The antique shop owner invited Jin San, and so did the old man from the pawnshop. Jin San decided to bring them together.

  The gentle sunlight could not hold back the gloom of dark clouds, and in an instant, the sky broke into rain.

  Jin San sat in Boss Mo's restaurant, enjoying the finest meal he′d had in a long time. He never imagined that the waiter′s cooking skills could be this exceptional. Staying hidden away in Chánchú Town was a waste of such talent. Jin San used the most extravagant words to praise the waiter′s culinary skills, but unfortunately, the waiter′s face remained cold, as if he didn′t understand a single word Jin San was saying. Left with no choice, Jin San shut his loud mouth.

  "Did you call me here because I forgot to pay the silver?" Jin San had no choice but to shift the topic to the two people in front of him while casually pcing a drumstick into his bowl.

  "No, no, of course not. Forget about the silver," the antique shop owner quickly waved his hand, speaking hastily.

  "Yes, we′re not here to ask for silver," the old man from the pawnshop immediately chimed in, also waving his hand.

  "Then why are you..." Jin San looked at the two in confusion.

  "We're just curious—how did you come to know about these two items?" The old man leaned closer to Jin San, pressing him with the question.

  "Well..." Jin San cast a wary gnce at the two of them and said, "It was a coincidence." He then lowered his head and continued eating the food in front of him.

  The old man and the shopkeeper exchanged gnces. This time, it was the shopkeeper′s turn to speak. With a face full of smiles, he said, "Look, you took our things, and we haven′t asked you for any silver. We′re just curious, that′s all. Why don′t you satisfy our curiosity? We promise not to tell anyone else."

  "Promise, absolutely promise," the old man quickly added.

  Jin San cast a sidelong gnce at the two of them and said, "I don′t want to talk about it."

  The two exchanged gnces again.

  "Alright, Bao Mu, we won′t push you. We were just curious. Come on, let′s have a drink and not talk about anything else." The shopkeeper poured a gss of wine for each of them, then picked up his own and downed it in one go.

  "Good, that′s bold!" Jin San gave a thumbs-up and downed his drink in one go.

  One gss after another went down, but the dishes on the table remained untouched.

  Jin San′s face grew redder and redder, yet he kept drinking the wine in front of him. Excitement overtook him, and soon he started rambling incoherently.

  "You know me, Jin San... I′ve always been... always lose when I gamble... but I still gamble... gambling, it′s really... really something."

  "Are you Jin San or Bao Mu?" The old man squinted and asked.

  "Jin San... Bao Mu... who am I? Who is me? I don′t know... I only remember my mother. Haha, I only remember my mother." Jin San waved his hands wildly, gesturing in random directions. No one could understand what he was gesturing, and no one seemed to care.

  "You seem to remember your mother clearly," said the shopkeeper.

  "She′s my mother... my mother... she was so good to me." Jin San accidentally knocked a pte to the ground, spilling its contents everywhere. At some point, the waiter had silently appeared by Jin San′s side and quickly bent down to clean up the mess without a word.

  "If your mother was so good to you, then surely you remember the things she used to say?" The shopkeeper′s voice dropped low but was just loud enough for Jin San to hear.

  "I remember... I remember my mother saying her favorite thing was eating noodles, and I love them too... I also remember her saying her favorite flower was... peonies." Jin San tilted his head back, shouting up at the ceiling beams.

  "Alright, alright. Do you remember your mother ever saying anything about a drum or drumsticks?" The old man pressed down Jin San′s wildly waving hands as he asked.

  "A drum... drumsticks... I don’t remember... but I remember..."

  "Do you remember or not?" the old man asked impatiently, raising his voice.

  The shopkeeper shot him a look, silently signaling him to calm down, then spoke gently. "If you truly love your mother, you should remember everything she told you when you were a child. If you can′t remember, then you never really loved her."

  "Who says I don′t love my mother?!" Jin San suddenly stood up, pcing one leg on the stool and swaying as he shouted, "I love my mother the most! She was the best to me, so I remember everything she ever said!"

  "Then why don′t you tell us—what did your mother say about drums? How did you know we had these two things?" the shopkeeper pressed on.

  "I didn′t remember at first... but somehow... suddenly, I remembered..." Jin San replied.

  "Then tell us," the old man said, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

  "I remember when I was little, my mother said, 'The drum... the drum and the drumsticks each have a purpose.' I also remember she said there was a box I should go ask the antique shopkeeper for and a rattle drum I should go ask the pawnshop for." Jin San burst into ughter as he spoke. "I thought... I thought she was lying to me, but when I went to ask, they actually... actually gave them to me!"

  The old man and the shopkeeper stood up simultaneously and asked, "Did your mother tell you the purpose of the drum and the drumsticks?"

  "She did..." Jin San continued ughing foolishly, grabbing the wine jug on the table and tilting it back for another drink.

  The old man snatched the jug from his hands and said, "Jin San, stop drinking for now. Tell us the rest."

  "My mother said I can′t tell!" Jin San suddenly became angry and reached out to grab the wine jug from the old man′s hand.

  "It′s fine; we won′t tell anyone. If you tell us, we′ll give you more wine," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

  "If my mother said not to tell, then I won′t tell!" Jin San, looking like a stubborn child, angrily plopped down onto the stool. "She said... once I find that strange house... I′ll find what I′m looking for..." Jin San finally passed out from drinking, colpsing heavily onto the floor.

  Everyone gathered around him. No one spoke; they just stared silently at Jin San, who was now snoring loudly.

  "Take him to that house."