Chapter 3: Everything I Pull Up Will Be Mine!

Just as Xu Sinan was tying the rope around herself and taking a deep breath to dive into the water, someone suddenly appeared in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, it was Xu Qianxing. She almost cried out in joy and shouted, “Brother!”

Xu Qianxing leapt out of the water, breathing heavily. The pressure from the depths had nearly crushed his internal organs—it was incredibly uncomfortable.

Luckily, he had grown up fishing with their father and had excellent swimming skills. He could hold his breath longer than anyone in the village.

Hearing his sister’s voice, he smiled foolishly and waved. As he turned to look back, he realized the rope attached to his sister’s back. When had it snapped?

He scratched his head but didn’t think too much of it, swimming toward the small boat.

Xu Sinan watched his silly expression and knew he was fine. She sighed in relief and sat down on the boat, patting her chest.

“Brother, why did it take so long for you to come up? Are you okay?”

Xu Qianxing hopped into the boat, waving his hand. “How could anything happen? I’m your brother, the best at holding my breath in the village.”

He suddenly realized that his sister had been worried and immediately reassured her, “Were you that anxious?”

Xu Sinan nodded, still shaken from the fear.

“Brother, I was really scared.”

Xu Qianxing chuckled, his silly grin widening. He quickly turned around, took off the small bamboo basket from his back, and pulled out something. He eagerly held it out in front of his sister.

“Look what I found!”

Xu Sinan’s eyes instantly widened in astonishment, her face lighting up. “A gold chain!”

She couldn’t help it—she was a regular person and had no resistance to gold.

She carefully examined it and realized that it looked exactly like the ones found on shipwrecks in modern times. She couldn’t believe it—she had really found the shipwreck!

She stood up and held the chain in her hands. It was so long it nearly reached her height, about 1.7 meters. The gold gleamed under the sunlight.

A smile crept up on Xu Sinan’s face—this was the first step toward her road to wealth!

Xu Qianxing, seeing his sister so happy, quickly pulled out a few jade items—jade ornaments, jade pendants, and bracelets.

Xu Sinan squinted her eyes and picked each one up, inspecting them carefully. The more she looked, the more satisfied she became.

After cleaning them, they all looked to be of high quality with a fine luster. They should be worth quite a bit.

Xu Qianxing chuckled, “You really are amazing, sis. There really was a shipwreck down there.”

He started to believe her, recalling that when he went down and followed her instructions, he indeed found a bump in the sea floor. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly a sunken ship.

Fortunately, the mud covering it wasn’t too deep, though the underwater movements were slow and difficult. He had to exert a lot of effort to clear some of it.

The shipwreck was huge, far bigger than any fishing boat he had ever seen, and he had unconsciously swum further away from shore.

“Mazu truly blesses our family. As soon as we get to shore, we’ll go to the Mazu temple and offer incense,” Xu Qianxing murmured as he held the jade pieces.

Xu Sinan couldn’t help but twitch her lips. Her silly brother was so easy to fool.

Suddenly, she had a thought and her eyes flashed. “Brother, were there any porcelain items on the ship?”

The shipwreck should have been a merchant vessel heading to Nanyang, and the most common cargo would likely be porcelain.

Xu Qianxing paused, a bit dazed. Were porcelain items valuable? He had been too focused on the gold and jade.

After a moment, he responded, “Yes, but most of it’s broken.”

Xu Sinan’s heart sank. If it was all broken pieces, then without modern restoration technology, it would be nearly impossible to restore it. Even if they could, it wouldn’t be worth much.

Xu Qianxing rummaged through the bamboo basket and pulled out a shard of porcelain, handing it to his sister.

Xu Sinan’s gaze was drawn to the markings on the bottom of the porcelain. She silently read aloud, “Zhi Zheng, twenty-fifth year.”

Da Sheng had only been founded for 15 years, and the Zhi Zheng era was the final years of the previous dynasty, making it no more than 20 years ago. Even if they had found a complete porcelain item, it wouldn’t be worth much.

Xu Sinan was startled, her thoughts momentarily disrupted by the sound of someone approaching. She hadn’t noticed the group of people gathered at the dock, and now, as the boat drew closer, her eyes narrowed at the first figure she saw—Cui Jinfeng. The tension between them was palpable. Xu Sinan remembered all too well that Cui Jinfeng had always made life difficult for the original owner of her body, constantly flaunting her wealth and connections.

As the boat neared the shore, Cui Jinfeng stepped forward confidently, casting a quick glance over the boat and its contents. A smirk appeared on her face as she asked with obvious disdain, “You went to the forbidden sea!”

Xu Sinan, still processing everything, stood tall, refusing to let Cui Jinfeng see her unease. She had no reason to be afraid, but this confrontation was unwelcome. The other villagers were all watching, some with curiosity, others with disapproval.

She ignored the mocking tone in Cui Jinfeng’s voice and, instead, gave a calm reply, “We simply explored the waters. What’s the harm in that?”

Cui Jinfeng raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “You think you can just go where you please? You should know that part of the sea is off-limits. If anyone finds out—”

Xu Sinan interrupted, “We didn’t cause any trouble. We were just looking for something. Is that a crime?”

Her words were clear and defiant. The villagers, who had been murmuring among themselves, fell into a tense silence. It wasn’t lost on them that Xu Sinan’s tone was sharp and her presence commanding. Cui Jinfeng, however, was not one to back down easily.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Xu Sinan. Don’t think just because you found a few trinkets you can get away with this. You don’t know what you’re dealing with,” Cui Jinfeng warned, her eyes narrowing as she examined the gold chain and jade pieces Xu Qianxing had brought up from the wreck.

Xu Sinan calmly met her gaze. “We deal with things on our own terms. The sea doesn’t belong to anyone. If you have an issue with us, take it up with the authorities. But I won’t let anyone intimidate me into silence.”

The tension in the air was thick. The villagers, sensing a potential conflict, hesitated to speak, unsure of whose side to take. Some of them knew Xu Sinan’s family and respected them, while others were more impressed by Cui Jinfeng’s connection to the village leader.

But Cui Jinfeng, noticing the lack of support from the crowd, hesitated. Xu Sinan’s defiance had clearly thrown her off. She might have been used to getting what she wanted, but Xu Sinan wasn’t the same person who would simply cower in the face of her authority.

With a final sneer, Cui Jinfeng flicked her hair back and turned away. “This time, I’ll let it slide. But next time, don’t think you can just walk away unscathed.”

As she walked off, Xu Sinan felt a surge of relief, though her mind remained focused. She was no longer concerned with what Cui Jinfeng thought of her. What mattered now was figuring out how to navigate these waters—both literal and metaphorical—and secure her place in this world.

As the boat docked, Xu Sinan glanced at Xu Qianxing. They had more to think about now, more to plan. There was potential in these finds, but they were just the beginning. The path ahead would be full of obstacles, but for the first time in a while, Xu Sinan felt a flicker of hope. She had the gold, the jade, and soon, she would have the means to turn it into something much larger—something that could reshape their future.