Chapter 30: The Origin of the Broken Bowl

Mu Mian felt like she had seen it somewhere before, but she couldn’t recall exactly where.

Liu Shuangcui gently patted her daughter. “What are you dazing off for? Move forward a bit. There’s barely any space left for me to sit.”

Mu Mian snapped back to reality and, holding onto her father’s shirt, wriggled forward like a little seal. “Alright, that’s it. Any more, and I’ll be squished into a pancake.”

Mu Fugui steadied the bicycle with his legs. “Pancakes are good! Smell delicious too!”

Mu Mian reached out her mischievous little hands and tickled her father’s side. “We just ate. How are you already hungry again?”

Mu Fugui squirmed from the tickling and quickly reached back to grab his daughter’s small arm. “Well, your cousin Taozi’s cooking is too good. I finish one meal and already look forward to the next.”

Standing at the courtyard gate, sending off the guests, Liu Tao chuckled. “Then next time I have a break, I’ll come stay at your place and not leave. Second Uncle, don’t find me annoying when the time comes.”

Mu Fugui laughed heartily. “Not annoying at all. I’d love that! Stay as long as you want!”

It was getting late. Liu Shuangcui, wanting to return home early to take care of some chores, interrupted the chatter and waved at Liu Dezheng. “Stop standing around here. Go inside. Come visit again next time.”

Nidan stood beside the bicycle, looking reluctant to part. “Aunt, when will you come again?”

Mu Mian saw through the little boy in an instant. “Are you missing me, or are you thinking about the candy and those two cents?”

The little dark-skinned boy grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth. “Hehe, no, no, I just like Aunt a lot.”

The candy was delicious, and grandaunt and granduncle each gave him a dime. Even if his mother might take it away later, he could still secretly keep a couple of cents.

If Aunt didn’t come, he wouldn’t get anything.

Aunt was the best. He hoped she would visit often!

Mu Mian smiled. “Then thank you for liking me.”

Nidan, imitating an adult, waved his hand. “You’re welcome!”

Liu Shuangcui urged, “Alright, alright, we really have to go now. If we don’t leave, it’ll be dark soon.”

Mu Mian silently glanced at the sky. Actually, it was still early. The sun was shining brightly.

Well, for adults, ‘it’s getting dark’ was the same as ‘the sun is high up.’

—

As the bicycle slowly pedaled away from Yangliu Brigade…

Meanwhile, far away in Ningzhang City, Mu Zhuo happily received his third-place reward.

There was no training today. After lunch, he planned to send a package home right after writing a letter.

Just as he stepped out of the dormitory with his parcel, Dong Chai and Wen Zhan happened to return from outside. Mu Zhuo greeted them.

Dong Chai glanced at the parcel. “Sending something home?”

Mu Zhuo nodded. “Yeah, my little sister’s birthday is coming up. If I send this now, it’ll arrive just in time to make her a new set of clothes.”

Dong Chai smiled. “She’s turning nine already?”

Mu Zhuo spoke in a casual tone. “That’s right. She was born on National Day. Just a little over a month left.”

Dong Chai chuckled. “That’s a lucky date! Very festive.”

Talking about his little sister made Mu Zhuo even happier, his grin nearly reaching his ears. “My grandma always says my sister picked the perfect day to be born.”

Then, as if remembering something, Mu Zhuo added, “Oh right, I took my meat to the cafeteria. Tonight, the brothers can have a good meal!”

Hearing this, Dong Chai beamed with joy and clapped Mu Zhuo and Wen Zhan on the shoulders. “Great! Tonight, we’re really benefiting from you two. One from you, one from Wen Zhan. The brothers will eat so much they’ll have to lean against the walls to walk!”

Their unit was full of talent. Even the second and third-place winners were from their group.

As for the first-place winner, that was a young soldier from a coastal area. Rumor had it that before he even learned to walk, he had already learned to swim.

How could they compete with that? It was impossible!

That guy winning was completely justified.

Wen Zhan silently brushed Dong Chai’s hand off his shoulder and glanced at Mu Zhuo’s still-unsealed package.

Hearing Mu Zhuo talk about his sister all the time, he suddenly said, “I exchanged my red fabric with Captain Zhang’s wife for five feet. I still have five feet left. Do you want it?”

The second-place prize had a bit more than the third-place one, but both had red fabric included.

Mu Zhuo’s eyes lit up. “You don’t want it? You’re not sending it home for the women in your family?”

Dong Chai burst into laughter. “His family is full of men. Who’s going to wear bright red?”

Mu Zhuo was tempted. This kind of bright fabric was perfect for little girls. The more, the better.

Still, he asked, “Aunt doesn’t need it either?”

Dong Chai smirked. “His mom used to be on the battlefield. She’s even tougher than the men.”

Mu Zhuo opened his mouth slightly, showing a look of admiration. That was truly impressive.

Since Platoon Leader Wen’s family had no use for it, Mu Zhuo didn’t hold back. “I’ll exchange the ticket with you.”

Wen Zhan didn’t respond. “It’s just a piece of fabric. Take it. Didn’t you already contribute five pounds of meat?”

Mu Zhuo hesitated for a moment, but before he could say anything, Dong Chai threw an arm around his shoulder. “Why are you acting so sentimental? Wen Zhan doesn’t care about the tickets. Just take it for our little sister.”

Mu Zhuo quietly removed his platoon leader’s arm from his shoulder.

What did he mean by ‘our little Sister’? He was the only big brother his sister had!

—

Back in Hongxing Commune, Mu Mian, who was still on the road, had no idea that her big brother had won red fabric for her as a birthday gift.

She was still trying to recall where she had seen the pattern on the bottom of that bowl. The frustration of not remembering was driving her crazy.

As the bicycle passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, Liu Shuangcui turned her head and called out, “I think we’re out of soap at home. Stop by the side so I can buy a bar.”

Soap!!

At that moment, a spark flashed in Mu Mian’s mind. She remembered!!

She finally remembered where she had seen that pattern before!!!

In her excitement, the little girl instinctively smacked Mu Fugui’s waist.

Mu Fugui let out a pained hiss. “Ow! My dear daughter, I’m not deaf yet. I heard your mother. I was going to stop in just a few more steps—this area is full of potholes.”

He thought his daughter was just telling him to stop.

Realizing what she had done, Mu Mian quickly rubbed his back. “Ah, ah, sorry, Dad! It was an accident!”

Mu Fugui stopped the bicycle and rubbed his waist as well. “You’ve got quite the strength, huh?”

Mu Mian flashed a sweet and apologetic smile.

Liu Shuangcui shook her head, both amused and exasperated. “Why did you hit your father?”

Mu Mian quickly made something up. “There was a big mosquito just now.”

Mu Fugui didn’t doubt her at all. He turned to check his clothes, but of course, there was nothing there. “You must have squashed it to bits.”

Mu Mian nodded along. “Yeah, looks like it’s dead.”

Mu Fugui chuckled. “With that slap of yours, even I shuddered twice. That mosquito isn’t made of iron. If it didn’t die, that would be something.”

Father and daughter stood by the roadside, waiting for Comrade Liu Shuangcui to return with the soap.

Mu Mian reached out and massaged her father’s arm again. “Next time I slap a mosquito, I’ll be gentler.”

She had really been too excited just now.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced—she had seen this pattern before in her past life, on TV while watching with her grandparents. She had just started high school at the time.

A local TV station had aired a news segment about an entrepreneur who made his fortune selling soap. During the broadcast, he had displayed some of his private collection. Among them was an old, battered bowl. She still remembered how her grandma had commented back then, saying the bowl looked like a beggar’s bowl, one that could be used to ask for alms on the street.

During the interview, the entrepreneur mentioned that he had bought the bowl for just two yuan, but its current value had reached nearly ten million.

Liu Shuangcui hadn’t returned yet. Mu Mian stood at the front of the bicycle, rummaging through the mesh bag and pulling out the bowl for a closer look.

Some areas were still covered in dirt, making it hard to see the full design, but the bottom of the bowl—especially the patterns—looked more and more familiar the longer she examined it.

She ran her fingers over the surface, itching to fly home immediately and scrub it clean.

Mu Fugui was completely lost. “What are you doing, girl?”

Mu Mian replied, “The bottom of this bowl looks pretty nice. I don’t want to use it for the chickens anymore.”

Mu Fugui didn’t see anything particularly attractive about it, but he still went along with her. “If you like it, keep it for yourself. We’ll find something else for the chickens later.”

As they were talking, Liu Shuangcui returned with the soap.

Mu Mian quickly put the bowl back into the mesh bag. As they rode into Qingfeng Brigade, they ran into several villagers returning from the commune.

A few short conversations here and there delayed them, so by the time they reached home, more than half an hour had passed.

Mu Mian carried the mesh bag into the yard. Zhao Meihua, who was busy inside, looked up in confusion. “What happened to your clothes? Whose are they?”

Liu Shuangcui explained, “They’re Xiao Tao’s old clothes. Her clothes got soaked in Xiao Xuehua’s pee.”

As the two chatted, Mu Mian had already started scooping water into a basin.

Liu Shuangcui assumed her daughter was about to do laundry. “Leave it. There are a couple of other dirty sets from before. I’ll take them all to the river later.”

Mu Mian wasn’t planning to wash clothes—she wanted to wash the copper bowl. Still, she smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Mom~”

Zhao Meihua glanced at her granddaughter, who was squatting in the yard in tattered clothes. “Why’d you bring back a bowl?”

Liu Shuangcui laughed. “She found it in a ditch while taking Xiao Xuehua out. She said it was for the chickens to drink water from, but now she’s grown attached and doesn’t want to part with it.”

Kids always changed their minds quickly, so the adults didn’t think much of it.

Zhao Meihua chuckled. “The bowl in the chicken coop split in two this morning. I noticed that the rock we use to press down the pickled vegetables has a big dip in it—perfect for holding water—so I put it in the coop instead.”

As Mu Mian carefully scrubbed the dirt off the copper bowl, she praised her grandmother. “That was a great idea. Now the chickens won’t be able to tip it over.”

The adults had their own tasks to handle, so before long, Mu Mian was left alone in the yard, meticulously cleaning the bowl.

It was hard to tell how long it had been buried outside. Some dirt was as solid as stone and needed soaking before it could be scrubbed off.

She didn’t dare to scrub too hard either. She had heard that antiques were delicate and had to be handled carefully.

Bit by bit, she cleaned away the grime. As the copper bowl’s design became fully visible, Mu Mian’s hands started trembling from excitement.

She could barely contain herself. She wanted to jump three feet high—straight onto the roof!

It was exactly the same!!!

Every tiny detail matched!!!

That bowl had been worth nearly ten million decades later. Who knew how much that would translate to in this era?!

She couldn’t quite calculate it, but one thing was certain—it was worth a fortune!

An antique!

She had casually picked up an antique!!!

Mu Mian’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she grinned. She suddenly wanted to go back to that ditch and dig around some more—maybe there were other broken bowls or plates waiting to be discovered.

Just then, Liu Shuangcui came over from the backyard, carrying a basket of corn. She spotted her daughter still squatting on the ground and asked curiously, “What are you doing? Do you really like that bowl so much?”

Mu Mian didn’t say much. She simply held up the bowl for her mother to see. “Isn’t it pretty?”

Money! This was money! The entire bowl radiated the glow of wealth!!!

So beautiful!!!

Liu Shuangcui didn’t see the appeal. She was brutally honest. “Looks like a beggar’s bowl.”

Mu Mian beamed. “That’s exactly the point.”

Liu Shuangcui: “………”

Her daughter was acting really strange today.

She didn’t think much of it and started directing tasks. “Alright, enough squatting around. Come help me with these corn cobs.”

Mu Mian got up. “I’ll put the bowl away first.”

She quickly dashed into her room, climbed onto the bed, and pulled out a small box where she had hidden her gold nuggets. She emptied it, taking out all the hair ties and clips inside.

An antique had to be stored with gold, of course.

The box wasn’t very big, and once she placed the bowl inside, it took up most of the space.

Mu Mian’s eyes sparkled as she patted the lid. She would have to ask her father to make her a bigger box soon.

This one was almost too small to hold her treasures.

Little Miss Moneybags, growing ambitious.jpg