Chapter 29

The passing ships didn’t know what was going on, but they all thought it was a rare spectacle. The villagers were even more curious and, inevitably, would embellish the story when they got back.

Old Master Song and little Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao knew exactly what they were doing, so they worked extra hard. Even though the Song men didn’t know what it was for, since it was Sweet Bao who gave the orders, they trusted she had her reasons.

Using the tools Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao gave them, they worked diligently without noticing the time.

Back home, the women were in a panic and had been waiting by the sea. Old Madam Zhou and Liu were both crying.

The men still hadn’t returned—surely that meant they hadn’t found Littel Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao. What would they do now? She was such a small child—how many days could she survive on a boat?

The more they thought about it, the more anxious and scared they became. When they saw returning boats, they immediately asked if anyone had seen the Song family.

And as luck would have it, someone had.

One person said, “Your men found Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao. She’s with her grandfather.”

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. In all their panic, they’d forgotten Old Master Song was with Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao. That was a big comfort.

Old Madam Zhou scolded angrily, “That old fool! He took Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao out to sea and didn’t even say a word! He scared us half to death!”

The daughters-in-law all nodded in agreement. They should’ve said something—it made them worry sick.

The man added, “But something strange happened. Their boat was surrounded by huge fish—those fish were sticking their heads out, like they wanted to eat someone. The fish were even bigger than the boat. There was a sea turtle the size of a small mountain—I think some of them even climbed onto the boat.”

The man clearly liked exaggerating, and after hearing his story, the women felt like the sky was falling again.

Something had to be wrong. If everything was fine, why hadn’t they come back yet, even after finding Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao?

Surrounded by big fish? Why? Were they trying to eat people?

As more people returned, several confirmed they had seen the Song family. But the stories varied: some said the fish were paying respects, others said they were attacking, still others claimed the fish were bringing gifts, or just blocking the way for unknown reasons.

Despite the differing accounts, one thing was certain: they were definitely surrounded by large fish.

At sunset, just as the last ray of sunlight faded, the two large Song boats finally docked.

Old Master Song carried little Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao, and the sons all disembarked—cheerful and smiling, a stark contrast to the worried women waiting.

Old Madam Zhou stormed over and immediately started yelling at the old man and her sons.

“You old fool! Have you lost your mind? Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao is just a little child, and you dared to take her out to sea? If anything had happened, I’d have skinned you alive!”

“And you unfilial sons—do you know how worried I’ve been at home? I told you to find her, but none of you came back. Are you trying to kill me with worry?”

Old Master Song hadn’t expected to return so late. Knowing he was in the wrong, he simply smiled and said nothing. The sons remained silent as their mother scolded them.

Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao quickly spoke up, “Grandma, we’re back safe, right? I asked Grandpa to take me out to sea. We found a treasure—that’s why we came back late.”

Hearing her soft, childlike voice, Old Madam Zhou’s anger subsided. She rushed over to hug Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao.

“If you want to go out and play in the future, tell Grandma first. Otherwise, I’ll worry,” she said gently.

Sweet Bao nodded obediently, “Okay, Grandma. I know. Grandma loves me the most.”

Old Madam Zhou smiled. Her granddaughter was thoughtful and knew she was loved. Among all the children, Literal Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao was the one she loved most.

“What kind of treasure did you find?” she asked.

Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao replied sweetly, “It’s ambergris. Both boats are full.”

Everyone fell silent.

Wait—what? Ambergris? The kind only royals could afford?

People living by the sea had certainly heard of ambergris and its immense value, but it was extremely rare and hard to find. Finding even a single piece would take generations of luck. And Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao said… both boats were full?

Liu turned to her husband and asked, “You found ambergris? And a lot of it?”

The fourth son, Song Futian, nodded honestly and explained how they found Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao surrounded by many large fish. When they helped clean off the barnacles, the fish gave them ambergris in return.

It sounded fantastical—but since it involved Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao, somehow it wasn’t surprising.

The eldest daughter-in-law exclaimed, “You mean the fish surrounded your boat just to ask for help removing barnacles, and then they gave you ambergris?”

Song Futian nodded. “Yes.”

Everyone looked at Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao in amazement. How many more surprises did this little girl have?

Old Master Song said, “We picked the best pieces off the boat. We’ll dry them out. It’s all thanks to Sweet Bao’s good fortune that the fish gave us this treasure.”

Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao added, “Even though the big fish came because of me, everyone worked hard all afternoon. Once we sell it, everyone gets a share.”

Money didn’t mean much to Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao. Her space was full of treasures. She just wanted the people fated to be her family in this life to live happily. And they did put in the labor.

Everyone would eventually die—she could only spend at most a hundred years with them. In her long life with no real family left, she felt it only right to treat them well.

She needed local currency to get wishing fruits, so selling the ambergris came first. After that, she’d divide the silver among her uncles.

Everyone knew how generous Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao was. Ever since she was little, the whole family had benefited from her. Now that she was earning money and still willing to share, they were even more grateful.

Old Madam Zhou held her and said, “Take the goods home, we’ll cook a big meal. Since we had a good harvest today, let’s eat something special. Everyone, come to my place tonight.”

The daughters-in-law agreed and followed her back to the old courtyard to start dinner, just like before.

Nothing beats dumplings. Since it would take the men some time to haul everything home, and there were many women around, they had time to prepare.

The vegetable garden had just produced fresh green chives, eggplants, and peppers. They planned to make two kinds of dumpling fillings: chive and egg, and spicy eggplant with meat.

Soon, they’d have a lot of silver coming in. The whole family was energized. As the dumplings were boiling, the men returned with all the ambergris.

Everyone stared speechlessly at the pile in the yard. That stuff was expensive.

Just one tael could fetch twenty taels of silver. Only nobility could afford it. In some dynasties, it was controlled by the state. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case here.

“Heavens, there’s so much…” Old Madam Zhou murmured.

Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao said, “We’ll go again tomorrow. We’ll collect all we can from this sea area and sell it. I’ll use the money to treat Grandma to something delicious.”

“Ay, my Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao really is the most filial.” Old Madam Zhou beamed with joy.