After Xiao Shan left, I hesitated whether to tell Fatty about Sister Gu.
After much thought, I decided against it.
Fatty was good in all respects, except for two flaws: greed and gluttony.
If I told him about this matter, he would probably start thinking about finding gold right away.
These past few days here, I had already noticed Fatty's interest in the gold dust in this place.
During the day, I even heard him discussing gold prices with Xiao Shan.
"Fatty, what do you think about being a gold prospector here?" I asked tentatively.
Fatty replied dismissively, "Why a gold prospector? If I'm going to do anything, I'll be a mine owner..."
He leaned closer to me and offered me a cigarette, "Brother Xiang, you don't know, I've already inquired. If one can own a mine here, they can earn at least eight or nine hundred thousand, or even a million a year... Don't you think our An Yuan Tang doesn't achieve this profit in a year?"
"What? You want to be a mine owner?"
"It's not that I want to, I was just thinking, you know, since you're so familiar with Zhu Li, why don't we talk to him and get a small mine..."
Before he could finish, I said, "Fatty, you seem to like it here, don't you? How about this, I'll go talk to Master Gui later and let you stay here, see how much he can pay us? We'll split it fifty-fifty, and I'll save your share for you to have when you leave here."
"Huh?" Fatty was stunned, "You want me to be a gold prospector?"
"Don't you like it here?"
"But I don't want to be a gold prospector!"
"Want to be a mine owner?"
"Yes."
I beckoned Fatty over. When he leaned in, I made a gesture across his neck with my hand, "How many lives do you have?"
Fatty was taken aback. I continued, "Haven't you figured out the situation here? Is the money in this place earned by us? Let alone anything else, even if you truly become a mine owner and find gold, do you think you'll live long enough to spend that money?"
"Don't we have people..."
"Who are those people to you?" I retorted impatiently, "When it comes to profit, no one can be trusted. You better not let your mind wander. What is our purpose for coming here this time? Once we finish our business, we're going back to China, understand?"
Fatty sighed helplessly, "Alright, I'll listen to you..."
Xiao Shan was gone for over two hours. When he returned, Fatty and I were already lying in bed, preparing to sleep.
"Brother Xiang..." Xiao Shan approached my bed with a solemn expression.
"What's wrong?" I sat up and asked.
"Tell me honestly, did you and Sister Gu have anything..."
"Have what?"
"You know..."
I understood what he was trying to say and quickly denied it, "Absolutely not. I haven't even touched her."
"That's good then..."
"Did something happen?" Fatty asked, leaning up from the other bed.
Xiao Shan said, "The mine owner from Beihe went to see Master Gui. He somehow found out that you are one of Master Gui's people. He went there wanting Master Gui to give him an explanation. They talked for a long time..."
"And then?"
Xiao Shan glanced at me, hesitating, and finally said, "The competition for the river section is the day after tomorrow. You'll know then."
I felt a sense of unease. Xiao Shan's words were clearly incomplete, but no matter how I asked, he refused to reveal more.
At that moment, I felt that something was amiss. However, leaving now was not realistic. It seemed I could only take things one step at a time, dealing with each challenge as it came.
The next day, we didn't go anywhere, basically staying in the makeshift shelter.
The weather here was incredibly muggy, especially at noon. The wind blowing on the face felt like a heater, making breathing difficult.
Fortunately, there was an electric fan in the shelter. Although a bit old, it still generated a considerable amount of cool breeze.
I lay on the straw mat, organizing my notes. Fatty sat at the table, cracking sunflower seeds, and I didn't know where he got them from.
As for Xiao Shan, he had gone somewhere, telling us not to wander off when he left.
After yesterday's events, I had no mood to go out anymore.
In a blink of an eye, the day passed. In the evening, Xiao Shan returned and told us to sleep early, as the competition for the river section was tomorrow, and we had to be there first thing in the morning.
I originally wanted to say, "Do Fatty and I really need to go?"
But thinking about what he said yesterday, I knew I couldn't *not* go.
Thus, that night I managed to sleep for about seven hours. The next morning, Xiao Shan took Fatty and me by boat to the downstream section of the river.
Before we reached our destination, I heard the sound of gongs and drums from afar. When the speedboat docked, a crowd had already gathered in an open space by the river.
These people were wearing worn-out clothes, many without shoes, but from their positions, they were divided into two groups.
Near the foot of the mountain by the riverbank, there was a simple viewing platform where Master Gui and the man I had met before were already seated.
Xiao Shan led Fatty and me to the viewing platform. I cupped my hands and greeted Master Gui, "Master Gui."
He smiled and gestured for us to sit beside him.
After I sat down, I noticed Sister Gu was also there. She sat next to the dark-skinned man, not even looking at me.
Instead, the man's gaze towards me was somewhat cold.
"Xiao Shan, did you tell Mr. Xiang?" Master Gui suddenly asked.
Xiao Shan walked over and said, "Not yet..."
"Then why aren't you telling him quickly? It's about to start."
"Oh... okay..."
Listening to Master Gui's words, I felt confused. What was I supposed to be told?
Xiao Shan walked over to me and pointed to a water mine shaft on the riverbank, "Brother Xiang, do you see that water mine shaft?"
I nodded.
He began to explain the process of competing for river sections.
Generally, river sections were bought with money, and it was unclear from whom.
However, if both groups were interested in a river section and offered similar prices, to secure the section, they had to go through three rounds of competition, with the winner taking two out of three matches.
The winner would become the new owner of the river section, while the loser would forfeit the right to own the new river section.
Once the competition concluded, neither side could harbor any ill will over the matter.
The so-called competition consisted of three rounds. The first round was called "Stirring the Mud to Find Gold." Before the competition, a piece of gold the size of a thumb would be thrown into the water mine shaft. Then, one person from each side would jump into the water mine shaft to retrieve the gold.
When going down, there was only one breathing tube. This meant that after going down, the two individuals not only had to search for the dropped gold but also compete for the breathing tube.
To put it bluntly, only one of the two could come up alive!