Yes.

Mrs. Xiao’s so-called perfect location is Xiao Chenwen’s burial place.

Wen Ran was devastated.

Who the hell hides money in a grave mound?

Over there, Mr. Xiao, under Mrs. Xiao’s instructions, was trembling as he dug a small hole beside the grave mound.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Xiao was busy fixing up Xiao Wendong’s little house, muttering as she worked.

"Son, coming over in the middle of the night, disturbing your restful dreams! Don’t mind, I’m here with your dad, your fifth brother, and your fifth brother’s wife this time."

"Your brother got lucky, struck a fortune, and our place is small, even a rat hole could get caught, other things we could muddle through, but gold is really hard to cover up."

"Anyhow, we need you to keep an eye on things for the family when there’s nothing going on. By the way, the big house with blue bricks and tiles is ready, I specially reserved a spot for you in the main room. When it’s time, we’ll take you with us to move to the new house..."

Wen Ran wore a serene smile on her face.

What can I say, Mrs. Xiao’s moves are getting more and more daring.

Who would think to stash treasure in Xiao Chenwen’s grave?

"No way," Xiao Chenye looked baffled. He pulled Wen Ran aside and whispered, "What happened to Mom while I was away?"

Before, we couldn’t even mention Fourth Brother.

Every mention would make her cry her heart out.

Now...

She’s hiding gold in Fourth Brother’s grave, only Mom could think of that.

"It’s nothing," Wen Ran said softly. "She might be desensitized. Anyway, this is a good thing."

Yes.

It’s a good thing.

Xiao Chenye silently apologized to Fourth Brother in his heart.

Considering she’s our mother, let’s not fuss over digging up the grave!

After burying the gold, the family chatted with Xiao Chenwen for a good while before sleepily heading down the mountain.

Today’s fatigue was such that Wen Ran felt she would fall asleep as soon as she hit the bed.

"We’re moving to the new house soon. I’ve got a big mirror for you."

A dressing mirror?

These days, that’s not cheap.

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? It’s been ordered for a while. The craftsman is skilled but slow. If he worked faster, I would’ve had the whole family’s stuff custom-made there."

It’s just that time waits for no one.

"Anyway, our new furniture is pretty good too."

The main thing is we can use them soon.

Wen Ran clearly remembered that college entrance exams would resume at the end of the year, in freezing weather, wrapped in thick cotton clothes for the exams. Then, two years later, reform and opening up...

Even if she’s a rookie, failing the college entrance exam,

once the reforms begin, she won’t always stay in this small mountain village.

Here, while nice, isn’t a place for long-term development for the kids.

Once development takes off, it’ll be like riding a rocket.

She needs to secure her place in the future economic center, invest in real estate, build up family assets to ensure no matter the kids’ needs, the basic material foundation is well established.

When the time comes, the whole family will leave here, having set up the house and furniture so nicely is entirely unnecessary.

The house shouldn’t deteriorate, but the furniture is debatable.

Thinking of this, Wen Ran couldn’t help planning ahead. If she could take advantage of this time to collect more gold and silver, it would be great to use them as startup capital during the reforms or in the future.

Her thoughts wandered, and Xiao Chenye noticed but didn’t say anything, just carefully guiding Wen Ran down the mountain.

Mrs. Xiao, at the front, looked back and saw the pair interacting naturally, calming half the worry weighing on her heart.

Mr. Xiao noticed Mrs. Xiao’s attention drawn to the two young ones behind them and felt a bit dissatisfied.

"Hey, speaking of which, where did you go tonight?"

Mrs. Xiao: "..."

She felt increasingly speechless.

"Let’s talk about it later."

Mr. Xiao was curious, "No, didn’t you go looking for crayfish?"

Mrs. Xiao: "."

Honestly, she wished she could explain to Mr. Xiao in a few words but...

It wasn’t possible.

"Alright," Mrs. Xiao cut to the chase, "close your mouth first, we’ll talk when we’re home."

She said they’d talk at home, but in reality, once home, everyone just crashed into bed, completely oblivious.

Exhaustion.

Fatigue.

Work resumes the next day.

The spring planting wraps up this afternoon.

The team leader granted a three-day holiday to the whole brigade.

No need to do anything.

Of course, this didn’t include Wen Ran’s pig-raising squad, Bao Wenxuan’s duck-raising squad, or the newly formed chick-raising squad.

Fieldwork could wait, but pigs, ducks, and chickens still needed feeding.

That evening, to celebrate Xiao Chenye’s impressive deeds from yesterday, the family gathered for a celebration.

"Why don’t we take this chance to move the family?"

The big brick and tile house is ready, but no one’s lived in it yet.

The carpenter announced the furniture is done.

Why not move in directly, and have the wedding ceremony at the big tiled house?

"Alright."

The whole family unanimously agreed, and there was no opposition.

Mrs. Xiao wanted to talk about Mrs. Xiao Sr. and Zhou Xiuying’s scheme against Xiao Li.

"That’s the situation. You all look at this; what should we do about it?"

Aside from the two who knew the full story and remained calm, the others were as bewildered as could be.

Old Wolf nestled against Wen Ran’s leg, resting his chin on her lap.

Wen Ran felt the furry wolf head and gave it a playful rub.

Old Wolf wagged his tail, revealing a rare playful nature.

"Wait," Mr. Xiao was stunned, "You know their scheme so well, did you eavesdrop outside their bed at night?"

Mrs. Xiao: "..."

Wen Ran: "..."

What can I say?

It was half a lucky guess.

Didn’t eavesdrop under the bed; listened from the roof.

"Oh well," Mrs. Xiao waved dismissively, "Are you guys annoying? The situation is as it is, just know it, don’t ask too much, what’s the use?"

Xiao Chenye was at a loss for words, "Mom, did you and Ranran really eavesdrop together?"

Wen Ran snapped, "Xiao Chenye, what’s wrong with you?

Haven’t we told you not to ask so many questions! Just focus on the matter at hand, see if we can sort this out."

Xiao Chenye: "...Mom, I’m not saying, but we’re not young anymore, can’t compete with young folks, you know what I mean?"

Mrs. Xiao raised a hand and gave a straightforward slap, "Noisy!"

Wen Ran shot a dagger of a glare, blatantly threatening, "If you keep rambling, I’ll tell Auntie about your treasure spot."

Thinking of the brown bear, Xiao Chenye sheepishly closed his mouth.

Fine, who doesn’t have a bit of a dark past?

If not talking is the way to go, so be it!