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Chen Feng made inquiries and learned that the Dachun Dynasty did not yet possess any diamonds, so she hadn’t decided when to unveil these two small stones. However, she could find an appropriate opportunity to sell the other gemstones.
The notice announcing the hunt for the gold thief also listed the stolen items, none of which included jewelry set with emeralds or rubies.
So, Chen Feng selected three rubies and one emerald. She planned for Chen Dabao to stumble upon these gems while gathering firewood, perhaps after taking a fall.
The two emeralds were a translucent green, each about half the size of a fingertip, one round and the other diamond-shaped. She chose the slightly darker round emerald for now, leaving the preferred one for later. The three rubies, slightly smaller than the emeralds, were oval-shaped and likely removed from the same piece of jewelry.
Currently, she had over 130 taels of silver and 40 taels of gold. If she could sell another two to three hundred taels of silver, it would add up to over 800 taels.
Here, prime land cost five taels of silver per acre, while paddy fields were priced at six taels per acre. Regardless of paddy or dry land, she wanted to buy over a hundred acres, giving Chen Ming several tens of acres and keeping around a hundred for herself, living comfortably as a true small landowner.
She wasn’t sure how much money the Chu family’s master would offer. She guessed that although the cloud brocade sparrow was precious and beautiful, it surely wasn’t as valuable as Qiqi or Gray, but it would still fetch at least a few hundred taels. The money she will give would be kept for repairing the courtyard and for emergency expenses next year.
She had firmly secured the right thighs to cling to and didn’t want to be too hard on herself. The current thatched cottage left her anxious whenever heavy rain fell.
Chen Feng wrapped the gemstones in a cloth and shared her thoughts with the golden swallow. The golden swallow paused its activity and said, “As long as it’s not something from the agarwood, feel free to take it out, Mommy.”
Chen Feng also mentioned Chu Hanyan’s illness, suggesting that after the young girl returned to Tangyuan, she could take some things from the agarwood to give to her.
The golden swallow cheerfully responded, “Sure, helping the beautiful little sister and Mommy, it’s a win-win.”
Chen Feng said, “You’re helping the beautiful little sister, but why do you have to drag me into it?”
The golden swallow chirped, “Mommy is the one helping the beautiful little sister, I’m just an anonymous hero.”
Oh, the little one was right.
The next day, after lunch and without taking a nap, Chen Feng, wearing a bamboo hat, took Dabao and led Zhui Feng to the woods at the western edge of the village to gather firewood.
It was the hottest part of the day. The autumn sun was still scorching, and there weren’t many people gathering firewood. Occasionally, someone familiar would greet Dabao. Few people would greet Chen Feng, except for those who harbored intentions toward her, a few members of the Chen family, and the family of Wu the carpenter. Almost no one else in the village would talk to Chen Feng, either because they weren’t familiar with her or because they were afraid of her fierceness or simply didn’t like her.
Chen Feng was happy about this, she led Chen Dabao and Zhui Feng to a place with fewer people. When they reached an area devoid of people, Chen Feng moved a certain distance away from Dabao. Seeing him earnestly collecting firewood, she quickly dug a small hole with a small knife and buried three gemstones. She promptly covered them with soil, added some leaves and branches to conceal them, and tossed the remaining ruby into the pile of branches.
As she stood up, Chen Dabao called out that there was a lot of firewood here. When he approached, Chen Feng suddenly felt a branch hit her foot, and with a “Ouch,” she used the momentum to push Dabao ahead of her.
Dabao tumbled, and as he was about to cry out in pain, he noticed something shiny. Under the sunlight filtering through the branches, it sparkled red. His mouth gaped wide, and with his small claws, he quickly cleared away the branches and leaves to pick up the shiny object. Why did this shiny little stone look so much like the gemstone worn by wealthy women?
His heart suddenly pounded wildly, and he balled his little hand into a fist, looking around cautiously.
Thankfully, there were no signs of danger.
He turned around and forcefully pulled Chen Feng down, whispering in her ear, “Mom, look quickly, your son found a treasure.” He loosened his tightly clenched little hand a bit.
Chen Feng suppressed a smile and pretended to startle, then whispered with delight in Dabao’s ear, “Son, this is a ruby, worth a lot.”
Nervously, Dabao placed his small hand into Chen Feng’s large hand and said, “Mom, please take it. If no one comes looking for it while we’re here, then it will belong to us.”
This little one wasn’t too greedy. His behavior was already quite commendable, especially considering there was no police station nearby. If he found something and had nowhere to turn it in, the local officials would surely take it for themselves.
Chen Feng smiled as she put away the gemstones, saying, “Alright, let’s dig around here some more and see if there are any other valuable items.”
Dabao gave Chen Feng an approving look and whispered, “Mom, you are so thoughtful. I’ll start digging right away.”
He looked around again, seeing no one, and then squatted down to start digging with a small knife. Oh, he had actually dug up three more small stones, two red and one green.
Dabao was beyond excited. He quickly grabbed the three small stones, but due to his agitation, he also grabbed some dirt. He looked around again, saw no one, and nervously placed his small hand into Chen Feng’s large hand, whispering, “Mom, please keep them safe.”
The little rascal’s nervousness also affected Chen Feng. She looked around as well, seeing no signs of danger, and then whispered, “Son, these things are buried quite deep. We can’t wait for someone to come looking for them.” The implication was that if the owner couldn’t be found, then these things should belong to them.
Dabao smiled brightly and nodded in agreement. The mother and son then carried the firewood on their backs, leading Zhui Feng as they walked out of the woods.
However, every so often, Dabao would take a tumble, then carefully inspect the ground, using his small hands to sift through the dry grass. If he didn’t see anything shiny, he would get up disappointedly.
Chen Feng couldn’t help but find it amusing, he really thought he could find a few gemstones just by taking a fall.
She held his hand and whispered, “Dabao, the kind of luck where you find treasures by taking a tumble is rare and unpredictable. Most people never experience it in their entire lives.”
After hearing this, Dabao stopped tumbling.
Upon returning home and closing the door, Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang were astonished when they heard about this incredible event. When they saw the gemstones, still covered with a bit of dirt, their mouths hung open, and they could barely speak coherently.
“This, this, how could this happen!” Chen Ming exclaimed, “A’Feng is truly as the monk said, blessed. Once her illness is cured, not only will our family change drastically, but Dabao is also encountering such good fortune. Heaven, I never expected this, really never. This emerald and three rubies are worth at least a hundred taels of silver.”