As they left the Zhong Residence, the white-haired man and the little girl they had seen earlier ca out, along with several other people Huo Sining had not t before. These people seed to be the sons and daughters-in-law of Old Mr. Zhong. They wore expressions of sadness on their faces, though Huo Sining did not know what was on the minds of the Zhong family siblings.
"Dad..."
The white-haired man tried to speak, his mouth opening hesitantly, but he was interrupted by Old Mr. Zhong:
"Stop. I have already told you everything I needed to say. When I returned from Qingxu, I told you that everything I did was for the sake of En’er. I don’t care about anything else in the mundane world. After I’m gone, you all can decide what to do with the things in this house. I won’t bother with any of it."
The white-haired man suddenly looked a bit awkward because Old Mr. Zhong’s words left him speechless, unable to continue what he wanted to say.
Old Mr. Zhong paid no mind to whether his children were embarrassed. He bluntly pointed out their little sches, then turned around and said to an old woman, "Mother Zhong, have you packed the items I wanted?"
The old woman nodded, turned, and ca back with a box.
Old Mr. Zhong did not exchange further courtesies with his sons and daughters-in-law. He simply took the box and walked straight out with an attitude of leaving without a trace.
Yet, even with Old Mr. Zhong’s nonchalant manner, all of his sons stood obediently at the gate of the courtyard, not daring to leave.
Huo Sining called the talkative driver to pick them up. The driver arrived in his car under the old camphor tree, and the BMW and Audi that were there earlier had vanished.
The driver was surprised to see Huo Sining and Gu Xu coming out of the Zhong Family Old Mansion with an old man and a little girl, his mouth agape in astonishnt.
"Miss Huo, you all are..."
Huo Sining smiled and made up a serious story, "Please don’t bla us, driver. We deceived you earlier. Actually, we ca to Linshui County to find family. But since we weren’t sure if we could find them, we used a ruse with you."
The talkative driver didn’t know Old Mr. Zhong. Now, hearing Huo Sining’s explanation, he suddenly "understood" with a knowing look, "No wonder! I thought you two young people were a bit odd. You said you were here to buy goods, but seeing your age, you didn’t seem to be in the antique business. Moreover, after arriving, instead of asking which household had good stuff, you asked about soone nad Old Mr. Zhong. And once you got here, you didn’t go around knocking on doors; you just disappeared. That was strange."
As he spoke, the talkative driver looked at Old Mr. Zhong sitting in the back seat, "This must be the old gentleman you were looking for, right? He looks healthy and spirited. Sir, how old are you?"
Old Mr. Zhong glanced at Huo Sining and Gu Xu with a half-smile, then replied to the talkative driver with a warm smile, "Seventy-seven."
The driver, driving as he spoke, couldn’t help but give a thumbs up, "You look more vigorous than young people. That little girl must be your granddaughter; she’s really pretty."
Then the driver started rambling, "When people get old, they just hope for family reunions, playing with grandchildren. We wish for harmony among the younger generations, and with family harmony, everything prospers. Wealth and riches don’t matter as much anymore, right?"
Old Mr. Zhong nodded and smiled, "You’re not wrong about that."
"Miss Huo is your granddaughter, right? I could tell they are from a wealthy family. Coming all the way here to bring you out, I guess you’re off to the big city to enjoy life. With your health, you’ll last another fifty years, and the coming days will be of peace and relaxation..."
The driver assud Huo Sining and Gu Xu were taking Old Mr. Zhong to the city to enjoy life, while Huo Sining listened with a sweatdrop, thinking the driver was quite the rambler.
Old Mr. Zhong didn’t mind at all, not irritated by the chatty driver. On the contrary, he continued chatting cheerfully with the driver throughout the journey.
They flew directly from Changhua to the Imperial Capital. After disembarking, Huo Sining and Gu Xu wasted no ti in bringing Old Mr. Zhong to Zhou Shitao’s place.
Zhou Shitao had already received the news. Upon learning that Huo Sining and Gu Xu had brought back the creator of the Zhong Fang pieces, he was extrely excited, waiting early in his study.
When Old Mr. Zhong entered the study and saw Zhou Shitao, he paused montarily.
Zhou Shitao didn’t intend to interrogate him like a criminal, rely wanting to et the master forger in the antiquities world to see what kind of legendary figure he was.
"Old Mr. Zhong, this is my ntor," Huo Sining introduced to Old Mr. Zhong.
Having been through so much, Old Mr. Zhong was used to taking things as they ca. So when he saw Zhou Shitao, he did not feel the least bit awkward. Instead, he familiarly smiled and asked, "Did you used to work in the museum over in Chang’an?"
Zhou Shitao was taken aback, raising his head to look at Old Mr. Zhong in surprise, "How did you know?"
Old Mr. Zhong chuckled, "Then it’s correct. I used to be an apprentice in Chang’an for a year and a half, and my favorite place was the Chang’an Museum. You seem familiar; I must have seen you there."
Zhou Shitao’s eyes flashed with a trace of admiration, "You have a sharp eye, brother Zhong. That was decades ago, yet you still rember!"
Old Mr. Zhong couldn’t help but show a bitter smile, a look of sorrow flashing briefly in his eyes, "In our line of work, a bad mory and poor eyesight won’t do. I’d rather my mory were worse, forgetting the things that shouldn’t be rembered; that way, I would feel lighter."
Zhou Shitao didn’t understand the deeper aning in Old Mr. Zhong’s words, but Huo Sining and Gu Xu were well aware of what he ant.
This old man wished he could forget, most likely the mory of his young daughter being kidnapped and killed.
Zhou Shitao took out that unmistakable Tianqing Glaze, not hiding anything, and openly said, "Brother Zhong, I must admire your skill. To be honest, this Tianqing Glaze has been in my hands for over twenty years, and it still looks authentic. The color of this brush washer hasn’t faded a bit, and the texture hasn’t changed either. If it weren’t for the secret mark, I wouldn’t have been able to tell it’s a fake."
"Honestly, in Huaxia’s appraisal world, probably no one could identify this brush washer. My eyesight is quite good, and even though it’s been with for years, I still can’t pinpoint any flaws in it."
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