I drank all the water in the kettle, then refilled it. I sat by the pond, observing my surroundings; the wild grass beside me was very lush. There were also footprints of large animals.
He hadn't expected there to be a pool of water on the mountain. He rested for a while and continued on, but he felt that the location was not right.
He stopped and, relying on his senses, descended the mountain from the other side, which made him feel much more comfortable.
After walking for almost another hour, he suddenly stopped at a cliff, feeling that this was the place.
But what's here? Wait a minute, he suddenly lay down and saw a platform two meters below the cliff. He took out a rope from his basket, tied it to a tree, and then went down.
He didn't bring a flashlight, but he did smoke and carried matches. Instead of rushing into the cave, he gathered some dry branches and lit them.
Then they found a relatively thick piece of wood and put it in the fire; that would be the best they could do for a torch.
Then I filled the basket with dry branches. I don't know what's inside, but I'll just have to prepare.
Zhang Shouyi lit a cigarette, then held up a torch and entered the cave.
It was a bit cool inside, but it didn't have any particular smell. It was alright; it wasn't a den for large animals.
Indeed, large animals would not be able to make their home in this location.
He took his other hand off the gun and relaxed considerably.
After walking for five minutes, nothing had changed; it was just one road, a road that kept going straight ahead.
Suddenly there was no road, and I ended up in a large hall.
When Zhang Shouyi saw this, he was startled to find a skeleton covered with clothes.
Having witnessed countless bloodshed, Zhang Shouyi remained calm for a while before approaching.
He raised the torch high, looking at the skeleton on the ground, noticing words on the hand bones. He crouched down and brought the torch closer. There were two crooked characters, apparently carved from a nearby stone.
After a while, I realized that it was written as the two characters 'Red Plum'.
Is this the child from the family I lived with? So he died here. But how did this ten-year-old child get here? This journey is not short.
He walked around with the torch and decided to take the child back. Although the village chief said that her parents' bodies had not returned, the villagers built a cenotaph for the couple so that the family of three could be reunited.
He squatted down in front of the skeleton. "Little girl, I'm sending you back to your parents. You must be lonely here all by yourself."
After Zhang Shouyi finished speaking, he took off his clothes, put on gloves, and carefully placed all her bones on the clothes spread on the ground.
They even put away those clothes that would fall apart at the slightest touch, and suddenly noticed a bracelet on the bone of her arm.
Seeing that the bone was of exceptionally high quality, he picked it up, and the bracelet seemed to have grown out of it.
Zhang Shouyi smiled and gently put the bone down, but suddenly the bracelet petrified at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into powder.
What's going on? Zhang Shouyi was startled and a little incredulous. He had never heard of jade weathering.
Then he wrapped everything in his clothes and carefully placed it aside.
He discovered that there was a breeze blowing, which meant there was another path ahead, just hidden.
The torch was about to go out, so he relit it.
He then wandered around the hall, searching inch by inch, and finally found something different in the corner. He stomped on it hard, and suddenly a rumbling sound came from the opposite side.
It turned out to be a hidden door. He waited a while before going in and saw many stone boxes inside. He walked around them and then forcefully lifted the lid of a stone cabinet. Inside were wooden boxes. After opening them, Zhang Shouyi smiled.
Is this God's way of compensating me for this lifetime? Knowing that I needed these things now, God sent out this gold.
Although I've let go of everything, I'm still worried about the country's economy. With these [funds/assets], things should be a little better.
Zhang Shouyi smiled and left, then picked up the bundle of clothes from the ground, put it in the basket, and went outside.
Climbing up the rope and standing here overlooking everything, I realized that it wasn't just a legend; this really was a treasure trove from the previous dynasty.
They put away the rope and started walking back. Along the way, they caught a few wild rabbits and a few pheasants.
Liu Maocai had been waiting for Zhang Shouyi to return, but it was almost dark, and he still hadn't come back. He was really worried. What would he say if something really happened? Couldn't he just stay here in peace?
Just as he was about to find someone to go up the mountain, Zhang Shouyi returned.
"Village chief, I have found Zhang Hongmei's remains."
"What? What did you say?"
"Village chief, please come inside and talk."
The two entered the Zhang family's courtyard. Zhang Shouyi took out the bundle of clothes and placed it on the ground.
“Village chief, I found it in a cave. The words ‘Red Plum’ were written next to the remains. Besides, these are the remains of a child, and the clothes look like they were worn by a girl.”
Liu Maocai opened the bag of clothes with trembling hands and saw that the clothes were already tattered and torn. He was certain that this was Hongmei.
At such an old age, tears streamed down my face.
"Yes, this is Hongmei. Thank you, thank you."
"Village chief, let's leave her at her own home." Zhang Shouyi said, seeing Liu Maocai trying to wrap him up and take him away.
"That's right, let the child stay at home. I'll arrange for someone to bury her tomorrow."
"Comrade, let's go home for dinner. Stay home tonight, and come back after Hongmei's burial."
"Okay, thank you, village chief. By the way, I need to call Liu Jingze tomorrow."
“There are some in the village, you can call them tonight.”
Zhang Shouyi smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll make the call tonight."
After returning home, Liu Maocai told his wife, two daughters, and Shitou that he had found Zhang Hongmei's remains.
Li Cuihua immediately burst into tears, "Thank God, this poor child wasn't left outside. Tomorrow we must bury her so that the family of three can be reunited."
Er Ya and San Ya also shed tears. Their two families were close, and although Hong Mei was usually quiet, she was still close to them. They were also upset to learn that their little sister had only been found after eight years.
Looking at the family's behavior, Zhang Shouyi felt that they were all good people.
Li Cuihua was exceptionally hospitable and went to fry some eggs for Zhang Shouyi. She kept urging him to eat.
Is this a way of thanking myself? Thanking myself for bringing Zhang Hongmei back.
"Auntie, you really don't need to be so polite."
"Comrade, you don't know, we've been blaming ourselves for not taking good care of Hongmei. Now that we've found her, we can finally put our minds at ease."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com