An embroidered shoe

Huang Laosan walked to the courtyard gate, looked back at Zhao Dongchuan, and inquired with his eyes.

Zhao Dongchuan saw this and remained silent, only nodding in acknowledgment.

So Huang Laosan raised his hand and knocked on the door.

With a creaking sound, the large door opened a crack.

A hunched old man with white hair, a weathered face, and a goatee peered halfway out from the crack in the door.

"Huang Laosan, is that you?"

He looked at Huang Laosan, then glanced at Zhao Dongchuan.

He remained silent.

"Uncle, let's talk inside!" Huang Laosan whispered.

The old man looked at the two of them again, then after a moment of silence, he opened the door, motioning for them to enter.

Zhao Dongchuan and Huang Laosan entered the courtyard one after the other. The old man said nothing, walking directly to a small recliner under the eaves and lying down on it.

"So you're the one who wants to buy this old man's courtyard?" The old man said, half-closing his eyes as he looked at Zhao Dongchuan. He casually picked up the dry tobacco pipe by his feet, kneaded the tobacco leaves, silently lit the tobacco with a match, and then took a puff.

"Uncle, this is Mr. Han!" Huang Laosan glanced at Zhao Dongchuan, and after receiving a confirming look, he continued.

"Mr. Han heard you want to sell this courtyard, and he's sincerely interested in buying it! He's willing to pay the price you asked for!"

Hearing this, the old man's hand, holding the pipe, paused slightly. He bit the mouthpiece, took a deep drag, and looked deeply at Zhao Dongchuan, saying, "Young man, where did you get so much money?"

"You don't need to ask about that. My money is very clean!" Zhao Dongchuan muttered inwardly at the old man's "I'm so cool, come hit me" attitude, but on his face, he wore a smile as he spoke.

The old man slowly exhaled a smoke ring and then looked at Huang Laosan again.

"What is he to you?"

"Uh, this Mr. Han is my 'savior'!" Huang Laosan said to Uncle Huang after bowing to Zhao Dongchuan.

"Oh...? Is that so? No wonder you're so respectful to him!"

"Since you are this kid's savior, you can be considered family. I won't hide it from you, I want to sell this house, but it's not easy to sell!" Huang Laosan said to Zhao Dongchuan.

Seeing Zhao Dongchuan's puzzled expression, Uncle Huang took a deep puff of dry tobacco, exhaled a smoke ring, and continued, "Xiao Han, actually, I'm not the only owner of this house; there's another owner!"

Uncle Huang showed a reminiscent expression, lying on the recliner, looking up at the sky, and said wistfully, "Years ago, a woman saved me, allowing me to linger on until today. She also left this house to me, and then she drifted away..."

"So this house is also half hers. I can sell this house to you, but you also have to do something for me!" Uncle Huang paused, his tone very serious as he spoke.

At this moment, he seemed no longer a frail old man in his twilight years, but a formidable hero who once dominated the scene.

Zhao Dongchuan was utterly bewildered. What was all this about!

He was just buying a house; did it have to be so serious? Was he shooting a movie!!!

Zhao Dongchuan complained endlessly in his mind, but his face remained impassive as he asked, "Uncle Huang, what do you want me to do? I'll be frank, I can't do anything beyond my capabilities, and I certainly can't do anything that harms others!"

"Don't worry, you can do it. No one can do it better than you. I can tell, you are very strong!

And my request isn't difficult. I mean, if, if you have a chance to go to Shanghai, help me look for traces of her, see if you can find her whereabouts... If you don't have the chance, then forget about it. Just consider it fulfilling a wish for me... letting go of an obsession..."

With that, Uncle Huang took out an embroidered shoe wrapped in velvet cloth from his inner pocket.

"This is one of her shoes. When we parted ways back then, I took this one, and the other one stayed with her. Oh, by the way, her name was 'Sister Hua', her real name is unknown, she was a very charming woman!"

As he spoke, Uncle Huang handed the velvet-wrapped shoe to Zhao Dongchuan.

Zhao Dongchuan hesitated for a moment and did not reach out to take it.

As if seeing his concerns, Uncle Huang showed an awkward smile and said, "Young man, are you scared already? I'm just asking you to help me look, it's not like there has to be a result. What's there to worry about!"

"Take it! If you have a chance to go to Shanghai, help me inquire about her. If you don't have the time or opportunity, then forget about it!!!"

Zhao Dongchuan thought about it and felt there was no catch. The old man had already said that no matter the outcome, if he had the opportunity, he would go and ask around.

"If this house is sold to me, where will you live?" Zhao Dongchuan still didn't take it.

"With money, are you afraid I won't have a place to live? Besides, I have another small house, and I don't come here often!" Uncle Huang smiled, his smile showing a hint of carefree detachment.

"Alright, stop being so wishy-washy. Are you buying the house or not?"

Zhao Dongchuan finally took the embroidered shoe and said, "Buy, why not buy~~~ I'll keep your matter in mind, but you'd better be mentally prepared, it's been so many years..."

"I know what you're saying~ You do what you think is best!" With that, he continued to lie on the recliner, closed his eyes, and basked in the setting sun...

Seeing that Uncle Huang was unwilling to say more, Zhao Dongchuan stopped pressing the issue and turned to Huang Laosan to instruct him, "Since the matter is settled, then get things done as soon as possible in the next two days. Also, this house will temporarily be under your name!"

"Also, clean up this house later, just furnish it simply for now. I'll take care of it properly when I return!"

Huang Laosan nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Uncle Huang at this moment seemed to be asleep, ignoring the two of them, just quietly lying there basking in the sunset. It was a good thing Zhao Dongchuan could sense his breath, otherwise, he might have really thought that this old man had already passed away...

Afterward, Zhao Dongchuan didn't linger. He still had to go to Jia Bing's house to ask him for a leave of absence.

"I'm leaving first, you be careful! While I'm away, try to keep a low profile. You can look for some people to help, on the premise that they can be trusted, otherwise, it's better to have nothing than to have something bad!" Zhao Dongchuan put the velvet-wrapped embroidered shoe into his satchel and said to Huang Laosan.

"Mr. Han, don't worry, I'll handle it. It's just that finding people will cost money..."

"It's alright, spend what needs to be spent, as long as the job gets done. You can act expediently!"

The two walked outside, talking as they went.

"Alright, you don't need to see me off. Take care of your uncle, I'm leaving now!" With that, Zhao Dongchuan turned and departed.

....................

Zhao Dongchuan took off his glasses at an unmanned corner and then took out his bicycle from his space, heading towards Jia Bing's house.

Before long, he arrived at Jia Bing's home.

"Xiao Zhao, why are you here!" Jia Bing, who was sweeping the floor at the time, was surprised to see Zhao Dongchuan arrive.