This is actually a wonderful deal.

The mysterious Party A not only spent a lot of money, but also didn't even sign the contract. It stands to reason that if he encounters a liar, he must swallow the bracelet itself. After all, it is not a cheap item.However, Jiang Baole still did her best as a restorer, taking expensive white jade as a base for the missing piece, and embellishing it with pure gold to inlay patterns.

As the saying goes, green matches silver, red matches gold, this fine blood jade is originally warm in tone, and it is naturally inlaid with gold flowers.It's just that what kind of pattern is carved, but Bao Le has been troubled for three whole days.

When the work was finished, Bao Le stretched himself, only to realize that the sun was almost setting.She took out the address strip left by the black hoodie from the drawer—this place is not too close to the Confucius Temple. In Zijin Mountain, the entire mountain has been developed into a tourist project, but follow the address on this paper to navigateIt is indeed in the mountains.

She has been studying in Nan Jing for four years, but she has never heard from her local classmates that there are still private houses in this mountain. After all, where is Zijin Mountain?In terms of appearance, Panlong Crouching Tiger is indeed a treasure of geomantic omen.

After closing Yuan Baozhai early, Bao Le put the blood jade bracelet in the red sandalwood box and prepared to drive there.

The car drove on the rugged mountain road for a while, and drove round and round around the Dragon Neck Road from bottom to top. At the beginning, could meet a few tourist buses and people who came to climb the mountain.It got deeper and deeper, and the population gradually became scarcer.If the navigation hadn't told her that she was on the right track, she would have been a little skeptical, would it be possible to drive to such a place in the mountains?

After driving for another section, it was completely dark and the mountain road became narrower and narrower.Logically speaking, Zijin Mountain is only more than 400 meters above sea level, but she feels more and more suffocated.The little girl was not very courageous at first, and it was her first time to do this kind of door-to-door delivery. Now that I think about it, there is something wrong with the black hoodie.Faint...

...

The destination has finally arrived.

It should be an old house with a Chinese-style gate surrounded by a wall, and the inside of the house cannot be seen clearly. Although the door is closed tightly, there are two red lanterns hung on the left and right of the door, barely lit.The stone statue at the gate is carved with a mythical beast that looks like a unicorn but is not a unicorn. It is a famous city guard beast in Nanjing to ward off evil spirits.This beast has a little impression.

Bao Le parked the car next to a Mercedes-Benz at the door. Although it was the end of summer, it was unavoidably cold at night.She didn't wear a cheongsam today, because considering that she was going to deliver goods at night, she wore a more casual floral skirt, which was not long, and she was a bit cold at the moment.

Shivering, the little girl hugged the red sandalwood box in her arms, and reluctantly stepped forward.She lightly picked up the brass ring on the door, and buckled the brass piece. Perhaps the surrounding was too quiet, and the sound could be heard very clearly at night.

After knocking the door, there was no other movement inside the door, so she had to knock it again, back and forth four or five times, and after a while, there was a sound of footsteps, and the old mahogany door was opened from the inside.

The person who opened the door was an old man in a Chinese-style robe, looking at her kindly and smiling.With a shrewd and capable appearance, the old man wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and a gold chain is tied to the temple of the glasses by his ear.This dress looks very much like the aristocratic Old Housekeeper of the last century.

The two stared at each other for a long time before Bao Le handed over the red sandalwood box and said, "I'm from Yuan Baozhai, the one who repaired the blood jade bracelet..."

The Old Housekeeper didn't reach out, but just took a step back: "My boss is waiting for you, come with me."

Originally, Bao Le really wanted to see the black hoodie that day, but the house, the people, and the oppressive atmosphere here are always hitting the timid Baole, and she doesn't want to go in at all now.

The old housekeeper said: "My master has prepared a reward, and I can only give it to you after meeting. Besides, this bracelet may need to be changed again."

Bao Le gritted his teeth and nodded: "The old man, please lead the way."

The Old Housekeeper smiled and closed the door behind her.

...

The inside of the house is completely different from the outside, which Bao Le did not expect.The house looks eerie from the outside, but inside the house there are not only a lot of warm-colored lanterns hanging, but also modern floor-to-ceiling small garden lights. The candles are flickering, illuminating the road and the house are very transparent, and suddenly there is a bit more fireworks.The house is a typical garden-style structure in the south of the Yangtze River, with small bridges, flowing water, rain flower stones, rockery and lotus ponds with four-corner pavilions.

Bao Le followed the old housekeeper around a few times before stopping in front of a relatively large house, which Bao Le guessed was the main hall where the master received guests.

The two entered the door, and the old housekeeper brought her slippers. The entrance of this house is no different from that of ordinary people.Although there are some valuable old objects and decorations, and the overall decoration is also Chinese-style, it is different from the ancient houses and more modern.The lamp is a modern crystal lamp, there is a cabinet air conditioner in the corner, and most importantly, she found a doorbell monitor by the door.

The monitor was patting the door she came in, indicating that this family had a modern doorbell, but she just knocked on the door stupidly, no wonder the old man kept smiling when he opened the door for her.

Bao Le felt that he was so stupid, his ears turned red, and he really pretended to be calm.

"Miss, have you eaten?" The old housekeeper asked lovingly.

Bao Le shook his head.

The Old Housekeeper laughed and said, "It just so happens that the host is about to have a banquet, why don't we come together?"

Bao Le panicked: "What a shame..."

At this time, a voice came from the inner room: "But Miss Yuan Baozhai has arrived?"

The Old Housekeeper replied: "Yes, Housekeeper."

Bao Le was stunned for a moment. It turned out that the owner mentioned by the Old Housekeeper was not the boy in the black hoodie that day, but an elderly lady from the voice.

"Please, Miss." The old housekeeper made a gesture of invitation to Bao Le.

Bao Le was in a dilemma, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

...

The lacquered wood cabinet frame partitions the entrance and the inner room. A beautiful long curtain is divided into two pieces and hangs down from the arched opening of the cabinet frame to separate the indoor and outdoor spaces, with a length of about one meter.

The Old Housekeeper walked in front of her very gentlemanly, and lifted the long curtain on the right half for Bao Le.After all, Bao Le also lived in the Confucius Temple for a while, and at a glance, the embroidered piece on the curtain is Nan Jing's famous Yunjin.She had always thought that this was a souvenir of Nan Jing's travels, and she bought it to keep at home as a souvenir, but she didn't expect that someone could actually use it to make a curtain.Sure enough, poverty limits imagination.

"Pay attention to your step." The old housekeeper reminded.

Bao Le swallowed his saliva twice before he noticed that the inner room had a split-level design, with two steps. Unlike the stone bricks in the entrance, the inner room is made of pure solid wood flooring.

Glancing gratefully at the Old Housekeeper, Jiang Baole took another deep breath, adjusted his mentality and stepped up the steps.

...

After fully entering the inner room, the vermilion carved door beams and the shocking picture of two dragons playing with a pearl on the background wall, which is a painting on the red wall by the Qinhuai River, were shrunk down and placed in the room.

Bao Le only glanced at it briefly, the "beads" in that drama were white and smooth, of unknown material, maybe they were night pearls.

There is a round table in the center of the room, which is covered with a red tablecloth against the color of the scene.There were about seven or eight people sitting around the table, both men and women, most of the women wore cheongsams, and most of the men were in suits. Everyone gathered around a table, but they were all serious and solemn.Behind them stood a few servants carrying plates, very much like the scene of ancient nobles dining.

The first person to take the seat should be the old lady who spoke just now. Judging from her voice and the fine lines around her eyes, she is indeed getting older, and even her black hair has already turned gray, but she has the big wavy hair that was quite popular in the last century.She is not as fat as other old ladies, and she is wearing a long dark cloth cheongsam, which is a civilian style.

This old lady is no ordinary person.

Bao Le's intuition told her that it is not suitable to stay here for a long time.

The old lady seemed to see that she wanted to slip away, and said before she could speak: "Miss, what's your name?"

"My surname is Jiang. The old lady can just call me Xiao Jiang." Bao Le rolled his eyes, but did not say his full name.

The old lady raised her head slightly, but didn't speak, but looked at her inside and out, not knowing what she was trying to figure out.Even though it was the first time they met, they were like old friends, which also made Bao Le feel uncomfortable all over.

"Old Hu."

The Old Housekeeper walked up behind the old lady, bent down and replied, "What's your order?"

"Prepare a pair of bowls and chopsticks for Miss Jiang." The old lady turned her head, showing the kindness that suited her age, and said to Bao Le in an elder tone: "Miss Jiang is also welcome."

Housekeeper Hu responded, walked up to Bao Le, and stretched out his hand: "Miss Jiang, give me the jade bracelet first, take a seat."

It's easy for the seat to talk, but this table is full of people don't know, and they are all older than her, especially the old lady who is the leader, who always stares at her like that, and never looks away.

She could only focus on the table in front of her.

There was a transparent turntable on the table. When she looked at it, she felt strange that the four cold meats, four hot meats, four big bowls, four small bowls, and one soup and two and three plates were all delicacies on a jade plate.It is the dinner of a big family in the south of the Yangtze River.It's a pity that the time is wrong and the person is wrong. Even with such a sumptuous dinner, she still has no appetite at all.

Butler Hu brought her bowls and chopsticks, and even the bowls and chopsticks revealed that it was not easy.In the center of the bowl and plate is a blue splashed ink landscape painting, which is bright in color and exquisite in workmanship.The porcelain bowl is white and transparent, and light can project from above through the bowl wall onto the plate below.The lower half of the chopsticks is made of stainless steel, and the porcelain pattern on the upper half is obviously in the same style as the plate.

After the appraisal, this is a blue and white porcelain tableware set, a specialty of Jingdezhen, starting with a four-figure set.

This recognition made Bao Le even more resistant to the meal.

The old lady said: "Don't be dazed, pick up your chopsticks."

Butler Hu handed the old lady the chopsticks, and then he took another pair of clean chopsticks from the servant's plate, which turned out to be cloth vegetables from the incumbent.The old lady only ate the food he picked up and delivered to her bowl, chewing slowly, and at a glance, she must have been an Eldest Young Lady when she was young.

Everyone also picked up their chopsticks one after another, Bao Le was embarrassed to be special, picked up the chopsticks, but didn't have the desire to pick up vegetables.

Housekeeper Hu would turn the turntable on the table at a fixed time. Bao Le observed that almost everyone only picked the dishes in front of them or the two dishes on the left and right, and the speed of picking dishes was very fast, and they were very particular about which dishes to pick.For example, in the dish of crystal buns, the first person chose the one at 12 o’clock. If someone wants to pick it up, he will definitely take the one at 1 o’clock. The whole process will take no more than two seconds, fast and accurate.

The people at this table definitely uphold one point, and they can't eat.Except for the sound of picking up vegetables and chewing, the dinner table was eerily quiet.

Bao Le felt full after eating two mouthfuls of green vegetables symbolically, not because she had a small appetite, but because she really couldn't eat.It's better for her to soak a bowl of braised beef noodles now and nestle in her hut, while watching "Ultimate Notes", while the noodles are fragrant.

...

Fortunately, this silent dinner didn't last long before it was interrupted. There was a sound of opening the door, someone came from outside, accompanied by a gust of cold wind, mixed with the cold air of Nan Jing's late summer night,

"Grandma stopped me halfway, but she didn't send anyone to tell me."

Compared with the people who came, the green vegetables that Bao Le was chewing suddenly became tasteless.

This time, the black hoodie was replaced by a white shirt, a white shirt, and a thin white waistcoat.He didn't wear a hat, and his face was exposed, but his complexion seemed to be much worse than three days ago. don't know if the clothes made him too white, and his lips were almost bloodless.

"Seeing that you came here in such a hurry, what do you think?" The old lady put down the soup bowl in her hand and looked at Bao Le, "Good boy, grandma won't keep you, go."

Bao Le put down his chopsticks in relief, nodded to the old lady, and was about to get up, but before he could stand still, he put a hand in front of her.Bao Le suddenly remembered that it was also this hand that had protected her behind her when she was most helpless and frightened.For a moment, her thoughts were flying wildly, her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably, and her whole body became tense, but she still didn't understand why she was nervous.

Bao Le blushed and put his hand in his, and the man took her hand, led her out of the dining table with a strange atmosphere, and led her out of the brightly lit room.

...

But the good times didn't last long, and such a good atmosphere didn't last long.

The two walked in the hallway of the house one after the other, and he stopped holding her after they left the door, just like in Yuan Baozhai, deliberately keeping a distance.He has long legs, and although his pace is not fast, Bao Le still uses a trotting posture to catch up.She followed closely behind him, the place was as big as a maze, and she didn't want to get lost, the faster she walked, the more cool wind poured into her dress.After walking quietly for a while, Bao Le realized belatedly that he didn't seem to have the sandalwood scent he smelled last time. She didn't know what this discovery meant, but she couldn't help but frowned.

"Blood jade bracelet..."

"I know," he said gently, "at my grandma's place. It's too late today, and it's not safe for you to go down the mountain now. Why don't you stay here tonight and make arrangements tomorrow."

Bao Le let out a "huh".Although this house is also full of weirdness, but now it is completely dark, if she is really asked to go down the mountain at night at this time, it is really better to stay first and make a long-term plan.

What's more, they haven't paid yet.

The two were speechless for a while, and walked separately.

"By the way, what's your name?"

The person walking in front stopped smoothly because of this sentence. He didn't look back, but turned his face slightly.Bao Le likes his side face, people with high nose bridges look good from the side.

"My name is Jiang Baole, Jiang Bao Le from Yuan Baozhai." Seeing that he was silent, Bao Le repeated, "And you, what's your name?"

They seem to be about the same age. It cannot be ruled out that this little brother is born young, but people of the same age are always easier to get along with.Bao Le thinks that he is somewhat cute, and most people will not refuse to answer when such a little girl asks her name.

He did answer, lightly.

"Shen Wangyan."

Shen Wangyan, Shen Wangyan... Wangyan.When Jiang Baole first came into contact with this person, she was still very young. At that time, she was wondering what the word Wangyan in his name meant.After studying for several years, her first impression of these two words was Tao Yuanming's "Drinking Wine", "There is a true meaning in this, and I have forgotten the words if I want to distinguish it".But after thinking about it, I feel that maybe the family's parents just think that the name is nice. This magnificent mansion is really not close to Tao Yuanming's artistic conception of "building a hut and picking chrysanthemums".

...

They almost crossed the entire corridor, and there was an independent courtyard at the corner, and the words "Ruan Xiangju" were written on the door plaque on the courtyard wall.In fact, there are many such independent small courtyards in such Jiangnan garden buildings, some are large enough to accommodate several rooms, and some are so small that there is only one main house in the courtyard.There was no lock outside the main house, Shen Wangyan opened the door for her.

"There is a light switch on the wall." Shen Wangyan reminded.

Bao Le fumbled for a while, turned on the switch, and with a "pop", the whole room lit up.On the left side of the room is the bedroom, on the right side is the study room and the tea room, in the middle there are two chairs and a table, with Wang Xizhi's calligraphy on the back, I don't know if it is genuine or fake.

"There should be hot water and toiletries in the room," Shen Wangyan stood at the door, "The door can be locked, so take a good rest."

I don't know if it's her illusion, but I always feel that the words "have a good rest" are not as reassuring as the literal meaning.

But Bao Le still responded with a very appropriate and polite smile.