Reborn in 1984, fishing and hunting in Jiangnan

Chapter 34

"Dig up silt? How long would that take?"

"No need to dig it all out."

The box was about a foot square. By digging around the perimeter of the box to allow a rope to be inserted and secured to the bottom, it could be pulled up.

Chen Rong squatted at the bow of the boat and handed over a thin bamboo pole: "Brother, use this. The end of the bamboo pole is sharpened, so you can dig mud."

Chen Zheng took the bamboo pole and examined it.

The bamboo pole was sharpened to a point.

Chen Rong spent the whole night grinding bamboo, and the bamboo splinters stood up and were prickly to the touch.

This method works. The silt at the bottom of the water is soft; you can use the tip of a bamboo pole to pry it off piece by piece, which is much faster than digging by hand.

"Okay. I'll go down again."

He rested for a while until his breathing calmed down.

The cornbread that Zhang Cuihua had stuffed into his arms was still there. He took it out, took two bites, chewed it dry, swallowed it, and then drank a few mouthfuls of water.

"Ah Zheng, I'll go down this time," Zhang Jianguo suddenly said.

Chen Zheng glanced at him.

Zhang Jianguo squatted at the stern of the boat, gripping the gunwale with both hands.

He spoke with great conviction, but Chen Zheng could tell he was nervous.

This kid has always been like this; the more nervous he gets, the more he talks and the louder his voice becomes.

"Can you swim?"

"Yes! I've been swimming in Baiyang Lake since I was three years old. Do you think I can't? I can hold my breath for two minutes!"

Zhang Jianguo thumped his chest loudly.

"What are you going down there for? To dig in the mud?"

"Yes. You went down twice just now, and you're almost exhausted."

I went down and dug through the mud, clearing away the silt around the box.

"You stay on the boat and rest until I've finished digging the mud, then you can go down and hang the ropes."

Chen Zheng thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay. You go down. Tie the rope securely."

He untied the hemp rope from his waist and tied it around Zhang Jianguo's waist.

Zhang Jianguo's waist was a size thicker than his, and the rope was tied tightly with a sailor's knot. He tugged at it, but it didn't budge.

Zhang Jianguo took off his clothes, revealing his muscular physique.

He was more robust than Chen Zheng, with broad shoulders, thick arms, and a fleshy chest.

They fish on the lake year-round, their skin tanned dark and shiny.

He gripped the bamboo pole in his hand, weighed it in his hand, and grinned: "Rongzi, you've sharpened this bamboo pole really well."

Like a spear.

"Don't use brute force."

Chen Zheng took the brass whistle off his neck and hung it around Zhang Jianguo's neck.

"Digging mud underwater is different from digging on land."

On the shore, you can dig up a large chunk with one shovel, but underwater, the resistance is too great, and you can't get a good grip.

You insert the tip of a bamboo pole into the mud to loosen it, then dig it apart with your hands.

Don't rush, take your time. If you run out of air, pull the rope.

"Okay, okay. I'm not a three-year-old."

Zhang Jianguo put the copper whistle in his mouth and tried it out. The whistle sounded sharp and carried far across the water.

He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "This thing works. It's more effective than shouting for help."

He took a deep breath, his chest bulging high.

Then, bracing himself against the gunwale, he lunged forward.

thump!

Water splashed high, getting all over Chen Zheng's face.

This kid jumps into the water like he's dropping dumplings into a pot, making so much noise that he scares away all the fish at the bottom.

Chen Zheng gripped the hemp rope, his eyes fixed on the water.

Zhang Jianguo's shadow was a bit thicker than Chen Rong's underwater, a dark, indistinct mass, and it sank to the bottom.

The hemp rope slipped from Chen Zheng's hands section by section, making a hissing sound.

"Can Jian Guo work?" Liu Jiawang squatted at the bow of the boat, his ear facing the water, his brows furrowed.

"It can be done," Chen Zheng said.

But the words came back again.

Zhang Jianguo has always been a hothead since he was a child.

When Chen Zheng was seven years old, the village children bullied him. Zhang Jianguo picked up a half-brick and smashed it over his head, cracking it open.

When they were ten years old, the two went to bathe in the river. Chen Zheng lost his footing and fell into the deep water. Zhang Jianguo jumped in to save him without thinking, almost losing his own life in the process.

That's just how this kid is; once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it.

But the underwater area is not the shore.

The water is over two meters deep, with high pressure and strong currents. If you really encounter a problem, you can't overcome it just by brute force.

The rope stopped.

Zhang Jianguo has finally made it to the bottom.

The rope began to move horizontally, sometimes loose and sometimes tight.

He was digging mud.

Chen Zheng closed his eyes, placed his fingers on the hemp rope, and felt the vibrations transmitted through the rope.

The vibrations were much greater than when Chen Rong went into the water.

If you let this kid use a bamboo pole to loosen the soil before digging, he'll definitely just start digging with his hands.

About a minute later.

The rope suddenly tightened and was pulled twice.

Chen Zheng began to reel in the rope.

The weight at the other end of the rope is moving upwards.

When Zhang Jianguo emerged from the water, the commotion was even greater than when he went in. His head broke through the surface, creating a large splash, and a jet of water spurted from his mouth.

"call!"

He clung to the gunwale, and Chen Zheng and Chen Rong each grabbed one of his arms, pulling him onto the boat.

Zhang Jianguo lay on the deck, panting heavily, water dripping from his mouth and nose.

After catching his breath for a while, he finally sat up and wiped the water off his face.

"It's been dug up. The mud around the box has been dug out, and a section at the bottom has been hollowed out. Now we can hold a rope."

Chen Zheng patted him on the shoulder: "Rest. I'll go down and hang the rope."

He untied the rope from Zhang Jianguo's waist and tied it back around his own.

Then he took another rope, the one he used to carry the box, and hung it on the loop around his waist.

The crowbar was tucked behind his waist.

Zhang Jianguo caught his breath and took over the job of holding the rope, gripping the hemp rope with both hands.

Chen Zheng took a deep breath and flipped himself into the water.

The water is even more murky than before.

Zhang Jianguo dug at the bottom of the water for a long time, but the silt he stirred up still hadn't completely sunk.

Visibility was very poor; you couldn't even see your fingers if you stretched out your arm.

He plunged into the water. The deeper he went, the muddier the water became.

Once underwater, all I could see was a thick layer of mud and mist, and I couldn't see anything at all.

He reached forward and touched the side of the sunken ship, then continued westward along the side.

I touched the iron box.

The silt around the box was dug away, revealing the lower half of the box.

Although Zhang Jianguo's digging was crude, it worked.

A groove was cut out around the box, large enough to fit a finger inside.

He squatted down, reached his hand into the empty groove at the bottom of the box, and felt the bottom of the box.

The bottom of the box was even more rusted. Layers of sheet metal were peeling off, and it crumbled at the slightest touch.

He felt two iron rings at the bottom of the box, probably the ones that were originally used to secure the box.

It was rusted so badly that only two raised rusty lumps remained.

He untied the rope from his waist and threaded one end through the slot at the bottom of the box.

The rope passed through the bottom of the box and emerged from the other end.

He grabbed the end of the rope, wrapped it around the bottom of the box, tied the two ends together in a knot, and tugged at it, tightening the rope around the box.

There's not much air left in my lungs.

He tugged at the rope around his waist, pulling it twice.

The body began to move upwards.

He gripped the rope holding the box and floated upwards.

The weight at the other end of the rope was pulling on his hand.

The iron box made a muffled sound as it left the mud.

Muddy mist surged up from the bottom of the box, making the bottom of the water murky and obscuring everything.

He surfaced and clung to the gunwale.

Zhang Jianguo grabbed him, while Chen Rong took the rope from the box.

The two of them pulled together.

The rope was taut and straight.

The iron box swayed underwater and bumped against the ship's side.

Boom!

Liu Jiawang lay on the side of the boat, reached out and grabbed the edge of the box, and helped lift it up.

With the combined efforts of the three people, the iron box was slowly pulled onto the boat.

With a final thud, the box flipped over the ship's side and landed heavily on the deck.

Clang!

The boat jolted violently, splashing water all over the four people.

The iron box lay on the deck. It was about a foot square and rusted beyond recognition.

The gap between the lid and the body of the box was filled with rust, making it fit perfectly.

The iron rings on the side of the box crumbled at the slightest touch, and the iron filings fell onto the ship's deck, reddish-brown like dried blood.

The four men squatted down around the box. Zhang Jianguo reached out and touched the rust bubble on the lid. He pressed his finger, and the rust bubble broke, revealing a layer of new rust underneath.

He withdrew his hand, looked at the rust on his fingers, and rubbed it on his trouser leg.

"Can this... be opened?"

Chen Zheng took the crowbar and inserted the hook into the gap between the lid and the box.

It was rusted so badly that the hook could only be inserted a little bit, making it impossible to apply any force.

He changed his position and tried again, but still couldn't insert it.

"It's rusted. We have to take it back and pry it open with a chisel and hammer."

Zhang Jianguo swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the metal box, almost popping out of their sockets.

"Ah Zheng, what do you think is in here...?"

Chen Zheng squatted down next to the box, his fingers tracing the edge of the lid.

Layers of rust.

Decades of corrosion have caused the sheet metal to swell several times its original size, causing the lid and body of the box to swell together.

But he touched something different.

On the back of the box, near the bottom, there is a break in the rust pattern.

It was a gap that was already there.

He lay down and tilted his head to look at the gap.

The gap is about two inches long, as thin as a hair, hidden in the rust pattern, and can not be noticed at all unless you look closely.

It's a keyhole.

The keyhole of the iron box.

Fifty years of corrosion have blocked the keyhole, but the gaps remain.

"Rongzi, give me that thin bamboo pole."

Chen Rong handed over the thin bamboo pole.

Chen Zheng broke off the sharpened end of the bamboo pole, about three inches long, thinner than a chopstick.

He inserted the bamboo skewer into the keyhole and gently poked it in.

Rust shavings fell out of the keyhole with a soft rustling sound.

The bamboo skewer went in about an inch and hit something hard.

He turned the bamboo skewer and felt the hard thing move slightly.

Click.

Zhang Jianguo's breathing became heavy. Liu Jiawang pushed up his glasses, revealing round, crossed eyes behind the lenses.

Chen Rong squatted down beside him, his hands gripping his knees.

Chen Zheng pulled the bamboo skewer out, changed the angle, and pushed it back in.

After the bamboo skewer tip touched the hard object, it was gently moved up and down.

Click.

A small clump of rust fell out from the gap between the lid and the body of the box.

The gap is a little bit wider.

"Is it open?"

Chen Zheng pulled out the bamboo skewer, gripped the edge of the box lid with his fingers, and lifted it up.

Gah!

The iron rusted and cracked, and the lid of the box was opened a crack, about two fingers wide.

A fishy smell wafted out of the box, choking all four of them and causing them to lean back simultaneously.

Chen Zheng completely opened the lid of the box.

Iron filings fell onto the ship's deck.

The box was covered with a layer of dark brown silt.

Decades of lake water seeped in, bringing with it fine mud that settled at the bottom of the box, burying its contents.

Chen Zheng reached out his hand, inserted his fingers into the mud, and touched something hard.

He pulled the thing out of the mud.

The silt seeped through his fingers, revealing the shape of the thing.

It is a silver ingot.

It's about the size of a palm, with upturned ends and a concave middle, resembling a small boat.

The surface is blackened, but the silver still retains its quality; it feels substantial in the palm of your hand.

Zhang Jianguo's mouth was wide open enough to fit an egg.

Liu Jiawang took off his glasses, wiped them clean, put them back on, and leaned closer to look.

Chen Rong squatted down beside him, holding his breath.

Chen Zheng turned the silver ingot over.

There is a square stamp on the bottom, which is partially rusted but can still be identified as being made of pure silver.

He placed the silver ingots on the deck and then reached into the box.

Second ingot. Third ingot. Fourth ingot.

There were five silver ingots in total, each about the size of a palm.

Five silver ingots were lined up in a row, lying on the deck of the boat.

There are still things in the box.

Chen Zheng reached in and his fingers touched something soft and squishy.

He carefully fished the thing out.

It was wrapped in oiled paper.

The oil paper had been soaked in water for fifty years and had become translucent; it would crumble at the slightest touch.

The contents of the paper package were visible; it was a stack of papers.

Chen Zheng placed the oil paper package on the boat deck and carefully unwrapped it.

The oil paper was peeled off layer by layer, and crumbs stuck to my fingers.

At the very back was a stack of land deeds.

The paper was yellowed and brittle from being soaked in water, but the writing was still legible.

Written with a brush, in neat and tidy small regular script.

The top document states that the seller, XXX, hereby purchases a plot of land located in Baiyang Town, Qingshui County...

The words at the end were blurred by water stains and were not legible.

There are seven land deeds in total.

Seven land deeds and five silver ingots.

The deck was quiet.

The four people stood around the pile of things, and no one said a word.

A lake breeze rustled the reeds. In the distance, a wild duck called out twice, quacking softly.

Zhang Jianguo was the first to break the silence.

He reached out, picked up a silver ingot, and weighed it in his hand.

His hands were trembling, and the silver ingot swayed slightly in his palm.

"Ah Zheng, how heavy is this ingot?"

Liu Jiawang took it, weighed it in his hand, and then turned it over to look at the stamp on the bottom:

"The standard weight of this kind of silver ingot is ten taels. Five ingots would weigh fifty taels."

"Fifty taels of silver...how much is that worth?"

"According to the current silver price, one tael of silver is worth about one dollar. Fifty taels would be worth sixty or seventy dollars."

But this silver ingot is an antique with collectible value; if you take it to an antique shop, its price could double.

Zhang Jianguo gasped.

Sixty or seventy yuan, double that and it's over a hundred yuan.

If the land properties listed on the land deeds could be cashed out, that would be incredible.

"Is it possible to get this land titled as property back?"

Liu Jiawang picked up a land deed, carefully unfolded it, and looked at it closely.

He looked at it for a long time, then shook his head.

"Difficult. This land deed is decades old, and the land has changed hands countless times over."

Moreover, the place name on the land deed is an old name; the location might not even exist now. Unless…”

"Unless what?"

"Unless we can find out who owns the land according to the land deed, proving that the land was occupied by someone else back then and was not a normal sale."

But that would involve going to court, which would be time-consuming and laborious, and there's no guarantee of winning.

Zhang Jianguo was discouraged and put the silver ingot back on the deck.

Chen Zheng squatted down beside him, without saying a word.

He carefully folded the land deeds one by one, wrapped them again in oiled paper, and put them into the bamboo basket.

Then they stacked up five silver ingots and put them in as well.

"We'll talk about it when we get back." He stood up, grabbed a paddle, and said, "First, cover the box up so no one can see it."