The friend who was speaking is my senior. I’m not very familiar with him; we just happen to hang out often with this group of people, and we get along well. Our relationship is more like a gentlemanly friendship, where we help each other out when needed, rather than being the kind of friends who stick together all the time. I approached him for help because he seems to work in a technical field. Of course, as someone dealing with antiques, I have no intersection with his work, and I’m not clear on what exactly he does.

At that moment, he spoke a truth that awakened me. Upon hearing the theory about “eleven people,” I was immediately drenched in cold sweat, my face turning pale.

Yes, how the hell did I not think of that?

In that era, there were no digital cameras, and in the fishing villages of Hainan, there definitely wouldn’t have been any photo studios. The only people who could use cameras should have been members of the archaeological team. After just a bit of thought, I realized he was making a lot of sense. I’ve seen many archaeological materials from the Xisha Islands, and they all include photographs. In general, in such situations, there are usually people responsible for documentation accompanying the team.

But why, in my uncle’s narrative, did he always mention only ten people and never referred to this eleventh person? Was it that the person responsible for documentation didn’t go out to sea with them, or was my uncle hiding something?

Seeing my expression, those few people burst into laughter. One of them said, “Forget it, don’t think about it too much. How many people were there? Just check with their old unit, and you’ll know. Archaeological research institutes are generally part of the cultural system. We should be able to find out which institute sent them out at that time; their records should still exist. Many of our country’s archives are permanently preserved.”

I didn’t say anything. After all, this was just a speculation. If I had time, I could indeed look into it. But if it turns out to be eleven people, how would I face my uncle’s explanation? Would I have to completely overturn his account? That kind of pain would be too much to bear. Thinking of this, I decided not to investigate after all.