Broken clay pot and little stray dog
Qian Jin stepped onto the earth, took a deep breath of the air filled with the fragrance of soil and grass, and felt that the sky was high and the earth was vast, and the future was bright!
She immediately took out her treasure, the "Treasure Compass," and infused it with a trace of spiritual power.
With a soft hum, the transparent crystal in the center of the compass began to rotate slowly, and a ring of fine white light spots around its edge lit up like stars. Most of them remained still, with only a few slightly tilting towards the southeast.
"Southeast! Goods!" Qian Jin's eyes lit up instantly. She immediately gripped the compass and strode enthusiastically in the indicated direction. Her steps were light, and she hummed an off-key tune, already fantasizing about digging up an ancient treasure and becoming rich overnight.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a spot of light on the compass became exceptionally bright.
Qian Jin squatted down, parted a clump of lush weeds, and revealed the slightly loose soil underneath.
"This is it!" She rubbed her hands together, like a squirrel preparing for winter, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Forgetting all about appearances, she pulled out her multi-functional "fire poker" and began to carefully dig.
After digging less than half a foot deep, the tip of the stick touched a hard object.
"Here it comes!" Qian Jin's heart raced, and she moved even more gently, slowly clearing away the surrounding soil.
However, what lay at the bottom of the pit was not the spirit stones and jewels she had imagined, but a rusty copper coin with almost illegible writing. Judging from its style, it was just an ordinary copper coin used by mortals in the previous dynasty. Only because it had been buried for a long time had it been tainted with a very faint trace of earth spirit energy, which was why the compass had detected it.
Qian Jin: "..." That's it?! She picked up the copper coin, looked at it in the sunlight, and pouted, "Not even enough to buy a meat bun..."
The disappointment of her high expectations left her deflated like a punctured balloon. But just three breaths later, she rallied, took out a soft cloth, carefully wiped the copper coin clean, and solemnly placed it into a small bag specifically for storing loose change.
"Hmph, every little bit counts! This is the first pot of gold I've dug up through my own hard work! It's incredibly meaningful!" She cheered herself up, patted the small bag, and turned her gaze back to the compass.
Just then, a previously stable white dot on the edge of the compass suddenly turned a blinding scarlet red without warning and began to flash wildly, the pointer fixedly pointing towards a dense forest not far away!
"!!!"
Qian Jin's hair stood on end! The God of Wealth and Yin Bao'er's instructions exploded in her mind like thunder!
"Run as soon as you see blood! Don't linger!"
The instinct to escape overwhelmed everything! She didn't even have time to see what the red light meant before she shoved the compass into her arms, turned around, and ran! She had completely forgotten all the escape techniques and relied solely on her two legs to unleash astonishing speed, tumbling and crawling, looking utterly disheveled, wishing her parents had given her two more legs.
She quickly hid behind a huge rock, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of her throat. She covered her mouth, cautiously peeking out half her head, nervously peering into the dense forest.
The expected roar of a ferocious beast or gusts of demonic wind did not appear. The edge of the dense forest was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind. After a while, a small beast, pure white with a tuft of golden hair on its head, clumsily emerged from the bushes, carrying a purple Ganoderma lucidum brimming with spiritual energy in its mouth.
It seemed to be startled by something, looked around warily, and then quickly darted into another patch of grass and disappeared.
Qian Jin: "..." So... that scene just now, the "extremely dangerous" "treasure-guarding monster" warned of by the compass, was this... seemingly still-weaned treasure-hunting weasel?! And that "treasure" was that purple Ganoderma that did look very valuable?
False alarm! A huge false alarm!
Qian Jin was both amused and exasperated. She leaned against the rock, feeling utterly exhausted, and let out a long sigh, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.
"This damn compass...it scared me to death...I'll have to complain to the God of Wealth later, the risk warning level is set way too sensitive!" she complained softly, feeling sorry for the shoe she had lost while running around.
As she was muttering to herself, a shadow suddenly fell over her head. A familiar figure, carrying a hint of cool moisture and urgency, landed in front of her with a "whoosh."
Ao Ming looked tense, his azure eyes quickly scanning her up and down. Seeing that she seemed unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief, but his tone was still harsh: "Qian Jin! Are you alright? I just sensed a very unstable and powerful demonic aura flash by here! Did you encounter any danger?"
Qian Jin blinked as she looked at Ao Ming who had suddenly appeared, and instantly understood.
She put her hands on her hips and deliberately put on a stern face: "Senior Brother Ao Ming, what a coincidence. May I ask how you 'just happened' to pass by this desolate mountain wilderness? Did the East Sea Dragon Palace set up an office on this hillside? Or... did a certain dragon break his promise and secretly follow me all along?"
Ao Ming's handsome face flushed red instantly, his eyes began to dart around, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
"I...I didn't! Who...who was following you!" He stiffened his neck, his voice rising involuntarily, trying to use his imposing manner to cover up his guilty conscience. "I...I came to inspect the water veins around here! Yes! Inspect the water veins! It's our dragon clan's duty! I just happened to...just happened to sense something unusual and came to take a look! Don't flatter yourself!"
Qian Jin looked at his bright red ears and his blatant attempt to cover up his embarrassment, and laughed inwardly, but pretended to understand: "Oh, I see. It must be hard for His Highness Crown Prince Ao Ming to personally inspect this small mountain stream despite his busy schedule."
She drew out her words, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Ao Ming felt uncomfortable under her gaze. To change the subject, he glanced at the foot of hers that had lost its shoe, which was covered in mud and grass clippings and was dazzlingly white.
He frowned subconsciously and immediately took something out of his storage magic item.
This time, instead of spirit stones or magical treasures, she took out a pair of brand-new women's slippers that looked soft and comfortable, embroidered with dark cloud patterns, and were obviously very valuable.
"You...look at you! What a sight! Put these on right now!" He shoved the shoes into Qian Jin's hands, his tone fierce, but he didn't dare look at her. "Don't...don't catch a cold! Otherwise, you'll blame me again!"
Qian Jin stared at the shoes in her hand, paused for a moment, and felt a strange softening in her heart. This silly dragon, he'd come quite well-prepared…
Just as she was about to say something, a mountain breeze suddenly blew in, carrying the faint sounds of the bustling market in the small town below, which seemed to be mixed with faint sobs and anxious arguments.
Qian Jin's attention was immediately drawn to it. She quickly put on her new shoes, no longer bothering to tease Ao Ming, and looked down the mountain following the sound.
…
At the town entrance, a small circle of people had gathered. A little girl in patched clothes was cradling a small, injured dog, crying her heart out. Beside her, a well-dressed, plump man seemed to be scolding someone, pointing at a broken earthenware pot on the ground.
"Let's go take a look." Qian Jin's curiosity and some kind of instinct were aroused, and he forgot to investigate Ao Ming's "following" and started walking down the mountain.
Ao Ming watched her back as she was instantly drawn to the new event, sighed helplessly, but a barely perceptible smile involuntarily appeared on his lips as he resignedly hurried after her.
Qian Jin strolled to the town entrance in a few quick steps. Ao Ming, arms crossed, followed her at a distance, looking at her with an expression that said, "I'd like to see what kind of trouble you're going to cause this time."
In the middle of the crowd, a little girl, about seven or eight years old, with two crooked pigtails, was crying so hard she could barely breathe, clutching a skinny, tan-colored puppy tightly in her arms. One of the puppy's hind legs was bent unnaturally, and it was whimpering softly.
A fat man in a silk jacket was pointing at a broken earthenware jar on the ground, spitting as he shouted, "What are you crying for! You little rascal, you ran around like that and smashed my family's heirloom pickling jar! This is an old item! It's worth a lot of money! You have to pay for it! You absolutely have to pay for it!"
Neighbors whispered, "Master Zhang, let it go. It's just a broken earthenware pot; the child and the puppy are pitiful..." "Let it go?!" Master Zhang's eyes widened. "Easy for you to say! This pot is worth at least this much!" He held up five fat fingers. "Five hundred coins! Not a penny less! Can't afford to pay? If you can't afford to pay, then give me this lame dog as collateral for my stew pot!"
Upon hearing this, the little girl hugged the puppy even tighter and cried even harder: "No! Ah Huang didn't mean it! Waaah... the jar... I'll pay for the jar... I'll do chores for you, chop wood, feed the chickens, anything... Please don't catch Ah Huang..."
Qian Jin squeezed through the crowd, his eyes first scanning precisely the few shards of earthenware pot on the ground. The clay was rough, the glaze murky, devoid of any spiritual energy—the kind of trash no one would even pick up if left on the roadside. Five hundred coins? This fat rich man is truly greedy.
Her gaze fell again on the little girl whose face was covered in snot and tears from crying, and the trembling puppy, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
"Ahem." Qian Jin cleared her throat, instantly attracting everyone's attention. Although she wasn't wearing the gorgeous fairy robes of the God of Wealth's Mansion today, the fabric was exquisite and her temperament was lively, clearly indicating that she was no ordinary village girl.
Seeing her distinguished bearing, Master Zhang softened his tone slightly, but remained firm: "Young lady, you be the judge! She let her dog smash my family heirloom, shouldn't she pay for it?"
Qian Jin ignored him, squatted down in front of the little girl, and softened her voice: "Little sister, don't cry. What's wrong with this jar?"
The little girl sobbed and stammered, "I...I'm called Yaya. Ah Huang...Ah Huang's leg was injured by a trap in the back mountain. I wanted to go pick some herbs...I wasn't watching where I was going, and Ah Huang was jumping around in pain, and accidentally...accidentally knocked over the jar in the corner...Waaah...I didn't mean to..."
Qian Jin nodded, understanding the situation. She stood up, looked at Master Zhang, and gave him a standard, professional smile, comparable to that of a receptionist at the God of Wealth's Palace:
“Master Zhang, right? Your ‘family heirloom,’ in my opinion, isn’t that old. The clay is local riverbed mud, the firing temperature was just average, and there are cracks in the glaze. As for the market price…” she drawled, looking at Master Zhang’s face, which was gradually turning pale, “at most ten copper coins, that’s the highest I can get.”
A low chuckle escaped the crowd. Master Zhang's face turned a deep shade of purple: "You...you're talking nonsense! What do you know!"
“I know a little bit.” Qian Jin smiled innocently, pulling out a rusty ancient bronze coin he had just dug out from his waist. “Look, this kind of ‘Datong Yuanbao’ coin from the previous dynasty, in good condition, is worth about fifteen coins on the market. Is your jar worth three of these?”
As soon as she said this, even the old farmers watching nodded in agreement: "What the girl said is true. My family used to have two of those kinds of jars; they really aren't worth much." "Master Zhang is trying to extort money from Ya Ya because there are no adults at her house!"
Exposed in public, Master Zhang lost face and flew into a rage: "Even if it's not worth five hundred coins! It's still my stuff! If it's broken, I have to pay for it! Ten coins it is! Can she come up with that now? If not, she can use a dog as collateral!"
Ya Ya was so scared that she started crying again.
Ao Ming watched from behind, his brows furrowed, and he instinctively reached for his money pouch. This small amount of money was nothing to him.
But Qian Jin was faster. She stopped Ao Ming's hand from taking out money, winked at him, and gestured, "Watch me."
She squatted down in front of Ya Ya again, her voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Ya Ya, I'll teach you a way. Not only can we make up for the cost of the jar, but we might even have extra money to treat Ah Huang's leg. Do you want to learn?"
Ya Ya looked at her with teary eyes and nodded blankly.
Qian Jin pointed to the largest shards of the earthenware pot on the ground: "Making money doesn't necessarily mean working for someone else or selling things. Look, this pot may be broken, but it was made of clay, right?"
Ya Ya nodded.
“What is soil? It’s something from the earth, it doesn’t cost money.” Qian Jin guided her, “Go find some sticky wet mud from the riverbank, let’s try and see if we can stick it together.”
"Stick...stick it together?" Ya Ya and the people around her were stunned. How could something broken like this be glued back together?
Master Zhang scoffed, "Wishful thinking! Even if you glue it together, it'll still be a tattered piece! What good will it do!"
"Whether it works or not, we'll only know by trying." Qian Jin wasn't angry. She pulled Ya Ya to the small river at the edge of town and dug up a small clump of wet mud. She let Ya Ya hold the mud in her hands, while she held the largest pieces and seemingly casually pieced them together. Her fingers secretly channeled a barely perceptible wisp of spiritual energy, seeping into the joints between the mud and the pieces.
Under the curious gazes of the crowd, the broken earthenware pot was actually pieced back together in a crooked and uneven shape. Although it was covered in cracks, it stood up!
Qian Jin then asked Ya Ya to pick a few of the most common purple wildflowers by the roadside and put them in the cracked jar.
Then, she stood up, clapped her hands, and said to Ya Ya, "Alright. Now, take this 'flowerpot' to the busiest street corner in town and put it down somewhere that won't get in the way. If anyone asks, just say it's a 'lucky pot that was broken open,' that brings 'peace and safety' and 'wealth and prosperity,' specially made to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune. As for the price..." She thought for a moment, "I'll set it at five coins."
Everyone was stunned! This piece of junk could actually be sold for money? Five coins?
Ya Ya was skeptical, but she still obediently held the broken jar with wildflowers in it and timidly walked to the street corner.
Strangely enough, after being handled by Qian Jin and Ya Ya's tears, and adorned with wildflowers, the broken jar exuded a strange yet harmonious rustic charm under the sunlight. Coupled with the auspicious meanings of "peace and safety in broken pieces" and "wealth and prosperity in bloom," a shopkeeper who had just opened his shop and was looking for good fortune soon smiled and took out five coins to buy this unique "work of art."
Ya Ya clutched the five copper coins, still warm from her body, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Qian Jin took the three coins from her hand, walked up to the dumbfounded Zhang Yuanwai, and slapped them into his hand: "Here, this is the money to compensate you for the jar. I can't afford more than ten coins, so it's three coins. Take it or leave it. As for the remaining two coins," she put the other two coins back into Ya Ya's palm, "go and get Ah Huang a doctor to take a look at his leg."
The whole process was so smooth and seamless that everyone around was dumbfounded. Could this even be possible?! Breaking the jar and not only did they not lose money, they actually made a profit?!
Master Zhang clutched the three coins, his face turning pale and then red, unable to utter a single word. In the end, he slunk away amidst the laughter of the crowd.
Ya Ya stopped crying and smiled, hugging the little dog Ah Huang, and kept thanking Qian Jin: "Thank you, sister! Thank you, sister!"
Qian Jin smiled and patted her head: "Remember, little girl, be quick-witted. Sometimes even a broken pot can fetch a good price. Go find a doctor."
Having dealt with this "trivial matter," Qian Jin was in a great mood, feeling even more accomplished than if she had unearthed a treasure. As soon as she turned around, she met Ao Ming's deep, azure eyes, which seemed to be recognizing her all over again.
He stared at her for a long time before speaking in a complicated tone, tinged with disbelief and astonishment: "Qian Jin...who did you learn all this from?"
Qian Jin gave him a bright, slightly smug smile, the sunlight shattering into golden glitter in her eyes:
"Nothing special, just practice makes perfect." "Mainly because... I've been poor."
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