Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

Cui Hao scratched his head, not quite understanding what was going on.

"Borrowing a knife to kill someone? If we asked Wang Hu and the others to bury Lu Bin just now, does that count as borrowing a knife to kill someone?"

"Of course not."

I smiled and shook my head as I explained, "Wang Hu and I are a gang. They buried Lu Bin, so it can only be considered an internal conflict within our gang."

"Besides, it wouldn't be good for us if Wang Hu and his men were to get involved in human deaths."

"If we really want to kill someone with a borrowed knife, we have to let someone who has nothing to do with us, or even our enemy, kill Lu Bin."

Cui Hao was so confused that he couldn't think straight.

Finally, he rubbed his forehead and said, "Brother, am I too uneducated? I can't even imagine how to let an unrelated person take action."

"Forget it, I don't need to think about it anymore."

"I'm just worried about whether Lu Bin will report the case. If he does, it will be a big trouble."

I smiled and shook my head: "Don't worry."

"Lu Bin has also robbed tombs. Reporting the crime won't do him any good. It will only put him in jail."

"He's not only greedy but also ambitious. He definitely wouldn't do anything to get himself into trouble."

"At most, he'll hold a grudge and look for a chance to take revenge on me later."

I have long seen through Lu Bin.

He has little ability but great ambition, and is more likely to cause trouble than accomplish anything.

Even though his right hand was crippled and his arms and legs were broken, he could only endure it silently, lurking in the darkness like a poisonous insect, waiting for his opportunity.

Later, Lu Bin joined another group of tomb robbers and secretly tried to trip me up, which caused a huge uproar and made me famous in the tomb-robbing circle in Guanzhong.

It was already morning when we returned to Xi'an.

We drank spicy soup and ate fried dumplings at a roadside stall.

During the previous dynasty, Henan suffered from a famine, and many people fled to Guanzhong, bringing with them Henan delicacies such as Hu La Tang and Shui Jian Bao.

Good Huo La Tang must be made with bone broth, but unfortunately the Huo La Tang we eat is made with plain water and thickened, and the taste is far from that.

"Brother, how about we go find Boss Dong first?"

Cui Hao patted his bag after he finished speaking.

The bag contained a Tang Sancai lion and two gilded bronze cups, both of which had belonged to Lu Bin before.

I nodded.

It’s not convenient to go back to the hospital with these things, so it’s best to sell them.

Come to Xi'an People's Building again.

Boss Dong warmly welcomed us into the room.

As soon as we entered the door, we saw Tang Sancai lions, Tang Sancai pumpkins and other items on the table. It was obvious that Wang Hu and his friends had been there before.

"Brother Stone, have you brought some good stuff again?"

I pointed at the Tang Sancai lion and said with a smile, "I'm going to make a pair for you."

"What?"

Boss Dong was a little confused.

Cui Hao took out a Tang Sancai lion from his bag and placed it on the table, making it a perfect pair with the other one.

"Ouch!"

Boss Dong exclaimed and immediately stepped forward to look at the paired lions.

"Just now I was regretting that such a fine Tang Sancai lion didn't come in a pair; the price would be greatly reduced. I didn't expect you to send me another one right away."

"Okay, great!"

"To be honest, I've been in this business for over 20 years, and this is the first time I've seen a Tang Sancai lion. A pair is even rarer!"

No wonder Boss Dong is excited.

During this period, Tang Sancai was very rare among foreign collectors.

Tang Sancai in good condition can be sold at a very high price internationally.

Moreover, the Tang Sancai circulated in the market are mainly tri-colored horses, camels and other objects, and Tang Sancai lions are unique.

As long as you sell these to Hong Kong Island, you can make a lot of money.

However, the fake Tang Sancai produced in Luoyang was so good that even top experts could not distinguish the real from the fake. Under the impact of the counterfeits, international collectors were unwilling to buy Tang Sancai anymore, causing the price of Tang Sancai to plummet.

Cui Hao took out the two gilded bronze cups again.

The exquisite patterns on the cup body made Boss Dong love it so much.

"What a beautiful Tang Dynasty cup, it's a pity it's gilded. If it were pure gold, the price would be several times higher."

"Did you dig up a Tang tomb?"

"But what came out doesn't look like what was in the tomb."

Boss Dong asked with some confusion.

The Tang Sancai buried in the tomb is different from the Tang Sancai used to enshrine the Buddha's real relics in the underground palace.

The Tang Sancai burial objects in the tombs were at most tomb guardian beasts, or buried horses, camels, human figurines, etc.

Lions are guardian deities in Buddhism and are used to guard houses. They are not placed in tombs.

"Brother Dong, please stop asking."

Boss Dong smiled and nodded: "I understand. I will just accept the goods and not ask any more questions."

Boss Dong gave four thousand yuan for three items.

"I bought this lion and gave Wang Hu a thousand. I wasn't trying to undercut him on the price, but a single lion really isn't worth as much as a pair."

"But Brother Shitou, since you sent this one to make a pair, the price will be very different, so I'm only calculating it at 3,000 yuan."

Boss Dong is a good person.

Give more money and give it with reason and evidence.

This money makes people feel comfortable and there is no bad feeling like it is being given as charity.

After paying, he made some tea, pulled me to sit down, and said, "It seems that Wang Hu and the others followed you?"

"That's the right thing to do. More people means more things can be accomplished."

"But you have to be sensible when dealing with your subordinates. If you're a boss, you have to act like a boss. You can't share things equally with your subordinates."

"That could easily lead to some people becoming ambitious and eventually becoming overbearing and even turning against us."

All his words were a reminder to me.

Many people think that it is easy to form a team, but it is not.

Human hearts and human nature are too complicated.

There are many examples in history of fathers killing sons, sons killing fathers, and siblings killing each other for profit.

How to establish authority, how to control subordinates, and how to make the best use of talents are all knowledge.

For me who has just entered the world, there is everything I need to learn.

"I don't quite understand any of this, please teach me, Brother Dong."

"Hey, I can only tell you what I heard from others. I really can't teach you, but I suggest you go to Hong Kong Island as soon as possible to broaden your horizons. Broadening your horizons is very important."

I also want to go to Hong Kong Island.

But until the Baon snake is found and the curse is lifted, it is really impossible to go to Hong Kong Island.

The thought of the curse makes me anxious.

The days go by very quickly.

"Brother Dong, do you know any masters? Some great monks, some great Taoist priests, some who know magic or something like that?"

"I know a lot of experts in Hong Kong Island, but I really don't know anyone here. What's the matter, Brother Shi Tou, are you in trouble?"

I smiled wryly and nodded. "I've run into some trouble and I'd like to find someone with expertise to help me out, but I don't know anyone who can."

"This is difficult. Your situation here is special."

Boss Dong was also helpless.

In those years, most of the masters had returned to their hometowns and secular life, and the temples and Taoist temples had basically stopped offering incense. If you wanted to find them, you wouldn't know where to go.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit depressing, Boss Dong handed me the teacup with a smile.

"Drink tea."

"Oh, by the way, I've completed the formalities for recognizing your grandfather as my relative. Now I'm your uncle in name only. We're truly brothers now."

"So soon! Then when are we going to Hong Kong?" I asked excitedly.

"We'll probably leave next Monday, first to Guangzhou, and then on to Hong Kong. Don't worry about the journey, we'll definitely take good care of the elderly."

Boss Dong explained the itinerary in detail and asked me to prepare to send my grandfather to Hong Kong.

Before leaving, Boss Dong asked me to wait a moment.

He went into the inner room, took out a brocade box and put it in my hand.

"Although I can't help you find a master, this is what I asked for at the Wong Tai Sin Temple. I hope it can keep you safe."