"Third Master, youre a man of great fortune. This is truly my brothers doing. If not for this, Id have finished the matter and gone home to worship the jade Buddha from the Eastern Han dynasty. The one I dug up on North Slope the day before yesterday still had soil on it. Itll be done soon, you can come take it then."

  Those three old men are really cunning, and with a quick movement, he patted Pangzi on the back and laughed loudly: "Haha, I was just joking with you, but you took it seriously. Alright brothers, lets put this aside, were all on the same side, hurry up and work quickly, Im waiting for Shi brother to set off the firecrackers."

  Fatso is in charge of sappers in this team, their slang is called "legs", San Ye is the one who takes care of it, his skill is to explore tombs.

  The cold north wind swept through the orchard, I shrank my neck and hid in the windbreaker, it was very cold, no one spoke on the scene. On the ground, there was an inconspicuous half-brick, San Ye kicked it with his toes, and several young men took out a round steel bar with a drill bit from the car, drilling vertically into the yellow soil, in less than five minutes, they drilled 5 meters deep underground.

  These peoples steel bars, called probes, are a new plaything developed by the Dings of Shaanxi in recent years, just like the famous Luoyang shovel. As times change, so do their tools, and this one is much faster than the Luoyang shovel.

  Shi Baizi still remembered the winter two years ago, when he paid a huge sum of 888 yuan as "apprentice fee" to become Liu Sans disciple. The first tomb raiding tool he came into contact with was this steel rod-like probe that didnt seem particularly impressive at first glance.

  Shaanxi Xian, the ancient capital of seven dynasties, has a long history of tomb raiding, known locally as "fan dou". This practice dates back to the late Warring States period and was fueled by the lavish burial customs that led people to reach into tombs. As a result, there were 36 professions related to tomb raiding, with the phrase "tomb raiding is king" being coined. Throughout Xians history, waves of tomb raiding have coincided with changes in Chinese dynasties - whenever a new dynasty took over, the previous ones tombs would be immediately looted. In recent years, some Hong Kong and Taiwan antique dealers have arrived on the scene, using the guise of "doing engineering" to collaborate with influential figures like Liu San Ye to secretly excavate sites.

  I reckon that jade Buddha mentioned by Fatty is indeed valuable, and Liu San Ye specially called me over to ask if I had ever been involved in any shady dealings before. I said no, that I was new here.

  He indeed has a bit of the air of a master, pointing to that thing on the ground and saying to me: "The first lesson for our line of work is Zhen Zhen Yong Yao (Stabbing Needle Using Shovel). This needle is an exploratory needle, and the shovel is a Luoyang shovel. The purpose of Zhen Zhen Yong Yao is to find ancient tombs; apart from determining their location and shape, we also need to figure out the era of the tomb, the identity of the tomb owner, and whether it has been looted or not."

  "So how can I know about those information below?"

  Liu San Ye was in a good mood, and the groom next to him handed him a pipe of tobacco. He took a puff and said: "The ancient tomb can talk by itself, well, today Ill teach you all a lesson, listen carefully, dont embarrass me when you go out."

  "Good!" Those guys didnt know whether they were flattering or really wanted to learn well, anyway, each and every one of them looked very excited. The fatty also knocked on my arm and whispered: "Remember carefully, this old guy is always tight-lipped, every word he says will be worth money for us in the future."

  Liu San Ye had a Huang Hua Lis armchair, which was said to have been used by Wei Zhongxian, the great eunuch of the late Ming Dynasty. He liked it so much that after his death, it fell into the hands of ordinary people and eventually came into his possession. Leaning on the chair, he told us: "Those who do our line of work are all cultured people, and ordinary people cant do it. First, you have to read books, especially historical classics and local gazetteers. When youre free, go to the mountains and countryside to chat with old folks about folk legends. These things contain clues, and the key is whether your brain is alive or not, and whether you can find them. For example, has your family produced any high-ranking officials in history? What rank were they? Where are they buried after death? Those who spend their days wandering around tombs and casinos are losers and will never make it."

  Yang Dali nodded repeatedly and then shouted at us: "Yes, yes, yes! San Ye taught that everyone heard it, from now on no one is allowed to play truant, must read books!"

  Someone below shouted: "Can you read? I remember that Dali couldnt even write his own name, and every time he received his salary, he would just draw circles."

  "Haha……" Below, suddenly became a group of laughter. Most people in this line are tense and such gatherings rarely occur. Thats because tonight no one will come to disturb, within thirty miles around, the only orchard guard has been driven away. Another reason is that this place is the den that Ding family wants to dig up, whether its the righteous or evil way, they will all give way.

  Dings family is the boss behind the scenes and also controls the entire market. Liu San Ye, at most, is just a dog working for others, let alone those porters and laborers. Yang Da Li belongs to the porters, he is responsible for gathering manpower. Pangzi belongs to blasting, he grew up in the military compound and is very familiar with explosives, knowing exactly how much to use to blast out holes of certain widths without collapsing them, and also doing it quietly and smokelessly, which is indeed a technical skill.

  At this moment, those responsible for probing had already pulled out the probe, which was spiral in shape and as sharp as a knife blade. In the middle, there were grooves, which were the information that Liu San spoke of. This was used to determine the specific location and basic situation of the ancient tomb. Although modern metal detectors and other high-tech tools are available now, for masters like Liu San, the old Luoyang shovel can provide more information than modern instruments.

  As the most commonly used tomb exploration tool, Luoyang shovel can bring up soil blocks from underground. If the soil block is not layered and has a consistent color and texture, it indicates that there is no tomb, which they call "dead soil". If the soil block is layered and mixed with different soil textures, it indicates that the soil has been disturbed before, which is a symbol of having a tomb, then called "live soil". Sometimes, there are also fragments of pottery, brick fragments, and carbonized wood chips in the soil blocks. By analyzing these miscellaneous items, you can know the basic situation of the tomb owner.

  The principle of the probe is entirely based on tactile sensation. Liu San Ye held the probe and said to us, "The feeling of the needle hitting mud, bricks or metal is all different. Compared to using a Luoyang shovel, this relies on experience, Li Ya Zis Luoyang shovel is still a few degrees off."

  It turns out that Luoyang shovel also has a moment of loss. There are tomb robbers, and naturally there are anti-tomb robbers. Some ancient tombs pay attention to the layered placement of excavated soil when built, and then refill it in order. When encountering such carefully disguised graves, the Luoyang shovel loses its use value, while the probe can play a role when encountering anti-tomb robbery.

  I cautiously asked: "Is what were doing against the law?"

  "Breaking the law? Kid, let me tell you, those experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau still have to come to me to buy probes. Remember this, all of you listen up: Dont disturb the imperial tomb, dont take lives, these eight words are our bottom line! After digging a hole, its done and Ill fill in the soil, cant let corpses be exposed in the wilderness, destroying peoples crops must leave money for compensation. Cant work during the day, as the saying goes dont touch gold after the rooster crows, this business is a lucrative deal, just seeking peace and fortune! If anyone breaks these rules, I guarantee he wont make it out of Xian city within ten miles, what our ancestors have established must be followed, for thousands of years no one has been able to defy it. As long as you follow these few rules, no one will come looking for trouble with you, if you mess up dont blame me Liu."

  "Alright, this is a Han dynasty one." Liu San took the soil from the probe and put it on his finger, gently grinding it: "Looking at the specifications, it shouldnt be low, it should have been reinforced with a vaulted top, the two sides of the spirit path are stone slabs, the main tomb chamber uses wood, after many years, Im afraid theyve all collapsed. From below to above, little stone, tilt and fire a cannon, more than six meters thirty centimeters, cant be wrong, we have to dig from below up, quietly, in case it collapses inside."

  He stood up and walked to a position in the middle, stomped his foot forcefully and said to Fatty: "Thats it, it has to be slanted towards the north, the opening underground should be wide, and the top can be narrower, no problem. Later, well manually add more on top, leaving them some room to turn around."

  Fat boy took over the old school bag handed over by Yang Dali and said to Liu San Ye: "Understood!" Needless to say, this school bag was packed with explosives, smokeless ones, absolutely military-grade, which absolutely didnt belong to a gang of ordinary tomb robbers.

  Fat boy buried his head in the ground and also held the probe to hit down, according to Liu Sans requirements to hit how deep, how many degrees, after finishing put the explosives one by one. His technique is reflected here, put more, put less, put position, the effect of blasting open is completely different.

  In just a short while, the fat man turned around with the fuse and said: "Is it about time? Should I light it?"

  Liu San nodded and hummed in agreement, the fatty lit a match and took three steps back, even kids playing with firecrackers threw them farther than that. The fattys confidence in his own skills was truly not to be underestimated. All that could be heard was a dull "boom" sound, similar to the sound of clapping hands with great force. A small puff of smoke rose up, mixed with a tiny bit of dirt, and on the ground, a hole the size of a washbasin had already been blasted open...