"Okay, it's really great. You can see the water ripples so clearly even without polishing. Would it be better if it was all polished? I said before that it would be sold for three hundred when it is made into beads. It is less than one thousand, at least one thousand!"
The fat man's head was covered with dirt. He smiled and said: "Old Huang, you are so talented. You can think of all these ways. No one will be able to make them into beads."
"That's right, I mean to make the best use of everything and not waste anything. It's a pity that the stone coffins and murals are all spent. It's a lot of money to spend."
After finishing speaking, Lao Huang looked at me, as if he meant what he said.
It was just dawn, and our broken car was packed to the brim and driving on the mountain road. Except for the three of us and a few bulging snakeskin bags, the rest of the car was filled with disassembled rotten coffin boards, which was everywhere in the car.
earth.
I looked at the road ahead and said without looking back: "Forget it this time. Don't think about the stone coffin murals. There are rules in the industry. We in the north do not pick up rags and do not touch the walls."
After hearing what I said, Lao Huang scratched his head and said: "Brother, you are used to living a good life eating meat every day. You don't know how difficult it is to make money in this world. It's just a whole coffin board that ordinary people don't eat."
If you don’t drink, you won’t be able to afford it even if you work for ten years.”
I didn't reply to him with a cold face. I recalled all the details in my mind. This is a necessary step to complete the work every time.
The hole was backfilled, grass seeds were scattered, all tools were inventoried, clothes, cell phones, and used cigarette butts were all taken out.
No problem, when spring comes and new grass grows, no one can see that place.
I said: "Fat man, I'll sort it out in the next two days. Then you can find someone to ship it. This batch of things cannot be exposed locally."
"Don't worry, brother, I have already contacted my next employer before I came here, but I think there is a problem with the proportion this time. This time you have the greatest credit, so you have to take the lion's share. Lao Huang and I can get three percent each."
I shook my head: "No, just follow the division mentioned before, 30% for me and 70% for you two."
"This...brother, I'm sorry for your trouble."
I glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the tangled expression on the fat man's face. I smiled and said, "If I take 10% less, it won't have much impact. If you take 10% more, you can make a comeback. You are short of money now."
"Damn it, why are you still crying? It's disgusting. Stop acting like this. Why are you pretending to me like this?"
The fat black man's eyes were slightly red, he wiped his eyes and immediately grinned.
He showed his big white teeth and asked me: "Brother, how much did you get when you first started drying soil?"
"One percent."
"So low?"
"Loose dirt is just like this. As a handyman, I was so bad back then. I could throw loose dirt into the river and almost drown. However, they only gave me 10% because of my talent. So, it's not low."
Lao Huang said: "Anyway, no one will see it. It doesn't matter if you don't fill the hole. It's just a piece of dirt. It won't cause trouble for yourself."
I explained: "Not all tombs are in deep mountains and old forests, and not all kinds of soil can be filled blindly. Many tombs in the Warring States, Spring and Autumn Period, and early Western Han Dynasty have plaster mud layers. The properties of the air will change when they are filled in, and it will rain heavily in summer.
Just finished playing, that’s why we have to scatter the soil.”
"Brother, be careful, there is a car behind us, it seems to be following us." The fat man suddenly said.
I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that there was indeed a car following us from a distance, with its lights on and the license plate number unclear.
I immediately became nervous. It was less than five o'clock in the morning, and there are usually no cars on such remote mountain trails.
Fatty and Lao Huang were not talking, and they were obviously feeling nervous.
I pressed the accelerator to the floor and paid close attention to the rearview mirror.
"I didn't catch up, it should be fine." The fat man said after a while.
I didn't dare to delay and drove to the town as quickly as possible.
When I arrived at the door of the hotel in the town at around five o'clock in the morning, I asked the fat man to go and see if there was anyone at the front desk.
Soon the fat man came back and said there was no one.
So the three of us carried a few large sacks back to the house as fast as we could. The coffin boards were still in the car, so I deliberately parked the car in a very remote place where no one would notice.
After locking the door and sitting on the bed, I felt relieved.
Untie the sack, take out all the funerary objects, place them on the ground, and count the quantities.
Many Tang Sancai maids had dirt on their faces, and several of them were cracked and broken. The key is that this "stinky statue" was covered with three layers of plastic bags, and you could still smell a strong odor.
I took it directly to the bathroom, closed the door and turned on the faucet.
Soap, washing powder, scrubbing and washing with a shoe brush.
It still stinks!!
The fat man couldn't bear it and wanted to open the window for some ventilation, but I stopped him. Then I submerged the entire stinking cauldron in a leather bucket filled with water, so that the smell was reduced.
"Brother, this thing needs to be dealt with. It really stinks."
I nodded: "I need to do some finishing work to remove the smell, otherwise the smell will be too strong, so don't call me a hater. I'm going to buy things for finishing and some food on the way. Let's try not to go downstairs for activities during the day.
"
At this time, Lao Huang suddenly took out the "black ball" he picked up from the moisture-proof layer of the stone coffin. He turned it over and over in his hand, and took a bite with his teeth and said: "What the hell is this thing?"
, what material is it made of? It’s not silver, and it seems to have a strange smell.”
Seeing his upper teeth clenched, my heart was pounding, and on the surface I said calmly, "It should be made of coal."
"What the hell? Coal?"
I nodded: "Coal spirit was rare in the past. The ancients thought it was a natural gemstone. Some people buried it as jade after their death. During the Warring States Period, there were many such portable seals made of coal spirit."
Lao Huang suddenly realized: "I understand, it turns out to be coal essence. This thing is rare, so it should be quite valuable, right?"
I said yes, it is more valuable than gold.
Lao Huang immediately became happy. He tossed the black ball up and down with his hands and said, "Let me just say, this is a good treasure. You go, brother, go back quickly and bring me two packs of cigarettes when you come back."
I pocketed several broken Tang Sancai bowls in black plastic bags, and then said to Old Huang: "Be careful at home and pay attention to the doorbell."
Lao Huang said with a natural expression: "Don't worry, you'll be ringing the doorbell when you're back."
It was still dark at this time, so I walked a few hundred meters after leaving the hotel. After looking around, I crushed several broken Sancai Yongs with my feet, separated them head and feet, and threw them into the trash can.
"The leader is me."
"Yunfeng, you got up very early."
I held up my cell phone, squatted on the side of the road and whispered: "Hang your head, I didn't sleep at all. I just finished my work."
"How about it?"
"The harvest is good, very fat, head. This time I encountered something strange in the pit. It was found in the charcoal layer between the stone coffin and the inner coffin. I feel like it is like the Five Poison Stones to prevent tomb robbers."
I described the appearance of the "black ball" in detail. On the other end of the phone, the sound of breathing on my head became obviously a lot heavier.
"Yunfeng...are you sure it's that thing?"
"I feel like it, but I'm not sure, so I called you to ask."
"Did you touch it??"
"No."
"Don't touch it! You go now! Go buy five pounds of mung beans and one pound of ghost needle grass!"
I repeated: "I didn't touch your head."
He raised his voice by two points: "You must take precautions even if I don't touch you! Listen to me and go quickly! What kind of trap are you doing? How come there is such a thing?"
"It is a pit in the Tang Dynasty. The burial system is abnormal. The owner of the tomb is a woman. No epitaph has been found, and the identity is unknown."
The head immediately said: "Burn it with fire for three seconds. If you can see the green smoke, it is what you are talking about. Before the liberation, I only saw two of these things in the Changsha Warring States Tomb, and they were also hidden in the coffin."
"Then I'll go back and try burning it."
"Why are you burning! Don't want to live anymore?! Just do as I say! Go and do it quickly!"
"I know the clue, bye."
After hanging up the phone, I took a deep breath and was glad I didn't move at that time.
"Five Poison Stones" is what the northern school calls them today. I don't know what they were called in the past. This thing can be regarded as the last anti-theft measure in the coffin of the tomb owner. Many ancient tombs in deep mountains and old forests contain "poisons", which are generally divided into gaseous forms.
, liquid and solid three types.
Carbon monoxide is in the gaseous state, while mercury is in the liquid state. The corpse poison carried by ancient corpses without decay and the "Five Poison Stones" are in the solid state. The gaseous state is the most poisonous because it is difficult to detect. The history books describe the Lishan Tomb: "White
When the air rises, it looks like smoke, and birds flying by often fall to death, so they dare not enter."
There is a legend in the north that this thing will be poisonous if it comes into contact with the skin. It is made from five kinds of stones: alumite, magnetite, sundial stone, arsenite, and mercury stone, which are broken into pieces and mixed with more than a dozen other unknown poisons. It is highly toxic.
!Putting it in the coffin can not only prevent insects and ants, but also prevent "strangers".
I would like to state that I have never harmed anyone. Lao Huang brought it upon himself. The only blame he can blame is his own greed and lack of knowledge. Moreover, after listening to what the leader said, I don’t even think that this thing will become ineffective over time.
At around six o'clock, I didn't wait for a taxi, but instead waited for the morning bus to the city. This morning bus was quite full, maybe some of them went to work in the city.
"Excuse me, can I sit here?"
A young girl listened to my words, picked up her backpack from the seat and held it in her arms.
I sat down directly and began to relax with my eyes closed.
I haven't slept at all in the past two days, and I haven't practiced any exercises, so I feel really tired.
After a while, I yawned, and then I saw the girl holding a backpack next to me, covering her mouth and nose tightly, staring at me with disgust on her face.