Tomb raiding: Trying to become a little painter

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.

At a vegetable market not far from Panjiayuan, the place was bustling with people, shouts, and activity. Among them, a chubby young man wearing a yellow and red plaid long-sleeved T-shirt and beige wide-leg pants was standing at the far end of the market, moving around the seafood section.

The oxygen was bubbling away in the transparent glass tank of fish. The fresh shrimp, fish, and crabs that arrived this morning were all in this seafood section.

"Boss lady, did you keep the two large yellow croakers that Fatty ordered for you via text message last night? Give them to me to pack up. Fatty is having dinner with some people at home today, so we can't be late."

Wang Pangzi was standing in front of the largest seafood shop in the seafood section. Next to him, a group of elderly men and women had also come to the early market, and they were all crowded together, selecting fresh fish and shrimp.

Having lived in Beijing for so many years, Fatty Wang knew the vegetable markets near Panjiayuan very well. Last night, he found the number of the seafood shop owner in his phone book and ordered four large yellow croakers.

"Oh, it's Fatty! Don't worry, my husband saved your big yellow croaker for you! You know... we get fresh fish air-freighted from here on certain dates, so you called the right person last night, hehe..."

At the entrance of Manjianghong Seafood Restaurant, a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties was smiling and greeting other customers as they selected their fish. She glanced at Fatty Wang a few times and then loudly addressed them with a beaming smile.

"That's good, that's good. Please put it in the usual spot, ma'am."

Wang Pangzi's smile never faded after hearing the landlady's reply. He grinned and repeated the familiar phrases he had said before.

"Fatty, go get it yourself, the usual place is fine... I'll catch the fish for the other guests first."

The proprietress casually scooped up another fish from the pool in front of her and was about to chop it up for the customer when she said something to Fatty Wang and then stopped.

Wang Pangzi didn't care about the proprietress's attitude. He slipped into the shop through the gaps between the large fish basins placed by the entrance, and after turning past a few large fish tanks, he entered a freezer room in the shop, following the strong fishy smell. The road and the door were familiar. After a while, Wang Pangzi came out of the freezer room carrying a large bag. Several whole, fresh yellow croakers, cleaned and gutted, were lying inside...

In front of the Xie family mansion.

Two brand-new sedans were parked at the entrance, with assistants in the driver's seats, waiting for the gates to open so they could begin their day's work...

Inside the mansion, Qin Henian and his companions had already enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared early that morning by the Xie family's chef and were preparing to depart.

"Jie Yuchen, are you going to Fatty's house today?"

Qin Henian slept well for the first half of the night, lying between Xiao Qilin and the blind man, but couldn't sleep because of the heat in the second half. He overheard Xie Yuchen next door still dealing with matters at the Xie family's company late at night. It seemed that he was still handing over and reporting to the people he had sent. He wondered if he was busy today and if he could go to Wang Pangzi's house to play. After all, they had agreed on it yesterday, so it would be better to ask now.

"I'm not going, I have things to do. You guys go ahead."

"Please give my regards to Fatty. I've already had the driver put the gift for him in the trunk of the car. Could you please give it to him for me?"

Xie Yuchen was thinking about his promise to visit Wang Pangzi's house, but he also had many accounts and taxes to check, projects to sign, and meetings with business partners to attend to. Although there were other people to do all the work, he, as the company boss, couldn't stay out of the public eye for too long.

"No! Let's go together. I'll have Zara Rossi keep an eye on things at your company for you. She'll report back to you once she's sorted things out."

It was almost time to leave, and Qin Henian didn't want to leave anyone behind. They'd all known each other for so long and were friends. It was a rare treat to visit Wang Pangzi's house, and it would be impolite not to go together.

“He Nian, you have already helped me so much, but as the head of the Xie family, there are some things I must do personally.”

Xie Yuchen was very clear about his position in the Xie family, and he knew that after a while, Xie Lian could return to help him manage the Xie family once he was no longer able to leave. But now was not the right time. He was afraid that if he didn't show his face, people would think he had sold out the Xie family...

"Alright, alright, since you've said so, I'm not one to force people. I'll bring your things to Fatty later."

Seeing the serious expression on the face of the person speaking across from him, Qin Henian didn't dare to say anything more.

Finally, apart from Jie Yuchen who left first and parted ways with the others, the rest of them also got into the car and headed to a small house on the back street of Wang Pangzi's shop in Panjiayuan.

After arriving at Wang Pangzi's house, the drivers drove away. Qin Henian was carrying several bags filled with things prepared by Xie Yuchen. Hei Xiazi and Zhang Qilin were carrying the things prepared by the three of them. Wu Xie was standing alone at the door of Wang Pangzi's small house, holding a gift bag in one hand and making a phone call in the other.

beep...

beep...

"Hey? Tiny, are you guys about to leave because you're calling me so early?"

At the vegetable market, Fatty Wang had just finished paying at a vegetable stall. With the vegetable bag tucked under his arm, he tilted his head to the side while listening to the phone, asking a question in confusion.

"What do you mean 'set off'? We're already here! Fatty, where are you? I knocked on your door for ages and no one answered. Are you still not up at this hour?!"

Wu Xie stood at the door, rolled his eyes at the air, and spoke irritably into the phone.

"We're here? So early!!"

Fatty Wang was shocked…

My first thought was, "That can't be... Wu Xie can get up this early??"

"Hehe... Don't talk about early or late. Get up now and open the door for us. We've been standing at the door for ages, are you sure you can invite guests into your home like this?"

Wu Xie immediately started urging them...

"Hey, wait a minute at my door, okay? I got up early this morning and didn't sleep in. Don't slander me, Comrade Wu Tianzhen!"

"I went to the market early this morning to buy groceries so I could show off my cooking skills for you guys at noon today, okay?"

Meanwhile, Fatty Wang started bickering with Wu Xie as he hurried home.

Qin Henian, who was standing next to him, had already heard the whole story. Not wanting to wait any longer, he found a spot close to his little Qilin, relaxed, and leaned against it, closing his eyes to catch up on some sleep.

As the weight of the person leaning on him gradually increased, Zhang Qilin firmly stood there, looking down at his wife, steadily serving as her support.

Black Bear didn't say anything, but silently accepted the gift from Dumb Zhang... Really, these things are very valuable. Although they are to be given away, they haven't been given away yet. Since they haven't been given away, they are still his... So even if Black Bear breaks, they can't be harmed.