Chapter 3: Old Acquaintances of the Past Generation

“You and your father really look exactly alike...” Boss Zhou’s eyes glazed over as if lost in a distant memory.

Cheng Xiangru grew even more cautious. His scoundrel father had no respectable background. He stood up, pulling his sister along, ready to head downstairs. “I’m not selling anymore!”

But just as the siblings reached the stairwell, a tall, sturdy shop assistant approached them, holding a plastic bag containing a stack of red hundred-yuan bills.

Boss Zhou walked over unhurriedly, took the money from the assistant, and smiled as he handed it to Cheng Xiangru.

“Child, don’t be so tense. Take this five thousand yuan for now. Use it to buy some new clothes for you and your sister and some good food. If you ever face difficulties again, you can come to Jufangzhai and find me. Listen to me—when you go back, be sure to hide the Luoshu box and everything inside carefully. Don’t let anyone else see it, or it will bring you great trouble.”

Cheng Xiangru looked at the money in his hand, then at Boss Zhou, puzzled. “Do you know my father?”

Boss Zhou only gave a slight smile, neither confirming nor denying, but his actions spoke for themselves.

Cheng Xiangru was silent for a long moment. He glanced back at his sister, thinking of the daily discrimination and humiliation they would face upon returning to the village, and the bleak future that held no glimmer of hope. It seemed he had made a quiet decision, his shoulders tensing slightly.

He looked back at Boss Zhou with focused eyes. “Boss, you have such a big store on Xianren Bridge, you must be wealthy and well-connected. I want my sister to go to school. Is that possible?”

“Uh? Well...” Boss Zhou was taken aback by the sudden request.

Cheng Xiangru urged, “Since you knew my father, please help us! As long as my sister can attend school and have enough to eat and wear, I’m willing to give you this box and everything inside it. Even... my life if necessary!”

Boss Zhou opened his mouth, then shook his head with a troubled expression.

Cheng Xiangru’s eyes burned with determination as he gripped the bag of money tighter, lips pressed firmly together.

From behind, Cheng Yimo quietly tugged at his sleeve, her eyes red, whispering weakly, “Brother, I don’t want to go to school. I want to be with you.”

Boss Zhou turned to have the assistant on the side leave to attend to other tasks. He paced back and forth, stopping, shaking his head, sighing, making Cheng Xiangru feel increasingly hopeless.

Cheng Xiangru only wished for his sister to live and learn like a normal child.

He only wished she would no longer be bullied and humiliated by thugs back in the village.

He only hoped she could truly live in the sunlight, not under the shadow of being the child of a grave robber.

Why was it so difficult?

His eyes reddened as he quietly clenched his sister’s hand, his toes pressing into his shoe’s insole.

After a long while, Boss Zhou returned, wearing a complex smile. Finally, he made a decision: “Making sure your sister has enough to eat and wear is no problem. School might be a bit tricky, but not impossible. What about you? What are your plans?”

“Me?” Cheng Xiangru slowly lowered his head, then raised it again after a moment. “I’m fine with anything.”

---

Boss Zhou smiled and placed a hand on Cheng Xiangru’s shoulder. “How old are you this year?”

“Eighteen.”

“Not young anymore. It’s time to do something. How about working with me? I can’t promise riches and honors, but you can learn a skill and make a living. Also...” Boss Zhou’s eyes flickered as if gauging Cheng Xiangru’s reaction. After a brief pause, he continued, “Never mind, we’ll talk about that later. Right now, you’re like a blank sheet, and you have to learn everything anew. Be prepared—it’s tough at the start. The beginning is always the hardest.”

Cheng Xiangru glanced back at his sister with a soft gaze, but when he looked at Boss Zhou again, his eyes were resolute. “As long as my sister can be well, I’m fine with anything!”

Boss Zhou chuckled, ruffling Cheng Xiangru’s hair. “You silly boy, what are you saying? Trust me, you both will be fine.” Glancing at his wristwatch, he smiled brightly. “It’s mealtime. Let’s go eat. Is there anything you two want to eat?”

Cheng Xiangru looked at his sister. “Yimo, what do you want to eat?”

The little girl swallowed nervously, timidly saying, “Meat...”

Boss Zhou laughed heartily. “Then hot pot it is! Order lots of meat—you’ll be stuffed!”

Cheng Xiangru had never been picky about food, as long as he was full. But hearing the words “hot pot” made his mouth water uncontrollably.

He had seen others eat it, envied it, and even dreamed of it.

Boss Zhou took the siblings to a small Longkan hot pot place. Watching the two children devour their meal, he squinted with a smile, gently urging them to eat more slowly. His kindness was like that of a doting parent.

When the siblings were so full they were burping, Boss Zhou paid the bill and sent someone ahead to take them to the bus station. He arranged for them to pack their things and promised to come the next day to drive and help them move so they could live in Rong City.

On the bus, the siblings sat in the second-to-last row, looking at each other’s lips reddened from the spicy food, and laughed happily.

“Yimo, when we have money, we’ll eat hot pot every day.”

“Yeah! Spicy hot pot!”

The bus slowly pulled away from the station, heading out of the city. Cheng Yimo leaned against her brother’s arm and fell asleep, while Cheng Xiangru remained alert, clutching the thousands in cash.

Suddenly, a crumpled piece of paper flew from somewhere, hitting the lower edge of the window and bouncing into his lap.

Cheng Xiangru looked up, puzzled, but saw no one nearby. Confused, he unfolded the paper and read the words inside:

Beware behind you!

Behind? Could there be a thief?

Immediately on alert, Cheng Xiangru turned to look at the last row, but it was empty.

Even the adjacent seats were vacant.

Strange.

Where did the paper come from? And what did those words mean?

His brow furrowed tightly, and he remained tense throughout the ride, unable to figure it out.

---

When they returned to the village, dusk had fallen, and the sky was darkening.

The siblings cautiously took a back path, avoiding the village entrance, and circled back to their home, only to find the door pried open and the house a mess.

The pot was smashed with a huge hole, animal feces smeared on the wall, bedding torn, and one side of the bed collapsed...

“It must have been Da Huzi!” Cheng Xiangru ground his teeth in fury.

Cheng Yimo comforted warmly, “Brother, we’re leaving here tomorrow. It’s okay.”

“Yeah.” Cheng Xiangru turned to close the door firmly. He dragged the broken half-collapsed wooden bed against it, then found a half-used candle and a box of matches. Taking his sister’s hand, he headed toward the backyard.

“Brother, what are you doing?” Cheng Yimo asked, puzzled.

Cheng Xiangru whispered, “Before we leave, I need to confirm something.”

They opened the back door and stepped into the yard.

Cheng Xiangru picked up the dirty cloths that had been used to wrap the jade ring pendant and stuffed them into the Luoshu box. Then he walked to the dry well in the corner of the yard.

In his memory, the well had never yielded water, but his parents never dug a new one or filled this one in.

Once, they had even argued fiercely over whether to fill in the dry well.

It was just a dry well—why was his father so adamant against filling it or digging a new one in the backyard?

Before, Cheng Xiangru hadn’t thought much of it. But now, it was different.

The Luoshu box, recognized and cared about by Boss Zhou, and everything related to it, was undoubtedly extraordinary.

The carved spherical ornaments on the dry well formed the unlocking code for the Luoshu box. There was no way Cheng Xiangru could ignore that.

“Brother! What are you doing?” Cheng Yimo almost cried out in alarm as she saw him about to lean into the well.

Cheng Xiangru sat astride the well’s edge and made a shushing gesture. “Yimo, don’t worry, I won’t get hurt. I just want to see what secrets Dad really hid down there.”