After briefly glancing at the contents of the rice paper in the photo, Han Fei was utterly stunned.
Although he had prepared himself in advance, knowing that Xu Mo wouldn’t lie about having the last forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the sight of Cao Xueqin’s original manuscript still left him in awe.
At that moment, Han Fei felt his mind go blank with a loud *“buzz”*. He could only think one thing: *This is really the lost forty chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber!*
Although Han Fei wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about antiques, he could tell that the rice paper in the photos Xu Mo had sent him was definitely old.
As for the content, it was even easier to recognize.
Han Fei had a father-in-law who was deeply passionate about *Redology* (the study of *Dream of the Red Chamber*). Back when he was trying to win over his father-in-law, Han Fei had read *Dream of the Red Chamber* over a dozen times, flipping through it repeatedly.
His understanding of the novel was far deeper than that of the average person.
The content of the last forty chapters in Xu Mo’s possession seamlessly connected with the first eighty chapters, with no sense of discontinuity whatsoever.
This was the real deal!
“Han Fei… hey, Han Fei…” On the other end of the phone, Xu Mo called out a few times but received no response from Han Fei.
“Is the signal bad?”
Unable to get a reply, Xu Mo simply hung up.
Meanwhile, Han Fei, after confirming that the photos Xu Mo had sent him were indeed the lost forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, stood frozen in place for a long time.
Once he regained his composure, Han Fei quickly stepped away from the crowd and forwarded the files Xu Mo had sent him to his father-in-law.
Since it was almost time to get off work and there wasn’t much going on at the police station, Han Fei decided not to return. Instead, he drove straight home.
At 9:15 PM, Wang Dachuan picked up his phone and opened the lottery results website, checking the numbers on time.
The winning numbers for this round of the Double Color Ball lottery were: 01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 02, and 08.
The first six red ball numbers matched the ones on Wang Dachuan’s lottery ticket, with only the last blue ball number differing.
His ticket showed: 01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 02, and 04—a second-place prize.
The prizes for the first and second places in the Double Color Ball lottery were variable, depending on the prize pool, while the prizes for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth places remained fixed.
This round’s second-place prize was higher than the previous one, with a single ticket worth 250,000 yuan.
Wang Dachuan had spent two yuan on this ticket, and now he had won 250,000 yuan. After taxes, he would have 200,000 yuan left—enough to buy a car.
After rubbing his eyes several times to confirm that he had indeed won, Wang Dachuan jumped up in excitement.
“I knew this set of numbers would win! I just knew it… This was the set Captain Xu thought would win, after all.”
He recalled what Xu Mo had said to him that morning: *“This set of numbers looks good. I think it’ll at least win second place.”*
And sure enough, it was second place… Wang Dachuan carefully and excitedly tucked away the winning ticket. “Captain Xu is a legend!!!”
He never expected that Captain Xu wasn’t just skilled in computer technology, interrogation, and marksmanship—he also had a knack for the lottery.
A true all-rounder!
At the same time, in different locations, several police officers exclaimed in unison upon seeing the lottery results:
“Holy crap?!”
“This actually worked?!”
They were all too familiar with this set of winning numbers.
The first six numbers matched exactly what Wang Dachuan had on his ticket, with only the last number being different.
Second place, 250,000 yuan per ticket…
The officers couldn’t help but recall a scene from that morning.
Xu Mo had glanced at Wang Dachuan’s lottery ticket and casually remarked, *“This set of numbers looks good. I think it’ll at least win second place.”* After saying that, he patted Wang Dachuan on the shoulder and walked away.
At the time, the officers had assumed Xu Mo was just humoring Wang Dachuan, not wanting to dampen his spirits.
But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Xu Mo hadn’t been brushing him off—he had genuinely recognized that Wang Dachuan’s ticket was a winner. When he patted Wang Dachuan’s shoulder, it might have been a subtle hint: *“Kid, you’re about to win! Start thinking about how to spend the money!”*
Meanwhile, at Han Fei’s father-in-law’s house…
An elderly man with gray hair and glasses was hunched over his desk, writing something.
He kept revising his work but was never satisfied, eventually tearing up the paper and starting over.
This man was Han Fei’s father-in-law.
Believing that he would never live to see the lost forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, he had decided to take matters into his own hands and write his own version, one that he believed would be the best.
Just as he was writing, there was a sudden, urgent knock on the study door.
“Dad! It’s me!” It was Han Fei.
“What is it?” the old man asked, annoyed. His train of thought had been interrupted, and he irritably set down his pen, got up, and opened the door, wearing a displeased expression.
Han Fei looked at him excitedly. “Dad, did you see the file I sent you?”
“What file? No, I didn’t! It’s not a holiday or anything—what are you doing here? You never visit unless you have to. What’s gotten into you?”
The old man wasn’t particularly fond of Han Fei.
Mainly because Han Fei had been quite the smooth talker before marrying his daughter, often visiting to discuss *Dream of the Red Chamber* with him. This had made the old man very fond of his son-in-law, seeing him in a positive light.
But after marrying his daughter, Han Fei seemed to change. He stopped coming over to discuss the novel, focusing entirely on his work and becoming so busy that he was hardly ever seen, only showing up during holidays.
This had left the old man with a deep sense of resentment toward Han Fei, and over time, he had grown less fond of his son-in-law.
Han Fei, still smiling, said mysteriously,
“Dad, come on, you know I’d visit more if I weren’t so busy with work… Anyway, forget all that. I sent you a file on WeChat. Open it—you’re going to love it!”
“What’s with the secrecy…” the old man muttered as he pulled out his phone and adjusted his glasses. “Let’s see what you’ve sent me.”
He opened WeChat, clicked to receive the file Han Fei had sent, and started reading.
After just a glance, he froze, his brow furrowing slightly as he continued reading.
The more he read, the more engrossed he became, completely forgetting that Han Fei was still standing beside him.
Only after finishing the eighty-first chapter did he finally look up at Han Fei again.
“This… this is…” The old man grabbed Han Fei’s arm, his hands trembling with excitement.
Han Fei nodded. “Cao Xueqin’s original manuscript—the lost forty chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber*!”
“Dad, what do you think? Do you like it? A colleague of mine sent it to me. He has the original…”
Before Han Fei could finish, the old man exclaimed eagerly, “Can I see the original?”