Sihe Inn is located on Xifu Street near the entrance of the archway, which is next door to the county party headquarters. At two o'clock in the evening, the lights were still on in the house on the east corner of the second floor, and someone was faintly talking. At the corner of the staircase next to the window lattice, an emaciated figure stood against the wall, tilting his head and looking through the gap in the window lattice.

A man was standing on the edge of the bed getting dressed, and all he could see was barefoot and pulling on black cotton shoes. After getting dressed, he bent down and lifted his heels, sat on the bed again, and said lightly: "It's not early, I have to go down to the construction site to stare at it early." You sleep. ”

"What's the difference between sleeping here and someone's own bed? Could it be that there are still people waiting? A delicate and rather charming voice came from behind the man.

"Where? Tomorrow, I want to vacate the house in the backyard, so I have to give them an explanation. ”

"Did you say how much did you get it?"

"No, it doesn't matter. Get things done first, can he still lose me? ”

"It's really hard to say, Jiangnan people are shrewd. By the way, stupid girl, you just stand up? I can't promise when I'll give you green! ”

"So what?"

"Just leave her off! We've got it right. ”

"Wouldn't that be nice? Hmph, Lao Gu knows that we pretend not to know, and I also turn a blind eye to the surname Zhou! How interesting this relationship is! ”

"Who doesn't know what you're trying to do? simply made a set for the stupid girl surnamed Zhou, and grabbed it with a handle to see if he gave a share. Won't you just go back and force the old man to hand over the power? Look at what you're grinding, why don't you have your uncle's ruthlessness? ”

"You know what? The wives of the two parties may not really have the heart to accept our Miss Gu. If I'm really in a hurry, even if I don't give a single hair, what can I do? On the contrary, it is better to burn slowly on a small fire. As the saying goes, 'A wife is better than a concubine, a concubine is better than a concubine, and a concubine is better than stealing, and stealing is better than stealing'! Hehe, with this layer of window paper for a day, the surname Zhou will feel a little guilty about me in his heart, so won't it be a long run? ”

"But what if they don't get there? You also know that the stupid girl is circled all day long, how can she have that opportunity? ”

"Oh? It's a bit of a shame if you can't steal it - hey, find a chance for you to run around the board, and let them happen a little bit? Well? ”

"Lack of virtue with smoke! How can you design your own original match like this? ”

"Dress less serious! Aren't you my own concubine? Isn't that what to do? The man stood up after speaking, "Alright! Let's go! "Straight to the door.

The dark shadow outside the window hurriedly walked up the stairs, slid down quickly on the handrail of the stairs, turned around and slipped into the dark room next to him.

Hei Wu listened to Ji Tang's arrangement, and went over to find Xu Xudong as soon as it was dawn, he had just gotten up and was squatting in the corner to brush his teeth. Luo Sanneng came out of the other room, greeted them and washed up. The fourth sister-in-law beckoned them to eat, saying that Mr. had gone out for a walk in the morning, and he explained that there was no need to wait. The three of them hurriedly ate and hurried to the store to vacate the room and hand it over to the decorator.

It was almost noon, and the large items in the house were basically pulled out and sold for rags. Xu Xudong discussed with the foreman how to renovate the house, Luo Sanneng and a few workers cleaned inside, and Hei Wu followed the waste collector to the city gate to withdraw money. When Hei Wu came back, he saw a worker handing a bright thing to Xu Xudong from a distance, he put it in his pants pocket and patted the worker's shoulder with a smile. The three of them went back to Zhou's house for lunch, and Xu Xudong asked Black Friday where there was a key. Hei Wu remembered that Ji Tang mentioned that Zhao Zhenhuan's master Yu Banshan used to be a top locksmith, so he told him.

In the afternoon, when no one was paying attention, Black Friday called the worker outside the store. asked Xu Xudong what he gave in the morning, although the workers didn't know him, they knew that he was also in charge. I weakly said that I was sweeping the garbage and found a silver-yellow double-ended three-edged key, because I had never seen it, I was curious to take a look at it, and the steward saw it and handed it in. He pretended not to care and waved his hand to let the workers go back, but he borrowed a bicycle from the Changlong Department Store diagonally opposite and went straight to Chen Village.

Ji Tang listened to the report of Black Friday and also found it interesting. It is said that the house has not been in or out for several years, and even if the key was lost in it, it should have rusted a long time ago. What's more, it's still a bright double-headed key, and there didn't seem to be a valuable lock in the bookstore before, so where did it come from such a strange key. Whisper a few words to Black Friday, and let him find a way to inquire.

On this night, dark clouds covered the moon, and there was a lot of wind in the second half of the night. Xu Xudong was sleeping with his head covered, and he heard something in the room in a hazy way. Reluctantly got out of the quilt and looked around, and seemed to see a figure through the faint light of the window, he couldn't help but feel a stir, and asked loudly: "Who?" ”

The darkness flashed quickly to the door of the outhouse, and when the door opened, it rushed out. Yo, what a thief! "Stop!" Xu Xudong shouted, and chased after him without putting on his pajamas.

When he got to the courtyard, it was brighter than the house, and Xu Xudong saw a black shadow running towards the door of his head at a glance, smashing a briquette with his hand, and then rushing forward with the people. The black shadow was less than three meters away from the courtyard wall on the right side of the gatehouse, and when he saw that he was about to go out, an object flew from his back, and he punched a few petals and flew down, and people didn't have time to jump off the wall. Seeing that the people behind him were chasing after him, he had to fight hard. Xu Xudong was originally born in a nursing home, and he had some hard kung fu, but he really fought with others and found out that he was not an opponent. Peeking at the man, he was wearing black clothes, black pants, black shoes and white socks, about one meter and six years old, with a small head, a gray handkerchief covering most of his face, only a wide forehead and two black eyes.

Luo Sanneng also lived in the front yard, and woke up when he heard the shouting outside, so he hurriedly pulled out the top latch from behind the door and ran out to help. As soon as I went out, I saw Xu Xudong being kicked in the left hip, stumbling a few steps and falling, obviously this thief knows martial arts, and he knows that he will give it for nothing. As he walked, he shouted at the top of his voice: "Someone! There are thieves! The backyard guy! ”

The man knocked down Xu Xudong, and when he saw that this person did not desperately step forward to stop, he turned around and ran to the northwest corner. Luo Sanneng waved the latch and shouted: "Don't run away, thief!" See I don't kill you! Seeing that the man jumped to the wall, he jumped up and put one hand on the wall, and the courtyard wall of more than two meters passed without rubbing his body.

At this time, Xu Xudong had already gotten up from the ground, and the two went to his room to light the lamp, looking at the clothes, bills, and money on the ground. Zhou Yizhi and his fourth sister-in-law also came one after another, asking what the situation was, and whether they had lost anything or not. Xu Xudong put things away and looked at it, not a dime was missing, but a trouser pocket was torn. The fourth sister-in-law listened to what happened, and nagged them, "Eighty percent is the old man in the west of the city (1)", "Liaocheng is chaotic, and valuable things must be hidden tightly", "Fortunately, the thief did not break into the gentleman's room, not to mention that the money was snatched away, and the body and bones can't help but be beaten". Xu Xudong also thinks that one person can't protect Zhou Yizhi, so it's best to draw two more good hands from his hometown. Zhou Yizhi nodded in agreement, and asked him to take the time to go to Ji's house today to borrow a phone and call the housekeeper Wu Liu, and the phone to be installed in the store was also urged, and he would start preparing for opening as soon as the equipment arrived.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Xu Xudong came to the Juyi Hall of Zhao Zhenhuan in Dongguan, Tangyi. Yu Banshan happily handed him the two black cloth bags, and said enthusiastically: "Brother Adong, how about you go back and try it?" If you can't open it, I'll open it for you. ”

"Box? What box did Master Yu say? Xu Xudong took it and opened his pocket to see, and the two keys were exactly the same.

"Did I say box? Hehehe. Yu Banshan pretended to look at him in surprise, and then laughed dryly, "What do you say?" Supposedly, such a delicate key has a beautiful box, and I like to collect things like locks and boxes. Brother probably doesn't know, right? There will be no third person in the world who can match such a key. These two keyheads are two identical keyholes used to open the same lock, and each head has a different function at the front and back. Not everyone can drive it! ”

"Really? But I don't need to, I only have the key anyway. Xu Xudong really didn't think about the use of this thing, he just felt curious, and the original had to be handed over to Zhou Yizhi. Because Luo Sanneng also saw it when the worker picked it up, he would definitely report it.

"Oh? Hehehehe, it's okay, it's okay, I'm just talking about it casually. "Where will Yu Banshan believe, his yellow eyes are dripping and rolling. After a pause, he said, "Brother Adong, what if—I mean, if you get such a box and you can't open it." It's better to let the old brother help you and ensure that the things inside are served as they are. As for the box, if my brother wants to, I will cede it to my brother, and I will collect 100,000 fiat currency. How? ”

"Master Yu, I really don't have what you said." Xu Xudong immediately realized that this key was not simple, and listening to Yu Banshan's tone, it might really be related to a priceless box.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Xu Xudong said goodbye. Yu Banshan politely said that Zhou Yizhi had been in Liaocheng for half a year, and he and Head Zhao had not officially visited the door, and said that they would visit in two days. Xu Xudong knew that Zhou Yizhi didn't like to socialize, but he was embarrassed to say anything else, after all, he might beg others one day, so he had to thank Zhou Yizhi first.

After returning to the city, Xu Xudong first went to the telephone management office of the county government compound on Louxi Street. The staff knew Xu Xudong and remembered that the county magistrate took him to apply for a telephone. When he called the Provincial Transportation Bureau in front of him, the phone was so loud that he could hear it saying that it would only be a day or two after the arrangement. He thanked the staff and went back to the store to take a turn, the other positions were basically completed, and the workers were rushing to vacate the room. Hei Wu asked him if he had lunch and if he wanted to go to Ji's house to eat together, and the girl who asked him to eat had just left, saying that she was making multigrain noodles. He readily agreed, and he had to go over to borrow the phone anyway. So the two drove to Ji's house for dinner, and bought two catties of pig's head meat when they passed by the gate of the Confucian Temple. When they entered the courtyard, they happened to meet Ji Tang, and he had just returned home, so he called Ernier to fry two dishes, and the three of them opened a bottle of wine and chatted while eating in the front hall.

After eating, it was already past two o'clock, Ji Tang asked someone to make tea, and said that he would rest for a while and go to the construction site together. Xu Xudong wanted to call, and Ji Tang asked Hei Wu to lead him to the study. Black Friday seemed very knowledgeable on the surface, let Xu Xudong to the desk and turned around and left, said to wait for him in the front hall, and closed the door easily. I actually turned around and entered the storage room next to the west of the study, and there was a two-inch-thick papier-mâch-thick wooden cutout partition between the two rooms.

The call was made to Huang Zhenkun, and he first reported the situation in Liaocheng in the recent period and what Zhou Yizhi had done. Then he picked up the strange key and the thief at home, and even talked about the value box mentioned by Yu Banshan. Huang Zhenkun praised a few words first, and let him keep an eye on this newcomer Luo Sanneng. immediately reprimanded him on the phone, saying that the key treasure box has nothing to do with them, don't be greedy because of small losses. As long as he does his job well, he just needs to open his mouth with how much money he needs, and he was so scared that he said yes again and again.

Zhou Yizhi didn't have anything to do in the past two days, everything that should be done was carried out step by step, all he could do was to turn around on both sides every day, and then wait. On this day, after lunch and reading a book for a while, I went out for a walk. Unconsciously came to the Fire God Temple, facing the back door of the Gu family. suddenly remembered that Gu Xinyi had said that he could see her at the back door, but he really couldn't do such a thing as learning cat barking. I happened to see the little egg of the Sihe Inn, the little guy who tore his sleeve when he first came, holding a card and walking from east to west. hurriedly stopped him to discuss, and exchanged ten yuan for him to learn cat barking. Xiao Dan'er happily agreed, lying on the back door of Gu's house and "meowing" for a while, until someone scolded him and took the money and ran to Lounan Street.

It was Xin Ye'er who opened the door, and when he saw that it was Zhou Yizhi who covered his mouth and smiled, he said to him: "Yo, is it Mr. Zhou who is holding flowers on his head?" Wait! He closed the door again and threaded the latch before he could react. A sentence was left in the crack of the door: "I still learn!" ”

There was a sound of footsteps, and then the door opened again. Xin Ye'er poked his head out and waved his hand at him, he went in sideways and walked a few steps to the side, and saw Gu Xinyi in a red cotton jacket standing in a simple pavilion. To be precise, there was a stone table and benches under a dry grape trellis, and at this time there were steaming teapots and a plate of pastries, and two of the three stone benches were covered with cotton mats.

Gu Xinyi still had a sweet smile on her face that day, and asked Zhou Yizhi to tell a story when she opened her mouth. He didn't know how to tell stories, so he had to save chicken feathers and make bullets to talk about his ancestors, some of which were examples from his father's lectures when he was a child, and some of them were told by neighbors or Ah Gui. But she listened very carefully, never interjecting with a smile on her face, only winking at him with her big talking eyes. Xin Ye'er was busy going to the front yard to make hot tea for a while, and running through the door to hear if anyone was approaching.

When the sun began to sink in the west, she asked him to tell him new things about foreign countries. He smiled lightly to see how she could bear to refuse, and was just about to say that he had seen and heard about going to school in the UK when he heard someone in the front yard shouting, "Miss, are you in the back garden?" It was dinner. She stood up and gracefully agreed, and then asked Xin Ye'er to send him from behind, saying that he would come back tomorrow.

While walking back, Zhou Yizhi also felt that this afternoon was very pleasant. Although he was basically talking, her serious expression and innocent smile all made him feel like he was surrounded by comfort, and he seemed to be much younger. A few minutes after entering the study, Xu Xudong came back and told him that the progress of the cement floor in the factory could not keep up. The weather is cold and slow, and I don't dare to do too much in the back if I don't do it in the front, for fear that the water level of the old and new handover places will not be accurate. He couldn't help frowning when he heard this, obviously because the concrete was not in the right proportion, and decided to go over tomorrow to see how they mixed sand and water. Xu Xudong handed him the key in the black cloth bag again, saying that he picked it up yesterday and left it because he thought it was fun. He didn't look like an antique, and he didn't weigh the ingredients like gold or copper, so he rested on his desk with the black bag aside. Xu Xudong said that he met Yu Banshan today, and said that he and Zhao Zhenhuan would come to visit three days later. He smiled and said that he still had little contact with those bandits, but since he had said it, he would be entertained with good wine and food, and the two of them said that they would go to the front hall and ask the fourth sister-in-law to pre-set the wine and meat in advance.

On the morning of the 21st day of the tenth lunar month, Zhou Yizhi and Xu Xudong went to the factory together. Ji Tang is complaining about the foreman there, the equipment will come back soon, and the opening date has been set, and if the progress is slowed down, the wages will be deducted. Zhou Yizhi pressed the road surface the day before yesterday, and then pressed the road surface yesterday, which was basically the same, so he went to the coagulation pump with the foreman to look. Pick up the empty bag and see that it is all Japanese, and sure enough, it is high-alumina concrete imported from Japan (2), and the solidification time will not be greater than ten hours under normal circumstances. Either there is a quality problem with this batch of goods, or there is too much water and sand, and the water reducer must be added and re-stirred. So I opened the bag again, mixed the sand with a shovel myself, and added water in the proportion stated on the bag. After an hour, the surface began to solidify, proving that there was indeed a problem with the proportions used in the previous two days.

Zhou Yizhi asked the foreman to arrange to pile up the previous shovel together, reopen the cement mixing in proportion, and level the construction according to the horizon from the current position, and the continuous operation does not have to wait for solidification. He will find a water reducer today, and tomorrow he will remix the original concrete and put it in place. After finishing it, I went into the city with Xu Xudong and looked for the cement dealership. Ji Tang watched Zhou Yizhi's quiet handling process from entering to leaving, and admired him more and more.

When the two of them returned to the factory, it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon, and they hadn't even bothered to eat lunch. Zhou Yizhi thought of agreeing to Gu Xinyi to tell a story in her backyard, so he simply ate it at night. After handing over the things to the foreman, he rushed to the city, Xu Xudong wanted to go back to the store to watch, and he also sat in the car. When I got out of the car, I asked him if he wanted to eat, and he said that he was not hungry, and since he was here, he would go in and have a look.

Luo Sanneng and Zhang Gen, the director of the sales department hired from Nanjing, are talking about their work experience to more than a dozen new employees in the store facing the street. Zhou Yizhi nodded at them and said hello, and walked through the second gate to the backyard. A few days ago, a worker vacated the big house to paint, and he walked in to see it. As soon as I entered the door, I felt flustered, and I didn't know if it was because of the irritating smell of paint or because I didn't eat at noon. He saw a few paint buckets in the corner, so he went over to see if the ingredient list was a volatile material, so as not to affect the health of employees.

Suddenly, I felt my heart beating very violently, rows of shelves flashed in my mind, a pair of fierce eyes, and blood dripping from the corners of my mouth. His head "buzzed" and he lost consciousness and fell directly on the paint bucket. A worker screamed in fright when he saw it, and Xu Xudong hurriedly rushed over from the door to pick him up and run outside. When he went out and got into the car, he shouted "Big Young Master" and rushed to David Hospital on Dongguan Street.

After a burst of rescue by the doctor, Zhou Yizhi woke up. After the examination, the doctor could only confirm that it was temporary shock, and the cause could not be found for a while, so he was advised to be hospitalized for observation. He felt that there was nothing wrong with his body in all aspects, perhaps because he was flustered when he smelled paint just now, and he was worried that he would be scared out of his old illness, so he insisted on going home to rest. Xu Xudong couldn't resist him, so he had to tell the doctor that he would come back immediately if he felt unwell, and they still had a car not far away anyway.

When I got home, it was dark in the morning, and the fourth sister-in-law had already heard about Zhou Yizhi's fainting, and she was stewing chicken soup in the kitchen. There was not much time, and Ji Tang also came, and Zhang Gen followed Luo Sanneng to also come over to express his concern. After dinner, Ji Tang sat with him until late at night to make sure that he would not get sick again before leaving, and Xu Xudong made a bunk in his room this night.

After breakfast the next day, Xu Xudong asked Zhou Yizhi to rest at home today, and went to the factory for him to see and report. He smiled and said that it was okay, there was no need to treat him as a patient, and he went back to the study to read and write. Because last night he dreamed of "Junsheng" who was reciting poetry, although he couldn't see it, the verses were very clear. Xu Xudong just walked to the door, and met Gu Xi'er entering the door, and there were two young women beside him, one was very beautiful and the other was very fat. Gu Xi'er asked Zhou Yizhi where he was and if the situation was better, and her sister heard that he had fainted and was in a hurry to visit. Xu Xudong knew that Zhou Yizhi was not happy to talk to Gu Xi'er, but even if he refused, he should come by himself, so he led them to the study. didn't walk away immediately, just waited for Zhou Yizhi to say that he would send them off and then invite them out.

The beautiful woman smiled when she saw Zhou Yizhi, walked to the table in a few steps and touched his forehead, and asked him what disease he had, but if the doctor had it. He was also happy to see beautiful women, smiling and talking to them. When she saw the silver key next to the pen holder, her face immediately changed, she reached out and grabbed it in her hand, and shouted at him: "Junsheng, how can this thing be placed casually?" What if someone takes it? How can I say ......"

The beautiful woman's actions not only made Xu Xudong jump, but Zhou Yizhi also walked over in surprise. Unexpectedly, she instantly changed into something else, and looked at her and couldn't finish her words: "This, this, Miss Gu, this-"

Gu Xi'er also hurriedly persuaded her: "Sister, what's wrong with you?" This is not our family, and Mr. Zhou is not Junsheng. Good sister, do you recognize me? I'm Xi'er! Turned around and looked at Zhou Yizhi again, "I'm really sorry, my sister is here, hey!" I'm sick at this time! Stretched out his hand and snatched the key from the woman's hand and put it on the table, beckoning to the fat woman, "Fat girl, help Miss go back!" While walking outside, he was polite inside, "Mr. Zhou, it really made you laugh, sorry!" I'm sorry! ”

The beautiful woman was almost dragged away by the fat woman called Fat Ya, and she turned around and cried: "Mine, my key." Junsheng, give it to me, that's the key to the brocade box. In just two minutes, his behavior changed dramatically, and he still had a bright smile on his face when he entered the door, and tears were already soaking his cheeks in an instant.

"Hey, Miss Gu, this, for you, you can take it! Miss Xi'er, if she likes it, give it to her, it's okay! Zhou Yizhi hurriedly picked up the key and chased to the door of the study. The woman was already whining and crying, and she was pulled away by Gu Xi'er and the fat woman with tears in her eyes.

Note: (1) Bandits, also known as "kidnapping". During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, it was very rampant in some villages and towns. (2) Aluminate cement refers to a fast-hardening, high-strength, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant cementitious material, with the main characteristics of high early strength, high temperature and corrosion resistance.