Chapter 19 The Mystery of Deer Cave Mountain
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The mountain where Guan Xiuhua's chicken farm is called a mountain is actually just a hill, with an altitude of no more than 200 meters.
A legend has long circulated in the mountainous area that during the period of fighting landlords, the richest and most powerful landlord in the area hid all his vast wealth before leaving the country.
There are three theories about the whereabouts of the treasure: one is that he buried it in a cave in Ludong Mountain and sealed the entrance with stones, requiring a treasure map to find its location; another is that the treasure is still in his old family home, and only he knows its exact location; and the third is that it was hidden in a tunnel in a Taoist temple on the mountaintop, but no one knows the entrance to the tunnel.
That Taoist temple has been abandoned for a long time.
According to the older generation, during the war, all the Taoist priests in the temple went down the mountain to fight against the Japanese. None of them returned afterward. Without a master, the temple was neglected and gradually declined.
Rumor has it that during the period of fighting landlords, some people saw many mules and horses carrying many boxes up the mountain.
Because of this theory, people tend to think that the location of the wealthy man's treasure is either one or two. Of course, the wealthy man's old house is also frequently visited.
People used to come here one after another to search for treasure, but all of them ended up coming to nothing, and gradually fewer and fewer people came to search for treasure.
With the reform and opening up, land could be contracted out, and the mountains near Ludong Mountain were gradually leased to individuals. Perhaps because they never found a treasure map or the entrance to the tunnel, the treasure hunt gradually disappeared.
So, what was She Yaozu's purpose in going up the mountain? Was the theft of the bicycle bell cover related to him?
In the room, She Ning used a red pen to mark all the relevant people around She Yaozu.
She Er's family, friends and relatives in town, and people he has connections with in villages near Ludong Mountain.
One of them caught She Ning's attention.
Lin Yejun, a former educated youth sent to the countryside, returned to the city two years ago. He is 26 years old and works at a waste recycling station in the town.
He is the son of She Yaozu's uncle.
In the village, She Yaozu often boasted about how good his uncle was to him, frequently buying him trendy clothes such as bell-bottoms, jackets, and vests. He would also often go to town to visit his uncle.
According to the investigation, She Yaozu's uncle's family was originally so poor that they had to sell their daughters' clothes to raise money. It was only in the last two years, after Lin Yejun returned from his rural assignment, that they became more extravagant. However, the monthly salary of a regular employee at a waste recycling station is at most 25 yuan. How could an intern at a recycling station have so much money?
She Ning highlighted Lin Yejun's name, and then circled several people who had connections in the villages near Ludong Mountain. They were all idle hooligans who did nothing all day.
"Ding, system task: Explore the mystery of the treasure in Ludong Mountain. Complete the task to receive one blind box lottery draw."
It's like handing someone a pillow just when you're about to doze off.
Holding a pen and writing an analysis, She Ning heard the system's announcement and couldn't help but smile. The system never issues tasks without a reason. Based on her understanding of the tasks the system had issued in the past, she had already guessed what She Yaozu was going to do up the mountain.
The next step is simply to wait patiently for the opportunity to come to you.
Perhaps because he was frightened by Guan Xiuhua's hand being pressed to the ground last time, She Yaozu hasn't been to the chicken farm these past few days. However, he's been to the town quite often. She Ning secretly followed him for a few days and discovered that he spends his mornings strolling around the streets, lunchtimes eating and drinking with his friends in town, afternoons visiting his uncle, and then staying at the recycling station until four or five o'clock before going home.
She Yaozu's daily schedule was very regular, and there was nothing unusual about it. After several attempts, She Ning began to doubt that she had made the wrong deduction.
However, the system's tasks have never gone wrong. She plans to stay for a few more days, and if she still can't find any anomalies, she will try a different approach to continue the task.
It was raining that day, so She Yaozu didn't go out, and She Ning stayed at home looking at math olympiad materials.
In her previous life, she also attended an advanced math class in high school.
Back then, the Olympiad was a very popular event. Almost every school held Olympiad selection competitions to choose promising students. If a student from any school could enter the national training team and participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), it would be a great honor. The banners would definitely be hung all over the school, starting from the main street and going all the way to the other end, and the sound of firecrackers along the street would last for several days.
Flipping through the "Compilation of Mathematics Competition Materials from Eight Provinces and Cities" in her hand, She Ning tried to do the problems. Having experienced the abnormal transformations of problems in later generations, she felt that the current way of setting questions was okay and not too abnormal.
She Ning never fights a battle unprepared. Since she chose to participate in the Mathematical Olympiad, she wanted to do her best. Even though she knew the answers to those questions, She Ning still diligently practiced them and tried to solve them in several different ways.
After finishing several test papers, She Ning stood up and stood at the door, looking out at the incessant drizzle.
It hadn't rained yet when She Ni and She Hongmei went out. Neither of them had brought any rain gear. They took the only "Dadi" brand raincoat they had at home. She Ning told the old lady in the side room, put on a straw hat and a raincoat, and then she went out.
The rain wasn't heavy. When we arrived at Xiahe Elementary School, She Ni hadn't finished class yet. She Ning was standing at the school gate waiting. A number of parents gradually arrived around the school gate, all of them there to bring raincoats and pick up their children from school.
Before long, the bell rang, and students poured out of the classroom. She Ning spotted She Ni in the crowd at a glance.
She Ni didn't bring a raincoat. When she walked out of the classroom and found it was raining, she was a little worried. The rain wasn't heavy. If it were any other time, she would have just run home in the rain. But today, her sister had braided her hair into a pretty fishtail braid, and she didn't want it to get wet.
"Xiao Ni, over here."
As she was struggling with her thoughts, a familiar voice pulled her back to reality. She looked over in surprise, and her eyes lit up when she recognized the person.
"Sister, you've come to pick me up!" As she spoke, she ran over on her short little legs. When she got there, she hugged She Ning's leg and looked up at her with her round little dog eyes blinking. Her face was full of undisguised joy.
"Sister, sister, you're so sweet!" A small, warm little girl snuggled up to you, her voice overflowing with sweetness as she whined, "I love you the most."
She Ning pinched her cheek and said with a smile, "Alright, put on your raincoat and let's go home."
The raincoat was a bit big, so She Ni stood obediently while She Ning helped her put it on.
At the school gate, people came and went in succession. Most of the students here were children from Xiahe Village.
The youngest son of the She family also studies here. Usually, Luo Xiaoling is most attentive to her two precious sons, especially her youngest son. Today it was raining, and Luo Xiaoling was afraid that he would get wet. She rushed home to get a raincoat before she finished working in the fields.
However, no matter how fast she rushed, when she finally picked up her eldest son and returned to the door, her beloved son had been waiting there for quite a while. His chubby face with a double chin was drooping, clearly unhappy.
She coaxed him with kind words and promised to take him to town to pick out things. Seeing him smile, Luo Xiaoling breathed a sigh of relief. But then she saw the two sisters, She Ning and She Ning, helping each other and having a good time not far away. A pang of jealousy welled up in her heart.
Thinking of what her eldest son had said, she scoffed. She just couldn't stand people who put on a show and boasted for the sake of face. "She Ning, I heard that you asked to skip a grade and go to junior high school before you even graduated from elementary school. Is that true?"
"So what if it's true or false?" After buttoning up She Ni's raincoat, She Ning stood up and calmly replied, "What's it to you?"
"As expected of She Hongmei's daughter, her tone of voice is exactly the same, so annoying." Luo Xiaoling rolled her eyes at She Ning and sneered, "How can this not be my business? Is it fair to everyone if you don't follow the proper procedures for going to school?"
"Everyone knows you didn't have a final exam in sixth grade. Why can you skip a grade and go straight to the third year of junior high while we have to follow the rules and go through each grade one by one? The school leaders are helping you so much. Did you do something shady?"
She Ning originally didn't want to pay attention to her, but Luo Xiaoling's words clearly intended to drag Xiahe Elementary School and Xiahe Middle School into the mess, and the parents who hadn't left yet started whispering among themselves.
If this is not clarified, the reputations of both schools will be damaged, and it will also affect Teacher Zhu, who gave her the elementary school diploma, and Director Xia, who allowed her to skip a grade.
"Because my sister is amazing, she got a perfect score on the exam!" Before She Ning could even speak, little She Ning couldn't help but stand up for her, the little girl resolutely standing in front of her, spreading her arms to protect her.
"A perfect score on the exam? That's laughable." Luo Xiaoling scoffed. "Lying at such a young age, I wonder how She Hongmei taught her."
Gently pulling She Ning to her side, She Ning hadn't fallen so low as to need her sister to stand up for her. Besides, why should she have to prove her innocence just because Luo Xiaoling questioned her?
The burden of proof lies with the party making the question.
"Do you have any evidence to prove that I used improper means to get into the third year of junior high school? If so, please provide it."
“If there’s no evidence, then making baseless accusations is a crime of defamation,” She Ning said calmly.
"Evidence? Aren't your grades excellent evidence?"
“My son was in Class 2 in this monthly exam, which is the best class except for Class 1.” Luo Xiaoling raised her eyebrows and praised her eldest son to the skies. “Son, do you think you saw She Ning taking the exam in Class 9?”
"I saw her taking the exam in Class 9." The tall, thin boy next to Luo Xiaoling nodded and answered honestly. Then, he looked at She Ning with a hint of embarrassment, as if he had no choice and was very helpless.
She Ning didn't even look at him. His expression was like throwing it to a blind man, failing to achieve the desired effect. His expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly returned to his innocent look.
With her son's renewed affirmation, Luo Xiaoling became even more determined in her opinion. She scoffed and said disdainfully, "How good can one's grades be in Class 9?"
That was a well-known gathering place for poor students, a class where everyone ranked last or second to last.
Many of the people around also had children attending Xiahe Middle School, and they had heard of the famous Class 9. After hearing Luo Xiaoling's words, they looked at She Ning with a strange gaze.
Specialization is a sensitive word for people nowadays, and seeking special treatment is a matter of principle.
Seeing Luo Xiaoling's confident and assertive demeanor, She Ning thought she could provide some intimidating evidence. But this was all?
"Don't you know that the seating arrangement for the monthly exam is based on the placement test? Those who didn't take the placement test will be assigned to Class 9. As far as I know, She Xiaolan from the village secretary's family is also taking the exam in Class 9 this time."
She Xiaolan was a year ahead of her and was a well-known "model child" in the village. She was polite, sensible, and had good grades. When She Ning said that she was also in Class 9, everyone's gaze softened considerably.
Luo Xiaoling was at a loss for words and was speechless.
The village party secretary, She Xiaolan, was also in Class 9, which surprised her. She had only heard from her eldest son that she saw She Ning in Class 9 during the exam. Based on what she knew about Class 9 before, she assumed that She Ning's grades were not good and thought that she was admitted to Class 9 through special means.
"She Ning is the top student in our grade's monthly exam this time."
"The gap is still number one." These two sentences suddenly popped up from the crowd.
A note from the author:
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Thanks to "Adline秋秋" for the nutrient solution.
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