Chapter 53: The Whole Family Is Shocked (Part 2)

The result of talking while washing was that some water got into his mouth.

Liu Shuangcui shot him a look of disdain. “Can’t you finish washing before talking? What do they know about setting a date? Two young people—how could they possibly plan properly?”

Mu Fugui grinned cheekily. “Yes, yes, my wife has to be in charge.”

Zhao Meihua suggested, “When we have some free time, let’s invite that Xiao Nie girl over. From the looks of it, we can’t expect much from her family’s side. We need to make sure everything is in order on our end.”

Mu Fugui instinctively asked, “Why didn’t she come over today?”

Liu Shuangcui rolled her eyes at him. “What, you think everyone’s like you? Just started dating and already running to my house every chance you get?”

Mu Fugui started, “I was just—”

Halfway through his sentence, he caught a glimpse of his daughter squatting nearby, watching the show with great interest, while his son occasionally glanced over as well.

Hey! They were both watching him make a fool of himself!

Mu Mian raised an eyebrow and gave him a knowing smile. “Dad, you were just what?”

Before Mu Fugui could respond, Mu Mian finished the sentence for him. “You were just eager to see Mom, weren’t you?”

Liu Shuangcui’s face turned red. “Young girls shouldn’t say such things. Go help your grandma with the fire!”

After teasing her mother, Mu Mian immediately switched to obedient mode. She cheerfully jumped up and even pulled her brother along. “Let’s go, let’s go! Mom’s embarrassed!”

Well… maybe not that obedient after all.

Liu Shuangcui: “………………”

In the kitchen, the old lady lightly tapped her granddaughter’s forehead. “Now you’re even teasing your mother?”

Mu Mian didn’t dodge. Instead, she laughed and leaned in closer, full of curiosity. “Grandma, when Dad was dating Mom, did he do anything funny?”

The old lady chuckled. “Oh, there are plenty of stories.”

Mu Mian and Mu Zhuo’s eyes lit up in unison. Though their faces weren’t that similar, they now wore the exact same expectant expression—one that practically screamed, “Grandma, hurry up and spill the details! Our ears are ready!”

The old lady cleared her throat. “You know how your dad likes to sleep sprawled out, right? He’s been like that since he was little. Back when he visited your maternal grandparents’ house, there was one night when it rained heavily, so he couldn’t come back and had to stay over. He ended up sleeping with your grandpa.”

“The next morning, oh my, what a sight! Your grandpa had a huge bruise on his leg and a red mark on his waist from all the kicking.”

“Your grandpa was so mad that he almost kicked him out on the spot!”

Mu Mian’s jaw dropped. “He kicked his future father-in-law before even marrying Mom?”

The old lady laughed. “Exactly!”

Mu Fugui walked in at that moment, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. “Mom, why are you telling them this?”

The old lady replied matter-of-factly, “Your daughter asked.”

Mu Mian gave her father a big thumbs-up. “Dad, you’re really something! It’s a miracle you managed to marry Mom. If things had gone a little differently, my brother and I wouldn’t even exist!”

It was clear to see—her mom might complain about her dad with words, but in her heart, it was all love!

Just as they were talking about Mu Fugui’s antics, Liu Shuangcui chimed in, “He’s done plenty of things like this before.”

Mu Mian was intrigued. “What else? What else?”

She was not only good at storytelling but also an excellent listener. When those bright, eager eyes looked at someone, it naturally made them want to say more.

Not to mention, she would constantly interject with exclamations like “Wow!”, “Really?”, “Then what happened?”, and “No way!”—completely immersed in the moment.

As a result, Liu Shuangcui and her mother-in-law found themselves unable to stop talking, revealing even more of Mu Fugui’s past mischiefs.

The whole family of five took turns sharing stories. By the time they had finished talking and eating, the sky had already darkened.

Under the last traces of daylight, Mu Mian helped her brother clean up the dishes.

Then she walked over to the courtyard gate and, with a loud thud, bolted it shut.

She didn’t forget to call out, “Shiyi, come inside!”

But just as she reached out her hand, Shiyi dashed away in an instant, as if fleeing for its life. The dog’s posture screamed, This place is dangerous! Time for an adventure!

It was clear that it still remembered being lifted earlier. The moment its owner reached out, its instinct was to dodge.

Mu Mian: “……”

There was no trust left between them at all.

She had just lifted it a little—what was there to be so afraid of?!

Only today did she realize that the dog, just like her, was terrified of heights.

No wonder.

Ever since it was a pup, it had been fascinated by the birds in the mountains. But every time, it would just stand at the base of the trees and bark furiously—completely helpless.

Years had passed, yet it had never learned how to climb trees.

Turns out, it wasn’t that it couldn’t climb. It just didn’t dare to!

Shi Xiaolian’s favorite saying, A dog takes after its owner, had never been more accurate.

This dog was just like her!

Since Shiyi had run off, Mu Mian didn’t push it. At least it was still in the yard, which meant it could keep an eye out for any strangers.

After securing the courtyard gate, she pulled the adults back inside and shut the door to the main room as well.

She even gave the door a tug to make sure it was properly locked, looking as if she was afraid someone might accidentally walk in. Her caution was evident.

Liu Shuangcui watched her daughter’s actions in confusion. “What are you up to, being all secretive?”

Mu Fugui, ever the enthusiastic one, played along with a curious look. “What is it? What is it?”

Mu Zhuo smirked. “You’ve been holding this in all afternoon. Finally going to spill the beans?”

Zhao Meihua teased, “Did you find a huge stack of money or something?”

Mu Mian lifted her chin and gave them a look that said, Just wait and see.

Then she turned and went into her room.

Less than half a minute later, she returned, carrying her bag. She carefully placed it on the table in the main room.

Under the dim glow of the oil lamp, in the quiet atmosphere, the soft rustling inside the bag sounded especially clear.

Mu Zhuo was young and quick-witted. Connecting this to his sister’s behavior all afternoon, a bold guess formed in his mind.

But before he could say anything, Mu Mian had already pulled her hands out of the bag—one in each hand.

“Look! Big yellow fish!” she whispered excitedly.

Though her voice wasn’t loud, everyone in the room heard every single word clearly. So clearly that they thought they had misheard.

The room fell silent for several seconds.

Mu Mian waved her hands again and repeated in a hushed voice, “Big yellow fish! I found them this morning!”

Now that they had confirmed both their eyes and ears weren’t deceiving them, Mu Fugui’s mouth fell open, as if he could fit an entire egg inside. He was stunned but still remembered to lower his voice. “W-what? Big… big yellow fish?”

Liu Shuangcui reached out in disbelief. “My goodness! G-gold?!”

The couple had identical expressions of shock.

Even the usually composed old lady wasn’t much better. She grabbed the oil lamp and brought it closer, scrutinizing the gold bars in Mu Mian’s hands.

She even got up from her seat and leaned in.

Doubt crept into her mind. Am I seeing things because of my old eyes?

“T-this is real?” the old lady stammered.

Mu Mian nodded. “Of course it’s real! I checked it carefully.”

Mu Zhuo had already suspected something, but guessing was one thing—actually seeing it was another. The reality still left him shaken.

“Two, two? Where did you find them? How can there be gold just lying around?”

Mu Mian shook her head.

Mu Zhuo frowned. “Not on the road?”

She shook her head again.

No one was better at building suspense than she was.

Before the others could process her response, she reached into the bag again and rummaged around.

Then, she pulled out four more bars.

With a mischievous grin, she said, “Hehe, it’s not two, it’s six!”

The four adults: “!!!!!”

There are times when people say, Their eyes widened like copper bells, and it is not an exaggeration—especially in the case of Mu Fugui and Mu Zhuo.

The Mu family’s big-eye genes were strong.

When they widened their eyes, it was actually a little intimidating, particularly in dim lighting.

But right now, no one cared about how they looked.

All their gazes were locked onto the gold bars on the table.

The room fell into a silence so heavy that they could probably hear a pin drop.

The old lady opened and closed her mouth several times before finally speaking. “My goodness… how much money is this worth? Am I dreaming?”

Liu Shuangcui, acting on instinct, reached over and pinched Mu Fugui.

The next second.

Mu Fugui: “Aow!”

Liu Shuangcui was stunned. “This isn’t a dream.”

Mu Mian looked at one person, then the other, before nudging Mu Zhuo with her elbow. “Brother, are you dumbfounded too?”

Mu Zhuo shifted his gaze from the table to his little sister’s face, proving with his actions that he wasn’t dumb—he could still hear, but he was so shocked that he didn’t know what to say.

After a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence. “W-where did you find this?”

Mu Mian immediately started babbling. “It was me and Shi Xiaolian. After dropping off her sister and Sister Xiao Qiu, we noticed that there were too many people near the machinery factory, so we wandered around for a bit before heading back.”

“When we were coming back, we took the small path…”

Before Mu Mian could finish speaking, Liu Shuangcui interrupted, “The small path? The one next to Dawangou?”

Mu Mian nodded. There was indeed a ditch in that area called Dawangou.

Zhao Meihua asked, “Why did you take that path? It’s full of potholes.”

Mu Mian immediately made up an excuse. “Grandma, you know Shi Xiaolian doesn’t like running around. She always takes the easiest route.”

“The road is rough, but it’s the shortest way. She thinks the main road is too far, so whenever she’s alone, she takes the small path. I just followed her today.”

She completely threw her friend under the bus.

While the three elders were engrossed in the story, Mu Zhuo suddenly caught on to an important detail. “So you two were together the whole way, which means…”

His eyes swept over the several large yellow croaker fish. “You already split them?”

Mu Mian nodded. “Yes!”

The three elders, who hadn’t thought of this at all, were completely dumbfounded.

Mu Fugui’s lips trembled. “T-twelve in total?!”

Mu Mian nodded again. “Mm, two boxes!”

Liu Shuangcui put down the large yellow croaker in her hand and pulled her daughter into her arms.

Mu Mian skillfully rested her head against her mother’s chest, adjusted herself into a comfortable position, and then started talking non-stop…

She described how they accidentally tripped over the corner of a box, realized it wasn’t a rock but a box, and dug it out out of curiosity.

Then, they discovered that the box contained something. When they opened it, they found large yellow croaker fish.

And finally, they found another box in the same pit.

Mu Mian was great at storytelling, adding just the right emotions to make it sound as if she had discovered a treasure trove.

If Shi Xiaolian were here, she would probably be confused too, unable to tell whether they stumbled upon the boxes by accident or deliberately went looking for them.

A good storyteller has to believe in the story themselves!

Liu Shuangcui and the others had no doubts at all. They were simply in awe of the little girl’s incredible luck.

Mu Fugui held two pieces in his hands, his greedy expression on full display. He even put one in his mouth and bit down on it.

Liu Shuangcui was tempted. “Did it leave a mark?”

Mu Fugui released the piece from his mouth. “I didn’t dare bite too hard.”

Mu Mian’s eye twitched.

Good thing she had wiped it clean earlier. Otherwise, he would have ended up with a mouthful of dirt.

Mu Fugui carefully examined the pieces while boldly fantasizing. “Daughter, do you think if I go back now, I could find more?”

Mu Mian pretended to think seriously. “Probably not. After Shi Xiaolian and I finished digging, we checked the whole stretch of the path but didn’t see anything else.”

She really had looked around, just not as thoroughly as before.

Mu Fugui looked disappointed.

Mu Mian smiled sweetly. “What’s mine is yours, Dad!”

Liu Shuangcui stroked her daughter’s head, unable to let go. “With luck like this, are you sure you’re not heaven’s favorite child?”

She had thought finding a ginseng root on the mountainside was already incredibly lucky.

And now, they found gold on a random small path?!

She had lived for decades and never heard of something like this before.

Mu Mian rested her head against Liu Shuangcui’s shoulder. “I’m clearly my parents’ daughter!”

Mu Fugui burst into laughter. “Hahaha, exactly! Forget heaven, my daughter is mine!”

Mu Zhuo looked at everyone, then asked seriously, “Then am I your real son?”

Mu Fugui smacked him on the shoulder. “Your wings are growing, huh?”

Mu Zhuo hissed in pain, rubbing his shoulder. His dad really hit hard.

The old lady interrupted the family’s antics. “Hurry up and put them away before something happens.”

Losing them would be absolutely devastating!

The kind of heartbreak that makes you lose your appetite for days.

Mu Mian gathered up six pieces. “Let’s hide them in Mom and Dad’s room. There’s no place to hide them in mine.”

Mu Fugui sprang up immediately. “Yes, yes! We have to hide them well! Each of these is worth several ginseng roots, right?”

Mu Zhuo guessed, “Probably.”

Liu Shuangcui didn’t waste any time and headed straight into the room to move the wardrobe.

Mu Mian helped by handing the pieces over one by one, carefully wrapping and stacking them neatly in a hidden compartment.

At first, Mu Fugui had thought the hiding spot he had dug was perfect for stashing valuables.

But now, with six gold bars suddenly added, he started doubting himself. He repeatedly asked his children, “Are you sure it’s not noticeable? I feel like I can see a gap. Look, doesn’t it seem like there’s a crack?”

He even shone a flashlight on it, motioning for them to look carefully.

Mu Zhuo seriously inspected it. “It’s not obvious. Unless someone deliberately touches and picks at it, no one would notice the hole.”

Mu Mian nodded in agreement. “Big Brother is right! Dad, you did an amazing job digging this hiding spot!”

Mu Fugui hesitated. “Really? I don’t know… I feel like it’s not safe enough. Maybe I should dig another one in the corner?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Shuangcui immediately gave him a slap. “Why are you making a fuss in the middle of the night?! We still have Shiyi at home, and there’s also this wardrobe blocking the way.”

“If there’s a thief, they wouldn’t even get close to this hole. At most, they’d just rummage through the wardrobe.”

Mu Mian nodded in agreement with her mother’s words.

Exactly! The hole her father dug was absolutely perfect!

Mu Fugui shone his flashlight around again. Seeing that everything looked fine, he finally said, “Alright then, I won’t dig anymore.”

Zhao Meihua spoke up. “It’s late. Wash up and go to bed.”

They went to sleep.

But truthfully, the whole family didn’t sleep well that night.

Mu Mian even had a dream—she dreamt that her entire house had turned into gold bricks.

She lived in a grand house built entirely of gold bricks, surrounded by dazzling golden light.

She was so happy in the dream that she woke up laughing.