C101

However, in front of him appeared strange faces. They were in a hurry and had cold faces, as if they were wearing masks.

Did I hear wrong? I thought.

Just as I was about to leave, a voice called out from not too far away, "Zhou Jin."

I immediately dragged my luggage towards the source of the voice. I circled around a lot of people, and the face of a stranger streaked across my vision.

But neither of them.

The woman's voice never sounded again.

Exhausted, I sat in the chair, feeling the weight of a heavy stone on my chest.

I took a deep breath and decided not to think about it. I took a cab out of here and headed straight to the jewelry store, where there was still a lot of trouble waiting for me.

I sat in the car and looked out. It was a city I hadn't seen in three years, and it was even more prosperous than it had been before I left.

The car soon stopped in front of the jewelry store. I stood in the doorway looking at the jewelry store sign and sighed to myself.

There were quite a number of shops nearby, and the ones beside them were all bright and eye-catching signs. Only my shop's signboard was dispirited.

I pursed my lips and walked into the shop. As soon as I entered, I saw Li Han, who was sitting on a chair, looking a little depressed.

He glanced at me with an apologetic look in his eyes, and I knew I couldn't blame him for this. After all, he couldn't keep an eye on everyone who worked in the shop.

"Did she take them away?" I asked Li Han, sitting across from him.

Li Han nodded at me, then poured me a cup of coffee.

"Why?" I asked Li Han.

Li Han pondered for a while and said, "Little He, her full name is Ye He. She had been planning to transfer from sales to design since last year, but her professional level was not high enough, so I did not agree to it. After that, she told me a few more times.

Little He was still young, only in her twenties. Previously, I knew that she was smart, competitive, and knew how to be the best for herself, but I never expected her to do such a thing. The old craftsman who has worked here for so many years just left like that.

"Which company did it?" I asked Li Han, "Although my shop is an old name, but it isn't really that famous, and we already gave those seniors a very high salary, so who would be so generous?"

Li Han muttered to himself for a bit, and said, "For the time being, I don't know. Those old people all closed their doors and refused to receive guests.

I sneered. "The fox's tail will show."

"I'm sorry this time." Li Han said very sincerely, his eyes still had a faint estrangement.

"Yes." I nodded once and began to think about how to deal with the situation.

I scanned the storefronts, the old counters, the old furnishings, the jewelry that hadn't changed in hundreds of years.

Upstairs was where the old craftsmen worked. Each of them had a workroom, and usually the door to the workroom was closed so they wouldn't disturb each other, but now they were all open and I could see that the tools were neatly arranged on the workbench.

The window of the studio was open, and the wind was blowing through it.

An idea popped up in my mind. Although the jewelry store that my grandfather left me was also an old brand, because it wasn't innovative, its style was old, and because it didn't understand marketing, the store was always relying on those old customers that I had an old relationship with. In fact, if I didn't have those old customers, the store would also close down.

If that's the case, then why not take advantage of this opportunity to thoroughly reform it?

However, this shop was grandfather's hard work after all …

Just as I was thinking about this, Li Han suddenly called out to me from downstairs.

I quickly ran down and saw a familiar person downstairs — — Ding Min.

We hadn't been apart for very long when she came running over. She was like a different person, glowing like a superstar.

Ding Min laughed as soon as she saw me, her expression very gentle. She wore an expensive qipao, a unique diamond earring, an emerald necklace, and a brooch with a kitten in it. Her hair was slightly curled, and her entire being had the grace of a young lady.

Old Fang was carrying a big and small bag behind her, and placed it on the ground in an instant. The sound she made made made Li Han frown slightly.

"Why are you here so soon?" I went to meet Ding Min, sat her down on a carved wooden chair, and brought her some iced orange juice.

Old Fang also sat beside her, looking at her lovingly.

"I really like your butterfly, so I came to take a look." Ding Min stared at me, her eyes shining with excitement. I knew she was probably going to kill my brooch.

Ding Min noticed that my expression was a little awkward and did not force me, she scanned the scene in the shop and said, "What's wrong with you?"

I sighed softly. "Someone dug up the old craftsmen in the shop."

"Who's so bad!" Hearing my words, Ding Min immediately became angry, her husband immediately comforted her, afraid that her asthma would break out.

I shook my head. "I don't know who did it yet."

Ding Min held my hand and consoled me, "It's fine if you dig it away, but didn't you say that the old wouldn't go to the new? "I don't think those people who can be taken away are good people either." She looked even more indignant than I was.

"Yes."

"Oh yeah, when I went back, I remembered that when my mom got married, she bought three gold from your family. I'll bring my mom for a stroll next time."

Ding Min sat for a while as though she was embarrassed, she finally said, "Our clan's Old Fang runs a supermarket, he knows a bit about all aspects, if there's anything you need help with, just tell me."

As she spoke, she was staring at my brooch. I smiled and nodded.

Ding Min left very quickly. I took off the brooch and placed it on my hands to examine it.

This brooch was not easy to make, and could be considered the first product that I was satisfied with. It was precisely because of this that I wasn't willing to sell it to Ding Min.

After Ding Min left, Li Han turned his head to look at me, as though he was waiting for me to speak. I knew that he had always been silent, and he didn't feel well about what had happened.

"Li Han, give me the materials of those old craftsmen at the jewelry store." "No," I said.

Li Han seemed to have already prepared everything, he took out a paper bag from the briefcase beside him and took out a stack of documents.

I took the documents and read through them one by one. In fact, there were five people in total. The youngest craftsman was already fifty-two years old.

In addition to the monthly salary, the jewelry store also gave them extra dividends and rewards at the end of the year. My grandfather had always been kind to people and never owed them, or because he disliked them because of the salary, but now they all left without a word.

I put the papers on the table and felt a little headache.

"Li Han, you go back first." "I have to go back, too."

It was already late outside, so I decided to go home first. Tomorrow I would go to all the craftsmen's homes and find out what was going on.

Li Han glanced at me, and in the end, left.

I sat for a while longer, then dragged my luggage out of the shop.

I stood at the door and looked up at the store. I didn't feel like the whole place was even more eerie in the daytime.

My desire to remodel the store grew stronger.

My house had been tidied up beforehand, and I threw my suitcase on the floor and shut myself in the bathroom. I filled the tub with water and soaked myself in warm water.

Closing my eyes, I could not help but feel Zhou Jin appear before my eyes.

He … Are you all right?

I wanted to forget him, but I couldn't.

I had clearly known Xie Zongming for a long time, but he had not left any traces of him in my memory. On the contrary, it was Zhou Jin, from the moment the plane landed here, it was as if I was surrounded by a net called Zhou Jin.

I miss you so much. After burying myself in the water, I finally couldn't help but silently mutter these words from the bottom of my heart.

If I could meet you again, I would definitely chase you back regardless of anything.

I got up early the next morning, made waffles and fried eggs, and prepared the address of the craftsman's house for the day.

The first one to go was named Chen, and he was the youngest master in the jewelry store. He lived in an ordinary building, not new, but not shabby, and he had a daughter who was studying finance in the United States. My parents had helped her when she first arrived, and I trusted him to never betray me.

I stood at the door to the third floor and knocked. I heard someone inside the door.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice asked.

"It's me, Xia Ying. I came to see Master Chen." I said gently.

"Our family's Elder Chen has matters to attend to and has gone out." The woman's voice immediately said.

I pursed my lips and asked, "When will Master Chen return?"

"I don't know."

Then the voice inside the door stopped answering my question, and I waited another half hour before I finally left.

They all left, and as for where they went and when they returned, their families also expressed that they didn't know, so if I asked them a few more questions, they would become extremely impatient, or they wouldn't reply to me at all.

In the evening, I walked towards Master Chen's house once again. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, even if I had to leave my shop to at least give them a reason, how could I just leave like this with an unclear reason?

I knocked on the door of Master Chen's house once again. Because I valued him the most and did not believe that he would betray me the most, I decided to do it again.

"Dong, dong, dong." I knocked on the door.

A rustling sound came from inside the door, followed by a woman's voice, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Xia Ying." "No," I said.

"Aiya, why are you here again?" The woman spoke with a helpless tone.

"I have something that I want to tell Master Chen. Let me see him." "Master Chen, you watched me grow up from a young age. If you want to leave, I won't let you stay, but you have to at least tell me the reason."

However, there was still no sound from inside the door.

I sighed and sat in the doorway waiting for him. I didn't believe he would never go out again.

The corridor was dark, and the voice-activated lights went on when someone went upstairs. I was embarrassed, but I knew I had to put up with it.

After an unknown period of time, the door suddenly opened.