The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

"Baoya, aren't we going home? Look, you've got bite marks on your neck."

Bao Ya also regretted it, forgetting that there are many mosquitoes in the summer, and she didn't know how much longer she would have to wait before Feng Shuangxi came out.

But since we're already here, we can't just give up halfway.

"Let's wait and see. I think since no one's home today, they'll definitely make a move."

Bao Ya was unwilling to go back like this. She had finally left them a loophole, and she didn't believe they wouldn't take the opportunity to do something.

"Are you that sure?"

Jiang Yuan was somewhat suspicious. How did his wife know they would do something today? What if they didn't do anything? Wouldn't they be fed mosquitoes all night?

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure, we might even make a fortune."

Bao Ya leaned closer to Jiang Yuan and whispered smugly. He pulled out fifty yuan without even blinking; Bao Ya figured his family must be rich, and maybe they'd transferred the money before running away.

Hearing her say that she might make a fortune, Jiang Yuan stopped trying to persuade her, knowing it would be useless, and could only stay there with her and wait.

The two waited for several more hours until it was completely dark and quiet all around. Jiang Yuan lit a match while smoking and checked the time on his watch.

"It's eleven o'clock. Let's wait a little longer. If no one comes out, let's go home."

Bao Ya leaned against him, her eyelids drooping. She had waited so long; it would be a shame to give up.

Bao Ya forced herself to stay alert and looked towards the alley entrance again. It looked like someone was riding a bicycle out.

She snatched the cigarette from Jiang Yuan's mouth and stubbed it out on the ground. Pointing at the figure, she said:

"Look, it's out."

Jiang Yuan looked towards the alley entrance and indeed saw a person riding a bicycle, wobbling as they came out, with a bulging sack tied to the back seat.

His wife was right; Feng Shuangxi was planning to transfer assets, so he wouldn't hold back. Today was a lucky day to make a fortune.

Bao Ya was about to get up and chase after him when Jiang Yuan pulled her back.

"Don't move, wait until he's gone some distance."

"What if they go too far and I lose track of them?"

"No, there's only one road in that direction. Let's wait until he's a bit further away, then follow him on our bikes. Getting too close will make us easy to spot."

After watching the bicycle in front of him slowly disappear, Jiang Yuan quickly picked up the bicycle hidden in the bushes, and rode off in that direction with Bao Ya on the back.

They followed from a distance, and when they felt they were getting close to Feng Shuangxi, they would stop and wait for a while, and then catch up again when they were further away.

The further Jiang Yuan walked, the more uneasy he felt. This direction led to a mass grave, a place he had previously hidden things in, so he was very familiar with the area.

"Bao Ya, are you scared? Maybe we can come back tomorrow?"

My wife has only been better for a few days, don't scare her into getting sick again.

Last time, he listened to Granny Zhou's advice and asked his second brother to secretly find a sorceress to chant for Bao Ya, and that's how she got better.

The shaman said the child was frightened at home and that calling out to them would be enough. But what if their soul is thrown into a cemetery?

"Don't worry, there are two of us. I brought weapons; he's no match for us."

When Bao Ya goes out, she puts the rolling pin and rope in her bag. If she is discovered, she will hit him, tie him up, and send him to the police station.

She observed for a few days and found no accomplices in the Feng family. She guessed that Feng Shuangxi had come to hide something and probably wouldn't tell anyone.

Jiang Yuan saw a few trees and knew there might be no road ahead. He told Bao Ya to get off the bike, hid it in the roadside bushes, picked up the bag from the bike, and slowly walked forward with Bao Ya in his hand.

There is no moon tonight; the sky is a dark, velvety cloth, without a single cloud.

They walked a few steps forward and saw Feng Shuangxi's bicycle; the sack on the back seat was gone.

I stopped and listened quietly to the sounds around me. I heard the sound of shoveling dirt coming from the left front.

Jiang Yuan pulled Bao Ya along and walked a few steps in that direction. They could vaguely see Feng Shuangxi wielding a shovel.

They didn't go any closer, but instead disappeared into the dense grass behind the tree, intending to wait until Feng Shuangxi left before going over to check what he had buried.

However, this Feng Shuangxi is really useless. He was so slow at digging a hole, and he even took two breaks in the middle.

Bao Ya was already a little sleepy, and now she was sitting on a mound of earth, almost falling asleep.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the mound behind her, his expression strange. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, letting her sit on a rock below and rest her head on his shoulder for a while.

After they cursed Feng Shuangxi as useless countless times, the pit was finally dug. He threw the sack in and started filling it with soil.

Jiang Yuan silently calculated the time in his mind. It was about eleven o'clock when he started walking this way. He had been walking for more than an hour and had been digging the hole for more than an hour. It should be past two o'clock now.

Feng Shuangxi filled the pit, stomped on it several times, and even used a tree branch to smooth the soil on that spot.

Feeling that it was about time, I looked around, picked up the shovel, and headed back.

As he passed by, Bao Ya held her breath and remained motionless in the grass until he was far away before she breathed a sigh of relief.

Bao Ya and Jiang Yuan didn't emerge from the bushes until they heard Feng Shuangxi riding his bicycle away into the distance.

"He won't be coming back, will he?"

Bao Ya looked in the direction Feng Shuangxi had walked away and asked Jiang Yuan.

"It shouldn't be like that anymore. Hurry up, it's almost dawn."

As he spoke, he took out a flashlight from his bag and walked in the direction that Feng Shuangxi had just dug the hole.

When they arrived at the burial site, Bao Ya reached into her bag and touched something.

"Oh no, we didn't bring a shovel, what are we going to do?"

Jiang Yuan's lips twitched. If he had known they would be doing this tonight, he would have prepared things himself.

He touched the contents of his bag, a somewhat complicated feeling welling up inside: a rope, a rolling pin. He could have at least brought a kitchen knife.

"I'll find a stick to dig, and you take the flashlight."

So Jiang Yuan broke off a relatively thick branch from a small tree not far away, removed the excess twigs, took out the fruit knife hanging from his keychain from his waist, sharpened one end, and began to dig.

Bao Ya was using a flashlight to illuminate his path, while Jiang Yuan was digging alone.

Jiang Yuan didn't dig for long, only making a small pit about half a foot deep. He loosened the soil around it, then reached in and touched the burlap sack.

He poked at it with his hands, then grabbed the sack and pulled it out with all his might.

The soil that had just been applied was still very loose. After trying this a few times, Jiang Yuan pulled the sack up with a single effort.

Jiang Yuan shook the dirt off the sack and suddenly felt that the weight of the sack was not quite right.

"Open it and see what's inside?"

When Bao Ya saw that something had been dug out, she couldn't wait to come over and take a look.

Jiang Yuan used a fruit knife to pry open the tied rope, and Bao Ya shone a flashlight inside.

"Huh, what's this? Let me take a look."

Jiang Yuan's face turned extremely ugly when he saw what was inside. He was about to tell Bao Ya not to touch it, but her hand had already reached in, touched something big, and then pulled it out.

"what!"

Upon seeing what she was holding, Bao Ya screamed and quickly threw it away. It wasn't a treasure at all; it was a skull.