Fang Dayong gave a bitter smile. "If they knew there was an iron mine deep in these mountains, and if they knew I was here, they would definitely come to rescue everyone."
Yes, he was talking about saving everyone, not saving himself.
In his mind, the Fang family was already disliked, and his act of secretly taking Guo Xuantong out of the valley without even saying hello was a major taboo for Lu Shiyan and Jiang Tangtang.
Given his behavior, the two of them must be incredibly annoyed, which is why they don't want to deal with him.
But the two of them are kind-hearted and will definitely not be able to bear seeing everyone suffer, so they will try to find a way to rescue everyone.
After all, the Lu family was also short of food and drink at the time, and their situation was very difficult. However, the two of them still rescued the group of children and brought them back to the valley. They not only took care of the children's food and drink, but also built houses for them to live in.
Regardless of what Fang Dayong thought in his heart, everyone became excited after hearing his words. "Then let's think of a way to send a message to your cousin and his wife."
"Yes, yes, send a message out."
...
Everyone supported Fang Dayong in sending a letter to his capable cousin.
But when it came to how to send the message, everyone ran into trouble.
"Besides the mine manager, the only ones who can leave the mine are probably the birds in the mountains. How are we supposed to send messages out? Are we supposed to rely on the birds to carry messages for us?"
This was originally just someone's casual murmur, but when Zhang Xu heard it, his eyes widened suddenly, he jumped up, ran quickly to the corner, and shook the emaciated old man, "Old Lai, wake up, do you know how to train birds?"
Shaking him, the old man, who had been sleeping soundly, slowly opened his eyes. He was probably an oddity among the miners.
Despite being treated like a human being in the mine, with endless work every day that wore him down to skin and bones, he never complained or grumbled. Sometimes, his eyes would light up as he looked at the black ash being dug out of the mine shaft.
Just now, while everyone was rekindling their hope because of Fang Dayong's words and discussing how to escape, he actually fell asleep.
At this moment, meeting Zhang Xu's excited gaze, he remained silent.
Zhang Xu said, "You can, can't you? That crow that often goes to the mine, you're the one you tamed, aren't you?"
The miners were short of food and water, and they would pick and eat any non-poisonous weeds they saw, not to mention birds.
Seeing a crow frequently flying around the mine, the workers all wanted to catch it and eat it.
But the crow was very clever and always managed to nimbly evade the workers' attempts to catch it.
The foreman in charge of the miners thought the crow was unlucky, and since it kept coming to the mine, he wanted to kill it.
The mine manager was arrested multiple times.
However, like the workers, they never caught anyone.
Later, the foremen devised a plan to set traps using rice. But the crows were not only clever but also exceptionally intelligent. They never flew into the traps set by the foremen.
Over time, the workers stopped bothering to catch the crow, which was impossible to catch, and the mine foreman also got used to it and stopped bothering with the crow.
No one thought about why the crows came to the mine every day.
But Zhang Xu felt that the crow was probably coming to the mine because its owner was there.
According to his observation, the crow's owner was Old Lai, who was lying in the corner.
"Have that crow deliver a message to Brother Fang's cousin. When his cousin arrives, let's rescue us all."
Everyone gathered around, looking at Old Lai expectantly.
Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, Old Lai finally spoke: "I can send it to deliver the letter, but it has never met that cousin before and doesn't know the location. Where should the letter be delivered?"
Old Lai's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Fang Dayong.
The light in his eyes quickly faded, and he became listless.
Zhang Xu didn't give up easily. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Old Lai, could the crows you tamed possibly find people by their scent?"
Fang Dayong's slumped back slowly straightened up again, and he looked at Old Lai with hope.
Old Lai said, "Dahei is not a bird that I specially tamed. It's just that I saved its life before, and it didn't forget my kindness. It refused to leave after I was captured and brought to work in the mine. If you have anything from your cousin, you can give it to me to try."
Fang Dayong excitedly touched his body, but then he realized with frustration that he hadn't touched anything resembling Lu Shiyan or Jiang Tangtang.
The only thing on him that was related to the two of them was a piece of steel wire he picked up from the ground when he was cultivating the Immortal Rope.
Because the villagers all said that the magic rope was a gift from the gods and a sacred object, he carefully kept the piece of discarded wire he found. Later, when he left the valley, he took it with him as a lucky charm.
He had finally found a glimmer of hope, and he was unwilling to give up so easily.
He hesitated for a moment, then took out the wire wrapped around his undergarment and said, "Will this work? This is a gift from the gods, and it should only exist in our valley. Why don't you let the crow smell this scent and follow it to find it?"
Instead of questioning whether divine gifts truly exist, everyone stared at Old Lai with bewildered expressions, waiting for an answer.
Old Lai glanced at what Fang Dayong handed him, a look of shock flashing in his eyes.
He sat up straight immediately. "This is made of black iron?"
He looked it over and over, then exclaimed excitedly, "No, no, this isn't made of black iron. How could black iron be used to make something so soft yet so fine as a hair?"
Seeing Lai Lao's excited expression, Fang Dayong's previously uneasy heart calmed down.
He said, "I don't know either. My cousin-in-law found it in a hidden cave, following the guidance of a deity. It's one of the materials used in this cultivation rope, and there are many similar things. Can crows find things by following this scent?"
"It should be possible."
At this moment, everyone noticed that Old Lai, who had previously seemed indifferent to death, suddenly had a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He then pulled Fang Dayong aside and asked him about the Immortal Rope.
When Fang Dayong was talking about Jiang Tangtang earlier, he also mentioned the Immortal Rope, but only briefly and without going into detail.
Only when Mr. Lai asked did Fang Dayong begin to explain in detail.
Upon hearing about the origin, length, and uses of the Immortal Rope, not only was Old Lai extremely excited, but the miners' eyes also lit up, filled with fantasies about the valley that Fang Dayong had described.
"Brother Fang, if we are rescued, can we settle down in the valley?"
"There are no exorbitant taxes in the valley, and it is protected by the gods. This valley is just like the paradise described in the book. I would be content if I could settle down here."
...
“It should be possible. My cousin and his wife are both very kind people. They even rescued a group of homeless children before and took them to the valley to care for them.” Fang Dayong then mentioned the rescue that Lu Shiyan and Jiang Tangtang had done.
Upon hearing this, people exclaimed that the two were truly good people, and it was no wonder that the gods would specially protect them, with even the people from their village benefiting from their good fortune.
"I'll call Big Black to give it a try tomorrow," Old Lai said to Fang Dayong. "You prepare the letter first, and we'll give it a try."
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