Chapter 90: The Scent of Wealth

The old matriarch roared with full force, “We sent you up the mountain to help, not to fool around. Get to work at once. Are you going to make your old father hoe the field by himself?”

Just after Father Jiang had finished picking the tiny wild mushrooms, he heard her. He hurriedly gathered up the basket, took it in hand, and ran back.

He handed the basket to Madam Zhao, then quickly took up the hoe and went to work. In truth, it had only been a quarter of an hour since his last rest.

Madam Zhao lifted the basket, feeling that it was unusually heavy. She lowered her head and rummaged through it, only to find that beneath the mushrooms there was a pile of shepherd’s purse, and… a dull gray stone.

Knowing nothing of the matter, she merely set the basket down beside her with a strange look on her face.

Jiang Chengyan also took up his hoe and went to work. As for Bai Yan, she leaned against Madam Zhao and began snacking.

“You two in-laws certainly know how to enjoy yourselves,” Madam Qian said sourly from the side.

At that, Madam Zhao let out a cold laugh. “Second Uncle just pretended to be sick and went home a moment ago, didn’t he?”

“Can the second one be the same as you lot? He went back because he has things to do. Unlike you people—your whole family is odd.” Naturally, the old matriarch defended her promising younger son. Since childhood, among her two sons, she had always preferred the clever younger one and disliked the honest, somewhat dim elder one. Her partiality had never been subtle.

Madam Zhao could not be bothered to argue with the old woman and simply sat under the tree with Bai Yan to play.

…

After struggling until noon, the old matriarch finally announced that she would treat the second son’s family to a meal. She did not call Father Jiang, and Father Jiang was not offended; he still followed Madam Zhao home cheerfully.

Along the way, Bai Yan clearly abandoned Jiang Chengyan and stayed close to Madam Zhao instead. Her nose kept twitching toward the basket Father Jiang carried on his back.

Madam Zhao thought the girl had caught the scent of shepherd’s purse, and patiently told her, “We’ll make dumplings tonight. Don’t be greedy.”

Bai Yan shook her head. Seeing that Madam Zhao understood nothing, she ran back to talk to Jiang Chengyan.

“What is it?” Jiang Chengyan took her hand.

“The smell of money.” Bai Yan wrinkled her nose.

Jiang Chengyan raised an eyebrow. “How much money?”

Bai Yan held out her hand and gestured. “About as big as the rabbit I want.”

Jiang Chengyan looked up and glanced at Father Jiang’s basket, his expression unchanged.

Since Bai Yan kept tagging along like a little tail, Madam Zhao and Father Jiang said nothing more.

…

When they returned home, Father Jiang first told Madam Zhao to close the door, then pointed at Bai Yan and said, “Find something for the girl to eat. Don’t let her go hungry.”

Madam Zhao thought about it and realized there was nothing good at home; they would have to wait until evening for the dumplings.

“I don’t want to eat.” Bai Yan hopped up onto Jiang Chengyan’s back. As he bent to carry her, she pressed her nose against his neck and sniffed over and over, as though he were a giant chicken leg.

Seeing that the whole family was now gathered, Father Jiang told them what had happened on the western slope that day.

As soon as Madam Zhao heard it, she deliberately lowered her voice and said, “I knew it. Otherwise, why would there be a big stone in that basket?”

With that, she reached out to take the stone out.

But the moment Father Jiang saw it, he froze. “This isn’t it.”

If one looked closely, the true stone had flecks of gold within it. The one in his hand, however, was gray and drab no matter how one looked at it.

“It’s been switched out,” Jiang Chengyan, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly said.