I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

As night fell, Jiangjia Village fell into tranquility.

Warm lights shone from the windows of every household.

The streetlights at the village entrance illuminated the brand-new "Jiangwanshan Avenue" brightly.

But beneath this peaceful facade, a restless heart is stirring.

Jiang Gundao lay on his old wooden bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

He stared at the light bulb on the ceiling, blackened by smoke, his mind filled with thoughts of the factory.

"Special steel...copper cable..."

Jiang Gundao swallowed hard, feeling his throat go dry.

He sat up in bed, took out the half-pack of crumpled cigarettes hidden under his pillow, and put one in his mouth.

With a "click," the lighter illuminated his fleshy face.

"I must have been seeing things last time."

Jiang Gundao took a deep drag on his cigarette, the smoke slowly rising into the dimly lit room.

"What red-eyed monster? I must be drunk and seeing things."

He shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake the terrifying memory of that night out of his mind.

"Besides, didn't all the workers leave? I went to check during the day, and there were less than half the people on the construction site!"

Jiang Gundao thought about it more and more and felt that there was a chance.

He pulled a worn notebook from the bedside table, on which some numbers were scrawled in crooked handwriting.

"Copper cable, thirty yuan per kilogram... that bundle must weigh at least a hundred kilograms..."

"Special steel, fifty yuan per pound... just take a few pieces..."

As Jiang Gundao calculated, his eyes began to light up.

"We've struck it rich! This time we're really going to strike it rich!"

He jumped out of bed and paced back and forth in the room.

But soon he stopped again.

"No, one person can't move that many things."

Jiang Gundao frowned, his mind racing.

"We need to find a helper... but we can't ask anyone from the village, in case word gets out..."

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Oh, right! That simpleton from the next village!"

Early the next morning.

Jiang Gundao rode his dilapidated old bicycle, wobbling and swaying, until he arrived at the neighboring Wangjiagou Village.

At the village store, a burly young man was squatting at the door, eating a sesame seed cake.

"Stupid!"

Jiang Gundao jumped out of the car, his face beaming with a fawning smile.

Er Lengzi looked up, half a sesame seed cake still stuffed in his mouth, and mumbled, "Brother Gun Dao? What brings you here?"

"I've come to you to make my fortune!"

Jiang Gundao leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Didn't you always say you wanted to buy a motorcycle? Come with me on a job, I guarantee you can afford one!"

Er Lengzi's eyes lit up, but he quickly hesitated again.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to steal something?"

"What do you mean stealing!" Jiang Gundao glared at him. "That's called taking! Don't you understand?"

"Those things were just unwanted junk lying around outside! If we clean them up, we can sell them for some money; that's called recycling!"

Er Lengzi scratched his head, feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"But... I heard that the factory in Jiangjia Village is haunted..."

"What a load of nonsense!"

Jiang Gundao slapped his thigh.

"Those are all rumors Jiang Chen deliberately spread to scare us poor people!"

"Think about it, he's so rich, would he really let a factory be built in a place where there are real ghosts?"

"Besides, I went there last time and nothing happened! I just saw a few workers who looked a bit fierce, which startled me."

As Jiang Gundao spoke, he almost began to believe it himself.

Er Lengzi was still a little hesitant.

Seeing this, Jiang Gundao immediately pulled out his trump card.

"How about this, after this is done, I'll treat you to roast chicken for a month! Every single day!"

"real?"

Er Lengzi's eyes lit up completely.

"Of course it's true! When have I ever lied to you?"

"Okay! I'll do it!"

Er Lengzi readily agreed.

Jiang Gundao patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.

"That's great! Let's meet under the big locust tree at the entrance of Jiangjia Village at midnight tonight."

"Remember, don't tell anyone!"

It's 11:30 p.m.

Jiang Gundao arrived at the agreed location early.

He carried a tattered burlap sack containing tools such as a flashlight, pliers, and rope.

A little while later, Er Lengzi arrived, wobbling along on his bicycle.

"Brother Rolling Knife, I'm here."

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

Jiang Gundao quickly made a shushing gesture.

The two hid their bicycle in the roadside bushes, then crouched down and crept along the village road toward the factory.

At this moment, Jiangjia Village was completely silent.

Occasionally, a few barks from dogs could be heard, sounding particularly jarring in the night sky.

Jiang Gundao and Er Lengzi proceeded cautiously until they finally arrived at the back wall of the factory.

This place is in a remote location, and few people pass by during the day, let alone at night.

"This is it."

Jiang Gundao pointed to the top of the wall.

"Climb over, and inside is the backyard where supplies are stored."

Er Lengzi looked up at the wall, which was more than two meters high, and swallowed hard.

"Hey, buddy, maybe we should just call it a day..."

"Nonsense!"

Jiang Gundao kicked him in the butt.

"We've come this far, and you're telling me to just give up?"

"Hurry up, I'll help you up!"

Having no other choice, Er Lengzi had to step on Jiang Gundao's hand and laboriously climb onto the wall.

"What's going on up there?"

Jiang Gundao asked in a low voice.

Er Lengzi peered down from the top of the wall; it was pitch black.

"I can't see very clearly...it seems like no one is there..."

"Then what are we waiting for? Jump!"

With his eyes closed, Er Lengzi gritted his teeth and jumped down.

A muffled thud.

"How are you? Did you hurt yourself?"

"No...it's nothing..."

Er Lengzi's voice came from the other side of the wall.

Jiang Gundao was relieved and climbed up using both his hands and feet.

He was much more agile than Er Lengzi, and he flipped over in no time.

After landing, the two quickly hid in a corner and listened for a while, holding their breath.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the chirping of insects coming from afar.

"See? I told you it was nothing."

Jiang Gundao smiled smugly.

He turned on his flashlight, and the beam swept across the darkness.

When they saw the neatly stacked piles of supplies not far away, both of them became breathless.

"We're rich! We're really rich!"

Jiang Gundao was so excited that he trembled all over.

He strode over and reached out to touch the copper cables that gleamed with a metallic sheen.

"A cable that thick must weigh at least two hundred pounds in a bundle!"

"And all this steel... My God..."

Er Lengzi also came over, his eyes wide as big as copper bells.

"Hey, can we really move, bro?"

"Nonsense! Get to work!"

Jiang Gundao rolled up his sleeves and, together with Er Lengzi, lifted a bundle of cables.

This thing is really heavy; it's difficult for two people to lift it.

"Move it towards the wall, throw it out first."

The two men, panting heavily, carried the cable and moved step by step toward the wall.

Just then.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

Footsteps echoed from the depths of the dark warehouse.

The footsteps were heavy and powerful, like the sound of an army marching.

Moreover, it wasn't just one person.

Jiang Gundao and Er Lengzi froze instantly.

The cable in his hand fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"There are...people patrolling!"

Jiang Gundao's voice was trembling.

He quickly pulled Er Lengzi and hid behind a pile of steel pipes.

The two of them dared not breathe, pressing themselves tightly against the steel pipe.