Chapter 41 (1/2)

Chapter 41 – A Quarrel

Tang Can smiled brightly and his eyes curved up. He yelled in the distance to Shen Yu. The young woman acknowledged him and started to walk over.

“You little brat! You sure move fast! Last month there was no word about any of this!” The other officer laughed and patted Tang Can a couple times on the shoulder. He observed Shen Yu from head to toe as she came up to them and then complimented Tang Can on his good taste.

Before Shen Yu could voice her confusion, the other officer said he had other affairs to attend to and left.

“What did you guys say about me earlier?” asked Shen Yu, frowning. The expression in the other man’s eyes was odd when they had briefly met.

Tang Can chuckled. “We didn’t say much! I came over here to find you for something!”

Shen Yu looked at him suspiciously. Since he had no desire to tell her to truth, she knew it wasn’t worth her time to investigate more. So, she shelved her questions.

“What did you need me for?”

A smile briefly crossed his face. Unlike his other smiles, this one seemed unnaturally forced. “You should get some rest earlier tonight. We’re headed out bright and early tomorrow!” Apparently, they were all headed to Lop Nor, a famed salt lake in the province of Xinjiang.

She later found out that, as expected, Grandpa Tang was a force to be reckoned with. Previously, Old Mr. Yun used all types of excuses to avoid working with them. Now that the fiery old geezer was here, he immediately sent out a division of the army’s Special Forces to “ask” the other old geezer to help them. Naturally, all of the soldiers in the Special Forces brought their submachine guns along to complete this task. Apparently the gold miners were so frightened at the sight of these men that they almost peed their pants! Old Mr. Yun was of a different caliber. He had seen similar sights previously. However, under these circumstances, he knew it was better to relent than to refuse. The two old men had known each other for almost a lifetime, so they understood the ins and outs of their individual personalities.

Usually Old Mr. Tang would not go out of his way to embarrass Old Mr. Yun, but when he really wanted something, he could get testy. Old Mr. Yun obviously knew how far he could push. If he tried to be recalcitrant now, he might as well go grab a cup of tea with King Yama in the afterlife.

Tang Can didn’t try to conceal any of his knowledge regarding Old Mr. Yun’s affairs from Shen Yu. In fact, she learned that the old geezer actually had half of a treasure map. The map was believed to lead to a fabled gold mine. Apparently, it was made by a researcher who went on an expedition to Lop Nor and ended up tragically dying.

Old Mr. Tang wanted to look at that half of the map. However, Old Mr. Yun adamantly refused to hand his portion over. He stated that he was willing to bring people along with him but he would never allow anyone to look at it!

Tang Can’s grandfather flipped out when Old Mr. Yun voiced his refusal. He even took out a gun and pointed it at the other old man. He called Old Mr. Yun a senile old fool and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t comply with his wishes.

But Old Mr. Yun merely guffawed and stroked his scruffy long beard. In reply, he said, “Hey old fella, if you shoot me and I die, who will regret it more? Will you be able to die peacefully, with your eyes closed, later on?”

Old Mr. Tang almost blew a blood vessel after being provoked by Old Mr. Yun. His hands had trembled, and he almost couldn’t hold the rifle upright. When his grandson saw his shaking hands, he immediately went over and took the gun from him. If Old Mr. Tang really accidentally shot Old Mr. Yun, they would have lost more than they gained.

“You f*cking son of a bitch! You piece of shit…” screamed Old Mr. Tang as he stomped around the room in anger.

Old Mr. Yun didn’t respond. He continued to slowly sip at his tea and stayed calm. He had the upper hand in this situation!

These two had to be a couple of old frenemies. Shen Yu thought wryly after she heard Tang Can’s story.

Tang Can didn’t explain their history together in complete detail. In summary, the two men had been friends but then they had a falling out. Apparently, both of them had been soldiers many years ago and developed their original friendship then. They had been closer than blood brothers and were willing to die for each other. Unfortunately, during the Cultural Revolution, Old Mr. Tang had betrayed Old Mr. Yun in some matter. Old Mr. Yun had been locked up by the authorities during that dark time. After the calamity finally ended, Old Mr. Yun’s and Old Mr. Tang’s relationship was never the same.

Tang Can’s grandfather had felt guilt over that entire incident. Because of that, he kept silent over the gold mine map for many years. But his patience had its limits. He wanted to find that long lost gold mine for the country; it would become a national treasure! So now he had to treat Old Mr. Yun with less respect.

The truth was this whole situation was not just Old Mr. Tang throwing his weight around, forcing Old Mr. Yun to follow his wishes. It was more complicated than that, at least, that’s what Tang Can’s grandfather claimed. In fact, Old Mr. Yun was the one who originally reached out by sending a letter to Old Mr. Tang. The letter had said that Old Mr. Yun wanted to help Old Mr. Tang finally resolve his life’s regret. However, when push came to shove, the wily old geezer changed his mind! If Old Mr. Tang didn’t teach Old Mr. Yun a lesson, who would?