An Moxue and Old Ma put away the treasure, took Old Ma home, picked up her backpack, and said to Old Ma and Aunt Ma, "Uncle Ma, Aunt Ma, I have to get up early to go into the mountains tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to come over for lunch. I'm going home now."
"Okay, go ahead! Be careful in the mountains and come back soon."
An Moxue left, leaving only the elderly couple in the house. Once they were sure An Moxue was far away, Aunt Ma asked, "Old man, did Moxue open that secret room?"
"Yes, it's open. Although I didn't go in, I could smell it."
"Now that we've handed the things over to her, we've fulfilled Master Er's last request. Even if we die, we can face him with our heads held high." Aunt Ma said with a sigh of relief.
"After all these years, we've finally been able to sleep peacefully. I just don't know if we'll have the good fortune to watch over her marriage and children for the Second Master and Miss?"
"We two must try our best to live."
"Yes, we must persevere until she has someone to accompany her, someone to care for her, and someone to love her before we can feel at ease."
Aunt Ma thought of something and asked, "Do you think the children will be able to come back for the Spring Festival this year?"
"What's up? Any ideas?"
Aunt Ma sighed, "I think it'll just be the two of us spending the New Year with Mo Xue this year. I don't want the children to come back. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to spend the New Year with her again if I miss this one!"
"That's easy. When I went to the county, I sent a telegram to the children, telling them not to come back and to wait until after the New Year. It's fine if they don't come back."
"Will it work?"
“Yes, let them go to their in-laws’ place for the New Year. Children are all the same! We can’t favor sons over daughters, can we? Besides, their in-laws’ place is much closer to their homes than their own. We should value our daughters-in-law, don’t you think?” Old Ma said, not at all feeling that it was wrong for his son and daughter-in-law not to come home for the New Year.
Aunt Ma thought it was a great idea. She patted the kang mat and said excitedly, "This is a good idea! Let's do it this way! Let's send the telegram this way! Let's send it this way, even though telegrams cost more money."
"It's nothing, just a few dollars more, it's no big deal."
"Old man, look, isn't it pretty?" Aunt Ma took out a wooden bracelet that had a faint fragrance that smelled very nice.
Old Ma pulled Aunt Ma's hand over, looked at it carefully, and said, "It's beautiful. Why does it smell like medicine?"
"Mo Xue said that I should wear it all the time, it's good for my health."
Oh! Do you have any for me?
"What kind of image does a grown man have wearing a bracelet?"
“It doesn’t have to be a bracelet! Anything else will do.” “Oh… does this count?” Aunt Ma, as if by magic, pulled a wooden comb from her sewing basket and handed it to Old Ma, saying, “The girl said we should comb our hair often; it helps with blood circulation, it’s good for our health, and it can even prevent Alzheimer’s.”
Old Ma took the comb, which had a picture of a tiger descending a mountain on it. He held it to his nose and smelled it; it smelled the same as Aunt Ma's wooden bracelet.
After reading it, he picked up a comb and brushed his hair. "Old woman, smell it. Doesn't your hair smell faintly fragrant? It smells quite nice."
Aunt Ma leaned closer, sniffed, and said, "Indeed, it smells nice. I hadn't noticed." Then, she took a comb from her sewing basket and started combing her hair.
Uncle Ma looked at Aunt Ma's comb and asked, "Did Mo Xue give you some things made of this wood?"
Aunt Ma, puzzled, asked, "Three! Two combs and a bracelet, what's wrong?"
"Don't tell anyone else. If anyone asks, just say I carved it for you."
"Oh! I know."
An Moxue returned home with her bag on her back. As soon as she opened the front door, she heard the faint sound of footsteps on the snow in the backyard.
She followed the sound and saw two people acting suspiciously; one went down into the cellar, and the other stood guard.
As An Moxue got closer, she could see clearly that Xiaoshanzi was the one guarding the cellar, so it must be Huzi who went down to the cellar.
An Moxue did not go out immediately, but observed from the shadows. After a while, someone came up. An Moxue saw clearly that it was Hu Zi.
Xiao Shanzi lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Hu, are all the things hidden?"
Tiger replied in a low voice, "It's hidden well."
The two of them were about to climb over the courtyard wall. They were quite capable, as the wall was two and a half meters high and had shards of glass on it.
"Xiaoshanzi, it's been two years already. Do you think Comrade An will be able to come back? Do we think we've made it through?"
Tiger was filled with anxiety, feeling utterly insecure. He feared that he might die one day, and Comrade An still hadn't returned. What was he up to? He'd been looking for a backer for two years, but hadn't managed to secure him. He lived in constant fear, afraid that he might be arrested at any moment.
"Brother Tiger, the more mysterious Comrade An is, the bigger her background must be. If we really catch her eye, we'll definitely be successful in the future. Just look at what she's done, can ordinary people do that? Everything involves risks. Besides, what do we have besides our worthless lives? Fortune favors the bold!"
As An Moxue listened, she had to admit that Xiaoshanzi did have some unique qualities. But this Huzi, after two years, how could he still be so naive and honest? It was fortunate that he had Xiaoshanzi as a brother, otherwise he would have been swindled out of everything.
Just as the two were about to climb over the wall, An Moxue appeared and shouted, "Little thief, where do you think you're going!"
The two brothers were so frightened that they scrambled to climb over the wall. An Moxue watched and laughed out loud, saying with disdain, "Why are you two still so timid? You've been training for two years and haven't improved at all."
The two stood frozen in place. Xiaoshanzi was the first to react and tentatively asked, "Comrade An?"
"Yes, it's me."
The two brothers plopped down on the ground, not caring about the snow or the cold. "Comrade An, that was terrifying! You really can scare people!" Tiger said, wiping his face.
"Alright, get up! Let's talk inside." After saying that, An Moxue ignored the two brothers and walked into the house first. The two brothers looked at each other, got up, brushed the snow off their bodies, and followed her.
Once inside, Xiaoshanzi asked, "Comrade An, when did you get back?"
"Just got back and saw this surprise on the two of you. Tell me, what brings you here?"
The two brothers glanced at each other, and Xiaoshanzi spoke up: "We've hidden the antiques and artifacts we found that we thought were good in the cellar behind your house."
"Oh! How have you been these past two years?"
Xiao Shanzi said, "Thanks to Comrade An, we've been able to eat and dress well these past two years. Comrade An, we'll go back and give you the account books for the past two years, and we'll also give you the profits."
"No rush. I'll go out early tomorrow morning and we'll talk when I get back. You two can come back the day after tomorrow evening. That's all for today. You can go back now! Use the main gate."
"Okay." The two of them walked out the door in a daze, and Hu Zi asked Xiao Shanzi, "Xiao Shanzi, do we get through the first hurdle?"
"Right!"
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