Chapter 19: Treasure

Chapter 19 Treasure

"...Okay."

Lin Su had already accepted the fact that he couldn't shake off this sticky rice dumpling. The villagers had already tacitly regarded Fu Yun as his husband—if he bought two beds, gossip would spread like wildfire the next day.

Fu Yun was now much better than how he was described in the book; it wasn't easy for outsiders to notice his cognitive impairment. Before he regained his senses, Lin Su didn't want him to become the talk of the village and attract too much attention.

Since he had transmigrated into the book, it was time to get rid of his strange habit of being unable to sleep with someone beside him.

Could a person go without sleep for a day or two? But could they go forever?

In the end, even an eagle gets used to it.

But Lin Su didn't expect the eagle to adapt so quickly.

The next day, Lin Su was woken by a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance at the tip of his nose. The scent was light, a cold floral note with a hint of lychee. As he opened his eyes, all he saw was an expanse of snowy white, and for a moment, he thought there was a peeled lychee in front of him, tempting him to take a bite.

When his senses returned, he found himself leaning to the side, his face buried in Fu Yun's shoulder and neck, while Fu Yun lay with his hands folded over his stomach, sleeping prim and proper, losing the clingy demeanor he had when awake.

Lin Su was momentarily enchanted by Fu Yun's sleeping face, and recalling that lychee floral scent, he leaned in to sniff again.

It was really there—a light, cool floral fragrance seeping from the skin of his neck, visible from beneath the brown collar.

This little fool couldn't really be a peony spirit incarnate, could he!

Shaking his head, he got up, grabbed his crutch, washed up, and cooked breakfast.

Today, Xu Shi wasn't coming to the stall, only sending Xu Lei and Xu Xiaohu to help. If not for Lin Su's leg injury, which required extra help, she would have just had Xu Lei take him to and from the boat and charged a small boat fare.

After all, the business relied on Lin Su's own culinary skill; they hadn't done much, and getting extra pay for doing little was already a nice perk. Originally, being able to sell their own homemade vermicelli on the side had been a decent income.

With their reputation from yesterday, more people came today to buy the clay pot vermicelli. Even those short on cash would buy a bowl of spicy soup to go with the dry rations they'd brought. For a while, they were all kept busy.

If Lin Su hadn't noticed the situation and secretly stashed away a few portions of ingredients, they would've gone home hungry.

After a few days, Lin Su's little food stall on the boat had settled into a routine, mainly selling clay pot vermicelli. Occasionally, sailors who would be on the boat for a month at a time would buy a few jars of chili sauce to take along.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Lin Su no longer used his superpower to catch fish, and instead substituted bone broth for the fish soup—it tasted fine too.

However, without the expensive items like grilled fish slices and fish belly, his income naturally plummeted. After deducting daily costs and labor, Lin Su's net profit was around half a string of copper coins per day—still higher than the income of many shopkeepers.

Food was the foundation of the people, and running a food stall was truly profitable!

Apart from the secret chili sauce, the vermicelli dish was simple to make. Xu Lei, after following Lin Su for a few days, had a rough idea of how to prepare it. So Lin Su decided to hand over the stall operation to Xu Lei for 30% of the daily net profit, while he focused solely on making the chili sauce.

This way, Lin Su didn't need to go to the stall every day and had time to recover from his injury. Although making the chili sauce drained his superpower dry every day, it also allowed his ability to level up, greatly speeding up his recovery.

One day, a thick fog settled over the river, making it impossible to sail. Lin Su told Xu Lei to take a day off.

With his superpower at full strength, he harvested most of the persimmons from the tree and simmered them down into five full earthenware jars of persimmon preserves. He sold half a jar to Aunt Zhao, gave half a jar to the Xu family, and stored the rest for Fu Yun.

This was something he'd promised long ago, but it had been delayed for a month.

In that month, his broken leg had healed at a speed that amazed Fu Yun, and now he could put full weight on it without needing his crutch.

Fu Yun was tending to his medicinal herb garden again.

He had planted seeds that needed to overwinter, like aconite and adenophora, now buried deep in the soil. A month had passed, and still no green shoots were visible.

But he checked on them every day, loosening the soil, weeding, and watering with meticulous care.

Lin Su leaned against the persimmon tree, watching him work.

It was the Major Snow solar term, and Small Bay Village had already experienced two snowfalls. The snow was melting these days, making it bitterly cold.

Having saved up twelve strings of cash from the stall recently, Lin Su bought two sets of winter clothes each for himself and Fu Yun from the county seat—spending four strings of cash in one go.

But the price was worth it; the clothes were truly beautiful.

Fu Yun was wearing the winter clothes bought that day—a blue-green outfit embroidered with several silver bamboo stems, fitting snugly without being bulky. His limbs and waist were bound with bands, revealing his lean, slender build.

Half of his hair was bound up, giving him a sharp, spirited look whether standing or bending.

What a captivating young man.

Lin Su smiled faintly.

The charming young man raised his sweaty head, his face filled with frustration as he counted the days until the seeds would germinate. In the end, he couldn't figure it out, only knowing instinctively that they had to survive the winter and wait until next year.

He was crushed. When would he ever be able to sell them for money?

Lin Su shook his head at the sight.

Too bad he's a simpleton.

The little fool hung his head in utter dejection.

Then, a moment later, he snapped his head up.

Oh! He remembered—he had hidden some treasure before!

Up in the mountains, in a cave!

"Big brother! Let's go up the mountain!"

Happily blurting out, Fu Yun dashed into the house to rummage through things.

From his locked medicine box, he pulled out a chopper, a pair of scissors, some animal repellent powder, and even a bow with arrows from the very bottom.

A treasure trove! Lin Su was astonished.

A chopper was for cutting medicinal herbs, so it made sense to have it in a medicine chest. But a bow? And a heavy one to boot, with iron-tipped arrows and even a thumb ring for archery.

Then it dawned on him—this bow must have belonged to Lin's father.

Lin's father had been a hunter, a skilled archer, often bringing back valuable game from the mountains to sell to wealthy families in the county, amassing a considerable fortune—enough to build the only brick-and-tile house in the village.

No wonder the original owner, after losing the house and fields in a gamble, first thought of hunting in the mountains to win them back. But he hadn't inherited an ounce of his father's skill, not even the basic ability to sense danger.

This bow was lost in the mountains along with Lin's parents when they died in a landslide. Fu Yun must have retrieved it later, keeping it hidden in the medicine chest.

Seeing Fu Yun sling the bow and backpack over his shoulder, Lin Su asked, "What are you going up the mountain for?"

It was cold now, and the mountains were home to hungry, ferocious beasts. No ordinary hunter would venture in alone without a group.

"Finding treasure! I hid some!" Fu Yun's eyes sparkled with pure excitement.

Clearly, it wasn't just the treasure that made him happy. His childlike mind made the idea of treasure hunting itself irresistible, like a child's delight.

Even if the treasure was one he buried himself.

Fu Yun's still hiding treasure?

Lin Su grew a bit curious and decided to go up the mountain with him and see what the fuss was about.

As for the wild beasts in the mountains, they were no threat to him.

Although his superpower was pure support-type, his crystal core happened to take root in his dantian, letting him unleash the true power of his family's ancient martial arts.

If he channeled his superpower along the special meridian paths and then released it, he could unleash devastating force.

It was for this reason that in his past life, he did not die at the jaws of zombie mutant beasts, and he established a human sanctuary.

Lin Su's superpower had only recovered to less than ten percent of its full strength, and his shattered Spiritual Pill had only been barely repaired, but...