Looking at the familiar Auntie Ge, Wang Er Shen, Wang's second aunt, and some of the older sisters from back then, all of them now married women, even some, like Yanzi, having children, Xu Lang felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.
Things change, people change, that's how it is.
Lao Hu looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces around him and couldn't help but ask, "Yanzi, where's your husband?"
Yanzi replied, "The archaeological team hired him to work. During the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, this area was also in the earthquake zone. The quake cracked Niuxin Mountain completely, and then they found a palace-sized ancient tomb inside. It caused a huge sensation, and the archaeological team came soon after."
"After the archaeological team arrived, they hired the strong laborers from the surrounding villages to work. They provide food and accommodation and pay three yuan a day."
"Don't just stand there, let's go inside and talk. You've come back, how come you brought so many things?"
Xu Lang laughed, "We haven't been back for so many years, it's only right that we show our respect to the old Party Secretary and you. Lao Hu also brought a television set back this time, it seems the village hasn't been electrified yet. We'll contribute some money later to help the village build a power grid."
After handing out some snacks to the children, only a few familiar people remained in the room. The group sat around a table on the kang bed.
Soon, seven or eight food trays were placed on the wooden table, most of them containing meat, including a smoked venison leg.
Seeing the long-lost wild game, Xu Lang felt a thousand emotions.
Unfortunately, Xu Lang had returned too late; Xiong Da was already very old and disappeared one day a few months ago.
Hearing this news, Xu Lang was stunned again. He knew Xiong Da was very old and would leave on its own when it sensed its impending death, not wanting familiar people to see it die.
Not only Xiong Da, but also Chestnut Yellow did the same.
Suddenly, all the food on the table didn't taste good anymore. Xu Lang poured himself a glass of wine and drank it down in one gulp. The fiery alcohol entered his stomach, slightly suppressing the sadness in his heart.
Time is a knife, youth fades easily. This was the most direct feeling Xu Lang had.
The village head enthusiastically greeted the three, refilled their wine glasses, and smiled, "Why did you come back at this time? You brought so many things, it seems you've made a lot of money."
Lao Hu laughed, "We mainly miss our fellow villagers. Now our lives are better than before, we just thought that we shouldn't be the only ones enjoying the good life, we wanted to see if we could come back and lead our fellow villagers to prosperity together."
"Good! Good! Good!"
The old Party Secretary couldn't stop smiling when he heard this.
Fatty, who was impatient, had already been laughing happily, and couldn't wait to ask, "Old Party Secretary, I remember there are many crock pots in the backyard, right?"
Xu Lang glared at Fatty, this guy couldn't keep his mouth shut, he couldn't let him continue asking.
The village head looked at Fatty with suspicion and asked, "Why are you asking that?"
胖子 was about to open his mouth, but Lao Hu, worried that Fatty would blurt out something, hurriedly said, "Didn't we just say we want to lead our fellow villagers to prosperity? Now there's everything in the capital, many people like to collect old objects."
Xu Lang took over the conversation and continued, "Those crock pots are all pottery, they're not worth much money. In the past, if you found some complete porcelain in the river, that was worth something. Some people in the capital like to collect those."
"We'll talk about this later. Let's eat first."
"We couldn't bring back too many things this time, but we brought money back. We'll see if we can help the village do something. The people of the village were good to us before, it's our turn to repay the village."
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Lao Hu and the village head went out for a walk in the village to discuss helping the village with construction.
With only the old Party Secretary, Yanzi, and the others left, they could speak freely. Finally, Xu Lang began to ask questions.
Through inquiries, he learned that the archaeological team had arrived not long ago, saying that all the porcelain in the village had to be handed over to the state, and they had given a lot of food coupons. Everyone in the surrounding villages had handed them in, and even if some smart people had hidden them, they wouldn't be taking them out anytime soon.
胖子 almost leaned back in surprise when he heard this news. He felt that fate was playing a huge joke on him.
In those days, who didn't have a few porcelain bowls and jars?
If these hadn't been handed in, leading their fellow villagers to prosperity wouldn't have been an empty promise. They wouldn't have made everyone in the village a ten-thousand-yuan household, but at least they could have gotten a very substantial amount of wealth.
The old Party Secretary's heart was also a bit complicated when he heard this news, but his philosophy of life was different, he didn't care much about material things.
Not long after, Lao Hu also came back, and he was equally dumbfounded when he heard the news.
This time, Lao Hu and Fatty had come back completely committed, they had spent all their savings. If they went back empty-handed, how would they make a living?
After calming down for a long time, Fatty turned to ask, "Xu, are we still going to help the village with the construction?"
Xu Lang laughed, "Of course we are. Once you say something, it's like water that's been poured out. Money is something that you can always earn again. With our abilities, we won't starve wherever we go."
Night fell, and the three men, with different thoughts, lay awake for a long time.
The next morning, Xu Lang was sleeping soundly when Fatty woke him up.
Xu Lang said impatiently, "What are you two making such a fuss about so early in the morning? Even if we finish helping the village with the construction, I'll still have some money left, enough for our three to get back home. At least enough for us to live for a year or two."
Lao Hu sat at the head of the bed, smoking a cigarette, and said, "After you ran away from home back then, I and Fatty heard the old folks in the village talk about the Kwantung Army fortress. Back then, I and Fatty wanted to go and find it, but later I went to join the army, so the matter was put aside."
"I and Fatty discussed it, those little devils must have left behind a lot of good things there. I asked the old Party Secretary, the archaeologists still don't know about this, even if they did, it wouldn't be under their jurisdiction."
"I thought, we can't come here for nothing, we have to take a gamble, no matter what."
Xu Lang smiled slightly and said, "Back then, you two went out to have fun together and even tricked me into going back. Why did you think of asking me to go with you this time?"
胖子's smile froze, and he said urgently, "I told you, you kid, why are you still holding a grudge? Are you going or not, just give us a straight answer."
Xu Lang laughed, "Of course I'm going. I'll go borrow a horse from the old Party Secretary, you two prepare some food with Yanzi Jie."
Lao Hu said, "We prepared it a long time ago, we're just waiting for your word. Shall we leave now?"
They left immediately as they said. This time, Xu Lang felt completely different. Even if he encountered a bear again, he could kill it alone, and he could do it easily, he wouldn't be as helpless as he was ten years ago.
After years of honing his skills, he could finally go exploring with them. Xu Lang was a little excited.
They hadn't gone far when a girl on horseback, holding a hunting rifle, caught up with them. There were several hunting dogs behind her.
"Hu Ge, Xu Ge, Pang Ge, wait for me..."