After being punched a few times by Zhao Guihua, Zhou Erfu finally quieted down and stopped shouting about avenging Xingxing.
That evening, Zhou Sanfu took out the bamboo slips he had secretly brought back from the mountain and looked at them. The candlelight was dim and yellow, but he read them with great interest. Before, he was illiterate and looked like a blind man with his eyes open when he held the bamboo slips. Now that he could read, he finally knew what was written on the bamboo slips.
"Brother, have you read that bamboo slip book? What's written on it?" Zhou Sanfu asked.
Zhou Dafu was practicing calligraphy at this time. His handwriting was the most beautiful among the five brothers. He had been practicing calligraphy diligently for some time because he had discovered a way to make money: copying books.
However, copying books requires good handwriting, and you can't make a single mistake while copying, otherwise the bookstore won't pay you. Chow Tai Fook has always been steady and patient, so copying books is a good job for him. It's just that his handwriting isn't good enough yet, and he needs to practice more.
Hearing his third brother's question, Zhou Dafu remained silent until he finished writing a page, at which point he put down his pen and said, "I haven't read it yet. I've been quite busy lately."
Zhou Sanfu knew that his elder brother had been practicing calligraphy diligently lately. In fact, he had also been practicing, but he didn't have as much patience as his elder brother. However, he was now concerned about the bamboo slips. "Brother, one of my bamboo slips contains recipes, and the other is about brewing wine."
At this time, only the two brothers were inside the house; the other three brothers were playing with Xingxing in the yard and had not yet come inside.
"Oh? Let me see." Zhou Dafu became interested and took the bamboo slip to look at it.
A moment later, he said with delight, "It really is a recipe book, and there's even a method for brewing wine. Let me see my copy."
Zhou Dafu retrieved the bamboo scroll from the bottom of the wardrobe where he kept clothes. He held it up to the candlelight and saw that it contained instructions on making various seasonings. The instructions were not only detailed, but also included illustrations of the plants used to make the seasonings, as if to make sure that others could understand them.
"This is a treasure! The owner of this bamboo slip is truly a remarkable person, burying such a precious item underground." Zhou Sanfu said solemnly. The contents of this bamboo slip were nothing short of an ancestral secret recipe, making it truly rare.
We've struck gold!
"Let's go dig that box out again tomorrow. There are still many bamboo slips inside. Those are treasures! No wonder people say we should read and write. It's such a waste to be blind."
Zhou Sanfu regretted not bringing back more bamboo scrolls. Fortunately, the box was still buried there, and he would dig it up and bring it back tomorrow.
The next day, the five brothers said they were going to go into the mountains. Zhou Dafu and Zhou Zhoufu had a clear goal: to dig out the box containing the bamboo slips.
Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu also had their own little wine. They wanted to pick some bayberries. At this time of year, the bayberries were already half-ripe, and some could be picked and eaten. Of course, their main goal was to see if there were any wild animals to hunt.
This time their wish finally came true, and they could take Xiao Hui and Xiao Hei into the mountains. Zhou Wufu mainly wanted to dig for medicinal herbs, as he had a special fondness for them.
Xingxing is just a bystander; she's gotten tired of staying at home lately and wants to go have some fun in the mountains.
Because the family was building a house, Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua couldn't leave and had to stay home to take care of things. They could only tell the five Fu brothers to take good care of Xingxing.
This time, Zhou Erfu carried Xingxing on his back again, and the group ran quickly up the mountain. Zhou Erfu wanted to pick bayberries halfway up the mountain first, but Zhou Dafu and Zhou Sanfu grabbed him and insisted that he go and help dig bamboo slips first.
"Why can't we just let Sifu go? Why do I have to go?" Zhou Erfu had absolutely no interest in those bamboo slips.
“Then you leave Xingxing behind. Xingxing will come with us. You can’t take her alone. What if she gets into danger?” Zhou Sanfu refused to let go.
After a brief standoff, Zhou Erfu quickly compromised. He couldn't let Xingxing be in danger; only with all five of them together could they better protect her.
"I'm really scared of you. Come on, let's hurry up and finish digging so we can pick bayberries together." Zhou Erfu carried Xingxing and ran quickly towards the mass grave.
Before long, the six of them arrived at the mass grave. Without even taking a break, they immediately started digging with their hoes. When they reached a stone slab, Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu moved it away together.
Half an hour later, they finally saw the box containing the bamboo slips. Zhou Dafu and Zhou Sanfu were overjoyed and quickly carried the box out, eagerly opening it.
"How could this be?" Zhou Sanfu was devastated when he saw the scene inside the box.
Chow Tai Fook was completely stunned. "Where are the bamboo slips inside? They've all disappeared!"
The other four were also startled, but they didn't react too excitedly. As for Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu, what use were bamboo slips? If they were gone, they were gone.
Zhou Wufu noticed his two older brothers' expressions and realized that the problem was not so simple. He tentatively asked, "Eldest brother, third brother, is this bamboo slip very important?"
“Important, very important, what a pity, but what exactly happened?” Zhou Sanfu had calmed down by now, staring thoughtfully at the pile of dust in the box, just as he was about to figure out the reason in his mind.
Xingxing walked over and glanced at it, saying innocently, "The bamboo slips turned to ash. It seems like they were preserved with something, but after we dug them out last time, we opened the box but didn't take the bamboo slips. We put the box back on, and that thing on it worked, turning the bamboo slips we didn't take into ash."
Zhou Sanfu: "?"
“I think I understand now. What Xingxing was talking about must be some kind of medicine, specifically designed to prevent bamboo slips from being eaten by insects and to prevent them from being corroded by moisture. But once the box is opened, the medicine will immediately become ineffective and will also destroy all the bamboo slips.”
Zhou Wufu explained the principle of bamboo ash turning into ash using his own ideas.
"Fifth Brother, how did you know?" Zhou Sanfu looked at Zhou Wufu with a special gaze he had never seen before.
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