Chapter 81: Discovering Gold

Zhou Ruizhen held Du Wanchun’s arm as they turned to leave.

“Husband, what did that old man mean just now?” Du Wanchun had a vague idea of what the old man was implying, but she was still a little unsure.

Zhou Ruizhen supported her as they walked toward the carriage. “In a little while, you’ll understand.”

As he spoke, his eyes twinkled with a smile.

At that moment, Du Wanchun was certain of the old man’s meaning. Based on his words, it seemed like their first child was already on the way.

Thinking of this, her cheeks flushed red, and her heart filled with anticipation.

The couple boarded the carriage and headed back to Changliu Village.

When they arrived at the courtyard, all their belongings had already been moved into a temporary thatched house.

Half of the old house had already been demolished.

Madam Zhou and Zhou Zhao had tidied up the thatched house and prepared a table full of dishes.

Du Wanchun immediately carried the slab of pork she had in her hands inside. “Mother, look! We have meat to eat again!”

Madam Zhou looked up and saw the meat in Du Wanchun’s hands. Her face lit up with joy as she stepped forward, taking it and examining it closely. “Did you two go to the market to buy more meat?”

Du Wanchun shook her head. “This pork was a gift from Butcher Zhang’s daughter. But we did buy the ingredients you need to make scented balm.”

As she spoke, she took out the beeswax and sesame oil from her arms.

Madam Zhou glanced at them and smiled. “Perfect timing! I gathered a lot of mugwort leaves in the mountains today. Once I make peppermint balm, I’ll also make some mugwort balm—they should both sell well.”

Du Wanchun squinted her eyes in delight and nodded in agreement.

“Mother, here are some shoes and fabric as well.” Zhou Ruizhen carried in the rest of the items.

The shoes were thick-soled. They usually wouldn’t bear to buy such things, but this time, Zhou Ruizhen had bought several pairs.

Madam Zhou held the shoes in her hands, feeling overjoyed. As she looked at the black shoes, she remembered the days when she wore embroidered silk shoes. Those days felt like a dream.

She hugged the shoes and sighed with emotion.

Du Wanchun quickly pulled her to the table to eat. During the meal, she mentioned the twenty jin of sandalwood.

Madam Zhou glanced toward the backyard. “Twenty jin? I think we don’t have much fragrant wood left at home.”

Du Wanchun looked in the same direction, then smiled. “It’s okay. We can go up the mountain tomorrow and look again. Maybe we’ll find more!”

“That sounds good.” Madam Zhou nodded and continued eating.

By the time they finished dinner, the sky was completely dark.

The family quickly washed up and went to bed.

Since they were staying in a thatched house, Zhou Ruizhen was more restrained than usual. He just held Du Wanchun tightly in his arms, kissing her cheeks and forehead from time to time.

Each time, it seemed like he could never get enough, as if he wished he could take a bite of her fair skin.

Du Wanchun liked being in his arms. She snuggled closer, found a comfortable spot, and soon fell asleep.

The next morning Du Wanchun woke up early and saw that Zhou Ruizhen had already left.

Madam Zhou walked out carrying a tray with warm porridge and steamed buns. She smiled and said, “Ruizhen heard us talking about going up the mountain to find sandalwood, so he took Zhao’er with him early in the morning.”

Du Wanchun was a little surprised.

Madam Zhou continued, “He must have been worried that you’d get tired, so he left before you woke up.”

Du Wanchun looked back at the house, then at the mountain, feeling a wave of emotion.

Zhou Ruizhen wasn’t someone who spoke sweet words, but he often thought more deeply than most people.

She sat down and had breakfast with Madam Zhou.

Meanwhile, on Hefeng Mountain Zhou Ruizhen carried a bow and arrows as he led Zhou Zhao deeper into the forest.

At first, they only saw ordinary trees. But as they walked further, they found several sandalwood trees, along with some rare benzoin and agarwood trees.

These were all excellent materials for making incense.

Zhou Zhao was thrilled. He ignored the branches that scratched his face and ran forward. “Brother, look at this!”

Zhou Ruizhen looked up. Seeing so many valuable fragrant woods, he was just as surprised.

At that moment, Zhou Zhao suddenly tripped over a rock and fell.

He quickly got up, brushed the dust off his pants, and looked at the stone that had tripped him.

At first, he didn’t think much of it, but then he froze.

The stone was partly buried in the soil, with a small, sharp tip shining with a golden light.

He quickly crouched down and brushed away the dirt.

A small piece of gold appeared.