62: Chapter 62: Treasure Hunting 62: Chapter 62: Treasure Hunting On regular days, Sun Jinzhong often didn’t return home at night.
This late at night, he still wanted to go out; to such matters, his cousin Chen Dongmei and her husband had long since become accustomed.
Although she was somewhat displeased, with Chen Hai by her side, she didn’t say much, merely reminding Sun Jinzhong and Chen Hai to refrain from wrongdoing.
As for the shovel that Chen Hai wanted him to bring, Sun Jinzhong had sneaked it out while his family wasn’t paying attention.
After all, tools like hoes and shovels were usually kept in a small side room next to the main house.
Day and night guards can’t prevent theft by someone within the household.
For Sun Jinzhong to steal his own family’s shovel, that was naturally a trivial matter for him.
“Hey cousin, are we two going to dig for treasure?”
Although unclear on the specific purpose of their trip, Sun Jinzhong was still enthusiastic.
Carrying the shovel, walking along the dirt road on the north side of Yanbei Village, he tentatively started speaking, asking Chen Hai.
“Brother Zhong, you should know the place where the water trough is located behind your village; let’s head over there now!”
“I’m not familiar with this place since it’s my first time here; lead the way for me!”
Without answering the question posed by Sun Jinzhong, Chen Hai smiled and instructed.
Is it the one near Duijin Mountain?”
“That place, isn’t it where Li Hanchu encountered something dirty?”
“Hey cousin, you’re not going to tell me that we, carrying shovels, are going to dig there?”
With a face full of suspicion, Sun Jinzhong involuntarily shivered and asked Chen Hai for confirmation.
“That’s right, it’s there!” Chen Hai nodded affirmatively and responded.
“Hey cousin, with the example of Li Hanchu before us, going there with shovels in the middle of the night, it seems a bit unwise!”
“Why don’t we go there during the daytime tomorrow instead?”
Previously enthusiastic, Sun Jinzhong now seemed noticeably deflated, even his walking had become sluggish.
“Brother Zhong, we’re going there to dig for treasure!”
“That place might be desolate, but there are still some people around during the day.”
“Going there during the day, if we’re lucky and dig something up, do you want everyone to know?”
With a meaningful glance at Sun Jinzhong, Chen Hai smiled and teased, “Going there at night, you’re not scared, are you?”
“Your cousin Chen, also known as Master Chen, is here by your side; what is there to be afraid of!”
As he said this, Chen Hai also gave him a disdainful look.
“Look at what you’re saying!”
“People who know your cousin know that I’m bold enough to steal cows at night!”
“It’s just going over to the water trough to dig—since you dare to go, what would I be afraid of!”
Sun Jinzhong, the type who couldn’t be provoked, quickly defended himself.
Perhaps to prove his courage, he simply took off his vest, hung it on the shovel handle, and shirtless, led Chen Hai quickly forward.
A distance of three to four miles took them nearly twenty minutes.
By the time Sun Jinzhong and Chen Hai arrived at the water trough, it was around ten o’clock at night.
Below was farmland, and on the side of the trough was Duijin Mountain.
Liuyuan County belongs to a hilly area, with majestic peaks rarely seen.
In this region, there are dozens of small and large mountains, the tallest ones probably only about a hundred to two hundred meters high.
The so-called Duijin Mountain is the collective name for these mountains.
“Hey cousin, where should we start digging?”
In front of the water trough, the two men halted in their steps, and Sun Jinzhong spoke up, asking Chen Hai,
His bare torso now covered with the vest that had been hanging from the handle of his shovel, he slipped it back on.
He seemed bold and imposing, but he kept stealing glances at Chen Hai from time to time, as if only feeling somewhat reassured when he saw Chen Hai was there.
“Wait a moment, let me determine the approximate location first!”
As he spoke, he carefully observed the surroundings.
Instead of stepping on the water trough, he headed directly towards a small hill nearby.
This area was desolate to begin with, and the hill was just as barren.
The spot near the water trough was slightly better, showing signs of having been trampled by people.
After going forward about ten meters, thorns and shrubs were everywhere, with thatches of grass nearly waist-high.
Chen Hai led the way, with Sun Jinzhong closely following behind.
Using their shovels, the two men barely managed to create a path.
“Ah…” Sun Jinzhong let out a startled cry.
“What’s going on?” Chen Hai turned and asked.
“There’s a snake, looks like it’s a pit viper…”
Pit vipers are quite venomous, we need to get you to a hospital quickly!”
“Cousin, I wasn’t bitten, I just caught a glimpse of it slithering past nearby!”
“Then why the fuss, when we came here, I reminded you to wear rain boots, but you insisted on wearing flip-flops.”
Chen Hai gave Sun Jinzhong a look of exasperation and teased him.
He himself was wearing a pair of yellow rubber boots, not very stylish but practical.
“Cousin, you didn’t tell me early we’d be coming here, otherwise, I would have changed shoes before stepping out!”
“Wearing flip-flops around here really isn’t convenient.”
“Weren’t we supposed to come dig for treasure?
Haven’t we reached the spot yet?”
With a dry chuckle, Sun Jinzhong asked.
“We’re almost there, just ahead!”
“This season is exactly when snakes come out, Brother Zhong, you need to be careful!”
Chen Hai replied, continuing to forge ahead while probing the surroundings with his shovel.
Finally, when he reached a concave area on the right side of the hill, he stopped.
“This is the spot, Brother Zhong, let’s start digging right here!”
Pointing to the concave area, Chen Hai spoke decisively.
“Is there treasure hidden here?
Cousin, rest a bit, I can handle the rough work of digging!”
This fired Sun Jinzhong up.
His shovel moved swiftly in his hands; he had only dug down about twenty to thirty centimeters when he hit a rock, making it impossible to dig further.
With doubt in his heart, Sun Jinzhong turned his head, his eyes seeking guidance as he looked at Chen Hai.
“The outer layer of soil and sand has been formed by sediment that washed down with the rain over the decades.”
“If there are stones underneath, it means we’re in the right spot.”
“The stones aren’t one solid piece but deliberately placed loose stones to block the entrance of a cave.”
“After we dig out this outer layer of soil and sand, the two of us can manage to clear these stones away!”
Chen Hai was not idle either, swinging his shovel as well.
Feeling Sun Jinzhong’s questioning gaze, he began to explain.