Uncle Two smiled and took out a notebook from the bag beside him. I flipped through it and found that it was a handwritten copy of Grandpa’s notebook, but it was a lot thicker than the original.
I had read Grandpa’s notes countless times. I didn’t know what Uncle Two’s intention was, but I read a few pages and found that he had made a lot of notes. There were also a lot of cheat sheets, pictures, and newspaper clippings of various ages stuck inside. Three new notebooks had been bound at the back with quilt stitches, just like how they used to bind old newspapers. The three notebooks contained all of Uncle Two’s notes over the past few years. It was voluminous and obviously contained all kinds of information from this field.
The earliest copied book was at the front and was at least thirty years old. The paper was all yellow, but Uncle Two was so meticulous that every page in it was well preserved. There wasn’t even a single crease.
I swallowed, remembering that time during my childhood when I folded the cover of Uncle Two’s magazine and was beaten by him.
“The clues about Third Brother that I’ve researched for so many years are recorded in here. You can have a look when you’re free and let me know if you find something.” As Uncle Two spoke, he took out a folder and threw it to me, “This is the report on the South Sea King’s tomb. If I find something later, I’ll tell you first. I won’t hide it from you.”
I didn’t open it. I had all kinds of mixed feelings in my heart as I thought to myself, it wouldn’t be surprising if you did hide it from me. But I didn’t want to turn down this unexpected gift, so I said to him, “Your Majesty is so understanding.”
Uncle Two laughed. I remembered one thing and figured I might as well ask directly since I had already come to this point, “This place is also called Qilin Island. Does it have anything to do with the Zhang family?”
Uncle Two shook his head, “It appears to be a coincidence. Even if it does have something to do with the Zhang family, it should be related to the South Sea country’s underground water system. We don’t dare go too far this time. You can ask Li Cu and those two boys to help you check it out. We don’t have time to be distracted.”
I took the notes and materials and moved to leave, but Uncle Two suddenly said from behind me, “Go back to Hangzhou tomorrow to see your parents and talk to them about this matter.”
I gave a noncommittal hum and said, “Uncle Two, don’t disappear.” Then I walked out without looking back.
When I got back to my room, I stayed silent all night. I didn’t even read the notebook or the information Uncle Two had given me. We left Pingtan the next day. I felt a little more relaxed as we went on our way. Fatty and Poker-Face went back to Rain Village while I went back to Hangzhou and told my parents about the shop, which made them very happy. Wang Meng helped me pack up the goods and move them out to my own small house. After operating in this business for so many years, it was already full of various sundries. Some of the goods went to Fatty’s shop in Panjiayuan to be sold, while others remained piled up with me. It made my small house seem even more cramped.
When the door closed, Wang Meng cried a lot. Although Uncle Two had promised to let him continue working as the concierge after he took over and his salary had increased a lot, he said he couldn’t bear thinking of me as a former boss.
After that, he went to Uncle Two for training. Based on his WeChat Moments, he was learning a lot.
I lay in my humble abode for a while before deciding to gather all the information I had. I first read through the information on the South Sea King’s tomb that Uncle Two had given me.
I flipped through a few pages and saw a very clear picture of the murals. I turned on my computer and looked at the murals I had photographed. Uncle Two had already photographed those murals, but it didn’t seem like they had done it much earlier than us. When we arrived in Fujian and were intercepted by Uncle Two on the road, his men were already down in the South Sea King’s tomb. They must have taken the route Uncle Three took at that time.
I was already very fast, but it appeared that Uncle Two was much faster. It was probably because Jin Wantang went to Uncle Two to get the land money and ended up spilling the whole story. In other words, Uncle Two wasn’t much earlier than me, he just moved very fast.
But where did Uncle Two get Uncle Three’s route into the South Sea country?
I was certain Uncle Two hadn’t been to Yang Daguang’s tomb, but we had wasted so much time there that he ended up leaving us behind.
There were also a lot of pictures of the old weather station, which meant Uncle Two had gone there and taken a lot of photos. A few of the pictures had special marks on them, which were the walls of the secret reception room that Yang Daguang had died in.
Uncle Two had shoveled away the putty on the walls, revealing several murals. It was clear at a glance that these murals also came from the South Sea King’s tomb. Yang Daguang had hidden these murals behind the reception room’s walls.
I slapped myself, so careless!
I immediately leaned in to take a closer look.
MereBear's Translation 