"Uncle Tan, can we confirm it’s really Zhu Changyong?"
"We can’t say for sure, but there’s a high probability it’s him. The visitor provided proof of related materials and photos showing he worked with Zheng Haiyang’s mother."
"Is there any record left at the mental hospital?"
"There isn’t."
The mental hospital indeed has stricter internal controls, but that doesn’t apply to outside visits, and the frequency of outside visits requested by the family members of patients is very low. Many families, after putting their mentally ill relatives inside, hope to forget about them entirely.
"Uncle Tan, have we confirmed it was suicide?"
"Her method of suicide was public throat cutting."
Li Zhuyuan adjusted his collar.
That confirmed it—if there were any other circumstances or foul play involved, it wouldn’t have been so overt.
"Uncle Tan, no signs of incitement or persuasion from Zhu Changyong?"
"There are legal grounds for it, but how do we determine that? Zheng Haiyang's mother was already a mental patient. All the local police can do is call him in for questioning. He did leave an address and phone number on the application form, but it belongs to a hotel."
Li Zhuyuan raised his head to look at Tan Yunlong, and he suddenly understood why the police officer was here.
"Uncle Tan, you’re here to find Zheng Haiyang."
Tan Yunlong nodded, feeling relieved; talking to Xiaoyuan was much easier than dealing with his own foolish son.
"Xiaoyuan, the hotel Zhu Changyong stayed at is in our Shigang."
At that moment, Zheng Haiyang walked out of the school gate. He had lunch earlier with Tan Wenbin and Li Zhuyuan, but tonight Tan Wenbin wouldn’t attend the evening study session with him, so he walked back alone.
"Bing Ge, why are you still here?" Zheng Haiyang greeted Tan Wenbin as he walked over.
Tan Wenbin nodded towards the direction they were in.
"Oh, Uncle is also here."
Tan Yunlong noticed them and turned his head, pointing to Tan Wenbin as he called out, "You and Haiyang go to the cafeteria for dinner, then accompany him to the evening study."
"What?!" Tan Wenbin was taken aback. He had no problem accompanying his buddy for dinner, but skipping the evening study was his special pride!
Tan Yunlong shot him a glare.
Tan Wenbin immediately softened, replying, "Yes, sir!"
A son knows when his father is just pretending to be angry and when he truly means business. The old saying goes, "A tiger doesn't eat its children," and that’s because young tigers can sense things too.
"Let's go, Haiyang, we’re off to the cafeteria."
"Bing Ge, it’s not just about lining up; they might have run out of dishes by now..."
"Stop the nonsense! If we can't, let's just buy a few packs of ‘Tang Seng Meat’ from the school store. If you don’t come with me, my dad might just whip me out in front of the school!"
As they entered, two plainclothes police officers followed them, clearly there to protect a target.
During school hours, the security at the entrance wouldn’t stop students, but they would be more cautious with adults.
Therefore, the security guards greeted the plainclothes officers enthusiastically.
In a small town like this, seeing familiar faces is quite common, and those two policemen often come to the school for legal education campaigns.
Letting them visit made communication with the teachers smoother, avoiding misunderstandings.
Soon, two physical education teachers, Luo Jinwen and Luo Wenhui, were selected to assist the police. These two were cousins; one planned to buy vegetables for his wife’s birthday, while the other was supposed to go on a date. Their plans were now canceled.
After the principal arranged the task for them, he reassured them that they were the most trusted persons by the school leaders.
This fact was true; they were the ones sent to Beijing previously to investigate Li Zhuyuan’s student records, and they had even installed curtains and spring beds in the principal's office.
"Let’s go, Xiaoyuan, we’ll check the hotel."
"Has he checked out yet?"
"The precinct called and asked; he checked out this morning, but we still need to take a look. I’ve also arranged for officers to protect Zheng Haiyang's family."
"Uncle Tan, wait a moment."
Li Zhuyuan ran over to Ren Sheng’s three-wheeled vehicle and explained to Ah Li briefly. She nodded in response.
Except for that one time when she decisively left after discovering Li Zhuyuan's self-harm, she never complained about what he did.
Ren Sheng asked if he should take Ah Li home first and then come back with his gear, but Li Zhuyuan refused.
After saying goodbye, Li Zhuyuan returned and hopped on Tan Yunlong’s motorcycle, and the two quickly arrived at the hotel.
The hotel had a common name, "Happiness Hotel."
On the left side of the entrance was a breakfast shop, and on the right was a hair salon.
Most hair salons would have at least one iron hairdressing chair, but this place not only lacked chairs, there weren’t even scissors or combs on the counter. Inside, there was only a simple long sofa, where two garishly made-up women sat, knitting sweaters with their legs crossed.
On the glass door, in addition to “Haircut, Shampoo”, there were also signs for “Cupping, Foot Bath, Massage, PSA.”
Li Zhuyuan suspected the last one was a typo.
The hotel’s entrance was small, just a little staircase leading up, and the front desk was located on the second floor.
Tan Yunlong showed his credentials and asked for the guest log.
When they called earlier, it was confirmed that Zhu Changyong had stayed here, and the room was advised to remain closed for now.
Under the guidance of the owner, they walked deeper into the hotel and opened the door to the designated room.
Inside, the space was small—just a bed, a nightstand, and a tea table, without any TV.
Tan Yunlong began inspecting the place and found many water stains on the floor: "What happened here?"
"I don’t know. It started leaking last night. The shops downstairs complained to me, and we knocked on the door to check it out. The bathroom pipes looked fine, and there was a lot of water on the floor, so we suspect it’s coming from a leak elsewhere."
Li Zhuyuan knelt down to examine the water stains closely.
Even after cleaning, a bit of stickiness still remained within the puddles.
That matched the characteristic of a body leaking water.
Tan Yunlong looked at the owner and asked, "Since he stayed here, besides going out by himself, did anyone else come into this room to see him?"
Li Zhuyuan looked up at the owner as well.
The owner waved his hand: "No, nobody entered this room to see him."
Li Zhuyuan noticed the owner’s slight expression gave him away; he was lying.
But he knew Tan Yunlong could certainly tell too, because Tan Yunlong had set a trap when he asked the question.
In such a deep room, how could he be certain no one had entered? The proper response should have been "I don’t know" rather than a firm "no."
Tan Yunlong stated seriously, “I’ll give you one more chance. Think carefully and then answer. Do you know what he did? If we find out later that you lied today, that’s a charge of concealment, and possibly of collusion.”
The owner immediately panicked, his expression conflicted. Finally, he resolved himself to say, "Amei came in."
"Who?"
"She works at the hair salon downstairs; she came in."
"Are you the one who called her over?"
"No... not really." The owner's face turned pale, and he began to sweat.
Currently, running such a business secretly in hotels has become somewhat of a hidden rule; some owners cooperate for a share, while others are outright involved.
"Where is she?"
"Downstairs."
Tan Yunlong and Li Zhuyuan walked out and entered the neighboring hair salon, where Amei was one of the two women knitting on the sofa.
Seeing Tan Yunlong walk in, one of the women instinctively went to pull the roller shutter down.
However, upon noticing Li Zhuyuan following behind, she froze and smiled, "Young brother, are you here to play too?"
"He’s here with me."
"Okay, big brother, you choose one of us, and the other will stay to watch the kid."
Inside was a black-and-white TV, but it seemed to be broken and wasn’t plugged in.
It's just that Li Zhuyuan was too young; if he were a few years older, he could have been welcomed too.
"Which one is Amei?"
"Brother, choose me. Didn’t friends introduce me to you on your first visit?"
Tan Yunlong took out his credentials: "I’m a police officer; I have a few questions for you. Please sit down."
The two women were startled, but the other one quickly regained her seductive demeanor. However, under Tan Yunlong’s gaze, she instantly deflated.
"Did you visit Happiness Hotel last night? Do you remember room 8025?"
"I... I don't remember."
"Think carefully, and remember, I’m not here to crack down on prostitution."
The other woman nudged Amei’s arm: "You should speak quickly; tell the truth and cooperate."
Amei panicked and said, "I worked with several last night; I don’t know which room that was."
The other woman immediately changed her expression: "You snuck off behind my back...”
Clearly, Amei had a closer relationship with the hotel owner.
In such places, unless the guest specifically requests someone, they usually serve in turn.
The guests in hotels are definitely not regulars, as the hair salons have small partitions with beds inside.
Li Zhuyuan chimed in: "The floor in his room was very wet with a lot of water, and the room felt quite damp."
"Ah, I remembered, it was him. But I didn’t do anything with him; he gave me money just to go to the front desk and get a kettle to boil water for him. He said he was thirsty, and I helped him boil a lot of water, and in the end, he just let me go."
"Any other details? Like his accent?"
"It seemed to be a northern accent. Also, he brought a black briefcase. That’s all I remember; we didn’t take off our clothes."
"Details about his appearance, think again."
"He was quite tall, about 1.8 meters, really thin but muscular. He wore a baseball cap, and his skin was tanned, as if he had been sunburned, and the skin on his hands was peeling. I even asked if he got sunburned."
Tan Yunlong nodded. Although there wasn’t a direct photo, from the description, it was indeed the person who went to visit Zheng Haiyang’s mother at the mental hospital.
"If he approaches you again, remember to report it to the police. He’s very dangerous."
"Whoa... whoa..." Amei was so scared she kept patting her chest. Being caught in a vice crackdown might lead to detention, but women in her line of work are indeed more afraid of bad people.
Tan Yunlong lifted the roller shutter and walked out with Li Zhuyuan, getting back on the motorcycle.
After driving a considerable distance, Tan Yunlong suddenly said, "Xiaoyuan, some things can never be completely cleaned away."
"Ah?" Li Zhuyuan was momentarily puzzled, thinking Tan Yunlong was talking about the case. He quickly understood and replied, "Uncle Tan, I understand."
"A room can't stay clean forever, so it needs to be cleaned regularly."
"Indeed, Uncle Tan."
Retired elders in the community like to share similar thoughts; it signifies treating the younger generation as someone they care for, hoping to impart the right values.
The next stop was Zheng Haiyang's home.
Zheng Haiyang’s house was a newly built two-story structure. Li Zhuyuan had been there on the day of the funeral.
Originally, Zheng Haiyang's family had it rough, but his father was resourceful, and these years working as a sailor with his wife made quite a bit of money, allowing them to build a new house.
Outside the house stood two plainclothes police officers. After Tan Yunlong greeted them, they all went inside together.
The two elders were still wiping their tears; they probably knew about the news from the mental hospital.
However, their greater worry was for their grandson, having lost both his father and mother in a short time; what would they do moving forward?
The only solace was that the house was built, and over the years, the son and daughter-in-law had sent back money, which they had saved.
Tan Yunlong explained their purpose and asked if there had been any strange individuals approaching recently. The two elders shook their heads, saying no.
But that was clearly impossible, as Zhu Changyong chose to stay in Shigang, meaning he must have some connection to it.
While asking, Tan Yunlong specifically pointed out that this person might pose a danger to Zheng Haiyang, causing the elderly couple to become frightened and desperately plead with the police to capture the bad guy.
This was a probe to test whether the two elders had indeed come into contact with Zhu Changyong.
At times, cases can take bizarre twists, not because of the case itself but due to the people involved.
However, regarding their grandson, the couple was respondingly normal, suggesting Zhu Changyong had come solely for his own purpose.
After getting the elders' consent, the two officers were assigned to search the house.
Tan Yunlong stepped onto the yard and pulled out a cigarette to light it, taking a deep puff.
"Uncle Tan, you’ve worked hard."
This case shouldn’t have fallen under Tan Yunlong’s jurisdiction, nor did it seem to be a case at all.
"Xiaoyuan, what kind of talk is that? We can’t just ignore a potential danger. By the way, Xiaoyuan, what do you think?"
When he asked this, Tan Yunlong’s gaze swept around like an eagle's, sensing that Zhu Changyong might be hiding nearby.
"Uncle Tan, is it possible Zhu Changyong came here not to target someone but to look for something specific?"
"Something?"
"Yeah, he might not have come to kill anyone."
That was Li Zhuyuan’s speculation. The actual information regarding Zhu Changyong’s identity was known only to Li Lan’s secretary, Xu Wen.
But judging by Xu Wen’s attitude toward Zhu Changyong heard from the restroom, they weren’t enemies and might even have a close relationship.
“Dead men tell no tales” isn’t something meant for enemies; it signifies another kind of extremity.
This side hinted at Zhu Changyong's identity; although he snuck onto that ship, he wasn’t like Honda and Ashley’s group.
Even if something went wrong at the bottom of the sea, he wouldn’t target the crew's family members after reaching shore.
"Then I’ll ask again."
Tan Yunlong went to inquire further.
Li Zhuyuan didn’t follow but scanned the surroundings like Tan Yunlong had earlier.
Only Tan Yunlong was looking for people while he was searching for the dead.
But the results were the same—nothing to be found.
Li Zhuyuan took out some talisman paper from his pocket and stuck it on the concrete, also placing some on the door. He carried a fair amount with him all the time and decided to use it all this time.
Tan Yunlong came back out: "Asked around, there’s nothing special, but they might be lying this time."
Since they could tell there were lies, once they brought them back to the station, under that atmosphere, it would be easy to ask for the truth, but they couldn’t proceed that way now.
"Uncle Tan, maybe we can let Zheng Haiyang come back to ask."
"Mm, good idea." Tan Yunlong rode back to the school gate with Li Zhuyuan and ordered two bowls of noodles from a small shop nearby.
"Xiaoyuan, what toppings do you want to add?"
"I don't want any, Uncle Tan."
After they finished their noodles, the evening study session for the seniors concluded, and the noodle shop wrapped up its last business of the day.
Tan Wenbin and Zheng Haiyang walked out side by side. With a strong intuitive connection, he immediately sensed where his father was.
Tan Yunlong spoke with Zheng Haiyang and didn’t disclose any details about his mother; instead, he clarified the stakes, explaining there was a bad person eyeing something in the family, and while his grandparents knew, they deliberately didn’t inform the police, which could pose dangers for the entire family.
Zheng Haiyang assured he would definitely ask his grandparents when he returned home.
Then, Zheng Haiyang pressed his lips together, asking, "Uncle, is my mother also gone?”
Having also been a sailor, with his father confirmed deceased, and his mother now untraceable and missing the funeral, Zheng Haiyang suspected the truth for a while now.
"That’s something you must ask your grandparents; I’m not sure."
"Okay, I understand, Uncle."
After that, Tan Wenbin patted Zheng Haiyang's shoulder as they walked out, sharing words among friends:
"Brother, look! My dad and Xiaoyuan are standing together. You must comply; trust me. You can choose not to listen to my dad, but you ought to listen to our Xiaoyuan.
Ignoring my dad might just get you in jail, but not listening to Xiaoyuan might land you in a bad situation."
"Bing Ge, I get it. I only have grandpa and grandma left, and I hope they’re all well. Also… actually, I feel quite guilty."
"What’s up?"
"My dad is gone, and my mom may also be lost, but as their son, I’m not feeling that sad. I feel like I’m not worthy."
"Hey, why think like that? Your parents have been away for a long time, only meeting you once a year. It’s only normal if feelings grow distant."
"But they’re out working for my sake."
"What can I say, buddy? Just let go a bit and don’t be stubborn. Death doesn’t come back; if your parents could see you, they surely wouldn’t want to see you crying like this, unable to move on. They’d prefer you live healthily and happily.
Eat well, drink well, study hard, and you’ll still have your grandparents to look out for."
"Thank you, Bing Ge."
At that moment, Li Zhuyuan approached: "Bingbing Ge, do you have any talisman paper left in your pocket?"
"I do! That’s our anti-counterfeiting mark!"
"Give some to Haiyang. Haiyang, I’ve put some talisman paper around your home; check when you get back to see if any changes in color, and put some at the entrance of your and your grandparents' rooms too.
Don’t tell anyone I gave it to you."
"I understand, Xiaoyuan Ge. I’ll just say these are peace talismans."
The next morning, after the early study session ended, Li Zhuyuan and Tan Wenbin had just entered the classroom when Zheng Haiyang came over quietly, saying,
"I asked my grandparents last night. They told me that when my parents came home last time, they did bring back something."
Tan Wenbin quickly asked, "What was it?"
"Um, I can’t describe it; let me draw it." Zheng Haiyang picked up a pen and started drawing in Tan Wenbin's notebook.
Tan Wenbin frowned, "What is this thing?"
"I’ve never seen it; I’m drawing based on my grandma’s description."
Li Zhuyuan calmly stated: "A cauldron."
"What the hell, a national treasure."
As a senior, he naturally understood what a "cauldron" represented.
Li Zhuyuan recalled that Zheng Haiyang's mother mentioned it was her first time going in there, but her husband had been before.
Thus, when her husband entered for the first time, he brought something back with him.
"But my grandma said this thing is very small..."
Li Zhuyuan replied, "Not every cauldron is large; there are small ones. What color was it?"
"Black-green."
Li Zhuyuan: "That might truly be an artifact."
No wonder Zheng Haiyang’s grandparents chose to conceal such details when questioned by Tan Yunlong; after losing their son and daughter-in-law, they clearly valued such things even more.
Tan Wenbin inquired, "Did you bring it with you?"
Zheng Haiyang shook his head: "That thing was hidden by my parents in the well in the yard; last night I tried to fish it out with my grandparents, but we didn’t manage to."
Tan Wenbin added, "Let’s ask Runsheng to go get it tonight; he is a professional."
Li Zhuyuan asked, "Did the talisman paper change?"
"I checked when I got home last night and looked again this morning; it didn’t change color at all."
Tan Wenbin sighed with relief: "That’s good; he hasn’t come."
Li Zhuyuan corrected, "He hasn’t come yet."
"Will something happen to our family?" Zheng Haiyang asked worriedly.
Li Zhuyuan reassured him, "There are police outside your house."
Tan Wenbin added, "He can’t stay too long; at most just two days. If not, the locals might become restless, especially since there’s been no case established."
"Xiaoyuan Ge, Bing Ge, then I..."
"We’ll go to your house tonight," Li Zhuyuan spoke calmly, "To fish the item out from the well, so your house will be safe."
Tan Wenbin curiously asked, "After we get that thing out, how should we handle it? It seems like a hot potato now."
Li Zhuyuan laid down on the table, planning to catch a bit of sleep after working half the night on sketches.
Nevertheless, the boy casually answered, "We’ll hand it over to the state."
Tan Wenbin timidly asked, "If we find artifacts in international waters, it seems we don’t need to give them to the state, right?"
The boy, now adjusted and resting, retorted, "Then take it home."
"No, no, no!" Tan Wenbin quickly shook his head, "Better just hand it over to the state."
At noon, the three went out to eat. After their meal, Tan Wenbin called Aunt Zhang’s store, telling Runsheng not to take Ah Li with him tonight and bring the necessary gear.
As they returned to the school gate, they saw Wu Xinhang leaving in his car, the driver focused on driving while Xinhang sat in the back, passionately waving and animatedly chatting.
He was heading for a meeting, not forgetting to give himself a final rehearsal along the way.
Entering the school, the celebratory banners had already been hung up.
"Warmest congratulations to our classmate Li Zhuyuan for winning first place in the city’s mathematical Olympiad competition!"
The peculiar twist was that the last three characters originally read "first prize," but were crossed out and changed to "first place" last minute.
Because this competition awarded multiple first prizes, but there was only one perfect score.
The banners had been prepared in advance, and the words were modified at the request of Principal Wu, so they didn’t need to replace the banners; it made the display even more imposing!
The school was in a highly competitive district, and they had been previously accustomed to being under pressure. Now, they finally had an opportunity, so they had to celebrate the moment.
Li Zhuyuan merely glanced at it before lowering his head and continuing forward.
Tan Wenbin, on the other hand, eagerly slapped his thigh, dashing back to the classroom to call on the underprivileged students:
"What are you still standing there for? Get to work!
Volumes two, three, and four are now bundled together for sale. Apart from those receiving financial assistance from the school, no one gets a discount!"
When Li Zhuyuan returned, the classroom was buzzing like a large publishing house distribution site, filled with people both inside and outside the classroom.
Once the notice of the math competition was made public, the entire school market became lively.
The students coming to buy workbooks weren't just seniors; many juniors and even some middle schoolers came to purchase as well.
For the younger students, they would need them in the future; more importantly, after these winners get into colleges, they won’t be around, so they should seize this opportunity to buy while they can.
Many people pulled out talisman paper right after purchasing their workbooks, kissed it gently, and cautiously stuffed it back.
One student’s workbook slipped and fell near Li Zhuyuan.
He looked down at the cover and found Tan Wenbin had named the workbook:
"Zhuyuan Secret Edition."
The atmosphere of heated sales continued even after the bell for afternoon self-study rang.
At last, the vice principal and homeroom teacher Sun Qing came over, calling for Tan Wenbin to accompany them outside to finally disperse the crowd.
An hour later, Tan Wenbin returned, beaming as he sat back down:
"Brother, selling workbooks will be easy from now on! Just let you make the questions, and the school will help us print and sell them."
"How come you took so long?"
"Come on, I had to negotiate the copyright division with the school, ensuring everything is clear!"
"Mm?"
"It shouldn’t be just for this round. We should sell to other schools in the city and even other provinces later; we must collect authorization or copyright fees.
This division needs to be discussed clearly. Even after we graduate and go to college, we can continue to profit from this."
"Bing Ge, you really have a knack for business."
"What do you mean? I’m nothing! The main treasure here is you, my brother; you are the real gem.
Then after school, do you want to sign a contract with the school? We have a school-run enterprise now, which has been barely alive; this is the perfect time to take advantage of it."
"I’ll authorize you to go ahead."
"Bro, you trust me that much?"
"Mm."
Li Zhuyuan didn’t have much fixation on making money.
In this regard, he and Liangliang had a lot in common; their attitude towards money was merely enough to get by, mainly pursuing things on another level.
Tan Wenbin spent the afternoon in class fiddling with his plans.
Li Zhuyuan glanced over and found the plans were phased, somewhat like a gambling agreement.
For instance, winning at the provincial math Olympiad, national-level Olympiad, and international Olympiad would each have progressively increasing division percentages.
Tan Wenbin personally had no stake in the math competition but completely understood the competition process.
Besides that, they also listed the college entrance exam scores.
"Bingbing Ge!"
"What is it?"
"What does your mom do?"
"My mom? She's an accountant."
Since he had to visit Zheng Haiyang’s house after school, during the fourth math class, he used a bit of trickery in the infirmary to check for a fever and obtained a leave slip, which he handed to Teacher Yan in the office before negotiating further.
During the fourth period, Teacher Yan distributed papers to everyone; since he had been called by the school leaders to help compute contracts, he unexpectedly encountered Tan Wenbin.
At the end of the day, Li Zhuyuan saw the principal’s car pull back in. The principal stepped out, greeting everyone enthusiastically and appearing invigorated and full of spirit.
Like a downtrodden daughter-in-law, finally liberated from her pestering mother-in-law.
As the principal’s gaze reached him, Li Zhuyuan and Zheng Haiyang dashed out of the school, finding Ren Sheng.
Tan Wenbin had already been waiting here, his ears flushed and large, like Maitreya.
"Xiaoyuan Ge, the contract has been settled! Just wait to count the money after you make the questions!"
"Bingbing Ge, your ears..."
"Originally, Teacher Yan only yelled a couple of times at me, but when I suggested counting the questions you made for the Olympiad into the workbooks, he got so mad that he grabbed my ear and charged me for using fake sickness leaves."
"You've worked hard, Bingbing Ge."
"Not a big deal; we can’t allow the school to take advantage of us!"
The three of them hopped into the three-wheeled vehicle, with Ren Sheng cycling them to Zheng Haiyang’s house.
Once they arrived at the yard, Ren Sheng started lifting things from the well but couldn’t retrieve anything after a long time, so he simply jumped in himself, diving down but still couldn’t find the cauldron.
Tan Wenbin wondered, "What if the cauldron isn’t there anymore? Could Zhu Changyong have already come to take it?"
Li Zhuyuan nodded: "That’s a possibility."
Zhu Changyong checked out that morning, and the precinct only received the assistance request that afternoon. Theoretically, he could have come the night before to take the item and left Shigang early the next morning.
Zheng Haiyang anxiously asked, "What if it’s gone?"
Li Zhuyuan replied, "If he has already taken the item, then your family should be safe."
Zheng Haiyang patted his chest, "Right, right, Xiaoyuan Ge, you’ve got it right."
It was getting dark.
Zheng Haiyang’s grandparents warmly invited his classmates to stay for dinner before leaving.
They all sat down at the table, and Ren Sheng lit a pre-meal cigarette.
Zheng Haiyang’s grandparents busily worked in the kitchen, happily chatting, mentioning how Zheng Haiyang had never brought classmates home to play before.
Then they chastised him for not telling them earlier, so they could prepare more ingredients at the market that morning.
Tan Wenbin smoothly played mediator, keeping the atmosphere lively, reminding them to "cook extra rice."
After a few dishes were served, everyone started eating.
Zheng Haiyang’s grandmother smiled, "There’s still the main dish; it’ll be out soon."
Tan Wenbin raised his chopsticks, "Great, great, I love the main dish!"
The main dish, known as "Tongcheng Braised Three Delicacies," also called a mixed stew, contained fish balls, pork skin, wood ear mushrooms, egg skin, and quail eggs, among other ingredients. It also counts as a half-soup dish, present at most local feasts.
While they were eating, the overhead light started flickering and then went out with a "pop."
"Old man, check if the power tripped."
"Coming, coming! Let me go first; everyone else stay still. I’ll serve the main dish first, don’t burn yourselves!"
"Ding dong..."
It sounded like a large bowl being placed on the table.
"Everyone, eat freely; treat it like your own home; there’s plenty of food."
"Old man, hurry up and check if the power tripped! The neighbor’s lights are still on; it isn’t a village-wide blackout."
"Okay, alright, I’ll go check."
In a moment, the grandfather’s voice was heard from outside: "Old woman, it’s a trip; I’m going to reset it."
When the power came back on, the lights lit up.
At the table, everyone with raised chopsticks poised to grab food froze.
In the very center, used to serve the main dish, was... a cauldron.
Though the lights were back on, the expressions of the two elderly people darkened, and they stood at the table, waving their hands repeatedly, saying,
"Eat! Quickly eat! Don’t hold back, hehehe..."
(End of Chapter)