Pu Jian said, "What are you two chatting about so happily?"

Wang Jinwu recounted the events of the underwater city, and upon hearing it, Pu Jian was immediately intrigued. He stood up and leaned on the railing to look down, but unfortunately, the light wasn’t good, and he couldn’t see anything.

Pu Jian said, "Next time, let’s get some diving suits and go explore the underwater city; there must be a lot of treasures inside."

Xu Chunliang said, "You’d better sort out the issues at the distillery first."

They chatted while enjoying the scenery, and after more than an hour, they unconsciously arrived at Taibaiwa.

Taibaiwa is located at the northernmost end of Weishan Lake. It was formerly known as Beihu, but ten years ago, Jizhou City renamed it Taibai Lake to commemorate the famous poet Li Bai, who lived in the area for over twenty years.

Taibai Lake lies east of the Old Canal and west of the Grand Canal, forming a clever pattern of two rivers embracing the lake. A bird’s-eye view of Taibai Lake reveals a magnificent scene resembling two dragons playing with a pearl.

According to historical records, the great poet Li Bai lived in Jizhou for twenty-three years, during which he married, had children, composed poems, and made friends, enjoying the most beautiful period of his life.

One summer during the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai stayed overnight at Jiangxin Temple on Cai Mountain in Huangmei. Seeing the mountain standing alone in the river and the temple towering into the clouds, he felt a burst of poetic inspiration. However, he drank too much that night and couldn’t write. The next day, at noon, after drinking eight bowls of wine at a hotel at the east end of Xu Family Street in Jizhou, he, with bleary eyes, vomited and wrote the famous poem "Night at Jiangxin Temple" on the hotel wall—"A perilous tower a hundred feet tall, one could pluck the stars. Speak not aloud, for fear of startling those above."

Xu Chunliang was very interested in this anecdote, not because of the great poet Li Bai or the poem itself, but because of the eight bowls of wine Li Bai drank on Xu Family Street the next day. He wondered if this Xu Family Street had any connection to his Old Xu Family. According to his grandfather, their Old Xu Family also originated in Lunan.

They disembarked at Taibai Pier and saw many promotional slogans, mostly about building a national-level resort tourist area. In terms of cultural aspects, Jizhou did better than Dongzhou. Just around Taibaiwa, they created many concepts.

Things like Princess Wencheng growing up on the shores of Taibai Lake; the poet immortal Li Bai sailing south on the Guang River from the east gate of Rencheng, building huts by the lake, drinking while composing poetry; and the poet saint Du Fu lingering around the waters of Taibai Lake, writing his famous poem "Lotuses ripe after the rain, reeds in the August sky" during this time.

Zhu Yingtai, Hua Mulan, and Li Qingzhao also left well-known and touching stories along the shores of Taibai Lake. The Fuxi and Nuwa Temple, Kangfu Ancient City, Stone Buddha Temple, and Wanghai Hall were interspersed within, leaving precious historical relics by Taibai Lake. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong visited Jiangnan six times successively, and Taibai Lake left them enraptured.

Just from reading the introduction to Taibai Lake, Xu Chunliang realized that Dongzhou was lagging behind in cultural tourism construction. Take Weishan Island, for instance, apart from the inconclusive Zhang Liang’s Tomb, there were no other points of interest being promoted.

Pu Jian dismissively said, "It’s all bullshit. I don’t believe all these people came to Jizhou, and they even claim Li Bai lived here for twenty-three years. Where’s the ID? Where’s the household registration book? They even dragged Du Fu into this."

Xu Chunliang said, "It’s historically recorded that Li Bai and Du Fu met in Jizhou."

Wang Jinwu called for a taxi to take them to Qingshan Village. The village was more than ten kilometers from the pier, situated on a hillside.

The three of them got out of the car at the village entrance and asked the driver to wait, as it was not easy to find a ride in such a remote place, and the driver wouldn’t want to return empty-handed.

Pu Jian first went to the small shop at the village entrance to buy some things and took the opportunity to inquire about Shi Taiping. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Indeed, there was someone named Shi Taiping in Qingshan Village, but he rarely returned to the village, usually doing business in Jizhou Ancient City. He hadn’t even come back for the Lunar New Year this time.

The three of them arrived at Shi Taiping’s house and found the door locked, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time.

Xu Chunliang was puzzled. Shi Taiping left this address as a means for contact, but with no one at home, what was he trying to accomplish?

They noticed a few flyers for recycling old appliances on the door. These types of flyers were common, and they didn’t pay much attention at first. Just as they were about to leave, Xu Chunliang noticed that one of the phone numbers was repeated on them.

This suggested these flyers might be from the same group. Xu Chunliang wondered if Shi Taiping had deliberately left this clue.

He used the speakerphone to call the phone number listed on the flyer.

After two rings, someone answered, "Hello, who are you looking for?"

"Is this Shi Taiping?"

The other person asked, "What’s the matter?"

Xu Chunliang said, "It’s regarding the matter of the dragon bones from Linzheng Hall."

The other side was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many of you are there?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Three of us."

"If you want to meet, come alone. In two hours, at the Hongxing Tea House on Xu Family Street in the ancient city."

Xu Chunliang wanted to say more, but the other party had already hung up.

Wang Jinwu said, "Why do I feel like this person is behaving sneakily, like a thief?"

Pu Jian said, "In this line of work, there are many who can’t see the light of day. Perhaps he thinks he has something valuable and is worried others might covet it. It’s normal to be a bit cautious."

Xu Chunliang said, "I’ll go alone then."

Pu Jian said, "It’s always good to have someone else to help, what if it’s a trap?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "I’m not afraid of traps. What could he possibly dare to do in broad daylight?"

Wang Jinwu said, "I still want to go to Beihu Fish Village for fish at noon."

Xu Chunliang let the two of them go ahead, while he first went to meet Shi Taiping. After finishing the matter, he would go meet them immediately.

Hongxing Tea House is located in Xu Family Street in Jizhou Ancient City. The ancient buildings around the Jianghai area are mostly similar — blue bricks and gray tiles, simple and elegant. They lack the magnificent and grand imposing presence of northern palaces and are different from the exquisite Jiangnan gardens. From them, one can see the practical and simple nature of Jianghai people.

At the entrance of the street, there’s a stele, carved with the origin of Xu Family Street. Xu Chunliang looked at it for a while but didn’t find anything related to their Old Xu Family.

While heading to Hongxing Tea House, Xu Chunliang passed by a high-walled, large courtyard clinic. The door was bustling, business flourishing. The plaque was black lacquered with golden characters spelling out "Renhe Hall" in three large letters.

Xu Chunliang stopped in front of the clinic and saw an introduction to Renhe Hall. From it, he learned that this was Renhe Hall’s headquarters. The founder Zhou Renhe reopened it here in the early eighties, and Renhe Hall’s history was supposedly over a hundred years.

Xu Chunliang inwardly cursed, "Fraud! Renhe Hall, altogether, has only been established for thirty-seven years. But here, it’s coerced into being over a hundred years, even predating Huichun Hall. Moreover, they earnestly listed famous doctors from the Zhou Family, especially highlighting the two Imperial Physicians who once practiced in the palace."

In this era, it’s truly a case of the brave getting rich and the timid going hungry. As long as you’re bold enough to brag, no one is going to stop you. Xu Chunliang classified this introduction as commercial fluff.

Seeing it was almost time, Xu Chunliang didn’t linger much longer.

Actually, most of this so-called ancient city was later reconstructed. There were very few buildings originally left behind.

Hongxing Tea House is one of the few remaining buildings.

The tea houses in the Jianghai region differ from those in other places; they don’t have intricate procedures and verbose etiquette. The tea drinking is all about quenching thirst and joyously indulging.

Following the previous arrangement, Xu Chunliang went to table 9 on the second floor, sat down, and ordered a pot of jasmine tea. The waiter brought over a blue and white porcelain teapot with two tea cups and accompanied by four small plates of snacks.

It was already the appointed time, but Shi Taiping hadn’t shown up. Xu Chunliang poured himself a cup of tea, drinking while waiting.

There were quite a few customers inside the tea house; most were locals, loudly conversing in their hometown dialect. Lunan was also a land of notable figures - from this soil emerged Confucius, Mencius, and scholars, as well as heroic figures who fought tigers in the mountains.

Five minutes passed, and at this moment, a thin, small middle-aged man stood up from the southwest corner, dressed in a somewhat worn blue work outfit and wearing a pigskin duckbill cap. This outfit was slightly oversized for him, making him appear even more skinny.

He sat across from Xu Chunliang, smiled, and said, "You’re looking for me?"

Xu Chunliang glanced at him, "Shi Taiping?"

The middle-aged man smiled, "That’s me." He reached out his hand to Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang shook his hand and noticed that his hands were disproportionately large compared to his stature. This fellow was just over 1.6 meters tall, but his hands were nearly the same size as Xu’s. His joints were large, palms full of calluses, grip firm — clearly a martial arts practitioner.

"Boss, what’s your surname?" Shi Taiping emitted a sly, cunning vibe.

"My surname is Xu, entrusted by Master Huang San of Linzheng Hall to meet you specially." Xu Chunliang spoke as he took out the rubbing copy he sent to Linzheng Hall.

Shi Taiping took the rubbing, glanced at it, nodded, and said, "It’s mine."

Xu Chunliang asked, "Do you have more?"

Shi Taiping didn’t respond to his question, instead smiling, "How much do you want?"

Without hesitation, Xu Chunliang said, "I’ll take as much as you have."

Shi Taiping was slightly taken aback by his boldness, his small eyes shining ever brighter.

Xu Chunliang added, "But they must belong to the same series as this rubbing."

Shi Taiping lowered his voice, "Twenty million!"

Xu Chunliang remarked, "Money is no issue. How much do you have?"

Shi Taiping gestured with seven fingers. Xu Chunliang thought to himself, "You really dare to ask! Back when Sun Changli sold thirty-two pieces of dragon bone for sixteen million, and you’re asking for twenty million for seven pieces? On average, one dragon bone would be priced at three million. And who knows how many of those seven are actually valuable?"

Though Xu Chunliang felt that Shi Taiping was quite audacious, he didn’t bother with haggling. After all, he wouldn’t be the one paying in the end.

"I want to see the goods first."

Shi Taiping took out a stack of pre-prepared rubbings, all parts of dragon bone rubbings. This fellow, seasoned in the Jianghu world, understood the principle of not counting chickens before they hatch. He handed Xu Chunliang a pre-written note: "Two million upfront. My account details are on the note. Once the money is in, I’ll contact you again."

Xu Chunliang looked at Shi Taiping: "Why should I trust you?"