"How can I just let it go! That was the painting I loved most in my whole life!"
Father Xu ruffled his hair in a way he never did before. His hair was in a complete mess, looking like a bird's nest.
It was the first time Xu Qingqing had seen her father so heart - broken. After changing her shoes, she walked into the living room and asked in surprise, "Mom, Dad, what's going on? What happened?"
Seeing Xu Qingqing come in, Father Xu could no longer hold back his emotions and was extremely sad.
"Qingqing, Dad is sorry. I lost the painting you gave me."
"It's okay if it's lost. There are so many famous paintings in the world. I'll give you another one later."
Although Xu Qingqing didn't know which painting her father had lost, seeing how heart - broken he was, she comforted him without hesitation.
"Dad, don't be sad. You have to make way for new things."
"That's right," Mother Xu said, patting Father Xu on the shoulder to console him.
"But that painting was 'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo'! I'd been longing for it for most of my life. Qingqing finally managed to get it for me, and I hadn't even had enough of looking at it!"
As Father Xu said this, he buried his head in his hands again. His old face was turning red with distress.
So it was the painting 'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo' that was gone. No wonder Father Xu was so down.
"Mom, how did the painting 'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo' disappear?" Xu Qingqing reached out and touched Mother Xu.
Mother Xu sighed deeply. Looking at Father Xu, who was still immersed in his grief, she explained the whole thing with a troubled look on her face.
Xu Qingqing's uncle wanted to curry favor with a rich merchant in their area to do some business and make money.
But instead of working hard himself, he set his eyes on Xu Qingqing's family.
He thought that there were many rare treasures in Xu Qingqing's family, so he came to ask Father Xu for one or two.
Xu Qingqing's grandfather had left behind quite a few antiques, which were divided into two parts and given to Father Xu and his uncle. The uncle had never been interested in antiques, so he sold his share.
Father Xu didn't want to give any away, thinking that good things would just be wasted in their hands.
But considering that they were still relatives and he wanted to maintain family harmony, Father Xu reluctantly found a painting for his uncle.
However, the uncle was very picky and took a fancy to 'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo', which was locked in a glass cabinet by Father Xu. He insisted on getting this painting.
'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo' was the painting Father Xu had been waiting for half his life. How could he give it to his uncle? He directly kicked his uncle out of the house.
Unexpectedly, the uncle held a grudge. While Father and Mother Xu were out today, he hired a locksmith, broke into the house, and secretly took away 'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo'.
When Father Xu got home and saw the house in a complete mess and his favorite painting gone, he was instantly filled with rage.
After checking the surveillance footage from the security guard and confirming that it was his uncle who had taken the painting, Father Xu immediately called his uncle to get it back.
But the uncle was afraid that Father Xu would take it back, so he directly sent the painting and the glass frame to the rich man's house. It was already impossible to get it back.
Hearing this, Father Xu almost spat out blood in anger. That's how Xu Qingqing found them when she got home.
Hearing that her uncle had done such a ridiculous thing, Xu Qingqing was so angry that she slammed the table.
"Uncle is being too much. This is almost like burglary!"
"Mom, let's call the police! Otherwise, Uncle will be too arrogant!"
Xu Qingqing thought they should teach her uncle a lesson and at least get the painting back.
"Absolutely not call the police!" Father Xu immediately sat up straight when he heard the word "police" and waved his hand to refuse.
Xu Qingqing thought Father Xu was taking sides with his brother and was disappointed.
"Dad, you're being bullied like this and you're still protecting Uncle. You won't even let us call the police. Then why are you so upset?"
Father Xu quickly explained, "I'm not afraid of calling the police. It's just that your uncle said that if I call the police, he'll destroy the painting so that I won't get it either."
"I don't care if your uncle is locked up in prison for the rest of his life, but I feel so bad about 'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo'. It's such a wonderful painting!"
As he said this, Father Xu began to feel sad again.
Hearing that Father Xu was worried about the painting being damaged, Xu Qingqing felt relieved and started to think of a solution.
Father and Mother Xu were honest people. They had no idea how to deal with a rascal like the uncle.
If they wanted to get the painting back intact, they had to come up with a tricky plan!
Xu Qingqing's mind was racing. Soon, she came up with a brilliant idea. She coughed twice to draw Father and Mother Xu's attention to herself.
"Dad, Mom, I have an idea. If you trust me, let me handle it."
Hearing that Xu Qingqing had an idea, Father Xu immediately nodded eagerly. His face showed his urgency, "As long as we can get 'Bird Bells and Slender Bamboo' back, I'm willing to do anything."
"Okay." Xu Qingqing nodded and snapped her fingers. "Do we have any fakes at home?"
"Fakes?" Father Xu was a bit stunned by Xu Qingqing's words. He frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head firmly.
"We don't have any fakes. We can hardly find space for all the real ones."
"Okay." A row of black lines seemed to appear on Xu Qingqing's forehead. She should have expected this.
"Then I'll go to the antique market and look for one." Xu Qingqing turned to leave, but Father Xu quickly stopped her. His face was full of eagerness and hope.
"Qingqing, you must help Dad get the painting back!"
This was the first time Father Xu had pleaded with her in such a soft voice. Xu Qingqing was instantly filled with determination. She waved her fist at Father Xu seriously.
Whoever dared to bully her dad, she would teach them a lesson they'd never forget!
This might not be the right way to put it!
Forget it, never mind...
Xu Qingqing came to the antique market. She saw a small stall at the entrance of the market with a lot of antique - style scrolls on it.
Xu Qingqing stopped to take a closer look. The stall owner, seeing that Xu Qingqing was just a young girl, thought she had no good taste and tried to deceive her.
"Miss, all the paintings here are real. I bought them from a big family in the countryside!"
"I paid ten or twenty thousand yuan for each painting when I bought them. If you're really interested, I'll sell them to you at a lower price."
Hearing the stall owner's boasting, Xu Qingqing curled her lips in disdain and hit back without mercy, "Then you'd better go pick up trash instead. With your poor judgment, you're bound to go bankrupt."
The stall owner frowned when he heard Xu Qingqing's sharp words and shouted loudly, "If you don't want to buy, just leave. Why are you scolding me?"
"I'm just telling the truth!"
"I'm not lying either!" Xu Qingqing casually picked up a painting of two green parrots and pointed at the paper of the scroll in disgust.