Evening.
On Qingluan Mountain.
"How far is it?" Zhang Dongfang was panting.
"It's still quite far, Mayor Zhang." Village Secretary Xiao Cheng replied.
Zhang Dongfang waved his hand. "Ah … I need some rest."
Someone immediately walks up. "Let me help you up. Take a seat and rest."
Zhang Dongfang's 200kg body was trembling, and he could not take it anymore after climbing for about 10 minutes. The people from the County Government Office quickly took care of the Mayor. They helped him to sit down and gave him a bottle of mineral water. The group of people had no choice but to stop.
"Sorry, Secretary Dong." Zhang Dongfang wiped his sweat and gasped for breath. "I'm getting old. I used to be quite skinny when I was young. I didn't even have to catch my breath to climb such a tall hill. Sigh, the years wait for no man. I can't do it anymore."
Dong Xuebing asked. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I will be fine after some rest." Zhang Dongfang did not want the County's Party Secretary to wait for him. "You all go ahead first. Don't worry about me."
Dong Xuebing replied. "How can I do that?"
Zhang Dongfang said. "Xiao Xiao, bring Secretary Dong up first. I will catch up later."
Dong Xuebing shook his head. "Alright. You all help Mayor Zhang up the mountain, and I will go up first. Xiao Xiao, which direction is it?"
Xiao Cheng quickly replied. "It's getting dark, and you don't know the way. It's not easy to climb up the mountain, and it's dangerous. How … how can you go up alone?" Xiao Cheng had been working here for five or six years. He could be considered half a local. He knew the situation of Qingluan Mountain like the back of his hand. That was why he dared to bring people up the mountain. If it were someone else, who would dare to climb up such a barren mountain when it was almost dark? If they got lost, it would be fatal.
"Just point it out for me." Dong Xuebing did not listen to Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng pointed upwards. "Go that way, and there will be a small path. Turn left, and you will see it in about 10 minutes." Dong Xuebing thought for a while.
Dong Xuebing thought for a while. "Is there a long and thin rock several meters tall?"
Xiao Cheng was stunned. "It's that rock, and it's about 5 minutes up. How do you know?" He raised his head to check. It's impossible to see that rock from here. It's too far away, and there are lots of trees in the way. He doesn't understand how Dong Xuebing knew it was there.
Dong Xuebing laughed. "I have been to this mountain before. Alright. I know the way. Take care of Mayor Zhang. I will make a move first."
Zhang Dongfang shouted. "Be careful, Xuebing. Watch your step."
"Alright." Dong Xuebing waved his hand and went up.
How did Dong Xuebing know about this place? Dong Xuebing had been here before. That weekend, he had climbed up the mountain early in the morning because of this ancient tomb. He followed the trail and climbed up the entire mountain. Although he did not find anything, at least he had a general understanding of Qing Luan Mountain. Dong Xuebing has a strong sense of direction. That's why when Xiao Cheng mentioned it, Dong Xuebing immediately remembered that special rock. That rock was the landmark on this barren mountain.
One minute …
Five minutes …
Xiao Cheng said it would take more than 10 minutes, but Dong Xuebing arrived in seven to eight minutes.
As soon as he passed, a ray of light entered his line of sight not far away. It wasn't the glow of the setting sun, but a man-made searchlight that was very bright and dazzling.
"Ah …"
"Secretary Dong?"
"Why are you here personally?"
The workers who were setting up the temporary command center and some related facilities saw Dong Xuebing and quickly greeted him. There were people from the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Public Security Bureau inside. Obviously, no one had been idle before. They could see that a large area had been cordoned off, surrounding a few hundred meters. Several large tents had also been erected, and searchlights were set up on the trees. Everything was basically set up.
Dong Xuebing looked around and said. "Thank you all for your hard work. Have you all eaten?"
"It's nothing. It's what we should do." Chief Liu of the Cultural Affairs Bureau replied. "We still have not eaten, but the villagers are already seated. We are preparing to eat on the mountain as we still have some unfinished work. We will go down the mountain after they are done, and we only need a few people to stay behind."
Dong Xuebing looked to the side, and there was a fire and a pot. A few villagers from Qing Bei Village who had brought them up the mountain were cooking for them. Most of the tents and related equipment were carried by these villagers. If not, it would be impossible for them to carry so many things up the mountain with only 20 people from the Cultural Relic Protection Team. It would be difficult for them to carry so many things up the mountain.
"Fellow villagers." Dong Xuebing quickly walked over. "Thank you. I'm sorry to let all of you work with us."
A middle-aged man smiled. "What's there to thank? Secretary Xiao had instructed us to do this, and it's not a big deal. In the future, if you all need to eat or carry anything, just call us. "
Dong Xuebing replied. "That's not right. You all still have to run back and forth."
The middle-aged man replied. "We have been picking herbs on the mountain all year round. You all might feel tired climbing the mountain, but it's normal for us. We will feel uncomfortable if we don't climb the mountain at least once or twice a day."
Another young villager said. "Second Uncle, lunch is ready."
The middle-aged man called everyone over for lunch and got himself a bowl of soup.
Although it is called cooking, it is just a pot of chowder soup. There is no oil in the soup, but it's good enough to eat something warm on the mountain.
Dong Xuebing called Curator Liu over. "Don't forget to pay the villagers' salaries. Pay as much as you can, and the County will settle the accounts with the County."
Chief Liu nodded. "I will not forget."
Everyone is hungry and stopped what they were doing to go for lunch.
Dong Xuebing turned around and saw a man bending over to enter the cordon. The workers had marked the spot with a flag. This is the spot where the Bronze Mirror was dug out. Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and walked over to the cordon. He squatted down and used his hands to dig the hole. He tried to dig but did not dare to dig. He is afraid of damaging the area.
At this time, Zhang Dongfang and the rest arrived.
The workers put down their bowls and wanted to welcome them.
But Zhang Dongfang waved his hand tiredly and asked them to continue eating. He looked at Dong Xuebing and also entered the cordon.
"Secretary Dong."
"You are here?"
"This is the place?"
"Yes. The Bronze Mirror was dug out from here."
Zhang Dongfang followed Dong Xuebing and squatted down to look at the area. After a while, he asked softly. "Do you think there is an ancient tomb under this area? It doesn't look like it. "
Dong Xuebing replied. "We need professional equipment and professionals to verify it. If there is really an ancient tomb, we will have to dig layer by layer. Then we will be able to see the traces of the tomb. Now, we can't see anything. All excavations will take months or even years, and it's very time-consuming. If it is grave robbers, they can just dig it up. They don't care about the historical value of the tomb, and they only care about the valuable burial items. But we can't do that."
Zhang Dongfang nodded and touched the ground. "I hope there will be good news."
"They will be here soon, and we will know soon." Dong Xuebing looked at his watch. Mu Zhengzhong and the rest should have alighted from the plane. Dong Xuebing's phone has no signal, and he can't contact them. But he had given Teacher Mu Zhengzhong and the rest Su Yan's number. Su Yan had been waiting at the airport, and Dong Xuebing had instructed him to rush over to Qing Luan Mountain immediately after receiving the people.
… …
It's dark.
The rest of the villagers had left the mountain.
But when they saw Dong Xuebing and Mayor Zhang had no intention of leaving the mountain and were still chatting, the working group did not leave. After they finished setting up the equipment and facilities, they switched on a searchlight to brighten the scene.
Finally, at about 7: 40 pm, they saw torchlight coming from the foot of the mountain.
Xiao Cheng and two villagers brought Su Yan and a few middle-aged men up the mountain.
"Teacher Mu, thank you for your hard work." Dong Xuebing smiled when he saw Mu Zhengzhong.
Many people in the Jiaolin County Task Force recognized Mu Zhengzhong. They were all stunned. They didn't expect Secretary Dong to invite such a famous person. Moreover, he actually came all the way to Qingluan Mountain? For a moment, everyone's imagination ran wild. Could there really be an ancient tomb here? Could it be that Dong Xuebing had guessed correctly? Was it a stroke of luck? It couldn't be, right?
Mu Zhengzhong and the others were also very tired. They had rushed to Jiaolin County in the afternoon and climbed up the mountain non-stop. The three of them were not young, so the physical exhaustion was obvious. Everyone's forehead was covered in sweat and fatigue. However, what was surprising was that although they were tired, their eyes seemed to be blooming with vitality.
"Xuebing, let me introduce to you." Mu Zhengzhong pointed to the two people beside him. "This is Old Chu from the Archaeology Team, and this is Old Meng from the Palace Museum."
"Teacher Chu, Teacher Meng." Dong Xuebing walked over and shook their hands. "Thank you for your hard work." He introduced Zhang Dongfang. "This is Mayor Zhang."
Zhang Dongfang also greeted them politely.
Teacher Chu from the Archaeology Team was the most anxious among them and did not bother to greet them. He immediately asked. "Where is it?"
Curator Liu had also heard the introductions and knew they were from the Archaeology Team. He quickly brought the box with the bronze mirror. He had followed Dong Xuebing's instructions to bring it up the mountain.
Teacher Chu opened the box.
Mu Zhengzhong and Teacher Meng also walked over and put on their gloves. They took out the mirror and looked at it under the light. After that, they looked at each other and nodded.
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