Bloody Romance: I, the big troublemaker, Zhong Yuemin!

Chapter 204 Visit Ishikawa Village!

"Brother Li, I'll leave these wolves to you. Their fur should be worth some money. Share the wolf meat with the team members. Everyone has worked hard lately."

Li Dan smiled and said nothing politely,

"Okay, I'll take it. Thank you, Director Zhong, on behalf of the team members. You've really acted like a leader since becoming one. Hey, let me ask you, there's been a wolf infestation down here lately. Besides these few that died, are there any more?"

"I don't know the details, but we can't let our guard down. The Wolf Hunting Team still has to continue fighting the hungry wolves."

Li Dan nodded.

"Brother Li, I heard that a few foreigners came to our neighboring Ishikawa Village looking for their relatives. Is that true?"

"Yes, I was in charge of reception. Why are you suddenly talking about this?"

"Nothing, it's just strange. We live in a remote area here, how can we have foreign relatives?"

"Who knows? Even if I'm poor, I might have some wealthy relatives. Anyway, when I come here, I give money and rice to the villagers. It's a good thing, and I won't lose anything, right?"

“Are these foreigners still here?”

"Yes, I haven't paid much attention to it. I've been hunting wolves lately and haven't had time to worry about anything else."

Zhong Yuemin nodded and said nothing more.

Li Dan asked the team members to carry the wolves onto the donkey cart, and then led the team away. After everyone left, Zhong Yuemin gathered Zheng Tong, Luo Jianguo and others, and told them about the foreigners in Shichuan Village looking for their relatives.

"We won't rush today. Let's go there early tomorrow morning, under the pretext of hunting wolves. This way we won't alert the snakes."

Luo Jianguo said, "Yuemin, are you saying that these foreigners' search for relatives is fake and they actually have other motives?"

"I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but there must be something else going on!"

"What's going on?"

"Jianguo, you forgot so quickly. When we went to our hometown in Qinling Mountains, we fell into a robber's hole in the back mountain and had a narrow escape."

Several people were shocked, Luo Jianguo said:

"Yuemin, are you saying that these foreigners are using the excuse of looking for relatives to secretly come to Ishikawa Village to rob tombs and look for treasures inside?"

"Eighty to ninety percent of the time!"

Zhong Yuemin said:

"These foreigners are not kindhearted people. They run to these remote corners to give money and gifts. They will not do anything without profit. There must be a conspiracy."

Ermao Road:

"Yuemin, are antiques really that valuable? Here, these things are all considered the "Four Olds" and should be smashed. They're not worth as much as our jobs."

"That depends on what treasures are buried under Ishikawa Village. They're worthless here, but if you go out and buy them, they'll be worth a fortune. If they're good, they could sell for a million, or even tens of millions. Do you believe it?"

"Yuemin, I don't care how much this thing is worth," Luo Jianguo said with a patriotic attitude.

"Those are treasures left by our ancestors. We must not let the foreign devils steal them. Let's kill them, right, brothers?"

"Yeah, fuck him!"

"Fuck him!"

"Don't get excited. These foreigners have special identities, so we have to handle them with caution. Let's go over there tomorrow to find out what these foreigners are up to."

Luo Jianguo said:

"Brothers, bring your guns, stock up on bullets, and fire hard!"

The last time I encountered a humanoid vampire bat in a tunnel, I still feel scared when I think about it. My back feels cold. If I go into a tunnel again this time, I must be fully equipped.

The next morning, Zhong Yuemin led the team out. They did not take the donkey cart, but walked. The journey was not far. It took an hour to reach Shichuan Village along the mountain road. The village party secretary Chang Gui was an acquaintance of theirs. They had met once before at a meeting of brigade party secretaries at the County Revolutionary Committee. He was a typical farmer.

He was skinny, with a dark face full of wrinkles. He had a white sheepskin scarf wrapped around his head. The scarf was gray and dirty due to years of wind and sand. He wore a plain goat-skin coat and never let go of his pipe. He was not good-looking, with squinting eyes, and looked quite honest. But Zhong Yuemin knew that

This man was not a simple-minded person. He loved to take advantage of others and the educated youth's food rations were often misappropriated by him.

"Director Zhong, you're a rare guest. Why did you come to visit us? Come, come, come inside and sit down. Come inside and sit down."

Please come into the house. There are many of them. Some sit on the kang, some sit on the bench.

Zhong Yuemin took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to him.

"Secretary Chang, I went back to Beijing to celebrate the Spring Festival two days ago. Come to Daqianmen in Beijing and have a cigarette."

Chang Gui took it with a smile, "This is a good cigarette!"

He couldn't bear to smoke it, so he put it behind his ear and continued smoking the pipe, saying, "Director Zhong, is there something you want to do here today?"

"Nothing much. Last night, wolves invaded Wangjiagou Brigade. There were more than ten of them. We killed five of them in one go, and the rest ran away. We didn't catch any wolf cubs, and they are still hungry. These hungry wolves definitely don't dare to go to Wangjiagou. I wondered if they would run to the nearby villages, so I brought the team here to take a look. We will wait for a few days and completely solve the wolf problem.

Secretary Chang, could you please arrange a place for us to stay? Just a place to sleep will be enough. We will bring our own food. It's just for a few days. Sorry for bothering us."

"Why bother? This is a good thing. This hungry wolf was too arrogant. It took away our team's livestock a while ago. It was a big loss. I'll arrange a place for them to live. There's an empty kiln at the east end of the village. It has a kang and a stove. It's quite warm with a fire, and you can even cook there. What do you think?"

"Okay!"

While Zheng Tong deliberately struck up a conversation,

"Secretary Chang, I heard that there are foreigners in your village. They are looking for relatives and giving money and rice to the villagers. I'm so envious. Why don't we have such good things in Wangjiagou?"

"Secretary Chang, what does this foreigner look like? Can we go and see him? I've never seen him before in my life."

Chang Guidao:

"They are here to look for their relatives. During this period, many leaders from the county and the commune came to visit and offer their condolences. There are so many people, one group after another, that they are getting a little annoyed. Now they say they don't want to be disturbed and haven't been seen going out during the day."

"What's so interesting about foreigners? We are here to fight wolves," Zhong Yuemin said.

"Secretary Chang, please arrange for someone to take us to our accommodation so we can settle down first."

"I'll take you there!"

Half an hour later, several people settled down in the idle kiln at the east end of the village. They all brought their own beddings, spread them out, and sat on the kang to rest.

Li Kuiyong said:

"Yuemin, why do I feel that Secretary Chang is somewhat unwelcoming to us? When it comes to foreigners, he seems to be quite resistant and unwilling to say more."

Zheng Tong said:

"Yuemin, Kuiyong, let me tell you, the Party Secretary of Shichuan Village is not a good person. Jiang Biyun has a high school classmate who worked in the countryside here. She heard that this old man withheld their rations. Not only that, but the commune has factory enrollment quotas. If anyone wants to go, you have no chance unless you give them some benefits. Didn't we just go to his house? Look at the furnishings in the house. The family eats a big bowl of white flour buns. Who would dare to eat like that if their family is not well-off?"

Luo Jianguo said:

"If this is really the case, this old guy has been bribed by foreigners, right?"

Zhong Yuemin said:

"Rest for a while, then we'll go out and ask around in the village. These foreigners have been here for a while. If they really want to rob a tomb, they'll definitely leave some clues."

After a short break, several people left the cave to gather information. Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong came to a nearby cliff, looking at the grayish yellow earth in front of them.

"Yuemin, even in this barren land, is there really an ancient tomb with treasures underneath?"

"Zheng Tong, you often brag about being fluent in the Twenty-Four Histories, don't you? Our environment here isn't as affluent as Xi'an, Baoji, or the Qinchuan region, but during the Han Dynasty, this place was called Shuofang Commandery, used to defend against the Xiongnu in the north. Of course, there was also trade with the Xiongnu in the border region, so it was considered a prosperous area. So it's not surprising to find tombs of Han Dynasty officials or wealthy merchants buried underground, right?"

As the two were talking, a sad and tragic song came from not far away.

Riding on a donkey, the dog bites my leg.

You, the life-stealing ghost, came in the middle of the night.

Hug your loved one and give him a kiss.

The lump in my stomach turned into water

…………

The song was high-pitched and sad, with a hoarse and deep voice. The song, coupled with the desolate and shivering yellow land before their eyes, touched people's hearts. The two followed the sound and found it was an old man who grazed sheep in the village. Zhong Yuemin knew this man.

"Grandpa, your Xintianyou song is really beautiful, but it's a little too sad, it makes me want to cry."

Old Man Du, wearing a sheepskin coat, a white sheepskin scarf on his head, and a sheep whip hanging on his right shoulder, sat on the slope and looked at the two of them.

"Our place is poor, we don't have enough to eat or sleep warmly, so how can we be happy? This song is sad. My child, you look unfamiliar. Are you from the village?"

Zhong Yuemin and the other man also sat on the ground.

"Grandpa, we're from Wangjiagou next door. We're here to hunt wolves and will be staying in your village for a few days. You're a shepherd, and a few days ago, a few of your sheep were taken away by hungry wolves!"

"Yes, yes, it's so sad!"

Old Man Du said:

"These sheep are the treasures of the team. Their droppings can be used to fertilize crops, and their wool can be sold for money. Three of them were taken away by hungry wolves before. I cried so hard that my eyes turned red."

"Grandpa," Zheng Tong said, "a few foreigners came to your village looking for relatives and gave them money and rice. Life should be better now, right?"

"What's the good thing? The leaders have all the good stuff in their pockets, and us ordinary people have nothing to show for it."

"Are you saying that Secretary Chang took advantage of it?"

Old Man Du didn't say anything. At this time, a child ran over and said, "Grandpa, Grandpa, there are delicious foods, there are delicious foods..."

A child of five or six years old ran over, with a chubby face, patched clothes and dust all over them. He held a black thing in his hand and handed it to his grandfather.

"Grandpa, eat this mouse. I roasted it. It's so delicious."

"Silly boy, eat by yourself, grandpa is not hungry."

"Then I'll keep it and give it to you when grandpa is hungry." He put it in his pocket sensibly.

Zheng Tong smacked his lips and wondered, can this black thing be eaten?

Zhong Yuemin grabbed a handful of candy from his bag and said, "Here, silly boy, take some and eat them."

When the silly kid saw the candy, his eyes lit up. Old Man Du waved his hand.

"No, no, this is precious. It will be wasted if the child eats it."

"Grandpa, it's just a few candies, take them!"

The silly kid looked at his grandfather.

Old Man Du said, "Take it, thank you, brother!"

"Silly boy, you can call me Brother Zhong, and this is Brother Zheng."

The silly kid took the candy and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhong," and carefully put it in his pocket, peeled one and put it in his mouth.

“How sweet!”

Zhong Yuemin asked again: "Grandpa, do you really have foreign relatives in your village?"

Old Man Du shook his head.

"I've lived most of my life and have never left Ishikawa Village. I know every family and their relatives very well. I've never heard of Old Man Li having relatives abroad. These foreigners look like they just popped out of the cracks in the rocks. They insist they're from here. This is the first time I've seen people come to claim their ancestors like this."

"Brother Zhong, Brother Zheng, these green-haired ghosts are just like us kids, digging up field mice in the fields to eat."

"Silly boy, stop talking nonsense, what green-haired ghost!"

"It's a green-haired ghost, with blue eyes."

"Silly boy, you said they were digging for field mice in the ground?"

"Yeah, they were sneaking around at night. Goudan, Xiaohua and the others saw them. We wanted to go take a look, but they chased us away. Humph!"

"Where is it?"

The silly kid pointed ahead and said, "Look, it's right there in the valley. There are weeds on the edge. Voles love to dig holes and build nests in places like that."

Zhong Yuemin and Zheng Tong looked at each other, said nothing more, and left after staying for a while.

When night came, it was pitch black outside and everything was quiet, not even the barking of a dog. Nowadays, there were not many entertainment activities at night, so people would go to bed early after dark. Those who had wives would hold their wives and discuss plans to have children, while those who didn't would just hold the quilt and sleep.

Zhong Yuemin and his companions left the cave and came to the place where Hanwa mentioned that the foreigner was 'catching field mice'. Instead of rushing over, they lay in ambush at the edge of a field not far away, lying on the ground to see what was happening.

The cold wind howled. It was March in northern Shaanxi, and it was still far from the season of spring flowers blooming. The nights were still quite cold. Several people lay under the ridges of the fields without any shelter. After freezing, Zhong Yuemin took out a bottle of Maotai from his bag. Actually, he took it from the space, opened it and drank a sip for himself.

To others,

"Everyone, drink some to warm your body."

After they drank a sip, Luo Jianguo said:

"Yuemin, this is too damn extravagant. Moutai is used to warm the body. If you have some roast chicken to nibble on, it would be even more enjoyable."

"Go back!"

After several people watched for more than an hour, they finally heard some movement. It was Ning Wei who was very sharp-eyed.

"Brother Zhong, someone come here, look over there!"

Sure enough, several dark shadows were approaching from a distance. Zhong Yuemin and his companions crouched lower to avoid being discovered and stared at each other's movements. The dark shadows came to the valley and looked around vigilantly. After finding nothing unusual, they seemed to be digging something in the ground. It was too far away to see clearly. After a while, the shadows all disappeared in the valley. Needless to say, there must be a tomb robber's hole underneath.

Luo Jianguo was eager to try.

"Yuemin, you're right. This group of Chinese are here under the guise of looking for their roots, but they're actually here to rob tombs and antiques. Damn it, we're all New China now, and the old American empire has been dealt with by us. These Chinese, who are considered half-Chinese, are actually coveting our country's treasures and doing nothing but sneaky things. Damn them!"

"Fuck him!"

"Don't worry, don't worry!"

Zhong Yuemin said:

"Everyone is inside now. Let's rush in and confront them face to face. It would be bad if things get out of hand. This group of tomb robbers has been in Ishikawa Village for over half a month. They may have stolen a lot of treasures. Let's use the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole is waiting behind them!"