Chapter 4

ckon this meal probably cost him a week's worth of food money.During the ordering process, something funny happened. Let me tell you about it, I swear, it's just like a sketch by Xiao Shenyang later o..."Hee hee, young man, at such a tender age, what could possibly make you so down"

I wiped my tears and turned back, stunned. Wasn't this the old man who had pointed me in the right direction at Panjiayuan yesterday

This old man told me that the stall at Bao Guo Temple is free.

"Youngster, since you came to Panjia Garden yesterday selling things, I've been keeping an eye on you. If I'm not mistaken, your money was stolen, wasn't it"

The old man was dressed in casual clothes, with some white hair at the temples, but he looked very energetic.

At the time, I didn't think much of it. I nodded with red eyes and said that my selling money had been stolen and I didn't want to live anymore.

He shook his head and chuckled lightly, "How much money did you lose, young man"

I said I lost over four thousand.

"Heh heh," she said with a smile, giving me a finger.

"Four thousand bucks You think that's money If you work with me, in this amount of time, I can make you twenty thousand."

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Staaring blankly at his single finger, I asked, "How long A year"

The old man shook his head.

"January "

He shook his head again.

"A week"

"Haha, just kidding! One minute! As long as you're quick, thousands of dollars can be made in minutes!"

I can't believe it, I thought this person was a human trafficker and wanted to sell my kidney.

I wouldn't sell a kidney, even if I were dying. It's better to die than live with the consequences. People say that if you sell a kidney, you won't be able to have children for the rest of your life, and your wife will likely cheat on you.

He left a sentence and turned to leave.

"Listen up, young man! If you want to make a name for yourself and drive back home in a fancy car, follow me! But if you're still clinging to those measly pennies and can't see the bigger picture, then turn around and go. You've wasted my time."

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Yes, four thousand dollars. It's a fortune to my impoverished family, but just pocket change to him.

This man is my master, the one who brought me into this line of work.

His way to get rich was by tomb robbing.

When seeking dragons, pay close attention to Mount Entangled. Each layer of entanglement is a barrier, and if the gates are locked with a thousand chains, it must be the dwelling place of royalty.

From the moment I followed him under the bridge, I was in.

Shortly after entering the industry, I realized that what the old man said was right. Thousands of dollars were just peanuts, something you could earn in minutes.

Do you often hear about the four major schools of tomb raiding

The Flying Daggers, the Mountain-Moving Taoist, the Mountain-Removing Valiant, and the General of Earthly Power.

Actually, the real situation isn't like that. These schools have long since disappeared into the river of history. Nowadays, those practicing douzi are roughly divided into two factions.

This refers to the Northern School and Southern School.

Some people also jokingly refer to them as the "bold" and "cautious" factions.

Northerners are bold and reckless. With a shovel in hand, they'd dare to dig anything up in Luoyang. However, there's one thing they're not good at: digging water tunnels. Especially in southern regions like Hunan, Guizhou, and Zhejiang, where the water tunnels are ancient, dry for millennia but wet for ages, never truly dry or wet, just a state of dampness for half a year. Digging these tunnels is very difficult, requiring the swimming skills of a water monkey. For extremely deep tunnels, professional scuba gear with oxygen tanks is necessary.

To be honest, most people from the north are basically ducks out of water. They might seem impressive on land, but they can't really handle themselves underwater.

The Southern School has many family-based teams, with fathers bringing their sons and grandfathers bringing their grandsons. They generally rarely interact with strangers, which is why they are jokingly called the timid faction. Of course, this is done to prevent black eating black.

This line is a mixed bag, with all sorts of people. The truly impressive ones are the real deal, they are masters of their craft, able to pinpoint weaknesses at a glance. No exaggeration.

And then there are those who are mere pretenders, wielding shovels and daring to dig up graves. Such individuals meet their demise the quickest and are caught most frequently.

Military-style, rarely caught when apprehended.

Let me give you a brief overview.

A gang of six tomb robbers, the one with the most money is the eye-in-charge. The "eye-in-charge" means to look for tombs, this is a technical job, and skilled eye-in-charges are highly sought after wherever they go.

There are also money lenders, and this money lender is a term used in the industry. "Mi" refers to money. In some areas, they are also called goods vendors. This person is responsible for turning the received goods into cash. This job requires a particularly extensive network of contacts because people come from all over the place. They have their own circles and networks, and it's especially important to ensure that the sold goods cannot be traced back.

Afterwards, there are also earthwork engineers responsible for digging the holes. This job relies heavily on experience. With a single Luo Yang shovel thrust into the ground, by observing the soil layer brought up, one can determine the age of the burial tomb.

Even the workers who handle ventilation play a crucial role. As their name suggests, they are responsible for "letting air out," requiring sharp eyesight and keen ears. These individuals shouldn't be underestimated. The success of a large project often hinges on their abilities, as effective ventilation is essential. Some even begin a year in advance, establishing themselves within the community under the guise of opening a supermarket or similar business. This allows them to gain the trust of local residents.

Another role is logistics, typically filled by a single person. This person doesn't go down into the pit; they are solely responsible for equipment replacement and procurement.

Rat clothing, diamond shovel, whirlwind, gas mask, Luoyang shovel, fire starter, waterproof flashlight, walkie-talkie, tent bedding, pots and pans toothbrush toothpaste, all need to be procured by one person. This is to reduce exposure and avoid revealing their identity.

Last there is one more activity, called scattering soil.

What I did when I first entered the industry was loose soil.

Although the amount of money earned from scattered pieces is the least, even the smallest portion is still much more than what one earns from working.

This job of being a generic, plain-looking person is better with a large crowd. I was chosen precisely because I look like everyone else.

Who would bother, day after day, keeping an eye on a child of sixteen or seventeen Are they just that bored

On the other hand, if you're too handsome or too ugly, it won't work. You might get discovered before your "soil" settles.

Once at a time, pretend to be walking the dog and scatter the dirt down your pant legs, making sure there are no traces left.

Afterwards, we secretly split the money. No one would notice.

The old man who introduced me to this line of work was called Wang Xiansheng. Everyone in the business called him Wang Ba Tou. It's said that he had worked on over a thousand tombs in his life, from the Warring States period and pre-Qin Dynasty to the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, basically everything.

The most loved tombs among the people are two: the Han tombs and the tombs of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The reason is very simple, bronze and ancient jade are very valuable. People often say that nine out of ten Han tombs are empty, which is true.

The tombs of the Western Zhou Dynasty were even more impressive.

Warring States period, the era where lords roamed the land and lavish burials were all the rage. If you're lucky enough to find a Western Zhou tomb, a deep pit filled with bronze vessels belonging to a powerful lord, then congratulations, your descendants for three generations can live off it without working a day in their lives.

Similarly, the tombs of the Western Zhou Dynasty were the deepest of all dynasties. After Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, he built his Mausoleum. From then on, earthen mounds began to become popular.

Changes in mountains and rivers.

Ancient tombs from the Western Zhou dynasty are generally located more than fifteen meters underground. They lack earthen mounds, making them difficult to locate and even harder to excavate.

On the surface, relevant departments prohibit the buying and selling of bronze wares. But everyone knows where those bronze wares on TV appraisal programs come from.

Of the surviving bronze artifacts, less than one percent of the total number exist. Could the rest have just spontaneously appeared

All sources are the same, they all come from our industry.

At first, when Wang took me away from Beijing and told me to avoid contact with the outside world for a while, my first mission was in Shunde.

This job was a Zhou Dynasty tomb. Because of a severe shortage of manpower, I was chosen by the foreman to do the grunt work of digging. I was the youngest member of our crew at the time.

When we got to Shun De, Wang handed me a thousand yuan directly and said it was the custom, an initiation red envelope. He told me to spend it as I wished, saying that it could even be used for playing with my sister.

At that time, I was just starting out and didn't dare to look for my sister. Just eating and drinking wouldn't cost much anyway.

I ate the water snake soup from Shun De, four cups chicken, fried fish cakes, steamed pork and more. They were all delicious.

After wandering around Shun De for two days, Wang called me over and said, "Yun Feng, it's time to get things done tonight. How about it Are you ready Did you remember everything I taught you"

I nodded and said, "Remember, don't leave until daybreak, don't leave if there are cars, don't leave if we're in the park, and don't leave if there are lots of people."

Wang nodded his head in satisfaction, then asked me again, "Well, tell me, where are you going to go for a stroll"

After some thought, I told him: "Look back, at the construction site, the relocated houses, the woods, and the gardens."

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"Haha, not bad, I haven't taught you these yet. Not bad, not bad, you have spirit."

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"Be smart, follow us closely, and I'll make you the richest person in your entire village within two years. Understand"

A smile lit up my face, and I immediately nodded in agreement.hat name a few times.">"Well, I'll introduce myself. What are the names of you Southern faction leaders Wait! Don't answer yet. Let me guess... Is it a man named Zhiguocheng Chen"The bonfire was still...