An Dalin raised his eyelids, his old eyes filled with doubt, "What if they come knocking on our door?"
Anle smiled and shook her head.
"It's alright, Grandpa. Don't worry. If they come looking for us, I'll definitely handle it well."
With a heart full of unease, An Dalin lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) all night, tossing and turning as he made pancakes. He didn't sleep a wink. The next morning, he followed An Mancang and his daughter into the town.
"Dad, I'll stay here with Grandpa while he sets up his stall. Once things at the temple are settled, we'll go to Uncle's grain shop and buy some rice and flour."
"Dad, let's go find the broker to check on the oxen first. If we can buy an oxcart today, we can get home by ourselves."
An Mancang was a little worried about leaving the grandfather and grandson there. He licked his lips and said, "Why don't we wait until this is resolved? Buying cattle won't make a difference in a couple of days."
Anle shoved An Mancang away, "Oh, Dad, don't worry, I said I could help Grandpa solve it, and I definitely can!"
Dad, you'd better hurry up and go take a look. If you can buy it today, it will be very convenient for us!
Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to buy or bring many things, and I don't want to be crammed into a car with so many villagers and listen to their gossip.
An Mancang hesitated for a moment, then patted Anle's head and nodded.
"Alright, you stay here with Grandpa, I'll be back soon."
The grandfather and grandson had only been at their stall for a short while when a large crowd had already gathered around them.
“Didn’t that cultist come looking for us yesterday? I think you can’t keep this stall going. Why don’t you just sell this thing to me? I’ll pay six taels of silver, how about it?”
Anle looked up and was met with a grinning face from the young master of the He family.
She recognized the young man; he was the generous young boy who had chased after her on his very first day setting up his stall, wanting to buy her the Rubik's Cube for five taels of silver.
I heard he's the young master of the He family, a very famous and wealthy family in this town.
Anle smiled and shook her head in refusal.
"No way! This is a treasure bestowed upon my family by the gods. I can't sell it to you!"
"Besides, if I sell you this thing, it'll definitely cause you trouble. What if that cultist comes after you?"
He Yusheng's usually carefree and handsome face suddenly lit up with a sneer.
"What am I supposed to do? I paid for this stuff, so I get to decide what I want. What are his followers? They're not that great, but they can't just come up and rob me without any reason."
"If you don't care about this, just sell it to me. Let them come looking for me, and see what they think they're capable of. I'll break all their legs, or I'm not a He family member."
He Yusheng rolled up his sleeves, adopting the stance of a petty thug ready to fight, his bandit-like demeanor somehow exuding a certain aura of power.
Anle stared, momentarily lost in thought, then snapped back to reality and silently cursed herself—
Damn, this kid actually has some nerve. This little brat has actually intimidated her.
Bah! When did you become so incompetent that you can even fool a child?
Anle, you actually chickened out like a dog.
He gave He Yusheng a thumbs-up and smiled with his eyes crinkling.
"That makes a lot of sense, but I still can't sell it to you." This is what she was preparing to use to swindle the temple.
They've practically delivered themselves to our doorstep, so how could we not take advantage of them?
but--
There's no reason not to miss out on a business opportunity that's come knocking on our door.
She had other business plans in mind regarding this young man.
"I have something else here that's even more interesting than this Rubik's Cube. I can sell it to you; I think you'll love it."
He Yusheng was taken aback, then his bright and clear face lit up with excitement. "What is it that's more fun than that block of wood?"
Anle nodded seriously, her little face unusually earnest.
Of course.
He Yusheng glanced at An Le's empty hands. "Where are the things? Take them out and let me see them."
Anle shook her head.
"Not now, you have to wait two more days. This thing is really complicated to make, and it's much more valuable than a Rubik's Cube!"
But I guarantee you'll be extremely satisfied.
He Yusheng frowned.
"If I have to wait two more days, how am I supposed to find you then? Let alone two more days, I probably won't even be able to stay here today."
"There's no guarantee that the temple's followers won't come looking for you soon. If they do, you'll have to pack up and leave."
Anle chuckled.
"There's a saying that goes, 'You can run away from the monk but you can't hide from the temple.' Do you know Qushui Village? Go there in a few days and ask the villagers where I live. That'll tell you where I live."
He Yusheng readily agreed, "Alright, I'll trust you this time. I'll come to your door in a few days."
"Tell me, how much does that thing cost?"
Anle rolled her eyes, smiled, and made a gesture to He Yusheng, extending her index finger and thumb.
He Yusheng frowned. "What is this thing? It's so precious, it costs eight taels of silver?"
Anle grinned, "It's not expensive. Eight taels of silver is enough to make sure you don't lose out. You'll see when the time comes. If you think it's a loss, you don't have to take it!"
He Yusheng paused for a moment, then said, "That makes sense. This money is in my hands, and I can spend it whenever I want. You have no right to force me to buy it. Fine, I'll wait then." As he spoke, his gaze fell on the Rubik's Cube, still somewhat unwilling to give up.
"Are you really not going to sell this thing to me?"
If you don't sell, the people from that temple will rob you, and you won't get a single penny.
"If you sell it to me, and the temple people come looking for you, I'll take the blame. You make the money, and I get the goods. Isn't that great? A win-win situation."
Anle's eyes gleamed with an ambiguous light, and a smile played on his lips.
"If he wants to take things from me, he'll have to have the ability. There's no reason for me to give my things away to outsiders."
Upon hearing this, He Yusheng became interested. "What, you have a way to deal with them? Aren't you afraid of the people from that temple?"
Anle shook his head violently.
"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare to punish them. They are followers of the gods, so of course the people in the temple should treat them with the utmost respect and courtesy."
However, I dare not punish them, but the gods are different.
This thing was bestowed by the gods. If they try to take it from me, wouldn't that be going against the gods? How could the gods allow that?
Therefore, since it was a gift from the gods, it belongs to me and can only be in my hands; it certainly won't end up in theirs.
These words amused He Yusheng. "Hey, I'm saying this thing is truly a gift from the gods?"
Anle blinked. "You don't believe me?"
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