Chapter 69: Chapter 67: Immortal Enters the Dream?
Gu Chengyu dragged his mother and second sister back to the main house, and Mr. Gu also followed them in.
The four of them sat on the edge of the kang. As soon as Mr. Gu sat down, he impatiently asked Gu Chengyu, "Xiao Bao, did you really hide the silver? I just checked in the bedding and itâs not there. When did you hide it?"
Gu Chengyu glanced at the courtyard and saw no one was around. He specifically opened the window wider so they could see clearly if anyone was in the courtyard.
"Dad, donât worry, Iâve got the silver here! I took it from the person in my dream." Gu Chengyu knew how anxious Mr. Gu was about not finding the silver, as it was no small amount!
"What? Why did you let Xiao Bao keep the silver? Heâs just a kid! What if he lost it?" Mrs. Lv was upset that Mr. Gu had been so careless as to let a child hold onto the silver, which was obviously from selling the ginseng.
Gu Wan sat beside them, confused.
"Dear, donât interrupt. Xiao Bao, quickly show your mother the silver." Mr. Gu was anxious to see it, afraid it would disappear.
Gu Chengyu took the silver notes, silver, and jewelry out from the space and placed them on the table on the kang.
Seeing the silver notes again, Mr. Gu couldnât help but feel excited. "Look, dear, these are silver notes worth 450 taels. Each of these four ingots is ten taels, along with some scattered silver pieces. All this comes from selling ginseng and honeysuckle. The ginseng sold for 500 taels, and the honeysuckle for 3 taels and 7 qian of silver. Some was spent in the middle, but itâs all here. Oh, right, I still have more than 2 taels on me." Mr. Gu took out another 2 taels of silver pieces from his pocket.
"Did you really make so much from selling it? Wasnât the ginseng said to be only eighty years old? How could it be worth 500 taels?" Mrs. Lv was surprised since Doctor Li had estimated it at three or four hundred taels.
"We went to Huichun Hall in the county town. Manager Liu and Doctor Li are old acquaintances, and our ginseng and honeysuckle were of good quality, so they gave us this much. Quickly put the silver away before someone comes and sees it."
Mrs. Lv picked up each silver note from the table and examined them. Although she couldnât read much from her years in a wealthy family, she recognized silver notes and understood the numbers. Once certain, she placed the notes in her bosom, glanced twice at the four silver ingots, piled them together with the scattered silver, took a key from her waist, rushed to the side of the kang, and opened two locks to reveal a money-earning box. When Gu Chengyu glanced inside as it opened, he saw the ten-tael silver ingots were gone, leaving only some broken silver.
Mrs. Lv carefully placed the silver notes and silver from her bosom into the box, then locked it again, twisting it to ensure it was secure, before placing it back in its original location. Gu Chengyu noticed there were three locks. Wasnât his mother afraid of losing the key and not being able to open it?
"Dad, whatâs going on? Why does our family have so much silver?" Gu Wan was shocked to see the silver. When did her family ever have so much money?
"The silver comes from selling the ginseng Xiao Bao found on the mountain. But you canât tell anyone outside about it. Youâre a big girl now, and we wonât hide family matters from you, but you must not speak of it. Xiao Bao isnât stingy; when you get married, heâll definitely give you a generous dowry. A girl with a large dowry has confidence in marriage. If your motherâs family does well, youâll have support in your husbandâs family too." Mr. Gu loved his daughter dearly, his words meant to teach Gu Wan to behave and not squabble with her brother, as well as reminding Gu Chengyu not to forget about his sister Gu Wan.
"Dad! Donât worry! As long as Xiao Bao earns silver, Iâll definitely give my second sister a generous dowry when she gets married." Gu Chengyu understood his fatherâs intentions. He knew his second sister cared for him dearly. When he was a child eager to learn to walk, she often helped him, and even cushioned him during falls. Perhaps it was because she cared that sheâd gotten upset when he gave eggs to others. Maybe it wasnât anger, but sadness and disappointment.
Gu Wanâs eyes moistened after hearing Gu Chengyuâs words. She had thought it over carefully. She had indeed been in the wrong, like how the family spent money for her fourth brother to apprentice and he endured hardship at the Lin Family, fearing heâd lose the opportunity. Yet she had taken out her misgivings on her mother because of Lin Liuliu. The nieces in the family lived harshly, and she knew that, so she shouldnât have lost her temper even if Xiao Bao gave someone an egg. After all, sheâd eaten plenty too, but she just couldnât control her temper! At the time, she just felt wronged, sad, and thought the family didnât like her anymore.
She understood her fatherâs words, but was embarrassed. "You little rascal, what do you know about dowries? Arenât you ashamed?" She turned her back to Gu Chengyu.
Seeing Gu Wan had calmed down, Gu Chengyu was pleased and decided to tease her. "But I bought you a dowry today! This is your dowry!" He pointed at the shrimp饻bracelet wrapped in red cloth on the table, waiting to see his second sisterâs reaction.
After locking the silver away, Mrs. Lv relaxed her tight nerves. She finally asked the question she had neglected earlier, "Dear, did you really say Xiao Bao hid the silver with the person from his dream?"
"Mom, let me show you a trick." With a swipe, Gu Chengyu moved the jewelry that had been on the table back into the space.
"Hey? Where did it go? I just saw it on the table!" Gu Wan wanted to see what was inside the red cloth.
It was the first time Mr. Gu had seen Gu Chengyu hide things, so he searched him from head to toe. Was it really not there?
Gu Chengyu also placed the large bowl on the table into the space, as it was big enough for Mr. Gu and the others to accept. The three were amazed that such a big bowl could disappear. In the end, Mr. Gu explained the situation once more, attributing the person in the dream to an Immortal, and the three finally realized that Xiao Bao really knew an Immortal!
"Xiao Bao, did you really meet an Immortal? What does he look like?" Gu Wan asked curiously, while Mr. Gu and Mrs. Lv eagerly looked at him, wanting to know as well!
"He was shrouded in clouds and mist, so I couldnât see clearly. But he often comes into my dreams and teaches me many things, which I can remember if I think carefully."
Gu Chengyu had a flash of inspiration, realizing he could use the Immortal as an excuse for many things in the future. When he had time, heâd select a secret martial arts manual and let the little ones of the Gu Family try it. Gu Chengyu had only realized after practicing Inner Strength and the secret manual that martial arts required a special bone structure and talent, with the best age for training between five and ten years. The Spiritual Spring in the space was only the most basic Spiritual Energy, containing a trace of Spiritual Energy. Drinking much of it would only increase oneâs Inner Strength and strengthen the body, but it wouldnât change a personâs bone structure or talent. He was able to cultivate because he was lucky enough to have a decent bone structure. Perhaps it was because heâd been exposed to the Spiritual Spring when his bones were still soft, subtly altering him. However, this was merely his guess. The youngest child in the family was barely over ten months old, so he wasnât sure if there was any use.