Chapter 362: Copper Coins
Wang An pulled out a rope, intending to tie a "vat-lifting knot" to the jar so the two of them could carry it together.
Unfortunately, after fumbling with the rope for a long while, he still couldn't get the knot right.
Consequently, Wang An immediately shouted, "Who here knows how to tie a vat-lifting knot?"
To be honest, the average person really didn't know how to tie this specific knot.
This was because a vat-lifting knot differed from a bucket-lifting knot; a bucket-lifting knot applied force in two directions and was common knowledge, whereas a vat-lifting knot applied force in four directions.
Hearing this, Wang Dazhu immediately said irritably
"Why didn't you say so sooner? I was wondering why you were standing there waving that rope around like an idiot."
Wang An gave a sheepish smile and said nothing, stepping aside to make room.
At that moment, Second Uncle Wang Daliang suddenly said to Wang An
"I'm telling you, Xiao An, if there's a job you don't know how to do, just go straight to your father. That's the surest way. Your father has been nimble since he was a kid."
Wang An replied with a chuckle, "Is that so, Second Uncle? Then my father is actually quite capable."
Before Wang Daliang could respond, Wang Dazhu had already finished tying the vat-lifting knot.
Wang Dazhu said to Wang An, "Over twenty years old and you can't do a thing."
Wang An completely ignored his father's mockery and instead said to Mu Xueli and Wang Li
"Xueli, Lao Wu, you two carry the jar. Let's head back to the sled and grab a bite to eat first."
The two agreed and slid a shovel handle through the rope.
Chatting among themselves, the group walked back toward the sled.
By the time they returned, it was already one in the afternoon.
To save time, they simply lit a fire to boil a pot of water and toasted some rock-hard steamed buns and flatbreads.
They settled for dry rations and water, calling it lunch.
Even so, by the time they finished their simple meal, it was already 1:30 PM.
Since Ninth Brother's first secret had been found, Wang An had a feeling the second secret would follow a similar pattern.
Thus, Wang An led the group and drove the sled directly toward a location approximately 1,800 meters to the southwest.
In these great mountains, the four cardinal directions—North, South, East, and West—were very easy to find because the sun and large trees served as reference points.
However, whether it was Southeast or Southwest, Northeast or Northwest, a single wrong step would inevitably lead one completely off course.
Once off course, one would only drift further and further away, making it impossible to find the right path again in a short amount of time.
And Wang An had successfully led the group off course.
Of course, Wang An didn't notice the problem at first.
But after searching every inch within a one-li radius and failing to find the tall grass that should have been there, Wang An finally realized the issue.
At this point, Wang An grew somewhat anxious.
During this season, the afternoon hours were short; it would get dark around 5:30 PM.
Even if they left right now, they would likely reach home just as darkness fell.
Not only had they failed to find the location, but they had also messed up the direction. This was a complete disaster!
After searching for a while longer, Wang An checked his watch; it was already 3:00 PM.
He was becoming increasingly worried because he had a strong premonition that others searching for Ninth Brother's secrets might already be on their way.
Crucially, the days spent preparing timber had wasted too much time. Given Ninth Brother's injuries, he might have been dead for many days already.
Damn it!
After thinking it over, Wang An finally decided that regardless of whether they found it this afternoon, they would spend the night in the mountains.
When Wang An announced this decision, no one objected, likely because everyone had already benefited from the first find.
On the contrary, they were all eager and ready; no one cared whether they could go home tonight.
Seeing this, Wang An continued his search.
He had considered returning to the starting point—the forbidden zone—to reset his direction and search again.
But he had to admit that a distance of 1,800 meters was simply too great a span; it was impossible to ensure not a single step was misplaced.
Finally, near 4:00 PM, Wang An found a patch of somewhat unusual grass.
What puzzled Wang An, however, was that the area covered by this grass was far too large.
Furthermore, the terrain of this grassy patch was relatively much higher than where the grain cellar had been located.
Most importantly, there were trees here, though for some reason, the few trees inside looked stunted and half-dead.
Whatever, just dig.
And so, everyone started digging again.
However, they soon began to feel that something was wrong because they hit wood.
Once the soil was cleared away, they discovered several square wooden beams lying haphazardly at the bottom of the pit.
This result left everyone bewildered.
Immediately after, Lin Dajiang said very uncertainly
"Did we just dig up someone's ancestral grave?"
Hearing this, Wang Dashu immediately jumped into the pit to investigate.
After a long silence, Wang Dashu said to Lin Dajiang with certainty
"Dajiang, you're right. This was a grave of a wealthy family from long ago. This is burnt wood."
Lin Dajiang didn't answer but exclaimed
"We actually dug up someone's ancestral grave?"
Wang Dashu rolled his eyes at Lin Dajiang and said irritably
"What are you blathering about? If Sun the Pockmarked hadn't blown up that dead old woman's grave back then, where would the money to spend have come from?"
Lin Dajiang shut his mouth sheepishly, blinking without a word.
Perhaps every person in Huaxia hated that dead old woman to the bone.
If not for her, perhaps not a single one of those treaties that surrendered rights and humiliated the nation would have been signed.
If not for her, Huaxia would not have been forced backward by several decades.
Therefore, whenever anyone spoke ill of that dead old woman, no one would contradict them; instead, they would join in cursing her.
But regardless, for her own sake, she certainly hadn't lived her life in vain.
Wang Dashu continued, "This is burnt pine. It wouldn't break for a hundred or two hundred years. Now that the grave has collapsed, it means this grave is at least one or two hundred years old. Keep digging, it's fine."
After speaking, Wang Dashu climbed out of the pit.
Wang An remained silent throughout, as he had absolutely no interest in desecrating ancestral graves.
However, he was very interested in tomb raiding.
It had to be said that this was one of the fastest ways to get rich overnight.
But what made Wang An curious was how an ancient tomb ended up in these deep mountains and old forests.
One must know that the entire Kaoshan Village and the surrounding hamlets originally had very few households.
And those few households were mostly people who had fled here to escape war.
So, where did this wealthy family come from?
Before Wang An could think further, everyone began expanding the pit.
Soon, small jars and pots were being smashed one by one.
The contents were mostly useless junk—copper coins.
Even when Wang An was reborn, these things weren't valuable; an ordinary copper coin was only worth three to five yuan.
A very few could fetch thousands, but there was no market for them because nobody wanted them.
In this era, these things were truly worth not a single cent.
However, Wang An knew that in three or four years, these things would start to sell.
He recalled it being about 50 cents per jin, and even the scrap collectors in the county town would take them.
(End of Chapter)