“Go to the county town?”
Lin Wanxia blinked in surprise and looked at Zhou Yu’an in confusion.
“Why would we go there now? We don’t have any money, and we can’t sell the jadeite yet.”
Zhou Yu’an noticed her concern.
“It’s not about the jadeite,” he explained. “We’ll see if there’s another way to earn some money.”
He paused.
“Besides, we’re almost out of rice.”
Lin Wanxia’s cheeks warmed with embarrassment.
She had been so preoccupied with the fortune hidden inside the jadeite that she had overlooked their immediate needs.
They couldn’t live on a priceless gemstone.
They needed food on the table.
“I…”
Lin Wanxia lowered her head and answered in a barely audible whisper.
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
Zhou Yu’an’s voice remained calm, revealing little emotion.
“I married you. That means providing for you is my responsibility.”
It was a simple statement, delivered with his usual firmness.
Yet something about it made Lin Wanxia’s heart flutter.
She raised her head and studied his sharply defined profile, illuminated by the faint glow of the kerosene lamp.
The light cast a long shadow across his face, emphasizing his strong features.
This man was always like this.
He rarely wasted words.
But when something needed to be done, he quietly took responsibility without complaint.
“All right. I’ll go to the county town with you tomorrow.”
Lin Wanxia nodded firmly.
“Mm.”
Zhou Yu’an gave a brief acknowledgment.
He picked up the carefully wrapped bundle containing the jadeite and walked toward a corner of the room.
There stood a heavy-looking wooden chest.
He moved it aside, revealing a section of the floor beneath it.
Then, with practiced movements, he lifted one of the floor tiles.
Beneath the tile was a small hollow dug into the packed earth, large enough to conceal the wrapped jadeite.
He placed the wrapped jadeite inside, replaced the tile, and moved the wooden chest back into position.
When he finished, there was no visible sign that anything had been hidden there.
Only then did he turn toward Lin Wanxia.
“From now on, this stays in my room.”
His expression was serious.
“And you need to forget about it.”
“Until I find a way to turn it into money, pretend it doesn’t exist.”
His tone left no room for argument.
But Lin Wanxia understood what he meant.
He was protecting her.
The less she involved herself with the treasure, the safer she would be.
If anyone ever came looking for it, she would have no reason to go near its hiding place or accidentally reveal where it was kept.
“I understand.”
A gentle warmth spread through her chest.
With Zhou Yu’an beside her, she no longer had to face everything alone.
Before long, night settled over the little courtyard.
Lin Wanxia lay on the bed in the east room, surrounded by the soft, brand-new bedding Zhou Yu’an had prepared for her.
Yet no matter how she tossed and turned, sleep refused to come.
One moment, she was thinking about the breathtaking brilliance of the imperial green jadeite.
The next, Zhou Yu’an’s calm, steady face appeared in her mind.
Their marriage was becoming something she hadn’t anticipated.
At first, she had viewed it as a practical arrangement. She needed protection from the Zhou family, while Zhou Yu’an needed someone who would stand beside him despite his injury and reputation.
But now they shared a dangerous secret.
The jadeite could change their lives, provided they found a safe way to sell it.
More importantly, Zhou Yu’an had shown her that he was willing to shoulder their difficulties rather than leave her to face them alone.
Perhaps they were beginning to become partners in more than name.
Creak.
The door to the main room opened.
A moment later, Lin Wanxia heard the familiar tapping of Zhou Yu’an’s cane against the courtyard ground.
She listened carefully.
His footsteps moved toward the well in the middle of the courtyard, followed by the sounds of water being pumped and someone washing up.
For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, those ordinary household noises brought her an unfamiliar sense of comfort.
For the first time, she felt truly at ease in her own home.
Then, suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
Wait!
A way to make money!
Lin Wanxia’s eyes flew open.
She shot upright in bed.
How could she have forgotten?
In her previous life, Zhou Jianbin had discovered a valuable treasure deep in the mountains behind the village.
Wild ginseng.
He had used it to win the favor of Li Fugui, a commune official responsible for overseeing factory recruitment, securing a coveted factory position and a path back to the city.
Lin Wanxia remembered how proud Zhou Jianbin had been of his success.
But this time, she knew about the ginseng before he found it.
If she and Zhou Yu’an reached it first, they might earn enough money to solve their immediate problems.
And Zhou Jianbin would lose the very opportunity he had once used to advance himself.
A smile spread across her face.
Two birds with one stone!
The more Lin Wanxia considered the idea, the more convinced she became that she couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
There was no way she could remain in bed now.
She quickly threw on an outer garment and quietly opened her bedroom door.
Zhou Yu’an had just finished washing up and was preparing to return to his room.
When he looked up, he saw Lin Wanxia peeking out of the east room like a curious little kitten.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“I… I think I’ve found a way for us to make money!”
Lin Wanxia lowered her voice, but her eyes sparkled with excitement in the darkness.
Zhou Yu’an raised an eyebrow, silently encouraging her to continue.
She hurried over, caught hold of his sleeve, and gently tugged him toward a shadowy corner of the courtyard.
“I heard some of the village elders talking about something. Apparently, there might be wild ginseng growing deep in the mountains behind the village!”
Although she had already hinted to Zhou Yu’an that she possessed knowledge of the future, she wasn’t ready to reveal the truth about her rebirth or explain how she knew the ginseng was there.
For now, she could only attribute the information to something she had supposedly overheard from the village elders.
“Wild ginseng?”
Zhou Yu’an’s eyes sharpened immediately.
Of course he knew how valuable such a thing could be.
During his years in the army, he had learned that high-quality wild ginseng was considered a life-saving treasure.
In desperate circumstances, it could help sustain someone whose life was hanging by a thread.
Good specimens were extraordinarily rare, and people were willing to pay enormous sums for them.
“How do you know about this?” he asked.
“I… I just heard people talking about it.”
Lin Wanxia tried to sound casual.
“They seemed pretty certain, and they even mentioned roughly where it could be found.”
She tightened her hold on his sleeve.
“I was thinking, if we manage to find some, we won’t just have enough money for a trip to the county town. We might even be able to afford everything you need to contact your former comrades!”
Zhou Yu’an fell silent.
He knew the mountains behind the village extremely well.
But the deeper sections were another matter entirely.
The terrain was rugged and complicated, with steep slopes, thick vegetation, and dangerous ravines.
Wild animals also roamed the area.
Even an experienced hunter had to be careful when venturing that far into the wilderness.
And Lin Wanxia wanted to go looking for ginseng there?
Absolutely not.
“No.”
He rejected the idea without hesitation.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s not that dangerous!”
Lin Wanxia immediately grew anxious.
“I know about a small trail that avoids the dangerous areas! And besides, I have a really strong feeling that we’ll find it!”
Her voice carried a hint of pleading.
She continued holding his sleeve, looking up at him with eyes full of hope.
Without realizing it, she was practically coaxing him like a spoiled child asking for a favor.
Zhou Yu’an looked down at her.
The young woman stood close beside him, her fingers curled around the fabric of his sleeve, her face filled with anticipation.
Zhou Yu’an studied her hopeful expression.
He remembered how she had trusted him with the jadeite earlier that evening.
Now she was asking him to trust her judgment.
He still disliked the idea of taking her into the mountains. The terrain was dangerous, and his injured leg would make it difficult to protect her if anything went wrong.
But he knew Lin Wanxia well enough by now to understand that she wouldn’t abandon the idea simply because he refused.
If she was determined to search for the ginseng, he would rather accompany her than let her venture into the mountains alone.
He remained silent for another moment.
Then, finally, he relented.
“When do you want to go?”
Lin Wanxia’s face lit up instantly.
“Within the next couple of days!”
She could barely contain her excitement.
Then, remembering something, she quickly added, “I also heard that Zhou Jianbin might be interested in that ginseng. We have to get there before he does!”
The moment Zhou Jianbin’s name was mentioned, the warmth in Zhou Yu’an’s expression disappeared.
His eyes turned cold.
“All right.”
Just two simple words.
But Lin Wanxia knew exactly what they meant.
He had agreed.
Their second venture together was officially underway.
And this time, their target was wild ginseng!