Chapter 172: Stashing the Money

Chapter 172: Stashing the Money

"A Ye, just how much money is on this table?" Lin Shu asked, her voice brimming with delight.

It turned out that earning money for one's own family felt truly different. When she first arrived at Sweetwater Village, the guard Shi Qing from the Marquis’s estate had given the family one hundred taels of silver. At the time, the gleaming silver hadn't stirred any particular emotion in her. But now, gazing at the pile of money covering the table—be it the silver ingots or the copper coins with their distinct metallic scent—she found it all utterly charming.

This was money A Ye had earned. Roughly speaking, it was money their family had earned.

Zhou Ye’s smile lingered, and he was clearly pleased. Hearing her question, he replied, "There are seventeen silver ingots: nine ten-tael pieces and eight five-tael pieces. The loose silver adds up to about seven or eight taels. There are also fifty strings of copper coins and eight or nine hundred individual copper coins."

He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu were dumbfounded, their minds struggling to process the numbers. They only knew one thing: money, lots and lots of money—it was all money!

After a quick mental calculation, Lin Shu exclaimed in surprise, "If we convert it all to silver, this trip brought in nearly two hundred taels! If we count it all as copper coins, that’s two hundred strings!"

He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu: ???!!!

How much?

How much?!

Lin Shu, however, remained much calmer and even thought to verify the count. "A Ye, I don’t see that many silver ingots."

Zhou Ye pushed aside the copper coins and pulled out an ochre-colored money pouch from the pile. The pouch had gotten tangled with one of the strings of copper coins, and its color blended in so well that the others hadn’t noticed it.

The pouch was stuffed full, with little space left between the silver ingots inside. It seemed that because the ingots were of varying sizes, the gaps had been completely filled.

Sure enough, when Zhou Ye emptied the pouch, a pile of gleaming silver ingots tumbled out. Among them were six large ten-tael ingots, six smaller five-tael ones, and some loose silver mixed in.

"This pouch was just a random buy from a street stall. I originally wanted to put all the silver ingots in it, but there were too many to fit, so some had to be left outside," Zhou Ye explained.

The small pile of silver ingots stood out dramatically against the large heap of copper coins, looking especially appealing.

He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu, mother and daughter, stared wide-eyed, both wearing identical expressions of astonishment.

They had never seen so many silver ingots before—they rarely even saw whole ingots! And this was silver!

He Guixiang gulped: Had their family struck it rich?

But no, this money wasn’t theirs, nor was it an unexpected windfall.

This was money A Ye had earned by risking his life to hunt a black bear deep in the mountains. This money would belong to A Ye and A Shu as a couple in the future. She and Lin Dashan couldn’t touch it!

Thinking of Lin Dashan’s tendency to show off when life got comfortable, He Guixiang glanced at the sky outside and urged, "It’s getting late. You should put this money away safely."

Zhou Ye understood her concern but took his time, his gaze fixed on Lin Shu.

He loved seeing the sparkle in A Shu’s eyes. If A Shu enjoyed looking, he’d let her look a while longer.

Lin Shu didn’t just look—she reached out to touch, picking up the silver ingots with both hands, admiring them for a moment before pouring them back into the copper coin pile like water. Then she grabbed a handful of copper coins, letting them trickle through her fingers, listening to the clinking sound as they fell.

After playing with the money for a bit, she said reluctantly, "We shouldn't flaunt our wealth. Let’s hide this money quickly!"

Everyone pitched in, and the large table of copper coins and silver ingots was soon put away. However, the question of where to store the money became a problem.

Lin Shu smiled and said, "The money belongs to A Ye. Let him figure it out."

Zhou Ye handed the bulging pouch of silver ingots to Lin Shu. "A Shu, this doesn’t take up much space. You keep it. Buy whatever you want."

"Alright, I’ll keep it then," Lin Shu said with a smile.

Next, Zhou Ye gave the fifty strings of copper coins to He Guixiang. "Auntie, this is the betrothal gift. Please accept it today. I’m not good with words, but after I marry A Shu, you and Uncle will be like my own parents. A Shu and I will look after you together. I’ll treat A Shu well too—I’ll never let her go hungry or overwork."

Lin Xiaopu grinned from the side. Brother A Ye was being too modest. If this was "not good with words," then what was? Couldn’t he see how happy her mother was, her crow's feet showing, or how pleased her sister looked, her face flushed with shyness?

"Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony with you. This money belongs to you two as a couple. I’ll keep it safe for you for now. If you need it later, just ask me!" He Guixiang agreed readily, quickly gathering the copper coins and carrying them into the inner room. It took her three trips to move all fifty strings. She stored the copper coins securely.

Lin Shu, meanwhile, hid the pouch of silver in the clothes chest she shared with Xiao Pu, burying it at the bottom under layers of clothes.

For now, there wasn’t a good place to hide the money. She’d think about it later and find a better spot.

Zhou Ye kept busy too. He collected the loose copper coins from the table into an empty clay pot. After storing the coins, he buried the few silver ingots among them. His inner room had nothing but a bed and a few changes of clothes—no good hiding spots. So he casually shoved the pot under the bed, alongside a few broken jars.

Zhou Ye didn’t hide his actions from the others. Lin Xiaopu watched and gasped, "Ah? Brother A Ye, you’re just putting it under the bed like that? Aren’t you going to hide it better?"

Lin Shu also thought he was being careless. Although the villagers of Sweetwater Village seemed honest—with few petty thieves—there was always a risk of outsiders with bad intentions. It was better to be cautious.

Right now, only the villagers knew A Ye had hunted a black bear, but soon outsiders would find out too. If they learned where the family lived, it wasn’t impossible for someone to break in.

Ultimately, their humble home was too simple—there was no good place to hide money. She suspected her mother’s hiding spot wasn’t very secure either.

But—

There was still a good hiding spot.

Lin Shu’s eyes lit up as she smiled and said, "Even though we live in a thatched cottage, we have roof beams. We could carve a small hollow in one of the beams and hide the silver there. No thief would ever find it. Or we could just hide the silver in a hidden spot on the beam."

Zhou Ye pondered this. It was indeed a good idea, but carving a hole in the beam had to be done carefully. If it weakened the beam, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Alternatively, they could add an extra, non-essential beam to the roof? Hollow it out in the middle, and they could hide a fair amount of silver inside.

Zhou Ye thought it over and found the idea increasingly feasible, though he didn’t say much for now.

After everyone had hidden their share of the money, they had only chatted for a short while when Lin Dashan’s voice echoed from the courtyard.

He Guixiang exchanged glances with the others and said to Zhou Ye, "Your uncle usually doesn’t ask about these things, but this time is different. He’ll probably ask. When he does, let me do the talking."

Because they had been secretly counting the money, dinner was delayed. When Zhou Ye returned earlier, He Guixiang had been mixing batter to make pancakes but hadn’t started cooking yet before she followed him inside to see the money.

By now, the fire in the stove had gone out. She rekindled it and hurriedly began making the pancakes.

Usually, dinner was ready when Lin Dashan returned home. Today, he had to wait, which surprised him, and he couldn’t help muttering a few complaints.

He Guixiang said, "There’s porridge in the clay pot. Have a bowl to tide you over."

As soon as she said it, she felt emotional.

There had been times in the past when dinner was just porridge with pickles. Now, having porridge alone was considered "tiding over." Life had indeed improved greatly.

Thinking of the money hidden in the chest, He Guixiang felt endlessly energized. That money was enough to buy a large house in town, or even a shop in a good location! But their family was used to living off the land, and life in town might not be as comfortable as in the village. She could tell A Shu felt the same way.

Lin Shu had already gone to the kitchen and brought out a stack of empty bowls. Thoughtfully, she served Lin Dashan a bowl of porridge first, scooping from the bottom to get the thicker part. "Dad, you’ve been working in the fields all day. You must be exhausted. Have some porridge."

Lin Dashan grinned and took the bowl. "My daughter is so thoughtful."

After eating several big mouthfuls of porridge and having something in his stomach, he finally asked, "Wife, why is supper so late today?"

He Guixiang explained, "A Ye just got back from the county, so I ended up chatting with him for a bit longer and lost track of the hour."

Lin Dashan was startled upon hearing this.

He had seen A Ye, of course, but he knew A Ye usually returned quickly from selling goods in the town and assumed A Ye had come back from the town long ago.

Who knew A Ye hadn't gone to the town but to the county instead?!

At that moment, Zhou Ye took the bowl and ladle from Lin Shu's hands and started serving the porridge. He first served Lin Shu a bowl of the watery porridge she liked, then served himself and the others. Noticing Lin Dashan's surprised gaze, he said, "Uncle, I went to the county and just got back and put my things away."

"How come you went to the county? Was the black bear hard to sell in the town?" Lin Dashan asked curiously.

Zhou Ye explained briefly, "It could have been sold in the town, but the county offered a better price and more money."

Hearing this, Lin Dashan grew excited. "So how much did you get for that black bear?"

Before Zhou Ye could answer, He Guixiang laughed and said, "Why don't you take a guess first?"

Seeing how delighted his wife looked, Lin Dashan guessed it must be a considerable sum and exclaimed excitedly, "Did you get thirty strings of coins?!"

After all, it was a black bear—thirty strings of coins seemed about right; any less would've been a loss.

Earlier that day, so many villagers had come to see the black bear, many of them envious, praising and flattering him. Lin Dashan grinned, his face wrinkled with smiles. A Ye was his son-in-law, and A Ye's skill made him look good. Some knowledgeable villagers had even said a complete black bear could fetch thirty or forty strings of coins! The one A Ye hunted was large and could have been worth even more, but since A Ye hadn't brought the fur, the price would have been reduced a bit. With all that figured in, thirty strings of coins seemed plausible?

Because of this, for most of the day while working in the fields, his mind had been wandering. Thirty strings of coins! In half a lifetime of hard work, when had Lin Dashan ever seen so much money? Not to brag, but even the wealthy families in the village might not have that much cash on hand!

He Guixiang shook her head. "It was even more."

Lin Dashan was overjoyed. "Even more than thirty strings?! Could it be thirty-five strings??"

He Guixiang couldn't hide her smile. "A Ye went to the county, where there are plenty of wealthy families. He got fifty strings of coins for the black bear and gave all of it to me, saying it was the betrothal gift for marrying A Shu."

"How much? F-fifty strings?!" Lin Dashan's jaw dropped, and after a moment of shock, he broke into a goofy grin.

In their area, where there were more hills than fields, an acre of dry land cost one or even two strings of coins, while paddy fields were more expensive—good ones cost four or five strings.

With fifty strings of coins, they could buy thirty or forty acres of dry land or over ten acres of prime paddy fields!

He Guixiang knew exactly what he was thinking and immediately said, "This is money A Ye earned. I'm saving it for the young couple's future. Even if we buy land, it will be under their names. You have no objections, right, husband?"

What objections could Lin Dashan have? After all, A Ye would support him in his old age and handle his funeral arrangements someday, so it didn't matter whose name it was under. Besides, this was money A Ye had earned himself. He was just happy—so happy that his eyes reddened.

In his half-life of being ordinary, the best decision he ever made was recognizing A Ye's potential and buying him to be his son-in-law.

As Lin Dashan secretly wiped away tears, Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu exchanged a look.

Mother really understood Father. If Father found out that A Ye had earned not just fifty strings of coins but also over a hundred taels of silver, wouldn't he be so overjoyed he'd weep loudly? He might even faint from excitement. And then, in his happiness, he might boast a little, and soon the whole village would know their family had struck it rich.