Pang Zhiwei solemnly said, "This is handwritten by my ancestors, never shown to anyone before."
I looked at him and asked, "Then why are you willing to let me see it?"
Pang Zhiwei smirked, "This? Mainly, I want the world to understand this period of history, to strive for self-improvement, to not forget national humiliation. Besides, I see potential in you, young man."
In my mind, I thought, "You're trying to butter me up. Money talks."
The rice paper recorded a teeth-gnashing event.
Not only the Eight-Nation Alliance but also all aggressors, they not only plundered countless treasures but also harbored an indescribable fantasy about mysterious Eastern women.
Back then, these human demons were notorious for their atrocities, burning, killing, looting, and raping women. Many chaste women, in order to avoid defilement, chose to hang themselves, take poison, or jump into wells, just to preserve their last shred of dignity.
However, many women were forcibly taken onto the warships of the powers, as these animals intended to sell them like black slaves again.
"Damn it, we won't forget this account. It will be settled sooner or later."
In anger, I slammed the table heavily, and Pang Zhiwei quickly moved my hand away.
"Easy there, take it slow. Don't tear it apart."
Continuing to read, in order to make these women submit, the invaders resorted to extreme measures, pepper water, the tiger bench, and even public beheadings. But the effect was not obvious, and they had to ensure the quality of their goods, not all of them could be severely injured. This troubled this bunch of bastards.
At this time, a traitorous priest, in order to please the Westerners, came up with an extremely vicious method.
They locked these women in a sealed room and then heated the room continuously. When the heat became unbearable, they would automatically take off their clothes, using this method to erode their sense of shame and completely conquer them psychologically and spiritually.
This method proved effective. The Westerners wanted to reward the traitorous priest, and he was the first to enter the room. But there was no one inside. In the end, amidst the triumphant laughter of the Westerners, the traitorous priest was roasted into a mummy.
The news spread like wildfire, and enraged Chinese people ate the traitorous priest's mummified body, smashing his bones and boiling them into soup.
It was recorded on the rice paper that Pang Zhiwei's grandfather also ate a piece, dipping it in soy sauce and vinegar, still unable to dispel his resentment.
Lastly, there was a sentence written like this: "Hell is empty, and devils are in the world. We should strengthen ourselves, our blood defending our country's borders."
Folding the rice paper slowly, my heart couldn't calm down for a long time.
Although the content above was not directly related to the sunken ship, it could be used to try to reconstruct the scene at the time.
A British warship, laden with Chinese cultural relics and innocent women, sailed on the vast sea of the Bohai Sea. Those women were locked in watertight compartments.
For some reason, the warship suddenly encountered trouble and sank to the bottom of the sea. However, the temperature in the watertight compartments kept rising, and in the end, those women were roasted into mummies, miraculously preserved.
What Wang Xiaoliang heard as "drip, drip" sound should be the sound of mummies colliding with each other for some reason.
Some may ask, even if it's a watertight compartment, after 100 years, wouldn't it still let in water? That's hard to say.
Duan Huairen is 40 years old this year. He said his family has an aluminum kettle for boiling water, which his mother bought while holding him. He remembers it clearly. It was winter, and he was wearing split-crotch pants. The person selling the kettle touched his little bird, and it was especially cold.
A broken kettle has been used for nearly 40 years. Where's the reason in that?
Although technology is advancing, modern people who prioritize convenience can't imagine how people in the past created one miracle after another.
The truth about the sunken ship is now unverifiable, but this may be the closest result to the truth.
Just then, Shi Jingxia stood at the door and knocked, waving at me.
There was a smell in the room, probably because Pang Zhiwei hadn't washed his feet all winter, it was especially stinky. Shi Jingxia didn't come in.
"What's wrong, Xiaojing?"
"Is there a strange person over there?"
Following her finger, I saw a young man, barely seventeen or eighteen, standing in the middle of the bee boxes.
His unkempt appearance, tattered clothes layered one over the other, at least a dozen of them, and his feet clad in open-toed cloth shoes with thousands of layers in the sole, made him look like a big garlic clove on a toothpick from afar.
At this moment, the man was crouching in front of the bee box, his fingers covered with long nails made of folded newspaper, skillfully catching bees. After catching them, he cruelly pulled off the bees' abdomens and licked the upper bodies.
"So sweet!"
Shi Jingxia shivered all over. "Isn't he afraid of being stung?"
"When the woods are big, there are all kinds of birds. I've even heard of people eating nails and drinking gasoline."
Pang Zhiwei came out with the wooden box neatly arranged and instantly flew into a rage at the sight of the man. He grabbed a shovel and chased after him everywhere.
"Big-nosed cannon, today I'll teach you a lesson, stay still!"
"Pang old man, you're acting all high and mighty, but your ancestors were concubines, couldn't bear children..."
The last two words were too vulgar, so let's leave it to your imagination.
The big-nosed cannon ran past us, leaving behind a foul stench in the air, making Shi Jingxia hurriedly cover her nose and mouth.
I said to Pang Zhiwei, "Bullying the weak won't do any good in the long run. Let it go."
"You don't know. This kid comes to catch my bees every few days and talks back to me. Today, I must give him a taste of his own medicine."
"Alright, it's just a few bees. I'll compensate you."
I gave Pang Zhiwei three hundred yuan, then I took two pounds of honey and left. I asked him to give the rest to the big-nosed cannon. Pang Zhiwei hesitated, but the big-nosed cannon agreed first.
"Big-nosed cannon, what's your name?"
"Zheng Dongxu."
"Alright, good name. When you finish the honey, come to this place to find me. I'll buy you another hundred pounds, how's that?"
"That would be great."
"Hey, you're not being polite."
With a few simple exchanges, I finally understood why Zheng Dongxu was called the big-nosed cannon. It was because when he spoke, a bubble of snot would occasionally blow out from under his nose, bursting and splattering, mixing with the dust, covering his face in black spots, making it especially disgusting.
I didn't think "big-nosed cannon" was an accurate name for Zheng Dongxu. It should be changed to "big-nosed bubble."
I left him an address and went back.
For the next few days, with nothing to do, I slept until I woke up naturally, then indulged in eating, drinking, and having fun. Women are amazing when shopping. They browse without buying, spending the whole day at it. In the evening, they still have to pay their respects, and I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.
The latter half of the day was still a bit cold, but the beauties couldn't wait any longer. Four or five of them lined up, linking arms and occupying the entire sidewalk.
Laughing and chatting, like a flock of sparrows, it made people feel ticklish inside. Each and every one of them, really flirtatious.
I couldn't help but look back, and Shi Jingxia pinched me.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
"Men are all the same, always looking."
"Don't tease. It seems like someone is following us."