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Looking back at this scene from years ago, I feel a bit embarrassed. After all, what era are we in? Burning incense, bowing, and swearing brotherhood are no longer in fashion.
But back then, I was truly excited, and that's a reflection of a man's change of heart.
Three of us, fearless and bold, started making our own plans in a carefree manner.
Forget the warnings from Yao Yumeng or Wang Ba's concerns—those were all pushed out of our minds.
At that time, the three of us were determined to do something big. We were set on opening that stone door and seeing what was inside.
Later, half of the pile of bronze artifacts that Big Brother Sun sold, the remaining half—including the bronze cauldron with the inscription "Jiehou Daizi"—was kept by Wang Ba. On the day of splitting the money, we gathered together, though Wang Ba didn't know about our secret plan.
That was the first time I saw so much money, all packed neatly in large plastic bags—each stack worth ten thousand, tightly arranged. At that time, the currency was the fourth set of the Renminbi, the kind with four heads on the blue hundred yuan bill, bundled with white paper.
"Old Three, this is yours."
"Big Brother, this is yours."
"Xiao Hong, this is for you and your little brothers. Thanks for the hard work."
Yao Yumeng smiled while touching the plastic bag, "Thanks, Boss."
Wang Ba nodded and, seeing me push over a plastic bag, said, "Yunfeng, you've just entered the business and done quite a lot. This is yours, don't think it's too little."
Looking at the thick plastic bag, I swallowed nervously, "Boss, how much is this?"
"130,000," he said calmly.
My hands shook even more.
I had never seen so much money, nor had I imagined I would.
"Boss, I still owe you 50,000." I was about to open the bag to take the money.
"Ah, no need," he waved his hand, stopping me. "For the first job, how can I give it to others? It's bad luck. Keep it for now, we'll talk about the 50,000 later."
I nodded silently and accepted it.
This was my first bucket of gold. Just from this deal, the money could equal three to four years of my uncle's rural guesthouse earnings!
"Cat has its way, mouse has its way."
I, Xiang Yunfeng, had made it!
As for the second brother's share of money, Wang Ba said he would temporarily keep it for a year. If he didn't return by then, it would be given to Big Brother Sun.
I was curious who bought our goods, so later I asked Big Brother, who said the buyer was mysterious and worked as a "runner."
"Runner" was a term used back then. They weren't the actual buyers but acted as intermediaries to handle the transaction. The real buyers stayed behind the scenes.
This was because Hong Kong's laws were different from the mainland. Over there, ancient bronze artifacts could be directly auctioned. That's why major auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's were headquartered in Hong Kong. At that time, Hong Kong was the largest market for tomb robbers' goods.
The earliest group of people who got rich from antiques were well known in Hong Kong, and many of them I knew personally. It's not that I look down on these people, but those who got rich from this trade never had clean backgrounds.
Once the money was divided, Wang Ba was ready to leave Shunde. He asked where we planned to go next.
We, of course, had our own motives and didn't tell him the truth.
Big Brother Sun spoke up, "Boss, Old Three and Yunfeng discussed it, and we're planning to go to Dongguan for a bit, maybe for half a year, and we'll wait for you to arrange our next job."
"Oh? You three are going to Dongguan?" Wang Ba looked at us three, surprised.
"Yes, we are. You see, Boss, Yunfeng is already grown up but still doesn't know much. We'll take him there to see a bit."
Although Big Brother was lying to Wang Ba, what he said wasn't untrue. That industry was booming at the time.
In 1999, the Qingchengtai restaurant group was founded, and many didn't know that the company's headquarters was in Dongguan, and it became the precursor to the later "Tian Shang Ren Jian."
The best service standard in the country at the time had one base in Dongguan and another in Beijing. That's why Big Brother said we were going to Dongguan.
Wang Ba believed it, and the next day, he left for Beijing. Before leaving, he told us to enjoy ourselves and to wait for his notification when the next job came.
As for the three of us, we stayed behind in Shunde, continuing with our plans. We changed our accommodation and didn't go anywhere.
At Fei'e Mountain, near the tomb, there were more than 20 acres of water fields. Big Brother pretended to be an external investor and, in less than 20 days, bought it all up. Having money really makes things easy.
After buying the fields nearby, we put up a fence, and our base was at the foot of Fei'e Mountain. There had been a few houses there before, but they were demolished and turned into greenery for Shunfeng Park.
That night, Yao Yumeng bought three calves. These calves were a special breed called Charolais, which grew the fastest. After eating good feed, they would be able to help us move the sealing stones in about four months.
Yao Yumeng also bought tents and other supplies, and that night, we used ropes to send the calves down. Although they were small, they weighed over a hundred pounds and were difficult to manage. It took a lot of effort to get them settled, and we were all sweating by the end.
The entrance to the tomb was just big enough for them.
In the tomb-robbing world, this idea was groundbreaking. Who would think of raising cows at the base of a tomb? We didn't even know how Sun Lao San came up with this idea.
We set up the tent, hammered some stakes into the ground, and tied the cows there.
For the next few months, these calves were treated like ancestors, and we fed them as much as possible—eight meals a day instead of five. We wanted them full, as the tomb was damp and cold. Sun Lao San would check on them every night to ensure they were fine.
I would sometimes go down at night, secretly sending water, food, and feed to the cows. Afterward, we covered the entrance with grass to hide it.
During the day, I usually slept in the house. I had a small telescope and would occasionally use it to check the fence and see if it had fallen down. When Yao Yumeng had some free time, she would help me out, and I'd go to find Li Jing.
Two months later, Li Jing had entered her senior year.
I bought three pounds of egg cakes and went to visit her, but when I arrived, I found her sitting on the bed, her face pale.
"Xiao Jing, what's wrong? I brought you egg cakes."
Li Jing's face was white, her lips tightly clenched, and she stared at me intensely.
Suddenly, she threw a pillow at me.
"Xiang Yunfeng! Why did you lie to me?!"
"Wang Qiang told me! You're not even a student at the First High School! You're not even from Shunde!"
"You liar! Liar!" she shouted, her eyes red.
I took a few steps back, my hand shaking, and the egg cakes fell to the floor, scattering everywhere.