared at the box in his hand, not reaching for it. She was thinking. If she had inadvertently done something to anger him, he could have simply kicked her out. There was no need to prepare so much for her. Although this place was simple, the location was excellent. She was no fool; she had spent quite a while in Qinghe County. Just two weeks ago, there had been no such small house on the land she was standing on.
"What on earth does this mean?"
Wang Yanzhou smiled slightly and said, "It's just what you think."
Tang Chen looked up at him, nodded, and took the deed from his hand: "...That's enough, it's enough, thank you."
"...I'll have Chen Xin pack your luggage and send it here in a couple of days."
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