He Tiantian treated everyone around her with a grateful heart. However, reaching middle age, she discovered she had been living inside a full-bodied lie.
Returning to the year 1970, He Tianti...
1209
Xiao Liu thought for a moment and agreed with his brother, nodding and saying, "Yes, Fifth Brother, you're right. We just do manual labor; we've never killed anyone..."
"Once we get out, if those people ask us why we came out so late, just say we were digging a tunnel at the very back and didn't have time to run out with the others," Brother Wu instructed as he walked.
Upon reaching the western entrance of the cave, Little Fifth Brother didn't dare to go out immediately. Instead, he shouted loudly, "I surrender! I turn myself in... cough cough cough..."
After saying that, he first threw out the shovel, axe, and other weapons he was carrying, indicating that he had no weapons left.
"Raise your hands and surrender, and we'll treat you leniently," said Platoon Leader Liu. "Come out quickly."
"Come out right away, and whatever you do, don't shoot!" Brother Wu said, and the two of them came out of the cave.
Seeing this, Platoon Leader Liu asked, "Is there anyone else inside?"
"It's all smoke inside, there's no one left," said Brother Wu. "We dug the tunnel from the very back, that's why we were last. Please be lenient with us, we didn't want to rob a tomb, we were forced into it by the Lu family..."
"Whether it was forced or not, we'll only know after an investigation. Let's take him back first," said Platoon Leader Liu. "Come on, I'll take you inside to see if there's anyone else there."
Even though there was no one around, they didn't dare leave without being checked.
After searching, they found no one in the cave. However, they were impressed by the skill of these tomb raiders, as the cave was two or three hundred meters long and they even found some detonators, all of which were confiscated.
The shopkeeper was isolated and detained. At daybreak, he was taken directly to the county detention center for interrogation, as they were worried that arresting so many people at once would cause panic.
Platoon Leader Liu and Platoon Leader Wang personally visited Grandpa Huo, Grandpa Tang, and Old Man Qi to report the situation.
"Yes, well done. To prevent any from slipping through the net, you should leave some people here to cooperate with the local police and maintain order in the scenic area. After all, dozens or even hundreds of tourists come here every day," Old Master Huo instructed.
Platoon Leader Liu nodded and said, "Yes, sir."
The higher-ups have already given instructions: they can only leave Qijia Village when these important figures leave; absolutely nothing can be done to these leaders.
Those tomb raiders were arrested, and before noon, Director Hou arrived with his men.
Because they received information that these were tomb raiders, and that they had been caught inside the tomb's tunnel.
A day earlier, those who were still debating whether to come and inspect the place had all fallen silent.
The tomb raiders have already come here, what's all the fuss about? Let's go dig it up.
Not only did the archaeological department send people over, but they also reported to the higher-level archaeological department, which immediately provided support with an archaeological team of more than 30 people.
Director Hou brought so many people, but Cui Heng couldn't be bothered with him.
However, Director Hou, being an official, was thick-skinned and didn't care about Cui Heng's attitude at all, and kept trying to get closer to him.
"Professor Cui, thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have discovered such a big project," Director Hou said. "Once it's finalized, I'll give you the credit."
Cui Heng smiled and said, "I dare not accept credit. I'm just curious about whose grave this is. By the way, let me work here. The salary should be high and the benefits should be good."
"That's a must," Director Hou said with a smile. "I hope Professor Cui will take good care of me in the future."
When the archaeological team arrived, Secretary Qi learned that such a big thing had happened in the village.
At first I was a little scared, but then a good idea suddenly came to me.
So Secretary Qi came to Grandma Qi's house and discussed his idea with several elders.
"Gentlemen, you are all very knowledgeable. We have encountered some issues here, and we would appreciate any advice from the younger generation," Secretary Qi said with a smile, first offering his polite words.
"Dazhu, just tell us if you need anything. We'll definitely help you if we can," Grandpa Tang said with a smile. "Don't be so polite with us."
“Yes, Dazhu, you’ve always been sensible. Tell us, and let’s see if we can help,” said Old Man Qi. He figured his nephew probably wanted to use this incident to benefit Qi Family Village.
Qi Dazhu smiled and said, "Actually, it's not for me, it's for our Qi Family Village. Now this area is a tourist area, with the Shenlong Temple, Peach Garden, and various other entertainment venues on the mountain, but it lacks cultural heritage. However, we've already excavated two large tombs here, and this is the third time. I was thinking, instead of sending the excavated items to museums in the city, why not build a museum nearby, on the spot, and display these excavated items so that more people can learn about them? Wouldn't that be better?"
Upon hearing this, the old men nodded and said, "Building a tourist attraction in the original location seems a bit inappropriate, wouldn't it? It would disturb people's rest."
Old Qi frowned and said, "Sigh, even if the tourist attraction isn't built in the original location, everything inside will be removed, including things like the coffins."
“Yes, we can preserve it and try to restore it to its original appearance. As for the tomb’s occupant, we will leave it in the cemetery and not let people disturb it, only opening other areas to the public,” Qi Dazhu said. “Compared to being moved to another place, leaving it in its original location may be better for the tomb’s occupant. At the same time, since this is a tourist area and it’s in its original location, it will definitely become a major attraction for us.”
Since it has already been discovered, it is impossible not to carry out excavation work.
"Yes, that's a good idea." Several people nodded.
He Tiantian served tea to the old men and, hearing their conversation, smiled and said, "Uncle Qi, your idea is good, and it's not difficult to secure this project. The key is that you must find an expert to consider whether doing so will harm Qijia Village. We should not only look at the money, but also at cultural heritage and things that need to be avoided."
Old Man Qi nodded and said, "Yes, Tian Tian is right. Cui Heng from Shenlong Temple is knowledgeable in archaeology and also knows some esoteric arts. Go ask him. If he says it's fine, we'll try to persuade him. If he says it's bad for Qijia Village, then we'll go along with filling in the gaps and planting trees."
"Then what about our museum?" Secretary Qi asked with some regret, worried that Cui Heng might say the place wasn't suitable as a tourist attraction.
“Uncle Qi, you’re just too worried!” He Tiantian laughed. “If that’s not possible, we can build a museum at the foot of the mountain. It’ll still be a tourist attraction.” He Tiantian said, “And make the information more interesting and detailed, that would be great too.”
“That’s right,” Secretary Qi said. “Then I’ll go ask Professor Cui now.”
Secretary Qi left in a great hurry.
As Grandpa Huo watched Secretary Qi's retreating figure, he chuckled and said, "This Dazhu is a bit of a waste of his talents to be the village party secretary."