Chapter 210

Liu Dahui was naturally not a stupid man.

He pulled Zhou Shanshan aside and whispered: "Shanshan, Qiao Ge only said that for your own good. You shouldn't have mentioned Zhang Qiaozhi in front of Zhang Lixue in the first place. The more you talk like that, the more chaotic things get. Besides, Zhang Lixue wouldn't dare do anything to me; he was just venting."

Lu Qiaoge glanced at the two of them; they were truly a match.

The atmosphere at this moment was somewhat strange.

Looking at everyone's expressions, nothing had changed, yet it just felt wrong.

Zhou Shanshan knew when to stop and said reluctantly to Lu Qiaoge: "Thank you, Qiao Ge."

But inside, she was cursing non-stop.

What's so great about her? She knows this person, she knows that person, she even knows Hong Kong businessmen, and she's even setting up an instant noodle production line. Come to think of it, isn't it all because she's dating Qin Hengzhi that she got these benefits?

Otherwise, who would even know who Lu Qiaoge is?

It's nothing more than a dog relying on its master's power!

Lu Qiaoge knew she was cursing her in her heart the moment she saw her expression.

Lu Qiaoge curled her lips, smiled silently, and then said slowly: "You're welcome!"

Although such an interlude had occurred, it didn't affect everyone's mood.

Chen Feng continued fishing.

He sat on the bank where the water was deeper, waiting for the fish to bite.

Zhou Shanshan squatted down to continue peeling potatoes, with Liu Dahui beside her, speaking to her in a soft voice.

The next second, Wang Zhiguo kicked Liu Dahui: "Go clean the pheasants and rabbits. Clean them all; salt whatever we can't eat."

Liu Dahui went to the riverside to clean the pheasants and rabbits.

Li Xiuying said to Zhou Shanshan again: "Stop peeling potatoes. Let Qiao Ge do it; you go help your Liu Dahui clean the rabbits."

If she kept peeling, the potatoes would be gone; these were the ones she had bought at the non-staple food store yesterday.

Li Xiuying shouted over there: "One of you go into the forest and see if there are any mushrooms to pick."

She was referring to the birch forest.

Lu Qiaoge said: "I'll go; I know mushrooms."

She was just thinking of going into the forest to see that spotted squirrel and also wanted to see which big tree had things buried under it.

Logically speaking, such a mountain forest shouldn't have things buried in it, unless...

Lu Qiaoge wasn't very happy.

But knowing it, she couldn't pretend not to.

She turned to Qin Hengzhi and said: "You go catch some small fish for Hua Hua; the net is in the trunk."

Qin Hengzhi, who had originally wanted to follow, stopped in his tracks and glanced at the birch forest. Wang Zhiguo had wanted to come here earlier, but he hadn't let him in, and only then had they crossed the river to the other side.

He smiled and nodded, obediently going to get the net and the iron bucket before heading to the river.

Zhou Shanshan's gaze always fell on Qin Hengzhi and Lu Qiaoge, whether intentionally or not.

Seeing such an obedient Qin Hengzhi at this moment, she widened her eyes in surprise.

The cold and indifferent Qin Hengzhi had this side to him?

She gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and then looked at the pheasants and rabbits with disdain, saying: "Brother Hui, I don't know how to clean them either. Why don't I go pick mushrooms too?"

Liu Dahui thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "That's fine. You go keep Qiao Ge company, and it's a good chance for you two to ease your relationship. Shanshan, you're older than Qiao Ge; you need to act like an older sister, just like Sister-in-law Xiuying and Dong Xiangqin..."

Zhou Shanshan stood up, nodded perfunctorily, glanced at the tall and straight Qin Hengzhi not far away, withdrew her gaze sadly, and chased after Lu Qiaoge, saying: "Qiao Ge, wait for me, I'll pick mushrooms with you."

Lu Qiaoge stood still and said bluntly: "Sister Zhou, it's really inconvenient to go into the forest wearing a dress. What if you run into snakes or insects?"

She then added: "Of course, if you're not afraid, come along."

Dong Xiangqin also said helplessly: "Who goes into the forest wearing a dress? Don't go."

She then shouted to Lu Qiaoge: "Just pick some on the edge; if there are some, fine, if not, forget it. I'm already tired of eating that stuff."

That was true; living in the North District of Jiangcheng, not far from Yuanbao Mountain, they really weren't lacking in mountain delicacies.

Especially since mushrooms and wood ear were worthless now; because they were too vegetarian, what people liked most was still pork.

Zhou Shanshan had to stop her steps. Although she had changed into ugly rubber shoes, she hadn't brought any pants, and going into the mountain forest wearing a dress...

She turned around and went back to the river.

Lu Qiaoge didn't bother with Zhou Shanshan anymore and walked into the birch forest.

The trunks of the birch trees were snow-white, while the leaves at the tips were bright green, like oil-soaked jade, blocking the scorching sun in layers and leaking light spots through the gaps.

Those light spots were also alive, jumping around with the wind, sometimes climbing onto the tips of fern leaves, sometimes rolling onto last year's dead branches.

The forest was filled with the unique fragrance of grass and trees, and the wind blowing through seemed even cooler than by the river.

A strange voice came through: 【Oh my, she's your little fairy. Can she really understand what we're saying?】

Lu Qiaoge had already walked close by.

This was a large birch tree. The bark at the bottom had turned grayish-white, and a section in the middle was missing, revealing the brownish-red trunk, just like the others nearby; it had clearly been peeled off for kindling.

And a circle of little things was squatting on the tall trunk.

One of them, a stranger, was a squirrel, nervously holding its two little paws, squatting on a branch, shaking its fluffy big tail. Its forehead actually had plum blossom spots, making it look very spirited and cute.

Lu Qiaoge smiled: "Yes, I can understand what you're saying. Hello, little squirrel!"

The squirrel over there let out a scream in fright and was then covered by Hua Hua's mouth.

Hua Hua said: 【Hurry up and tell my little master what good things are buried under this big tree.】

Lu Qiaoge sensed around; besides the little squirrel, there were no other special sounds, including by the river.

It seemed that little things with intelligence were very good at avoiding humans.

This one hadn't left, so its den must be nearby.

Thus, Lu Qiaoge learned what was buried under the tree.

It turned out to be five full boxes of gold. What Lu Qiaoge hadn't expected was that there was an old gold mine upstream of the stream. At the time, it had been occupied by the Japanese, who hadn't used locals but their own soldiers and subordinates to mine the gold, similar in nature to our current gold troops.

There was also a stronghold of theirs in the city of Jiangcheng, a very beautiful little Western-style building.

At the time, it was managed by a Japanese couple.

It was said that they both came from some big Japanese family, the kind with a lot of influence.

They had gold mines further north, all obtained by bribing big shots at the time.

Later, they didn't need to give benefits because they simply occupied them directly.

Later still, they were defeated, and when they fled, they naturally wanted to transport this gold away.

They had indeed transported most of it, but what they couldn't transport in time, they had been forced to bury under this big tree.

At the time, this place belonged to the Great Northern Wilderness, and it was truly uninhabited.

Lu Qiaoge guessed that the gold, silver, and jewelry at the bottom of Red Star Lake should all be from the same batch and the same group of forces.

Because Red Star Lake had a wharf at the time, which could reach Songhe City, and from there, one could change routes to reach Donghai City directly.

If their descendants were alive, they might come here to hunt for treasure once things opened up.

And the reason this five-year-old squirrel knew was that it had been passed down by word of mouth among their branch of intelligent squirrels.

Lu Qiaoge had a bottom line in her heart. She touched the little squirrel and praised it for its good memory, remembering so many things and such complex ones.

As for the rest, Lu Qiaoge didn't give any instructions.

Because she was prepared to dig it out in the next few days!