Chapter 51: A Woman Like the Wind Cao Kerui

  After what just happened, I'm wide awake. I tossed and turned but couldn't sleep, staring at the ceiling until dawn.

  After a long and arduous journey, I finally arrived in Hunan within the time limit set by Lao Da.

  After getting off the train, I dialed Boss's phone and reported: "I have successfully arrived at the train station."

  The howling wind on the phone 'You're really not in a hurry, taking the train is so slow!'

  I put down my luggage at the exit and said 'I'm taking a plane, will you reimburse me for the ticket?'

  The person opposite immediately got angry and said a lot of nonsense, anyway the meaning is that I couldn't report. I smiled lightly 'Alright, go find someone to come over and pick me up'.

  "Brother Yi, you're so big-headed, I'm almost busy to death, who's going to pick you up?"

  I couldn't find it myself. I didn't come out after going there last time, and when I left, it was still in the middle of the night, how could I remember the way? In that deep mountain, even asking for directions is useless.

  "Alright, alright, you wait at the train station and I'll arrange for someone to pick you up. But don't regret it."

  "Hurry up" and sell what pipe, I have nothing good to regret. After finishing, I hung up the phone. It's estimated that it will take some time from the mountain to the train station, so I found a small restaurant near the train station, ordered two dishes and took a break

  At that time, the tomb we were rescuing was in a mountain forest in Yongding District, Zhangjiajie. When I first received the task, I was secretly delighted, thinking that although tasks were rare, this one would be in such a picturesque place. It's much better than any big desert, and with half work and half tourism in mind, I arrived here after taking trains, cars, tractors, donkey carts, and walking, finally reaching the destination.

  Then I was stunned.

  We came to a place ten million eight thousand miles away from the scenic area, let alone human shadows, not even animals can be seen. We solved our meals by setting up our own stoves, and the toilets were temporary pits dug out. I asked the boss in puzzlement, "Whose sacred discovery is this kind of grave?"

  The discoverers of ancient tombs are either demolition offices or construction teams. In any case, someone must have discovered and reported it before we rushed to excavate. Of course, there are also archaeological teams that conduct on-site investigations, in which case it's not accidental. We had already received the news beforehand and made deductions and measurements to get the results. I took a look at this place in front of me, and it's really not easy for this tomb to be discovered.

  The big brother spat out the leaves in his mouth and said, "Do you see that girl with a basket on her back over there? It's her."

  I looked in the direction that Lao Da was pointing, and a girl wearing a dark blue jacket was standing there. Lao Da patted me on the back and said "go take a look".

  The two of us walked to the girl's side, and Lao Da asked, 'How did you feel when you discovered there was a tomb under this mountain?' We had already finished exploring by the time we arrived, and were quite confident.

  But I'm just curious, without professional measurement and archaeological knowledge, how did a little girl like her discover it.

  That little girl said a sentence, I didn't understand what it meant, but the tone was very pleasant, it should be some dialect.

  A guide next to him also said in non-standard Mandarin, "She said that she was picking gastrodia on the mountain when she saw a group of people taking out a lot of things from the mountain. It didn't look right, so she told the village officials. The officials brought people up to take a look and found the cave at the foot of the mountain, then they reported it to the police."

  That person's translation was laborious, and my boss and I also stretched our necks to listen slowly. Although it was stumbling, we also heard the general idea. The story behind is that during this period of waiting for us, the villagers did not take any remedial measures against the thief cave. However, the problem is that Zhangjiajie is a rainy place, and the water on the mountain flows down and pours into the thief cave.

  For several weeks afterwards, we didn't dare slack off at all, fearing that another big rain would come and the situation in the tomb would be even more difficult to estimate.

  I was on leave after the cleanup work had almost come to an end, and it should have taken at least a week for the whole team to withdraw. I didn't expect them to be stuck there for so long afterwards.

  I just heard Xiaohai mention in passing that someone was lost from the team, but I couldn't get a clear answer when I asked him about it. After all, we're not on the front lines. This time, I'll have to ask Lao Da for more information.

  I had been waiting for several hours, and my phone was almost out of battery. Just as I was hesitating about whether to make a call to hurry them up, a car suddenly sped past the entrance, kicking up a cloud of dust. I suddenly had a bad feeling.

  A girl with a ponytail got off the bus, looking very pretty. After getting off the bus, she looked around and saw me sitting in the house, then rushed in like flying.

  I just realized what Lao Da's words meant, and I really regret it. I'd rather ask for directions alone until nightfall than have her come pick me up.

  This girl is called Cao Ke Rui, she just joined the team last year. This girl used to study in Cardiff, her speech and behavior are not those of a timid girl who blushes easily, on the contrary, I always get embarrassed by her.

  Once at a dinner party, she got drunk and pointed at my nose saying 'Sun Yi, wait till the day I sleep with you'. Amidst everyone's laughter, I was left feeling very embarrassed.

  She woke up the next morning and didn't remember anything, but I was ridiculed by people in the office for a long time. Every time they met me, their opening line was "Sun Yi, did you sleep today?"

  In the past three years, due to her outgoing personality, every time I see her, it's like seeing a ghost or monster, and if possible, I'll avoid her so as not to get into some kind of trouble that would make me lose face.

  She pushed open the door and rushed straight to my desk. She sat across from me, propping her chin on her hand, staring at me with wide eyes. I picked up the beer on my desk and took a sip.

  She snatched my wine cup and held it in her hand, with a smile at the corner of her mouth but furrowed eyebrows. "I've been thinking about you."

  The beer in my mouth almost choked me to death, although I've heard this kind of talk for several years now, but every time I hear it, it still has a great destructive power.

  I coughed and said 'Let's go first, the boss is still waiting'

  Cao Kesui drained the beer in his cup and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, putting the cup on the table. "Let's go!"

  I opened the car door, but Cao Ke Rui was one step ahead and got in first.

  "You go rest in the back, I'll drive," Cao Ke Rui said.

  "It's okay, I'll drive, you've been sleeping on the train for a long time"

  "Stop stalling and let's go, or else it'll be dark before we arrive." Cao Ke Rui fastened his seatbelt, not allowing any argument.

  I had no choice but to get in the back. Before I could even close the car door, Cao Kerui floored it and sped off, throwing me backward, and I started regretting letting her drive.

  Cao Ke Rui's driving skills, I don't know which driving school she learned from, with this level of skill, a driver's license can be issued. I'm someone who has never been carsick before, but now I've been made dizzy by her sudden braking.

  She seemed to notice my tension and tried to chat with me to ease it.

  "After all, everyone experiences birth, aging, illness and death; don't be too heartbroken"

  I thought for a moment before I realized she was comforting me. I smiled and said, "I'm fine, after all, it's been over 20 years since we last met, I can get through this."

  "Oh," she tapped on the steering wheel, "then why did you stay at home for so long?"

  "Helped my grandfather with something, delayed for a while. I thought you guys had left long ago, didn't expect to still be stuck in Hunan." I leaned my head against the seat and knocked on my temples with my fist.

  "You have no idea what happened after you left. Ah, I'll tell you"

  I heard Cao Ke Rui's voice getting closer and closer to me, I opened my eyes to take a look, she was already about to stick her head out from the back of the car seat. I got startled and quickly sat up. 'Hey hey hey! Look out, there's a car!'

  Cao Ke Rui hastily turned his head away and steadied the steering wheel "Ahh, don't scare me"

  I said with a lingering fear 'You almost rear-ended their car just now'

  "Ah, it's nothing. Trust my driving skills," he said, turning the car stereo back on. "Listen to some music and relax." He then started dancing with his hands on the steering wheel. Occasionally, he would honk the horn to cheer himself on. I was so scared that I quickly reached over from behind him and turned off the stereo. "You'd better behave while driving, or else I'll drive myself," I said. "Okay, okay, I won't listen to music anymore. You can rest assured and sleep now. When you wake up, we'll be at our destination." After hearing this, my back went cold with fear. I figured that when I woke up, either we would have arrived at the cemetery or we would be inside it.