Tomb raiding: Trying to become a little painter

"I'm coming…"

After getting into the car and closing the door, Qin Henian sat in the passenger seat watching Wu Xie, who was about to drive, and then turned to look at Zhang Qilin and Fatty Wang sitting in the back seat.

"set off!"

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

Beijing.

Inside the Xie family study, Xie Yuchen sat in a chair, her fair skin and slender fingers resting on a document on her laptop.

The first page of the file contained a complete human skin ear and half a fragment of a face, tucked inside a thick, semi-transparent plastic bag. The second page contained some fragmented information about the Banna archaeological team that he had asked Xiuxiu to help him find out.

"Why is it related to the Huo family? And what role does Grandma Huo play in all of this?"

Softly murmuring, Xie Yuchen's mind was racing with thoughts.

After thinking it over, Jie Yuchen decided that he should get to know Xiuxiu first before making a decision.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Xie Yuchen opened his contacts, found Huo Xiuxiu's name, and tapped on it...

beep...

beep...

beep...

The dialed phone echoed in the room.

"Hello? Little Flower Brother, why are you calling me today? Is something wrong?"

A clear female voice came from the phone, asking with a hint of doubt.

"Xiuxiu, have you been busy lately? Can you spare some time for us to meet up?"

Xie Yuchen's magnetic voice emanated from his throat as he calmly spoke, holding his phone to his ear.

"Recently? My grandma gave me some small business matters a couple of days ago, and I should be able to resolve them tonight. How about we meet at our usual place tomorrow afternoon, Brother Xiaohua?"

The girl continued to make noises from her phone...

Xie Yuchen looked at the things on the table and agreed without blinking.

On the other side, Qin Henian and his group of four, who were driving with a centenarian with amnesia who did not have an ID card, had taken several shortcuts and were finally close to the edge of Banna. After discussing it, they all agreed to go to the town closest to the Yao village to rest for a day.

The next day, Qin Henian, Wu Xie, and Zhang Qilin looked at the gaudy clothes that Fatty Wang had dressed them in, the large gold-rimmed glasses on their faces, the thick gold necklace around their necks that they didn't know where they got it from, the thick gold chains on their wrists, and the fake green "jade thumb ring" on their left thumb.

The three looked up, and remained silent....

"Hey hey hey? What's with all those expressions on your faces, Fatty?! I put a lot of effort into this outfit, do you think I don't look rich?"

Seeing the three people's reactions, Fatty Wang immediately realized what was happening and stared at them with wide eyes, as if trying to prove something.

"Yes, yes, very rich!"

Wu Xie echoed.

"Very stylish, very tasteful, perfect for someone like you who's overweight!"

Qin Henian also pretended to look at Wang Pangzi's attire with a serious expression, and then commented.

Hearing his brothers' praise, Fatty Wang didn't care whether they meant anything by it or not; at least his brothers were giving him face. He proudly raised his fat head with an arrogant expression.

"That's right! Fatty is such a charming man, he looks like a good man!"

"I bet Fatty is quite popular with young girls, right?"

After finishing their conversation, the group headed towards the Yao village. They had gotten up early that morning and drove to a spot not far from the village, where they parked and chatted as they walked. Before long, they spotted the village in the distance.

The Yao village is built against the mountain, and the whole village is a clustered settlement, but it is also tightly packed. Two ancient stone-paved roads pass through the village in different directions, and the ancient stilted wooden houses are hidden among the green trees and flowers.

As soon as the four entered the Yao village, they attracted the attention of the villagers. Everyone who was busy with their work temporarily put down their tools and looked at the four of them, either secretly or openly.

"Gentlemen, what brings you to our village?"

Suddenly, a rather bold middle-aged man, who looked somewhat old but spoke with a strong voice and had dark skin, wearing the daily attire characteristic of ethnic minorities, spoke to the group in broken Mandarin.

The man walked out from the path inside the village and approached the four people.

"Hey sir, who are you?"

Fatty Wang was the most eloquent among them, and quick-witted. He answered the questions swiftly while subtly conveying his own meaning, trying to gather information.

"I am the village chief of this village. My name is A-Gui. The younger people in the village all call me Uncle A-Gui."

As Ah Gui introduced himself, he subtly glanced at everyone.

"Uncle Gui! My brothers and I run a well-known construction and development company in Hangzhou. As you know, our country has been reforming and opening up for many years now, and everyone says we should focus on development. That's why I brought my brothers here to check if your village has the potential to develop tourism!"

Fatty Wang had already prepared a story for outsiders, and by taking advantage of the fact that some ethnic minorities are xenophobic, he directly presented himself as a wealthy boss.

"Really? Fatty, is there really any hope for our village to develop?"

After listening to Fatty Wang's smooth talk, A-Gui was a little excited, and the corners of his mouth turned up so wide that he couldn't stop smiling. Just by looking at the clothes of these bosses, they didn't seem like people who were short of money.

Qin Henian was unaware of the turmoil in A-Gui's heart, but if he had known, he would have simply chuckled to himself.

"Of course we can, but your village hasn't been inspected by us yet. We'll stay here for a while to observe. Uncle Gui, do you have a hotel in your village?"

Seeing the joy on Ah Gui's face, Fatty Wang secretly thought to himself that he was "in the bag" and that he should take the opportunity to stay!

"Inn? There isn't an inn. Our village is remote and few people come here. However, my family runs a farmhouse inn. If you gentlemen don't mind, you can stay at my house for a few days!"

Ah Gui, listening attentively, readily answered Fatty Wang's question. However, looking at the group of people accompanying the fat boss, there were two very handsome young men, and another who was also good-looking, but why didn't he like to talk...?

"Of course we don't mind! Uncle Gui, you're the village chief, you definitely know the village better than us outsiders. Please lead the way, we won't stay for free, we'll pay you!!!"

As Wang Pangzi spoke, he followed A Gui, his chubby hand wrapped around his fat waist, gesturing vigorously to get his brothers to follow.

"Alright, alright, I'll lead the way. Fatty and the other bosses, follow me!"

"However, Fatty, what are the names of the other bosses around you? I don't know your names, so it's not appropriate to keep calling you 'this boss' and 'that boss'!"

As A-Gui walked along the stone-paved road that ran through the village on the left, he asked questions with curiosity.