Xiao Wei's grandfather's surname was Zeng, and his first name was Gong Bei, which was not the same as Xiao Wei's.As for the reason, the old man never mentioned it to Xiao Wei, and Xiao Wei never dared to ask. Zeng Lao was ninety-seven years old when he died.Due to practicing martial arts since childhood, the old man's body has always been very strong.If he hadn't suffered from a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, no one would have doubted that he could live to be over a hundred years old.When the old man woke up for the last time before dying, he said a word to Xiao Wei, which was also the last word in his life.Those who accompanied him at that time were Xiao Wei, Gao Yang, Mrs. Ma, and Xiao Wei's ex-wife Zhao Ying was also present.Therefore, Xiao Wei should have heard his grandfather's last words correctly.However, no one understood what this sentence meant.The last thing left by the old man is the word "shell".

At that time, Mr. Zeng had been in a coma for three days on the hospital bed. When Xiao Wei rushed to the hospital, he had just woken up.The old man looked around at the people around him, and finally stopped his eyes on Xiao Wei's face.Xiao Wei held his grandfather's hand tightly, only to see the old man took a deep breath and tried to speak.The people on the side looked sad and held their breath. Everyone knew very well that what the old man wanted to say was probably his last words. The old man panted violently for a long time, and then uttered an indistinct voice: "Shell..." Xiao Wei was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his body and asked, "Grandpa, what do you mean... what shell?" Zeng Lao tried to repeat , but without success.Xiao Wei raised his eyes to look at the people around him, everyone was puzzled, obviously they didn't understand what the old man was going to say.

There was a deathly silence in the ward, only the old man's violent breathing could be heard, and everyone waited anxiously.The old man opened his mouth again and tried hard for a long time, but he couldn't make any sound again.After a while of hard work, Mr. Zeng was very tired. He slowly leaned on the pillow and closed his eyes.For a moment, Xiao Wei noticed that the old man's left hand left him, seeming to be scratching unconsciously on the quilt. Gao Yang suddenly called out in a low voice: "Mr. Zeng is writing!" Xiao Wei thought, and looked down at his grandfather's hand. Sure enough, the old man was indeed writing something with his left hand.Xiao Wei suddenly remembered that his grandfather suffered from a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, which caused paralysis on the right side of his body. At this time, only his left hand could move.

Because it is left-handed, the strokes drawn are extremely blurred, and the old man wrote it over and over again.After looking at it for a while, I gradually became able to recognize two characters. The first character has a vertical structure, with a stroke and a stroke on the top, but the bottom is not clear; the second is a character with few strokes. Just as Xiao Wei tried his best to identify, a severe cough interrupted the old man.Everyone hurriedly called the doctor.After the emergency treatment, the old man was extremely tired and fell asleep.All night, everyone waited anxiously by the hospital bed, hoping that Mr. Zeng would wake up again and finish what he had to say.But no one expected that once Mr. Zeng fell asleep, he would never wake up again.

During the time of dealing with the funeral, Xiao Wei has been troubled by the strange last words left by his grandfather.During the period, he also questioned Gao Yang and Mrs. Ma respectively.Like Xiao Wei, the two also heard the word "shell".As for the words written by the old man's fingers, they couldn't even read clearly before Xiao Wei.Xiao Wei was puzzled by this, but he was very clear about one thing. With his grandfather's temperament, it should be a big deal to keep the words before he died! Xiao Wei's grandfather can be regarded as a rather legendary and mysterious old man.Xiao Wei only knows that the old man was born in 1906 and entered the Fengtian Police Department at the age of eighteen. Later, he studied criminal investigation at the Tokyo Police Academy in Japan and the United Kingdom.After the September 18th Incident, the old man was unwilling to be a subjugated slave, and after moving to Beijing, he opened a lock factory with Gao Yang's great-grandfather.After liberation, the old man has been working in the Ministry of Public Security, and is the most senior "criminal investigation expert" and "lock-picking expert" of the Ministry of Public Security.The old man's skills in criminal investigation and lockpicking are second to none in the country.However, even the information that Xiao Wei knew was basically heard from his grandfather's friends and colleagues during his lifetime, which is not much more than what is recorded in the old man's file.As for the details of his grandfather's life, Xiao Wei's mind was almost blank.For Xiao Wei, his grandfather's life has always been like a huge puzzle.

After the funeral, Zhao Ying called Xiao Wei. This was the first time she contacted Xiao Wei since she divorced in January.Zhao Ying's voice was calm and cold on the phone.She informed Xiao Wei that Mr. Zeng left a will in the Ministry of Public Security before his death, and donated all his personal belongings after his death.Zhao Ying asked Xiao Wei to clean up Mr. Zeng's belongings. Three days later, the Ministry of Public Security would send someone over to sort out the leftovers. Xiao Wei was stunned, why did his grandfather keep such a trick?As soon as the person leaves, all the things in the house belong to the state?After thinking about it, this is indeed in line with the character of the old man.He asked Zhao Ying if he could give him a few more days. Three days was definitely not enough.Zhao Ying told him that this was a death order from his superiors, and there was no discussion.Xiao Wei cursed his mother secretly in his heart, and was about to hang up the phone, when he suddenly remembered something: Wasn't Zhao Ying present when my grandfather died, you can ask her about the last words.

After expressing her thoughts, Zhao Ying was silent for a moment, and said: "Old Zeng is not talking about 'shells'!" Xiao Weiqi said: "Not 'shells'? What is that?" Zhao Ying replied affirmatively: " It's a 'box'!" Xiao Wei froze suddenly, not bad!Why didn't I think about it all the time. The last thing Mr. Zeng left behind was indeed the word "box"!After the old man became ill, he lost part of his speech ability due to the blockage of the nerve by a blood clot. It is certain that his pronunciation is unclear. Xiao Wei is also very clear about this, because the word "shell" is incomprehensible.In Chinese, there are only five words that are similar in pronunciation to "shell", just find any input method that has the function of creating words. The four words can be said to be out of bounds, and only the last word "box" is the most likely.

In addition, the biggest evidence is the two words written by the old man with his fingers before he died.Although Xiao Wei didn't fully understand these two characters, he could at least see that the first character has an up-and-down structure, with the prefix "人" on the top; and the second character is a character with few strokes.From this point of view, the last words of my grandfather on his deathbed were undoubtedly the word "box"! When the mystery was revealed, Xiao Wei was very excited, but only for a moment, the stronger curiosity was hooked again, and he immediately thought: since it is a "box", what exactly did the grandfather put in this "box" that he mentioned at the end of his life?I thought again: the old man has been a legendary career all his life, so he has seen a lot, what will make him remember until his death?Thinking of this, Xiao Wei became more curious.But one thing is certain, this "box" should be left to him by his grandfather.Since the old man donated everything, he only kept this "box" for himself. There must be something important to give to him in it, maybe something valuable.

Thinking of this, Xiao Wei was so happy that he scratched his head, and immediately asked Zhao Ying to help recall, she has been a graduate student and assistant for her grandfather for so many years, has she ever seen or heard of his grandfather having such a "box".Zhao Ying thought about it for a moment, and answered with certainty that there was no, and she had never heard Mr. Zeng mention it.Xiao Wei was a little disappointed. Talking about the relationship with his grandfather, Zhao Ying, a student, must be better than his own grandson.He asked Zhao Ying to think about it again. She definitely had to help with this matter. After all, everyone was on their own. Finding that "box" would be of great benefit to her.

Zhao Ying was silent for a while on the phone, saying that we have nothing to do with each other anymore, and besides, she doesn't need any "benefits".Xiao Wei was stunned, hehehe laughed twice, and hung up the phone. Putting down the phone, Xiao Wei lowered his head and thought for a moment.Three days is tight enough, the whole old house has three floors up and down, and grandfather's belongings are piled up like a mountain.In these three days, not only have to tidy up, but also have to quickly rescue the valuables at home.Otherwise, once the people from the Ministry of Public Security arrive, all the things will not belong to me.In addition, there is the "box" that my grandfather mentioned on his deathbed.If I didn't find it in the past three days and was found by the Ministry of Public Security, would it be confiscated again?

After thinking about it, it is best to find someone you can trust to help you with this matter!Thinking of this, Xiao Wei hung up the phone to Gao Yang.Gao Yang and Xiao Wei grew up together, and the two families have been family friends since Mrs. Ma's grandfather.This time Gao Yang took a full week of personal leave for his grandfather's funeral, and there should be a few more days left. Half an hour later, Gao Yang arrived at Zeng's old house.For the next three days, apart from eating and sleeping, the two kept sorting out the old house's belongings. The most important thing was to look for the "box" that Xiao Wei's grandfather mentioned on his deathbed.In three days, the two turned the old house inside out several times, and they were extremely busy.The work of cleaning up was extremely cumbersome, Zeng's family was well-off, and he had done a legendary career all his life, so there were indeed many rare items among the relics.The two divided the valuable and worthless things into two piles. Other than that, there were thirty-five boxes, large and small, found in the old house. Xiao Wei poured out the items in the box and inspected them separately. They were basically ordinary objects such as needles, threads, and brains.Then take apart all the boxes one by one, these thirty-five boxes are equally ordinary, without mechanism, without interlayer, and none of them seem to make the old man remember before his death!Abandoning this pile of rubbish, Gao Yang accompanied Xiao Wei to search up and down the old house several times, but found nothing eye-catching again.The whole old house does not seem to have the "box" mentioned by Mr. Zeng when he was dying. Back in the living room on the first floor, Xiao Wei began to feel that this matter was a bit sinister.Could it be that grandfather was confused before he died, and what he said was nonsense, and there was no such a "box" in the old house at all?The two analyzed it for a while, and felt that it was impossible.Mr. Zeng was rigorous all his life. According to Xiao Wei's words, his old man "has never done anything unreliable in his life, and caught him blind at the end of his life". Otherwise, the old man would never be able to do his job. . Thinking of this, Xiao Wei became more and more sure: the "box" mentioned by his grandfather on his deathbed must exist, but it must have been placed in some secret place.After pondering for a moment, he found two hammers from the storage room.Xiao Wei pondered, this old house looks like it has been around for a hundred years, maybe there will be traps like walls.At that moment, each of them held a hammer and clanged for more than an hour.Climbing up to the second floor, this is where the old man lived before his death. There is nothing unusual in the study room, and all the walls and floors in the bedroom are solid. At one o'clock in the morning, the two opened the closet in the bedroom. The things inside had been dug out a long time ago, and the inside of the closet was empty.Hitting layer by layer, when the hammer landed on the bottom back wall of the closet, Xiao Wei was shocked: This was no longer the sound of iron objects hitting the concrete wall, but a kind of "holding" sound of wooden products. To" sound! Quickly throwing away the hammer in his hand, he bent down and observed carefully: inside was a well-disguised wooden box, hidden deep in the bottom of the closet, and the size of the wooden box was similar to the size of the bottom of the closet.On the front of the box, there is a layer of wallpaper, which makes the wooden box look the same as the surrounding walls.Xiao Wei looked excited, no wonder he didn't pay attention to it these two days!It seems that there is a reason for this matter. Grandpa can hide in such a secret place, and the things inside must be very important.After dancing and dancing for a while, they dragged the wooden box out together with Gao Yang. This is a very ordinary-looking wooden box, black, most of the older generations have used it in their homes.The only difference is that the size is slightly larger than the usual ones, with a length and width of about one meter and a height of about 70 centimeters.The top cover of the wooden box is connected with the box body with exquisite pure copper hinges, and the color has become very dim due to the age.On the top of the box lid, there is a copper hidden lock. Xiao Wei stretched out his hand to lift it, the wooden box was extremely heavy, he didn't know what was inside, he lifted the lid again, it was locked.He is very aware of his grandfather's habits. Mr. Zeng was a senior lockpicking expert of the Ministry of Public Security during his lifetime. In order to maintain his state over the years, except for the gate, none of the locks in Zeng's old house had a key. This wooden box is probably no exception. Xiao Wei frowned, it seemed that it would take some effort to open this box!After pondering for a moment, he stood up.Now that his grandfather passed away, Xiao Wei naturally took all his belongings for himself without any hesitation.Coming to the study in a big way, he took back the lockpicking toolbox that his grandfather would never allow him to touch. He picked two suitable tools from the box, made gestures, and inserted the tools into the keyhole of the wooden box. Xiao Wei's lockpicking skills were not passed down by Mr. Zeng.Mr. Zeng was an expert in lockpicking by the Ministry of Public Security during his lifetime, so his skills are naturally extraordinary.It's just that the old man always thought that Xiao Wei's temper was impetuous and he was not doing his job properly, so this skill was not taught to him. However, he was born in a family, so many years of experience, coupled with his extreme intelligence, although it is still difficult to be elegant for the time being, it is no longer a problem to slip through the door to pick a lock or something.Xiao Wei doesn't do any bad things, these crooked skills, showing off occasionally, are just means to pick up girls in leisure time. The moment the tool was inserted into the keyhole, Xiao Wei immediately felt that this was by no means an ordinary built-in lock.Zhao Ying once said that ordinary built-in locks only have five "pillars" at most, but the one in front of me, let alone nine "pillars", may be difficult to open without a key! The skill of unlocking without a key, also known as "lock technique" or "lock technique", is an extremely difficult knowledge.Zhao Ying can be said to be Zeng Lao's closed disciple, so she once told Xiao Wei some principles of getting started with "locking skills": The theory of unlocking is not esoteric. The two most basic skills are thread alignment and rotation.Most of the locks are similar in structure, and the truly complex and delicate ones are rare.The lock cylinder inside the lock cylinder is the key to unlocking the lock. When unlocking the lock, you must first apply a rotating force to the lock cylinder, and then use a tool to push each lock cylinder in turn to find the joint point respectively. Increase the rotation force at the moment when all the lock cylinders are separated from each other. The lock will open. Although the reason is simple, the difficulty lies in the general locks with at least seven or eight lock cylinders, and as many as a dozen or even dozens of lock cylinders. In addition, there are two or three lock cylinders set together. The few chickens scurrying all over the ground will be in a hurry if they don't have enough time.Therefore, in addition to teaching how to unlock the lock, there are also some practice methods so that you can deal with it calmly when unlocking the lock.But then again, this kind of kung fu of distracting counting and coordinating left and right requires a lot of talent, and not everyone can practice it. To learn "locking skills", you need to practice some basic skills first, just like getting started with "Ringxing", you need to practice "boiling water extraction" (commonly known as boiling water and soap), and then start with two occlusions. After you are proficient, you need to practice Matching kung fu, add three occlusions. "Locking skills", similar to the ranks of today's Go, start from two "pillars", up to 24 "pillars", and after practicing to 24 "pillars", there are no locks that can be seen generally that cannot be opened that's it. Xiao Wei's lockpicking skill was learned secretly, so naturally he was not good at it.The braggart said that it was only five or six "pillars" of skill, and he had only been tinkering with the nine "pillars" hidden lock on the wooden box for a while, and his forehead was already sweating. After tossing and tossing for more than an hour, with no progress, Xiao Wei put down the tools in his hand.Gao Yang asked: "How is it?" Xiao Wei shook his head.The most difficult thing for Xiao Wei was not the amount of Suo Zhu.No matter how many socks there are, he has his own way to opportunistically.The internal structure of the built-in lock on the wooden box is extremely strange, and the arrangement of the lock cylinders is also very irregular. After the tool is poked into it, it will not work at all.It seems that this is not an ordinary built-in lock. He reached out and knocked on the panel of the wooden box, maybe he was going to smash the box open!Xiao Wei's heart skipped a beat when his finger landed on the box board, how could it sound like rosewood.He bent down and took a closer look, and the more he looked, the more he looked like it.Xiao Wei spent a long time in Taoism before marriage, so he knows a thing or two about antiques.If this box was really made of sandalwood, at least it would be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Sandalwood is a kind of mahogany, also known as "sinking wood". The wood is fine and dense, and it is said that it will not float when placed in water.As a kind of extremely precious wood, sandalwood is quite rare now. Even in ancient times, sandalwood also had the saying that "an inch of wood is an inch of gold". Xiao Wei observed it carefully, but didn't dare to be sure, but judging from the workmanship and texture of the wooden box, this thing is at least considered an antique, and it would definitely not be worth the loss if it was smashed.After thinking about it, he hesitated.Gao Yang said: "Do you want to ask Zhao Ying for help?" Xiao Wei was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head.Zhao Ying was not well offended by the divorce, so she couldn't ask Zhao Ying for help unless it was absolutely necessary. The two analyzed it for a while, and now it seems that the "box" mentioned by the grandfather on his deathbed is probably hidden in this wooden box.Thinking that the answer to the mystery was right in front of him but he couldn't solve it, Xiao Wei scratched his ears and cheeks anxiously, feeling itchy.Gao Yang asked Xiao Wei to recall it carefully. With Mr. Zeng's character, it is impossible that such a big event was not arranged before his death, and at worst there would be some clues.In other words, there should be a way to open the wooden box, maybe the old man will leave the key for him.Gao Yang's analysis was reasonable, and Xiao Wei began to search his stomach under Gao Yang's reminder, carefully recalling the scenes before and after his grandfather's death. The death of Mr. Zeng cannot but be said to be directly related to the divorce of Xiao Wei and Zhao Ying.Zhao Ying is the senior apprentice of the old man, and the marriage between the two was also arranged by the old man alone.Therefore, the matter of Xiao Wei's divorce made the old man very angry. After the divorce, Xiao Wei moved out from Zhao Ying's place and has been fighting guerrillas everywhere, basically not daring to go back to the old house.On the day when the old man became ill, he used the special line in the study to call Xiao Wei three times. However, Xiao Wei was gambling at the time and his phone was turned off. He only found out after reading the text message from the mobile secretary three days later.He confirmed with the nanny Xiaocui afterwards that these three calls were not made by Xiaocui, and she would not use the special line of the Ministry of Public Security in her grandfather's study.Looking at it now, my grandfather was looking for him for something, probably because he felt that he couldn't do it, and he wanted to tell him about the "box".Thinking of this, Xiao Wei felt that his grandfather should have had enough time to arrange this matter. He began to carefully recall the scenes before and after his grandfather's illness recounted by Xiaocui.Xiao Cui was the only person present before Zeng Lao fell ill.Xiao Wei recalled bit by bit, suddenly, he thought of a detail!Xiao Wei jumped up and shouted at Gao Yang: "I thought of it, it's that piggy bank, it must be that piggy bank!" Gao Yang asked: "What piggy bank?" Pulling Gao Yang and rushing downstairs, Xiao Wei rummaged through the items that the two had already arranged, and Xiao Wei found something from a package. This is a handmade pottery piggy bank, very ordinary in appearance.Xiao Wei still remembers that this should be the birthday present he made for his grandfather in his first handicraft class in elementary school.The old man cherished it very much at that time, so he has kept it till now. When tidying up the grandfather's study three days ago, the two found this piggy bank in the corner under the desk, and no one paid attention to it at the time.The detail that Xiao Wei just thought of is probably related to this piggy bank.That was after the old man passed away, Xiao Cui told him how the old man couldn't find himself when he fell ill, and in a hurry, he had to call Zhao Ying, which scared her to death at that time, and there was a lot of complaints in his words.He remembered the following incident in Xiaocui's words: when his grandfather fell ill, the bookshelf in the study was taken down and the books were scattered all over the floor.At that time, Mr. Zeng was lying on the ground, already passed out, and his hand was under the desk, as if he was reaching for something. Could it be that grandfather lay on the ground just to fill up the piggy bank?Xiao Wei stretched out his hand and shook it, there was obviously something inside, rattling and rattling.I looked in along the coin slot, but it was so dark that I couldn't see anything clearly.After hesitating for a moment, he slammed the piggy bank on the ground with all his strength. The jar broke and the things scattered on the ground.In a pile of half-and-five-cent steel coins, I found something with a rather strange shape.Xiao Wei cheered and picked up the thing. This is a key made of fine copper, exquisitely crafted, and looks quite old.It seems that people have been playing with it for many years, and the surface of the key has been stroked to produce a strange round light.What made Xiao Wei feel strange was that this was not an ordinary key. The shape of the whole key was like connecting two ordinary keys together, with long tooth marks on both sides. Xiao Wei weighed it with his hand, the key was very heavy.After pondering for a moment, he said to Gao Yang: "I'm thinking, one end of this 'double-ended key' must be used to open this box, and the other end, if I'm not wrong, is to open that 'box'!" Gao Yang nodded . The two returned to the bedroom on the second floor.Xiao Wei squatted next to the wooden box, made gestures, chose the "double-ended key" and poked one end into the lock, but couldn't get in.Put another one on, still not working.Frowning, what's going on?He asked Gao Yang to take the desk lamp at the side, and under the light, Xiao Wei got down on his body and carefully observed the shape of the keyhole and the two ends of the double-ended key.After watching for a while, Xiao Wei suddenly realized. It turns out that the copper built-in lock on the wooden box is not an ordinary built-in lock, but an exquisitely designed "labyrinth lock".In China's lock industry, capable people emerge in large numbers, and hundreds of skilled craftsmen have designed countless ingenious locks.It is said that the "Maze Lock" came from a master lockmaker in the Tang Dynasty, whose name is no longer testable. In addition to the Maze Lock, the two most famous toys in ancient China, "Sixiren" and "Nine Links", are also said to be from this person. . The reason why the labyrinth lock is named "maze", as the name suggests, the shape of the keyhole matches the key, which is a labyrinth device.In other words, even if the key is given to you, if you don't understand the mystery, it is impossible to insert the key into the lock, let alone unlock it. The copper built-in lock in front of Xiao Wei looks very ordinary in shape, but the actual matching with the key is a maze device, similar to the nine-link game we have played, and the key must be found.This is no trouble to Xiao Wei, he is definitely an expert in playing things!The two discussed it, and ten minutes later, the key was inserted into the keyhole smoothly, and the brass lock on the wooden box was opened effortlessly! The lid was lifted, and a layer of oil paper was spread on top.Tear off the greased paper in twos and threes, and inside the box is a box of diaries neatly stacked.The two quickly moved all the diaries out until the box was emptied, and there was no expected valuable item, let alone the legendary "box"! Gao Yang leaned over to pick up a diary. He noticed that there was an Arabic numeral number: 5 written on the lower right corner of the cover of the book in his hand. When he opened the title page, there was a line of small words on it: 〖Xiao Jiannan, from the 17th year of the Republic of China to the 18th year of the Republic of China. 〗 Both of them were taken aback, thinking at the same time, who is this Xiao Jiannan?Looking at the handwriting, it should be Zeng Lao.The two quickly picked up a few more books, yes, they were all Xiao Jiannan's, and the handwriting seemed to be Zeng Lao's.Xiao Wei remembers very clearly that when his grandfather wrote the character "Xiao", he liked to write the top cursive character as two "ten". The two looked at each other, stunned for a while, Gao Yang knelt down and picked up some diaries to look through, flipped through for a while, and shouted: "Xiao Wei, read this one!" Xiao Wei leaned over and saw this diary It reads: 〖Zeng Gongbei, March 1951 to January 1952. 〗 Xiao Wei frowned, and murmured: "What's going on? Could it be that my grandfather changed his name?" Gao Yang didn't answer, but compared the handwriting of several diaries before and after, and said to Xiao Wei: "Yes, it seems This Xiao Jiannan should be Mr. Zeng's previous name, you see, apart from the same handwriting, the two names 'Zeng Gongbei' and 'Xiao Jiannan' seem to be related!" Xiao Wei said: "What is the connection?" Gao Yang said: "The two names use 'Dui Zhan'." Xiao Wei was taken aback, and said, "What is 'Dia War'?" When I was a child, I read a book called "The Enlightenment of the Rhythm", which was devoted to antithesis. The ancients wrote poems and couplets, antithesis is very strict, for example..." Xiao Wei smiled, and said: "Brother, you really know how to drop your schoolbag. If you say you are right, you will end up. If you are right, you will still feel bloated! I understand right, isn't it just the sky against the earth, the rain against the wind Is the earth facing the sky..." Gao Yang corrected, "Clouds face the rain, snow faces the wind, and the evening sun faces the clear sky. Laihongs face the departing swallows, old birds face songworms..." Gao Yang recited "Yitong" (Note ①) of "Enlightenment of the Rhythm" in one breath, and Xiao Wei was dumbfounded.Gao Yang is indeed knowledgeable, but he is very bookish, and he can't hug him when it comes to learning.Xiao Wei hurriedly interrupted, pulling and tugging, and said: "It's okay, buddy, I know you are knowledgeable, let's get to the point!" Gao Yang pointed to the diary in his hand, and analyzed: "The two names of Mr. Zeng, 'Zeng Gongbei' and 'Xiao Jiannan', this 'Zeng', the sound is increased, and the sound of 'Xiao' is reduced. Cutting, using homonyms, and the bottom is bow to sword, south to north, very neat!" Xiao Wei smacked his lips and said: "You and our old man are both knowledgeable enough, no wonder he likes you. By the way , why did my grandfather change his name? Isn't the name 'Xiao Jiannan' pretty good?" Gao Yang pondered for a moment: "I guess, what happened? You see, even your father's surname is Zeng! But in your generation, the matter is over, so your surname is changed back to Xiao!" Xiao Wei He nodded and said: "It makes sense, it makes sense, I always thought that I took my mother's surname, and wanted to change it back to Zeng several times, but my grandpa just refused to let me, and I almost turned my face!" Gao Yang said: "It's okay to follow your mother's surname, besides, isn't it all the same now!" Xiao Wei's expression changed after hearing Gao Yang's words, and he spat hard, cursing: "It's the same fart!" Who is my mother? I feel disgusted when I think of her surname!" Gao Yang saw Xiao Wei getting angry, shook his head and sighed, and continued to look down at Zeng Lao's diary. After flipping around for a while, Xiao Wei suddenly said: "By the way, Gao Yang, do you think my grandfather's name change has something to do with that box?" Think about it, one is something that my grandfather still couldn't forget before he died, and the other is something that made him even change his name. These two must be big things. How many big things can a person encounter in a lifetime? ? I wonder if there is such a relationship?" Gao Yang nodded and said: "Your analysis makes sense, but at most it is just a guess. In terms of science, try to make a bold guess as much as possible. Most importantly, you must carefully verify it. !" Xiao Wei laughed, and said: "You are really long-winded, you are a 'Tang Monk'. By the way, how to verify it?" Gao Yang said: "There should be an answer in Zeng Lao's diary!" Xiao Wei nodded. A few minutes later, the two had moved out all the diaries.It seems that these are Zeng Lao's diaries all his life, each of which is numbered on the cover, a total of 108 diaries.The two took out the first book, opened the title page, and it was neatly written in petty lowercase letters: 〖On the sixth day of July in the thirteenth year of the Republic of China, I was admitted to the Fengtian Garrison. I was so excited that my childhood dream came true.From now on, we will do our best to benefit the people and do our duty as a police officer.Buy some diaries to record what you have learned and done in the future. Xiao Jiannan on the sixth day of July in the thirteenth year of the Republic of China〗 Xiao Wei pinched his fingers and calculated that his grandfather was born in 1906, and he should have been eighteen years old that year.The contents of the diary are basically the records of my grandfather’s criminal investigation work in the police department, and occasionally some trivial details of life, such as thoughts on outings and current political comments, etc., but these parts are written in pure classical Chinese, parallel four Li six, Xiao Wei can see Scratch your cheeks.Xiao Wei remembered that his grandfather had attended a private school. Gao Yang read it with gusto, and the diary contains a large number of bizarre case detection records, which are amazing.Under Xiao Wei's constant urging, the two browsed quickly.By the fourteenth volume, the signature of the diary has changed to "Zeng Gongbei", and from here on, every diary has more or less traces of being torn off. It wasn't until dawn that Xiao Wei was already yawning, that Gao Yang flipped through all the diaries hastily.Putting down the diary in his hand, Gao Yang said: "It seems that you guessed right, there is indeed a major event hidden in this diary, and the matter of Mr. Zeng changing his name is probably related to this!" Xiao Wei said: "Could it also be related to that box?" Gao Yang shook his head: "It's hard to say. However, the problem should appear in those parts that have been torn off. If we can find this part, there will definitely be unexpected Discovery!" Xiao Wei nodded. Gao Yang said again: "It seems that we have to find a way to dig through the old house again. I hope this part of the diary is not torn up and burned. In addition, you have to study the diary in the box carefully, and you may find some clues. We It was too sloppy just now!" Xiao Wei grinned, and said, "I'm researching? Please spare me. It's not like you don't know me. I get a headache when I read a book. With such a large pile, I have to 'research' until the year of the monkey!" Xiao Wei pondered for a moment, Said: "Let's do this, take all the diaries away, you help me take a good look, if you find anything, just tell me and it's over?" Gao Yang was taken aback, and said: "I'll take it back to read?" Xiao Wei chuckled and said: "My buddy, you are more knowledgeable than me, so you have to help me with this job!" Gao Yang said: "It's not that I don't help, it's just that... The old diary, I'll move it back to read, isn't it appropriate?" Xiao Wei didn't take it seriously, and said: "What's inappropriate, which one of us is with whom, besides, I have no place to live these two days, so you have to receive brothers?" Gao Yang said: "It's no problem, my It means that there may be old Zeng’s privacy in the diary, it’s okay for us to read it together..." Xiao Wei interrupted Gao Yang, saying: "What privacy? My grandfather is gone, and any privacy is not privacy! You must help me with this task!" Gao Yang hesitated for a moment, then nodded.Xiao Wei grinned, and said to Gao Yang: "You, like Zhao Ying, are highly educated, but you're just rubbish. I'm not scolding you! By the way, buddy, it's up to you. We found that box. Let's send it to you." If you get rich, your benefits are indispensable!" Gao Yang smiled and didn't care about Xiao Wei. The sky was bright, the two had breakfast on the side of the street, and Gao Yang took a taxi to bring all the diaries back first.At ten o'clock in the morning, people sent by the Ministry of Public Security to sort out Mr. Zeng's belongings came over.What surprised Xiao Wei was Zhao Ying and the other two policemen.Zhao Ying looked haggard, as if the divorce had hit her hard. Xiao Wei was still giggling.After seeing Mr. Zeng's will left in the Ministry of Public Security, the two briefly exchanged a few words, and Xiao Wei carefully reminded him that if he found the box, he must be notified.Zhao Ying didn't speak, just nodded lightly.Xiao Wei picked up the big bag full of valuables, and then tidied up the belongings of the old lady Zeng who had been on the altar table in his grandfather's bedroom, and took a taxi to Gaoyang's place contentedly. It was already noon when we arrived at Gao Yang's house, Gao Yang was still awake, and was sitting on the floor reading Zeng Lao's diary.Xiao Wei didn't bother, and after he settled down, he picked up two things from the old house from the big bag, and went to Panjiayuan to find a brother on the road to sell them. Anyway, he had nowhere to go, so Xiao Wei stayed at Gao Yang's house for the time being.In the following days, except for going to work, Gao Yang spent all his time on that box of diaries. Xiao Wei also wanted to get involved, but he couldn't help except to make trouble, so he had to go to the Internet cafe to play games. Until the second weekend, the diary was basically read.Gao Yang discovered two problems: First, in the existing diaries, a mysterious "box" is indeed mentioned many times, but too many parts of the diary have been torn out, and it is difficult to piece together a complete story with the only remaining content.However, judging from the existing content, this mysterious "box" first appeared in the fourteenth diary and ended in the last one, which is the one hundred and eighth diary, which can be said to have run through Zeng Lao's life. Second, among the total of one hundred and eight diaries, there is a very strange coincidence, that is, the first time this mysterious "box" appeared in the diary was the fourteenth diary; Four diaries; and the diary whose signature changed from "Xiao Jiannan" to "Zeng Gongbei" is the fourteenth diary! This seemingly unusual diary, numbered 14, was recorded from the first month of the twenty-fourth year of the Republic of China, and the content ended in March of the twenty-fifth year of the Republic of China; while the previous diary numbered thirteen, the content ended in In June of the 20th year of the Republic of China.In other words, there is a difference of three and a half years between the two diaries. There is obviously a problem with this, and Gao Yang, Zeng Lao’s character, also understands: the old man is extremely rigorous in his work, and in his later diaries, he even filled in the part of the cowshed in the 1960s after the fact. The three and a half years from January 1931 to January 1935 were blank, completely blank. Gao Yang immediately thought: In the diary of Mr. Zeng's entire life, what happened in the three and a half years that were completely blank?Is the mysterious "box" that Zeng Lao wrote repeatedly on the hospital bed with his fingers on his deathbed related to this mysterious three-and-a-half-year blank? Gao Yang and Xiao Wei discussed repeatedly, unable to understand it.However, both of them already felt that this matter might be far more complicated than they originally thought.The whole thing is probably related to Zeng Lao’s legendary experience in his early years. Just imagine the era from 1931 to 1934, which was the most chaotic time in Northeast China after the September 18th Incident.如此看来，曾老在日记中隐藏的这件事情，也就是很可能与那个“盒子”直接关系的事情，恐怕是小不了！ 胡思乱想了数日，并未取得什么进展。第二个周一赵颖来电话，通知萧伟曾老留下的所有遗物已清点整理完毕运走。萧伟问她有没有发现那个盒子，赵颖说没有。萧伟十分失望，又与高阳商量了几日，也没再想出什么其他办法。 老宅既已腾空，萧伟考虑自己也住不了那么大的房子，琢磨着把房子租出去。老宅的位置不错，在东四牌楼。几天之后租户找到了，是高阳一个朋友，开影楼的，价码谈得很理想，不过对方有条件，希望把老宅重新装修，改成一个摄影棚，萧伟没意见。 半年的房租马上付了，萧伟拿着这笔钱在小西天另租了一套一居室，搬家那天，潘家园的朋友来电话，让他第二天去拿钱。萧伟从老宅顺出的两件东西卖了，价钱远比想象的要多，他发了笔不小的财。 萧伟兴高采烈，搬家后请高阳搓饭。酒过三巡，两人再次聊起“盒子”的事情。分析了一通，高阳告诉萧伟，现在看来事情似乎有些复杂，不过这些天他仔细考虑过，整件事情的最关键点应该还是那只神秘的“盒子”，只要找到这只“盒子”，所有的问题就应该迎刃而解，包括曾老那部分神秘失踪的日记。 萧伟问高阳有什么办法，高阳告诉他，那只“盒子”最大的可能还是在老宅里，只是当时时间太紧，两人搜索得也不够细致。不过现在正好有一个机会，老宅要装修成影楼，可以借着这个机会再好好寻找一下。 除此以外，如果能先找到那些被撕去的日记，也会有很大的帮助，日记中可能会讲到盒子的下落。这件事情除了继续到老宅翻找以外，赵颖也可以帮忙，因为被撕去的日记，有可能藏在曾老留下的物品中。 萧伟是个急脾气，听了高阳的话在饭桌上马上给赵颖拨了个电话。赵颖很肯定地告诉他，曾老的所有遗物都已仔细分类清理好，并没有那些被撕去的日记。 看来，一切的线索应该还在那栋老宅里。第二天正是老宅装修的第一天，萧伟起了个大早儿，自告奋勇跑去做起监工。日子一天天过去，老宅拆得面目全非，别说那只盒子，连废纸都没再多发现一张。一个多月后，老宅改装为摄影棚的工作结束，一无所获，萧伟失望之极。 “盒子”的事情似乎就这么悬住了，再也没有任何进展，两人最初的新鲜劲儿慢慢冷了下来。 萧伟的生活又逐渐恢复了婚前的样子，离婚以后再没有人管，每天除了胡吃海塞，就是赌钱泡妞，周旋于各种不同的女孩儿之间，乐此不疲。 元旦过后，他迷上了一款新的网络游戏——魔兽，于是整日泡在网吧。反正祖父留下的东西看来够造两年的，也不着急挣钱。春节前这段时间高阳也忙起来，两人没再见面。 至于赵颖，自从那次电话询问被撕毁日记的下落，就再也没听到任何她的消息。就像众多离婚夫妻一样，昨日的恩恩爱爱，变成了如今老死不相往来。萧伟偶尔午夜梦回想起赵颖，也会产生某种想法，自己那件事情是不是做得有点过了，不过毕竟离婚后日子过得更爽，一觉醒来，仅有的一点点负疚感也随之烟消云散。 〖注①：《声律启蒙》是清朝康熙年间车万育所编著，主要讲授诗赋声韵格律以及对仗方面的知识。高阳所背诵的“一东”，包括三首诗，讲述以“ong”为韵的押韵方法，内容如下： 云对雨，雪对风，晚照对晴空。来鸿对去燕，宿鸟对鸣虫。The three-foot sword, the six-jun bow, Lingbei faces Jiangdong.人间清暑殿，天上广寒宫。两岸晓烟杨柳绿，一园春雨杏花红。两鬓风霜，途次早行之客；一蓑烟雨，溪边晚钓之翁。 沿对革，异对同，白叟对黄童。江风对海雾，牧子对渔翁。颜巷陋，阮途穷，冀北对辽东。池中濯足水，门外打头风。梁帝讲经同泰寺，汉皇置酒未央宫。尘虑萦心，懒抚七弦绿绮，霜华满鬓，羞看百炼青铜。 贫对富，塞对通，野叟对溪童。鬓皤对眉绿，齿皓对唇红。天浩浩，日融融，佩剑对弯弓。半溪流水绿，千树落花红。野渡燕穿杨柳雨，芳池鱼戏芰荷风。女子眉纤，额下现一弯新月；男儿气壮，胸中吐万丈长虹。 〗