Chapter 24 first quarter

The car was speeding along the No. 103 National Highway.On the side of the road is an endless pasture and herds of cattle and sheep, and in the distance is a clear blue sky with a few white clouds drifting occasionally.The sky is gray, the wild is vast, the wind blows the grass and the cattle and sheep are low - the scenery that can only be read in books is in front of you.Looking at the lush meadow, the scorching sun in August seems not so unbearable now. "It's really good, isn't it? It's much more comfortable than in Beijing." Qin Siwei smirked and increased the speed to 180 mph, "It's so cool! How about finding a corner to play drifting later?"

"Whatever, as long as your car can handle it." I turned off the air conditioner, lowered the windows, and felt the cool wind blowing towards my face. This guy broke into my house at 5:30 this morning, claiming to take me to a top hot spring.I was still sleepy and thought I was going to a newly developed resort on the outskirts of Beijing.It wasn't until I woke up that the car had already left Zhangjiakou that I realized that the destination of this trip was Hexigten Banner in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia.Although I have heard of the hot springs rich in minerals and yearn for it, Qin Siwei's way of inviting is really unimaginable.

"You haven't told me why you suddenly want to go to Keshiketeng to soak in the hot springs. Don't you have to go to work?" "I remember telling you that I have saved forty days of vacation and haven't taken it." He continued to slam on the gas pedal, "Anyway, there is no case at hand these days, and Beijing is so hot, I will take you to a cooler place Play for a few days and relax." "Then you didn't say it earlier." "I want to give you a surprise." He said triumphantly. I glanced at my watch, it was ten past one.According to Qin Siwei's driving speed, if he didn't blow out his tire halfway, he could reach his destination before three o'clock in the afternoon.

The car roared and rushed up a small hill.Qin Siwei wisely slowed down and drove down the steep slope slowly.I noticed a white Fukang with Beijing brand name parked on the side of the road not far away.The people next to the car were waving their arms at us enthusiastically, but obviously not to welcome us. Qin Siwei stepped on the brake and stopped.As soon as we jumped out of the car, the man ran over panting.He was about thirty years old, and his thin body was wearing a blue plaid shirt that was completely wet with sweat, and his narrow forehead was also covered with beads of sweat. Qin Siwei went up to meet him, "What's the matter? Dude, do you need help?"

"Please...the car broke down..." "Blue Shirt" said out of breath, "Please help, my colleague has passed out." I looked into Fukang's open car door, and there was an old man in his sixties lying on the back seat.His eyes were closed tightly, his face was pale, his breathing was short of breath, and his white hair was sticking to his scalp with sweat.I leaned over and checked. The old man's pulse was fast and his body temperature was obviously high: "He's suffering from heat stroke. Come and help me." Qin Siwei and "Blue Shirt" carried the old man to our car.I took two bottles of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, pried open his mouth and drank it down.Qin Siwei took out an ice pack from the car refrigerator and applied it to the old man's forehead, and asked him to lie flat on the back seat to rest. Then he found the toolbox and went to help "Blue Shirt" repair the car.Nearly twenty minutes passed, and the old man's breathing finally calmed down. He opened his eyes and looked at me weakly.I helped him up, drank some mineral water, and changed him to an ice pack.

At this time, Qin Siwei walked over resentfully: "It seems that the battery is faulty, and it needs to be sent to a professional repair shop." "Why don't you call for help?" I handed him and "Blue Shirt" a bottle of ice water each. "I can't get through, there is no signal in this ghost place." Qin Siwei looked at the phone angrily, and asked the "blue shirt" next to him, "Where are you going?" "Go to... Aohan Banner." I stuck out my tongue at Qin Siwei.Both Aohan Banner and our destination Hexigten Banner belong to Chifeng City, but they are basically the opposite.But they can't be thrown in this place where there are no villages, no shops and no mobile phone signal, not to mention that the old man is still very weak.So, amidst the "blue shirt"'s gratitude, we dragged the Fukang car, which could not move, and took the old and the young on the road.

Perhaps because he was afraid that his own car would break down, or because there were patients in the car, Qin Siwei stopped driving so wildly.The old man could already sit up at this time, but his face was still pale and his speech was weak. "Blue Shirt" introduced himself as Jiang Yingyu, who is the editor-director of the TV station's "Lecture Hall of Famous Masters".The old man is the planner of their column, Xie Ruhui.They went to Aohan this time, at the invitation of the Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Social Sciences, to participate in a field trip. "Archaeology..." I had a flash of inspiration, "Are you going to Xinglongwa in Aohan Banner?"

"Xiao Li, do you know Xinglongwa?" Xie Ruhui seemed to suddenly regain his spirits, "Girls like your age are not very interested in archeology." "She is interested in the things excavated by archaeology." Qin Siwei smirked. I glared at him, "Hongshan Culture, I heard that jade from 8,000 years ago was unearthed there." "The teacher Liu Guoxi from the Academy of Social Sciences that we are going to meet this time is the one who discovered the pair of jade." Jiang Yingyu said excitedly, "Right, Mr. Xie?" "Oh, that's him." Xie Ruhui said, "but that was in the early 1990s. When jade was discovered, Liu Guoxi was still a graduate student at the Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Social Sciences. He stayed in the Institute of Archeology after graduation. , is now a researcher. Liu Guoxi is also an expert in ancient jade, and he is competing for the deputy director of the Institute of Archeology recently, so he wants to borrow our column as the keynote speaker to give himself a strong reputation."

"However, I heard that they also unearthed valuable cultural relics during this investigation." Jiang Yingyu said, "There should be no suspense for Mr. Liu to be promoted to the deputy director." "Are you going to invite Mr. Liu...Liu to give a lecture on "Famous Masters Lecture?" Qin Siwei asked, "I am also your loyal audience, but I am usually too busy, so I only watch some intermittently." "It doesn't matter, I'll just carve a program CD for you when I go back." Jiang Yingyu said, "We plan to launch a series of Chinese jade culture, and ask Mr. Liu to give a lecture on Hongshan ancient jade. It just so happens that he During the investigation in Xinglongwa area, there were new discoveries, so we were invited to go there. I didn't expect my poor Fukang... well, I am lucky to meet you."

"Yeah, otherwise I will confess my old bones." Xie Ruhui closed his eyes, "It's old, it's useless." At 3:30 in the afternoon, we arrived at Xinhui Town in Aohan Banner.But after checking Bai Fukang, the garage staff said that the battery was faulty, and it would not be repaired until the next morning at the earliest, and the phone calls of the Academy of Social Sciences and the group could not be reached for some reason.We had no choice but to send Xie Ruhui and Jiang Yingyu to Xinglongwa Village, more than 100 kilometers away, in the spirit of good people doing their best.

After nearly three hours of bumping on the provincial road with flying loess, we finally saw the legendary Xinglongwa Village.The village is located among hills.If there were no relics left by the ancient ancestors, this place would be just one of the countless small villages in the north.When walking halfway, Jiang Yingyu finally called Liu Guoxi.At this time, he had brought people to the entrance of the village to meet us. Although being famous is not as good as meeting each other, there is still a world of difference between Liu Guoxi and my image of an "expert".He was in his early forties, short, with a round, tanned face and a dirty T-shirt that hadn't been washed in a week.Accompanying him were Li Yan, his graduate student, and Qian Haowen, an associate researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Social Sciences. Qin Siwei and I were planning to say goodbye, but Liu Guoxi repeatedly persuaded us to stay for one night.The kindness is hard to give up, so we followed them to the station of the expedition team - a farmhouse in the south of the village.This is a small courtyard with two entrances. The three rooms in the front yard are rented to the expedition team. The owner Niu Fulai and his wife Shen Xiufeng live in the backyard, and are also responsible for three meals a day and daily life of the expedition team.When we entered the courtyard, Shen Xiufeng had already put the food on the table and invited us to sit on the kang. Dinner is a common local farm meal, with pancakes as big as a pot lid, a large pot of stewed potatoes with vermicelli, fried tofu with eight-percent fat sliced ​​meat, soup made of unknown vegetables, and oily scrambled eggs.Except me and Xie Ruhui, everyone's appetite is particularly good. "Mr. Liu, with just a few of you, how do you excavate the ruins?" Qin Siwei's curiosity flared up after his stomach was basically full. "We are just doing a field trip this time," Liu Guoxi said, "to formulate a plan for the excavation work next month." "Didn't you say you found something good?" Jiang Yingyu put down the chopsticks in his hand. "We didn't dig it." Liu Guoxi said happily, "Niu Fulai dug it out when he was hoeing the ground two days ago. He didn't know what it was, so he brought it back to me. Guess what? It turned out to be a This is a typical Hongshan Jade Pig Dragon, although it is a bit crippled." "Yo, is it really a Jade Pig Dragon?" Xie Ruhui, who had been silent all this time, asked excitedly, "Can you open our eyes too?" "Mr. Xie is also a collection enthusiast." Jiang Yingyu said to me winkingly, "Half of his salary is contributed to Panjiayuan. But so far, he has not received a real one." Xie Ruhui coughed with embarrassment. "Don't worry, let's eat first." Qian Haowen served him a bowl of soup, "Ms. Liu has persuaded Fulai to donate the jade pig dragon, and it will be placed in our archaeological institute in the future. We plan to hold a seminar Yes, you want to see, there are opportunities." "Why is it called Jade...Pig Dragon?" Qin Siwei was afraid that people would laugh at him for his lack of knowledge, so he whispered in my ear, "Is it Jade Pig or Jade Dragon?" "Simply put, it is the jade dragon with the head of a pig and the body of a dragon. It is said that pigs represented both wealth and bravery during the Hongshan culture period, so they were worshiped by the ancestors." I quietly told him, "You know the C-shaped dragon in Huaxia Bank? The dragon symbol? That pattern is a jasper pig dragon from the Hongshan period unearthed in Chifeng area, known as the first dragon in China, and it is now collected in the National Museum." "Oh...so that's the case." He nodded, "In this way, the Jade Pig Dragon should be very valuable, right?" "Of course it's worth money." Qian Haowen seemed to feel that Qin Siwei was asking too much, "A piece of jade pig dragon is worth at least one million. If it is taken abroad, it may be worth several times." "Ah? It's worth so much money!" Qin Siwei said in surprise, "Wouldn't it be a loss for Niu Fulai to donate it?" "How can you say that?" Liu Guoxi said unhappily, "The Jade Pig Dragon is a cultural relic and belongs to the state. This is stipulated in the Cultural Relics Law. Moreover, we will also compensate the donors." "That can't make up a million dollars." Qin Siwei muttered in a low voice.I kicked him under the table to shut him up.I don't want to receive legal education at the dinner table. "Ms. Liu, I want to visit the ruins while it's still dark." Jiang Yingyu asked Liu Guoxi, "Isn't it far from the village?" "Not far away, about one kilometer southeast of the village is the Xinglongwa ruins." Liu Guoxi said, "There is still time to go tomorrow." "I brought a small camera and wanted to take a set of shots of the ruins at dusk, and go back and edit them in the film." Liu Guoxi looked at his watch: "I'm going to visit a few villagers later. Let Haowen take you there, and Li Yan just follow me." "Then let's go now." Qian Haowen said to Jiang Yingyu, "I can't drive to the ruins, it takes nearly half an hour." They set off with the cameras on their backs.Xie Ruhui continued to pester Liu Guoxi to see the Jade Pig Dragon, and Qin Siwei also fanned the flames, booing to pay his respects to the national treasure, no matter how much I kicked him under the table, it was useless. "Mr. Liu, let Mr. Xie and the others take a look." Li Yan said. Liu Guoxi smiled helplessly, turned around and opened the thick felt pad at the top of the kang, and took out a small bag wrapped in a blue cloth handkerchief from the bottom layer.Xie Ruhui couldn't wait to join in.Liu Guoxi opened the handkerchief, revealing a small white jade.This jade pig dragon is carved from Xiu jade. Its body is bent into a C-shape with a diameter of less than an inch. The ear on the pig's head is missing a piece, and the nose has a yellow tint. "Why is it so small?" Qin Siwei was amazed, "Is this worth millions?" Xie Ruhui stared blankly at Jade Pig Dragon, with a salivating expression like a cat that has been hungry for a week seeing a plump live fish.At this time, Shen Xiufeng brought us tea and began to clear the table.Liu Guoxi quickly wrapped the Jade Pig Dragon and stuffed it into his pocket. After Shen Xiufeng went out, he carefully pressed it back under the felt.Xie Ruhui glanced at the felt reluctantly, and sighed softly, obviously not enough. After drinking a cup of tea, Liu Guoxi and Li Yan packed up their things and prepared to visit the villagers.Qin Siwei and I had nothing to do, so we decided to go around the village.After leaving Niu Fulai's house, he walked all the way, kicking the stones and lumps on the dirt road with his feet. "What are you doing?" I held him back, "You don't want to kick out a Jade Pig Dragon, do you?" "Niu Fulai can dig it out, why can't I?" Qin Siwei continued to kick step by step, as if he was practicing going forward. "Forget it, if there is really ancient jade here, the villagers would have dug it away when they built the road." "Oh, why didn't you say it earlier?" He was annoyed.I smiled and ignored him. "Thank you for saying Niu Fulai. If he sold the jade pig dragon, he would be a millionaire now, and he wouldn't have to farm for the rest of his life." "Sold it? You said it lightly." I interrupted him, "Sell cultural relics privately, and you will go to jail if you are caught." "Well, that's true." Qin Siwei nodded, "Liu Guoxi already knows that he has a jade pig dragon in his hand, so he probably can't do without donating it. It seems that Niu Fulai is not destined to get rich." Talking while walking, I walked out of the village without knowing it.There is a small hill not far from the southeast of Xinglongwa Village, and the Xinglongwa Ruins are located under the northern slope of the mountain.It's a pity that it was already dark. We climbed halfway up the mountain and looked down. We could only see the lights in the village, and the rest of the place was pitch black. "The air is so nice." Qin Siwei took a deep breath, raised his head, and shouted like a child, "Wow, Galaxy!" I sat down on a big rock and looked up at the sky.The sky is full of stars, like big and small diamonds inlaid on black silk.Countless stars converged into a flickering band of light, flowing quietly from the zenith, towards the end of the distant wilderness.I can’t remember the last time I saw the Milky Way. Anyway, in a metropolis where the air quality is always moderate, stargazing has almost become a luxury. "The houses here should be very cheap." Sitting beside me, Qin Siwei said longingly, "When we get old, we can buy a piece of land here and live a rural life." I couldn't help shivering. "If you want to come, I don't want to be a peasant woman." "That's all I said, it scares you." He laughed. "I'm not fit to be a farmer either." Blowing the evening wind, looking at the stars, time seems to pass very fast.The lights at the foot of the mountain are gradually fading away, and we have to go on the road early tomorrow morning, so it's time to go back and rest.It was dark, the mountains were densely covered with vegetation, and the road down the mountain was not easy to walk.We were careful and kept pushing aside the branches in front of our faces.