False evidence

Chapter 424 Rekindling the Bond (9)

"I'd rather not take the clients you bring!"

Xiao Shen glared at me and asked Gu Haitao, "Are you buying something, or is there a family funeral taking place?"

Unlike Gu Haitao, who was only good at clever tricks and observing people's expressions, Luo Yinsheng didn't ask any more questions and said:

"I'm going to pay respects to my deceased wife and need to buy some paper money and ingots."

“Plus a set of paper clothes,” I replied.

"Paper clothes?" Xiao Shen looked at me. "If you don't know the rules, don't talk nonsense. Paper clothes are burned for ghosts you don't know. He said he was going to visit his deceased wife's grave, so how can he burn paper clothes?"

"I don't know anything about the funeral industry, but this time I need paper clothes."

I grabbed a pen and paper from the counter, quickly sketched a draft, and handed it over, saying:

"This is pretty much the style, and I want it in bright red."

Erpang exclaimed, "Huh? Sanzi, when did you learn to draw?"

I was taken aback when I heard that.

Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Although Erpang is sometimes silly, he has had a talent for painting since he was a child.

On this point, I have always been the target of his ridicule.

Now, with just a few strokes of my pen, I can draw something far better than his work that won first prize in a county-level painting competition when he was in fifth grade.

The key point is that although Xiao Shensan was semi-illiterate, he still preferred to use a calligraphy brush because of his special status.

When I look closely at what I drew with a brush, I think it looks like a special fashion design sketch.

Suddenly, Liang Yuan spoke up: "When I was in school, I mainly studied gouache and oil painting. I also studied traditional Chinese painting for a while, but I wasn't a professional. Later, I drank alcohol for many years, and my hands trembled, so I became even less used to using a brush."

That's when it dawned on me that this guy had said his dream was to be a painter, and that he had actually studied painting.

The reason I was able to paint at such a high level is because of the influence of this 'second-hand painter' mentality.

"I've heard of burning paper figures, paper horses, and paper villas, but I've never heard of burning paper clothes for the dead!"

Gu Haitao's temper is completely different from his usual self. Seeing me acting like I was playing around, he couldn't help but get a little angry.

But when he saw what the painting contained, he was suddenly stunned.

"Who exactly are you?" He stared at me with extreme suspicion. "You couldn't have met Qiaomei, so how would you know she had this outfit?"

"Is this outfit special?" I asked back.

Gu Haitao took a deep breath. "This is what I prepared with Qiaomei when we got married. It's our wedding dress!"

"That's right." I nodded subconsciously and asked Shen San, "How long will it take to make this set, following this design?"

Xiao Shen looked at the blueprints and seemed a little troubled: "Modern clothing styles are nice, but I'm not a tailor. I can make long robes and mandarin jackets or villas, but making such complicated paper clothes... I don't think I can make them."

Gu Haitao suddenly pulled me aside and whispered, "I won't ask you anything else, just tell me, if I had this outfit, would Qiaomei come back?" Remembering the cigarette butt's instructions in my dream, I gritted my teeth and said, "It should."

Gu Haitao's eyes lit up. "This outfit is still here! It's in my closet! I didn't burn it for Qiaomei back then; I wanted to keep it as a memento. I... don't laugh at me, but before the car accident, I would take this outfit out almost every night and put it in the chair next to me, as if... as if Qiaomei was still with me."

Ji Qiaomei has been dead for twenty-one years. For twenty-one years, she has been getting drunk every night while looking at a set of clothes.

Compared to Hong Defang in the story and the figure in the mural, isn't Luo Yinsheng also offering his heartfelt petition, begging Heaven to grant his wish?
Gu Haitao unconsciously became a little nervous and said hurriedly, "It's not difficult to get the real suit, as long as Jiabao and his wife aren't home... Actually, it doesn't matter if they are home, I have a way to make them believe that I am their father!"

I understood what he meant and quickly shook my head: "You can't burn real clothes, they have to be paper clothes."

Seeing that Xiao Shen San really lacked confidence, my mind raced, "Cao Furui!"

Cao Furui is a century-old tailor shop, and when it comes to making clothes, no one is more knowledgeable than the foul-mouthed, sharp-eyed Cao Xinyun. I've met Cao Jinxiu a few times. It's strange to have a tailor shop make paper clothes, but if it's just for making patterns…

“I think this style of clothing is outdated,” Xie Xiaohuan, who had come along, suddenly said, then pointed to the blueprint in Xiao Shen’s hand, “If it could be improved, I would be willing to try making a paper pattern.”

"You can do it?" I suddenly remembered her background.

It's true that she was an 'undercover agent' sent by Sun Jing to my side, but Lu Xin swore that she was indeed Lu Xin's granddaughter.

It was because of this that I couldn't refuse Lü Xin's request, and after what happened last time, I was willing to keep her here as if nothing had happened.

Jie Xiaohuan's maternal grandmother was the head of the long-established Cao Furui tailor shop. Could she have inherited her talent for tailoring?

Gu Haitao was much more decisive than me, and he immediately asked her, "Can you really do it?"

Xie Xiaohuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "I think I can do it, but I don't like this style."

I instinctively shook my head; as the cigarette butt said, it had to be this style...

Gu Haitao suddenly said, "If you think there's anything that needs changing... then change it! I... I need it urgently, so please finish it as soon as possible, okay?"

Xie Xiaohuan stared at him for a moment, nodded slightly, and then went straight to the shelves to search.

Gu Haitao walked up to me again and said in a low voice, "To be honest, I'm very nervous right now. It feels like... like when I got married to Qiaomei. The style of the dress was chosen by Qiaomei. After we moved back to the South, she said—looking back at that wedding dress... it really looks a bit silly."

"The wedding dress? You're willing to let her..."

I gestured towards Jie Xiaohuan with my lip, "Let her make a new outfit for your lover... Ji Qiaomei?"

That sounds really strange.

However, Gu Haitao's answer was even stranger.

He turned his head and stared straight at Xie Xiaohuan's back, who had already begun to work, and murmured:
“Although I have male needs, I’m really not a lecher. But when I see her, I feel like I’m closer to her than to my son, daughter-in-law, or anyone else.”

Gu Haitao suddenly turned to me, glaring at me, and asked through gritted teeth, "Could she be Qiaomei?"

I was suddenly stunned.

Xie Xiaohuan turned around and asked Gu Haitao in a cheerful yet slightly shy tone:
"I've said before that I love wedding dresses. But you've also said you like classic red. So...would it be better to combine the two?"

(End of this chapter)