I had assumed that this retired archivist wouldn't be able to provide me with any useful clues.
Unexpectedly, after hearing my question, he countered with, "The temple you mentioned was built in the sixth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, right?"
Upon hearing the old man's response, I immediately sat up straight: "You actually know?"
“Back then, the whole city was undergoing development. At that time, reform and opening up had just begun, and everything had to give way to economic development! The bureau was short-handed, so a special religious building demolition team was set up to demolish ancient temples in the economic planning area. I was in charge of the Mawei Mountain area! There were a total of three temples, two Taoist temples, and one shaman temple there.”
The old man paused for a moment: "In the area I'm in charge of, apart from a Song Dynasty temple that was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit, the rest didn't meet the rating criteria, so only that temple was preserved."
"You truly deserve to be called an archivist; your memory is amazing!"
Upon hearing the old man's answer, I quickly pressed him, "What else do you remember about that shaman temple?"
The old man replied, "That was a dilapidated little temple that had been neglected for many years and had become a ruin. That was the first place we demolished! Demolishing a temple is considered bad luck, so before we started, I bought a pig's head and offered fruit as a sacrifice."
Seeing how clearly the old man remembered the shaman temple, I was secretly delighted: "Are there any cultural relics in the temple? Like statues, stone tablets or something?"
“I told you, it was a dilapidated little temple that was demolished during the destruction of the Four Olds. The main hall was burned down, and some stone tablets and statues in the courtyard were also smashed.”
The old man thought for a moment and shook his head: "When I went there, the temple was just an empty shell. There were a few broken stone tablets and some patterned stones scattered in the courtyard. But the construction period was too short, and the temple was not a protected cultural relic, so we didn't verify it and just bulldozed it with a loader."
I continued, "Do you remember where those stones are now?"
"It's been decades. Mawei Mountain has been filled in and turned into an industrial zone. Who would care about the whereabouts of a few broken stones?"
The old man thought for a moment and said, “If you are really interested, you can go and visit the surrounding villages. The stones in the temple were all of excellent quality. Perhaps the villagers will pick them up and turn them into millstones or something! During the destruction of the Four Olds, many temple stone tablets were taken away and turned into stone troughs for feeding livestock.”
"Thank you so much, sir!"
After listening to the old man's story, I knew I wouldn't get many more clues from him, so I got up and thanked him.
After leaving the nursing home, I got into Xue Haihua's car: "Mr. Xue, you heard what the archivist said. I'll need to trouble you to investigate the relevant situation in the surrounding villages for me."
Xue Haihua readily agreed: "No problem at all. I have quite a few friends here. Let's go to the hotel in the county town to rest and wait for news!"
"No, let's wait in the surrounding villages. That way, if we can find out any information, I can get to the scene as soon as possible."
I gave Xue Haihua a slightly apologetic smile: "Mr. Xue, we are short on time and have a heavy workload, please understand."
Xue Haihua smiled indifferently: "Haha, I come from a poor background, not someone who's used to a life of luxury. It's just that you've come from afar, and I haven't been able to show you proper hospitality. If this gets back to President Wei, I'm afraid it won't have a good impact."
"This is what I do for a living, so Mr. Xue hasn't been neglecting me."
I exchanged a few polite words with Xue Haihua, and he instructed the driver to head towards the Maweishan Industrial Zone.
This industrial zone is the economic pillar of this small county. Because the city's size cannot compare with those of large cities, the projects attracted here are mostly heavily polluting chemical plants and furniture factories.
While we were waiting in the car, I called my neck: "How's the situation on your end? Have you found anything?"
"I was just about to call you. I've made a wasted trip."
The monkey sighed: "There is indeed a shaman temple here, but the statues are not freestanding; they are carved out of the mountainside, just like the Dunhuang Grottoes! I don't think the source stone we're looking for could possibly be from a mountain, could it?"
After listening to the monkey's words, I asked seriously, "Are you sure there's only one statue over there?"
"Although I'm usually a carefree person, saving Wei Shengnan this time is a matter of life and death, and I absolutely dare not be careless!"
The monkey continued, "This shaman temple is not open to the public. The person who brought me in was a big boss that the Wei family knew locally. He let me in, but I wasn't allowed to take pictures. However, I'm 100% sure that the statue here isn't the one we're looking for."
I sighed helplessly, "Since you haven't found anything on your end, then stop bothering and go to the airport to wait."
The monkey countered, "Young Master Duan, what's the situation on your end? Should I come over and help you?"
"Forget it, we're only using small planes, which can't carry too many people. The cost of a single flight is too high. Even though the Wei family is wealthy, we can't afford to waste money like this!"
I declined the monkey's suggestion: "I don't have any results yet. If you've confirmed something, it's not too late for you to come. If you haven't found anything, I'll go to the airport to wait and prepare to meet at another location."
The monkey didn't insist: "Okay, I'll do as you say! Call me anytime if you need anything."
I waited for five or six hours.
When it was time for dinner, I declined Xue Haihua's invitation to go to the city for dinner. So he contacted a factory in an industrial park and called a chef from the county town to prepare a sumptuous feast for us.
Just as we were eating, Xue Haihua's secretary quickly walked to the table and handed him a tablet computer: "Mr. Xue, I have found the information you asked me to investigate. A broken stone tablet with inscriptions was discovered in Shanzui Village, three kilometers away from here. These are the photos I took."
Xue Haihua wasn't interested in this matter and handed me the tablet: "Mr. Duan, is this what you're looking for?"
I turned my gaze to the screen, which showed a stone piled up among weeds. It wasn't very big, and I could vaguely make out the two Chinese characters "拾陆" on it, along with half of a character that looked like Manchu script.
Seeing the inscription on the stone, I immediately became interested: "Mr. Xue, I need to go to this village and investigate it in person."
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