The morning dew had just wet the moss in the yard when Shen Qiufeng began searching everywhere for the bronze mirror. The courtyard door swung open. Zhou Dehou walked in carrying two boxes of pastries and a bottle of liquor, his face plastered with a wide smile. Behind him followed a stranger.



"Niece Qiufeng, good morning!" Zhou Dehou set the gifts on the table. "I've come to apologize. I was a bit harsh yesterday鈥攄on't take it to heart."



Shen Qiufeng sized up the stranger. He was about forty-five, wearing a well-fitted shirt with an elegant watch on his wrist. He had a cultured air about him but also the shrewdness of a businessman. Under one arm he carried a briefcase; in his right hand, a black Motorola cell phone with an extended antenna鈥攃onspicuously out of place in this remote village.



"This is Mr. Chen Wenyuan, an investor from Guangdong," Zhou Dehou introduced. "He's the one developing the tourism zone in our village."



Chen Wenyuan stepped forward, switching the phone to his left hand and extending his right. His voice was warm: "Miss Shen, I've heard a great deal about you. Director Zhou tells me your family's old house is a treasure of Huaixi. I have a deep interest in ancient architecture, so I made a point of visiting."



Shen Qiufeng shook his hand out of politeness. His palm was warm but carried a faint chill. "Mr. Chen is from Guangdong?" she asked deliberately.



"Born and raised," Chen Wenyuan said with a smile, his gaze sweeping across the beams inside. "Miss Shen, I completely understand you not wanting to demolish the old house. Actually, our plan never called for demolition鈥攋ust renovation. We want to turn it into an ancient architecture exhibition area for tourists, and of course offer your family substantial compensation."



Zhou Dehou jumped in immediately: "Exactly, Qiufeng! Boss Chen is generous鈥攈e's offering 200,000 yuan in compensation! That's no small sum. It'll set you and your mother up for life!"



Two hundred thousand.



Shen Qiufeng said nothing. She looked at the black mobile phone on the table, its antenna extended like a probing needle. In 1978, her grandfather vanished; Chen Youshan was never heard from again. For twenty years, no one mentioned compensation. Now a businessman from Guangdong sits in her old house, throwing around two hundred thousand as casually as buying two pounds of pork at the market.



She looked at Chen Wenyuan. His smile was polished, but it only touched his lips鈥攊t never reached his eyes.



"Mr. Chen, what makes you so interested in the old house of such a small village?" Shen Qiufeng countered.



Chen Wenyuan rubbed his watch strap, his tone casual: "I've been in tourism development for years. I've seen plenty of old buildings. Huaixi has beautiful scenery, and the old house has character鈥攊t deserves to be properly developed. Besides, I had my share of hard times when I was young. I learned a thing or two about cultural relics, antiques, and art from my elders. Call me a half-expert. Had to learn the hard way."



"The hard way?" Shen Qiufeng caught the phrase. "Are you saying that in tourism development, you have to know all this?"



"Of course鈥攈ow else would I judge what's valuable and worth preserving?" Chen Wenyuan's answer was watertight. But Shen Qiufeng noticed his gaze kept drifting鈥攏ot to the roof or the main rooms, but finally settling on the northwest side room.



Zhou Dehou, seeing her silent, assumed she was tempted. "Qiufeng, don't hesitate! Where else can you find a deal like this? Besides, he knew your grandfather."



"Knew my grandfather?" Shen Qiufeng's head snapped up.



Chen Wenyuan's expression flickered, then he recovered with a smile: "I've only heard of Old Mr. Shen's name. After all, he was one of the village elders."



After seeing them off, Shen Qiufeng leaned against the doorframe. The two boxes of pastries Zhou Dehou had brought still sat on the table, wrapped in red packaging printed with the words "Blessings and Longevity."



She remembered what Researcher Wang had told her at the county hall鈥攖he local legend about a hidden mechanism. She turned and rushed into the northwest side room. Since Chen Wenyuan was eyeing this spot, the key to the mechanism must be here.