Page 69

Ju Geer got distracted right away. Though he still had a bit of a pout, he obediently let Xingxing lead him outside.

Once the two little ones left, Yu Sanbao closed the door.

"I'm not worried about Xingxing, but Ju Geer... I know how my boy is," Yu Sanbao explained to everyone. "The kid's a bit simple. Someone could easily get it out of him that we sold the pearl. So I made sure to tell him right to his face that we only got five taels. If the news accidentally leaks out later, five taels won't raise any eyebrows."

Bai Xiaofeng finally understood and nodded repeatedly, praising, "Third Brother, that's real smart thinking."

Yu Sanbao gave an approving chuckle, "Actually, it wasn't my idea. Bai Ge'er reminded me on the road."

Bai Ge'er rubbed his head, embarrassed.

"So, how much did it really sell for?" Wei Pozi asked.

Yu Sanbao held up a hand showing six fingers.

Li Chunhua hesitated, not daring to guess, "...Six taels of silver?"

Bai Xiaofeng, however, sucked in a sharp breath.

If it had only been six taels, they wouldn't have sent the two little ones out earlier.

So, it must have been...

Bai Xiaofeng didn't dare to think further, her whole body trembling.

Yu Sanbao didn't keep them in suspense. Even now, he was still exhilarated, his voice slightly shaking, "Sixty taels of silver! A full sixty taels!"

Sixty taels!

The news hit them so hard that for a moment, everyone's jaws dropped—utterly silent.

...

Ju Geer and Xingxing ran outside to play toss with sandbags.

Xingxing was having a blast when her little friend Yamei'er came out carrying a rattan ball to join her.

The rattan ball was made by Yamei'er's father a couple of days ago, and she adored it, wouldn't go anywhere without it.

Noticing Yamei'er wasn't acting like herself, Xingxing stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"

Though Yamei'er was two years older than Xingxing, she was still just a child under six. She let out a grown-up sigh, "My dad is going to get me a stepmother!"

Xingxing didn't understand what a stepmother was and cocked her head, "What's a stepmother? Is there a 'before-mother' too?"

Ju Geer chimed in, "You don't get it! The new wife Yamei'er's dad marries, Yamei'er has to call her stepmother!"

Yamei'er patted the rattan ball twice and gave a gloomy nod.

Yamei'er's mother passed away when she was less than three, so she barely remembered her.

But everyone in the village said stepmothers were bad news, claiming that with a stepmother comes a stepfather, which really scared her.

Yamei'er was an only child, usually just her and her father at home, with no one else to talk to about it.

Clutching Xingxing's hand nervously, Yamei'er was about to cry, "They say stepmothers are mean to kids—they won't give them food or clothes, and they'll hit and scold them. Waaah, Xingxing, I'm so scared."

Hearing this, Xingxing got scared too.

"Waaah, this is so scary!"

The two little girls clung to each other, shaking with fear.

Ju Geer piped up curiously, "Have you seen your stepmother?"

Yamei'er shook her head but suddenly thought of something and exclaimed excitedly, "I know where she lives! My dad pointed it out to me. Let's go check it out right now!"

Chapter 55: Three Little Lost Sprouts

Now that was a good idea.

Xingxing volunteered, "I'll come with you!"

Yamei'er excitedly hugged Xingxing again, squealing in her tiny voice, "Xingxing, you’re my best friend!"

The girls made up their minds in no time, and Ju Geer, never one to miss out on adventure, insisted on coming along—after all, he had been upset when his brothers didn’t take him out to play earlier!

And so, the three little sprouts made up their minds and began to set off in the direction Yamei'er pointed.

Yamei'er confidently led the way, and the three little sprouts marched ahead just as sure.

But after walking for what seemed like ages, the familiar scenery of Nantuo Village was long gone.

They still hadn’t arrived.

Ju Geer’s stomach even started growling.

He was getting antsy. "You sure we're going the right way?"

"How could I?" Yamei'er said confidently, though she swallowed hard.

Xingxing peered around nervously before asking, "Yaya, are you sure you remembered correctly?"

Under Xingxing’s earnest gaze, Yamei'er mumbled with a guilty pout, her eyes darting around. "I... I think I remembered right..."

Ju Geer shouted, "Then where the heck are we?!"

The three little sprouts exchanged glances; it finally dawned on them.

They... were totally lost.

"Wahhh, are we stuck here forever?" Yamei'er pouted, on the verge of tears.

She remembered clearly—her dad had pointed in this direction and said her new stepmom lived in a red-roofed house up the mountain.

But she had walked for so long and hadn’t seen any red-roofed house!

Why would Daddy lie?

Wahhh.

Yamei'er felt utterly betrayed.

As she wiped her eyes, about to cry, Xingxing panicked and quickly reassured her, "Yaya, don’t be scared! Our Ju Geer is super strong—he’ll definitely get us out!"

Ju Geer was actually quite scared too, but hearing Xingxing’s words gave him a sudden burst of courage. He puffed out his chest.

"That’s right, that’s right!"

Ju Geer declared loudly, "I made it all the way home from town alone once! Would've made it too, if I hadn't slipped down a hillside... Anyway, I’m really strong! Just follow me!"

Trusting his spotty memory of the way they had come, Ju Geer started leading Xingxing and Yamei'er back.

After twisting and turning through the woods, the children actually managed to find their way out of the dense wild woods—and there it was—a village!