Chapter 1001: Demolishing the House?

"Don't cry, Second Sister, don't say anything discouraging. Fifth Brother bought you medicine and gave you money so that you can take good care of yourself and live a few more years. What are you crying about?"

Song Zhizhu said, "You cried, and everyone started crying. It's supposed to be a rare day for us to get together, we shouldn't be crying. Alright, alright, Lao Wu doesn't want to see you all like this either."

As he spoke, he picked up the bag. "I know that Fifth Brother is not short of money, otherwise he would not have stuffed gold into the bag. Let's take it, she will not be worried."

"What? Gold?" Song Chunmei's red eyes widened like copper bells. She opened the bag and rummaged through it. The next moment, she suddenly stood up.

"Mother, my mother!" she murmured excitedly, "Do you remember when we were peeing in the river bend and Fifth Brother found a piece of gold?"

Everyone laughed. "Of course we remember."

“Who knew that he would find money again these past few years? It’s just outrageous!” Song Chunmei wiped away her tears. “Why are you crying? Let’s just stay at home, live our lives well, and wait for Lao Wu to find money for us outside.”

Song Chunxue nodded with a smile, "That's right, I feel proud and happy to hear you say that."

"What's there to worry about? We should enjoy life while we can. When we get old, there will be many sad times when things don't go our way. We should be happy in these good days."

As she spoke, Song Chunxue took out the last basket of fruit. "These are fruits I picked from the south. They're good stuff. Everyone should eat one; they're very nutritious."

Although she didn't know if it could actually provide any nutritional benefits, she was happy as long as it made her feel comfortable.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be willing to eat it themselves and would save it all for the children.

It's not good to always neglect yourself for the sake of your children.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, everyone picked up the fruit and started biting into it, since the child was still young and shouldn't be overdoed with supplements.

"Anyway, you just need to get to Li Family Village before dark. We can chat and drink while we go. Let's have some tea. The mutton was a bit gamey, so I'd like some tea. Add more rock sugar." Song Zhizhu said as he walked out to start a fire and brew tea.

He heard noises behind the house. "Those bastards are scaring the lambs in the sheepfold again."

...

In the evening, three horse-drawn carriages crossed the high mountains and a dry riverbed, arriving at Lijiazhuangzi.

Horse-drawn carriages are rare in the village, let alone three.

Many people who were busy on the mountain returned home half an hour earlier than usual because they were curious about whose house the three carriages were going to.

"Who is it, making such a big fuss?"

"It's either the Li family or the Wang family; their second son is doing very well outside."

"I don't think so. I've never heard of that. They usually come in one carriage at most, I've never seen three come together, and these look bigger than the previous ones."

"Look, look, it seems to turn at a lower point, that's probably the Jiang family's place."

"No, you're mistaken. It didn't turn; it went uphill." They craned their necks, the small hill blocking the carriage. "We'll find out soon enough. It might even be from the Cheng family."

"It's said that the second son of the Cheng family has been working for a wealthy boss for the past few years, running errands for him. I guess he's one of their employees."

"Bullshit, how much money can you make running errands? Would he even be willing to rent three carriages?"

"That's right, it must be the Jiang family. Just look at the eldest son of the Jiang family. His house is the biggest and most impressive in our village. All his money comes from his mother."

"Tsk tsk, who would have thought that a widow is richer than those who hold official positions in government? I guess she's married into a wealthy family."

"You're talking nonsense. Have you forgotten that their son passed the imperial examination and is now an official in Jincheng? The Jiang family is clearly the most successful family in our village right now, but you just won't believe it."

"Yes, that's true. Their second and fourth sons are both in Jincheng. I heard that the second son even married a daughter of the Hu family. Oh, he's really lucky. Back in Zhuanglang County, who would dare to covet a daughter of the Hu family? The second son got lucky."

"See that? It's parked in front of the Jiang family's old courtyard. I was wondering if I saw smoke coming out of the kang (heated brick bed) a few days ago. Turns out someone really did go and add fuel to the kang."

"Let's go, let's go see what's going on."

"Go if you want, but there's a limit to how much you can watch the excitement. If you try to run up to them, be careful they might flick their whisk and you'll fall onto their own kang (heated brick bed)."

"Hey, right now even Song Chunxue's farts are sweet, aren't they?"

"You've got a damn bad reputation, you must have been kicked by a donkey."

...

The carriage struggled to climb the slope, and when it reached the entrance, the horses stood panting heavily.

The children already knew where the donkey pen was, so they led the horses there and even went to the hay shed to get some hay to feed the horses.

Master Han and Lord Zhao looked around, taking in everything about the village.

Song Chunxue stood to the side, feeling quite uneasy and curious about what kind of comments they would make.

"There are so many households in this remote mountain valley," Master Han pondered for a moment, then nodded. "It's rare to find such a large number of people. You really don't discriminate."

Lord Zhao laughed, “Actually, it’s quite good. Look, it’s surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the waterway is good too. It’s much better than the hillside on the other side of the mountain that we passed by earlier, where nothing could be kept. This village can at least produce a few good talents. It’s like picking the best among the worst, not too bad.”

Song Chunxue wasn't surprised. "I told you, we're quite poor here. It's much better if we go south. The mountain range is intact, and below it is a wide plain with a smoother road."

Master Zhang smiled without saying a word and pulled the carriage to the wall.

“It’s not entirely without merit. This place…” Master Han looked at the courtyard and frowned. “It’s quite nice.”

Lord Zhao asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Song Chunxue asked, "Yes, what's wrong? Uncle Han, there's no need to hide it."

Master Han looked at Master Zhang, "Did you see that before?"

"I saw it, but I didn't dare to say anything."

Lord Zhao arrived at the door and said, "Go inside and take a look."

Song Chunxue opened the courtyard gate.

The three of them stepped into the courtyard first, all looking towards the house to the east.

Song Chunxue clutched her chest. "Brothers, don't scare me."

Lord Zhao couldn't help but chuckle, "Call me 'Grandpa,' and I won't scare you."

Han Daochang strode to the house on the east side and pushed open the door.

The next moment, he raised his hand, made a hand seal, and mercilessly smashed a large crater in the ground.

"Bang bang~"

The others looked shocked.

Especially the newly arrived disciples, who wondered what was wrong with Master Han, that he had just arrived at someone's house and was already starting to demolish it.

Lord Zhao and Taoist Han quickly walked over, exchanged a glance, and then nodded in unison.

The next moment, they both exerted force on the ground of the east room.

"Bang bang bang!"

Before long, a large pit appeared in the ground, revealing a long wooden box inside.

To be precise, it's a coffin.

"My God, this used to be a haunted house, didn't you notice at all?"

Song Chunxue shook her head. "But the fourth brother used to say he had nightmares at night, hearing the sound of mice, but nothing else."

Master Han corrected, "It's not a burial site, it's a cenotaph. There are things inside, let's take them out and have a look."