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  "The Cultural Revolution is over." I said.

  The fatty held the bowl in his hand, swayed it back and forth, then suddenly poured a large mouthful of wine into his mouth, saying: "Its all over, everything is over." As he said, for him, everything was indeed over.

  Pangzis "home" was in a desolate area outside Xian City, he pointed to the large shed made of wooden boards and cement bags and said to me: "Buddy, since youre here, Ill take you home for a visit, dont be disdainful, warm in winter and cool in summer, and no rent is required."

  To be honest, I never thought that fatty would end up in this state. Looking at the wild grass that was waist-deep on both sides of the shack, my heart felt indescribably distressed. Before I even got close, I could already smell a foul odor.

  He seemed to have noticed my discomfort and chuckled: "Collecting some junk here, the city doesnt allow it to be piled up, so I brought it here. Exchanging for some money to buy some wine, no one cares, its quite carefree, lets go."

  I followed Fatso to the courtyard, which was filled with all sorts of trash and junk. There were building materials, scrap metal, bottles, jars, plastic waste, and more. The entire yard, both inside and out, was covered in these things. I even saw several rats scurrying around the yard. Fatsos "bed" was made from two wooden boards nailed together. In the room, there was a cassette player missing one speaker playing revolutionary songs. On the windowsill, there was a coal stove with a broken pot and two unwashed bowls on top of it.

  The fat guy turned around and entered the next room, making a rustling sound. After a while, he came out shaking his head and holding two bottles of orange soda, saying to me: "Its cold, drink it! I have everything here, nothing is missing, long ago achieved upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones." I followed the direction of his pointing hand, and indeed there was a telephone on the bedside table, but I didnt know if it could still ring, anyway, I didnt see any telephone lines.

  I sat on the edge of the bed drinking soda and asked: "Is this line of work profitable?"

  Fatty rushed up to me with a smile: "Do you think Ive lost weight?" I took a good look and still saw that layer of fat, so I said: "Youre looking pretty good, better than me!"

  "Youre not much better than me, whats the point of messing with cassette tapes? Xiao Yi, arent you in Guangzhou? I heard its very close to Hong Kong?"

  "What? Youve been there?" "I couldnt afford to buy a train ticket, to be honest with you. If you really are on that side, Ill give you directions. Go to Shenzhen and collect used electronics. All sorts of Japanese, American, and West German stuff is brought in by boat to Hong Kong, where people specialize in refurbishing them before smuggling them into the mainland. At least five times the original price." The fatty held out a palm, indicating five times.

  "How did you know?" I asked.

  The fat man pointed to the trash in the room and said, "Ive been doing this for a long time, I know whats going on. If I had a household registration, Id have made a fortune by now. But since youre here, and youre also struggling over there, lets cooperate. You handle the imports, Ill take care of the exports. We can split the profits easily, whatever you say goes."

  "This seems like smuggling?"

  "Dont be afraid, just relax, as long as you can get through customs its all legitimate, I have people over there."

  "Who?"

  A fat man said mysteriously: "There is a Hong Kong person who comes to me every month, let him handle this matter, you are responsible for transporting the goods. To be honest with you, I am engaged in the business of cultural relics here, these things are just a cover, three feet underground in Xian are all tombs of nobles, one on top of another, my line of work is called eating the food of our ancestors, dont underestimate it, that vase under your foot is worth 1,000 Hong Kong dollars."

  "What? One thousand!" I was still eyeing that dull and dusty vase with some distaste, but this really was beyond my expectations.

  Fatso lit a cigarette and handed me one, "No big deal, I use it as a chamber pot at night, just wait for him to come back and flush it with water in a few days."

  We were talking when suddenly there was a coughing sound outside the room, Fatso immediately signaled me to be quiet and lifted up the pillow. I saw him take something out and insert it into his waistband at the back, which seemed to be a handgun.

  He gave me a wink and went out to open the door, then mumbled outside for a while before bringing in a middle-aged man wearing a blue horse jacket. The man had a diagonal scar on his face from the corner of his eye to his mouth, exactly like a centipede. After he came in, he was stunned at first, probably didnt expect there was someone else here, then he stared at me tightly, I saw a cold killing intent in his eyes.

  The fat man handed him a cigarette, but he didnt take it and kept staring at me. The fat man explained to him: "Its okay, Mr. Ding, this is my brother, were sworn brothers."

  That man then glanced over and said to the fatty: "Tonight, at the orchard in Jiao Village, Beihai, the old watchman has been arranged to be taken out for a drink. Ive marked the location, be quick about it, dont expose your tracks, things are tense lately."

  Fat boy took over a note handed over by that person and nodded repeatedly: "Master Ding, Ill handle it, dont worry."

  After sending that person away, Fatso turned around and said to me: "I have something to do tonight, you stay here, Ill be back at dawn."

  "Lets go dig a grave." I said, actually I was worried about Fatso in my heart, and reminded: "The man just now didnt look like a good person, there was a hint of evil in his eyes."

  Fatso took a drag on his cigarette and said to me, "In this line of work, who doesnt have blood on their hands? That man is called Ding Fang, behind him is the head of Shaanxis underground world, Ding Shengwu, Old Master Ding. Every time I sell something, he takes away 30% of the profit. Apart from the Ding family, nothing good can leave Shaanxi, its said this has been the rule for hundreds of years, whoever breaks the rule wont have a good ending."

  "A tomb raider is still so rampant? Now its the Communist Party-led new China, can there still be that old social underground order? Fatty, I think youre also doing thievery with a guilty conscience, alright, stop it, wash your hands and go to the south with me, lets just go and casually do some business, its better than this business of yours where you could lose your head at any time."

  "Xiao Yi, you dont understand, the Ding family is a person of Luo Men, what is Luo Men? Thats someone with a license. In short, this matter is very complicated, and I only found out after coming in. Besides, they promised to finish that one job tonight and then clear my identity, so even if I want to leave with you, I have to wait until tomorrow."

  "Why must you go? Youve only been in Xian for a year or two, and this is a matter of great importance, yet youre letting an outsider get involved."

  The fatty turned his head and said in a low voice, "I dont care about that much, anyway, this is an opportunity for me. Status is crucial to me, otherwise I would have to hide and escape all my life."

  "Alright, since were going, lets go together as brothers, Ill accompany you!"

  "Youd better not join in." "No way, otherwise you wont be able to go either. Either you take out that thing on your belt and shoot me in the head." "You..."

  Fatso let out a soft sigh and said, "Well, okay, after you go, I dont dare guarantee whether others will let you in or not. Its said that the leader is their Eighth Master Liu Qing Liu San Ye, people on the road say this guy has a ruthless heart and cruel hands, just the number of people hes buried alive isnt less than ten."

  Around 9 oclock in the evening, I and Paozi were still drinking wine in the house when a sudden sound of wheels came from outside. Two people got off a van, and I and Paozi rushed out.

  The fat guy who came over was someone I knew, a Henan native, only in his early twenties. Seeing our drunken faces, he looked somewhat displeased: "Youre still drinking after what happened? Tonight Third Master is coming personally, youd better be careful."

  Fatso handed him a cigarette and said, "Dont worry, San Ye takes good care of me. This is my brother who wants to join in and follow you there. Can you help me talk to San Ye about it?" As he spoke, I saw Fatso stuffing a stack of yellow banknotes into the mans pocket, which I recognized as Hong Kong dollars.

  That man put his hand into the bag, seemingly satisfied with the thickness of the stack of money, and said to Fatty: "Alright, whether I can collect it or not, I dare not guarantee. You know Third Masters temper, it depends on this kids own luck."

  The car was driving us all the way, and the driver was Yang Dali, Liu Sans driver. Fat boy got into this line because of him, at that time fat boy was working alone, unfortunately he was caught by someone when he fell to the ground, the person who caught him was Yang Dali.

  In Shaanxi, if you dont get the approval of the Ding family, thats just asking for trouble. The fat guy was about to be punished by having his tendons cut, but he managed to flip over despite being held down by four men. In the end, it was only when Yang Dalao pointed a gun at his forehead that they were barely able to subdue him. Luckily, Liu SanYe took a liking to the fat guys bravery and let him off with just a warning, because from start to finish, he hadnt made a sound, even when the gun was pointed at his head, he still didnt change color.

  The car drove for about an hour, and as it continued to drive, the road began to get bumpy. Through the window, all that could be seen was a dark expanse with no stars visible. Judging by the speed of the car, it seemed like the road was getting increasingly difficult to navigate. Half an hour later, the car entered a forest and the driver saw someone flashing a flashlight from across the way, so he stopped the car and flashed his headlights three times towards them. He then told us, "Weve arrived, everyone get out, and remember, dont make any noise before getting off."

  Fatso responded with a grunt and told me to leave. I asked him what the rules were, but he only told me that as long as I kept my mouth shut, everything would be fine.

  This is an apple orchard, the fruit on the trees has started to turn red a bit. On the east side of the orchard, three people are already waiting. There were five of us in total who came over, and as soon as we arrived, an old man wearing a long gown and cloth shoes frowned and said: "How come there are outsiders? Who brought them!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the two men in black clothes immediately drew their guns from their waists. Seeing this, the fat man hastily said: "Third Master, thats my brother, weve been through thick and thin together, and since things didnt work out for him back home, he came to Xian to seek me out. I was thinking of bringing him to meet you, Third Master, if he meets your requirements, then you can take him in."

  That old man glanced at Baozi with a cold smile and said, "A friendship that will cost you your life? Nonsense! Hmph, Id like to see how much itll cost me. Shi Gandang, arent you the one who dares to do whatever it takes? Alright, bring over that fresh face and chop off his fingers."

  I muttered to myself that things were taking a turn for the worse and turned around to make a run for it, but those two people had already rushed over at a rapid pace, and the two black gun muzzles were already pressed against my forehead...