Liu Ye helped Bai Zilin rebandage his leg. The two of them sat on the grass, chatting casually. Before they knew it, night passed and it was the next day.
Village Chief Zhao drove an ox cart loaded with his entire family. Behind him followed villagers on foot or pushing small wooden carts, all carrying big bundles and luggage as they set off together.
The Bai family and the Liu family were among them. When they passed by the broken courtyard where the two were staying, they couldn’t help but glance over with smug expressions.
Bai Shusheng almost spat, but swallowed it back. He couldn’t afford to waste even saliva—there wasn’t even enough water to drink. He couldn’t be so careless.
Liu Ye curled her lips. So what were they so proud of? They were going through a famine escape, not going on a vacation. She had watched dramas about famine journeys before—every step was suffering. The worst was their feet, and the most deadly problems were lack of water and food. If someone got sick, they wouldn’t even have the strength to dig their own grave—they could only lie by the roadside and wait to die.
After the villagers left, the village became completely quiet.
Liu Ye’s curiosity flared up again. “Brother Bai, they’ve all left. Let’s go treasure hunting in the village. If we can find you a pair of crutches, that’d be great. Hehe… and if we can find silver, even better.”
Bai Zilin looked at her with indulgent eyes and nodded. “Alright, let’s go treasure hunting.”
He took her to Village Chief Zhao’s house. The gate was locked, but that was no problem for Liu Ye. She kicked it open—and the gate flew open while part of the high courtyard wall collapsed too.
She turned back guiltily. “Hehe… mud walls really aren’t strong!”
Bai Zilin: “…Indeed, not very strong. Let’s go in.”
They searched front and back yards but found nothing useful. The room doors were also locked. This time Liu Ye didn’t dare kick them open. Instead, she grabbed the lock and pulled hard—and it snapped open.
Once again, Bai Zilin was stunned. This girl’s strength was truly unbelievable. Even he might not be able to pull a lock open like that. What a treasure she was—Old Liu family really lost out, but… good thing they lost her, or he wouldn’t have found her.
Inside the house, they saw that Village Chief Zhao’s home was indeed better than others. The furniture was nicer, and even the cabinets looked better. But when they opened them, they only found old, worn clothes.
After searching everywhere and finding nothing, Bai Zilin came in leaning on his crutch.
“Find anything?”
Liu Ye shook her head disappointedly and jumped down from the kang bed. “Nothing. Just old clothes.”
Bai Zilin wasn’t surprised. Anyone leaving would take valuables with them. He was just here to keep her company and make her happy.
“The next room is the old village chief’s father’s room. Maybe there’s something there,” he suggested.
Liu Ye immediately perked up and ran over. Bai Zilin smiled helplessly and followed, sitting on the kang while watching her rummage everywhere.
The old man had become senile two years ago, so the room was even more cluttered—but still mostly junk.
She opened cabinet after cabinet and box after box—still nothing. Finally she sat down on the kang in frustration.
“This house is too poor. No… they must’ve taken everything too cleanly.”
Bai Zilin chuckled and touched his nose. “Keep looking. If even they have nothing, then other houses will have even less.”
Suddenly, Liu Ye froze. Her butt felt something odd.
“No, something’s wrong…” She quickly stood up and started feeling around the kang. “Brother Bai, this bed is strange. I want to lift the mat.”
Bai Zilin stepped aside. “Go ahead.”
She rolled up the mat and discovered a square wooden board beneath her sitting spot—an obvious hidden compartment.
Even Bai Zilin noticed immediately and moved closer. “There really is something. Quickly, open it.”
Liu Ye brushed off the dust, lifted the board, and found a wooden box inside with a small lock on it. She pulled it open with one tug.
“Brother Bai… there shouldn’t be a trap, right?”
Bai Zilin smiled and shook his head, then opened the box.
Inside was a pouch. He poured it out—
A gold ingot rolled onto the kang.
“Gold!”
Both of them froze in shock.
Liu Ye’s eyes lit up as she picked it up and weighed it in her hand. “So heavy… Brother Bai, how much is this?”
Bai Zilin took it and examined it. “This is a ten-tael gold ingot. One tael of gold equals ten taels of silver, so this is worth a hundred taels of silver. Good heavens… the Zhao family actually had this much wealth?”
Then he remembered. “Right… the old village chief’s father used to be a steward in a wealthy household. This gold… must’ve been stolen.”
Liu Ye agreed.
Bai Zilin placed the gold into her hand. “You found it, so it’s yours. Keep it for when we settle in the south. We’ll keep searching—maybe there’s more.”
She didn’t refuse and stored it in her space.
They continued searching nearby houses but found nothing else useful, except a pair of crutches. Bai Zilin tried them and they fit well, so he replaced his wooden stick.
By sunset, Liu Ye had gone through almost the entire Stone Creek Village. They returned to the abandoned house.
Excited, she sorted their loot:
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 34 copper coins! Also three scissors, seven spools of thread, and fifteen needles. Perfect—we saved a lot!”
Then she added, “Brother Bai, everyone in the village went to escape famine. The town people probably left too, right? The wells can’t still have water, can they?”
Bai Zilin immediately understood her thoughts.
“Yes, most people in town will leave too. But some elderly people might stay behind—they don’t want to leave their homes and would rather die there.”
He paused. “You still want to go to town to search for treasure?”