Chapter 177 Half treasure map

After the meal, the night had already fallen, so Zhang Shizhong took Zhang Haotian out of the teahouse and headed to the west of the old city.

Although he always knew that he had picked it up, Zhang Haotian was too young at that time and did not think of pursuing his life experience. At this moment, as Zhang Shizhong moved forward, his heart couldn't help but feel a little excited. Although Zhang Shizhong was very nice to him, he really wanted to know where his roots were and whose blood was flowing in his blood.

After traveling through some old buildings for a while, Zhang Shizhong stopped under a half-new and old building, pointing to the far left side of the bottom of the building and said, "Haotian, there was a place where garbage was piled up. I worked during the day and sometimes I would come out to pick up garbage and sell it for money at night. It's a lot here. I remember it was a summer. When I walked over at night, I saw you lying beside the garbage, wearing a set of thin green clothes. At that time, mosquitoes had already bitten your body, and you could no longer cry, and lying there was like dead..."

Speaking of this, he said again: "I originally thought that the family threw out the dead child who had not brought him to live. I felt bad and wanted to leave here. Who knew that when I turned around, your feet moved. I was startled at first, but I realized that you were not dead yet. So I didn't think much about it and picked you up and sent you all the way to the county hospital. When the doctors saw you, they said they were helpless. But unexpectedly, after a night of rescue, you opened your eyes. The doctor said that your vitality was too strong, and it was a strange thing to be able to survive. Later, I saw that you were pitiful and cute, so I decided to raise you to adulthood no matter what."

Hearing this, Zhang Haotian suddenly knelt down at Zhang Shizhong, kowtowed three times respectfully, and said, "Dad, thank you, you saved my life, and I have worked so hard to raise me, which has made you suffer."

Zhang Shizhong quickly helped Zhang Haotian up and said, "Haotian, don't do this. Picking you up is the greatest blessing in my life. I really couldn't imagine who would put you in the garbage dump. If it were your parents, then their hearts would be too cruel."

Zhang Haotian gritted his teeth and said, "Dad, did you hear that anyone nearby lost their children during that time?"

Zhang Shizhong shook his head and said, "I have inquired, and even the police have asked from house to house, but I haven't heard anything. It's really strange. You should have been six or seven months old at that time. If you were a nearby child, someone would definitely recognize him."

Zhang Haotian felt a little confused. He closed his eyes for a while before opening again: "When you picked me up, didn't you find anything else?"

Zhang Shizhong shook his head again and said, "No, but even if there is, I didn't look carefully in order to save people."

Zhang Haotian came this time and had no hope of finding clues about his life experience. He looked at the place where it used to be a garbage dump and turned around and said, "Dad, let's go, there's nothing to see."

Zhang Shizhong agreed and left with him. While walking, he said, "Haotian, the wolf in front of your chest may be a clue. I remember when I took you to the hospital, an old Chinese doctor saw your tattoo. He said that at most it would be a month tattooed, and the blood on the wolf should be a very strange grass juice that is soaked in the skin and will never change color."

Zhang Haotian immediately said: "Did he say what kind of grass it is and where can it grow?"

Zhang Shizhong said: "No, the old Chinese doctor saw the tattoo on you, and he also studied it carefully. He just said that this wolf head should be a mark of a tribe or family, and the tattooed person has great skills. The pattern on your body is delicate and clever, and it will not change as people grow. If you are not familiar with the changes in the texture of people and have decades of experience, it is absolutely impossible to do it."

Speaking of this, he said: "Haotian, I watched you grow up day by day. Since you were a child, you are much stronger than other children in terms of physical fitness or intelligence. So I always have a feeling that you should not be an ordinary child. I really don't know what kind of person your parents are and why you appear in such a dirty place."

At this time, Zhang Haotian felt sad and confused in his heart. He silently returned to the teahouse with Zhang Shizhong. On the second floor of the teahouse, he was the residence where Zhang Shizhong lived. Although it was a little old, the environment was still pretty good.

After accompanying Zhang Shizhong for five days in County D, Zhang Haotian set out to K County 800 kilometers away. Lu Dongjie's cousin was in a place called Chaoyang Village in County K. I hope that the box containing half of the treasure map would not be lost.

I rented a taxi in County D to go to County K. Since County K is a relatively remote place in the north and the road is not easy to walk on. Two days later, I arrived at the county town of County K. After asking people, I learned that Chaoyang Village was still forty kilometers away from the county town of K. So I got off the bus and found a local taxi, and asked the driver to take him to Chaoyang Village.

Because there are all earth and rocky roads along the way, and you have to climb a mountain, it took you 40 kilometers to drive for three hours. By the time you arrived at Chaoyang Village, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.

Zhang Haotian knew that the transportation here was inconvenient, so after paying, he asked the driver for a phone number and could contact him to leave the place at any time. Then he got off with his suitcase.

When I walked into the village, I saw that it was a typical backward mountain village in the north. Many houses were made of loess. However, it was a big village, with two or three hundred households. Fortunately, the electricity was on, but there were not many households on the lights. From time to time, the sound of dogs barking came from the courtyards of each house.

Before he walked far, he saw a middle-aged man with a naked upper body squatting outside a dirt house holding a big bowl and eating noodles. Zhang Haotian walked over and said with a smile: "Uncle, I'll ask you about someone, his name is Lu Xuting. He should be very old, and I don't know if he is still there."

The middle-aged man looked confused and shook his head and said, "Lu Xuting, I haven't heard of it."

Zhang Haotian quickly said, "Where are there people in the village with the surname Lu?"

The middle-aged man said, "Why aren't there? There are several families in our village named Lu. It turns out that they are family, but they are too old. I just haven't heard of what Lu's ting you mentioned."

Zhang Haotian knew at this time that Lu Xuting must have been dead for a long time, otherwise it would be impossible for a middle-aged man to know such a village. The families he mentioned with the surname Lu were naturally the ones that Lu Xuting had scattered. As long as one of them was found, things would be easier.

He said immediately: "Uncle, can you take me to find the oldest person in the family of Lu? I have something important to find him."

The northerners are so honest and generous, and this man is no exception. After hearing what Zhang Haotian said, he immediately finished the noodles in the bowl, put the bowl on the ground, and then stood up and said, "Then come with me."

As he said that, he walked forward and Zhang Haotian followed behind him.

Following the rows of houses, the man took him to a very simple house with cracks everywhere and even the walls were broken, and pointed: "The oldest among the people named Lu should be Mr. Lu. He is inside. You can go in by yourself. The door is broken and it will be opened as soon as you push it."

When Zhang Haotian saw that there was a paper-paste window in the room, he looked in black and couldn't help but say, "There is no light here, there should be no one. The house is cracked on all sides and cannot block the wind and rain. Can people live?"

The man sighed and said, "If you don't live here, what else can you live? This Mr. Lu originally had two sons, but they were both soft-eared with no filial piety. He separated ten years ago and said that one son had raised him for a year. Who knew that the two wives were unhappy when they saw Mr. Lu being old and could not do anything and could only eat idle food. No matter which family Mr. Lu went to, he always pointed at me coldly. Not only did he not give him a good face, but he also often gave him leftover soup and water. Uncle Lu really couldn't stand it. Three years ago, he lived in this dilapidated house that no one wanted in the village. He relied on the village's family to give some noodles and cakes every day. Alas, it's very pitiful. Uncle Lu watched me grow up since he was a child. If it weren't for the bad environment in my family, I really wanted to take him over and live with him."

Speaking of this, he shouted and said, "Uncle Lu, Uncle Lu, someone is coming to you and saying that there is something important, don't sleep in the pit."

With his voice, he heard movement in the room. After a while, he heard the sound of the door. A trembling old man with white hair walked out, wearing a white vest with holes everywhere. It should be that Mr. Lu.

At this time, the man walked over and helped him and said, "Mr. Lu, have you had dinner today? Why don't I give you some noodles?"

The Uncle Lu shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, Aunt Liu brought me some food tonight. I'm already full."

After saying this, he said again: "Xiao Shanzi, you are a filial child, and you marry a virtuous wife. Your parents are blessed. Unlike my two evil sons, I only listen to those two stinky wives."

The man smiled honestly and said, "Uncle Lu, then you come to my house for lunch tomorrow. Guifang said you can make dumplings and you haven't eaten it for a long time."

Uncle Lu agreed repeatedly and kept praising the man, but his old eyes looked at Zhang Haotian.

Although Mr. Lu is the oldest in the Lu family, he didn't know if the iron box of Lu Dongjie was in his hands. Zhang Haotian leaned in his ear and lowered his voice: "Uncle Lu, someone asked me to find a small iron box, saying that it has been in the Lu family for a long time, do you know?"

Uncle Lu's ears were working well. When he heard Zhang Haotian say this, his thin face suddenly showed a strange expression. He raised his head and said to the man: "Xiao Shanzi, this person is here to look for me. You go back first, thank you."

The man agreed, looked at Zhang Haotian, and turned around and left.

Seeing the middle-aged man leave, Zhang Haotian couldn't help but feel excited. Uncle Lu said this, which proves that he at least knew about the small iron box.

At this time, Mr. Lu said, "Young man, come in." After walking into the room, Zhang Haotian followed him in.

There was no electricity in the room. Uncle Lu lit up an oil lamp on the old table. When Zhang Haotian looked, he saw that the walls in the room were empty, with only a pit on the left wall and two broken wooden benches.

Uncle Lu asked him to sit down on a wooden bench and then said, "Young man, you said someone asked you to get a small iron box, did he say anything to you?"

At this moment, Zhang Haotian was almost sure that the small iron box containing half of the treasure map left by his master was in the hands of the old man, and he quickly said, "Yes, he asked me to recite a poem."

Uncle Lu asked, "What kind of poem is it?"

Zhang Haotian said slowly: "I know that my brothers climbed the heights, and there was one less person who could plant dogwood everywhere."

When Mr. Lu heard Zhang Haotian say this poem, he was excited and said with a trembling trembling: "Okay, okay, someone finally came to get my second uncle's things. I didn't let me, the old bone, bring it into the mound. I really don't want to hand over the things to them."

As he said, he walked to the pit and groped for a while before he took out a pack of things wrapped in cloth, then placed them on the table, opening them layer by layer, indeed, a small dark iron box appeared, and next to it was a key.

At this time, Mr. Lu suddenly grabbed Zhang Haotian's hand and said, "Since you were sent by the second uncle, are you his descendant? Where is my second uncle still... still alive?"

Zhang Haotian didn't want to hide it from him, so he said, "He is my master and has been locked in prison. He was dead a few years ago. Before he died, he told me about the little iron box and asked me to come here to pick it up, but I didn't expect it to be still there."

He said, picking up the key and inserting it into the lock. Fortunately, the lock was cast in copper. It has passed for decades and it will not be too rusted. After opening it for a while, he felt that the lock had bounced and had been opened. He opened the lid on the small iron box and glanced down and there was a stack of paper inside.

Zhang Haotian knew nothing was wrong. He didn't expect that this trip would be so smooth. He overcame the ecstasy. He closed the small iron box and locked it again. When he went to see Mr. Lu, he saw him sitting on the wooden bench in a daze. He looked very disappointed and said, "Mr. Lu, what's wrong with you?"

Uncle Lu said with a frustration: "Actually, our Lu family was quite rich in the past. The second uncle had been a high-ranking official, which was even more proud of our family. However, before the whole country was liberated, all the industries of our Lu family were confiscated by the People's Liberation Army. My father also did things for the old government in the past. The second uncle was afraid that he would be liquidated, so he asked him to hide in this remote village with my mother. We were three brothers in total, but two of them starved to death in the famine. Before my father died, he handed me this small iron box, saying that the second uncle would definitely come to take it, and he also said that he was very capable and would make a fortune to come and take our family to live a good life. I... I reached this point and I was looking forward to this day every day, but I didn't expect that the second uncle had been locked in prison, so I had no hope, and it would be even more meaningless to live."

Zhang Haotian was a person who valued friendship. When he saw his master's relatives in such a miserable situation, he thought for a while and said, "Uncle Lu, if you have money, do you still want to live with your son?"

Uncle Lu shook his head vigorously and said, "Those two evil sons, I'm so cold that I don't want to count on anything. If I really have money, I will never leave it to them."

Zhang Haotian said, "Then what do you think of the person who came just now?"

Uncle Lu said, "Oh, you said Xiao Shanzi, I grew up watching him. He is honest and filial. He usually comes to help me with work whenever he has time. He thinks about me if he eats good things. He doesn't say anything about his character, and treats me better than his own son."

Zhang Haotian nodded and said, "Okay, that's fine. Uncle Lu, Master Lu, Master has recreated me. Although he has no descendants, I am no different from his descendants. Don't worry, I won't let you take care of this thing for free. Money is not a big problem for me. I have an idea, it depends on whether you want it?"

As he spoke, he arranged what he thought to Mr. Lu, and Mr. Lu was sometimes excited, sometimes burst into tears, nodding repeatedly.

Zhang Haotian looked at the time and the taxi he sent him should have not returned to the city. He picked up his cell phone, called the driver, and asked him to return to Chaoyang Village to pick him up immediately.

Three days later, at the end of Chaoyang Village, the sunset was setting, and the villagers who had been busy in the fields for a day returned to the village one after another. The smoke from each household was already curling with smoke. Some villagers who cooked early were squatting under the old walnut tree in front of the village, eating while talking about the mountains. However, the most talked about was that Mr. Lu in the village was silently picked up by a young man a few nights ago, and his two sons were not nervous at all, and he ignored him as if nothing had happened. He was really unfilial. However, when he saw the villager Xu Dashan, who was facing the young man, was anxious, and even provided the village committee with the appearance characteristics of the young man, regretting that he should not have let Mr. Lu be with a strange man that night, and should have asked more about the situation.

Just before the afterglow of the sun had passed, a taxi slowly drove up on the road outside the village, and two men, old and young, got out of it.

Seeing the elderly man, those who were squatting on the ground and eating stood up, all of them widened their eyes.

The old man clearly looked like Mr. Lu, who had been missing for three days, but his changes were too great. He was wearing brightly colored and smooth summer clothes and bright leather shoes on his feet, just like a returning overseas Chinese who had made a fortune on TV.

Next to him was a young man wearing a blue shirt, tall and burly, and as handsome as a TV star, carrying a black suitcase in his hand. He was like the stranger who came to the village that Xu Dashan said.

After a while, someone started to scream: "Oh, Mr. Lu, we almost don't recognize you in this outfit. It's so energetic."

"Uncle Lu, if you don't come back, we will go to the county town to report the case and find someone."

"Uncle Lu, is this young man a relative of your family? He is a big boss. You will be happy now."

Listening to these villagers' words, looking at the red face of Mr. Lu and looking extremely happy, Zhang Haotian, who was walking next to him, felt relieved.

That night, he took Uncle Lu to the county town, first took him to the hospital for a full-body examination to see if there were any diseases, and then took him with him to take care of his head, sell his clothes, enter the highest-end restaurant in the county town, stay in the highest-end hotel, and then returned to Chaoyang Village after having fun for three days. He wanted to make a proper arrangement for the rest of his life, and also let his unfilial sons and daughters-in-law regret their intestines.

Taking Mr. Lu, Zhang Haotian walked straight to Xu Dashan's house not far from the village head, and then shouted: "Brother Dashan, Brother Dashan, are you here?"
Chapter completed!