After finishing their meal, the group drove on and stopped at a place that looked appealing.
The group scattered, each carrying their detectors. Chen Feng popped a piece of gum into his mouth, picked up his detector, and set off as well.
There's nothing special about this place; the terrain and environment are similar to what we saw before.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the system beeped. Chen Feng chewed his gum, looked around, and drew a range.
Carrying the detector, they began to probe row by row. After a few rows, the detector went off.
"Ooh-woo~"
Chen Feng squatted down, picked up a small pickaxe, and vigorously dug at the soil. Before he knew it, dust flew into his mouth, and his chewing gum felt gritty.
"puff."
Chen Feng looked disgusted, spat out the chewing gum, and turned back to digging.
Once it was almost done, we pulled the detector over and ran it over the mound of earth.
"Ooh-woo~"
Holding a small shovel, Chen Feng calmly worked through the dirt.
Soon, a silver coin appeared in Chen Feng's hand, estimated to be worth about thirty or forty yuan.
After blowing on the silver particles, Chen Feng tossed the goods into a small bottle, picked them up, and prepared to continue walking.
But when he looked up, he suddenly saw what looked like... a house in the distance?
Are there still houses in this place?
Chen Feng's curiosity was piqued, and he walked straight over there.
He knew that there were other gold prospectors in the area besides them.
Chen Feng was surprised to find that gold prospectors actually lived here permanently.
Is it really possible to live here permanently? Where do you get your food? If you're transporting it by truck, why don't you just live in the truck instead of living outside?
That's unnecessary.
Chen Feng became increasingly puzzled, and he couldn't wait to go and see what was going on.
As luck would have it, there wasn't a single item along the way, and Chen Feng soon arrived at the house.
Upon closer inspection, Chen Feng discovered that it was just a small house built of wooden planks, drafty from all sides, with some planks already fallen off, and many withered grass and branches stuck to the roof.
Chen Feng was very kind and opened the door and went in. Actually, you could have gone in even without opening the door, since more than half of the door panel had fallen off.
Upon entering, one sees the room in a mess, with a pair of dirty, blackened bedding on the floor and two pots and pans nearby.
The basin was filthy; I don't know what dried out and clumps of stuff were on it.
There was also a relatively large basin next to it, which was blackened and contained some unburnt wood.
There was also a large woven bag in the corner, half full of things.
Chen Feng walked over and lifted the woven bag with his hand. With a snap, the bag crumbled into pieces. Chen Feng stared blankly at the fragments in his hand.
He brushed off the debris, opened the bag to look inside, and found some tattered clothes and shoes, all in a terrible state.
Chen Feng glanced at it and put it aside, then looked at it again and again.
No one has been here for a long time, otherwise these things wouldn't be in this state.
The only place to sit in the room was a thick, worn-out cutting board.
Chen Feng touched it and found a thick layer of sand on it; the bedding was the same.
There was some junk in the room, such as broken water bottles, aluminum cans, and a bag containing what Chen Feng suspected were food items, all of which had dried out and clumped together.
This is not a place for gold prospectors; it's more like a homeless person's dwelling.
Who on earth would wander in a place like this?
There's no food or water here, not even a place to scavenge. What are we doing here?
After rummaging around the room, Chen Feng saw a dirty little notebook under the pillow, and a pair of old-fashioned glasses with one lens cracked.
Picking up the small notebook, which turned out to be a diary, Chen Feng flipped through it from beginning to end.
"They said there was a gold mine here, and they've already arrived. They're discussing the benefits, which are said to be very generous. The whole family is very happy."
"Finally, I can make money. I never thought that after farming all my life, I would become rich in this way."
"But this is the place where our ancestors have lived for generations. Are we really going to leave?"
Seeing the family's happy smiles, I took back what I was saying. As long as they're happy, that's all that matters.
Chen Feng continued flipping through the diary, wanting to know what had happened.
"Our house was demolished, we have nowhere left, and the compensation for the demolition hasn't come through yet. Everyone is waiting anxiously, and some have even chosen houses in the city."
"I just need to wait for the money to come through so my son can get married. I'll consider that a major life event has been accomplished for me."
“A month has passed, and the money still hasn’t come through. I went to them, and they said the process was still in progress, but the gold mine has already started construction. How can the money not come through? My in-laws are pressing me urgently, and my son is urging me every day. I can’t do anything about it.”
"Another month has passed. I haven't even been home this month. I've been following them around asking for money every day, but they always say tomorrow or the day after. We don't even have a place to live now."
"If I can't get my money back, I'll have no face to face my family."
Seeing this, Chen Feng was completely confused. The mine in Qiuling City was a state-owned enterprise. Would the government really hold the local people back from paying money?
However, given how vast China is, it's inevitable that there will be areas that are not properly regulated. In many cases, it depends on whether the local officials and village secretaries have a conscience.
Chen Feng lit a cigarette and continued flipping through his diary.
"After making inquiries from various sources, I learned that the government had already allocated the funds, but the officials colluded with the village party secretary to embezzle all the money."
"The village was demolished, and they took the money and fled far away. We... are finished."
“My son’s wedding fell through, and he was furious about it, vowing to cut ties with me. He disappeared yesterday, and I can’t reach him at all.”
"My wife cried every day, unable to accept reality, and one day she disappeared too."
"The creditors came to my door, took all my belongings, and beat me out."
"My family... is broken."
Chen Feng took a drag of his cigarette after seeing this and fell silent.
No wonder there's a makeshift house here; he's unwilling to accept the shattered reality and unwilling to leave this place that was once his home.
That's why he's been living here, even without food or water.
Chen Feng couldn't imagine how an old man with white hair and a hunched back could walk nearly 100 kilometers, beg for food in the city, and then come back here to live.
This trip will probably take him a month.
He could have had a large family and a happy life, but it was all ruined.
Where is this old man now? He may have died on a long journey, or he may have died in the city.
Like a withered blade of grass, it silently fades away in a corner unnoticed by anyone.
Further on, you'll find the old man's venting of his frustration with injustice and his helplessness.
"Why did this happen? Why did God do this to me?"
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