Chapter 70: Selling the treasure (2)

The old man’s words, “I have it,” left me stunned. I knew there was a room full of things in the small room, but the only thing that was worth anything was the jade, right? How much could this jade be worth? In my little heart, I estimated that it couldn’t be worth a house.

I was rather naive at the time, and I would slap myself if I had such a thought now. How could I know the value of the room in which the old man lived? What is a house?

“Master Jiang, how can we use your money?” My father was anxious and quickly said,

“Master Jiang, I don’t think you have much money saved up. You’re doing this for us, Sanwa…” my mother quickly added.

They were moved and they believed in the old man, but they also thought the same as I did. How much money could the old man have? Think about his behavior in the village. He worked for others just to satisfy his greedy appetite…

“Don’t say any more. Although it is said that Sanwa’s lack of parental affection is destined, I am also a cause. As a boy, Sanwa cannot always be by his parents’ side, and I am also blocked in my heart. I am a rough face reader, and I can see that you are not people who will be unlucky or poor in their later years. I have to help you. Go to the county seat! I asked a man this morning, in less than three years, the land of China… Well, to put it simply, in less than three years, the country’s economic policies will change, and you will seize the opportunity and become wealthy.” When he said this, the old man Jiang blushed slightly. I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, but now I understand when I think back.

He had never asked for help or used magic to get personal gain for himself for so many years, but he ended up owing my parents a favor. By telling my parents this, he was also getting personal gain for his own apprentice family, so he blushed.

He was afraid of harming his apprentice’s family, so he quietly had someone calculate my parents’ birth dates. It was only after he was assured that they were destined to have financial luck that he said all this. Otherwise, if he had wealth that did not belong to him, he would not be able to keep it, and it might even bring bad luck with it.

“Master Jiang, we know you’re capable, but even if we have good luck, we can’t catch it if we don’t have any skills other than farming. We…” My father sighed. As their children grew up, their pressure also increased. It would always be good to have more money, but…

“I’ve thought about it. You should buy a house near the high school in the county seat. Buy a small building, and convert the ground floor into a shop. Sell notebooks, pens, snacks, and so on. That’s it.” Old man Jiang actually knew more details. He knew that within three years, the first group of businessmen in China would become rich, and that they would be prosperous and successful. But old man Jiang himself had no concept of business, so he could only come up with this idea.

But this is undoubtedly a fantasy for my parents, who have been farmers for generations. Buying a house in the county seat? A small building? And doing business? I can’t imagine it. I really can’t!

“Master Jiang, this…” My father didn’t know what to say. He was moved, but he was too embarrassed to say it. Master Jiang, you’re used to wandering, you don’t know how to live, this plan is good, but it’s impossible to realize it.

Old Master Jiang waved his hand, indicating that my parents didn’t need to say anything more, and just asked, “If I give you the money, will you not take it?”

“No!”

“Definitely not!” My parents almost said in unison.

“If you still don’t want it, then I’ll consider our friendship over.” Old Jiang said seriously.

When he was serious, my parents were intimidated, and since the words were heavy, they didn’t dare to speak.

Only my father was more suspicious. He had long suspected the identity of the old man, and now that the old man had even managed to get in touch with the county government, he was even more suspicious. After hesitating for a long time, he said, “Master Jiang, can you tell us who you really are and what you do? Sometimes, I think about it and I don’t feel at ease.”

“I work for the country, but there aren’t many things that the country wants me to do personally.” Old Master Jiang didn’t hide anything.

“So the last time you left was seven years ago…” My father’s understanding ability was of course better than my inexperienced understanding. He understood what the old man meant. He definitely knew that the old man’s identity in the country was not ordinary. As a villager, he personally “saw” ghostly things, and he was afraid that there were many “suspicious” things in the country, and it was estimated that there must be a high-level person guarding it.

“During those seven years, hehe… I was on a mission, which was quite difficult. At the beginning of the mission, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to come back, so I told you that I was afraid that I would not be able to be with Sanwa. In fact, it turned out that Sanwa and I were destined to be together, haha…” Old Master Jiang said this in a light tone, and even more optimistically, but everyone except me could tell the danger in it. Even a high-level person like Old Master Jiang was worried that he wouldn’t be able to come back.

My father’s face turned red, and it took him a long time to say, “Master Jiang, even if Sanwa has to go on a mission in the future and make sacrifices, I am willing to do so as long as it is for the country.”

These are the most simple words and the most sincere heart of a farmer. My parents’ generation may not have much education, but the most sincere and most honest heart in their hearts is not comparable to the generations that followed. In spirit, they may be richer than we are.

“I… I am willing too.” My mother also said something.

Old Jiang was moved, patted my father on the shoulder, and after a long pause, said, “People like you deserve to be rich. The goodness you have done in this life alone is enough to repay you for your good fortune. You don’t need to have done good deeds in your past lives.”

After discussing the matter, the result was more or less decided. After dinner, Mr. Jiang told my parents to come back a week later to get the money.

This is a big promise, there is enough money!

But in my heart, I snorted. My master was being arrogant again. It was just like when we played chess. He always talked himself up as a master, but in the end, he was just a lousy player. Buying a house in the county seat…

I thought to myself and blurted out, “Master, buying a house in the county seat would cost at least 100 yuan, right?”

I had no choice. I was a country bumpkin, and 100 yuan was already the biggest number I could imagine. Any other number was beyond my imagination!

Old Jiang looked at me like I was crazy, then said, “You idiot!” and floated away, taking a fishing rod from the house and going fishing.

That night, a lamp lit up the small room. Old Jiang walked around the room with his hands behind his back, while I fiddled with the ritual objects on the table. God knows what he was annoyed about.

“This book is an ancient book, many of which are unique. It was collected by the master throughout his life, and I have traveled all over China… There are also many precious Taoist documents. Hey… can’t sell it!” I saw that he first flipped through the books on his bookshelf, sighed, and walked away.

Then he went to the other side and looked at some miscellaneous things on the shelf again: “These things… hey… are all antiques related to our Taoist history, and cannot be sold!” He sighed again and walked away.

Then he opened some boxes on the shelf. I was already curious about what was in these boxes, so I leaned in to take a look. What was in them? I turned my head in disappointment and continued to fiddle with the ritual implements on the table. I was no longer interested in the boxes.

It turned out that the boxes contained some medicinal herbs, some of which were particularly ugly, dark and lumpy. It was a waste of resources that old man Jiang had used such beautiful boxes to store them!

Of course, I was the one who later realized that I was wasting the world’s resources!

“Sanwa’s tonic medicine is already in short supply, and there are several types. When he grows up and has achieved some success in practicing qigong, he will need to use them. These things are used up one by one. Do I have to beg for two… Well, I can’t sell it, I can’t sell it!” There was another sigh, and the old man Jiang walked away.

I was touched. I realized that old Jiang really cared about me. But I also became more convinced that my master was a poor master. If the medicine was gone, I could just go to the Chinese medicine shop and get some. When I grew up and made money, I would buy more for the old man, so that he wouldn’t be reluctant to give it to me.

I made this determination in my heart, but fortunately I didn’t say it out loud, otherwise I would have been lectured and beaten.

Finally, the old man Jiang walked up to a few large boxes and opened them with a “creak”!

I once again curiously stretched my neck. In my imagination, these large boxes were perfect for storing gold and silver jewelry. I guessed that there might be some. In the story that the old man Jiang told, didn’t the old man Li, no, my ancestor, refuse to sell anything without at least two gold bars?

Well, this is very possible. I was excited and immediately overturned my master’s idea that he was poor. I was prepared to be dazzled by the gold and silver treasures, but…

In the end, I didn’t see anything, let alone any treasure light coming out of the box!

I was about to take a closer look when the old man called out to me, “Sanwa, come here and help me choose something with your eyes closed.”

I ran over there very enthusiastically, sticking my neck out to take a look. What was in the box? It was a long, long row of boxes, one of which was open, and inside was a scroll!

I knew that old man Jiang loved to paint, but he often painted and then burned them. He also loved to write a few brush characters, but he also wrote and then burned them. So he kept these?

It seems that my poor master has no choice but to sell his paintings and calligraphy.

“Then… this one.” I didn’t know what he wanted me to choose, so I just handed him a long rectangular box.

He took it, opened it with a lot of care, and carefully unrolled the scroll inside. I saw that the painting was of several lifelike lotus flowers, very beautiful. I couldn’t say what was good about it, but it was pretty.

In addition to the lotus flowers, there was a seal on top, a few lines of small print, and a nomination. The name wasn’t my cheap master’s.

Oh, it’s titled Shou Ping!