Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I knew there might be no hope, but I still made one last request.
Fat Ma handed a cigarette to Old Zhang. After taking it, Old Zhang lit it up, inhaling deeply and exhaling a cloud of smoke that hung clearly in the air.
The world here appeared green—the sky was green, the clouds were green, the earth was green, and even the air seemed green.
"Uncle Zhang," Fat Ma said, "as long as you help us find a guide," then leaned closer and whispered something in his ear.
Uncle Zhang replied quietly, "This isn't about money! You need to tell me what you're planning to do there!"
At that moment, I couldn't tell the truth. Just when I was unsure how to respond, Old Zhang interjected, "Are you here to pan for gold?"
"Panning for gold?" I was taken aback by this unfamiliar term.
Old Zhang continued, "There's a place called Rouge Valley in the Greater Khingan Range that once attracted many people looking for gold, but it's all been cleaned out now."
Listening to Old Zhang, I observed his expression, trying to gauge how to respond appropriately. Would a positive answer make him resentful? What about a negative one?
But it turned out I was overthinking it.
Fat Ma clearly became interested and started bombarding Old Zhang with questions about where Rouge Valley was and other details.
Old Zhang shook his head. "If you had come a few years earlier, you might have found something. But not anymore." He lowered his voice. "Many areas in the Greater Khingan Range are heavily guarded by the People's Liberation Army. Rumor has it there are many large gold mines hidden inside."
Seeing Fat Ma so intrigued, Old Zhang likely guessed we were indeed gold seekers.
I didn't argue either, since he didn't seem to have any aversion to gold miners. After a lengthy discussion, the topic circled back again.
"Do you really want to go into the mountains?" Old Zhang asked.
I nodded heavily, showing my determination.
After a long pause, Old Zhang finally uttered two words, "Alright then!"
This could be considered an agreement to our request. "Thank you, Uncle Zhang," I quickly replied.
Old Zhang warned me, "Don't get too excited just yet; whether he agrees or not is another matter!"
"Who is he?" the clay figurine asked.
Old Zhang's gaze became somewhat vacant as he replied, "He's a strange person; in fact, he's my nephew!"
Fat Ma chimed in, "Uncle Zhang, if he's your nephew, isn't that just a matter of your word?"
Old Zhang retorted to Fat Ma, "I said he's a strange person; how could it be so easily resolved with just my word?"
Fat Ma chuckled a few times and offered a cigarette, hoping that Old Zhang would help us out.
Throughout the journey, Old Zhang shared some stories about this strange person. By the end, we realized he was the son of the guide who had worked for the National Geographic surveying team years ago.
According to Old Zhang, this son had ventured into that area several times alone to uncover the truth about his father's death. Although he was injured each time, he always managed to return alive.
"Did he find out anything?" Fat Ma asked.
Old Zhang shook his head and said, "Their deaths were strange yet tragic; even the coroner couldn't determine the cause."
As he spoke, Old Zhang led us into a courtyard.
A man was chopping wood in the yard, each piece splitting cleanly with a single stroke.
Old Zhang called out, "Erwa!" The woodcutter paused for a moment but ignored Old Zhang, continuing his work.
Old Zhang approached and patted Erwa on the back, asking, "What's wrong, Erwa? Uncle Zhang hasn't bothered you!"
Erwa stood up and walked into the inner room, tossing over his shoulder, "Don't call me by my nickname; I have a proper name now."
Old Zhang laughed and followed him inside, leaving the three of us awkwardly standing in the courtyard. After about a quarter of an hour, Old Zhang and Erwa finally emerged.
Old Zhang came out and said, "Erwa wants to hear your reasons!"
Hearing Erwa's name again, a flash of anger crossed his face. He turned to stare at us, his gaze predatory and wild.
I replied, "We're here to pan for gold in the mountains."
Erwa grunted in acknowledgment but fell silent.
Old Zhang chimed in, "I've completed my task, so I'll be leaving now. You can discuss the next steps among yourselves." With that, he walked away.
Once Old Zhang's figure disappeared from view, we turned back to look at Erwa.
I asked, "How should we address you?"
He replied, "Just call me Big Tree!"
"You've agreed to be our guide!" I continued.
"You didn't tell the truth, so I won't help you!" Big Tree bluntly refused.
Fat Ma, getting anxious, shouted, "How can you go back on your word? You just agreed a moment ago!"
Big Tree coldly said, "I only said that to deal with Uncle Zhang!"
Fat Ma wanted to say something more, but I stopped him.
"What you mean is that if we tell you the truth, you'll be willing to be our guide?" I asked.
Big Tree neither confirmed nor denied it.
"In that case, I'll be honest with you," I said. I then explained the whole situation to him and showed him the items we had.
He stared at the photo of the Hills, lost in thought.
The clay figure noticed something and asked, "Have you seen the person in the photo?"
Big Tree quickly handed the photo back to me, shaking his head. Then he said, "It's already late. Let's head into the mountains tomorrow morning!" With that, he turned and went into the back room.
"Uncle Zhang was right; this guy is strange," Fat Ma remarked.
After standing in the yard for a while, we returned to Old Zhang's house, where we would spend the night.
As we entered, Old Zhang asked me how things were going.
I nodded and replied, "Tomorrow morning."
The arrangements for the guide had been settled, and that evening Uncle Zhang warmly hosted us. After dinner, we went to rest since we needed to get up early the next morning.
That night, while lying on the heated bed, the three of us discussed our plans for a while before falling asleep.
The next morning, as dawn broke, we bid farewell to Uncle Zhang. He had prepared several days' worth of dry rations and water for us, along with his tent that he usually took when working in the mountains.
Although Fat Ma had also contributed a significant amount of money, I still felt grateful to him. It wasn't easy to find someone willing to help in an unfamiliar place.
As soon as we stepped outside, a cold wind rushed toward us, stinging our faces!
It was mid-April now, and in Jiangnan, the grass was growing and the orioles were singing, marking the season for spring outings.
However, here the temperature was still below freezing, the ground was dry, and the snow had not completely melted away. The only pleasant sight was the patches of green that could not be hidden. A region shapes its people.
When we arrived at the yard where the big tree stood, he was already prepared, with a basket on his back and a shotgun slung over his shoulder.
Fat Ma's eyes lit up at the sight of the shotgun. He hurriedly called out to the big tree and eventually managed to get another shotgun from him.
Fat Ma muttered to himself, "Although it can't compare to American goods, it'll have to do!"
The big tree said in the yard, "Once we get up the mountain, you must follow my instructions. If anything happens to you, I won't take responsibility."
I nodded in agreement, indicating there would be no problem. The clay figurine also agreed while Fat Ma was still excited about getting a gun and eagerly promised to comply.
I had already shown him the map yesterday.
The Greater Khingan Range is located in the northern parts of Heilongjiang Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It serves as the watershed between the Inner Mongolia Plateau and the Songliao Plain. Stretching from the banks of Heilongjiang in the north to the fertile lands upstream of the Xilamulun River in the south, it runs northeast to southwest for over 1,200 kilometers, with a width of 200 to 300 kilometers and an elevation ranging from 1,100 to 1,400 meters, with its main peak being Suoyue Erji Mountain.
Following Dazhu, we found an opening beneath the Greater Khingan Range and entered the mountains.
"Why aren't we taking the main road?" Fat Ma asked.
Dazhu replied decisively, "What you’re doing isn’t proper business." Fat Ma nearly exploded at his words, but was quickly stopped by Niren.
Dazhu reminded us that there might be animal traps in the mountains and advised us to be cautious. To avoid such situations, each of us broke off a branch to use as a walking stick.
After walking for a while, the terrain began to steepen, and we were panting heavily in the cold air. The light grew increasingly intense, even without the sun.
After some time, Dazhu finally stopped to let us replenish our energy.
As we walked along, we encountered many wild animals that seemed unafraid of humans.
Surrounding us were towering trees so thick that several adults could not wrap their arms around them, alongside lush greenery reaching towards the sky. Of course, there were also young saplings sprouting fresh buds and patches of grass.
During our break, I took out the map to look at it, only to realize that while it was a map, approaching this vast mountain range was an entirely different experience. If we had ventured in alone, getting lost could easily become a fatal issue.
Comment 0 Comment Count