Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Despite hurrying, they still didn't make it home before dark.

Old Man Zhao and Zhao Dashan held torches at the front and back, reminding Zhu Shi and Zhao Feng to watch their steps to avoid poisonous snakes, potholes, and uneven slopes. Getting bitten or taking a fall would be a real problem.

Stars dotted the sky, and the sound of cicadas mixed with all sorts of other chaotic noises filled the surroundings.

Zhao Xiaobao was curled up in the basket, fast asleep, completely unaware of the situation outside. For her, the whole trip was sleep there, sleep back, her feet hardly touching the ground.

Zhu Shi and Zhao Feng were so exhausted they couldn't even speak. Seeing the flickering torches ahead and hearing familiar voices from a distance, mother and son couldn't help but sigh in relief—they were finally back.

"Oldest, is that you?" Wang Shi stood at the village entrance holding a torch. Hearing movement ahead, she couldn't help but take a few steps forward.

"Mother, it's us!" Zhao Dashan quickly replied. The night was quiet, and voices carried far. "What are you doing out so late?"

"Why are you back so late?" Hearing her eldest son's voice, Wang Shi sighed in relief and walked forward with Zhao Ertian beside her to meet them. "Did something happen on the road?"

"We got held up on the way, but it's nothing." Old Man Zhao let out a long exhale, finally able to rest.

As they spoke, the two groups met.

Zhao Ertian hurriedly took the carrying pole from his father, while Wang Shi went to check on Zhao Xiaobao. Seeing her sleeping soundly, she smiled and didn't wake her. Turning to see her daughter-in-law covered in sweat, she took the basket from her. She was surprised by how heavy it was; she wondered what they had bought.

Then they headed home. As they passed through the village, Zhao Youcai's old yellow dog barked a few times.

Once home, there was stirring from the second and third rooms as people got up. Wang Shi stood in the yard and said, "Go back to sleep; no need to get up."

With that, she went to the kitchen to get the food. She'd kept it warm in the stove; the fire had only been put out when they left, so the bowls were still hot.

Zhao Xiaobao woke up when she was lifted from the basket. Having slept the whole way, she was wide awake as soon as they got home. Her feet barely touched the ground before she went to rummage through the basket, her mind full of the three sticks of tanghulu wrapped in oiled paper.

Zhu Shi took the items out of the basket: the pork belly, two large bones, coarse salt, needles and thread, scissors, malt candy, coarse flour... She placed them all on the table one by one.

Wang Shi came out of the kitchen and saw the table nearly overflowing, especially with the six jin of pork belly, which really stood out. She couldn't help but ask, "Why did you buy so much meat?" In the past, when going to town, buying half a jin of pork was already a big deal. Had the old man lost his mind today, buying so much?

"The leaf lard was sold out. It's not easy to go to town, so I just bought a few jin of fatty pork belly for you to render oil. Xiaobao likes lean meat, so I bought another two jin of leaner pork separately." Old Man Zhao sat on a small stool, holding a water dipper and drinking nonstop.

Using good pork belly to render oil—this old man really knows how to live. Wang Shi shot him a glance but didn't say anything. She looked over each item on the table, and when she saw he had also bought so much flour, her brow twitched again.

"We had a bowl of plain noodles in town at noon. Oh man, that broth was so fresh..." Seeing his wife glare at him, Old Man Zhao gave a dry chuckle and said ingratiatingly, "We men had a good meal in town, but we were thinking of you all too. That's why I bought a few jin of flour. With the meat, we can have a proper meal later, and everyone can put some meat on their bones."

The family might be poor, but they shouldn't be stingy. When you earn, you eat; after eating, you earn again. That's life—you have to take care of the present first, right?

This old man couldn't be trusted with money. Wang Shi unceremoniously held out her hand.

Old Man Zhao also knew the drill. He first handed over the few dozen copper coins left from selling the eels today, then fumbled in his clothing for a while before pulling out two handkerchiefs tied with tight knots. One had been given to him by his eldest son on the road. He handed them all to Wang Shi.

As soon as he pulled out the handkerchiefs, Wang Shi sensed something was off. Such fine, smooth silk—where did he get it?

"What's this?" She squeezed the items in her hand, her expression changing slightly.

"Put it away for now; we'll talk in detail later." Old Man Zhao waved his hand.

It was already late at night. Knowing they had walked all day and were hungry, she didn't press further and busied herself serving the men their meal.

After they finished eating, Wang Shi told Zhu Shi to rest early and leave the dishes for tomorrow.

Closing the main room door, Wang Shi carried the freshly bathed Zhao Xiaobao back to their room. She lit the oil lamp and soon had the energetic little one asleep.

When Old Man Zhao finished washing up and entered the room, he saw his wife sitting cross-legged on the bed, with the precious items wrapped in handkerchiefs placed before her. Under the glow of the oil lamp, that pile of gold looked particularly striking.

"Where did you get these things from?" Wang Shi fired off questions immediately.

"Honestly! Am I some kind of pickpocket, that you ask where I 'got' them from?" Old Man Zhao was displeased, feeling his character was being questioned. "What if I told you I dug them up from the ground? Would you believe me?"

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me quickly, where did these things come from?" Wang Shi punched him. Knowing he had gone to a wealthy family's house to sell eels today, she was afraid something had happened along the way, that he had developed wicked thoughts and stolen someone else's belongings.

No wonder he had acted so out of character today, buying several jin of meat, two jin of coarse salt, and a good amount of flour, spending so lavishly. So he had done this shameful, underhanded thing!

"Zhao Dagen! We'd rather starve than steal from others!" Seeing him silent, Wang Shi grew even more convinced of her suspicion. She was furious, worried he had brought disaster upon the family. What was lost wasn't just a gold leaf or a gold bracelet, but a longevity lock!

Who would wear a longevity lock?

It must be a cherished young child in the family!

With so many valuable items lost, that family must have reported it to the authorities. If the officials traced it to their family, how many lives did they have to pay with?! Damned old man, getting more confused and crazier with age!

"Ah, you old woman, I can't even be bothered with you. I tell you the truth, and you still don't believe me." Old Man Zhao bumped her aside with his hip, making room to get into bed. After lying down, he let out a comfortable long sigh and then leisurely recounted the day's events to her in detail. When he finished, he craned his neck to look at his daughter, who was sprawled out on the bed, sleeping soundly. He kept exclaiming, "Ah, my precious, my darling! A lucky star, truly our family's lucky star! What our Xiaobao produced wasn't just waste; it was gold, it was wealth!"

"How could it be such a coincidence? She woke up just as we arrived, said her stomach hurt and needed to relieve herself, and after finishing, insisted on digging a hole..." Old Man Zhao didn't believe it was all just chance. People came and went through the town every day, and woodcutters went into the mountains daily to gather firewood. Why had no one dug up that vase before?

Clearly, this gold was meant to be theirs. Though they didn't know who buried it or how long it had been there... well, whoever digs it up gets it, right? He didn't steal or rob. There was no reason not to reach out and take gold right in front of him, was there?

He felt no guilt about digging up someone else's secret stash. Instead, he firmly believed his family was the destined "fortunate ones."

After listening, Wang Shi's face was full of shock and doubt. She couldn't help but turn to look at her daughter sleeping on the inner side of the bed.

"You really dug it up? You didn't steal it?" She still felt the whole thing was too bizarre. Just this morning, she had been worrying that the family only had a few copper coins. And now, by evening, she was holding a gold hairpin in her left hand and a gold bracelet in her right??

Not to mention anything else, just this gold hairpin in her hand could probably be sold for twenty or thirty taels of silver, right?

And they just dug it up so easily? How was this any different from a pie falling from the sky!

"If you don't believe me, ask Dashan yourself tomorrow. He was the one who dug it up." Old Man Zhao turned over, muttering and grumbling under his breath. Having walked all day, he was utterly exhausted. As soon as his eyelids closed, his snores echoed throughout the courtyard.

Looking at the gold in her hands, Wang Shi actually already believed him. She knew her old man's character well enough—he didn't have the guts to steal. Her earlier accusations were just to test him.

Thinking that this really was something they had dug up, her heart grew fervent with excitement.

Money! This is all money! All gold, pure gold. Just taking one piece to the pawnshop to exchange for silver would be enough to improve their family's current situation.

What immense virtue had the Zhao family accumulated in their past life to be blessed with such a daughter in this lifetime! And she was the one who gave birth to her!

Wang Shi held back and held back, but finally couldn't resist any longer. She slapped away her husband's bent leg, moved closer, and cupped her daughter's chubby little face, rubbing it gently. The affection in her eyes was almost overflowing.

She then touched each piece of gold in her hands before gathering them all and locking them in her small money box. This would be the Zhao family's foundation from now on, and she must find a safe place to hide it.

This money box had originally been hidden under the bed, but now she felt that spot wasn't very secure.

Under the bed was no good, inside the cabinet was no good, in a wall crevice was even worse...

In the middle of the night, she wandered around the room like a headless fly. Finally, her gaze fell on the sleeping Zhao Xiaobao.

Old Man Zhao, whose snores were shaking the heavens, got slapped again. Wang Shi squeezed next to her daughter, her rough hands grasping the child's tender ones. She muttered mysteriously, "Xiaobao, Mother wants to go see that immortal place. Xiaobao, take Mother there. Little Treasure Fairy, show your power, quickly show..."

Holding the money box, Wang Shi vanished from the spot in an instant.

It was that familiar place again. Wang Shi stood on solid ground, but her legs couldn't stop trembling. With a heart full of gratitude and awe, she looked at the cultivated land not far away. Slowly, she walked to the huge peach tree and saw her daughter lying beneath it, sleeping soundly. She walked over and picked her up.

She had come here countless times, from her early days of fear and anxiety to now knowing the place like the back of her hand, but she never felt at ease, only a constant reverence for this spot. If not for the poor harvest this year and the family’s grain truly being insufficient to feed the whole household, she and the old man would never have dared to entertain such a sacrilegious idea as clearing land to farm here.

Holding her daughter, she sat on the logs her husband had brought in to build a house and looked up at the sun in the sky.

In this sacred land, the weather—clear skies, rain, sunrise and moonset—seemed to follow no pattern, changing whimsically with each visit.

Is this how the land of the gods is?

Perhaps these are the rules of the divine?

Wang Shi lowered her head to glance at her sleeping daughter in her arms. Being so young, the girl always believed her parents and older siblings had entered her dreams to play with her there. In truth, it was the parents deceiving their still-innocent child, taking immense advantage of her.

Wang Shi placed the box beside the peach tree and, holding her daughter, crouched to dig a hole in the ground with a branch.

There was no safer place than this.