"So what now?" I said anxiously.

When Uncle Li saw it, he patted me on the shoulder and said, "One word, wait for ......."

According to Uncle Li's meaning, we all gathered around this painting, wanting to see what would happen to it after midnight. Who knew that a few of us waited until dawn the next day, and there was no movement at all in this painting, could it be that we were wrong, maybe the mystery of this painting does not necessarily appear at night?

Now that I think about it, Zhaocai also disappeared when it was not dark?! If this is really an old painting that can eat people, as Uncle Li said, then the longer Zhaocai stays in the painting, the more dangerous it becomes!

Thinking of this, I asked Ding Yi and Uncle Li to look at the painting first, in case anything else happened, while Lao Zhao and I went to find the owner of the toy shop who sold paintings before to find out about the situation.

Lao Zhao's patient's surname is Luo, and the cultural toy shop he opened is on the famous cultural toy street in the city, called Cuixuan Ge. When Lao Zhao and I pushed the door in, Boss Luo was introducing a late Qing snuff bottle to a guest.

When he saw Lao Zhao and I walking in, he smiled and motioned for us to sit down for a while, and he would be done immediately. Those who do their jobs are accustomed to being able to speak, so you can give him a broken urinal, and he can blow it for you as if it was used by Heshen.

Sure enough, after a while, the guest was full of joy and paid for the little snuffbox. After that, Boss Luo made us a pot of fine jasmine flowers, and said to Lao Zhao with a smile, "Doctor Zhao is resting today?"

Because before coming in, I told him that everything should be done by looking at my eyes, and then don't explain the intention directly, throw the topic to me, let me ask. So Lao Zhao hurriedly introduced me to Boss Luo and said, "This is my brother-in-law, and I also like these literary toys, yesterday when he went to our house for dinner, he suddenly fell in love with the painting "Catch the Big Collection", and he had to let me sell it to him, but I was really reluctant, so I brought him here today to see if there was anything else into his eyes." ”

After Lao Zhao finished speaking, I said angrily, "It's not that I said, I really fell in love with that painting at a glance, but my brother-in-law just won't let it go to me." If you don't let it, forget it, the gentleman doesn't take the favor of others, but I'm curious about the origin and origin of the painting?"

Hearing me say this, Boss Luo said proudly, "I received that painting from a tattered king, and I saw at a glance that it was a good thing, so I accepted it." ”

"Tattered King, do you have such a domineering name for the tattered all these years?" I said with some surprise.

When Boss Luo heard this, he laughed and said, "That's the nickname given to him by insiders, and this person is not really collecting rags, or making some old objects among us to make a little difference." ”

I nodded, and then asked him, "Then where did all the old objects of this tattered king come from, and why don't you just get them yourself?"

When Boss Luo heard this, he shook his head and said, "He has his own channels, such as this painting! I heard that he got it when he helped an old man who died living alone to clean up the house." ”

"Can you still take away other people's things when you clean up someone's house?" I said, a little surprised.

"You don't understand, this kind of tidying up the house is not just cleaning, but helping the employer clean out the whole house so that they can sell it again. As for the reward for cleaning the house, it is that everything in the house belongs to the King of Rags. Boss Luo patiently explained to me.

As soon as I heard that this Boss Luo was also a second-class dealer, I wanted to know more, and we had to go to the tattered king! Finally, I asked Lao Zhao to ask Boss Luo for the mobile phone number and address of the tattered king, so we drove over in a hurry.

Lao Liang's family lives in a shanty town on the outskirts of the city, and across the road is a flowery city, but at this end of his house are patches of dilapidated old bungalows.

According to the address given by Boss Luo, it took a lot of effort to find Lao Liang's home in this alley that has grown like a child. We called his cell phone to contact him in advance, but no one answered.

At this time, we were in a hurry, and when we saw that no one answered the phone, we had to slam the door directly. After knocking for a while, I heard a dry voice from inside, "Who are you looking for!?"

When I heard this, I shouted into the door, "Is this Master Liang's house?" We are friends of Boss Luo, let's ask him about something." ”

As soon as my words fell, the door was opened with a "creak", and a middle-aged man with a dark face stuck his head out of the door to see me and Lao Zhao from above, and finally he opened the door slowly and said, "Lao Luo can let you come to me, it seems that your relationship must be not ordinary!"

When I heard this, I smiled and said to him, "Master Liang, we came to you this time to inquire with you about the painting of "Catch up with the Great Collection" that Boss Luo received from you. ”

Lao Liang frowned when he heard this, and said, "What?

When Lao Zhao heard this, he interjected and said, "It's not a purchase, it's the original price that was given to us, so we want to ask you now, where did you receive this painting before?"

Lao Liang thought for a while and told us, "This painting has been collected for almost half a year, and if I remember correctly, it was collected by an old man surnamed Wei. ”

"Do you know anything else about this old man surnamed Wei?" I continued.

When Lao Liang heard me ask, he said mysteriously, "Don't say it, I really know something about this old man." ”

Later, Lao Liang told us that the old man surnamed Wei did not die normally, but was lost 7 years ago, although the old man's family has never given up searching, but he has never been found.

Now more than 7 years have passed, and the old man was 96 years old when he was lost, even if the old man was not lost, it is estimated that he would not be able to live until now, so their family finally gave up.

The old man's wife died at an early age, leaving behind four children. The old man raised his children alone, and now they have all settled abroad, so after the old man was legally determined to have died, they found someone to clear all the things in the house, and planned to sell the house directly.

"The 96-year-old has been lost for seven years and hasn't been found?" I said, puzzled.