Volume 4Chapter 7: Pan Zi

Pan Zi and I sat in Uncle San’s shop for the afternoon, telling each other about our situations.

It turned out that Pan Zi had already regained consciousness before I left for Hainan, but I had left in such a hurry that I had only left a mobile phone at the hospital, so of course they couldn’t find me after I had gone to sea.

Pan Zi had a good constitution and recovered quickly, but even so he still lay in bed for nearly a month. When he was able to get up and come looking for us, we couldn’t get in touch with him. At that time, I should have been in Shaanxi, and Uncle San, needless to say, was looking for him all over the world.

I saw that Pan Zi was wearing black gauze on his arm, so I asked him what it was for. He said that Da Kui was his brother, and he didn’t make it to the seventh day of the funeral. Now that he’s wearing the black veil, it makes him feel better. I mentioned it to him, and when I thought about the time I went to Shandong, my heart also sighed. After all, that incident was caused by me. If I hadn’t gone to see Uncle San and shown him the paper, everyone’s current situation would naturally be very different.

Pan Zi looked at my changing expression and guessed what I was thinking. He patted me on the back and said, “Little Master, in our line of work, what is meant to be will happen. No wonder others are surprised.”

I sighed and thought to myself, “It’s easy for you to say. You didn’t kill Da Kui.”

After a while, I told Pan Zi about the recent situation on my side. He frowned and shook his head when he heard our speculation. He said that he and Uncle San had been together for so many years, and he was sure that Uncle San was definitely not that kind of person. He told me not to listen to others’ nonsense.

Pan Zi had followed Uncle San for many years and had a deep relationship with him. Naturally, he could not listen to some things. I didn’t say anything else and changed the subject, asking him what he planned to do.

Pan Zi thought about it for a while. He said that he originally planned to go back to Changsha to continue making a living. He knew everyone there and was not afraid of not having anything to do. Now that I have said this, he feels that this matter is not simple and he is afraid that he will have to check it again to feel at ease.

I nodded. Although I have basically checked everything here, Pan Zi and Uncle San have an unusual relationship. There are many relationships that I don’t know about. It would be best if he could check it out.

Pan Zi made several phone calls, and the other party kept asking him to wait for news. I thought I would have to wait for a few days, but I didn’t expect to get a call back in just five minutes. After listening to him, Pan Zi frowned and said to me, “Little Master San, I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me.”

I was stunned, thinking to myself, “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

Pan Zi continued, “Master San is looking for someone in Changsha and left a message for you. But he needs to tell you in person, and the people on that side told me to bring you over.”

“Uncle San left a message for me?” I almost jumped up. I had been in contact with Changsha before. Why had no one ever mentioned this to me?

Pan Zi looked very serious and didn’t want to explain to me. He said to me, ‘It’s urgent over there. What do you think? When can you leave?’

Pan Zi was very anxious. I vaguely felt that something was not simple, but I didn’t expect him to be so anxious. As a result, that night I got on the green train to Changsha without saying anything.

After getting on the train, I asked Pan Zi, “If you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you take a plane, not a train?

Pan Zi was distracted, and just patted me and said I’d know soon. I saw sweat on his forehead, and I was even more curious. I thought to myself, ‘What is he so nervous about?’

The train left Hangzhou and first arrived at another train station in Hangzhou. Three hours later, it arrived at Jinhua Station. At this point, I couldn’t help but ask what was going on. At this time, the train suddenly stopped temporarily.

It is not uncommon for a green-skinned train to make a temporary stop. When I was buying the ticket, I thought that for such a long distance, you should at least take an express train, not a green-skinned hard seat. But Pan Zi’s mind was not on this at all. Now that the train has stopped, I am happy and happy. You are in a hurry, right? A temporary stop, hurry to death!

I didn’t expect that as soon as the train stopped, Pan Zi patted me on the back and signaled me to follow. I stood up and wanted to ask him where he was going, but he suddenly rolled over and jumped out of the window.

I looked at him and said, “What the hell are you doing?” Everyone in the car was shocked and stood up to watch. Pan Zi yelled outside, “Little Master, what are you waiting for?

I looked around and everyone was standing up and watching me. I thought to myself, ‘This is going to be the headline on the Metro Express tomorrow.’ I gritted my teeth and rolled out.

The green leather was very high, so I fell down and rolled over, landing on the side of the road. Pan Zi helped me up and pulled me along.

We ran into the field next to the road, climbed over a ridge, and then turned onto the main road. There was already a pickup truck waiting for us. Pan Zi pulled me into the pickup truck, and the car started immediately.

I was so exhausted that I could hardly breathe, and it wasn’t until we were on the provincial highway that I finally recovered. I swore, “What the hell are you doing?”

Pan Zi was also exhausted, and seeing my appearance, he laughed and said, “Don’t be angry. This is the first time I’ve been in such a mess. I don’t know when I got into trouble, and I don’t know if I can get rid of it.”

He looked behind the car, and it was dark, as if no one was chasing after us.

I didn’t understand, it seemed that he had planned all these things. I asked him what was going on, he lit a cigarette and said in Changsha dialect, “There are police on the train, my third uncle is not in Changsha, the business in Changsha is in a mess, there may be a police officer among the laborers.”

The meaning of this sentence is that there are police on the train, my third uncle is not in Changsha, the business in Changsha is in a mess, there may be a police officer among the laborers.

When he spoke, he glanced at the driver, and I realized that the driver might have been hired on a temporary basis and could not reveal too much. I didn’t ask any more, but my heart was in turmoil. I thought to myself, “What am I now? I’m not a fugitive, am I?”

My grandfather, what’s going on this year? A few months ago I was a small-time vendor, and now I’m suddenly a grave robber and a diplomat with a zongzi. Now I’m a fugitive. Life is really exciting…

The car drove to a small county on the edge of Jinhua, and we got out and paid. Pan Zi took me to buy a few small, older-style suits to change into. I looked in the mirror and looked shabby, and then rushed to the train station. We bought tickets for the car we just jumped off, which had stopped temporarily and only just arrived at this station.

We got back on the train, this time buying a sleeper. Pan Zi looked around the compartment and visibly relaxed, saying, “The police should have gotten off at Jinhua Station. Now there are checkpoints at both ends of the highway, and they definitely won’t expect us to get back on the train.”

This was my first time being a fugitive, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands and feet. I was almost shaking with nervousness. I asked softly, “What’s going on? How did we get on the police’s radar? I didn’t do anything… Oh, no, I should say that the things I did are things that ordinary people wouldn’t find out about?”

“I don’t know either,” said Pan Zi. ”This afternoon I called our underground bank in Changsha, and when the boss heard my voice, he only said two things. One was to take you to Changsha immediately, and the third uncle had something to say. The second was that something had happened in Changsha. He told us to be careful of the police, and then hung up. This boss has been a partner of the third uncle for 30 years and is absolutely reliable. I thought about it. I’m not familiar with Hangzhou. If I stay for too long, something will happen. No matter what, I’ll go back to Changsha first.”

He saw that I was worried, and said, “As soon as I got in the car, I immediately noticed a few plainclothes officers. I contacted a friend and called a car, asking him to follow the tracks as much as possible. Just now, when we stopped temporarily, I saw that the driver was signaling us, so I knew that the opportunity had come. That’s why I dragged you down. You didn’t say a word to your driver all the way. He’s also a member of our gang. You can’t say too much in front of these people. But the fact that the cops didn’t catch us means that we have nothing to do with Changsha. It must be that someone big there got caught. We are all just small fry. You don’t need to be too scared. It has nothing to do with what you did. At most, it’s just a case of selling stolen goods.

I felt a little more comfortable after hearing this, and I was about to say thank goodness, but then he said, “Once something happens in Changsha, it will be connected in a thousand ways. Third Master will definitely be involved, and the boss won’t say anything clearly. I don’t know what the hell is going on. In fact, we have been very restrained in the past few years, and we have hardly gone directly to the field. It’s impossible to turn things around so much from the past. I really don’t understand.”

“So what are you going to do now?” I asked tentatively. I don’t want to run away from the world.

Pan Zi said, “We can’t go directly to Changsha. We’ll get off the bus after we leave Zhejiang, then take a long-distance bus to the mountains near Changsha. Master San has a few antique dealers outside, and someone will meet us there. The money lender will come over at that time.”

I nodded. At this time, the bus arrived at another stop and began to pick up passengers. Another person came into our sleeper compartment. Pan Zi gave me a wink, and I immediately changed the subject.

As we chatted, I found myself talking about Chen Pi A Si. This man was very famous in Changsha, and Pan Zi had heard of him. He said to me, “This man also has his own business in our place. I heard that after he went blind, he stopped working on his own. After the Cultural Revolution ended, he took in a few apprentices to sell antiques to foreigners. This man is very cunning. Almost all of his first apprentices have been shot, but he is still at large. There are many rumors about him. It is best to keep your distance from him.”

I thought of the appearance of Chen Pi A Si, who didn’t look like he was blind, and I found it even more strange.

Following Pan Zi’s plan, we arrived at the Fushou Mountain area near Changsha after many twists and turns. It was indeed a good place, with charming scenery along the way. Pan Zi had been active in this area for many years and was used to it. We arrived at a grocery market in the town. It was like a meeting place for underground party members in the old society. We went around in circles, and finally arrived at a shop that was obvious from the outside that there would be no business. shop. Outside the shop, they were selling old computers. Inside, after pushing open the back wall, there was a small room. Then, suddenly, it opened up into a gap between two shops, which could probably hold two people walking side by side. Now, a rain cloth had been pulled up, and inside, there were shelves on both sides, and on top were all the newly unearthed Ming Dynasty artifacts.

Several people were there picking goods. The person in charge knew Pan Zi and saw him coming. He put down what he was holding and said to Pan Zi, “Why are you only just arriving? The basic things are all ready. When are you leaving?”

“Things? What things?” Pan Zi was stunned and looked confused.

The man was also stunned for a moment: “You don’t know?”

Pan Zi looked back at me. I glared at him and thought to myself, “What are you looking at me for on your own turf?” He turned and said, “What are you preparing?”

The man said, “Third Master ordered it. Five people are equipped to do the work. Don’t you know?”