I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

As soon as Mr. Liang spoke, the group of elderly men and women in the East District fell silent.

This is rare.

Normally, Boss Wei can argue for three rounds even when Principal Chen corrects his punctuation; Old Li can get furious at the mere mention of milk tea; and Old Zhou is always sarcastic and sarcastic towards anyone he can get his hands on.

But when Mr. Liang uttered just one word, "vulgar," the East District fell silent.

Lin Ye sat in the security booth, pen tip hovering over the paper.

He suddenly realized that this Mr. Liang might not have been an ordinary person in his lifetime.

To remain silent for a long time among a group of quarrelsome dead people, and to be able to stop everyone with a single sentence, this person must have been either extremely prestigious or extremely difficult to deal with in life.

Boss Wei couldn't hold back any longer.

"Mr. Liang, you're mistaken. Money may be vulgar, but it's quite useful."

Mr. Liang said calmly, "Practicality does not equate to elegance."

Old Li snorted.

"Can elegance feed you?"

Mr. Liang said, "No."

Old Zhou added slowly.

"So money still wins."

Boss Wei immediately smiled.

Lin Ye almost burst out laughing.

Mr. Liang didn't seem to want to pay them any attention.

"You all talk about who sold at a loss, who made a mistake in their business, and whose descendants don't know their value. In the end, it's all just material possessions."

Upon hearing this, Lao Ma immediately found an ally.

"Mr. Liang is quite sensible! You can't judge a truly good thing by its price."

Boss Wei sneered.

"Shut up. That bottle of yours isn't an external object; it's a work of art."

The East District laughed again.

Old Ma was so angry he didn't say a word.

Mr. Liang did not respond.

After a while, he sighed softly.

"Unfortunately, some things are ruined by those who don't understand them, while those who do understand them never see them."

Lin Ye's hand paused slightly.

coming.

That doesn't sound right.

The previous part was about being aloof and superior.

It's starting to look like there are clues now.

He immediately lowered his head and wrote in his notebook:

Mr. Liang.

painter.

It appears that some old items have been damaged.

Boss Wei clearly caught the excitement.

"Mr. Liang, did you also have items sold by your descendants?"

Mr. Liang remained silent for a moment.

"It's not for sale."

Old Zhou asked, "What's that?"

"To settle the debt."

Old Li perked up.

"How much was it discounted?"

Mr. Liang's voice was noticeably colder.

"One painting covered the cost of decorating the coffee shop."

Lin Ye's pen moved even faster.

painting.

coffee shop.

Renovation costs.

The moment those three words appeared, the sweetness of the cake he had just eaten was completely overwhelmed.

He is now very sensitive to words like "to settle a debt," "to pawn," and "to sell to a scrap yard."

These words usually have only one meaning when translated.

Some people don't know what's good for them.

Someone is going to get rich.

Grandma Zhao asked, "What painting?"

Mr. Liang said calmly, "It's a landscape painting I did in my early years."

Boss Wei asked, "Is it valuable?"

Mr. Liang did not answer immediately.

He didn't seem to like being asked that question.

After a while, he said, "I wasn't famous back then, and my paintings were still immature, but they had a certain charm."

Old Zhou said, "It's hard to give an estimate of what that means."

Principal Chen explained earnestly: "Artistic value and market value are not entirely equivalent concepts."

Boss Wei said, "Old Chen, stop beating around the bush. Can we sell it for money?"

Mr. Liang was clearly annoyed by their questions.

"If someone knowledgeable sees this now, it won't be cheap."

Lin Ye bowed his head and wrote:

Early landscapes.

Before becoming famous.

It might be worth money now.

This time he didn't get excited too quickly.

The anti-floating bottle is still standing there.

Mr. Liang said it's valuable, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's actually valuable.

Old Ma even claimed that his bottle was a national treasure, worth at least eight million.

The result is a modern work of art, with a customer service phone number on the bottom of the bottle.

Therefore, we must be cautious this time.

However, the painting and the bottle are different.

Mr. Liang's words were not as unreliable as Mr. Ma's.

He didn't just say eight million, nor did he claim that "experts wouldn't recognize him." He simply said that he was young, inexperienced, and had a natural talent.

That kind of statement actually sounds more believable.

Some people like to boast and spout nonsense.

Some people, however, are proud and disdain to explain themselves.

Mr. Liang is clearly the latter.

But hidden within that pride was a hint of unspeakable embarrassment.

A painting was taken carelessly and used as collateral for renovation costs.

To others, it might just be that one decoration is missing from the wall.

For an artist, that might be considered an insult.

Boss Wei then asked, "Where is that painting now?"

Mr. Liang's voice was even colder.

"Nanqiao Road, Old Time Cafe"

Lin Ye paused, his pen poised.

South Bridge.

It's South Bridge again.

He has now developed an affection for Nanqiao.

Old Li asked, "To hang in the shop?"

Mr. Liang fell silent.

Grandma Zhao said softly, "Could it be hanging in the toilet?"

Mr. Liang did not speak.

The East District was silent for two seconds.

Boss Wei couldn't help but laugh.

"It's really hanging in the toilet?"

Mr. Liang finally spoke.

"Outside the restroom."

Boss Wei's smile was rather unkind.

"Isn't that still in the toilet?"

Principal Chen carefully corrected: "Strictly speaking, there is a spatial difference between the outside of the restroom and the inside of the toilet."

Old Zhou said, "But not necessarily in terms of smell."

Lin Ye lowered his head and bit his lip, managing to suppress his laughter.

You can't laugh.

This must have been quite cruel for Mr. Liang.

A painter, who valued his landscape painting highly during his lifetime, had it taken by his nephew after his death to pay for renovations. The painting was eventually hung outside the bathroom to guide customers.

The ultimate end of art is, surprisingly, the toilet.

This sounds funny, but it's also a bit heartbreaking.

Mr. Liang's voice was indeed colder.

"There's a small boat in the lower right corner of that painting, and the character 'Liang' is hidden under the boat's awning. That's a secret mark I left when I was young so people wouldn't steal the painting."

Lin Ye's eyes lit up.

Secret mark.

Specific location.

Verifiable.

This is much better than Lao Ma.

He immediately wrote:

Old Time Cafe.

Outside the restroom.

landscape painting.

The small boat in the bottom right corner.

The character "梁" is hidden under the boat awning.

Early works before he became famous.

This time the clues are very complete.

Lin Ye felt so completely at ease that he didn't even need to search the entire city.

All he needs to do is go to the coffee shop tomorrow, order the cheapest drink, pretend to be looking for the restroom, and then stand outside the restroom looking at the paintings.

If the character "梁" really exists, then give the photo to Lu Zhixia.

Thinking of Lu Zhixia, Lin Ye subconsciously glanced at his phone.

It's already past one o'clock.

Forget it.

I can't bother her in the middle of the night anymore.

In the East District, Boss Wei was still joking around.

"Mr. Liang, you're in a worse situation than me. My son burns paper cars for me, at least he knows to place them in front of the grave. But your painting is just hanging right outside the toilet door."

Mr. Liang said calmly, "When ordinary people look at a painting, they just see another piece of something on the wall."

Grandma Zhao offered a word of advice.

"Don't be angry. What if someone recognizes its value someday?"

Mr. Liang chuckled softly.

"People who know their stuff won't go to places like that to look at paintings."

Lin Ye looked down at the notebook and thought to himself, "That's not necessarily true."

He'll go tomorrow.

And I will read it carefully.

The next morning, after finishing his shift, Lin Ye didn't go to sleep immediately.

He went back to his dorm, washed his face, changed into clean clothes, and looked at the lock screen of the anti-floating bottle again.

The risk is not high this time.

I don't buy things, I don't touch money, and I don't listen to stories.

At most, you'll lose a cup of coffee.

Old Time Cafe is not far from Nanqiao Secondhand Market.

The storefront is decorated in a rather artistic style, with a wooden signboard, glass windows, and two potted plants placed at the entrance.

Lin Ye stood outside the door and looked around, feeling a little nervous.

He rarely went to coffee shops before.

It's not that I don't like it.

The main reason was that the prices inside made him feel unworthy of peace and quiet.

Upon entering, the staff greeted him with a smile, "Hello, what would you like to drink?"

Lin Ye glanced at the menu.

American-style 28.

Thirty-six Lattes.

Hand-washed, 68 strokes or more.

He suddenly realized that even after earning 160,000 yuan, his spending habits were still very healthy.

Even though I'm healthy enough that seeing a 68-yuan coffee will still give my heart a polite jolt.

Finally, he ordered the cheapest Americano.

Twenty-eight.

He comforted himself as he made the payment.

This is the cost of the investigation.

This is not considered a consumption.

The coffee was made quickly.

Lin Ye, holding a cup, casually walked into the store.

The café was nicely decorated, with several paintings on the walls, including abstract paintings, landscapes, and a few black and white photographs.

But he didn't rush to look.

He needs to find a restroom.

Soon, he saw a wooden sign at the end of the corridor.

Please turn left to find the restroom.

Next to the wooden sign hangs a landscape painting.

Lin Ye stopped in his tracks.

The painting wasn't large, and it looked a bit old. The mountains were low-lying, the water was still, and there were a few light ink strokes outlining the shadows of trees in the distance.

At first glance, it does seem to have some substance.

However, he couldn't say exactly what it was, since he didn't understand painting.

Lin Ye stood in front of the painting, his heart slowly starting to beat faster.

He held his coffee, pretending to admire it.

A customer next to him came out of the restroom and glanced at him.

His eyes clearly said: Why is this person looking at paintings at the toilet entrance?

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and didn't move.

He stared at the bottom right corner of the painting.

Sure enough, there was a small boat there.

The boat was very small, almost hidden between the water and the shadows of the mountains.

Beneath the boat awning, there was a very fine ink stain.

Lin Ye moved a little closer.

Closer.

Finally, he saw it.

A very small "梁" character.

Hidden in the shadow of the boat awning, it is not easily seen unless you look closely.

Lin Ye's fingers tightened suddenly, making a soft crack as he squeezed the paper cup.

found it.

Mr. Liang didn't exaggerate.

This painting is real.

He slowly stepped back, took out his phone, took a picture of the entire painting, and then took a picture of the small boat in the lower right corner.

After taking the photo, he looked at it and his heart started racing.

The lessons learned from the anti-floating bottle incident are still fresh.

But this time, Lin Ye had a strong premonition.

This 28-yuan Americano is a steal; we're getting a great deal.

He was just about to send the photo to Lu Zhixia when a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Handsome, you really like this painting?"

Lin Ye paused, then turned around.

A man in his thirties stood at the entrance of the corridor, holding a rag in his hand and looking at his phone.

The man was wearing a coffee shop apron, his hair was tied in a small bun, and he smiled quite politely.

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat.

The painting has been found.

But how to buy it is the real problem.