I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Deserving of a Reward

“Oh, my ancestors!”

With a “thud,” Zhang Jinhua knelt toward the direction of the ancestral graves. She kowtowed three times loudly then turned toward the corner where a Bodhisattva statue was enshrined to bow again.

“Thank you, ancestors! Thank you, Bodhisattva, for manifesting and saving us from our suffering! This is wonderful; our lives can finally get better…”

She muttered on and on, tears of excitement streaming down her face.

Wu Duofu looked at the pile of silver. Amidst the joy, his brow furrowed slightly. He picked up a silver ingot weighing about three taels, weighed it in his hand, and carefully inspected its purity and wear. He hesitated, “Old woman, look at this silver. Why does the luster seem so new? It doesn’t look like an old item buried for a hundred years…”

Zhang Jinhua, currently immersed in ecstasy, immediately became displeased upon hearing this. She snatched the ingot back and snapped, “How is it not an old item? Isn’t the jar old? I say the ancestors had foresight; they buried new silver back then. The mouth of the jar was sealed tight, and it was buried in the earth, so naturally, it was preserved perfectly! If the ancestors didn’t leave it, did it fall from the sky? Did it grow out of the ground? You just overthink everything! Stop talking nonsense!”

Choked by his wife’s sharp rebuttal, the sliver of doubt in Wu Duofu’s heart dissipated.

Indeed, if the ancestors didn’t leave it, where else could it have come from? Could it truly be heaven’s will? He looked at the pile of shimmering white silver and finally broke into a wide grin, nodding heavily. “Right, right! It’s the ancestors’ protection! The ancestors’ protection!”

The old couple smiled and stared at the silver again and again. The bean-sized glow of the oil lamp flickered, stretching the shadows of Wu Duofu and Zhang Jinhua across the mottled earthen walls.

“Old man…” Zhang Jinhua’s voice was extremely low, tinged with disbelief. “We didn’t miscount… this is really over two hundred tales?”

Wu Duofu leaned in closer, his aged eyes wide. He counted the pile of silver one more time, his breathing growing heavy. “Can’t be wrong, can’t be wrong…” He murmured, then suddenly looked up, a sharp glint in his eyes. “Old woman, we can’t let the children know the actual amount.”

Zhang Jinhua understood instantly. She licked her lips nervously. “Right, right. We can’t tell them the truth. The kids have loose lips; if word leaks out, it’ll be a disaster!” She paused, lowering her voice further. “Should we say ninety-two tales? It’s enough to make them happy and enough for our family to get back on its feet.”

Wu Duofu did a quick mental calculation. Ninety-two tales minus one tale each for the Eldest and Fourth daughters-in-law left ninety tales. That was enough to handle many family matters with plenty left over for the “bottom of the chest” savings.

“Fine, let’s say ninety-two tales!”

Facing the oil lamp, the old couple very reluctantly wrapped up the majority of the silver and hid it in the deepest part of the kàng cabinet, leaving only two small one-tael ingots outside.

Zhang Jinhua took several deep breaths and patted her lapels. Only then did she walk to the door and raise her voice to shout outside: “Everyone, come in!”

In the central hall, the restless family had been waiting anxiously for a long time. Upon hearing the summons, they filed in one by one, filling the already cramped room. The children huddled ignorantly by their mothers’ legs, while the adults stared eagerly at the old couple by the table.

“Father, Mother, how is it? How much silver was dug up?” Mrs. Wei, being the most impatient, spoke first.

Wu Duofu coughed, trying his best to maintain the steady air of the head of the household. He picked up the two small silver ingots on the table and displayed them before the crowd.

“Thanks to the ancestors! The jar that Qiaoqiao and the Eldest Daughter-in-law dug up just now contained the family fortune left by our ancestors. Exactly—” He paused deliberately to build suspense before saying, “Ninety-two tales of silver!”

“Ninety-two tales?!”

The room fell silent for a heartbeat before erupting into chaos! The sons’ eyes went as wide as copper bells, while the wives covered their mouths, their faces flushing with excitement.

Ninety-two tales! For a farming family that barely scraped by all year, this was a fortune they wouldn’t even dare dream of!

“Oh my! Heaven has eyes! The ancestors have shown themselves!”

Mrs. Wei reacted the fastest. She slapped her thigh, her face blooming into a smile. “I knew it! The magpies were chattering today; there was bound to be good news! Look, Fourth Brother’s illness is clearly getting better, and the silver left by the ancestors has followed suit and seen the light of day! This must be the ancestors seeing our family’s hardship and specifically manifesting to help their descendants! Father, Mother, this is the great fortune of our Wu family!”

Her words both offered congratulations and complimented the ancestors and her in-laws.

Li Qiaoqiao sighed inwardly Mrs. Wei was truly a talent. Unwilling to be outdone, she immediately followed up with a sweeter voice and more exaggerated tone: “Mother! Ninety-two tales! I’ve only ever heard of such amounts in plays! Our Wu family’s ancestors were truly wealthy; they had such deep roots! And they cherish their descendants so much! To marry into such a family is truly the blessing of eight lifetimes! Father, Mother, from now on, our family’s days will only get better and better!”

Her words praised the Wu ancestors to the heavens. The flattery was loud and comfortable, her level clearly a notch higher.

Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Yuan didn’t have as many schemes; they simply nodded repeatedly, their faces brimming with joy. Mrs. Liu clutched her chest; the guilt she had felt because her husband, Wu Tiegen, had gambled away money was mostly lifted. Mrs. Yuan also felt a weight leave her heart; the pressure from the wasted money she and her husband, Wu Tiesheng, had spent on useless medicine to conceive a son seemed to lighten significantly.

Even Wu Ya, who had seen much of the world, found it both amusing and poignant to see a room full of people rejoicing over ninety-two tales as if it were the New Year. However, he was truly relieved that the family’s dire straits were being eased.

Zhang Jinhua was very satisfied with everyone’s reaction. The well-timed flattery from Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Wei made her feel the silver was well-spent. She picked up the two small ingots and first handed one to Li Qiaoqiao. “Qiaoqiao has sharp eyes; she deserves a reward.”

Then she handed the other to Mrs. Wei. “My eldest daughter-in-law put in effort as well.”

Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Wei beamed with joy, accepting them without hesitation and clutching them tightly in their palms. One tale of silver! Think of how many things that could buy!

After distributing the rewards, Zhang Jinhua cleared her throat and began to announce the plan she and the old man had discussed: “This silver was left by the ancestors; it must be used where it counts.”

“First, this house leaks wind and rain everywhere, and the doors and windows are falling apart. It must be renovated and repaired; we can’t let the children freeze this winter.”

“Second, each branch should see what furniture is missing chests, cabinets, stools. Add what needs to be added; repair the old if possible, or replace them with new ones if not.”

“Third, as the weather is turning cold, this winter, everyone in the family from old to young—will get a set of thick, new cotton-padded jackets and trousers! No more shivering like last year!”

“Fourth, grain! Meat! Vegetables! We need to buy more and stockpile them! This New Year, we’ll make dumplings with pure white flour and cut several catties of fatty pork. We’re going to have a proper, rich New Year!”

With every point she made, the eyes of the people below grew brighter. By the time she mentioned new cotton clothes and fatty pork, the children couldn’t help but cheer quietly, and the adults were rubbing their hands and stomping their feet in excitement.

Every single one of these things was something they had longed for for years but never dared to imagine!