Chapter 676

Wang Jianguo gently unfolded the sketch with its curled edges, the paper still warm from his fingertips. Zhao Shuzhuo reached out to take it. As his rough palms brushed the surface, he noticed the back was densely covered in annotations, the handwriting corrected so many times with an eraser that it had almost worn through the paper in places. He turned and walked toward the elderly people gathered under the Huaihua tree. Uncle Huang was using his cane to nudge some grass seeds on the ground, while Grandma Cheng sat with her embroidery hoop on her knees, her silver needle shimmering in the moonlight.