“Eldest Brother, here!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhuo Ling stuffed the money pouch into Zhuo Chang’an’s hands, blinking up at him with eager, dark eyes full of anticipation.
The heavy weight in his hand felt unbelievably real.
Zhuo Chang’an’s heartbeat suddenly quickened, and a thin layer of sweat dampened his palms.
His fingers trembled slightly as he opened the pouch.
Inside was a small piece of broken silver and three hundred copper coins.
“So it’s true…”
Drawing in a deep breath, Zhuo Chang’an looked at the round-faced five-year-old before him as though he were dreaming.
“The apocalypse… the Mall… It’s unbelievable…
“Ling’er, then… what can I do to help?”
“Eldest Brother, you’ve seen it yourself. With this tiny body of mine, I can’t even cut grass properly. Even if I earn money, I have no way to take it out and spend it.”
Zhuo Ling sighed helplessly before patting Zhuo Chang’an on the shoulder in a comically grown-up manner.
“The reason I told you who I really am is because I knew you’d believe me!
“From now on, we’ll work together and buy low, sell high, making piles and piles of money from the Underground City!”
Zhuo Chang’an nodded, a smile spreading across his refined face.
“All right.”
The anxiety Zhuo Ling had been carrying instantly melted away.
She finally felt completely at ease.
With Eldest Brother on her side, wouldn’t she be able to do whatever she wanted in this world?
The more she thought about it, the happier she became.
Raising her tiny fist, she declared grandly,
“Once we make enough money, our whole family will have plenty to eat and drink through these disaster years! Then we’ll buy houses, buy carriages, build a bigger business, become stronger, and create a brilliant future together!”
“Pfft…”
Zhuo Chang’an couldn’t help laughing.
“All right, all right. Keep your voice down, or someone will hear you.”
He rubbed her little head before saying thoughtfully,
“There’s just one thing, Ling’er.
“This is far too unbelievable. For now, I don’t think Father and Mother should know about it.
“Times are hard. Everyone is fighting just to stay alive.
“In the future, don’t reveal your abilities in front of the villagers. Otherwise, you’ll attract the attention of thieves and greedy people, and it’ll only bring trouble.”
“Exactly! That’s what I was thinking too!”
Zhuo Ling nodded furiously.
“Not everyone treats me as well as Father, Mother, and Eldest Brother do!”
A smile curved Zhuo Chang’an’s handsome lips.
After a moment’s thought, he added,
“And as for the money… we’ll have to come up with a believable explanation for where it comes from.”
“Woof! Woof! Woof, woof!”
Before he could finish speaking, a fluffy little white lapdog rounded the corner of the wall.
Apparently startled to find people there, it immediately began barking furiously at them.
“Ah!”
Zhuo Ling jumped in fright, throwing herself into Zhuo Chang’an’s arms as she cried,
“The dogs here are so fierce! Does it bite people?”
The wealthy families in the Underground City kept dogs too.
But those dogs wore little clothes, were dressed up like tiny people, and spent their days obediently being carried around in their owners’ arms.
“Go on! Shoo! Shoo! It’s all right. Don’t be afraid…”
Zhuo Chang’an hurriedly held her close while waving a stick of firewood to drive the dog away.
His hand happened to rest on her little bottom.
A strange awkwardness suddenly rose in his heart, and his handsome face flushed red for no apparent reason.
This five-year-old body belonged to his little sister…
But the soul inside was that of a young woman from the future.
“Fengshou, come back.”
A young married woman dressed in elegant silk robes approached gracefully.
Gold and silver hairpins adorned her hair.
She bent down, picked up the little dog, and gently scolded it,
“You naughty thing. Look how badly you’ve frightened them.”
The moment Zhuo Ling saw the graceful, breathtakingly beautiful woman, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Our ancestors’ sense of beauty was absolutely the pinnacle of human aesthetics!
Her clothes… her hairstyle… absolutely perfect!
She’s gorgeous!
Compared to her, those wealthy people in the Underground City who covered themselves in designer labels and insisted a pair of shorts counted as a fashionable skirt…
They weren’t even in the same galaxy!
The young woman smiled apologetically.
“Did he scare you?
“Don’t worry. Fengshou doesn’t bite.”
Drip…
A string of drool immediately dangled from the corner of Zhuo Ling’s mouth.
Sucking on her finger, she stared in admiration.
“Pretty… Sister… so pretty!
“Big Sister is so pretty!”
“Oh, you little sweetheart. What a sweet mouth you have.”
The woman’s face reddened slightly under Zhuo Ling’s unblinking gaze.
Seeing that they were just two poorly dressed village children, sympathy naturally appeared in her smiling eyes.
Turning to her servant, she instructed,
“Madam Zhang, bring the pastries I just bought for these two children.
“Were you selling firewood in town?
“Poor little things, working at such a young age.
“Madam Zhang, give them twenty copper coins and buy their bundle of firewood.”
In a good year, a bundle of firewood sold for five to ten copper coins, depending on its quality.
Even during a famine, no matter how much prices rose, it would never sell for twenty.
“Thank you, Madam.”
Zhuo Chang’an immediately expressed his gratitude.
“Where is your residence? My little sister and I will deliver the firewood.”
“The red-walled estate you’re standing beside is the Pang Residence.”
Madam Zhang took a paper-wrapped package of pastries from the food box, counted out twenty copper coins from her purse, and handed everything over.
Curling her lips, she said,
“Country boy, haven’t you heard of the Pang family?
“Who else besides our Pang Residence would spend money this generously these days?”
Who in the area hadn’t heard of the Pang family?
Master Pang had once served as an Imperial Physician in the palace, treating the Emperor and his imperial consorts.
After retiring and returning to his hometown, he opened a pharmacy in town and built a thriving business trading medicinal herbs from both the north and south.
Rumor had it that the Pang family’s young master also served in the imperial palace.
He had married the daughter of the Zhou family, the region’s largest grain merchants.
The Zhou family was even more remarkable.
Their grain shops were spread throughout towns across northern China.
With two powerful families joining forces through marriage, their wealth had only continued to grow over the past few years.
Keeping his eyes lowered, Zhuo Chang’an thanked them once more.
Then, carrying the bundle of firewood in one hand while holding Zhuo Ling’s hand with the other, he entered the Pang Residence.
Passing through the massive vermilion gates studded with bronze nails, they were greeted by a spacious courtyard.
A huge water jar in the center held ornamental fish, while flowers, shrubs, and trees flourished all around, lush and vibrant.
Artificial rockeries.
Fish ponds.
Long covered corridors.
Grand buildings.
Everything looked like a dream brought to life.
“Eldest Brother! Th-this mansion! I’ve seen houses like this in the Underground City’s archives!”
Like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden for the first time, Zhuo Ling couldn’t look fast enough.
Clutching Zhuo Chang’an’s hand tightly, she exclaimed excitedly,
“It’s beautiful!
“It’s so beautiful…
“Eldest Brother, we’ll buy a mansion this beautiful someday too!”
“Mhm.”
After setting down the firewood, Zhuo Chang’an whispered,
“Let’s go. Mother is still waiting for us.”
“Where’s my hairpin?”
Suddenly, a cry rang out from the corridor.
“Madam Zhang, have you seen my hairpin? Hurry and help me look for it!”
“I haven’t seen it, Young Madam.”
Madam Zhang searched all around before suddenly slapping her forehead.
“Oh no! Could I have dropped it on the road? I’ll go look for it!
“If someone picked it up, we’ll never get it back!”
“Hurry! Hurry!”
The young madam looked so anxious she was nearly in tears.
She urged repeatedly,
“That hairpin was the token of love between my husband and me!
“If someone has found it, I don’t care how much silver it costs—we have to redeem it!”
Ding! Ancient Huaxia Dragon-and-Phoenix Gold Hairpin detected. Value: 30,000,000 Underground Credits. Sell?
The system notification suddenly rang out.
A red targeting frame appeared before Zhuo Ling’s eyes, locking onto the pond beneath the artificial rockery.
Following the red marker, she could just make out a tiny glint of gold, no larger than a fingernail, peeking out from a thick cluster of aquatic plants.