After Qi Yihan settled the matters in the company, the two of them went to Jiangnan with Butler Yang.
Butler Yang’s hometown still had many buildings from the last century, such as alleys, flowers, and ancient bridges.
It was the rainy season in Jiangnan. Qi Yihan held an umbrella with one hand and held Tang Li’s shoulder with the other. The two of them walked on the bridge and looked at the boats passing by in the river. In the eyes of others, the two of them looked like a painting.
“I didn’t expect Butler Yang’s hometown to be so beautiful.” Tang Li craned her neck to look at the boat under the bridge, but Qi Yihan pulled her back.
“Don’t stick your head out. Your hair will get wet later.”
Tang Li tilted her head and smiled at him. “I want to take a boat.”
Qi Yihan looked around and found a place to take the boat and brought her there.
There were not many people walking around on a rainy day. Occasionally, one or two people would pass by in a hurry.
There were even fewer people at the tourist dock. The two of them bought two tickets at the tourist center beside the dock and boarded the ship.
The two of them stood on the boat with an umbrella and looked at the scenery around them, feeling the peace and quiet of the water village in Jiangnan.
At noon, Butler Yang called and the two of them walked back.
Butler Yang had many relatives here, and he also had a house of his own. His house had always been taken care of by his uncle’s family.
The two of them walked into the courtyard. Butler Yang was washing his hands with the water press. When he saw them enter, he said, “It’s almost lunchtime.”
Tang Li asked, “Have you finished visiting your relatives?”
After the three of them arrived, Butler Yang went to inform his relatives. It was not appropriate for Tang Li and Qi Yihan to go with him, so the two of them looked around.
“Yes, I did.” Butler Yang poured away the water and filled up the basin again.
The two of them walked over and washed their hands before walking into the living room.
Butler Yang asked as he walked, “It just so happens that my Third Uncle’s birthday is the day after tomorrow. I’m going over to help tonight. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”
Tang Li and Qi Yihan looked at each other. Qi Yihan asked, “Is it ok for us to go?”
“Yes,” Butler Yang said. “My Third Uncle used to treat me very well. When my sister and I were young, he liked us the most. He knows a lot about what happened to my sister back then.”
“Then let’s go and talk to him,” Tang Li said. “Maybe he will have some clues about your lost sister. As long as we find some clues about your sister, we can find her exact location.”
Butler Yang nodded. He thought so too.
At night, Tang Li and Qi Yihan followed Butler Yang to his uncle’s house.
The people on this street all had the surname Yang. There was also a Yang family ancestral hall on the street.
The elders’ birthday banquet here usually lasted for three days. Before the birthday banquet officially started, relatives would come over to help.
The moment they arrived, they were treated like VIPs because everyone knew who Qi Yihan was.
The three of them sat in front of Third Uncle and talked.
Butler Yang’s third uncle was already 90 years old, but he looked pretty healthy. When he saw Butler Yang, he held his hand and asked questions. His eyes were filled with tears as he kept saying that Butler Yang was an unfortunate child and wanted him to get married.
Butler Yang chatted with him for a while before turning the topic to his sister.
Third Uncle sighed and said, “If Yingying didn’t get lost back then, she would be a grown girl now. Junhui (Butler Yang’s name is Yang Junhui) wouldn’t have to leave his hometown to look for her.”
Butler Yang sighed as well, his tone filled with self-blame. “It’s a pity that I still can’t find Yingying despite having tried all I can. I’m not a good brother.”
“It’s not your fault.” Third Uncle frowned and said, “You were still a child at that time. If you want to blame someone, blame the human traffickers.”
Tang Li looked at Third Uncle and asked, “Was Brother Yang’s sister taken away by human traffickers? I thought she got lost.”
“She must have been taken away by a human trafficker.” Third Uncle said firmly. “There were many human traffickers in that time.”
Tang Li nodded. “That’s possible.”
Then, she asked, “I’ve heard Brother Yang mention his sister before. Third Uncle, can you tell me how Brother Yang’s sister disappeared?”
When Tang Li brought this up, he recalled and told her,
“At that time, Junhui’s parents went to town to buy something, so they brought Junhui and Yingying with them. That day was the town fair, and there were many people attending the fair. At that time, Junhui’s parents were trying on clothes for Junhui, but in the blink of an eye, Yingying disappeared. We mobilized everyone in the village, but we still couldn’t find her.”
After saying this, he said to Butler Yang, “It’s really not your fault.”
Butler Yang shook his head. “If I didn’t want that dress, my sister wouldn’t have gone missing.”
“You were only six or seven years old at that time. What did you know?”
Even if Third Uncle said so, Butler Yang still blamed himself. “After that, Dad and Mom got into an accident while looking for Sister. If I didn’t want that dress at that time, Sister wouldn’t have gone missing and Dad and Mom wouldn’t have gotten into an accident.”
Third Uncle shook his head and sighed again.
Tang Li looked at the two of them and asked, “Third Uncle, I heard from Brother Yang that the house he used to live in suddenly caught fire, and everything related to his sister was gone, right?”
“That’s right.”
Tang Li nodded and asked, “Brother Yang said that you liked him and his sister the most. Do you still have Yingying’s stuff?”
“No.” Third Uncle shook his head. “At that time, Junhui’s mother was deranged because of losing her daughter. Whenever she saw anything related to Yingying, she would go crazy, so we got rid of everything related to Yingying.”
“I see.” Tang Li asked a few more questions before stopping.
Soon, the other men came over to talk to Butler Yang and Qi Yihan.
After leaving Third Uncle’s house, the three of them were on the way back to Butler Yang’s house. Tang Li suddenly said to Butler Yang, “Your Third Uncle’s lifespan is about to end.”
Butler Yang was shocked and asked, “How is that possible? He still looks so healthy.”
However, after saying this, he covered his eyes with his hands and his voice was choked with emotions. “How long does Third Uncle have?”
“Till the day after tomorrow,” Tang Li said. “It’s not easy for an old man to live to 90 years old and still be so healthy. If you want him to leave happily, you can keep it a secret.”
Butler Yang suppressed the pain in his heart and nodded.
Tang Li added, “Let’s go to your previous house tomorrow morning.”
