Chen Haichang nodded and said, "That person is from the courtyard, always up to some sneaky tricks. I know him because I once saw him speaking secretly with Ye Qing. Out of curiosity, I looked into him; his name is Qu Tiancheng, nickname Qu Liushou. Heās out late at night looking for things; very suspicious. Besides, the valuable thing we just saw, it certainly doesnāt belong to his family."
"You mean heās been in contact with Ye Qing?"
"Yes, why? Is there a problem?"
"Itās a big problem. Ye Qing found out that Mr. Mei has valuable goods, and sheās been working hard to please Old Mrs. Mei these days just for this."
"How did she find out?"
Seeing Chen Haichang confused, Han Yi explained to him the recent matter involving Little Star.
Upon hearing all, Chen Haichang slapped his hand with a āsmackā, "That makes sense! Ye Qing met with Qu Liushou, she definitely wants Qu Liushou to steal from the Mei family, the two have a plot inside and out. Well, Ye Qing does have some guts."
"She let Qu Liushou take action today, definitely because sheās calculated that the Mei Family is not around these few days."
"Darn it, we canāt just let her benefit from this. How about we follow and see where he hides the things?"
Chen Haichang doesnāt want these things to fall into their hands, neither does Han Yi, he certainly doesnāt want Ye Qing to benefit.
"Wait here, Iāll go inform Xiao Wan."
Han Yi said and quickly went back inside to tell Lin Wan, grabbed a coat and left with Chen Haichang, not daring to drive as they followed Qu Liushou on foot.
Lin Wan just heard Han Yi say he was going out but didnāt say for what purpose; in the middle of the night, she didnāt know where he was going with Chen Haichang.
Lin Wan warmed up the bed, took off Little Starās clothes, got out of bed cautiously, went to the living room, added some wood to the stove, making it a bit hotter, so the room was warm.
Having heard earlier from Chen Haichang about some painting, Lin Wan then picked up the box she had just found, opened it to see it was indeed a painting.
Lin Wan recognized the painting; in her past life, she had seen it in phone news, and this painting was sold for billions back then. Lin Wan secretly thought the person who collected this painting must have struck it rich; why didnāt she have such luck, owning a painting, living in luxury for a lifetime, luckier than winning five million in a lottery.
She remembered the news said that the elder who sold this painting didnāt live well, always doing some sneaky tricks. Online rumors were that his painting was stolen, but he openly declared he collected it when picking up scrap. Initially, he didnāt care, and casually tossed it at home. Only when he really ran out of money and nothing else to sell at home did he find this painting again. Even he didnāt know it could sell for so much.
Han Yi and Chen Haichang followed Qu Liushou for a while, saw him going towards the courtyard from their place, then coming back passing by their house, over more than one thousand meters, and entering another small courtyard.
"So this is the place, should we go in?" Chen Haichang asked.
Han Yi observed for a while, shook his head, because he saw Qu Liushou seemed to have come out again.
Subsequently, Han Yi whispered something into Chen Haichangās ear, after which Chen Haichang quickly left.
And Qu Liushou, once back inside, unwilling, rested for a few minutes, then rode his bike, planning to search along the road again.
Han Yi watched him go far, then quietly slipped into his house, and as soon as he got inside, he saw a sack filled with those paintings and calligraphy.
Without a word, he took them all.
When Han Yi returned home, Chen Haichang was leisurely sitting in the living room, sipping the tea Lin Wan had made for him.
Seeing Han Yi come back, he quickly stood up and asked with a smile, "Did you find it?"
"Yes," Han Yi nodded, pulled out the sack from his back and dumped it on the cotton mat Lin Wan had set up.
Chen Haichang hurriedly took off his shoes and climbed onto the mat, flipping through them one by one.
He chuckled twice and said, "Mr. Mei guarded and guarded, yet didnāt guard against his favorite grandsonās wife. Xiao Yi, do you think Mei Langchi knows about this?"
"Since Ye Qing found Qu Liushou, she definitely wouldnāt have told him," Han Yi replied.
Lin Wan, who knows best about Ye Qing and Mei Langchiās situation, said, "Those two are practically divorced; Ye Qing is sneaking around just to gain some benefits for herself before leaving the Mei family."
Lin Wan counted and found there were over a dozen paintings and calligraphy pieces; besides the one that could sell for billions, others could go for hundreds of thousands or millions. These things could be worth a lot, capable of enriching multiple generations it seems.
"Did you fix everything on your end?" Han Yi asked worriedly.
"Yes, I put a few CG books in the box. In the other one, a replica of the painting, which just happens to be what I have at home."
Lin Wan chuckled, "Third Uncle actually looks at this, eh? Is he thinking of women? How about I introduce someone to him?"
"Go, go, those are rare books I picked up from a friend a few days ago, just for some curious research for a few days. But this time Ye Qing is getting a bargain; although my painting is a replica, it could still sell for a few hundred bucks, and that CG picture, if kept for a few years, ought to fetch a good price."
Han Yi was now concerned not with these matters, but with the follow-up issue, "He didnāt find out, did he?"
"Donāt worry, when I do things, I never leave any traces behind, itās very clean. I didnāt even dare to drive my car, and instead, ran the whole way. I rushed ahead of him to throw the items not far from the compound. I placed them discreetly so he could find them without it seeming out of place. Oh... this time really wore me out. You have no idea how much effort it took to get there," Chen Haichang said proudly.
But Han Yi didnāt believe him; Qu Liushou was out looking for things, taking his time along the way, and thereās no need for such tension.
"What do you think Ye Qing offered Qu Liushou? For her to be able to get Qu Liushou to do her bidding, Ye Qingās quite formidable, not to be underestimated," Chen Haichang remarked.
"Thatās obvious. Sheāll split half with him once itās done; Ye Qingās got a knack for swindling people," Lin Wan affirmed.
"Ye Qingās got some ability; she can be flexible, and in such a short time, manage to find the things Mr. Mei had hidden. If Ye Qingās stealing these items and the Mei Family finds out, what would happen?" Chen Haichang thought grimly.
Han Yi could imagine the situation at the Mei Family tomorrow, "Whatever the case, it wonāt end well. The Mei Family is sure to call the police tomorrow, and thereāll be quite a commotion."
"The bigger the commotion, the better. Hopefully, tomorrow when the old man wakes up and hears his things got stolen, heāll get so angry he might pass away. Iād be relieved," Chen Haichang laughed heartily.
Lin Wan looked at the precious paintings with a worried face, "What are we going to do with these? Itās better to be safe than sorry, and if these items bring trouble to our home, what then?" If the police get involved and trace it back to the family, going door to door, it would be hard to explain.
"If youāre confident, hand these things over to me. Iāll take care of them for you," Chen Haichang said indifferently.
Han Yi nodded, "Then weāll trouble you, Third Uncle."
"Xiao Yi, to avoid future troubles, you should draft a receipt." After all, theyāre precious paintings, and itās better to be careful.
"No need for a receipt; just take it. I donāt want to leave evidence for others; these things are accidental gains and are neither here nor there."
Lin Wan laughed softly on the side, "Third Uncle, youāve got your share in this, too."
Upon hearing this, Chen Haichang snorted, "I donāt covet the Mei Familyās stuff, especially Mei Erqingās. Iāve already gotten what I need; the rest is yours."
Lin Wan looked at him in surprise, then shifted her gaze to Han Yi, who confidently nodded.
"Third Uncle, you..."
Lin Wan hadnāt finished before Chen Haichang interrupted, "Do you think Iām very selfless and great?"
Which left Lin Wan speechless and rolling her eyes at him.
"By the way, todayās events, pretend you know nothing. I just want to see Mei Erqing worried sick and watch the Mei Family fall into chaos," Chen Haichang said seriously to them.
Han Yi laughed, "Donāt worry, not just the Mei Family, including Ye Qing and Qu Liushou. Today, I deliberately left Ye Qingās handkerchief in the yard."
Chen Haichang laughed, patting Han Yiās shoulder, "Good one, youāre setting them against each other like dogs fighting."
Han Yi nodded, "If Qu Liushou recognizes it, then the planās in motion."
"Whereād you get Ye Qingās belongings?" Lin Wan asked, puzzled.
Han Yi knew sheād ask, and he smiled, "I saw it in Little Starās treasure box today. After dinner, when you werenāt in the room, Little Star brought her treasure box to show me, saying she got the handkerchief from the old house. She said Aunt Wu gave it to her. I once saw Ye Qing using it in the old house..."
Han Yi told them the story; Aunt Wu used that to wipe Little Starās hands, then later set it aside, telling the two kids they could use the handkerchief to wipe their hands if they got dirty.
Later, Little Star subconsciously put it in her pocket and brought it home.
"This handkerchief is either something Ye Qing doesnāt want or was given by her to Aunt Wu."
"Such a coincidence!" Lin Wan, who spent all day with her daughter, hadnāt noticed this matter.
"There are many coincidences; look at today, who wouldāve thought Qu Liushou would drop the stuff at our doorstep, just when Little Star fell ill and we returned at that moment? Quite a coincidence. Had we been a step late, Qu Liushou mightāve found it again."
"Mhmm, this time Ye Qingās unlucky," Lin Wan thought about Ye Qingās future, getting excited.
"Iāll take these things; you two should get some sleep, have a good rest. Tomorrow the Mei Family wonāt find peace," Chen Haichang instructed, taking the items back to his place.
Han Yi and Lin Wan didnāt linger in the living room; it was already late, and they had long been tired.
...