Chapter 77

A'qing watched the mule cart disappear into the distance, his eyes reddening as he finally turned to go home.

On the way, he encountered some villagers who curiously asked, "A'qing, we heard a rich young master came to your house?"

"Yes, yes, I heard he's from the city," A'qing replied.

"A'qing, when did you make such a friend?"

"A'qing, don't forget about us if something good comes your way."

A'qing smiled politely but didn't respond, keeping his head down as he hurried home.

The villagers didn't mind, smiling kindly before going about their business.

When A'qing got home, his son pulled him into the room. On the kang bed were five neatly arranged open boxes, their contents clearly visible.

The whole family looked to him, asking what they should do.

The bag of flour was already quite valuable, and the jade pendant looked expensive at a glance.

In the end, Old Mrs. Chen made the decision, "Little Gu has no fixed abode now, so even if we wanted to return these things, we wouldn't know where to go. Let's keep them safe for now and return them when we see him again."

A'qing was given the three pairs of silver bracelets and two jade pendants to keep. The two packs of mung bean cakes were given to the brother and sister to eat, and the fabric was given to A'qing's wife to store.

A'qing then gave the silver bracelets to the old lady, "Mom, you... you... keep... keep... these. I'll... I'll... pay... pay... him back... later."

He understood Old Gu Six. These things were given to their family to use. Even if they could find him to return them, he wouldn't take them back.

In the future, he would work harder, save more, and pay Old Gu Six back generously.

The old lady was silent for a moment before accepting the three pairs of bracelets. She then instructed the siblings, "Don't tell anyone that your Uncle Gu gave us such valuable gifts. Keep your little mouths shut."

The brother and sister replied in unison, "We know, Grandma." They weren't three-year-olds; they understood the principle of not flaunting wealth.

After Old Gu Six and Chang'an left A'qing's house, they turned off the main road onto a smaller path. The mountain road twisted and turned, but the mule cart could still pass through.

"Dad, please be more careful and don't take the wrong road again. You don't want to be on the road forever, do you?" Chang'an said.

Old Gu Six smiled sheepishly without saying a word. How could he say it was his fault for taking the wrong road? It was clearly the mule who moved its feet first.

However, this wrong turn turned out quite well, allowing him to fortunately meet A'qing and know that he was living a stable and happy life.

The first part of the road was still easy to traverse, but the mountain path ahead became increasingly narrow, forcing them to fold up the cart.

Chang'an rode the mule while Old Gu Six led it from the front.

Traveling through the mountains had its advantages. They could enjoy fresh pheasant and rabbit, occasionally find mushrooms, and sometimes prepare wild vegetable salads.

They had only encountered that snake with clear stupidity in its eyes at the beginning. The rest of their journey went quite smoothly.

After passing through the dense forest, they came to a valley.

The valley was divided in two by a small stream. On the opposite bank was the forest, while they stood on a flat grassland.

Two young deer were drinking water on the forest side. When they raised their heads and saw two people standing on the opposite bank, they fled in panic into the woods.

"Daughter, it's getting late. Shall we rest here for the night?" Old Gu Six asked.

"That's fine," Chang'an replied.

Chang'an let the mule roam freely nearby while she took out pots, bowls, and utensils from her spatial storage to prepare dinner.

Seeing that Old Gu Six was about to go hunting again, she quickly stopped him. "Dad, don't go. We still have plenty of food in the storage space."

At some point, her Old Gu Six had developed a strong liking for hoarding food. Even when he couldn't catch any game, he would gather handfuls of wild vegetables to store away.

The cabbage and broccoli in the storage space were ready to eat. Chang'an picked a head of broccoli to stir-fry with cured meat and prepared a cold cucumber salad. She didn't pick the cabbage to eat, planning to use it for making kimchi later.

By the time they finished dinner, it was completely dark. They still lit two bonfires, with a small iron pot of boiling water over one of them.

Looking at the bubbling boiling water, Chang'an suddenly thought, why not have a late-night snack? How about some barbecue?

"Dad, want some barbecue?" she asked.

"Yes, yes," he replied eagerly. It had been a while since they'd had it, and it would satisfy their cravings.

"I also want that sweet bubbly water we had last time," Old Gu Six added.

"It's called cola," Chang'an explained.

Chang'an took out the barbecue grill and prepared various foods and seasonings.

"Let's wait a bit before we start grilling. We just finished dinner," she said.

Old Gu Six patted his stomach. "Actually, I could eat some now."

"...Then you can grill it yourself," Chang'an replied.

Old Gu Six happily got to work, the master griller now on duty.

He first grilled a corn on the cob for Chang'an before moving on to various meats.

As Chang'an was contemplating whether to eat the corn now or wait, she heard a voice from the forest, "Brother Ling, hurry and go! Don't worry about me!"

The voice sounded strained, as if there was a slipper stuck in their throat.