Chapter 100: Trouble

Pear Blossom returned to the village and directly went up the mountain.

Dong Yun was writing, and when she saw Pear Blossom come up alone, she asked, “Why are you here at this time? Where’s Fubao?”

“She’s playing with Dog (Goudan) at Fifth Uncle’s house,” Pear Blossom replied, unconsciously inching closer to her.

Dong Yun slightly leaned back and gave her a suspicious glance. “So, what are you doing here?”

Pear Blossom didn’t expect such an accusatory tone and felt a little wronged. “Just because Fubao isn’t here, I can’t come up?” she asked, her voice tinged with hurt.

Dong Yun furrowed her brows, and her voice unknowingly grew stern. “There are so many things going on outside. Stop thinking about those things all the time.”

Pear Blossom felt her heart sink at her words. She had wanted to get closer, but it wasn’t like she was thinking about anything inappropriate in broad daylight. Dong Yun’s tone made her feel somewhat embarrassed.

Her eyes, which had been sparkling earlier, dimmed. She quickly mentioned, “I might be back late tonight, maybe not until tomorrow morning. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t worry.”

Seeing her like this, Dong Yun realized she had misunderstood. She actually didn’t mind those things at all and, in fact, could say she liked them. However, the past few days had been a bit too reckless, and Pear Blossom was still young. If she kept indulging her, leading her down the wrong path, it could lead to problems later on, with her thoughts consumed by such matters and unable to escape.

Seeing the girl’s lowered gaze, Dong Yun softened her tone. “What are you going to do tonight?”

Pear Blossom, despite feeling a little upset from the earlier exchange, didn’t hide anything. She explained the plan regarding Bao Fulong, concluding, “They don’t have many people, and Jin Er and I can handle them. We just want the money, not to hurt anyone. We’ll take the money and leave, no big trouble.”

Truthfully, Pear Blossom had changed a lot in the past year. If it were before, Dong Yun would have been worried about her doing such things. But since the incident in Baoxi Village and the Baihu Villa bandits, she had come to accept the girl’s strength from the bottom of her heart.

Dong Yun nodded, her voice filled with concern. “Just be careful.”

Pear Blossom bit her lip and nodded, after a pause saying, “I’m going now. If I’m too late to return tonight, let Fubao and Mother sleep, and don’t wait up for me. Get some rest.”

Dong Yun responded, watching Pear Blossom’s tall figure disappear at the cave entrance.

As expected, Pear Blossom didn’t return that night. The men from Bao Fulong had delayed their plans, and they didn’t act until the early hours of the morning. Ten or more carts filled with gold and silver left the bank but, due to the large amount, they didn’t transport it out of the city. Instead, they moved it to a nearby pork shop just one alley away.

According to the manager of Bao Fulong, the most dangerous places were often the safest. And with so much silver, handling it all at once would attract attention. It was safer to temporarily store it somewhere else, break it down into smaller batches, and transport it out in stages.

No one expected the silver to be hidden in the filthy, mosquito-ridden pork shop during the day.

The group thought they had taken all precautions, leaving only three or four people guarding the silver while the others rested.

Pear Blossom had already figured out the situation through the system. At the early hours of the morning, when everyone was tired, she and Murong Jin sneaked in. They knocked out a few guards and moved the boxes back out before dawn.

Shitou (Stone) and Mutou (Wood) had already parked the carts by the main road. Pear Blossom and Murong Jin, both strong young women who had trained extensively, quickly carried the boxes, and in no time at all, they had moved over twenty boxes.

There wasn’t enough space on the three carts, so they collected what they could. The remaining boxes of silver were left for the manager, to avoid him causing unnecessary trouble.

Pear Blossom scouted ahead, warning of any patrols, and they changed routes when necessary. The other three each took a cart and after winding through several alleys, they finally moved the gold and silver to the escort agency.

When the four guards woke up and saw that the boxes had disappeared, they were at a loss. But at least a few boxes of silver remained, and they dared not make a fuss. They sent someone to inform the manager, but the matter was left for later.

The group returned to the escort agency, and after opening the boxes and seeing the treasures inside, they couldn’t sleep due to their excitement.

When it came time to divide the loot, Shitou and Mutou only helped with the transportation and didn’t ask for more. Pear Blossom and Murong Jin first exchanged the previous silver tickets for cash and then gave them each 500 taels as a reward.

As for the rest, Pear Blossom said, “Senior Sister, in these troubled times, this money will be useful. If you need it, take more; if not, let’s keep it for now.”

Murong Jin blinked, quickly understanding Pear Blossom’s meaning. “I don’t need the money. I only need to exchange the two thousand taels worth of silver notes, the rest can all go to you.”

Pear Blossom smiled, took some for herself, and had Murong Jin hide the rest in a secret place.

They hardly slept that night. Early the next morning, they sparred a few rounds before Pear Blossom finally left the city to head home.

When she arrived home, her mother was preparing lunch, and Dagen was making mats. Fubao was running around the yard, pulling a vine as she went.

When Fubao saw Pear Blossom carrying a big bundle, she dropped the vine and rushed to her.

Pear Blossom smiled and picked her up. “Why aren’t you out playing today?”

Fubao replied seriously, “I have to go home for lunch. I can’t eat at someone else’s house.”

Pear Blossom chuckled. Seeing Mrs. Xiong come out of the kitchen, she handed the bundle to her.

When Mrs. Xiong took the bundle, she almost dropped it. She watched Pear Blossom holding it easily, but as soon as it was in her own hands, it felt heavy. She couldn’t help but marvel at how strong the girl was. She opened the bundle, and a bag full of golden coins immediately caught her eye, almost making her faint with excitement.

She had never seen so much gold before. This big bag, when converted, could easily be worth nearly ten thousand taels of silver.

Before she left, she had given her daughter two thousand taels in silver notes, but now she had returned with so much gold. It seemed that the deal from last night had been quite a windfall.

Dagen looked at her curiously and asked, “What’s that? You’re acting so surprised?”

Mrs. Xiong quickly tightened the bundle, glancing at him. “Good stuff, nothing you need to know.”

Fubao said, “Grandma Xiong, I also want good things.”

Mrs. Xiong hurriedly replied, “Silly child, this stuff is too dangerous for you. Wait a bit, Grandma will bring you some candy.”

Hearing about the candy, Fubao immediately quieted down.

Mrs. Xiong asked, “Is it all for me?”

Pear Blossom smiled. “Even if it’s all for you, you can’t spend it all. I have to support both a big one and a small one. They’re both like gold-eating beasts, far more than you can spend.”

Mrs. Xiong snorted lightly. “I’ll pack half for you, and keep the other half for myself. Otherwise, you’ll waste it all, you little spendthrift.”

Dagen couldn’t figure out what the two of them were hinting at and didn’t bother to ask. Anyway, he wouldn’t be managing the household. As long as he could take the lead now and then, he didn’t care much about the household matters. Since his wife was managing things well, the family was living comfortably. He didn’t feel the need to interfere.

He turned back to chat with Fubao, each talking their own way, as if they were speaking different languages.

After Mrs. Xiong got the gold, she felt like she was floating on cloud nine. She was so happy that she couldn’t stop cooking. She made several dishes in a row, leaving Dagen bewildered. He kept asking what day it was.

Mrs. Xiong said, “What, do we need a special day to eat meat? My daughter earned money for me, so I’ll eat whatever I want!”

Dagen, remembering the two thousand taels of silver from earlier, assumed she was referring to that money, and he happily said, “Of course, our family isn’t short on money. We can cook whatever you want.”

Mrs. Xiong was pleased and filled Dong Yun’s food box to the brim, urging Pear Blossom to hurry and take it up after the meal.

Pear Blossom hesitated for a moment. Now that there was charcoal fire and food in the cave, and she had brought some vegetables, her sister would cook on the mountain. Whether she took food up or not didn’t really matter. She was just worried that, like yesterday, Dong Yun might think she was coming up just to meet with her privately while Fubao wasn’t around.

So she said to Mrs. Xiong, “I won’t send it at noon. I’ll take Fubao up in the evening and bring it then.”

Mrs. Xiong glared at her. “What she eats up there is just to fill her stomach, nothing like the meals we cook here with meat and vegetables.”

Pear Blossom didn’t answer, and a silence fell.

Mrs. Xiong seemed to realize that her daughter and Dong Yun were having some sort of falling out, but since she couldn’t interfere, she set the food box aside and left it to them.

Pear Blossom sat by the stove, her eyes flickering as she stared at the food box, but she didn’t move.

In the cave, Dong Yun was reading a book, remembering the dejected look on the girl’s face when she left yesterday, and she sighed inwardly.

As she was thinking, she heard the sound of stones shifting at the cave entrance, followed by footsteps. The person she had been thinking about walked in, carrying the food box.

“Here,” she asked in a gentle voice, “Was everything alright last night?”

Pear Blossom nodded. “Everything went smoothly. You should eat while it’s hot.”

Dong Yun said, “There’s charcoal and food up there, you don’t have to trouble your mother next time. I’m fine with anything.”

Last night’s business had taken only a few hours, and Dong Yun truly felt sorry for the girl. Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, she didn’t want her running around for small things like food.

Pear Blossom, hearing this, felt a pang in her heart. She thought Dong Yun really didn’t want to see her up here during the day, so she slowly explained, “I didn’t plan to bring food. But when my mother saw me come back with all this gold, she got so happy that she made extra food and asked me to bring it up.”

She quickly added, “You should eat while it’s hot. I have something to do downstairs, so I won’t stay here.”

Without waiting for Dong Yun to respond, she walked towards the cave entrance.

Dong Yun watched her retreating figure, feeling a twinge in her heart.

Looking at the delicious food in front of her, she suddenly lost her appetite.

In fact, Pear Blossom didn’t have anything else to do. She had hardly slept the night before. If Dong Yun hadn’t said what she did yesterday, Pear Blossom might have stayed in the cave to rest. But since Dong Yun had already said it, she didn’t want to stay and make things awkward, so she decided to go down the mountain to sleep.

It wasn’t until evening, after dinner, that she returned to the mountain, carrying Fubao with her.

Fubao, completely unaware of the adults’ matters, had not seen her mother for two days. She happily snuggled up to Pear Blossom, calling out “Mommy” in the sweetest tone.

Seeing the mother and daughter so loving, with Dong Yun not even glancing at her, Pear Blossom suddenly felt like an outsider. Her heart sank, and she didn’t want to stay up there anymore. So she said, “Sister, I’m on night watch tonight, so I won’t sleep up here. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to take Fubao down.”

Dong Yun looked up, her eyes fixed on her. “You’ve never had to do the night watch before, why do you suddenly want to tonight?”

Pear Blossom replied, “It’s our family’s turn, it was supposed to be my father, but I want him to rest for the night, so I’m going in his place.”

Dong Yun’s face darkened immediately. “Now you’ve learned to lie to me, huh?”

Pear Blossom felt guilty, but still stood tall, saying, “It’s true, I’m not lying.”

“Did you not sleep at all last night? You only came back at noon, and after a short rest, you’re heading out again for the night watch. Does your father really allow you to go?”

Pear Blossom, who dared not meet her gaze, stammered, “The outside is chaotic lately. I’m afraid they might overlook things… so…”

Seeing that she couldn’t continue, Dong Yun turned her eyes away, her voice cold as she said, “Fine, you can go.”

But when Pear Blossom heard this, she didn’t feel the slightest sense of relief from being allowed to leave. Instead, it felt as if a heavy stone had lodged in her chest, making her feel even worse.

However, with things having reached this point, she didn’t linger any longer and turned to walk towards the door.

When Fubao saw her about to leave, she rushed up and hugged Pear Blossom’s leg, saying, “Where is Pear Blossom going? It’s already dark outside. Don’t you want to sleep with Fubao?”

Pear Blossom shook her head and forced a smile, saying, “I have to go on the night watch tonight. You be a good girl and rest.”

As for the night watch, that was an adult matter, so Fubao couldn’t throw a tantrum. She could only reluctantly say goodbye, then snuggled up to her mother, asking, “Mother, how long does Pear Blossom’s night watch last? I want to sleep with Pear Blossom and you.”

At this moment, Dong Yun’s expression was as cold as frost, but she still tried to soothe her, saying, “It’ll last until midnight. We can sleep together tomorrow night.”

She wanted to see how this person, who had avoided her for an entire night, could possibly want to keep avoiding her every night.

If such a small matter couldn’t be dealt with, what would happen if there were greater conflicts in the future? Would she have to overturn the heavens?