Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Zhao Xiaobao ended up not getting to eat the eel stew—the big one wasn't for her to eat, and she didn't want the small one.

Naturally, if they were going to town to sell eels, they couldn't take just this one; it would look way too shabby. As the old saying goes, you only know the value of something by comparison. Whether something is good or not is only clear when compared.

After the midday meal, the kids at home grabbed buckets and ran back to the fields again. They caught eels, both big and small, planning to take them all to town later. Even if they were just extras, they'd bundle them up to sell.

For two whole days, the family's dozen or so acres of fields were thoroughly combed through. The field ridges were dug up and collapsed several times, infuriating Wang Shi so much that she chased the boys all over the village, trying to tan their hides.

They didn't dare delay any longer, fearing the eels might die if they kept them too long and not fetch a good price.

The next day, Old Man Zhao set off for town with Zhao Dashan, along with Zhao Xiaobao—who had thrown a tantrum, rolling on the ground, insisting on going—Zhao Feng, who absolutely had to see the eel sold with his own eyes, and Zhu Shi, who had been instructed by her mother-in-law to take care of Zhao Xiaobao. The family of five left the village before dawn.

The morning air was chilly, and breathing it in made their noses itch, setting off sneezes. Zhao Xiaobao, wrapped tightly in a quilt with only a small gap for breathing, slept soundly.

Zhao Dashan carried her on his back, making his way steadily over slopes and ridges. Zhu Shi glanced at the basket from time to time, tucking in the quilt, worried she might catch a chill.

Along the winding, steep mountain path through the rolling hills, as the sky began to lighten, the torch in their hands quietly extinguished, and the mountain road became much brighter.

"Mom, I want some water," said Zhao Feng, on his first trip to town. He was very excited and didn't feel tired, just terribly thirsty, his mouth so dry it felt like it could pull threads.

"Just another quarter-hour. There's a stone ledge ahead; we'll rest there," said Old Man Zhao, who was walking at the front, carrying the wooden buckets.

Zhu Shi took a bamboo canteen from the basket and handed it to her son, wiping the sweat from his face gently. "Have a drink first to moisten your throat."

Zhao Feng uncorked the bamboo tube but didn't drink himself. Instead, he offered it to her first. "Mom, you drink first."

Zhu Shi smiled, took it, took a couple of sips to wet her lips, then handed the tube back to her son. "Drink up. We brought enough water; no need to save it."

Only then did Zhao Feng feel at ease and drank it all down. He was truly parched.

After walking another quarter-hour, they indeed saw a stone ledge. The area was spacious enough for over a dozen people to sit side by side. Shaded by large trees around, it was a perfect spot to rest, sheltered from the sun.

Zhao Feng ran over to help his father unload the basket. Though young, he was quite strong, holding the basket with his sleeping aunt steady as a rock, without even a wobble in his legs.

"The third boy has some strength. When he grows up, he won't be worse than his dad," Old Man Zhao remarked nearby, a smile appearing on his sweat-drenched face.

Zhao Feng heh-hehed, carefully placing the basket on the ground. He glanced at his aunt, snugly wrapped in the quilt and sleeping soundly—her face was so round and plump.

"Grandpa, Auntie is drooling."

Zhu Shi handed the bamboo canteen to her father-in-law and her husband, giving each a coarse grain pancake too. Since they had to hurry, there was no time for breakfast. Her mother-in-law had packed a few pancakes for them to eat casually on the road.

"All children drool when they sleep. You were like that too when you were little," Zhu Shi said, taking a handkerchief from inside her jacket and wiping the drool from the little girl's mouth.

After wiping it, she took out two more pancakes, gave one to her son, kept one for herself, found a spot next to Zhao Dashan to sit down, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

She was truly exhausted. No wonder folks in the village disliked going to town. She didn't like it either. The road was difficult enough, but it also seemed endless.

After finishing the pancakes, the sun had already risen. Without resting further, they set off again.

...

Zhao Xiaobao was awakened by an urgent need. Her stomach rumbled loudly. Instinctively covering her bottom with both hands, she opened her mouth drowsily and wailed, "Mom, Mom, I need to poop."

Right after saying this, she felt herself being hastily picked up. Her sister-in-law's voice sounded in her ear, "Little sister, hold it in! We're outside now. You can't poop in your pants. Your sister-in-law didn't bring a change of clothes."

Hearing they were outside, Zhao Xiaobao's previously foggy head instantly cleared. She remembered—she was following her dad and big brother to town to sell the eel!

She rubbed her eyes and saw unfamiliar surroundings all around. Her sister-in-law was holding her, running quickly into the woods. Her dad, big brother, and nephew were chasing after them.

Not far away, on the flat main road, a crowd of men and women carrying loads on shoulder poles, baskets on their backs, and leading children were heading towards the low town gate. The surroundings were incredibly bustling.

Wow, they had reached the town!

A look of delight appeared on Zhao Xiaobao's face, but it quickly turned pale. "B-big sister-in-law, Xiaobao can't hold it anymore."

Zhao Xiaobao clutched her stomach, howling. Zhu Shi looked frantic. No longer caring whether anyone might see, she ducked into a random bush. As she ran, she pulled down the child's pants, squatted down holding the child, and immediately a dizzying smell wafted out.

Old Man Zhao, standing quite a distance away, caught a whiff. His old face twitched, and he couldn't help joking with his eldest son, "So even immortals are like people—their poop stinks too."

Zhao Dashan thought, of course. When they first figured out his little sister's "origin," the family had been terrified. They didn't know how to raise her properly, afraid they might ruin the Little Fairy and anger the heavenly immortals.

During that time, they didn't dare feed her anything, not even Wang Shi dared to breastfeed her daughter, feeling her own milk wasn't worthy. Later, seeing the child cry so pitifully, their hearts ached terribly, and only then did they gather the courage to start breastfeeding.

Later, as they fed her, they got used to it—just raising her as a precious child.

"This smell is so potent. Our family is raising her really well," Zhao Dashan said delightedly.

Country folk valued excrement, whether human or animal. It was all fertilizer. Even if he felt the urge while working in the fields, he'd run all the way home, absolutely unwilling to benefit someone else's land.

He even felt a bit regretful—why hadn't she pooped in their own pit today?

Father and son huddled together, whispering. Suddenly, they heard Zhu Shi's voice calling from the woods, "Dashan, bring the small hoe over."

"What for?" Zhao Dashan asked instinctively. "Is there a snake?"

"Stop asking so many questions, just come over!" Zhu Shi said impatiently.

Zhao Dashan had no choice but to take the hoe from the basket. There was also a sickle inside, both for self-defense. After all, mountain roads were dangerous; you never knew what you might encounter. It was just a precaution.

Ducking into the woods, he saw the business was already done. His wife was holding his little sister, standing to the side. Zhao Dashan glanced at them and asked blankly, "What do you need the hoe for?"

Zhao Xiaobao's face was flushed red, buried in her sister-in-law's chest, not saying a word.

Zhu Shi glared at him, thinking men were so careless. Although this was a forest, it was right next to the town. Woodcutters came in and out frequently. This... this poop needed to be buried in a pit! To avoid someone stepping on it and cursing their bad luck for no reason.

"Bury this!" Zhu Shi pointed at the ground, then carried Zhao Xiaobao and ducked out of the woods, leaving Zhao Dashan, who had finally caught on, grunting as he dug earth to bury the poop.

He didn't find it unlucky at all. Ever since Xiaobao was born, the family's grain harvest had improved year after year. He tended the fields meticulously every day and knew better than anyone—it was truly miraculous!

This was also one of the reasons why their family was so convinced of Xiaobao's extraordinary origin.

A fairy's poop—full of fertilizing power!

Zhao Dashan felt delighted. He simply dug a large pit, even feeling a sense of regret that only the trees in this mountain could benefit from his family's "treasure." Bury it deep, bury it even deeper—consider it bestowing blessings upon this land.

*Crack.*

Just then, the hoe seemed to hit something, making a crisp sound.

Zhao Dashan squatted on the ground, a look of confusion flashing across his face. What, what was that sound?

He paused, then looked down at the pit he had dug. Hesitating for a moment, he brought the hoe down again. Immediately, another crisp sound followed, like the shattering of a tile.

He froze, then put down the hoe. Using his large hands, he gently brushed away the scattered soil on both sides. An object shaped like a vase instantly came into view. The white body of the vase was already broken, clearly damaged by his two hoe strikes.

"What's this?" Zhao Dashan didn't reach to pull it out immediately. Instead, he looked around. Through the dense bushes, he could see his father and wife standing outside. Further away was the main road leading to the town, where he could faintly see donkey carts and oxcarts passing by.

Near the town, it was a lively spot.

He paused, turning to look behind him at what he had earlier thought was just a patch of woods with nothing special about it, where every tree looked much the same. But now, observing again, he suddenly noticed that all the surrounding trees were pines—except for the one behind him, which was a locust tree, and a crooked-necked locust tree at that!

This… this… He abruptly lowered his head to look at the vase, which clearly wasn’t something ordinary folk could afford, and his heart suddenly began to pound wildly.

"Boy, are you burying shit or eating it? Why haven’t you finished up after all this time?" Seeing that it was getting late, Old Man Zhao couldn’t help but speak up, wondering what he was dawdling about in there.

"Dad, I dug up a vase. It looks really valuable." Zhao Dashan didn’t dare speak too loudly, afraid of drawing attention.

As he spoke, he had already cleared away all the soil, revealing the porcelain vase in its entirety.

A slender vase—even country bumpkins with no appreciation for fine things could tell this item was precious. Its patterns were beautiful, and it felt smooth and delicate to the touch, not rough in the slightest. It was clearly not something an ordinary household could afford.

The crucial thing was that it was buried beneath the crooked-necked locust tree, which could serve as a marker. His intuition told him this matter shouldn’t be made public.

"Dad, come in here quickly, and be stealthy about it. Don’t let anyone see!" he hurriedly called out to the outside.

Old Man Zhao grumbled under his breath—wasn’t he going to sell the eels anymore?—but still instinctively glanced into the distance. Seeing that no one was paying them any mind, he quickly motioned to his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, shouldered the baskets, and slipped into the grove.

A moment later, the whole family squatted in a circle, staring dumbfounded at the unearthed vase.

"Big brother, this vase is so pretty," Zhao Xiaobao said, propping her chin in her hands. She had never seen such a beautiful vase before.

"There’s something inside," Zhu Shi said, sharp-eyed.

Zhao Dashan nodded. The mouth of the vase was plugged with something—he couldn’t tell what—and it wouldn’t budge no matter how he tugged. Since he was the one who dug it up, he had noticed right away that there was something inside; it made a rattling sound when moved.

"Smash it open and take a look," Old Man Zhao ordered.

This spot wasn’t exactly hidden; squatting here, they could see the busy official road with people coming and going. He felt a bit nervous, a sense of guilt as if they were doing something sneaky.

Zhao Dashan picked up the hoe beside him and, under Zhu Shi’s pained gaze, gently tapped the already chipped corner of the vase. Porcelain is fragile; it shattered with just that one tap.

Zhu Shi’s breathing grew rapid. She watched unblinkingly as her husband reached in, tossed aside the fragments, and pulled out from the vase a small object tightly wrapped in oiled paper.

Zhao Dashan felt the weight in his hand. His eyes flickered, and with rough fingers, he carefully tore open the oiled paper, revealing an exquisite handkerchief inside—clearly a woman’s item.

He paused, glanced at his wife, and straightforwardly handed the handkerchief to her. "You open it and see. There’s something wrapped inside."

Zhu Shi shot him a sidelong glance but didn’t refuse. Deftly, she untied the tightly knotted handkerchief, revealing two gold gourds, eight pieces of gold leaf, and about a dozen gold melon seeds, all securely wrapped inside.

Her hand holding the handkerchief trembled violently.