Chapter 133

To be fair, Xiao Fang was a delicate, somewhat handsome, and somewhat playful man. Xiao Wang was twenty-five years old, already as mature as the Mediterranean guys at the research institute. Xiao Fang, on the other hand, had just entered the workplace, and his sharpness and innocence hadn't been completely worn away by the environment. He had a clear distinction between what he loved and what he hated, so when he realized that he and Chu Jiujiu were getting along better and better, his attitude completely changed.

At first, the two of them were quite cautious in their conversation, only revolving around the train and the destination, but later they strayed further and further.

Chu Jiujiu: "You are the sixth person with the surname Fang that I know. The first one is my teacher, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth are my teacher's eldest brother and his three children."

Xiao Fang: "You still need to count this."

Chu Jiujiu nodded seriously. "The chances are very low. The surname Fang is not uncommon, but I've only seen it six times here, and five of them are from the same family. Don't you think it's rare?"

Xiao Fang is cheerful. Everyone wants to be unique, and he is no exception.

Recalling the people he knew, he returned the favor: "I only know one person named Chu."

Chu Jiujiu also laughed: "If you come to my house, you can get to know two more people."

The appraisal expert, Lao Zhang, had already climbed onto the upper bunk to sleep. The sound of the two people chatting below kept coming upstairs, which annoyed him, but he couldn't ask them to stop talking because the whole carriage was talking. It was noon, not night, so it didn't count as disturbing anyone.

Xiao Wang was reading a book. The chattering of people around him was automatically converted into white noise by him and did not affect him at all. On the other side, Old Tong was looking at the two of them with a smile, and seemed to be listening with great interest.

As old people, they all like children. Chu Jiujiu is sixteen and Xiao Fang is twenty-one. They are five years apart in age and seem to have a big difference in age, but in the eyes of Mr. Tong, who is seventy-six years old this year, they are both children.

No one else was interested in their getting along, or had any extra emotions, only Director Ma was watching them silently.

He was the one who brought Chu Jiujiu here. He had taken her there safely, so he had to bring her back safely. He had been watching them, and naturally noticed the disappointment that flashed across Xiao Fang's eyes when he heard that Chu Jiujiu was only sixteen. He didn't even realize it.

Director Ma’s current mentality is similar to Chu Liqiang’s.

This was the successor he had chosen years in advance, the disciple he had never formally accepted but everyone knew about, the one-on-one student he had devoted all his energy to nurturing and caring for with every ounce of his being. What the hell are you so disappointed about?!

Why could Xiao Fang be disappointed? He just felt that Chu Jiujiu didn't look that young. Since she was not an adult, he couldn't have an adult conversation. He just felt that he couldn't talk to her about anything too in-depth. What else could he be disappointed about?

…

It was similar to Xiao Fang's own idea. Even if he felt that Chu Jiujiu could get along with him, he would not talk to her about anything too complicated, especially his work, and he would not mention it at all, because Xiao Fang had a painful lesson in this regard.

His parents were both university professors, his grandfather was the founder of a university, and his grandmother was also the leader of a school. Their family was a family of scholars, similar to Fang Weiping's. Even his talent was the same as Fang Weiping's, but Fang Weiping's wisdom star was lit in literature, while his was in history.

Chu Jiujiu is a promising talent chosen by Director Ma, and Xiao Fang is a promising talent chosen by the director of the Cultural Relics Archives. That's why he was able to enter the archives and become a reserve cadre without even attending college.

Before embarking on this path, Xiao Fang just liked things in this area. Later, after embarking on this path, he became more and more obsessed. When talking to people, he would talk about his job every other sentence. At the beginning of the year, his mother introduced him to a girl, who was a formal factory employee and was about the same age as him. Xiao Fang had a little interest in the girl, so when they met for the first time, he talked a lot about his work and successfully talked his girl away.

…

From then on, Xiao Fang kept in mind a saying: don't talk about professional matters to outsiders.

If Chu Jiujiu knew what he was thinking, she would have rolled her eyes at him long ago.

Director Ma said at the beginning that she was an assistant researcher at the institute, but Xiao Fang obviously thought that she didn't get it by herself, and that her family must have bought it with money to make her happy.

Chu Jiujiu didn't know what others were thinking, but she was very happy that Xiaofang's attitude had changed. As a person with connections, Chu Jiujiu was very clear about her position. She listened more, watched more, and talked less, and tried not to cause trouble for the real professionals. At the same time, it would be even better if she could make these professionals like her more and take her to see more things.

She would chat along with Xiao Fang, extending the topic a little at most. Xiao Fang always had the initiative in the conversation. They got off the train just as dusk fell. Chu Jiujiu was always a chatterbox, and she didn't feel tired after talking so much. Xiao Fang felt refreshed because he was always being flattered.

Only Lao Zhang got off the train with a tired look and unsteady steps.

Director Ma asked him with concern, "Are you okay? Are you train sick?"

Old Zhang: “…”

He doesn't get sick from trains, he gets sick from talking.

Not wanting to say anything more, they saw the archaeologists who came to pick them up and followed them to the guesthouse.

The place where the ancient tomb was discovered was a village more than 100 miles away from the city. They could only stay in the nearest town guesthouse and wait until early the next morning to take a tractor into the village.

Tractor, what a friendly means of transportation.

Everyone else looked uncomfortable, except Chu Jiujiu, who raised her hand happily when she saw the dump tractor rumbling towards her.

Seeing this, everyone around raised their eyebrows. Some thought that this young lady was quite surprising, while others thought that the young lady had never seen the world and was so excited even to see a tractor.

…

No matter what, Chu Jiujiu's label of being a young lady cannot be torn off for a while.

It took more than an hour for the tractor to reach the village. Chu Jiujiu and others sat in the dump truck at the back. It was very hot in the summer, but everyone had to endure it. Fortunately, the car was driving quite fast, which could bring a cool breeze to everyone.

Chu Jiujiu sat there obediently. After a while, she turned around and asked Director Ma, "What time will we be back today?"

Director Ma shook his head and said, "I don't know. It depends on the situation. He should be back by dark."

There are no houses and no electricity there. When it gets dark, everyone sits beside the tomb with kerosene lamps, staring at each other. It looks like the beginning of a horror movie. Even if you have never seen a horror movie, no one dares to guard the ancient tomb in the middle of the night.

Everyone says they are not afraid in their hearts, but there are very few people who are truly not afraid at all.

It's summer now, and by the time it gets dark, it will be almost eight o'clock. Chu Jiujiu frowned imperceptibly, looking a little distressed. "Well, is there a place to make a phone call nearby?"

Director Ma was a little surprised. "You want to make a phone call? What's going on?"

Seeing that he had misunderstood, Chu Jiujiu quickly waved her hand and said, "It's okay, I'm just used to it. After leaving home, I always have to call home at night."

Director Ma was stunned for a moment, then he let out a long "oh" as if he remembered something, "It's for Han Shengyi, right?"

Chu Jiujiu smiled, revealing a few pearly teeth.

Director Ma also smiled and said, "The conditions are not good now. Just bear with it for a few days. I told your family about it when I left. Han Shengyi knows you are with us. It's okay, don't worry."

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

She wasn't worried about that, she was just used to chatting with Han Shengyi before going to bed.

Chu Jiujiu closed her mouth silently and gave up the idea. Xiao Fang was sitting next to her and heard their conversation. He looked at Chu Jiujiu's slightly disappointed expression and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

How come there is someone with the surname Han in the Chu family?

But he was only confused for a second, and then he put the matter behind him.

As the destination got closer, everyone in the car became secretly excited.

Outsiders can't understand, only those who are familiar with it can see the fiery flames in each other's eyes. It is more passionate than seeing your dream lover.

Just as Director Ma said, the excavation here has been completed. Everything has been excavated, even the bones have been taken away. The entire ancient tomb is empty, just a huge pit. The only remaining stone bricks, stone pillars and other things are still here because they are too large and heavy. It is not that existing technology cannot transport them away, but that their research value themselves is not high.

It is bare, and even if there are traces, they are very simple. Compared with the exquisite cultural relics, it really cannot attract people's attention.

Chu Jiujiu walked around the large pit left behind. It was cleaned up very cleanly, and even if she wanted to find another unusual fragment, it would be impossible. Chu Jiujiu walked slowly and looked slowly. Halfway through, her eyes suddenly froze.

There is a yellowish white stone on the ground, but the stone is not so round and has no such narrow shape.

Burial of dead people was a popular custom in the Shang Dynasty. When a big boss died, dozens or hundreds of his followers would be buried with him. Since the bones were on the periphery, they couldn't be the queen's bones. They could be from a servant or a cattle or sheep.

No matter which one it was, Chu Jiujiu's hair stood on end and she quickly took two steps back.

She almost stepped on it just now.

I hurriedly went up to call for help. A staff member came over and took a look. He found that it was indeed a piece of bone fragment, incomplete, embedded in the soil, so it had not been discovered before.

This thing is useless. There are enough bones, and they will be similar after being put together. This piece of bone fragment is not big, but the staff still took it out carefully and put it aside, preparing to put it together with the complete bones in the future.

It may not sound very solemn, but that's the truth. Putting bones together is similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle, both of which require patience and carefulness.

No matter how lively her personality was, Chu Jiujiu didn't dare to do whatever she wanted here. She followed the people around her closely and never let herself fall behind. Firstly, she felt that this place was a bit eerie, and secondly, she was afraid that if she took a wrong step, it would cause a disaster.

The weather was scorching hot. It was already the end of July, and there was no sign of it cooling down. Chu Jiujiu was drenched in sweat after just one morning. After the professionals finished their inspection, they discussed the situation while returning to the makeshift research lab nearby.

The ancient tomb was indeed discovered two years ago, but the formal excavation was mostly carried out this year. Chu Jiujiu did not ask the reason, nor did she care much. She just followed the group to see how these workers handled the cultural relics.

Jade, stone and bronze artifacts, she is worthy of being a queen. There are so many burial objects in the tomb that Chu Jiujiu is dazzled. This is only a part of it, not all.

It was hot outside, and it was even hotter with a bunch of people gathered in the room. Chu Jiujiu wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked to Director Ma and Old Tong.

At this point, not to mention Chu Jiujiu, even Director Ma could only listen and watch, because this was not his specialty. Even though he helped compile a series of books on bronzes, Director Ma's knowledge was still not broad enough.

The people inside were arguing about what was written on the tortoise shell.

The oracle bone inscriptions are not exactly the same. Writing is evolving, and the Shang Dynasty was a very long dynasty. There were hundreds of years between the first and last generations of kings. The writing at that time could easily change into something else.

The longer the time interval is, the more difficult it is for people to accurately analyze the information in it. Director Liu was also here. He was arguing fiercely with another Mediterranean. In a word, each of them had his own reasons and they couldn't come to a decision. The people around them were not as good as them, so naturally they didn't dare to speak. Finally, the word was raised in front of Old Tong. Old Tong took a look at it and was not very sure.

"It looks like mowing to me."

This is different from what Director Liu and Mediterranean said, but if you look closely, it does seem like it. Now, there are three guesses, each with a different meaning.

Director Ma was originally quite quiet, but when he saw everyone was silent, he had a little thought of his own and pulled Chu Jiujiu over, "Jiujiu, come and take a look."

As soon as Chu Jiujiu appeared today, she caused a little stir among the crowd. They were all archaeologists working hard in the fields. Not only did they not distinguish between men and women, they were almost at the point of not distinguishing between humans and animals. As a result, such a beautiful girl suddenly appeared. Everyone couldn't help but take a few more glances at her, and also couldn't help but look down on her.

Chu Jiujiu is not the first person who feels out of place here. Some people from wealthy families have special hobbies and like to hang out in places like this. They don't have any abilities, but their family members do, so when they come, this group of people not only cannot drive them out, but also have to serve them well. In the eyes of everyone, Chu Jiujiu is such an existence.

It's not annoying, it's just unbearable.

Even if she saw it, it was not the way Chu Jiujiu wanted.

If Director Ma hadn't said anything, Chu Jiujiu would have been able to keep a low profile until the end of time. But when Director Ma suddenly brought her over, she was a little panicked, but Director Ma kept urging her, so she pursed her lips.

Raising her neck, Chu Jiujiu took a look inside, then gently closed her eyes.

After two seconds, she opened her eyes and said, "Really?"

Even if you guess blindly, you have to guess it in a proper way. The word that Chu Jiujiu said was very similar to the ones said by the other three people. No matter what the word looks like in modern times, more than three thousand years ago, they did look very similar.

Haitang was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected her to be so capable. Director Liu knew her, so he pushed past Haitang and asked eagerly, "Jiujiu, are you sure? Have you seen someone similar?"

Chu Jiujiu frowned in distress. She pointed at the copied paper and said, "It's not exactly the same. The horizontal line on that character isn't there. And the fork below that character isn't as high as this one."

After a pause, she continued, "Also, the angle. This character is tilted more than that one."

Director Liu quickly asked, "Where did you see that word?"

Chu Jiujiu replied, "It's on the inscription on the four-handled square gui from the Western Zhou Dynasty."

The gui is one of the most common bronze artifacts in the Western Zhou Dynasty. At least five hundred of them have been unearthed so far. Even if Chu Jiujiu mentioned the name, Director Liu couldn't remember it despite racking his brains. Someone nearby did have an impression of it, but it wasn't as clear.

They chatted quietly for a while, but couldn't find the answer. They asked Chu Jiujiu the same question as Director Liu: "Which period of the Western Zhou Dynasty is it from?"

Chu Jiujiu was stuck for a moment. She knew the name and appearance, and even remembered the inscription, but she didn't know the period because the book didn't write anything very specific.

Chu Jiujiu lowered her head and suddenly fell silent. She looked into the air, but her gaze didn't seem to linger on the room. This time, she was silent for a long time. After a long while, she raised her head and said, "Mid-term, or late-term, because it has a cover on it."

To those who don't understand what this means, they have no idea what it means. But to those who know what this means, they will understand it immediately.

The original gui was a container for soup. People didn't find it inconvenient to use it. Later, people found that adding a lid could keep it warm, so the gui had a lid.

Over the past few hundred years, writing has evolved, and according to what Chu Jiujiu said, all kinds of evolution can be traced. Suddenly, the rustling sound was heard again, and Director Liu was about to return to the discussion, but before he did, he gave Chu Jiujiu a thumbs up and said, "Amazing!"

Chu Jiujiu smiled happily.

There was no need for Chu Jiujiu to explain her exceptional memory to everyone. Firstly, they weren't that close, and secondly, explaining it to everyone she met would tire her. At this moment, she didn't tell anyone why she could remember things so clearly, and no one asked her. However, everyone's gaze on her was subtly changing.

Even if she got in through the back door, she is still a capable parachuted-in player.

Meals here are not served at regular times. Chu Jiujiu didn't have her lunch until after two o'clock in the afternoon. Others were adults, and it was okay for them to be hungry for an hour or two, but Chu Jiujiu couldn't do that. She had a very fast metabolism, and after a while she felt like she could eat a cow alive.

…

There was no table, so they just sat in the field, Chu Jiujiu and Xiao Fang silently eating steamed buns and pickles together.

In an instant, she returned to seven years ago. Chu Jiujiu really wanted to say that she missed this kind of life, but her conscience would not allow it.

Xiao Fang was surprised to see her eat all of it without changing her expression. "Don't you think it tastes bad?"

Compared with yesterday's seafood feast, this steamed bread is as hard to chew as a bone.

Chu Jiujiu said calmly, "That's nothing. I've eaten worse."

As she spoke, she gave Xiao Fang some scientific knowledge. "See? The steamed bread is made of pure cornmeal, with only a small amount of sweet potato in it, and no wild vegetables. This means that the villagers are still treating us with good things. If we eat the same as the villagers, at least one-third of this steamed bread must be wild vegetables."

This village is not rich and is much poorer than Qingzhu Village. What Chu Jiujiu said is definitely not without basis.

Xiao Fang was stunned. At this moment, Chu Jiujiu didn't seem like a young lady from a high-ranking official family.

After finishing her steamed bread and pickles in no time, Chu Jiujiu dusted off her legs and said to Xiao Fang, "I'm done. I'm going back first. Sigh, I don't know when I can go back. I haven't called home in two days."

Xiao Fang: “…”

Okay, the essence of the eldest lady has not changed.

Chu Jiujiu was not used to it, and Han Shengyi was even less used to it. Director Ma told the news to Chu Liqiang, and Chu Liqiang told the news to Wen Xiuwei. After going through two hands, Han Shengyi was the last person to know that Chu Jiujiu was no longer in Hebei and had run away to Henan.

He couldn't contact Chu Jiujiu, so he could only wait for Chu Jiujiu to contact him. So in the past two days, as soon as he got off work, he didn't go to any social events or dinners, and just stayed in the living room, waiting for Chu Jiujiu's call.

Grandma Han passed by the living room and saw that he was still there. She couldn't help but twitch her lips: "It's already eleven o'clock, Jiujiu must have gone to bed a long time ago. Even if she didn't sleep, she wouldn't be able to find the phone if she lives in a guesthouse or a house."

Han Shengyi was holding a book in his hand. Hearing this, he raised his head and said, "Well, I know. Grandma, you should go to bed early."

Grandma Han: “…” You know nothing.

That night, Han Shengyi waited until half past twelve, and after more than two hours, it was dawn.

Maybe it was because he stayed up too late. When he returned to the third floor, Han Shengyi was not sleepy at all. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't fall asleep. Apart from the things he had to do in the near future, his mind was filled with the impetuous Chu Jiujiu running around in circles.

…

He couldn't sleep, he really couldn't sleep, so he just sat up and took out his high school textbook.

He had already memorized the knowledge in these books, but there was no harm in reading them a few more times.

Han Shengyi was forced to stay up late. People with insomnia are generally in a bad mood, and he was no exception. After finishing a book, he still couldn't fall asleep. Han Shengyi sat there, dazed for a while, then picked up the water cup and went downstairs to get some water.

As soon as he stood up and took a step forward, Han Shengyi keenly sensed that something was wrong.

The floor...is shaking.

Realizing a possibility, Han Shengyi's pupils constricted. He threw away the cup of water in his hand and quickly went downstairs.

Unlike Han Shengyi, Ding Boyun, who was in Hebei at the time, had been waiting. Late at night, he did not sleep. He wore a set of clothes that were not very formal but could be worn outside, and looked at his watch in an open place.

Chu Yue told him the date and that it was early in the morning, but she didn't say anything else. Ding Boyun started waiting since dusk. He was always very patient. Finally, when the earth shook, his eyes flashed and his expression changed.

It wasn't the fear of facing a life-and-death crisis, but the excitement and trembling of seizing a great opportunity.

After the first wave of strong earthquakes passed, Ding Boyun did not wait any longer and immediately rushed to the city government. This time he did not bring an earthquake prevention petition, but the search and rescue techniques he had studied for more than half a year came in handy at this time.

Chu Yue didn't know how Ding Boyun made himself appear in Hebei. She thought Ding Boyun really went to save people. After all, no matter how you look at it, stopping the disaster in advance and reducing casualties is the best way, which benefits both others and yourself. But she didn't expect that Ding Boyun did reduce casualties, but he used another more intuitive method.

Rescue people after a disaster.

Only after seeing how terrible the disaster was did they realize how difficult it was to be rescued. It also made the higher-ups understand what a rare talent Ding Boyun was, as he was able to calmly think of the most efficient way to rescue people at that time.

Originally, more than 200,000 people died, but because Ding Boyun seized the golden time for search and rescue and made manpower deployment in advance, the number of more than 200,000 was reduced to two hundred thousand.

He really saved other people's lives and really changed the original course of history, but after Chu Yue learned the news, she was not happy at all.

Chu Yue also knew that even if she really submitted another earthquake prevention petition, the problem with the house could not be changed, and the time of the earthquake could not be changed. When people woke up from their deep sleep, they might not be able to react immediately. This was a natural disaster that ordinary people could not avoid even if they anticipated it. Ding Boyun did a great job of remedial work afterwards, and even if he had given a warning in advance, it might have had only this effect.

Chu Yue knew it, but she just couldn't accept it. Because the two actions, with similar results, differed fundamentally in human nature.

Only Chu Yue knew what she was thinking. Chu Jiujiu didn't get the news until she woke up the next day. She was stunned for a full half minute at first, and then her expression changed instantly.

The capital was neither far nor near the epicenter and was affected, but the damage was very minor. The families of these people were basically in the capital. When something happened, everyone ran to the post office, waited for the phone, and called everyone one by one. No one's family was fine. When it was Chu Jiujiu's turn, she called Wen Xiuwei, but no one answered the phone at home. Then she called Grandma Han, and someone picked up the phone.

Grandma Han knew what she was going to ask, and she answered immediately. Everyone in the family was fine. Chu Shao and Chu Liqiang had gone to the disaster relief work, Han Shengyi was busy collecting supplies, and Wen Xiuwei was also one of the volunteers, but Grandma Han was not particularly clear about what she was doing. In short, no one in the family was idle, even Grandma Han was closely following the progress of the situation on TV.

At the end, Grandma Han sighed and said, "Jiujiu, you don't know how lucky you are."

Chu Jiujiu was stunned: "Why do you say that?"

Grandma Han patted her chest in fear. "The nursing home you were staying in was one of the disaster sites! The Qi family is frantic now. They can't contact Qi Wantang, Baozhu, or Baoguo. I can't help but feel scared when I look at them. If you were there, wouldn't that be the end of me?"