Fatty still picked up the gold particles on the ground one by one, comforting himself that although they were a bit few to support the World Revolution, they were more than enough to improve their lives. I thought these gold particles were very similar to the ones obtained at the Forest Farm that night; they were extremely irregular in shape, seeming like gold flakes used to inlay decorative objects. Could it be that Huang Daxian's box was covered entirely with gold ornaments, and these fragments fell off due to friction and collision during the robbery?
The thought of what treasures were inside that mysterious box made my heart itch, but that thing had probably been stolen for many years; I figured I wouldn't see it in this lifetime. I was disappointed for a full minute. By then, Fatty had gathered everything he could, and lingering further was meaningless. Moreover, after such a long time, I was afraid Yanzi was getting impatient waiting above. So, we planned to leave.
As we were leaving, seeing the ground of the Cellar full of dead bodies, especially those four "Old Hanging Grandpas," I felt uncomfortable just looking at them. Fatty and I discussed finishing the job and burning down this underground structure. Since there was never any Brightness in the lower chamber, and this Cellar stored more than half a jar of oil and many wooden structures, starting a fire wouldn't be hard. We scooped out the oil and splashed it around randomly, then kicked over the oil can, throwing the Oil Lamp onto the ground. It immediately caught fire, and the flames made the wooden beams and rafters in the Cellar crackle loudly.
Worried about being choked by the thick smoke, Fatty and I scrambled up the stone steps out of the Yellow Great Immortal Temple. The snow outside had stopped. We first found a Tree hollow to hide the Bear skin and Bear meat, sealing it with Stones, before crossing the Chahar Gan River on logs back to the Forest Farm. Only then did we realize that the "Immortal Maiden" we had caught was barely breathing from the fright and exhaustion. Fatty saw that this wouldn't do; if the Yellow Weasel died, skinning it wouldn't be worth much, but if he ruined the skin due to lack of skill, it would be worth even less. So, he force-fed it some rice soup to keep it alive. He left that very night, taking the Bear paw and the "Immortal Maiden" out of the mountains to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to trade for goods. He braved the wind and snow on the mountain path for a few catties of cheap Fruit Candy. Only Educated Youth sent to the countryside would do such a thing, and the motive wasn't entirely greed for food; the main reason was actually being unbearably bored.
Yanzi returned to the Village to find people to collect the Bear meat, leaving me alone to guard the Forest Farm. After everything was settled, we were idle for two days, and we planned to trap another Yellow Weasel; this time, we were going after a Fox. But before we could act, the Old Branch Secretary sent someone to bring us back to the Village.
The Branch Secretary said, "I was afraid you wouldn't behave if you stayed in the Village, so I assigned you to the quietest place, the Forest Farm, for duty. I didn't expect you still wouldn't follow orders, going off to Tuan Shanzi to hunt a bear without authorization. Your audacity is too great. If something went wrong, who would take responsibility? Although you hunted a bear, which counts as supporting agriculture, your merits do not outweigh your faults. I think keeping you at the Forest Farm will inevitably lead to bigger trouble sooner or later. We need to find you some other work as punishment. Hmm... what kind of work should it be?"
Finally, the Old Branch Secretary assigned the three of us to the labor of "Carving tomb bricks." Because cultivating land in the mountains is very difficult, there are only scattered patches of thin fields. This year, another piece of land was cleared from the Mountain Ravine, and that area uncovered many Tombs. Since our Village gradually formed from Hunters gathering during the Qing Dynasty, no one can say which dynasty the nearby Graveyard belongs to now. This area of ownerless old graves consisted of Stone tombs, most of which were dilapidated, basically all destroyed, robbed, or water-damaged. The Coffin, grave goods, and Bone dregs inside were worthless. After clearing them out, many Tomb Bricks remained. These Tomb Bricks were valuable to the local people because the area was sparsely populated for hundreds of miles, and there were no brick kilns. The Tomb Bricks were large and sturdy and could be used directly to build livestock sheds and simple structures. However, the Tomb Bricks often had residual mud on them, or they were chipped and broken when unearthed, or they were shattered, resulting in irregular shapes. This required using a trowel to shave, smooth, and trim them, cutting off anything uneven. It wasn't necessary to ensure the entire Tomb Brick remained intact, but it had to be flat and regular so it would be convenient for laying walls.
"Carving tomb bricks" was usually done by the women in the Village because the men found the work Gloomy Aura-inducing and considered the Yin Energy too heavy. Now, this task was assigned to us, considered a light punishment. The work was supervised by the Branch Secretary's wife, Fourth Aunt.
Although it was a light punishment, I detested this kind of uncreative work the most. We shaved the foul-smelling Tomb Bricks for half a day, our waists aching, arms sore, and hands numb. So, I found an opportunity to treat Fourth Aunt to a few pieces of Fruit Candy obtained from trading for the "Immortal Maiden," making her very happy. I took the chance to slack off and have a smoke break with Fatty.
I blew a smoke ring. After shaving Tomb Bricks all day, my head was spinning. Although it wasn't yet mealtime, my stomach was already rumbling. I couldn't help but ask Yanzi, "Sister Yanzi, what delicious food are you making for us tonight?"
Before Yanzi could answer, Fatty jumped in, "You guys are in luck; tonight I'm treating! Dragon Meat from the heavens, Donkey Meat from the earth. Yesterday, there was a sick Black Donkey in the Village. I displayed great fearlessness, not caring about the reputation of slaughtering a donkey after it's done its work, and helped butcher it. So, the Branch Secretary gave me the head, hooves, and offal. Tonight, I'll have Yanzi stew us some Donkey hooves. Braised is fine. The donkey offal will make soup tomorrow morning. I haven't decided how to eat the donkey head yet. What do you think about braising it?"
Yanzi, already holding a grudge because we dragged her into Carving tomb bricks, had been sullen and unhappy. But hearing Fatty talk about eating Donkey hooves, she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. Fourth Aunt, listening nearby, also laughed, "This Fatty, Black Donkey Hooves aren't something you can just eat! Even if you drink Salt Brine when desperately thirsty, or eat the Five Poisons when starving, you can't eat Black Donkey Hooves. People who engaged in Digging graves and tombs in the early years used donkey hooves. Don't eat them randomly; that's food for the Dead people. Only the Old Hanging Grandpas eat Black Donkey Hooves. In the Underworld, judges manage the registers, Niutou and Horse-face lure souls and guide ghosts, and the Nine Nether General suppresses corpses and destroys evil. That Nine Nether General is said to have transformed from a Black Donkey spirit that achieved immortality. In the early years, the clay statues in the temples had donkey heads and donkey hooves."
Upon hearing Fourth Aunt's words, I immediately recalled the story my grandfather once told me about the Tomb Robbery Mojin Captains using Black Donkey Hooves to subdue Zombies in Ancient Tombs. Black Donkey Hooves were the indispensable magic weapon of the Mojin Captains, which greatly contradicted what she said. But I absolutely did not expect that this Fourth Aunt actually knew these old tales. I quickly asked her for details and requested she tell us the story thoroughly.
Fourth Aunt said, "What is a Mojin Captain? What do they do? I've never heard of that. I only remember before Liberation, there was a Bandit Group among the bandits in the mountains. The men in this Bandit Group all wore black clothes, black pants, and black hats, with red belts, red socks, and black shoes. Their attire was incredibly sinister. These people specialized in Digging graves and tombs deep in the mountains and forests, causing terrible trouble back then. After Liberation, they, along with cults like the Yiguan Dao, were suppressed. In the early years, every Bandit Group had a Reputation; I still remember the Reputation of this group. It seems it was called... Ni'er Society."