Chapter 22
The wind carried the aroma of freshly cooked dinner as they climbed the long slope along the village's outer road. The slope was about a hundred meters long. In the deepest part of this bustling village, the outlines of several small houses standing side by side became clearer in the gradually darkening sky. The street lights lit up as they climbed to the top of the slope. Tall old locust trees stood beside them, and the mottled shadows of the trees cast mysterious patterns below.
The house's roof had a unique slope, its dark gray tiles neatly arranged. The third-floor balcony was encircled by an exquisite iron railing. The dark brown door was thick and wooden, and the warm yellow porch light reflected auspicious clouds and freshly painted wax.
The solid wooden door was pushed open from the outside, revealing the courtyard's square bricks, with patches of tender green moss sprouting from the cracks between them. To one side, there was an ornately decorated fountain. A vegetable garden had been planted nearby, with fresh, emerald green leaves flourishing. Small, green tomatoes had just emerged, and ripe cucumbers were growing freely on the racks.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides of the house, which were so clean that they could almost reflect people's shadows, Yang Ye could vaguely see the neatly arranged furniture in the house.
The moment the living room door was pushed open, the biting cold made several people stagger, as if they had entered a cold cellar that had been sealed for many years.
The evening breeze lifted the curtains, revealing a spacious living room with a set of old mahogany furniture on the white marble slabs. At the junction with the living room, the huanghuali wood dining table that seats ten people almost occupies most of the dining room. Exquisite white porcelain and a set of rosewood tea sets are displayed in the sideboard.
"No one has lived here for a long time since my grandfather left, and I just came back a few days ago," said the long-haired man. He took out a few bottles of mineral water from the newly opened mineral water box at the door and distributed them to them.
"My surname is Fu, and my name is Fu Yunsheng"
Xu Jingzhe asked: "Where are the other people in your family?"
"He and I settled in Canada a few years ago," he said, flicking on the switch in the basement and talking as he walked. "I went to Canada to study from high school until I graduated from university, then worked there and got married. Later, I had a child, and my parents moved to Canada to take care of the child. This house was renovated when my grandfather was still alive. I came back this time to clean up the house and take away everything that needs to be taken away. I'm going to sell the house."
There was a musty smell coming from the basement stairs, and the wooden steps creaked. He said, "I was sleeping upstairs that day and heard some noise in the basement. I went downstairs and found that the door lock had been pried open."
Zhou Yi walked at the end and asked, "How did the thief get in?"
Xu Jingzhe said: "The door lock of this house is still the old-fashioned one. It can be opened with a pin if you are skilled at it."
The old wooden door stood ajar, its faded silver handle mottled with rust. A gentle grip gave way to a rough, grainy sensation. The original paint on the wall had crumbled, revealing the yellowed, gray cement underneath, with faint traces of water stains still visible.
The air in the basement was turbid, and what rushed into his nostrils was a stale, corrupt, and unpleasant smell. As soon as he took a breath, Yang Ye felt a little uncomfortable in his lungs, as if his throat was being strangled.
She covered her nose and looked around the small, crowded room. A pale blue porcelain vase glowed warmly in the corner, its delicate blue and white patterns a bit old from the dust, but it still looked exquisite.
Next to the five- or six-story wooden shelves, a few paintings and calligraphy stood quietly. In the middle, rows of unfolded stamp albums filled the air. Walking up to them, one could see stamps of varying vintages and styles. Next to the phonograph on the lower shelf sat several iron boxes, their surfaces covered in scratches and rust. Inside, a long stick-like object held the tops of the boxes in place, filled with old books and magazines.
He opened one of the metal boxes and took out another birdcage inside.
Fu Yunsheng thought about the weight of the birdcage, wiped the dust off his face with his hands, and showed it to them, "I have this one at home."
Yang Ye took a look and asked, "Is it made of bamboo?"
"Well, this is something my old lady left behind."
The rectangular birdcage's frame is woven from slender bamboo strips. The aged bamboo strips have a light green-brown hue. The dome-shaped top of the cage resembles a miniature palace, elegant and unique.
About half a meter high, the bamboo enclosure is woven with just the right amount of density, ensuring the bird has ample room to move around while also preventing it from escaping. At the bottom is a flat wooden board, and on the door is a small copper lock. Although rusty, its original craftsmanship is still evident, and the lock body is also engraved with delicate patterns, reminiscent of the auspicious beasts that were often seen before.
Yang Ye looked carefully. Fu Yunsheng looked at Yang Ye anxiously and asked, "This is true, right?"
Yang Ye nodded, "Yes, it's about the same age as the one in your photo."
He breathed a sigh of relief and placed the bird cages on the table in the basement. "My old lady used to do business with the princes. The eight banners under the imperial city all liked to raise birds and play with crickets. My old lady also liked to raise birds like them, so she left these bird cages behind."
"What's the explanation for this?" Xiao Xiao asked.
Yang Ye explained, "Beile Ye has three treasures in his hand: a walnut, a ring, and a bird in a cage."
“That’s exactly what happened.”
Fu Yunsheng took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his face because of the stuffiness. "I bought that birdcage from an auction. It seems to be from the Qianlong period."
"During the Qianlong period, it was bought at the auction and placed here?" Xiao Xiao was surprised.
"My grandfather liked things from the Qianlong reign, so I bought this for him as a collection. After he passed away, the things were put in the basement by the cleaning lady, and I only remembered them when I found them."
Yang Ye looked around the circle and muttered: "Just put it like this"
"Boss, aren't your things just thrown around randomly?" Xiao Xiao reminded softly. The things in Yang Ye's warehouse were no less than those here. Some of them were out of print, and some could even be called unique pieces. But the things she put there were even more terrible. There was no place to even step.
"My pile of junk is not really a collection."
"No matter what, please help me find it back," Fu Yunsheng said seriously. It was completely different from the state he was in when he was banging the table and shouting in the police station. There was a bit more pleading in his words now. "As long as you can find it back, I'm willing to pay any amount of money."
Xu Jingzhe scratched his head, "This is not about money. If you can find us, we will definitely get it back."
Fu Yunsheng sighed with a sense of loss, "The price of the item is one thing, but the main thing is that this is something my grandfather left behind. Since he's gone, I think I have to take it back and keep it safe."
Everyone looked at Xu Jingzhe in unison. He suddenly felt pressured and looked up at Xiao Xiao, who was closest to him. Under Xiao Xiao's careful attention, he swallowed his saliva and said, "We will do our best."
*
Staring at the dozens of surveillance screens in front of him, which were like a mosaic puzzle, Yang Ye searched for several hours, and his eyes became sore.
The village is not big, so there are only surveillance cameras installed in a few main places. Two years ago, a document came down from above, in order to enhance the villagers' safety awareness and improve the efficiency of rural security management, so a few new surveillance cameras were added to the village. However, no matter how many surveillance cameras there are, there are still blind spots.
There were not enough people in the institute at the moment, so we had to keep them to help.
Yang Ye frowned, her sore eyes gradually became blurred, and she closed her eyes tightly.
"Boss, I really can't stand it anymore." Xiao Xiao was sitting next to them. She gave in first and lay on the table with her eyes closed, shaking and waving her hands.
Yang Ye closed his eyes and patted her arm, "There's still a little left."
Xiao Xiao was exhausted and listless. "The street lights are so dim at night, it's pitch black. I can only see a figure walking back and forth in the opening, but I can't see anything else."
"You have to look even if you don't want to. You might find other clues." Yang Ye yawned and asked, "Where's Xu Jingzhe?"
"Let's go interrogate the thief again to see if we can get any other clues." Xiao Xiao leaned on the table, his chin resting on the back of his hand. "Boss, do you think this is a story he made up? I always feel that there is something strange about this. Besides, it's just a narrow alley with nothing on either side. Even if the thief switched the items, he would have to have a place to do it."
"Not like that." Yang Ye fumbled to pause the monitoring on the screen, opened his eyes and looked at Xiao Xiao, "Do you still remember the porcelain vase he placed at the door of the basement?"
“The bottle it used as an illustration.”
"That bottle also dates back to the Qianlong era."
"So casual." Xiao Xiao sat up. "I thought it was a fake when he left it there."
"So, do you think he needed to make up such a story?"
"That's not right," Xiao Xiao noticed something strange. "Boss, you usually take at least a minute or two to look at something. How come you recognized it so quickly this time?"
Yang Ye looked at her and smiled shyly, "I think I have one in my warehouse too. It seems to be a pair with his."
Xiao Xiao was silent, thinking quickly in his head, "I've checked the items in the warehouse and made a record, but I don't remember seeing a blue and white porcelain vase like this. Do you remember where it is?"
In order to facilitate sorting and classification, Xiao Xiao and Yang Ye spent more than a week finding and registering everything that should be in the warehouse. Later, they tried to organize each item according to its year and style. But when Yang Ye saw the pile of dusty items wrapped in three layers of wrapping, he immediately lost his idea.
It's enough to have a general idea of what's in your home, but you don't have to know everything.
Yang Ye was unsure, "It must be in the house, or in one of those unopened boxes."
Xiao Xiao moved the corners of his mouth and laughed twice, "It's amazing that you still remember such a bottle."
Yang Ye said: "Those were my mother's dowry. I only took two or three of them when I left Beijing, so I can remember them more or less."
After pressing her swollen temples, her vision finally cleared up. Xiao Xiao raised her head to look again, but just as she caught sight of the black and white screen covering half the wall, her eyes began to tear up uncontrollably. She glanced around the room, "Where's Zhou Yiheng? Did he go home?"
"Go to the bathroom, right?"
"No, I have to go and catch him back." Xiao Xiao stood up. There were three of them in total, how could one be missing?
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