After hearing my thoughts, there was a prolonged silence on the other end of the phone.
"Hello, Mr. Lin, are you there?"
"I'm here, Guangting. It's like this, it's too complicated to discuss over the phone. This matter is of great importance. If you're available, please come back and explain it to me face to face."
"Alright, Mr. Lin. We'll meet at Botong Hall."
"Yes, be sure to take care."
The locals eat only two meals a day, around 9:30 in the morning and again around 3 in the afternoon. During these times, people are at home eating, and the streets are almost deserted, relatively safer.
Having eaten some bread and compressed biscuits, I quietly slipped out of the green curtain at around 9:30. From a distance, I saw Duan Huairen lying in the driver's seat of the box truck, holding his head, his feet crossed on the steering wheel, squinting in the sun.
Approaching his stall, I rummaged through the fish and asked, "How much for these fish?"
Duan Huairen didn't get out of the car. He leaned on the steering wheel, looked around, and waved at me repeatedly, urging me to leave to avoid trouble.
Upon arriving at Botong Hall, Lin Canghai was already waiting for me. Without much ado, I detailed the situation of the main family to him, referring to the ancient tomb, and then brought out some paper and a pen to sketch out the route of the kite turning over.
"Mr. Lin, this is the situation. What do you think?"
Lin Canghai turned his back, stroked his beard, and looked out of the window at the bustling traffic. After a long while, he turned back to me.
"Guangting, theoretically speaking, your plan is indeed highly feasible. But have you considered the level of operability?"
Seeing that I didn't quite understand, Lin Canghai posed a second question.
"Recently, the people below told me that they have discovered suspicious individuals sneaking around our territory. I suspect that Bai Laotai has reached into our territory."
"Bai Laotai, who is she?"
"This Bai Laotai is your grandfather's senior sister. At that time, when they finished their studies, they were assigned their respective areas of activity. Unexpectedly, Bai Laotai has set her sights on us."
This was truly an unexpected discovery. My grandfather never mentioned to me that he had a senior sister. When Lin Canghai mentioned Bai Laotai, there was also some evasiveness. Could it be that something happened between my grandfather and Bai Laotai?
"Guangting, to cut to the chase, if we can't handle this situation in the short term, firstly, we must evacuate. Secondly, if Bai Laotai catches wind of the situation, we'll be making clothes for others on our own accord."
"Chen Duoyu guarantees that he can definitely open up the thief hole within three days."
Lin Canghai smiled bitterly and said, "This Chen Laosi is skilled at digging holes and boasting. He even claims that he can make a hole in broad daylight without his pants on."
Although these words were unpleasant to hear, they were all reasonable. I almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.
At this moment, there were a few knocks on the door, and Zhang Ling walked in, greeted me, and then went to Lin Canghai's side.
"Mr. Lin, the road has been smoothed out, absolutely safe, and the price is beautiful. We're just waiting for the dishes to be served."
Lin Canghai nodded.
Seeing the situation, Zhang Ling turned to me and asked, "Is there a problem?"
After learning the details, Zhang Ling turned to Lin Canghai again and said, "It's tight with the investigation now. The road has finally been smoothed out. If we can't serve the dishes on time when the guests arrive, not only will we have to compensate for the breach of contract, but this road may also be cut off in the future."
Lin Canghai nodded and said, "Naturally, I am aware of this."
Suddenly, the phone placed on the table by Lin Canghai rang, and I saw Zhang Wenjie's name on the screen. Lin Canghai answered the call.
Three minutes later, he hung up and said to me, "Guangting, I'm giving you only three days. If this situation cannot be resolved after three days, immediately destroy the thief hole and withdraw the personnel."
As Lou Qiuming said in the debate between Cao and Gao, "In warfare, courage is key. Once one gains momentum, they thrive; once it wanes, they decline; and after the third attempt, they exhaust."
Considering the morale of the entire team, Lin Canghai eventually relented.
In the evening, I went to Ru Jia Restaurant and had a bowl of pulled noodles. I wanted to have a few words with Shi Jingxia, but it was dinner time, and she was too busy to spare a moment for me.
At ten o'clock in the evening, back in the tent, I shared this good news with everyone, and everyone became excited and immediately prepared for action.
Zhang Wenjie measured the distance with his steps and kicked a pit on the ground.
Chen Lao Da worriedly said, "Mr. Zhang, are you sure you've bypassed the burial chamber? We don't want to end up buried alive down there."
Zhang Wenjie confidently replied, "No problem, let's get started."
While he was speaking, Chen Duoyu spat on his hands and rubbed them together before starting to dig.
Because they avoided the burial chamber, the soil was relatively loose, so progress was swift this time. After about two hours, a tunnel of nearly twenty meters had been dug.
Chen Lao Er asked, "Twenty meters already, is that enough?"
Chen Lao Da said, "The depth of tombs is not uniformly regulated. The tomb of Liu Xu, the first generation King of Guangling in the Han Dynasty, was 18 meters deep, while the tomb of Liu Wu, the King of Chu in Xuzhou, was only 8 meters deep. It is closely related to the status and rank of the various vassal kings at that time, but no tomb deeper than twenty meters has been discovered so far, so it should be about enough."
Zhang Wenjie, feeling uneasy, said, "Normally, yes, but what if the burial chamber has sunk?"
Chen Lao Da thought for a moment and said, "That's reasonable, let's dig another five meters."
After the tunnel was dug, they immediately placed the detonators. After a muffled explosion, the green curtain shook as if caught in a gale, swaying left and right. I also felt a tingling sensation under my feet, and Duan Huairen's voice came over the intercom.
"Hammer, why so much commotion? The alarm on my truck is ringing. Don't move for now. The village lights are on."
Upon careful listening, the barking of dogs was incessant, merging into one, and the atmosphere became tense in an instant.
"Old San, you're just lazy. I told you three to dig down a bit, but you didn't listen. Now look at how much explosives you've used. If we're discovered, let's see how you explain it."
"Ding Laotou, don't just stand there talking nonsense. My lower back is still plastered with medicinal patches."
After a while, Duan Huairen's voice came over the intercom again.
"It's nothing, a false alarm. Over."
This time, Chen Lao Er went down first, with Lao Da and Lao San assisting from above, changing shifts every half an hour.
Shining a flashlight into the hole, I saw the Chen brothers digging the thief hole expertly, as skillful as mice burrowing, and a visible hole with a diameter of one meter was already dug.
After the vertical hole was dug, it was time to dig upward, straight towards the bottom of the burial chamber. However, Chen Duoyu suddenly stopped his movements.
"I'm dizzy. I can't tell the direction here. Which way should we dig?"