Chapter 5 Chapter Four: A Matchmaker Like an Eye

This is of course built according to the specifications of the staff quarters.It can be seen that Pilar and Oganguda really put a lot of thought into it. The first thing I saw were two New Year pictures on the wall. The New Year pictures were quite dilapidated. One was a fat baby holding a big carp, and the other was the God of Wealth.This is the most common New Year picture in Chinese folk.Judging from how dilapidated they are, they may have been brought by Cai Genfu many years ago, and they have been kept in a precious place until now. There is a bed in the room, the quilt on the bed is neatly folded, not far from the head of the bed is a desk, next to the desk is a bookshelf.There are not many books on the bookshelf. I walked over and took a look, and found that almost all of them were books on "how to study French by myself", and they were very old.The other part is about coal mining technology, but I can tell at a glance that I haven't read it much. It may be that Cai Genfu's level is not good enough to read such books.

In addition, there are several comic books and French adult pictorials. Judging from the books on the shelf, Cai Genfu should be very normal and diligent. On the desk, there is a small tape recorder. The tapes in the machine are for learning French, and there are some miscellaneous things. It is difficult to explain them one by one, but they are all normal things. On the other wall is a wardrobe. When I looked into the wardrobe, Pilar went over and opened the wardrobe. There were some ordinary clothes in the wardrobe.On the wall next to the closet is a 30 cm square picture frame. Inside are more than a dozen photos of different sizes, poorly photographed, and yellowed. A photo taken with Lao Cai at that time.There is nothing special about these photos.

I went back and opened the desk drawer. There was nothing in the drawer, but there was a rather large lump of coal in the small cabinet on the left side of the desk. Coal essence, as I mentioned at the beginning, is a by-product of coal mines, especially in anthracite mines. It is a brownish-red transparent body, quite beautiful, and irregular in shape. In the dwellings of coal miners, there are one or two lumps of coal fines as display ornaments, which is very common and not surprising, because they often find them in the process of mining coal.Although generally speaking, coal mine authorities require workers to turn in coal essence, because it is a very valuable raw material for handicrafts.But coal mine authorities are not to blame if workers keep some for themselves.

Therefore, when I saw that piece of fine coal, I didn't pay special attention to it.Instead, Pilar said behind me: "Look at this piece of coal, its shape seems very special!" I leaned over a little, and took out the piece of coal finely. This is a rather large piece of coal, about 40 centimeters high, about 20 centimeters wide and 20 centimeters deep. Round, exactly in the middle. Coal essence is originally a substance formed together with coal, and it is not uncommon for it to be mixed with coal lumps when it is not mined. I held this piece of coal in my hand, looked at it for a while, and then glanced at Pilar: "I don't see anything special about this piece of coal!"

Pilar said: "Put it on the table, take a few steps away and have a look!" I didn't know what Pilar meant by saying that, I just followed suit, took a few steps back, and looked at the piece of coal. When I still didn't find anything special, Pilar reminded me again: "Look at what it looks like." ?” Once Pilar reminded me, I couldn't help but let out an "ah" and cried out. The piece of coal is long oval, with slightly pointed ends, and in the middle, there is a round piece of black coal, which looks like an eye! Pilar hurriedly said, "What does it look like to you?"

I pointed to the lump of coal and said, "It looks like an eye to anyone!" Pilar and Oganguda looked at each other, and I was surprised: "No matter what it looks like, it is just a piece of coal essence. What doubts do you have about this ordinary coal essence?" Ao Ganguda said: "It's not that I have any doubts about this piece of coal, but I am puzzled by Cai Genfu's behavior." I said: "A miner left behind a piece of coal with a strange shape. This is a very common thing!" Ao Ganguda said: "The problem is that Cai Genfu hates workers' behavior the most. He has reported to the security department many times about workers hiding coal essence, which makes the security department also hate it. In fact, the coal mine The authorities, on the contrary, don’t care about such things!”

I said "oh", so it seems a bit unusual. Cai Genfu is a loyal and honest man. He must think that workers should not hide coal essence, so he often reported it. But why did he hide it secretly? How about a piece?Is this piece of coal fine, what's so special about it? Pilar said: "If you look carefully, you can see that this piece of coal has been drilled with a small hole!" I picked up the piece of coal again and took a closer look. Sure enough, there was a small hole in it, which went straight to the coal block in the center.Of course, this small hole is not naturally generated, it is drilled out.

I said, "Cai Genfu did this too?" Pilar said: "It can't be confirmed. We didn't find tools in his residence. But he is a plumber, and it is easy to get or borrow some tools." With a hum, I put the piece of coal back on the table, and stepped back a few steps. The more I looked at it, the more I felt it looked like an eye.But even that is still meaningless!I looked over to Pilar and Oganguda, and they both obviously felt the same way. I spent another hour or so checking other things in Cai Genfu's room, but it was not even worth writing down. Cai Genfu is such an ordinary person that even everything he owns is too ordinary to deserve any attention. .

Of course, the piece of coal essence that looks like an eye is an exception.I was thinking that if Cai Gen had the habit of keeping a diary, he might write down the reason why he found this piece of coal essence and why he kept it.But I couldn't find any diary or other writings at all. At this moment, I suddenly remembered something, and I said, "Where is Engineer Doug's residence?" Pilar seemed to have expected that I would ask this question, and immediately said: "Engineer Doug lives in the dormitory of senior engineers, and I have also done a detailed inspection."

I said, "What did you find? For example, does he have the habit of keeping a diary, or something like that—" Bilal shook his head and said, "I think the same as you, because when Engineer Doug heard that Cai Genfu was looking for him, he once said, 'The Chinese are whimsical again', and I really want to understand him. What is the whimsical thing he said, I hope he has a record, but there is no." Oganguda added: "Engineer Doug specializes in collecting fine coal with impurities in it. In his residence, there are thousands of such fine coal, which is a sight to behold."

I immediately said: "There is nothing to see here, let's go to Engineer Doug's residence!" Ao Ganguda said: "You have never rested at all, you should eat something!" I shook my head and said, "Let's go and talk!" Bilal smiled, and Okanguda glared at the two of us: "You two should be good friends. Once you start working, it will be like tomorrow is the end of the world!" I smiled wryly: "You think I like working? I want to find some useful clues as soon as possible!" Ao Ganguda said: "I will not accompany you, you can go with Pilar, he is as interested as you!" I said sternly: "I'm not just doing it for fun, this matter is related to the lives of more than 20 people, and now it is related to the life of another person!" Aoganguda did not argue, but spread his hands, and I said, "I will rest tonight, and tomorrow morning, please arrange for me to go to the coal mine of the 144th group!" Okanguda was taken aback: "Is it necessary?" I imitated his tone: "Is it necessary? I don't know what else is more important than investigating the scene!" Okanguda made a gesture not to let me continue: "Okay, okay, I will make arrangements, tomorrow!" The three of us went downstairs together, and only then did I notice that there was another servant in the room, a tall black man. When we went downstairs, he was holding out coffee and tea on a silver plate Snacks come.The three of us ate at random, Oganguda still left in his big car, and Pilar and I left in a car driven by Pilar. While driving, Pilar said, "As you can see, Oganguda is very busy. Originally, I was the only one working. Now, I have you to help me." I sighed: "You may not know the purpose of my coming! I came here to save Cai Genfu!" Pilar was stunned for a moment, and said, "Save Cai Genfu? You can't save him! Those people were all killed by him. The question is why he killed them!" I didn't say anything, I smiled bitterly in my heart, and I also admitted that from any point of view, Cai Genfu did indeed kill many people.Why did he kill, I don't know yet, but it can't be said that he killed in self-defense, right?That is to say, Cai Genfu's crime is certain, and I can't save him!Thinking of Lao Cai who was waiting for me to take Cai Genfu back home, I couldn't help but feel a headache.I'm a little glad that Cai Genfu escaped.I hope that Aoganguda and the others can't find him but I find him instead, then I will have a way to sneak away with Cai Genfu.However, should I help a murderer with solid evidence and almost insane? When I was in a conflicted mood, the car passed a row of very delicate bungalows, and I saw many white children playing in the open space in front of the houses.The car stopped in front of one of the small bungalows, and there were two policemen standing guard in front of that house.As soon as the car stopped, two policemen came over, saluted Pilar, and looked at me with very puzzled eyes. Pilar said to them: "This is Mr. Wei, whenever he comes in the future, you should help him!" When the two police officers heard this, they immediately saluted me again.Pilar led me forward, passed the grass in front of the door, Pilar took out the key to open the door, and passed the entrance hall, which was the living room. Engineer Doug's living room is very strangely arranged. There are four rather large cabinets, displaying coal essences of various sizes, large and small, and the amount is really not less than a thousand dollars. These coal essences, as Oganguda said, all contain "impurities".The so-called "impurities" are really all-encompassing, some are stones, some are coal, and in one of them, coal essence is displayed, and there are complete or incomplete insects in the middle. These are all creatures hundreds of millions of years ago. preserved. The collection here is, as far as I can tell, the richest of its kind.As I watched, Bilar said, "Cai Genfu and Engineer Doug have a good relationship?" Pilar said: "Yes, Engineer Doug is easy-going and enthusiastic, and has been teaching Cai Genfu French." I said: "Then, it is possible that the piece of coal in Cai Genfu's residence is what he wants to give to Engineer Doug!" Pilar said: "It's also possible, but there are lumps of coal in the coal essence, which is the most common kind." I nodded and said, "But it looks unusual, it looks like eyes!" At this moment, Pilar suddenly trembled and looked towards me. At the same time, I also thought of something! The two of us said in unison, "Eyes!" "Eyes" was originally a very common word, but what we thought of at this time was that among the few words that Engineer Doug said to several other engineers and officials of the Mining Bureau, the only thing that was understood by the workers present was "eyes." "Two words! Did what Engineer Doug told at that time have something to do with the "eyes"?Or further, is it related to a piece of coal that looks like an eye?And why did his words make the rest of the people laugh? Pilar and I looked at each other for a long time, but there was no answer. Pilar took me again to see other places where Engineer Doug lived.I'm most interested in Engineer Doug's study.It turned out that he was not only a mining engineer, but also an expert in a very obscure science.He has quite high research achievements in this remote science. This science is paleontology. Engineer Doug's research on reptiles and insects in paleontology is extremely outstanding. In his study room, there are many books and magazines of this type, many of which contain works by Engineer Doug. I guess, his occupation is a mining engineer, and mining must be excavated, and sometimes, he will dig extremely deep. Under the ground, many fossils of organisms can be found. His interest in paleontology must have been cultivated from this.In the living room just now, among the coal essences I saw, many of them contained whole or remnants of living things.These creatures were at least millions of years ago! I looked at it casually, and asked Pilar, "Did he keep a diary?" Pilar said: "No, I have read almost every word here, trying to find some clues, but I can't find it!" Although Pilar's appearance is unkempt, and his working method is too messy, there is no doubt that he is extremely serious in his work.He said that he couldn't find any clues here, so even if I search again, it must be in vain! I sighed and flipped through an old magazine: "I noticed that there are many expert opinions on ancient creatures published in these magazines. Have you found any one that is particularly interesting?" Bilal scratched his messy hair: "There is an article, which is very interesting. He stands alone and supports the opinion of a Chinese water conservancy engineer." I was a little confused: "What do you mean?" Bilal was obviously very familiar with the pile of old magazines. He picked out two of them and said, "You should read this one first. There is a short article by that Chinese water conservancy engineer on it." I really don't want to involve the "Chinese Water Conservancy Engineer" again, because I have too many things to do. In my ears, I seem to think of Lao Cai's voice reminding me: there are still 16 days left! In particular, Cai Genfu is gone now, things can be said to be terrible, I have to focus on finding Cai Genfu first. However, when I saw Pilar handing me the old magazine, he showed a look that wanted me to have a look. I took the magazine, opened it, and found the short article. The essay was rather short, and the author was a hydraulic engineer, whose name does not matter.The incident he narrated in that short essay was indeed extremely interesting. The Chinese water conservancy engineer said that when he participated in a water conservancy project, he discovered a strange thing. Knowing that this journal has considerable research on paleontology, he simply recorded this matter for research. The water conservancy engineer was participating in a project called "Shuanggou River Diversion Project".This is a small project in China's Huaihe River repair project. The main project is to dig a diversion river between the Huaihe River and Hongze Lake. Take Hongze Lake as a natural reservoir. Of course, the whole project also includes the construction of dams at both ends of the diversion river.The author said it in great detail, but I will omit it when I retell it, because it has nothing to do with the whole story. The author also drew a picture to explain the location of this diversion river. Because this river is quite close to Shuanggou Town in the north of Anhui Province, China, it was named "Shuanggou River Diversion Project".And the title of the whole short article, I believe it was drafted by the editor of the magazine, is called "Living paleontology discovered in the Shuanggou river diversion project in China?" Putting a question mark in the title clearly indicates that you don't fully believe what the author says. What this author is saying is also very simple.He said that during the process of excavating the river—this river is 150 meters wide and 57 meters deep, when the excavation reached a depth of more than 20 meters, the workers were buried in the soil , found a live meal fish. The author describes the local soil quality in detail, and has a scientific analysis of the soil composition, and also explains the remaining fossils found during the excavation process, including huge animal bone fossils and so on.It also described the shape and color of this eel in detail. According to the description, it is really a very common Chinese rice field eel. When this eel was dug out, it was curled up in a space of only half a cubic foot. The closest part of this space to the outside world is the ground, which is more than 20 meters.The local soil is very hard. During the construction, it is necessary to drill holes first and then pour water to make the soil soft and fall down in one piece. The wall of the space where the eel lives is slightly wet, but this eel is alive and well, there is no doubt that it is a live fish.According to the local soil quality and the situation of fossil discovery, this eel was buried at a depth of 20 meters, at least more than one million years ago! Is this eel really an ancient creature from a million years ago or more?How did it survive without food and air?The author raised several questions and asked the editor of the journal to answer them.The editor of the magazine added a note after the article.Said that he had never heard of this matter, and hoped that experts from all over the world would come to express their opinions. It took me ten minutes to finish reading this short article, with a puzzled look on my face, I raised my head: "I am quite familiar with the place the water conservancy engineer mentioned. Hongze Lake is one of the five great lakes in China. I visited it many years ago. , I once delayed there with a few friends for more than half a year, the purpose was to find an underwater city that sank at the bottom of the lake!" Bilal blinked his eyes: "Please read this article again, it was written by Doug Project. Before Doug's article, there have been at least 20 articles that have participated in the discussion. Many of them have international Well-known paleontologists, they denied such a thing at all. Later, this matter was simply called a 'Chinese joke'." I frowned: "This is not very reasonable, how can those experts deny a fact? I believe that the author who reported this matter is definitely not joking." Pilar said: "Look at Doug's article!" I opened the magazine and saw Doug's article, which began with Doug's words: "It's very sad for me to be called a 'Chinese joke' because it makes me discover that science People in the world, for a thing that is beyond the scope of their own knowledge, always label it as 'impossible', and take a negative attitude at all, instead of believing that there will be such a fact, and then do further exploration and research!" I just watched a section, and I shouted loudly: "This is the real scientific attitude!" Pilar said: "Yes, although Doug doesn't know how that eel can live 20 meters underground, and this eel obviously didn't immigrate from other places, but changed from a swamp to a local area. When it became land, it was trapped in it. But Doug's attitude is very objective!" As I read on, Doug's article went on to rant, accusing various experts of being frivolous and irresponsible.I finished it as fast as I could: "In view of this, Engineer Doug is a person who can accept strange things!" Pilar said: "Yes, I know what the question in your mind is now, and it is the same as what I was thinking at the time: Since Engineer Doug can accept the fact that an eel lives underground for a million years, why should he Will you say that Cai Genfu is 'whimsical'?" The question Pilar asked was exactly what I thought of. He said it before me, so I had no choice but to ask, "Do you have the answer?" Pilar said: "I think everyone has a certain limit to accepting the weirdness of things, which is different due to his own thinking, education level, and life experience. Engineer Doug's limit is much higher than that of ordinary people, but still Not high enough to accept what Cai Genfu told him!" I agree with his analysis very much. While turning a rotating chair, I said: "Now, the main question is what exactly Cai Genfu said. Didn't you—" I was going to ask him if he didn't ask Cai Genfu, and it immediately occurred to me that Cai Genfu hadn't said anything other than the sentence "spicy mother", and of course Bilal couldn't get any answer, so my words He stopped talking halfway. Bilal smiled wryly and said: "If Cai Genfu is willing to say it, the problem will be simple. He won't say it, but I think, no matter what it is, it must have happened in the working pit of the 144th Group, so I ──” I said, "Have you been there?" Pilar said: "I have been there? Where do you think my beard grew? I lived in that tunnel for a full month. Since then I have grown a beard, and I swear that if this Unless there is a thorough and satisfactory answer to the matter, I will not shave my beard and keep it!" I don't doubt Pilar's words at all, because as soon as I see him, I can see that he has the kind of perseverance. Pilar said again: "Since the tragedy happened, the mine of the 144th Group has been closed. After the scene was cleaned up, I went in and didn't leave a single step for a month! But I found nothing!" When Bilal said this, his expression was somewhat depressed, and he scratched his messy hair: "Accordingly, if any weird things happen there, I will definitely meet them!" I also agree with Pilar's words, in terms of reasoning, his words are impeccable!Unless there are no strange things happening, if there are strange things happening, it must be in the mine of the 144 group, and Pilar lived in that mine for a month, so he should be able to encounter strange things.Unless the strange thing happened once and never happened again! I smiled wryly: "I want to go to that mine too, maybe there is something you overlooked!" Pilar just waved his hand and didn't say anything. He and I left the residence of Engineer Doug. During this trip, apart from seeing a lot of strange coal essences, it can be said that there is no gain at all. When we returned to the residence of Oganguda, I was really tired, so the trip to the coal mine was arranged for tomorrow. I took a nice shower and rested for two hours, chatting and discussing with Pilar all the time.He told me everything he knew about this matter, and in some places, he even said it four or five times.I thought about what he said again and again, but I still couldn't figure out why Cai Genfu wanted to kill someone. Later that night, Aoganguda also rushed back to participate in the discussion, and we ended the discussion with our respective long sighs. The next day, the three of us headed for the coal mine in a car from Oganguda. Not long after we drove out, the car along the way was already full of cars carrying coal miners to change shifts—the coal mine continued to produce 24 hours a day.