Chapter 9

That man handed the cigarette to the branch manager, who took a deep puff and said:

"Come again, I'll pay you in a lump sum later."

The magician crumpled the black cloth and stuffed it into his hat, then said with a smile:

"Let's do a simple one next, guess the coin!"

He fished out a slightly yellowed copper coin from his pocket, showing it to everyone as he said:

"This is a Qianlong Tongbao. Soon, you can guess which hand it's in. If you guess right, there's a grand prize waiting for you!"

The people around him rubbed their hands, ready to compete for the grand prize. The young man placed the coin in his left palm and covered it with his right hand. Wu Di, who was nearby, saw that he wasn't cheating; the coin was indeed between his two hands.

The young man clasped his hands together, turned around, and then said seriously:

"Everyone, watch closely, I'm about to start!"

He suddenly separated his hands into fists, raised them high above his head, and said:

"You can start guessing now!"

An informant pointed at his left hand and said:

"It's in the left hand!"

A man from a nearby stall said:

"Right hand!"

For a moment, everyone was in a flurry, voicing their opinions.

The young man coughed and said:

"Those who think it's in the left hand, raise your left hand; those who think it's in the right hand, raise your right hand! Those who think it's in the third hand, raise your third hand!"

People laughed, and Wu Di scratched his head, thinking:

"The coin definitely isn't in his hands. Where could it be?"

As he was examining the young man, his foot was suddenly stepped on. He looked down and saw a faint yellow edge under the young man's foot. Goodness, his hands and feet were really quick!

The young man waited for everyone to quiet down, then slowly extended his two fists in front of everyone, blew on each, and shouted:

"Change!"

He suddenly spread his hands, and both palms were empty! Some people, unwilling to give up, grabbed his hands and checked the gaps between his fingers, but found nothing.

The young man suddenly felt someone touching his calf. He looked down and saw Wu Di pointing at his feet and saying:

"It's there! Ha ha, give me the grand prize!"

People looked down and laughed. The young man scratched his head, took out another copper coin, and handed it to Wu Di with a smile:

"This is the grand prize, worth several dollars! I guess I can't play this game anymore; people always figure it out!"

Everyone burst into laughter. At that moment, a loud voice called out:

"What are you doing? Disperse, you're blocking the way!"

The people on the outside turned their heads and saw a few off-duty attendants. They quickly said:

"Scattered, let the attendants through!"

The young man was the fastest, looking around as soon as he heard the voice. When the crowd started to disperse, he turned and slipped to the berth where Wu Di and his friends were playing cards, sitting with his head toward the window.

The crowd dispersed, and a middle-aged attendant stood in the aisle, looking around suspiciously and said:

"Are you all together? You can play cards, but no gambling and no blocking the aisle, understand?"

Wu Di and his friends nodded, and the man frowned and walked away.

After this commotion, the young man didn't want to play anymore. He dragged a jute bag from under the berth and was about to leave. Before he left, he reached out for the six roses, but the girls hid them from him.

The branch manager laughed and said:

"Wu Di, give him a hundred dollars, and the flowers are ours. You got the grand prize, after all!"

Wu Di scratched his head, damn, being observant is a crime now!

The young man dragged a large bag from under the berth, probably containing the magic props. But how did he train his hands and feet to be so quick?

The young man left, and the group continued to play cards until the afternoon, then stopped to find food. Wu Di ate instant noodles while playing with the copper coin the young man had given him.

The coin was entirely yellow, well-preserved, with no rust. On the front were the characters "Qianlong Tongbao," and on the back were some strange symbols.

A middle-aged man with a fair complexion and a two-inch-long beard, who looked like an artist, was drinking with some pickled dishes. He saw the copper coin in Wu Di's hand and his eyes lit up. He smiled and said:

"Little brother, you play this too? Can I take a look?"

Wu Di recognized this man; he was in the berth next to theirs, having boarded in Beijing, and had a companion. Although Wu Di didn't know what he meant by "play this," he could still show him the coin. He handed it over and continued eating his instant noodles.

The man looked at it for a moment and said:

"This is just an ordinary Qianlong Tongbao, with regular script on the front and Manchu script on the back, probably from the Bao Shan Bureau."

He was about to return the coin to Wu Di when he suddenly said, "Hmm," and pulled it back, examining it closely. He turned and called out:

"Brother Two, come take a look. There's something strange about this coin."

His companion, a slightly younger, sturdy middle-aged man with a dark complexion, came over and asked:

"Brother One, what's up?"

"Look, the 'bao' character in Qianlong Tongbao is missing a stroke. Isn't that...?"

The dark-skinned man took the coin, looked at it, and said with a smile:

"It's a rare item; you don't see this much anymore."

Wu Di had already stretched his neck, wondering if there was something special about the coin.

The first man smiled and handed Wu Di a business card: Wen Yajiu, owner of Mingtangzhai in Panjiayuan. The dark-skinned man also handed Wu Di a card, almost making him spit out his drink. Wen Yaguan! A pressure tank? I'm a transformer!

"Little brother, I want to make a deal with you. My brother and I are here to collect antiques in Meishan. Your coin is different from the others and has some value. Can you let us have it?"

Wen Yajiu saw Wu Di hesitate and continued:

"Since we met on the train, it's a matter of fate. I'm sure you understand the value of this item. How about we name a price?"

Wu Di didn't understand these things. He recounted the story of the young man's magic trick that morning. The Wen brothers exchanged glances and both smiled bitterly, regretting missing it.

Wen Yajiu thought for a moment and said:

"This is a rare coin from the Bao Shan Bureau, with only about ten thousand issued. Most were recalled, so it's quite valuable now, worth about ten thousand yuan. I'll round it up to ten thousand yuan. What do you say?"

One hundred for ten thousand? Wu Di was stunned, as were the other businesspeople. They all urged him to sell it. Wu Di calculated that he didn't understand these things, and ten thousand yuan wasn't bad, especially since he might not earn that much from a single deal.

The Wen brothers were very excited after getting the coin and told Wu Di stories about the antiques market all the way to Meishan. Wu Di was so engrossed that he stopped playing cards. When the train arrived in Meishan, they said their goodbyes and promised to visit when they returned to Beijing.

The group traveled for two days and two nights, finally arriving at the flower market in the afternoon as the sun was setting. The local government had arranged for a reception, and Wu Di and his group were taken to the city government guesthouse. They had a good drink that night, and the branch manager regretted not bringing more alcohol for the next group. The three "mountain kings" (including one female king) had defeated the five heroes and two heroines, making it a miserable night.

The drinking went on until midnight, with everyone calling each other brothers and sisters, and the mood was high. The drunk ones were already lying in their rooms, and the remaining three, a branch manager, a manager, and a businessperson, were floating to their rooms like characters in a Pocari Sweat commercial.

Before entering his room, the branch manager grabbed the door frame, stopped, and pointed at Wu Di, drunk:

"Little Wu, you're a good one. You should always stick to your business until the end! Alright, I forgive you for winning my money on the train."

Wu Di, upon hearing this, fell to the ground.

It turned out that being drunk was worse than being sober. The next day, only six people, including the four girls who hadn't drunk, woke up. The three "mountain kings" were already there, and in plain Sichuanese, they told Wu Di that a little more white liquor would help them recover, as locals did. The faces of the group turned green; the locals were too热情 (enthusiastic).

The group managed to catch lunch, and the female king said they needed to leave early to reach the village by night. The group, still groggy from the alcohol, drank some porridge and set off.

The mountains were green, the water blue, just as the song described. Half an hour out of the polluted city, they entered the mountains. The mountains weren't high, but there were many. Wu Di, who had spent his childhood in the mountains, now truly understood the meaning of "thousands of mountains." As one of the city-born heroines put it, the mountains here were thick.

The mountains weren't covered with tall trees but were very green, with no exposed rock. The car wound its way up the mountain road, and they could see isolated houses, some on the mountain slopes, some at the peaks, and some at the base. Some flatter areas on the slopes were cultivated, with crops like corn planted.

A girl suddenly pointed at a green patch on the mountain and shouted:

"Look, lotus roots are planted on the mountain!"

Half the people in the car laughed, but Wu Di didn't even turn his head, saying with a smile:

"Miss, those are taro, not lotus roots."

Several girls frowned and nodded.

At a mountain pass, a man suddenly pointed out the window and said:

"Look."

Wu Di leaned out and saw a thin, middle-aged man carrying a stone up a slope from a stream. The stone, about half his size, was held by a rope and carried on his back. The car fell silent, and a receptionist quietly said:

"It's hard to leave one's homeland."

"What is he carrying the stone for?"

"Look at his house."

The female king pointed to a stone house halfway up the mountain and said:

"People in the mountains build their houses with stones. At their age, they usually have elderly parents and children, and with no education, they are often cheated or can't get paid when they work outside. The county government helps them recover their wages, but some just stay and don't go out."

"Why don't they move?"

"In the mountains, there's very little arable land, and villages often have only a few households. The children have to walk twenty miles to school every day. The children in the mountains are very hardworking. Many of them only have a potato for lunch..."

A "mountain king" quickly picked up the heavy topic:

"Thank you for your kindness. In Shantun Township, a philanthropist from Hong Kong is implementing a relocation plan. Eighty percent of the mountain residents have moved to the resettlement area, and with your support, their lives are getting better."

At three in the afternoon, the car arrived in the county town, which was old and dilapidated but clean. The air was fresher and warmer than in the mountains, making the heroes, who had been jolted all the way, feel much better.

A vice-county magistrate greeted them and invited them to try local delicacies that night, making the still-drunk ones feel weak. Seeing no way to refuse, the branch manager decided to split the group. He and the two managers would stay in the county town, while the rest would go to the village. The drunk ones, fearing the jolts and the drinking, were pushed onto the minibus like lambs to the slaughter. A few locals were in the county on business and took the minibus with their luggage: a mother goat with two kids, five piglets, and two roosters.

Before leaving, the branch manager pulled Wu Di aside and said earnestly:

"I hear the drinking gets even more intense as you go deeper. Comrade Wu Di, the party and the country count on you!"

He turned and left without waiting for Wu Di's response, telling the driver to start the car. Wu Di felt like dying.

My passion, oh, it's like a fire, the alcohol breath igniting the passionate mountains, and it all turns into a passionate desert, as the song goes.

With you on the journey, even the hardships are worth it. Can you please take the piglet off my lap? Despite the bad smell, the bleating of the sheep, and the grunting of the pigs, the bumpy road, and the absence of leadership, the city kids were in high spirits. Some even played the role of journalists, interviewing the locals.

Wu Di sat in the last row, his body bouncing up and down with the car. He deeply understood the meaning of the countryside, knowing that he would definitely feel like vomiting. A smile crept onto his lips, and a girl saw it and asked curiously:

"Wu Di, what are you smiling about?"

"Vomiting, you get used to it."

The girl, who was married, understood the meaning and gave him a playful slap, making his heart flutter.

When they got off the car, Wu Di knew what it meant to have a fluttering heart. Because they had left late, they arrived in Shantun Township in the dark. The minibus took them directly to a restaurant, where they saw a row of wine jars on the table and shook hands with the welcoming committee. Wu Di regretted not taking a leave and coming alone.

The few who had just escaped one drinking session were now standing on the land of Shantun Township, their legs trembling. They showed some bachelor spirit, ready to face the challenge, no matter how many people were there.

The next day, Wu Di learned that there were eight guests and fourteen hosts, and they drank three and a half jars of homemade wine, each jar holding about ten pounds. The secretary kept saying, "Our team is strong."

Accompanied by the township chief, Wu Di and his group visited the primary and secondary schools in the township. The primary school was new, a Hope School, and the secondary school was also good. The simple mountain people understood that this was their only way out of the mountains, so they built the schools with all their efforts.

They had lunch in the primary school cafeteria, with two dishes, a soup, and white rice. Seeing the half-grown children eating two large bowls of rice and their grateful, admiring eyes, Wu Di felt that this trip was not in vain. He decided to bring his child here for a few days in the future.

There were four primary schools in the villages, and Wu Di's group decided to split up. They left two weaker girls in the township, and the remaining four girls went to two villages. The two boys had to go to the villages alone. Wu Di chose the farthest one, Kao Shantun.

Lu Xingfu, are you really happy?

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