Made in the Cixi Years

"Hello, are you Teacher Liu Xiulan?"

At a little past ten, Yang Bowen arrived at the school and approached Liu Xiulan just as she came out of the office.

"Yes, that's me. And you are?"

Liu Xiulan nodded and looked Yang Bowen over. She couldn't recall which student's parent he was, leaving her somewhat puzzled.

"Hello, Teacher Liu. Here's the thing: I'm Xia Xu's uncle, and I've come to request some leave for him."

Yang Bowen stepped forward with an easy, friendly smile and explained why he was there.

"Leave?"

Recalling the phone call Xia Xu had taken in class earlier, Liu Xiulan began to understand, but she still said, "Is it something important? These are the final hundred days before the college entrance exams for our seniors. Unless it's necessary, it's best not to take time off. It's very easy to fall behind on revision..."

"I understand, Teacher Liu, I really do. The thing is, an elder in our family has been hospitalized, and I'm afraid he doesn't have much time left. The old man has always worried about Xia Xu being all alone here with no one to turn to, so he'd like to see him. He also wants to tell his uncles and cousins to look after him..."

Who knew whether his "information gathering" talent included acting, but Yang Bowen's performance was remarkably convincing. The sorrow on his face and his sighs were enough to stir anyone's sympathy.

"Well... yes, he really should go see him."

Liu Xiulan was moved as well. She sighed and said, "How about this? I'll give Xia Xu a day and a half off, and then he'll have the two-day weekend too. Will that be enough for the round trip?"

"Yes, absolutely. Just enough to get there and back, with some time to keep the old man company."

Yang Bowen was a shrewd man. The moment he heard that, he realized Liu Xiulan had assumed the "old man" lived in the countryside or out of town. He had only intended to get Xia Xu half a day off, so he was naturally delighted to exceed his target and readily agreed.

After getting the leave slip from Liu Xiulan, he hurried over to Xia Xu to share the good news.

"Well? Did you get it sorted?"

Xia Xu was still waiting anxiously outside the classroom.

Holding up the leave slip to claim his credit, Yang Bowen said, "Heh, I outdid myself. Boss, you'll never guess how much time your homeroom teacher gave you off."

"How much could it be? Half a day at least, one extra day at most. After that it's Saturday and Sunday. No matter how generous she is, she wouldn't write a leave slip extending past the weekend."

Xia Xu casually punctured Yang Bowen's attempt to show off.

Of course, he was still pleased. That extra day meant three and a half consecutive days without having to come to school. Not only would it make getting things done easier, but more importantly, his own safety would be better assured.

"Wow, boss, you're incredible! When are you going to teach me a few tricks? You still haven't properly taught me anything."

"The books I ordered for you online will arrive soon. Learn this stuff yourself from books on criminal investigation and the like."

"No, those things give me a headache. Books have put me to sleep since I was a kid. Otherwise, I wouldn't have..."

"That's because you haven't found anything that interests you. Trust me..."

The two headed straight for the school gates as they talked.

What neither of them had anticipated-or even considered-was that Ma Bing and the others in the class had heard Yang Bowen call Xia Xu "boss" over and over.

"Holy shit, what did I just hear? That guy who came to get Xia Xu leave actually called him boss!"

"Didn't he say he was his uncle?"

"I get it! Xia Xu must've hired someone to request leave for him. That's pretty slick. What a brilliant move! I'll have to try it sometime."

"Use your brain. Those two obviously know each other well. There's no way it's as simple as hiring someone to get him leave. I bet Xia Xu is one of those secret rich kids. He's deliberately keeping a low profile and pretending to be poor so he can find a girlfriend who isn't after his money..."

"Oh my, could he be after me? Do you think I should say yes?"

"Stop drooling over him. Our man Xu knows exactly who he wants. If he's after anyone, it's Tang Youxin. Haven't you noticed how close they've been lately...?"

"If you ask me, Xia Xu isn't some rich kid. His parents are officials. I distinctly heard that guy say something about learning criminal investigation just now. Maybe someone in Xia Xu's family is a big shot in the police..."

As their voices faded into the distance, the classroom erupted into excited, heated discussion.

Xia Xu obviously knew nothing about what happened after they left, but even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. They were just trivial rumors, and they wouldn't affect his leave.

In middle and high school, tattling to a teacher was deeply despised, regardless of who was right or wrong. Most students wouldn't tell a teacher even when they themselves were being bullied, let alone over someone else's business.

Besides, what could happen even if someone did tell on him? Teachers generally wouldn't blow a minor matter out of proportion and ruin a student's academic future. Unless someone truly went too far, the worst would usually be an angry lecture and a call to their parents.

To others his age, that was a terrifying catastrophe, but to him, it barely mattered.

Back to the matter at hand, Xia Xu and Yang Bowen took a taxi to the place where the old construction worker had been spotted.

The location he had narrowed down really had been correct. The old construction worker had appeared right beside the construction site they had searched last time. Apparently, he really only showed up when the plot of The Dying Man was about to begin.

When they reached the corner by the entrance to the construction site, a small stall came into view: a piece of dark blue woven fabric spread on the ground, with several mud-covered objects arranged on it.

The stallholder was a scrawny old man wearing camouflage and a yellow hard hat. His face and clothes were filthy, and his trouser legs were stained with mud splashed on them from who knew where.

Looking closer, the blue woven fabric beneath the stall was an ordinary tarp. Dust and dirt from around the construction site had coated it in a thin layer, and six or seven old-looking objects sat in its center.

The objects actually looked the part: a mottled, antique-looking vase covered in patterns, two figurines slightly larger than a palm that appeared to be a pair, a goat sculpture of the same size, and a palm-sized bowl.

Beneath the grime, several of the objects seemed to have a texture like white jade. However, a thick layer of dirt covered them, giving them an overall muddy yellow-brown color. At first glance, they looked like earthenware.

The most eye-catching piece was the last one, a ceramic statue of Guanyin. It wasn't particularly exquisite; it was simply the largest thing on the stall, taller than an adult's lower leg.

"Sir, are these antiques?"

With Yang Bowen in tow, Xia Xu approached the stall as though he was merely curious, then crouched down to touch this and examine that.

"Shh, keep your voice down. We just dug them out of the construction site."

Looking guilty and furtive, the old man in camouflage gestured for Xia Xu to be quiet while lowering his own voice. "These are all good pieces. My workmates and I dug them up together. Don't go spreading it around, young man."

Xia Xu gave no definite response. He picked up the two figurines and turned them over to examine them. Both were quite well carved, but when he checked their recessed bases, he found clearly engraved inscriptions: one read "Made in the Qianlong Years," and the other "Made in the Cixi Years," both with characters misspelled.

"Sir, I don't know much about this stuff, but was Cixi an era name too?"

Seeing those inscriptions, Xia Xu could barely hold back a laugh.

"How would I know?"

The old construction worker looked utterly honest and simple. "I don't know anything about these things. We just happened to dig them up. My workmates are all waiting to split the money. If you're serious about buying, I'll give you a better price."