Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 494 Finale (Part )

One evening in mid-August 1912, Qu Shaoyang suddenly dreamed of two people wearing strange-looking armor.

In their dream, the two questioned Qu Shaoyang, asking why he had not taken the things in the cave away for so long.

They said they had been waiting here for too many years, and as long as those things were still there, they couldn't leave.

Qu Shaoyang was very puzzled and didn't know what it was.

He kept asking, but the two men refused to answer and just kept shaking their heads.

"Shaoyang, Shaoyang, what's wrong with you? Is this a nightmare? Wake up."

Chen Xiuyun, who was sleeping next to Qu Shaoyang, noticed the difference in the person next to her while half asleep and half awake, and quickly sat up.

After turning on the light, they found that Qu Shaoyang was sweating profusely and his mouth opened as if he was shouting, but nothing came out. It looked like he had a nightmare.

So Chen Xiuyun quickly pushed Qu Shaoyang to wake him up.

After being called several times, Qu Shaoyang finally heard it, gradually woke up from his sleep, and slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing his wife looking at him with concern, Qu Shaoyang raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh.

"I just had a dream." Qu Shaoyang told Chen Xiuyun about the scene in his dream.

"Two people? Wearing strange armor? A cave?" Chen Xiuyun was also very confused after hearing this. What does this have to do with anything?
"Eh? No, isn't this referring to the cave in Xiaodonggou, Linjiang?
Didn’t you say at the time that the two skeletons were quite strange?”

Qu Shaoyang had just woken up from a dream and felt a little numb.

When his wife reminded him of this, he suddenly remembered.

Yes, the strange-looking armor on the two people in the dream looks very similar to the two skeletons in the cave, doesn’t it?
Could it be that there is some secret in that cave?
"Wife, I plan to take the children back to Linjiang and explore the cave together."

At the beginning, Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan once said that when they have the chance in the future, they will bring more people to take a good look at the cave.

But later Qu Shaoyang was always busy, and the cave was very secretive, so Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan didn't want outsiders to know about it, so they never went to explore again.

So many years have passed, and Liu Dongshan is already a man in his seventies. He certainly can no longer go into the cave to explore with Qu Shaoyang.

Fortunately, the children of the Qu family have all grown up.

After the uprising last winter, Qu Shaoyang sent a telegram asking those studying in various countries to come back as early as possible and not to stay outside.

Liu Xinyuan and He Zelian had completed their studies long ago, but Zhao Yinglan and He Zewen had not yet graduated.

Therefore, the two of them found jobs locally and accompanied their children while working, planning to return home together after Zhao Yinglan and the others graduated.

A while ago, Zhao Yinglan, He Zewen, Zhenye, Zhenwen, Zhenquan and others completed their studies and returned to their hometown across the ocean.

When Zhao Yinglan came back, she was six months pregnant, and she completed the graduation ceremony with a bulging belly.

As soon as Xinyuan came back, he was assigned to the Jilin Ordnance Bureau, and He Zelian went to the Heilongjiang Ordnance Bureau, which was formerly the Machinery Bureau.

Zhensheng, Zhenyi and the others have only been abroad for three years, so it will take at least a year for them to come back. As for Zhenjie, Jialing and the others, it will take another two years.

Anyway, we have Zhenbang, Zhenye, Zhenwu, Zhenzong, Zhentang, and a few nephews, so there are more than enough manpower.

Since the two people in the dream insisted on going to find something, Qu Shaoyang planned to take the children back to take a look, perhaps they could get something.

"Well, if you're worried, go back and see if there's any. If you look for it, you'll give up."

Chen Xiuyun thought about it and nodded.

She didn't think there was anything she could find in the cave. She just wanted to go back and take a look to put her mind at ease.

"It's just right. I can go back to see my parents. You can talk to them and ask them to come to Fengtian City to retire."

Before the Chinese New Year last year, Qu Shaoyang sent people to Linjiang to bring his parents over, but Qu Laokouer and his wife refused to do so no matter what.

But, I think it will work this time.

Because it is winter this year, Qu Shaoyang plans to arrange a wedding for Zhenbang and Zhenye.

How can grandparents not be present when their eldest grandson gets married?
"Go to bed first, and tell the children when you get up tomorrow morning."

It was the middle of the night and she was extremely sleepy. Chen Xiuyun still had a lot of things to do during the day, so she lay down and continued to sleep.

How could Qu Shaoyang still feel sleepy at this time? He simply put on his clothes and walked around in the yard for a few laps, enjoying the cool breeze. Finally, he felt less heavy and uncomfortable in his heart.

At breakfast the next day, Qu Shaoyang directly told Zhenbang, Zhenye, Zhenwu, Zhentang, Zhenzong, Zhenwen, Zhenquan, Zhenqing and others to take a few days off and accompany him back to Linjiang.

"Dad, it's not a festival, why do you want to go back to Linjiang?"

Zhenbang put down the chopsticks in his hand and asked Qu Shaoyang with a puzzled look.

He was transferred here from Jilin City last winter and is now the director of the military supply and logistics support department, in charge of the ordnance bureaus and bedding factories in the three provinces of Fengtian, Jilin and Heilongjiang.

"I'm busy studying that explosive powder you mentioned. I'm just getting started and I'm afraid I can't get away."

"Yeah, Dad, I have a lot of things going on over there too.

Uncle Wang calls me all day long, like calling a donkey, with a lot of work to do." On the other end, Zhenye took the opportunity to complain.

Zhenye has been a money-grubber since he was young and is particularly sensitive to numbers and money.

He studied finance and business administration in the United States, and started a company with several classmates when he was a sophomore.

Through stock speculation, financial investment and other means, he earned millions of dollars in three years.

If Qu Shaoyang hadn't insisted on him coming back, Zhenye would have planned to expand the company after graduation.

As soon as Zhenye came back a while ago, Qu Shaoyang arranged for his son to be Wang Minyuan's deputy to manage the financial affairs.

Wang Minyuan is recognized by everyone as the God of Wealth, and Zhenye is also an expert at making money. With these two people helping Qu Shaoyang keep an eye on his purse, what is there to worry about?
"I'm fine, Dad, I'll accompany you wherever you go.

However, you are going back to Linjiang suddenly, do you need to tell Uncle Gao in advance? Otherwise, I am afraid you will scare him badly."

Zhenwu is now the regiment commander in the First Army. He lives in Beidaying most of the time, and comes back every few days to stay for one or two nights to accompany his parents.

The children in the family had studied abroad, and since it was the Republic of China, they became more particular and the way they were addressed at home was changed.

The children now call Qu Shaoyang "Dad", Chen Xiuyun "Mom", and Meng Lanxin and the others "Second Mom", "Third Mom", and "Fourth Mom".

"My words are still effective in this family. If I say I want to go back, I have to go back. As for why, it's none of your business.

After dinner, go and ask for leave quickly, arrange the tasks at hand, and we will set off at the latest the day after tomorrow.

If anyone doesn't come back with me, I'll beat you to death."

The older Qu Shaoyang got, the worse his temper became. When he glared at them, Zhenbang and the other three were immediately frightened and shrank their shoulders, and no one dared to say anything.

However, Zhenzong was very happy when he heard that they would be taken back to Linjiang.

This kid is still in middle school. He doesn't like studying and just wants to be naughty and mischievous. He doesn't want to go to school.

In this way, everyone quickly ate breakfast, then asked for leave and arranged the matters at hand.

Qu Shaoyang didn't need to ask for leave from anyone. He just needed to deal with the matters of the recent few days and then arrange a few people to handle his official duties temporarily.

In this way, everyone was ready. On August 16, they took a train from Fengtian to Tonghua, and then took a train from Tonghua to Linjiang.

Qu Shaoyang had important business to attend to when he returned to Linjiang this time, so he did not plan to make it public. In addition to his sons and nephews, he also brought Xingjia Xingye and some followers and guards.

They traveled light and quietly entered Linjiang without disturbing anyone on the road.

I haven't been back for many years, and now Linjiang City has become very prosperous.

The city is paved with bluestone slabs everywhere, with street lights installed on both sides of the street. The streets are lined with shops and crowded with people, making it very lively.

"I haven't been back for several years. This Linjiang City has almost changed to the point where I don't recognize it anymore."

After leaving the train station and looking at the scene in front of him, Qu Shaoyang couldn't help but sigh.

Although Qu Shaoyang was feeling emotional, he did not stay outside for long. There were so many of them, they would attract too much attention.

So everyone left quickly and headed straight for Qu Mansion in the north of the city.

Liu Dongshan and his wife have moved to Fengtian and live with Xinyuan and his wife. The Chen family has done the same, leaving all their houses to Qujiang.

Qu Jiang is in charge of all the Qu family's businesses, big and small, and can be said to be extremely rich.

In the past few years, he took in two concubines, who gave birth to several children for him. He could be considered to have a large family with a large wealth and a prosperous population.

The fence that was built originally is still there, and there are many gunners patrolling with guns in broad daylight.

There were quite a few elderly people here, who were from the mansion. When they saw Qu Shaoyang leading people approaching, they immediately started shouting.

"Oh my God, it's our master who has returned.

Hurry, report to the master and mistress, as well as the old master and mistress, and tell them that the master has returned with the young masters. "

The leading gunner shouted for someone to report inside while running down the wall and opening the door to greet them.

"Sir, I haven't seen you for many years. Everyone at home misses you. I'm Shunzi."

The gunner came closer, looked at Qu Shaoyang, and almost shed tears.

"I know, I know you are Shunzi. I haven't seen you for many years. How is your family?"

Qu Shaoyang naturally recognized the other person. He was one of the second batch of long-term workers in the family.

When he came to the Qu family, Shunzi was young, only fifteen or sixteen years old. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed, and Shunzi is almost forty years old.

"Well, it's all right. Thanks to you, all my kids are able to go to school.

The eldest graduated from high school and became a patrolman after passing the assessment. It's a serious job and he earns quite a bit of money every month."

When Shunzi saw Qu Shaoyang, he was so affectionate that he didn't know what to do. He wanted to tell Qu Shaoyang everything that had happened in his family over the years.

Several other elderly people from the family also came over and surrounded Qu Shaoyang, asking him about his well-being.

Qu Shaoyang could still call out everyone's names and chat with them with a smile.

"Old Four, hey, it's really you, they just said you were back, but I didn't believe it.

Why did you come back at this time? Is Fengtian not busy anymore? "

At this time, Qu Jiang and his wife hurried out and saw that it was indeed Qu Shaoyang who came back. Qu Jiang asked happily and puzzledly.

"Oh, I came here for something. It's a good opportunity to come back and see my parents and my brother and sister-in-law."

In front of so many people, Qu Shaoyang naturally couldn't say it clearly, so he just made an excuse.

At this time, Zhenbang and others came forward to greet the third uncle and the third uncle, and Zhenwen also came forward to talk to his parents. It was not a place to talk outside, so Qu Jiang hurriedly greeted everyone and walked into the enclosure.

Everyone entered the enclosure and headed straight for the courtyard where Liu Dongshan originally lived.

The Liu family lives in the east, and east is the best place. Now it is where Mr. Qu and his wife live.

The courtyard to the west that originally belonged to Qu Shaoyang is temporarily empty and no one lives there. It is reserved for Qu Shaoyang and his family.

As for Qu Jiang's family, they now live in the courtyard of Doctor Chen.

When I arrived at the main courtyard, as soon as I entered the door, I saw Qu Laokouer and his wife, tremblingly walking out of the house with the help of maids.

Mr. Qu is seventy-five years old this year, and Mrs. Chen is also over seventy.

It is said that it is rare for a person to live to be seventy. The two elders are already over seventy years old. Their hair has turned white, their teeth have fallen out, and their eyesight has become blurry. Fortunately, their legs and feet are still in good condition and they can move freely.

But the maids were worried and always had to support them whenever they went in and out, for fear that something might happen to the two elders.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back to see you." Qu Shaoyang led the children and quickly came forward to salute the two elders.

"Oh, it's really the fourth brother who's back. Come on, come in and talk."

Old Qu squinted his eyes and looked over carefully. It was indeed his fourth son, who came back with a group of grandchildren.

The old man was very happy and quickly invited the children into the house to sit down and talk.

Everyone went into the house and sat down. Old Qu couldn't help but ask his son why he came back at this time.

Qu Shaoyang only said that he came back to do some business and wanted to take his parents to Fengtian City.

At first, Qu Laokou was stubborn and didn't want to go. But when he heard that Zhenbang and Zhenye were going to get married at the same time in winter, Qu Laokou stopped being stubborn and agreed to go and live with them in Fengtian.

Qu Shaoyang originally wanted to keep a low profile when he came back this time, and leave after finishing his business, but with his status, it was impossible for him to keep a low profile.

Before the afternoon, the news that Qu Shaoyang had returned to Linjiang reached the ears of Gao Jiangcheng, the governor of Linchanghai Road.

When Gao Jiangcheng learned that Qu Shaoyang had returned to Linjiang, he immediately brought people to Qu's residence in the north of the city to pay him a visit.

"Sir, why did you come back suddenly? Is there anything urgent?" Gao Jiangcheng asked hurriedly after seeing Qu Shaoyang.

"It's nothing, Jiang Cheng, I just came back to see my parents and wanted to take them to Fengtian.

Aren't Zhenbang and Zhenye going to get married this winter? How can the grandson get married without the grandparents being present?"

Qu Shaoyang naturally couldn't say anything else and could only use this as an excuse.

After hearing what Qu Shaoyang said, Gao Jiangcheng was relieved. He thought something big had happened.

It was a rare opportunity for Gao Jiangcheng to meet Qu Shaoyang, so he took the opportunity to tell Qu Shaoyang about the recent situation in Linchanghai Road.

During this period, the Linjiang County Magistrate, some of Qu Shaoyang's old subordinates and old friends also learned the news and rushed to the scene.

In the evening, the Qu family set up a banquet to entertain the guests. Everyone drank and talked happily, reminiscing about the past and chatting. The atmosphere was very good.

Qu Shaoyang's return to Linjiang was big news. Soon officials from nearby prefectures and counties knew about it and came to pay their respects.

Qu Fu also returned to Linjiang with his wife, concubine and several children, and reunited with his family.

Therefore, Qu Shaoyang has never had the time to take the children to the cave.

Finally it was August 27th, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival.

Qu Shaoyang had people prepare a lot of things in advance. Early that morning, he led Qu Jiang, Qu Fu, Xingjia, Xingye, his sons and nephews, and headed straight to Xiaodonggou.

I haven't been to Xiaodonggou for many years.

Although many timber planting companies have emerged in Linjiang in recent years, no one is allowed to cut down trees in the forest near Xiaodonggou because of Qu Shaoyang's words.

So there are still towering ancient trees and dense forests here.

Qu Shaoyang led everyone into the hidden valley based on his memory.

Seeing this, Qu Jiang couldn't help but be amazed. He had been in Linjiang for so many years, but he didn't know that there was such a place hidden in Xiaodonggou.

Qu Shaoyang led his men to the grave mound. After not having been there for many years, the grave mound was now covered with wormwood.

"Everyone, start mowing the grass and clean up the surrounding area. Be careful, there are a lot of mallets around here, don't step on them."

Qu Shaoyang gave an order, and Zhenbang and others came forward with sickles and cleared all the weeds on and around the grave.

Everyone knows Qu Shaoyang's temper. He will definitely say what he wants to say, and there is no point in asking if he doesn't want to say it.

So no one asked any questions and everyone just worked quietly.

The cleaning was completed soon, and Qu Shaoyang took the initiative to put paper on the grave, and then arranged the incense, candles, paper, and various offerings, and then lit the gold ingots and yellow paper he brought.

Wisps of green smoke rose up, and Qu Shaoyang muttered a few words in a low voice.

"I have been busy with work and have not been able to come to pay my respects to you. Please forgive me.

I already know what you two dreamed about. Please bless me so that I can find the things this time."

After the tomb sweeping was completed, Qu Shaoyang led everyone to kneel down and kowtow, and then led everyone to the cave.

When they got closer to the cave, Qu Shaoyang pointed to the cave entrance on the high ground and told everyone what happened.

“At that time, I accidentally came across two skeletons from an unknown period in this cave, and later buried them in the place just now.

A few days ago, I dreamed of two people looking for me, saying that there was something in the cave, and they came here specifically to take a look.

Bring torches and food with you all. We don’t know how far we will go this time, so please be careful.”

It was not until this moment that everyone understood why Qu Shaoyang was going back to Linjiang regardless of the festival.

So, everyone followed Qu Shaoyang, climbed up the stone wall and entered the cave.

No one should have been in the cave. The dust on the ground and the moss on the stones were the same as they were in the beginning, with no signs of having been stepped on.

Holding torches, everyone followed Qu Shaoyang into the depths of the cave.

The terrain here is complex and there are many forks in the road, so everyone has to be careful.

Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan had explored the two forks in the road before, but found nothing.

Therefore, this time, Qu Shaoyang took the initiative to eliminate those two places and led his men to search other forks in the road.

The branches in the cave were deep and long, some were several miles long, and some were even more than ten miles long. The group wandered around for a whole morning and explored four or five branches, but found nothing.

But no one dared to say anything else. They just ate some dry food, drank some water from the puddle, took a breath, and continued searching in the afternoon.

In this way, we searched from the afternoon until dark, but still found nothing.

"Hold on, I see there are only two forks in the road left. We must explore both of them this time. If we don't find anything, we'll just give up."

Qu Shaoyang had a feeling that since those two people had sent him a dream, there must be something in the cave.

No matter what, he had to explore them all before giving up.

Everyone knows Qu Shaoyang's temper. He is very stubborn and no one can stop him.

Therefore, no one expressed their opinions. They just sat down to rest for a while, ate some dry food, changed two torches, and continued to move forward.

This fork in the road seemed very long. After walking for about an hour, the group still hadn't reached the end.

At this time, the torches had been changed several times, and there were only a few torches left brought by everyone, so they couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

At this moment, Qu Shaoyang, who was walking in front, suddenly felt something was wrong. It seemed that he stepped on something that was moving.

"Be careful, retreat."

As he spoke, Qu Shaoyang immediately took several steps back. At the same time, many arrows flew down from the stone walls on both sides of the cave.

But for some reason, those arrows lacked power, as if they were shot out with difficulty and then fell to the ground.

"Dad, are you okay? You stay at the back, I'll lead the way." Zhenwu was closer to Qu Shaoyang, so he hurried forward to ask.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine, I'll just go ahead."

Qu Shaoyang was worried that his son was rushing around and might accidentally touch some mechanism and get hurt, so he insisted on walking in front.

If there is a mechanism, it means they have found the right place and there must be something inside.

Having come here, Qu Shaoyang naturally refused to give up, so he continued to walk inside carefully.

Seeing this, Qu Zhenbang and others could only stand by his father and protect Qu Shaoyang as they walked slowly forward.

In this way, the group walked carefully into the cave, triggering some mechanisms along the way.

But it was similar to the previous one, no matter whether it was a bow or a hidden weapon, it seemed to lack much power, and it felt like it was barely fired.

Qu Shaoyang remembered that he had shown the two jade pendants to Mr. Fang.

Mr. Fang said that the pattern on the jade pendant looked very much like something from the Liao and Jin dynasties.

If we do the math, it’s at least seven or eight hundred years or even thousands of years ago.

This cave is not very dry, and it is very likely that the springs and other things are rusted. Although it can be fired barely, it does not have much power.

The group walked forward for a while and suddenly two stone doors appeared in front of them.

Seeing the stone gate, everyone couldn't help but cheer. "Found it."

They found it, but the heavy stone door was closed. How could they get in?

Qu Shaoyang walked forward carefully and looked at the stone door in front of him. Suddenly he found that there were two small holes on the two stone doors.

The shape and size of the hole were very similar to the two jade pendants he picked up.

Qu Shaoyang quickly took out the two jade pendants from his arms.

After this thing came into his hands, he kept it properly.

After Chen Xiuyun got married, it was given to Chen Xiuyun. Because it was obtained from a dead person, no one wore it and it was just left there.

Before coming back this time, Chen Xiuyun suddenly remembered the jade pendant and asked Qu Shaoyang to take it with him.

Qu Shaoyang took out the jade pendants and asked Zhenwu to come forward with a torch. After a careful inspection, he put the two jade pendants into the two holes.

You know what, it really fits in perfectly.

(End of this chapter)