Taking it and throwing it away wouldn’t earn even a single coin.
Old Li shook his beard happily. “Twenty coppers for both big baskets, is that right?”
“Uncle Shopkeeper’s shop is going to get very, very big!”
Chen Xiaoman traced a big circle along with her words.
Zhou Daya’s face bloomed into a smile. “Oh my, the shopkeeper is so kind-hearted, looking out for us like this!”
“Uncle Shopkeeper is a great person!” Chen Xiaoman praised the young shopkeeper enthusiastically.
The young shopkeeper tried to speak several times but couldn’t get a word in, and finally waved his hand weakly. “Forget it, thirty coppers, just take all this cotton thread with you.”
Zhou Daya and Old Li were stunned by his generosity.
This was four whole baskets of cotton thread!
Zhou Daya didn’t hesitate and counted out thirty coppers, handing them to the young shopkeeper, then pulled Old Li over to pour out the thread.
Chen Xiaoman stood at the counter chatting with the shopkeeper.
“Uncle Shopkeeper, when we weave the cloth, can we sell it to you?”
The young shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly. “We won’t take it.”
“It’ll be very pretty.” Chen Xiaoman insisted.
With such a messy jumble of colors, how pretty could it possibly turn out?
He couldn’t wait to get rid of the thread as it was.
Who would be foolish enough to take the cloth back in?
Seeing his reluctance, Chen Xiaoman looked disappointed. “All right then.”
But in an instant she perked up again. “When my ma finishes weaving the cloth, I’ll bring it for Uncle Shopkeeper to see.”
Having offloaded one big headache, the young shopkeeper felt relieved.
With such a lovable little girl chatting with him too, he relaxed and casually agreed. “Sure.”
Chen Xiaoman laughed happily.
Once Uncle Shopkeeper saw how pretty the cloth was, he’d buy it.
Then they’d make money again!
“Xiaoman, let’s go.”
Zhou Daya called out to Chen Xiaoman at the counter.
Chen Xiaoman answered, said goodbye to the young shopkeeper, then turned and wobbled over to Zhou Daya.
The young shopkeeper was startled at the sight of the two of them.
Old Li had both baskets, front and back, stuffed full of cotton thread.
That wasn’t even enough, he had a big bundle of cotton thread slung over each shoulder too, so that only his two eyes showed.
Zhou Daya was a bit better off, having tied the thread into two big bundles carried on her shoulders.
Watching the three of them leave, the young shopkeeper rushed over to the baskets in a few steps.
All four big bamboo baskets were completely empty.
“What kind of people are these…”
The young shopkeeper marveled.
Since both of them were carrying so much cotton thread, they couldn’t carry Chen Xiaoman, so she could only walk back alongside them.
After walking a while, Zhou Daya asked, “Are you tired, Xiaoman?”
Chen Xiaoman shook her head. “Not tired, Xiaoman is very strong!”
As she said this, she swung her arms a couple of times.
Zhou Daya told her, “If you get tired, tell your ma, and we’ll rest for a bit.”
“With this much stuff, if you put it in my cave paradise, it’d be effortless to carry home.”
Half-Immortal Zhang’s voice came through.
Chen Xiaoman’s eyes lit up. “Can I put these in there?”
“Only when you’re alone.”
Afraid Chen Xiaoman wouldn’t understand the weight of it, Half-Immortal Zhang hurried to warn her, “No one can be allowed to know I exist, or you and your family will be in danger.”
Chen Xiaoman grew anxious. “Are there bad people after Grandpa Half-Immortal?”
In her heart, Half-Immortal Zhang, who taught her to read and study medicine, was a wonderful person.
Whoever bullied a good person was a bad person.
Half-Immortal Zhang shook his head.
The little girl didn’t yet understand the principle that an ordinary man is guilty simply for holding a treasure.
He only said, “You could put it that way.”
Chen Xiaoman pressed her lips tightly shut and shook her head over and over. “I won’t tell anyone!”
Half-Immortal Zhang felt relieved.
But in the next moment, he heard Chen Xiaoman ask, “Grandpa Half-Immortal, can the herbs in your place be taken out and sold?”
Half-Immortal Zhang nearly choked on his own breath.
“These herbs are of great use to me, they can’t be touched carelessly!”
“I see…”
Chen Xiaoman propped her chin with a finger and thought for a moment, then said grandly, “Once I have money, I’ll buy herbs for you.”
Half-Immortal Zhang snorted. “This cave paradise of mine is nourished by spiritual energy. The potency of the herbs here can’t be compared to those ordinary herbs out there.”
Chen Xiaoman’s eyes lit up. “Would they be even better at treating illness?”
“Naturally.”
Half-Immortal Zhang took a gulp of wine. “Never mind herbs, even ordinary grain seeds, once nourished by spiritual energy, would at least double their yield.”
Chen Xiaoman’s eyes widened in amazement. “That’s so amazing!”
“This is an immortal’s estate!” Half-Immortal Zhang emphasized specially.
“Can I borrow Grandpa Half-Immortal’s land to grow grain?”
Chen Xiaoman asked hopefully.
Half-Immortal Zhang laughed heartily. “Plant whatever you want.”
If the Li family’s harvest was good, Xiaoman would get to eat her fill too.
This was exactly why he’d made a point of telling Chen Xiaoman all this.
After they got home, Zhou Daya and Old Li put the cotton thread in the main room, and Zhou Daya went to the kitchen to cook.
Seeing it was still early, Old Li shouldered his hoe and went out to his own field.
Taking advantage of no one being home, Chen Xiaoman went to the small room at the very back.
This small room stayed dark and was where the Li family kept their grain.
Zhou Daya had just taken grain from here to cook with.
Chen Xiaoman pushed the door open and went in, and the first things she saw were three large earthenware jars.
Beside them were also some smaller jars and pots.
Chen Xiaoman opened the nearest large earthenware jar, and inside was millet filled to the brim.
She grabbed a handful out and called, “Grandpa Half-Immortal, can this be planted?”
“Mm, it hasn’t been hulled, it can be planted.”
Chen Xiaoman grabbed a handful with one hand, closed her eyes, and her consciousness appeared in the cave paradise.
She opened her two little hands, and they were full of millet.
She happily set the millet down on the ground, and with a thought, she came back out.
Seeing her about to reach in and grab another handful, Half-Immortal Zhang hurried to stop her. “No need to go through such trouble. Just put your hand on the millet, and I’ll bring it in for you.”
Following Half-Immortal Zhang’s instruction, Chen Xiaoman opened her little hand and placed it on the millet.
In the blink of an eye, a thick layer of millet had disappeared from the jar.
Chen Xiaoman covered her mouth with both hands, her big eyes full of astonishment.
She quickly closed her eyes, and her consciousness entered the cave paradise, where she found the millet piled up into a small hill on the medicine field.
She walked in circles around the little hill of grain twice.
“How is it?”
Half-Immortal Zhang jumped down off his gourd, one hand on his hip, the other holding the gourd, and looked at Chen Xiaoman expectantly.
Chen Xiaoman ran up to Half-Immortal Zhang excitedly, chattering away. “Grandpa Half-Immortal, how did you do that?”
“Just a small trick, nothing more.”
But Chen Xiaoman couldn’t contain her excitement.
“Is there anything even more amazing?”
Half-Immortal Zhang grew smug. “Plenty more.”
Chen Xiaoman clapped hard. “Grandpa Half-Immortal, let Xiaoman see!”
Thoroughly flattered, Half-Immortal Zhang waved a hand at the pile of millet, his wide sleeve swaying with the motion.
The millet seemed to come alive, scattering apart and falling onto a patch of ground, digging into the soil on its own.
Chen Xiaoman’s mouth fell wide open, her eyes not blinking once.
“There’s something even more amazing.”
Half-Immortal Zhang pressed two fingers together and pointed at the spirit lake not far off.
The spirit lake surged, and a stream of spirit spring water shot up into the air, rushing happily toward Half-Immortal Zhang’s fingertip.
“Ah!”
Chen Xiaoman cried out in surprise.
Half-Immortal Zhang’s heart swelled with pride.
He pointed his finger at the millet, and the spirit spring obediently rushed toward the ground where the seeds had been scattered.
Only once the ground was thoroughly soaked did Half-Immortal Zhang withdraw his hand.
Right after, one green shoot after another poked up out of the soil, and before long, they were already as long as an adult’s finger.