Shi Daman was choked by Mu Xiaowan and his face turned red. It was dark in the cave and no one could see each other.
After a long silence, he finally managed to say, "It's not like that. It's mainly because we don't have enough food. If we could be like you city people and have commercial grain to eat every month, we wouldn't do this."
Mu Xiaowan chuckled: "Bullshit! Didn't we also go to the countryside to be educated youth? Besides, you followed Shi Tianliang to have enough food to eat and lived the life you wanted? Didn't he just pay you a little as a farmhand? Did he give you a penny of the gold he mined, the opium he planted, and the money he sold in the end?"
"What's the difference between what you're doing now and being a farmhand for a landlord? Are your days getting worse and worse?"
Shi Daman was stunned for a moment, and was hurt by Mu Xiaowan's incisive words, as if it was really true.
Mu Xiaowan continued to curse: "You guys deserve to be used for your pig brains. In the end, you will all go to jail and get shot. It's good to be together on the road to the underworld."
Shi Daman didn't say anything. He knew from the past that Mu Xiaowan was a sharp-tongued person who could say different things to different people. After not seeing her for a few years, he seemed to have become even more powerful.
As the time grew later, the temperature dropped.
Mu Xiaowan no longer had the heart to educate others. She sat in the cave with her arms folded, still holding a dagger in her hand. She was anxious. In such a dark night, would Zhou Shixun and Zhou Luancheng be in danger?
Because I was worried, time passed extra slowly until a vague light appeared at the entrance of the cave and the sky brightened.
Mu Xiaowan couldn't wait any longer, so he got up and went outside the cave to look, although he couldn't see anything.
Suddenly, a gunshot broke the silence of dawn, startling a flock of birds that fluttered into the sky.
Then the gunshots became more frequent, making Mu Xiaowan's heart shrink. He didn't know what was happening at the foot of the mountain and where the gunshots came from.
…
Chen Linwen left after it was completely dark, and Shi Tianliang hurried up the mountain with his hunting rifle.
When we arrived at the mine, we found that everything was normal. A dozen men were still sifting for gold in the river.
After looking around, I asked the caregivers about the situation, but they all said they didn't find anything.
Shi Tianliang felt a little relieved, thinking that he had just scared himself. He stayed in the mountains until almost dawn but found nothing.
It was not until daybreak, when visibility improved, that they discovered that the explosives buried on both sides of the stream had been dug out and rushed into the shack, and the main fuse for lighting the explosives had disappeared.
Shi Tianliang was shocked. He had checked when he came last night and found that the fuse and everything was fine.
He just stayed there, and no matter when people came in, there was no movement or light at all.
In panic, he quickly went out and shouted to the people working to stop and hide, and also shouted to a few guards to grab their weapons.
However, it was too late. The brothers Zhou Shixun and Zhou Luancheng suddenly appeared, one standing upstream and the other standing downstream...
Shi Tianliang made one final struggle, but he was naturally no match for Zhou Shixun's brothers. In the chaos, the weapons fell into the hands of the two brothers. Shi Tianliang's leg was also injured, and he lay on the ground wailing.
The gunshots also attracted the attention of local police, and soon someone rushed over.
When Shi Tianliang saw Director Zhang Pangzi, he thought of the benefits he had given him over the years, so he hugged his legs, howled, and complained, pointing at Zhou Shixun and Zhou Luancheng: "Director, hurry up, these two people came from nowhere, and they started shooting as soon as they entered the mountain. They look like wanted criminals fleeing here."
Fatty Zhang was sweating profusely. If it were in the past, he would definitely have followed Shi Tianliang's advice and arrested the two men first.
Then no matter what crime they are charged with, it won't be a problem to lock them up for three to five years.
But it’s not possible now. Someone came from Beijing at midnight yesterday. He looked important. He didn’t say anything. He was just sitting in the office drinking tea. When he heard the gunshots, he came here.
Although Fatty Zhang had not seen much of the world, he could tell from the man's age and aura that the other person was not a simple person. Now he looked at the two young men pointed at by Shi Tianliang.
He looks so much like the man last night, what else is there to understand?
Could this guy be a wanted criminal?
When Chen Linwen saw Zhou Luancheng and Zhou Shixun, he looked at the sieve and bucket that had not been hidden in the creek yet.
And several middle-aged men who were trembling with fear.
Suddenly, he became smart and shouted at Shi Tianliang, "Shut up! You are really the first to complain! This is Public Security Zhou from Beijing. He must be here to investigate a case."
"And you, you did nothing good in the mountains, no wonder you are not allowed to enter the mountains. What are you doing? Don't think I don't know, you are panning for gold!"
When Tianliang said this, his face turned pale and he stammered, unable to make any excuses.
Zhou Nanguang also walked over slowly with his secretary. Seeing that Zhou Shixun and Zhou Luancheng were both unharmed, he felt relieved. He nodded to his two sons and stood silently beside Fatty Zhang.
Fatty Zhang felt the pressure doubled.
Some people are like this: without saying a word, they can make you feel pressured and dare not do anything in front of them.
Fatty Zhang didn't think twice before choosing to protect himself, shouting to his men to come over: "Catch all these people, and if you still have a conscience, you'd better confess your crimes honestly."
Zhou Nanguang waved his hand: "Don't worry. Just now after you came out, I used your office phone to call the city police. They should be here soon. This is a big case, and you can't handle it with just one police station."
Fatty Zhang broke out in a cold sweat and kept wiping his forehead. If the city police took over the case, wouldn't he be doomed as well?
Thinking about the cigarettes, alcohol, money and food coupons I got from Shi Tianliang over the years, I felt extremely regretful.
The city police arrived quickly, confiscated all the gold-mining tools and the undestroyed large fireworks on the mountain, took Shi Tianliang and his group away, and also searched Shi Tianliang's home.
The vats of gold sand in the cellar could no longer be concealed.
Zhou Luancheng assisted in the investigation and asked Zhou Shixun to go to the mountain to bring Mu Xiaowan down and return to Beijing with Zhou Nanguang.
After Zhou Luancheng and the provincial police left, Zhou Nanguang had time to talk to Zhou Shixun: "You didn't even call home when you came out. An Ning was so worried that I came here yesterday. I didn't expect you guys were really in trouble."
Zhou Shixun was not surprised to hear that it was An Ning who asked Zhou Nanguang to come over. She must have dreamed about something again.
He asked Zhou Nanguang to wait at the foot of the mountain while he went up the mountain to pick up Mu Xiaowan and Shi Daman.
Zhou Nanguang was relieved to hear that Mu Xiaowan was not injured. "Okay, go quickly. We will return to Beijing soon. My family is worried sick."
What surprised Zhou Shixun was that when Mu Xiaowan heard that Zhou Nanguang was coming to pick them up, she was unwilling to go back with him.
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