Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Wang An waved his hand and ruffled Song Shuanzhu's hair, saying:

“I said I wouldn’t kill you, and I definitely won’t. To tell you the truth, Song Ping is finished. This morning, he was arrested by the police. All the furs he kept in his storeroom at home, as well as his purchasing point behind the commune, were all taken down. Do you understand?”

Upon hearing this, Song Shuanzhu was completely dumbfounded, only to hear Wang An continue to pretend to speak:
“Those of us in this line of work don’t really want to commit murder for no reason. If the employer is about to die, why would I help him kill someone? Putting aside everything else, who do we get the remaining half of the wages after the killing?”

Upon hearing this, Song Shuanzhu felt it made perfect sense, but quickly asked again:
"Good sir, then, what was Song Ping supporting that led to his arrest?"

Wang An didn't hide anything and said:
"At first, he supported speculation and profiteering. Then I heard from my friend in the public security department that he was also involved in several murder cases. Do you know that big claw skin? That's the one he poisoned and killed an old mountain dog and stole it from him."

"Huh? Is Song Ping really that wicked?" Song Shuanzhu exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this.

Wang An couldn't stand the cold anymore and, too tired to argue with Song Shuanzhu any longer, couldn't help but say:

"What good is it if he's wicked? He still got arrested by the authorities. Tell me quickly, where is Song Ping hiding his treasure? I have to go in this freezing weather. I don't have time to waste arguing with you about this useless stuff."

Song Shuanzhu hurriedly said:
"Just go south from their village, and there's a place about ten miles away. There's a pillbox left by the Japanese devils from years ago."

Afterwards, there was a mass grave not far from the pillbox, so he hid the treasure under a big tree in that mass grave.

Upon hearing Song Shuanzhu's words, Wang An immediately thought of that "forbidden area".

Because the mass grave that Song Shuanzhu mentioned is almost exactly the same as the situation in that "forbidden area".

However, the "forbidden area" is much, much larger in scale.

Anyway, places like this were basically done by those utterly depraved Japanese devils back then.

Then Song Shuanzhu continued:

"Yeah, that place is pretty creepy. Twice I tried to sneak in to see what Song Ping was hiding, but as soon as I went in, I smelled a weird odor, felt dizzy, and couldn't breathe. I don't know what happened."

After Song Shuanzhu finished speaking, Wang An immediately understood the reason behind it.

The "evil" and "strange smell" that Song Shuanzhu mentioned are actually the so-called "poisonous gas in the mountains and forests," which is what people often call "miasma."

It's nothing more than the toxic gases with pungent odors, such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, emitted by the decay of animals, plants, and some poisonous fungi.

However, due to climate and temperature, this kind of "miasma" is more common in the tropical rainforests of the south, but very rare in the mountains of the northeast.

While it may be rare, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, because such "miasma" does exist in some swamps and deep canyons.

In places like these mass graves, which are breeding grounds for various bacteria and toxic gases, it's not surprising that miasma might be present.

Wang An nodded upon hearing this, and subconsciously asked:

"As far as you know, what has he been hiding inside?"

Song Shuanzhu pondered for a moment and said, "Once I saw him fiddling with a few silver ingots on a sled, and a big seal made of some kind of stone. The seal was pitch black. Oh, and there was a turtle the size of my palm. I also heard him mutter that these things are worthless here and not very useful, but if you take them to Yandu, they can be worth a lot of money, at least several hundred."

Upon hearing this, Wang An was instantly thrilled!

While silver itself is worthless, silver ingots are valuable as cultural relics.

The large stone seal was clearly a jade seal, similar to the "Xiezhi Jade Seal" that Wang An had dug out of Wei Cheng's doghouse.

As for imperial seals, as long as they are antiques, they are all valuable.

As for the turtle the size of a palm, Wang An suspected it was an ancient tortoise tally, a token with the same function as the ancient tiger and fish tallies.

With just these three items, Song Ping's treasure trove is worth Wang An's considerable effort to locate.

It's worth noting that the antique and calligraphy market has begun to recover in the last two years, and the establishment of the Fan Jia Yuan Antique Market is a very clear signal of this.

Although he was genuinely excited, Wang An still asked Song Shuanzhu, puzzled:
"How do you know he hid these things in that mass grave? Or maybe he hid them at their house? Or somewhere else?"

"Besides, you know where Song Ping hid the treasure, so why don't you try to dig it out for him? Once you dig it out, all those treasures will be yours, won't they?"

This is a very important question, because from a human nature perspective, knowing exactly where Song Ping hid his treasures, it's impossible for Song Shuanzhu not to be tempted by them!
Because this is human nature, naked human nature.

Don't say things like "A gentleman loves money, but he acquires it in a proper way." These are just things meant to educate ordinary people, and they're pure nonsense!

It is said that monks do not love money, but they are faster than anyone else at collecting incense money.

There's also the practice of donating "merit money," which claims that the more you donate, the greater your merit.
Holy crap, go play the lazy version of the game, that's just for fools.

In short, in Wang An's view, it was abnormal for Song Shuanzhu not to dig up the treasures that Song Ping had hidden.

Sure enough, as soon as Wang An said those words, Song Shuanzhu fell silent for several seconds.

That's why Song Shuanzhu's cotton hat covered his face; otherwise, Wang An really wanted to see what kind of expression Song Shuanzhu would have.

After a while, Song Shuanzhu spoke, his voice trembling with fear:
"Grandpa, I...I knew he hid the thing under a tree in that mass grave, but I...I went to look for it several times, but I couldn't find it."

Upon hearing this, Wang An was taken aback at first, then stood up and began kicking and punching Song Shuanzhu without any regard for the consequences.

The big feet kicked Song Shuanzhu with a "ping-pong" sound, and Song Shuanzhu screamed and howled, with all kinds of pleas for mercy ringing out.

There was nothing Wang An could do; he suddenly felt that Song Shuanzhu was not honest at all and was just playing with him.

The main problem is that Song Shuanzhu's words simply cannot withstand scrutiny, and the contradictions between them are too serious.

Therefore, when Wang An kicked with his big feet, he showed absolutely no mercy. (End of Chapter)