Chapter 58: Opening the Treasure House

Time passed quickly, and another year had come to an end.

This year, I entered the fourth grade of elementary school. I hadn’t grown much in height, but I had become a little more sensible. Compared to other children, I had a very busy but also very fulfilling life.

My parents had aged a year. Perhaps life was not easy, but my father’s face had already developed unsightly wrinkles, and my mother had obvious gray hair.

My sisters were even more beautiful, like young girls in the prime of life.

Su Rou is a little fatter, and is developing into a square.

As for old man Jiang, well, he’s a monster, and his appearance hasn’t changed much.

It was another winter, but a rare warm winter for the small mountain village where I lived.

It was still my birthday, but I didn’t get the same treatment as last year. My master said that I would only be able to have a big celebration when I turned nine, and that I could forget about it on other days.

But this day happened to be a rare weekend, and my family still came up once, taking a walk on the mountain as an outing. Old man Jiang said no, but my family was adamant about it. I missed last year’s butter cake, of course I could only see it in my dreams.

My parents were watching the things that Old Jiang was planting in the meadow. We had been together for two and a half years, and I had long since known that Old Jiang was planting some medicinal herbs in the meadow, but my parents thought it was very fresh and often picked some to take home.

My two sisters didn’t mind the cold weather and had a great time playing by the water.

I sat with the old man on the veranda of the bamboo house like a little old man, each with a cup of tea, and a chessboard in the middle, playing two games of chess.

There were no entertainment activities in the mountains, so the old man taught me how to play chess. After I had learned for half a year, I often beat him. However, the old man was disrespectful, saying things like he was going to take a piss and wouldn’t be back, that I should practice boxing, and that he didn’t see clearly.

The most ridiculous thing was that he would often kick over the table and then blame the table legs for being unstable.

Who can blame him for being the master? I can only suffer in silence. I can’t just quit playing with him, he’s the master, and I have to play with him if he asks me to.

Old Jiang made another bad move, but I made a good one. I thought he was going to play a trick, so I simply folded my arms and waited for him to think of a reason.

But this gave the old man a reason to make a fuss: “Look at you, you’re clearly only ten years old, but you’re pretending to be old and serious, and you’re hiding your hands in your sleeves? Take them out, hmm, just because of your behavior, I’ve decided that today you’ll be punished, and you’ll have to copy the Tao Te Ching.”

I was helpless. I knew it would be like this. I quickly took out my hand and made a respectful gesture. I really was. If I had just won against the old man Jiang, it would have been fine, but he was so angry that he was ashamed.

“Master, why haven’t I grown much taller? Liu Chunyan is taller than me this year.” At this point, it’s not enough to be respectful, you have to change the subject.

“What do you know? Boys are like a well-built house that takes time to build. You are especially well-built. Don’t waste my medicine for your body. Go copy the Tao Te Ching.” Old Master Jiang wouldn’t let up.

“Master, today is my birthday.” Copying the “Tao Te Ching” is indeed beneficial. At least my ancient Chinese level has improved by leaps and bounds, and I can understand the meaning of “thrift leads to prosperity.” However, I can’t bear to copy it every day and every month, especially when I add to it. I’m using my birthday as a shield.

“Cut the crap and copy the Tao Te Ching.” The old man Jiang snorted and was not moved at all.

“Master, today I’m ten years old. You said that after I turned ten, you would tell me something. When are you going to tell me?” I suddenly remembered this and grabbed it as a shield in a hurry.

“Copy the Tao…” The old man suddenly stopped, and after a long silence, he suddenly said, “Come to the small room tonight, and I’ll tell you.” After that, the old man didn’t forget to mess up the chessboard.

But I didn’t care. The small room? My master actually told me to go to the small room! I was shocked.

Actually, this small bamboo house is not big, and there are only three rooms in total, including the main hall. The toilet and kitchen are in a separate bamboo shed.

Of the three rooms, one is where I sleep, one is where the old man sleeps, and the other is a small room attached to the old man’s bedroom. It is always closed on weekdays, and both the old man and I call it the small room.

Besides, everything in this small bamboo house is mediocre. The main hall is not worth mentioning, and the total furniture is just a long table and a few chairs.

In the old man’s bedroom, there is a bamboo bed, a rattan box, and a futon.

My bedroom has more things, a wooden bed, a wooden desk, a chair, and a small closet for clothes.

So, when I heard that I was going to the small room, I was shocked. It was because I had been living in the mountains for two and a half years, and I had never set foot in the small room. But the old man often stayed in it, but when he stayed, he kept the door closed. I was really curious about what was in the small room!

How could I not be shocked when the old man asked me to go to the small room today?

After dinner, I sent my parents back down the mountain and then went back up. It was already night when I got back, but I still had to do my homework. After copying the Tao Te Ching, I practiced the Eight Brocade Brocade for a while. I was already familiar with the Five Animal Play, but the old man told me to practice the Eight Brocade Brocade again.

Then, it was still time for a late-night snack, and I still had to take a bath. I usually enjoy these things, but today I did them in a hurry because I was anxious to go to the small room. I didn’t even have the usual sleepy feeling that usually comes over me at this time.

Old man Jiang is a man of his word. He said he would take me to the small room, and after I finished bathing, he really took me to the small room.

When the door, which was too mysterious for me, was opened, I felt my heart beating rapidly.

But when I saw it was pitch black, I was so disappointed that I let out a cry of surprise.

“The light isn’t on. What do you expect to see? Do you think you’re a cat? Come in, silly boy.” Old Jiang thought it was funny and pulled me into the room. Then he lit an oil lamp with ease.

In the light of the lamp, everything in the room came into my eyes. I looked at it with some surprise, and I didn’t expect the room to be like this.

A large bamboo shelf covered one wall, and it was divided into small compartments like the ones in the multi-compartment cabinets of today. These compartments were filled with all kinds of things, but mostly boxes.

There were a few large boxes placed on one side of the bamboo shelf, but I didn’t know what was inside.

On the other wall was a small bookshelf with a lot of books on it. I looked at them and saw that they were all thread-bound books, probably from some years ago.

On the last wall, there was a small window, and under the window was a large bamboo desk with many things on it. I didn’t recognize all of them, but I had seen some of them before, such as the master’s peach wood sword, the cinnabar box, and other things that were all kinds of magical artifacts. There were also several pieces of jade of various kinds.

It’s like a treasure trove!

“Have you seen enough? This is all your master has. The most precious things are the books and some things passed down from your master. In the past, I didn’t let you in the small room for fear that you would touch and mess with things and get your hands on something you shouldn’t. However, you’ve been here for two and a half years, you’ve read the Tao Te Ching many times, and you’ve become much more sensible. Plus, I’m going to formally tell you about some things in our lineage, so there’s no harm in letting you in the small room.” Old Jiang explained, and unlike my surprise and delight, he was very calm.

“Master, what are all these things? Can you show them to me?” I was completely captivated by the things in the room. Children are just greedy for novelty.

But then the old man glared at me and said, “What did I teach you? Apart from the heart, everything else is like floating clouds. If the heart is a treasure, then everything else is like weeds. Look at you. Besides, if I don’t leave my things to you, then to whom? Compared to those people, what do my possessions mean?

I nodded repeatedly, but I didn’t understand. It was just new. If this were today, everyone would know the concept of antiques, and it would be a heart-stopping experience to enter this room. Only Jiang Laoren could be so calm, even though he knew the value of some of the things.

“I want to talk to you about business. There are more than just me in our family!” Old Jiang suddenly said.