Chapter 1879 - 338:

In the middle of the storefronts lining the street, there was an alley that led inward, and inside were a lot of small hotels.

Once you walked in, you could see both walls crowded with hotel signs, jostling and overlapping each other.

Every short distance there was a narrow little staircase leading up to the second floor, which was where you actually checked in. On the ground level there were small massage rooms, each papered in pink and hung with colored lights.

It was still early, dawn not fully broken, the massage rooms hadn't opened yet, and their rolling shutters were pulled down, blocking the glass doors inside.

But one of the shops caught Li Zhiyuan's attention.

A display window only half a meter wide showed several hanging garments inside, with four characters pasted above them: one pair reading "Yao's," the other "Tailor."

This was presumably the shopfront, but it had no door, only a small window locked from the inside.

And it looked like a little section carved out of the already tiny neighboring storefront, "Sister Hong's Massage."

A grown man couldn't walk straight inside; he'd have to turn sideways and inch through.

What drew Li Zhiyuan in were those few garments hanging inside.

Watching Alii wear different outfits every day had made the teenager half a connoisseur in this area; he noticed that the workmanship and materials of these clothes were very similar to what Alii usually wore.

The clothes Grandma Liu gave Alii were all designed by her and then sent out to old established shops to be made, each one costing a pretty penny.

If this was also an old established shop, then it was a bit too deeply hidden right in the middle of the city.

Next to the tailor shop was a little staircase leading up, and Li Zhiyuan pointed with his hand:

"Let's stay here."

The hotel sign read "Yao Family Hotel."

Up on the second floor, behind a shabby counter, a bare-chested man in just a pair of shorts, looking about fifty, was sleeping.

His "bed" was a few square stools pushed together, with a small window opened above his head. He snored loudly; you could hear him as soon as you came up the stairs.

"Boss, boss."

Tan Wenbin called the boss awake.

The boss rubbed his eyes, yawned, then immediately shifted into work mode, squeezing out a smile: "Room?"

Tan Wenbin: "What else would we be doing if not getting a room?"

Boss: "Wanna do something? I can arrange."

Tan Wenbin: "Rooms. Got any standard doubles?"

Boss: "Max two people per room. With bathroom, without bathroom, with window, without window—different prices."

Tan Wenbin: "Two rooms, with windows and bathrooms, side by side. Got those?"

Boss: "Got. But it's too early, if you check in now…"

Tan Wenbin: "Charge us for two days."

Boss: "Alright."

After a quick registration, the boss led the four of them to their rooms.

On the way down the corridor, they saw an old woman leaning on a cane.

"Ma, you're up?"

"Mm, I'm up."

"Wait a bit, I'll take the guests to their rooms first, then go buy you breakfast."

"You go ahead and work."

The old woman was plainly dressed but very neatly put together, white hair coiled up with a wooden hairpin stuck through it.

Alii had worn that hairpin before.

Now Li Zhiyuan could be sure that this old woman must be the Master of Yao's Tailor Shop downstairs, and that she had some connection to the Liu family.

Alii's clothes and accessories weren't just many; they were regularly replaced. So this hairpin was likely something Grandma Liu had rewarded someone with.

This was a hairpin her own granddaughter had used. For Grandma Liu to give it away meant this old woman and Grandma Liu were very close.

The old woman seemed to sense something. She stopped, turned, and looked at the boy.

Her gaze was like a measuring tape.

Li Zhiyuan felt as if he were being sized up.

A faint puzzlement showed in the old woman's eyes.

Li Zhiyuan understood that puzzlement. Very likely, among the clothes Grandma Liu had given him, there were pieces this old woman had sewn with her own hands. From his build, she was seeing something familiar.

But he was a growing teenager, changing quite a bit, and his clothes were only changed seasonally, not as frequently as Alii's. The old woman probably just felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn't be sure.

She shook her head, stopped looking, turned back around, and continued on.

Boss: "These two rooms here. Decent enough, right?"

The rooms weren't big, the walls were a bit dark, the floor tiles somewhat cracked, but they'd been cleaned well.

Tan Wenbin: "They'll do. Let's book five days first. No need for anyone to come in and clean."

Boss: "Got it, I'll remember."

Li Zhiyuan walked to the window; it happened to overlook the outer street corner, with a wide-open view.

Tan Wenbin: "Brother Xiao Yuan, what do we do next?"

Panzi and the others' Langhua had connected to Chen Xiyuan, so that thread was considered picked up.

As for the Sun Caijuan Langhua from Lin Shuyou's side, there was still no clue, and they didn't even know if it was real.

The main Langhua, the one with Zhao Yi, hadn't reached out to him yet.

Li Zhiyuan: "We just ate; let everyone rest for a bit. Even if we don't go looking for trouble, trouble should be coming to us soon enough."

Tan Wenbin: "Okay, I'll go tell them right now."

Once he'd passed on the message, Tan Wenbin flopped onto the spring bed and stretched out comfortably.

In every previous surge of the Langhua, under Brother Xiao Yuan's lead everyone raced the clock to seize the initiative. This time really did feel leisurely.

As the sun rose, things downstairs slowly grew lively.

The massage rooms usually only opened in the afternoon, with the golden hours running from after dinner into late night, but most people were up by this time.

He couldn't see it, but Li Zhiyuan could hear the sounds from Yao's Tailor Shop below.

Many women brought in their clothes for the old woman to mend.

The old woman had very skillful hands; her needle ran fast and steady, and garments and trousers were patched in no time. She would chat with these women of all ages in a gentle, affectionate voice, now and then letting out a hearty laugh.