After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1019: The Lost Hairpin
The color of the sea reef changed immediately.

He was too busy to be happy. Because of the Qiao family's old property, he had been talking to his younger sister for a long time, which delayed him a lot of time. He was afraid that the Hai family had already met with the Zhuang family and would come to the rented house at any time. If he continued to dawdle and didn't go out, he might arrive after the Zhuang family. If Zhuang Minyi's grandfather and father saw it, they might misunderstand that he was not serious about marriage!

Haijiao hurriedly dropped his things and ran away, without even having time to change his clothes. Haitang smiled as she saw him out, and sent someone to follow him, in case he needed someone to run errands or buy things and there was no one to help.

She went to his room with the things that Haijiao had left behind, sat down and took a closer look, and found that what he brought back was a box with a lock but not locked and a list of items.

The list was naturally filled with the old things of the Qiao family's eldest son's family that had been returned. There were no gold, silver, or farmland, but there were some not-so-valuable bottles and jars, daily necessities, and books and paintings. The largest collection was books, with 24 large wooden boxes three feet square, and no one knew what they were. As for the paintings and calligraphy, most of them were works by scholars of the dynasty, and some were not even signed, with only vague marks such as "Spring Mountain Picture", "Autumn Scenery Picture", "Red Plum in the Snow", etc. Even if there were any famous ancient paintings, they would have been replaced by worthless mediocre works. Haitang didn't expect to find any leaks. There were a few paintings in the paintings and calligraphy that were marked as works by her grandparents and great-grandfather, which was the biggest gain for her and her brother and sister.

As for daily necessities, most of them were half-used and simple and homely. Perhaps for this reason, the things did not catch the eye of the people who seized the Qiao family's old property, and they were never sold or distributed to people for use, and are still well preserved. Haitang had never thought of reusing these things, but when she thought that there might be items that her late mother had used in the past, she secretly felt a little excited.

After looking at the list, Haitang took the box that had a lock but was not locked.

The box looks like an old item. The wood is very hard and smooth, with some simple and elegant carvings on it. However, it has not been cleaned for a long time, so the stains cover its gorgeous appearance, making it look very inconspicuous. The box and the lock are a set, but it is a pity that the lock is missing, otherwise the exquisite craftsmanship of the lock alone would make it an extraordinary product. If you use your fingers to carefully touch the bottom of the box, you can also feel a seal character "Qiao". Obviously, this box belongs to the Qiao family. It was confiscated by the government that year, and now it has been returned.

Opening the lid of the box, there were about ten pieces of jewelry inside, all made of silver or copper-gilded silver. Some of them were once inlaid with jade or jewels, but the pearls and jade were pried off, leaving only empty slots. The jewelry was not very valuable, and the style was also old, which might be the reason why they have been preserved until now. Haitang could also find that some of them were popular styles when she traveled through time last time, which was at least fifty or sixty years ago, probably left by her grandmother or even great-grandmother.

Haitang picked up one of the silver hairpins. The hairpin head was delicately crafted into a triple ginkgo leaf. The small pearls inlaid on it had become dull, but the hairpin body still had some weight.

Haitang picked up this hairpin because it looked familiar. If she remembered correctly, there seemed to be such a hairpin among the relics left by her mother Qiao. The style was very similar, but not as exquisitely made as this one. In addition to its smooth appearance, it also exuded a sense of simplicity.

If you put it that way...

Haitang closed the box again, took the triple ginkgo hairpin with her, left her brother's room, and went to her own yard. When she got back to the yard, she sent Xiangcao away, went back to her room, closed the door, and began to rummage through the boxes.

The clothes, jewelry and daily necessities used by my mother Qiao were originally collected by my grandmother Ma, and were given to a pair of grandchildren a few years ago for them to keep as a memory. When Haijiao left Chang'an to go to Beijing to participate in the military examination, he gave his copy to his younger sister for safekeeping. After Haitang arrived in Beijing, she encountered a national mourning within two days, and then she had many things to do and had no time to return the things to her brother, so now both copies of the relics are with her.

Haitang found a box deep in the wardrobe. Except for the different materials, poor carving and slightly different patterns, it looked very similar to the box Haijiao brought back. Maybe it was made by a local craftsman in Chang'an based on that box? Haitang unlocked the box and soon found a triple ginkgo hairpin. The pattern was a little dull and the workmanship was much rougher, but when the two hairpins were compared, they were obviously similar.

The original hairpin of the Qiao family has a small "Qiao" character engraved on the inconspicuous part below the hairpin head, which is obviously passed down from the Qiao family's ancestors. The hairpin that Qiao often wears in the northwest has the character "Hai" engraved on the bottom of the hairpin head, which is probably specially customized by his father Hai Dingcheng based on the old items described by his wife...

Haitang had some vague memories of her childhood, although they were blurry, she still had some impressions. She stretched out her hand to pry aside the second layer of ginkgo leaves on the replica ginkgo hairpin left by her late mother, and as expected, it came off, revealing a small layer inside. The layer contained two strands of thin hair, and Haitang knew that they belonged to her parents. When Qiao was alive, she was always worried about her husband who was on duty on the top of the city wall, so she tied his hair together with her own hair, stuffed it into the ginkgo hairpin, and prayed silently in front of the Buddha every day. Whenever she thought of her husband, she would always pull out the second ginkgo leaf on the hairpin, looking at her hair and missing Haiding City.

I’m afraid even Ma doesn’t know about this. I wonder if Haijiao still remembers it?

Haitang stuffed her hair back into the interlayer and inserted the ginkgo leaf. Then she put the hairpin down and picked up the original hairpin. She tried to pull out the second ginkgo leaf and it also loosened.

However, perhaps because no one had touched it for a long time, the mechanism of the hairpin was a little out of order. Haitang took some effort to open the interlayer, and inside was a thin piece of paper folded into a small rectangular block. She carefully took out the paper, opened it and took a closer look. On it was written a birth date. After calculating in her mind, it should be her mother Qiao's birthday.

Haitang gently stroked the piece of paper with her late mother's birthday written on it, and couldn't help showing a nostalgic expression. She folded the paper again and put it back in the interlayer, intending to take it back to share with her brother Haijiao.

This hairpin should have been something my mother often wore on her head when she was a girl. It was also an old heirloom inherited from her elders. Even though she lost this old item later, her husband Hai Dingcheng specially customized a replica for her. She could still wear such a hairpin on her head to commemorate her deceased relatives.

Now, both hairpins are in Haitang's hands. She decided to share them with her brother, one for each. She would just take this replica. With her late mother's beloved hairpin, filled with her parents' hair, it's as if they are still in this world, accompanying their two children and blessing them with a happy and healthy life.