"There's actually a cave here!" Niu Er exclaimed in surprise. "Brother, shall we go in and take a look?"
The mute cow gestured something, indicating that he didn't want to go in, fearing there might be insects, rats, or ants inside.
Niu Da and his companion walked into the cave and saw four boxes covered in dust. Niu Da brushed the dust off with his sleeve. The box, about a foot long, was carved with exquisite patterns and locked with a small lock.
Since it's another treasure chest, we don't know when or how old it is. The treasure chest outside must have been put inside by the person who wanted to take the treasure out again, but the cave collapsed, so they could only save their lives.
It's unclear how many years have passed, but the rocks have become somewhat loose.
Niu Da used a stone to smash the lock open, revealing a box of jewelry, containing about twenty pieces.
Niu Er stared in disbelief, speechless. By the time he came to his senses, Niu Da had already smashed open the second box, inside which were ten large, golden ingots, each weighing about fifty taels.
Niu Er quickly smashed open the third box with a stone, and there were also ten gleaming gold ingots inside.
The fourth box was also filled with loose silver. Niu Da took a handful of loose silver and gave it to Niu Yaba, who had come with him to bury the cow, as hush money.
Niu Yaba is illiterate and cannot speak, but he can hear. He wasn't born deaf and mute, and he's not stupid either; he understands what Niu Da means.
This handful of loose silver is probably worth about sixty taels of silver.
The three of them kept quiet about it throughout the journey, only telling Shen Shi after they got home.
Niu Da, holding Niu Baolan, Niu Er, Niu Cuihua, and Chen Yu, who was holding Xiao Fubao, each counted a box of treasures.
Inside are four pearl necklaces, a pair of jade rings, two gold hairpins, a coral beaded necklace, a pair of gold bracelets with dragon and phoenix motifs, a pair of jade hairpins for styling hair, a pair of gold earrings, a pair of agate and gold earrings, and a pair of silver anklets. The most expensive and best item is the necklace made of emerald.
There were twenty gold ingots, each weighing fifty taels, with no inscriptions on the bottom.
Niu Cuihua then took a small scale and weighed out a piece of silver, which was roughly one tael of silver. The two boxes of silver totaled six hundred taels of silver.
They received a total of five boxes, two of which contained silver coins.
"Big brother, second brother, are we... are we dreaming?" Niu Xiaomei covered her forehead, then slapped herself, leaving five red finger marks on her pretty face.
This made the little Fu Bao sitting in her lap giggle. Niu Xiaomei looked steadily at the little Fu Bao in her arms and said, "Big brother, so many strange things have happened in our family. I think it's all because of the good luck brought by the little Fu Bao!"
Niu Er said, "Yes, brother, I also think it was brought by our little Fu Bao!"
Niu Da and Shen Yu found it unbelievable, but when they thought about how their chickens could lay ten eggs a day, they couldn't help but wonder.
This is so incomprehensible; how could such a strange thing happen in the world?
Niu Da frowned and said, "It's the good fortune that Xiao Fu Bao brought us. We should keep it to ourselves and not make a fuss about it outside. In plays, it is often said that the most intelligent people die young. I'm worried that when this good fortune runs out, it will shorten our lifespan. I'd rather not have this good fortune!"
"Pah, pah, pah! May you have great fortune and a long life! May our little lucky one live to be a hundred!" "Tomorrow, my little sister and I are going to the temple to pray and fulfill our vows."
When Niu Da and his wife first took in Xiao Fubao, they never thought about any good fortune. They simply couldn't bear to see the poor baby with his face red from the cold in the freezing weather.
“Honey, I think we should pay back the hundred-odd taels of silver we borrowed tomorrow!” said Madam Shen.
Niu Da said in a deep voice, "No, my dear wife, it's not that I'm unwilling to pay it back, but the shop hasn't opened yet. If I just return this hundred taels of silver like that, and if others ask about it, and if someone with ulterior motives finds out, it will inevitably cause trouble. It's easy to gain but hard to keep."
Niu Er: "Sister-in-law, we need to give people the impression that our family has gradually built its fortune, so we won't cause trouble. We'll pay back the hundred taels once the shop is profitable."
“That’s true,” Chen Yu thought for a moment and nodded.
Niu Da stood up, picked out the best-looking emerald necklace, a pair of agate and gold earrings, and coral beads for Shen Shi to wear, and a jade ring for her finger.
"Some of this jewelry is for you, some is for your younger brother to use when he gets married, the rest is divided among the seven girls, and that one is for the youngest sister."
"Big brother, I don't want it," said Niu Xiaomei.
Shen Yu only wore them for a short while before taking them off. The least eye-catching item was the not-so-large pearl necklace, so she picked one out and wore it. She also put a silver anklet on Xiao Fu Bao for protection, and then took out the pair of jade pendants, gold earrings, pearl necklace, and jadeite wedding rings for Niu Xiao Mei, saying:
"Take it if I give it to you. It'll give you confidence when you get married in the future, won't it?"
Niu Xiaomei blushed instantly, her eyes dimming again: "What good family would want a woman like me who has been married once and has had two children?"
"You're only twenty, why are you saying such discouraging things? Your looks and temperament are outstanding in Niushan County. Even if you don't marry, it's because you're unwilling to marry. Why would anyone look down on you?" "Is it that our little sister's family background is not good enough for him, or is it that her talent is not good enough for him?"
"Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Tonight, let's all go out together as a family and buy some rouge from the stalls. Once we learn how to apply rouge, we can buy it from a better store later," Chen Yu said.
The Niu family has not worn these pieces of jewelry outside for the time being.
The weather was much cooler on the fifteenth of August, and outside, green and golden leaves intertwined in the village.
Is Brother Niu home?
Shen Yu opened the door: "Is that Doctor Xue?"
Xue Huaimin respectfully said, "Hello, sister-in-law!"
Shen Yu frowned slightly. Doctor Xue was always addressed as Madam Shen, so why was he calling her "sister-in-law" today?
However, Chen Yu didn't think much of it: "Come in quickly, sit in the main room, it's quite cold so early in the morning."
Xue Huaimin entered the house, holding a large lingzhi mushroom in his hand, and said, "It's a bit abrupt to visit during the Mid-Autumn Festival."
He glanced at the entrance of the main room, as if searching for someone.
Chen Yu smiled and said, "My little sister took Ke'er and Qiao'er out to buy groceries early this morning."
Xue Huaimin looked slightly disappointed: "My little sister hasn't been to my pharmacy for several days. I just happened to get a new Ganoderma lucidum last night, so I thought I'd give it to her to help her recover."
Shen Yu understood a bit about it.
The Xue family owns two pharmacies in the town and the county. Xue Huaimin, the husband and wife, are all doctors. Xue Huaimin is twenty-six years old this year, a year older than Shen Yu herself. He is handsome and talented, but he is not yet married.
This can be considered an older youth.
Xue Huaimin was the only son of the Xue family, so his parents were naturally anxious. However, Xue Huaimin was a very opinionated man, and he was determined to find a girl he liked to marry, not wanting to be forced into an arranged marriage.
Shen Yu guessed that Xue Huaimin had taken a liking to her sister.
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