Chapter 69
The musty smell of the warehouse, wrapped in the dampness of old paper pages, came over. It was not the pungent smell of decay, but the smell of paper being slowly oxidized, mixed with the heavy debris that had accumulated in the wooden cabinet for many years. The smell was not too pungent, but it made people feel uncomfortable in the chest.
Yang Ye opened several wooden cabinets near the door, scattered books at her feet. She squatted over a wooden box half her height and pulled out stacks of bound books with yellowed edges. The glue on many of the books' spines had become brittle, and it seemed that the slightest pressure would cause them to break apart.
After searching for nearly an hour, she was truly exhausted. She slowly stood up, her hands on her knees, the bones in her back cracking stiffly. Perhaps from squatting for so long, her legs felt a little unsteady. A tingling numbness started at her ankles and moved up her legs, leaving her calves feeling sore and heavy. She placed her hands on the edge of the wooden box. The iron sheet on the corner was cool, and the chill passed through her palms. She stood quietly for a few seconds, until the darkness before her eyes faded and her vision cleared again.
Seeing the pile of things in the warehouse that she had messed up, Yang Ye frowned. She sighed, and a feeling of regret and annoyance came over her. She shouldn't have stayed up late last night, and she shouldn't have acted on impulse.
Actually, she was already feeling sleepy at that moment, but when she looked at the time, it was only ten o'clock. Staring at the dimming screen of her phone, Yang Ye thought to herself, if she went to bed now, according to her previous habits, she might wake up again at two or three in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. It would be better to wait a little longer, wait another hour or two, and when she felt more sleepy, she would probably be able to sleep through the night.
Now that I think about it, that little bit of luck was just an excuse for me to stay up late.
Bored with waiting, she turned on a variety show about intangible cultural heritage. The host, dressed in a cheongsam, meticulously sketched an ancient painting. Her movements were so subtle that Yang Ye initially ignored them, even scrolling through funny videos on her phone while watching the show. Then the commentary came out, "This painting of a lone fisherman on an autumn river is the work of the late Qing Dynasty painter Chen Moqiao. While he may not be considered a renowned artist, his ink-using techniques were unique and ingenious at the time."
"Chen Moqiao?" Yang Ye suddenly sat up, his back not completely resting on the sofa.
Xiao Xiao came out of the room, holding a glass of water in her hand. She was about to go to the kitchen to get some water when she saw Yang Ye suddenly stand up. She asked casually, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay." Yang Ye leaned back, her back pressed against the sofa, and sat cross-legged. She scrolled back to the progress bar, looking at the painting and the name typed next to it. The name sounded more and more familiar. It seemed like she had an unframed painting in the past, and the inscription on the scroll seemed to be these three words.
After Xiao Xiao finished getting the water, she turned around and said as she passed by the sofa, "I'm going to sleep first. Don't stay up too late and go to bed early."
The more Yang Ye pondered, the clearer her vague thoughts became. So, at night, she was tormented by this tingling sensation in her heart, like the fluttering of feathers. It was clearly time for bed, but she couldn't fall asleep. She walked up and down the stairs many times. On her last trip, she went straight to the storeroom and unpacked the wooden boxes one by one, pulling out all the books, porcelain vases, and various calligraphy and paintings inside, piling them all over the place.
Outside the window, it was so quiet that not even the chirping of insects could be heard. The only light in the room was the small lamp above her head. The old-fashioned light was exposed, and the warm yellow light enveloped the not-so-large space. Apart from that, the room was filled with deep darkness.
Fortunately, she had cleaned it up last time, so there wasn't too much dust now, but some had still settled. She unfolded the few scrolls she had found, some left by her father, some she had copied later when she was bored, but no matter which one, she still couldn't find the one she was thinking about.
Looking at the mess on the ground, Yang Ye suddenly became discouraged.
Perhaps she remembered it wrongly, or perhaps she hadn't brought it with her when she was in Beijing. She shook her head and smiled, not knowing what she was thinking. She just squatted down patiently and put away the messed-up things. It wasn't until dawn outside and footsteps could be heard in the alley that she reluctantly put the things back to their original places.
It seems people are like this sometimes. A sudden thought has to be grasped immediately. A second late and I get itchy, afraid I'll miss something. But if I really do follow through on that thought and don't complete it, or maybe I grasp the thought but don't do it, I actually feel a little better. While I might feel a bit empty and depressed, at least I'm calmer and not as impatient as before.
Thoughts only last for a moment, just like when you are walking on the road and a strong wind blows out of nowhere. It comes and goes quickly. The wind will eventually go away, and people will eventually return to their normal state.
At the moment of closing the warehouse, Yang Ye thought that he must never do this again and not torment himself because of a momentary impulse.
When Xiao Xiao woke up and walked out of the bedroom, she was indeed shocked by the scene in the living room.
The objects piled up like a small mountain: blue and white porcelain vases, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, copper tea sets, and books that had been there for decades, even the covers were moldy and yellowed. Yang Ye sat on a small chair, a rag in her hand, wiping off the dust from the items and placing them in the cardboard box next to her.
Xiao Xiao rubbed his eyes and walked over, his voice hoarse from just waking up, "Boss, are you thinking of moving again?"
"These things are useless. I'm going to pack them up and sell whatever can be sold." Yang Ye yawned. Without even raising her head, she continued to wipe the tea set in her hand clean and then packed it into the box.
"Weren't you reluctant to even take it out before? Why did you suddenly want to sell it?" Xiao Xiao picked up a small blue and white porcelain vase.
Yang Ye put things down and said, "There are too many things piled up in the warehouse. When I was looking for things yesterday, I found that many of them I had no use for a long time, and some were already broken. Instead of leaving them there to collect dust, it's better to make some space."
Xiao Xiao picked up one of the tea bowls. It was heavy and engraved with numerous tiny patterns. Looking closer, she saw that the patterns seemed to be embedded with gold threads as thin as a hair. "What is this? It looks quite unique."
Yang Ye glanced at it and said calmly, "This is the dowry my mother left me."
"Dowry" Xiao Xiao looked around carefully again, "Are you planning to sell this too?"
"Um"
“It’s so important, so keep it.”
Yang Ye smiled faintly, "Didn't you tell me before that if you keep holding on to the old one, the new one won't come in?"
"I said you can clean it up appropriately, but I didn't mean to ask you to clean it all at once." Xiao Xiao put the tea bowl back in its place.
"Don't worry," Yang Ye closed the lid of the cardboard box. "I found all the things I can put down. Liu Guoxing will come to take them away in a few days. The ones you can use will be left at school, and I'll let him take care of the unused ones."
Xiao Xiao moved the cardboard box she had just sealed, picked it up and asked, "Should we put them all in one pile?"
Yang Ye took a look and said, "Let's put it there first. I'll clean up here. If there's no more room, we'll move it to the yard. I don't think it's going to rain much these days."
Three days later.
The sunshine made the yard comfortable. Yang Ye was sleeping on the recliner. She used the book she had just turned a few pages of to cover her face, and soon she became silent.
In the living room, Xiao Xiao found a new TV series. Zhou Yi sat on the sofa next to him, holding a soft cloth in his hand. He slowly wiped the white jade porcelain that Yang Ye had found from the warehouse a few days ago. There was no big movement in the room. The two of them occasionally exchanged a few words, and the topics were fragmentary and casual.
The doorbell rang, Xiao Xiao got up and opened the door. Standing outside the door was Grandma Chen, whom she had just met two days ago, and behind her were two middle-aged men.
"Is Boss Yang here?" Grandma Chen stood at the door, fiddling with the corner of her clothes with her fingers, looking a little embarrassed.
Xiao Xiao looked back at the yard and said, "The boss just fell asleep. Why don't you come in and sit for a while?"
Granny Chen quietly inched back, her face glancing to the side. She leaned back, clearly intending to turn back, but the man behind her didn't move, and instead inched forward. She had no choice but to lower her head and nod with a touch of embarrassment.
"Then please sit here for a while." After a few pleasantries, Xiao Xiao served three cups of hot tea.
As she came over, she glanced into the yard. Yang Ye was still asleep, not even moving the book covering his face. Xiao Xiao didn't intend to wake someone who was already asleep. She tiptoed back to the sofa and waited for Yang Ye to wake up naturally.
Zhou Yiheng saw three strangers at the teahouse. He came over and whispered, "Who are these?"
"An old lady I met in the village before"
"Grandma from the village, looking for the boss?"
Xiao Xiao nodded, "I don't know what the boss said to her at that time."
"Did the boss take the initiative to tell him?" Zhou Yiheng asked in surprise.
"yes"
"What did the boss say to her?"
Xiao Xiao thought for a moment and said, "We were far away at that time, so I didn't hear much. After that, I never heard her mention it again."
"Then why are they here today?"
"I don't know, they didn't tell me, and I was too embarrassed to ask."
Granny Chen at the tea table seemed to have heard their conversation. She quietly looked up and quickly glanced towards the living room, but saw Xiao Xiao and Zhou Yiheng looking at her, so she quickly lowered her head again. The youngest son across from her coughed lightly and was about to say something when he was stunned by the look of the eldest son opposite.
Zhou Yiheng watched, and he lowered his voice, "Could it be that there is something you want to ask the boss for help?"
"I guess he wants to sell the junk at home." Xiao Xiao looked into the yard again. The sunlight passed through the leaves, casting a few tiny spots of light on her.
Almost twenty minutes passed, and there was still no sign that Yang Ye had woken up.
The three of them were getting a little impatient waiting, especially the man in the suit. Xiao Xiao saw that he had refilled his tea no less than four times, and the current cup was almost empty. Moreover, he drank the tea in one gulp every time, and his face was full of anxiety. But when he saw the other person opposite him, the man's tense shoulders slowly relaxed.
Xiao Xiao quietly touched Zhou Yiheng's arm, using his eyes to acknowledge the amusing thing he had just witnessed. The man in the suit appeared anxious, but his feet, resting under the table, remained calm. The man across from him, on the other hand, scuffed his sneakers against the floor tiles. Every time their peripheral vision passed, the irritation that threatened to surface suddenly vanished, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"This is really strange." Zhou Yiheng covered his mouth and spoke to Xiao Xiao in a low voice.
Xiao Xiao raised her eyebrows and glanced at Zhou Yi. The three people at the tea table had obviously been waiting for a long time. She stood up and said, "I'll go wake up the boss."
Just as she was about to leave, she heard a noise in the yard. Yang Ye came in, yawning and rubbing his eyes, holding the blanket and book she had just covered herself with. His hair was still a little messy, and he looked sleepy, still not fully awake.
"Why don't we go out for dinner tonight?" She threw the blanket in her hand on the sofa and picked up the teacup on the table.
His face still showed the tiredness of not waking up, and his eyes were not very focused. Xiao Xiao did not respond, but just raised his chin quietly towards the tea table.
Yang Ye looked in the direction she pointed out, and she was stunned for a moment before reacting.
"When did they come?" Yang Ye walked to Xiao Xiao and asked in a low voice.
"Half an hour ago"
Yang Ye frowned, with a hint of complaint in his tone, "Why didn't you call me when someone came?"
"Didn't you say you hate being woken up suddenly when you're sleeping?"
Yang Ye pulled the corner of his mouth, "We can't let them wait that long."
"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting for so long," she said, smiling as she walked towards Grandma Chen, her tone full of apology. "I didn't sleep much last night. I wanted to take a nap in the yard, but I fell asleep until now. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
Although she said that, her eyes were only on Grandma Chen. She didn't even glance at the two people next to her, as if she didn't see them.
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