This matter had to start from when Wang Yaozhong began recruiting people.
After Wang Ying returned from the commune, Wang Yaozhong put in a lot of effort and only managed to pull in three young men. Although a few of the other young guys usually tagged along in petty thefts, when it came to something as murky and risky as this, none of them dared to agree.
In the end, only Wang Yaozhong and the three others were blinded by the promise of money.
Wang Yaozhong would earn one yuan for every person he brought in, and the other three were promised two yuan each by him.
Two yuan per person might not sound like much, but for a single night of lifting and carrying, it was far better than breaking your back in the fields for an entire month — and even then, you might not earn two yuan.
Wang Yaozhong was still bitter that the other guys didn’t “have his back.” After all those days hanging out together, when it came down to business, they wouldn’t agree — a bunch of ungrateful cowards, in his eyes.
Wang Yaozhong took the three he’d recruited to see the man he’d recently met.
“Brother Dao, these are my brothers.”
Wang Yaozhong acted like a big shot. Having been mixing around outside for a while, he’d picked up the bad habit of smoking. He couldn’t afford boxed cigarettes, and he thought smoking a pipe looked too old-fashioned, so he rolled cigarette paper himself with tobacco leaves.
When he brought the others over, he was puffing on his homemade cigarette like a boss, as if these guys were his subordinates.
The man known as Brother Dao didn’t look pleased: “Weren’t there supposed to be four people? Whatever, just come with me, don’t let anyone see you.”
One of the young men following Wang Yaozhong asked smartly, “Brother Dao, where are we going? Second brigade? Or the eighth?”
These two brigades were closer to the commune and relatively better off. Previously, Wang Yaozhong and his crew had frequently gone to those areas to steal chickens and dogs.
Brother Dao squinted at them, realizing these greenhorns were still suspicious — unless they knew where they were going, they might not be willing to follow.
That’s when Wang Yaozhong spoke up.
“Why are you asking so much? Would Brother Dao cheat us? We’re all brothers here — Brother Dao won’t shortchange anyone.”
In the eyes of the others, all this so-called trust added up to one thing:
They’d never seen someone this dumb before.
But to be fair, Wang Yaozhong wasn’t completely stupid — he just liked to jump to conclusions. Like the pair who had scammed him out of 80 yuan earlier: they’d worn nice clothes, eaten well, and even helped him a few times in the cafeteria. It didn’t take long for him to trust them completely.
This time was no different. Brother Dao had treated him to a few meals and subtly showed off his financial means.
And just like that, Wang Yaozhong believed in him wholeheartedly.
The guys who came along exchanged glances, all getting second thoughts.
They wanted money, sure — but they weren’t idiots. One big reason they’d tagged along was to figure out just how Wang Yaozhong planned to earn two yuan overnight.
Once they figured it out, they could maybe do it themselves.
Sensing hesitation, Brother Dao said calmly, “Tomb raiding. You know what that is?”
Lowering his voice, he spoke with a mysterious, enticing tone: “This commune has great feng shui. I’ve heard there are a lot of old tombs in the hills — former landlords and rich folks from the old society, maybe even officials. A contact of mine says they’ve recently located a small tomb. He asked me to find some people to help collect what’s left. You in or out?”
Brother Dao added, “You won’t just get money. If there are any small trinkets, you can each keep one.”
Those words made everyone, not just Wang Yaozhong, hold their breath.
All of them had grown up in the same commune. These young guys naturally knew there was some truth to what Brother Dao said. The Victory Commune was in a geographically advantageous area and had long been considered rich in feng shui.
So, during the height of the “Four Olds” campaign a few years back, this commune was one of the rowdiest — loads of old relics were destroyed.
But that didn’t mean people had lost interest in those things. On the contrary, the more that got smashed, the more valuable what remained became.
The young men were so excited their palms were sweating.
They’d heard stories from their elders about tomb raiders decades ago, during the war-torn years. It was said that pros had come to scour the hills.
The things they dug up — porcelain, jade — were worth a fortune. Even small items could fetch tens of yuan. Nowadays, it was harder to sell, sure, but there were still underground buyers. If nothing else, you could keep it as a family heirloom — maybe it’d even bring good fortune.
Wang Yaozhong, in particular, was already imagining how he’d spend his loot.
He’d build a house for his family with fire bricks — a two-story one — to put Wang Ying’s place to shame.
Then he’d march into the city in style and marry a city girl…
Wang Yaozhong was so caught up in his daydreams that he practically floated.
Then Brother Dao gave the command: “We move tonight. Meet at the foot of the mountain. If we get big pieces, you guys will have to help carry them.”
Wang Yaozhong nodded eagerly. “No problem, Brother Dao. You can count on me!”
That night, the group gathered near the commune. A few older, unfamiliar men joined them as well.
Brother Dao didn’t introduce them to Wang Yaozhong. Instead, he lowered his voice and told them to follow closely.
In the dark, they climbed the hill. After a short walk, they reached the site. The older men — clearly professionals — descended into the tomb. Not long after, a signal was given from below.
Brother Dao was ecstatic: “We’ve got something!”
The men below began passing things up steadily. Surprisingly, everything was large funerary items — the smallest being a bronze horse.
Wang Yaozhong and the others craned their necks to watch but never saw any small valuables.
Eventually, the raiders climbed back up and declared the tomb emptied. Apparently, previous grave robbers had already cleaned it out, leaving behind only bulky ceremonial items.
Brother Dao, without missing a beat, began divvying up the loot right then and there.
“One for each of you, not a piece left behind”—they split everything cleanly, without even mentioning giving anything to Wang Yaozong and his group.
In fact, after they finished dividing things up, Dao-ge even instructed Wang Yaozong’s group to help carry the items down the mountain.
Wang Yaozong protested, “Dao-ge, what about ours? What about our share?”
He knew there weren’t any small items this time, but he thought at the very least they’d be given that bronze horse.
But Dao-ge and his crew didn’t see it that way.
One man sneered, “A bunch of young punks—got the nerve to ask? Every single piece here is worth more than all of you tied together.”
That comment lit a fire in Wang Yaozong. He had trusted Dao-ge, believing he was capable and reliable.
But now? He no longer felt that way.
Why should everyone else get something, and not them?
What, were they looked down on?
The three others who came with Wang Yaozong felt the same. Anyone would be furious after seeing so many treasures and not getting a single thing.
They stood off to the side, clearly not willing to let the matter drop unless Dao-ge gave a proper explanation.
Wang Yaozong and the others were young, tall, and strong. While they were outnumbered by Dao-ge’s middle-aged and older crew, they weren’t exactly pushovers either.
Dao-ge’s expression turned stern. “Wang Yaozong, what’s your deal? I told you—if there were small items, you’d get a share. But you saw what came out today—what part of that looks small to you? Enough already, get those things down the mountain. Next time, I promise you’ll get your cut.”
Before this trip, an experienced graverobber had told Dao-ge that this tomb was old and he’d likely need help moving heavy items. So Dao-ge said they’d get small trinkets just to lure people in.
Now these young punks had the audacity to demand a share?
On what grounds?
They hadn’t helped with locating the tomb or entering the burial chamber. All they did was carry things—why should they get a cut?
But Wang Yaozong didn’t see it that way. He’d already been blinded by the sight of the antiques.
The more Dao-ge spoke, the less he could take it.
A few hours ago, he was thrilled at the idea of earning a few bucks. Now, faced with missing out on a literal mountain of treasure, those few bucks seemed like nothing.
Wang Yaozong’s eyes were red with desperation. “I don’t care! You must give us that bronze horse!”
“No way in hell!”
Dao-ge snapped back, “Kid, you want in on this line of work? Keep dreaming.”
He’d already looked down on Wang Yaozong from the start, and now even more so.
Who did this kid think he was?
Wang Yaozong was fully consumed—his mind was spinning with images of bronze relics and porcelain.
Fueled by greed, he rallied the others to try and seize the items. Dao-ge never expected Wang Yaozong to be so unhinged.
And just like that, the two sides started fighting.
It was a quiet night, and the hill wasn’t very tall.
Villagers quickly heard the commotion and brought others from the commune to the scene, capturing everyone involved.
What came next brings us to the present…
The Revolutionary Committee immediately treated the matter as a serious, high-level case.
Even the Public Security Bureau got involved.
They had to—some of the men with Dao-ge didn’t even have introduction letters. Who knew what kind of criminals they might be?
Now in custody, Dao-ge was seething with rage.
He never imagined everything would fall apart because of Wang Yaozong.
Gritting his teeth, he spat out a mouthful of blood, silently vowing that if he survived this, he’d make Wang Yaozong pay.
As for Wang Yaozong, he was already scared out of his mind.
Unlike the others, he always charged in headfirst—and then crumbled afterward.
The moment he saw the Revolutionary Committee, he spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube.
The Committee, seeing this, thought: “Ah, an old acquaintance, aren’t you?”
No need to interrogate anyone else—Wang Yaozong had already laid out the whole situation clearly.
But both the Committee and the police suspected this wasn’t Wang Yaozong’s first time doing something like this. If not, could he have hidden some items at home?
So they decided to investigate Wang Yongshun and Li Chunjuan, his parents.
When they opened the door, both nearly collapsed to the floor.
Wang Yongshun trembled as he asked, “Comrades, what did you say? What did Yaozong do? You must be mistaken. How could Yaozong commit robbery or theft?”
Li Chunjuan also nervously chimed in, “Yes! The worst he’s done is steal a chicken to eat. He wouldn’t get involved in something this serious.”
The Committee didn’t waste words. They bluntly explained that Wang Yaozong had been caught tomb-robbing and had tried to steal during a dispute.
“We need to search the house.”
To see whether Wang Yaozong had hidden anything.
A group of officials streamed in and immediately began searching.
Wang Ying, who had planned to go out, stayed home after hearing the commotion next door, standing at her doorway to watch.
Wang Yongshun was drenched in sweat, nearly falling to his knees. “Comrade, comrade, if he did wrong, we’ll admit it. But Yaozong really didn’t bring anything home! This was his first time, I swear—you have to believe me!”
Li Chunjuan sobbed as she pleaded.
The lead official said coldly, “We’ll know whether he did or didn’t once we finish searching.”
In the end, they found that Wang Yaozong really hadn’t brought anything back home—except for a few inappropriate books.
But in Wang Yongshun’s room, they found something unusual.
First was a small hand-held jade object, clearly old and elegant.
Wang Yongshun was so terrified he could barely stand. “Comrade, comrade, I found that on the back hill! You have to believe me! I really didn’t know what it was! I just thought it looked nice, so I kept it!”
The official sneered, “Do you take me for a fool? This thing’s clearly been handled a lot—you can tell by the wear pattern. If you really thought it was worthless, why’d you hide it under your pillow and hold it every night to sleep?”
Wang Yongshun cried out his innocence repeatedly: “I really didn’t know! I just thought it was a trinket! How would I know this thing is worth anything?”
The man set down the hand-piece and picked up a gold bracelet: “Then what about this? Last time you were complaining your son didn’t have any money. Where did this gold bracelet come from?”
This smooth, heavy bracelet looked like it could fetch several hundred yuan if sold for scrap.
It was clear that Wang Yongshun cared a lot about his son, Wang Yaozong. And yet, he clutched this valuable bracelet and never traded it for money. Why?
Even though the Four Olds campaign was in full swing, gold wasn’t entirely banned—officially sourced gold jewelry was still being recycled by the state.
This bracelet, unlike the hand-piece, didn’t need to be explained away. There was no reason to pretend he didn’t know its value.
So why didn’t he trade it in?
Li Chunjuan looked at Wang Yongshun in disbelief. She had never imagined that while she was breaking her back worrying about their son—sleepless, frugal to the bone—this man was hiding treasures like this under their very bed!
Even if he had sold just one of them, the family wouldn’t be in such dire straits.
They could have easily bought a job for Yaozong in the city long ago, and moved there as a family!
The members of the Revolutionary Committee were well-versed in the ways of deceit, and were determined to get to the bottom of this.
“Are you going to explain things now, or do we need to bring you in for questioning?”
The hand-piece could be traced later, but the gold bracelet—they had to find out why Wang Yongshun never dared to sell it.
At worst, it could be unaccounted-for valuable property. At worst, it might suggest involvement in illegal dealings.
Wang Yongshun understood what they were thinking and went pale with fear.
“I didn’t! Comrade, please believe me! I’ve never even left the county in my life, you have to believe me!”
He kept shouting his innocence.
Li Chunjuan let out a shriek and lunged at him, beating him with her fists: “You bastard! All you care about is yourself! Our son has nothing to eat or drink in there, and all you care about is yourself!”
Li Chunjuan was filled with grief and fury. Nothing could have hit her harder.
Her beloved son could’ve had a proper life in the city. If only they’d had the money, they could’ve bought him a job as a factory worker, and they wouldn’t have had to resort to stealing chickens in winter. None of this should have happened.
And all of it—all of it—was because of Wang Yongshun. He had first hidden the family’s money, then stashed away valuable items, and in the end dragged her son down with him!
Li Chunjuan could have torn Wang Yongshun apart with her bare hands.
Seeing the couple turning on each other, the Revolutionary Committee members exchanged a glance.
“Take them in separately.”
