I couldn't resist Hong Jie's fiery enthusiasm, so I quickly changed the subject and said:

"Hong Jie, I want to discuss something with you. You said yesterday that you would take me to make big money. I went back and discussed it with my wife and father-in-law all night. They don't object to me working with you, but..."

Hong Jie narrowed her eyes and asked warily, "But what?"

I said, "But can we add one more person? My father-in-law also wants to join us. Hong Jie, aren't you interested in my swimming skills? My father-in-law's swimming skills are not bad either, and his experience in the water is much richer than mine, so take him with us."

Hong Jie didn't immediately express her opinion after hearing this, but rolled her eyes, and finally slapped her thigh and said readily: "Okay, Rongsheng, it is taboo to add people temporarily in this line of work, but I will give you this face. Go back and take good care of yourself with your father-in-law. Come to my shop at ten o'clock tonight to gather, and I will take you to join."

I nodded, and then pretended to be ignorant and asked: "Hong Jie, can I ask, what kind of business you are talking about that can make big money? Do we need to fight with people? Do we need to bring some tools with us?"

When Hong Jie heard this, she couldn't help but giggle and said: "Silly boy, don't worry, my business doesn't require fighting. Let me ask you, have you ever heard of *mō jīn xiàowèi* (grave robbers)?"

Names like *mō jīn xiàowèi* (grave robbers) and *fā qiū zhōnglángjiàng* (tomb raiders) became well-known to the public after two tomb-raiding novels became popular in 2008.

It was only 2005 at that time, and I had never heard of these titles.

I shook my head blankly and said, "What *mō jī ér xiàowèi*, this name sounds a bit improper."

Hong Jie was amused by me and laughed, her abundant breasts shaking wildly.

She slapped me and corrected me: "It's not *mō jī ér xiàowèi*, it's *mō jīn xiàowèi*. Silly boy, if you haven't heard of *mō jīn xiàowèi*, you've always heard of Cao Cao, right?"

I said: "Hong Jie, you're looking down on people a bit. Who hasn't watched Romance of the Three Kingdoms? It was broadcast on TV every day when I was a kid. Of course I've heard of Cao Cao."

Hong Jie began to popularize history for me, saying in a methodical way: "At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, heroes rose together, and Cao Cao was a major warlord at that time. But Cao Cao's strength was weak when he first started his army, unlike Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo, who had big families and businesses. He didn't have money to pay his soldiers, so what should he do? He came up with a way - to dig money from the hands of the dead."

I pretended to be shocked and stared and said: "Dig money from the hands of the dead? How do you dig it?"

Hong Jie said: "Digging graves! The custom of thick burials was popular in the Han Dynasty. The tombs of those royal nobles were full of treasures! Gold, jade, *wénwán zìhuà* (calligraphy and paintings), countless! It's a waste to bury these things in the ground, so it's better to dig them out to pay for military expenses!"

I nodded slowly and said, "That makes sense."

Hong Jie continued: "Cao Cao was indeed a powerful hero. At that time, he set up official positions such as *fā qiū zhōnglángjiàng* (tomb raiders) and *mō jīn xiàowèi* (grave robbers) specifically for tomb raiding. *Fā qiū* (digging mounds) is digging graves, and *mō jīn* (touching gold) is searching for funerary objects. From that time on, tomb raiding officially developed into a profession."

After Hong Jie finished speaking, I showed a suddenly enlightened expression and said: "I understand, Hong Jie, the business you said that would make me a lot of money is actually tomb raiding! No wonder you are so rich, and you are using a Nokia n70 mobile phone!"

Hong Jie said proudly: "Of course, it is very fast to make money in this line. Uncovering a big meat pot (a tomb with many treasures) means millions or tens of millions of profits. By the way, Rongsheng, you don't understand these words. In our industry, tomb raiding is called *zhī guō zuò fàn* (setting up a pot to cook a meal), and if you encounter a tomb with many treasures, it is called a big meat pot!"

I pretended to have heard it for the first time, and repeated it twice.

After that, I said again: "Then the few people who drowned before were also tomb raiders? Why did they die for no reason?"

Hong Jie said helplessly: "You don't know, there is an unusually dangerous water cave under this Duck River. The tomb is full of water. If you want to *mō jīn* (rob tombs) inside, you have to find a way to drain the water. These unlucky guys who drowned went down to drain the water, but the water was not drained, and they were swept into the undercurrent and drowned alive..."

I suddenly said: "No wonder you want to find people with good swimming skills."

After that, I assured her: "Hong Jie, don't worry, my father-in-law and I are definitely good at swimming, definitely much better than these drowned ghosts."

Hong Jie smiled and patted my thigh and said, "Then I'm counting on you."

I nodded to her, couldn't help but asked: "By the way, Hong Jie, how will the reward be calculated then? How much of the treasure in this big meat pot can my father-in-law and I get?"

The reason why I said this was entirely to gain her trust.

Generally, greedy people are reliable.

If I don't mention the reward at all, it will appear that my motives for joining are impure.

Hong Jie had also guessed that I would ask this. She smiled and pinched my face and said: "Don't worry, you will get a lot of benefits, but you and your father-in-law will not be able to get the funerary objects. At that time, the *zhī guō* (the one who sets up the pot)... oh, that is, the person in charge, will directly give us a sum of money as a reward."

I pretended to be disappointed and said: "What? So we can't get the treasures? I thought we could get one or two burial objects."

Hong Jie said with a smile: "Look at you, you are not very old, but you have a big appetite. Do you know what level the tombs under this Duck River are? The treasures here are all national treasures! If you take these things and are caught for reselling them, your life will be over, understand?"

I gasped and said in shock, "Is it that serious?"

"Of course it's serious!"

Hong Jie lowered her voice and said,

"What is buried underground here is the ancient Shu tomb from more than 4,000 years ago! This kingdom is very mysterious, and even the records in the history books are only a few words. In short, listen to me, don't think about the funerary objects here, stealing funerary objects, even if you avoid the eyes and ears of the *zhī guō* (pot setter), you will have nowhere to sell these hot potatoes, and if you are targeted by the government, your life will be in danger! Do you understand?"

I nodded quickly and said, "I understand, I dare not steal funerary objects, Hong Jie, don't worry."

Hong Jie smiled and said, "We little minions just earn some money. The *zhī guō* (pot setter) is generous, and the reward he gives will definitely satisfy you."

After clarifying these things with Hong Jie, I said goodbye and left.

I went home at noon and discussed it with Uncle Mei and Xiao Liang again. I slept soundly in the afternoon to recharge my energy. When the agreed time came in the evening, I said goodbye to Xiao Liang with Uncle Mei and walked all the way to Hong Jie's massage shop.

We had agreed to meet at ten o'clock, but Hong Jie's business was booming. When we arrived at the shop, the door of the massage shop was tightly closed, the curtains were tightly drawn, and there were faint sounds coming from inside.

Uncle Mei and I stood outside and waited for the time it took to smoke a cigarette, and then a slightly balding middle-aged man walked out furtively, lowered his head and left in a hurry.

We waited until he was far away before Uncle Mei and I pushed the door in.

I saw Hong Jie brushing her teeth with a toothbrush. When she saw us, she rinsed her mouth, smiled charmingly, and said, "You're here?"