Chapter 107: A Clay Pot of Silver Dollars

After agreeing on the price with Boss Wang and making the payment, Liu Xing returned home with Zhao Hu. Now that they had the glazed bricks, the old adobe house at his eldest sister’s place—except for the backyard and the kitchen—would naturally have to be torn down and rebuilt. This significantly increased the workload, but Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, Zhao Jianzhong, Zhao Liang, and the others were all pleased. Even Zhao Wuliang was delighted because it meant he could linger a few more days at his elder brother’s house under the pretense of helping out and enjoy more meals there.

Liu Dongju’s father-in-law, Zhao Geng, also came by. Upon learning that his son’s house had collapsed, he brought ten yuan and a cartload of Chinese cabbage. As for other gifts, since his own circumstances were difficult, he made no further gestures. Still, this made Liu Dongju and Zhao Dongkui very happy. Because of Zhao Geng’s advanced age, the couple arranged for him to look after the little one, a light task he was happy to accept.

However, his happiness was short-lived. Zhao Wuliang, that brat, had been helping at his elder brother’s place but was found sneaking off to sleep in the backyard. This time, Zhao Geng did not hold back for Zhao Wuliang’s sake; he fetched a bamboo stick and gave him a severe beating until Zhao Wuliang was covered in bruises and bloodstains. Everyone expected Zhao Wuliang to storm off in anger, but to their surprise, he shamelessly went straight to the gate to help clear away the adobe bricks as if nothing had happened.

“How did I end up with such a son?” Zhao Geng sighed, clutching his chest. Nearby, Zhao Ji couldn’t help but laugh. “You only have yourself to blame. You spoiled Zhao Wuliang rotten when he was young; otherwise, how could he have turned out like this?”

“Exactly. Zhao Wuliang only responds to a good beating. See how after your thrashing, he’s become more diligent?” Zhao Liang teased. Zhao Geng didn’t catch the sarcasm in their words; in fact, he agreed with them and made a mental note before taking the little one to stroll around the market. After all, the gate was unsafe, and if anything happened, he wouldn’t be able to explain it.

But the little one didn’t like being with him. After wandering around the market for a while, she fussily ran back and clung to Liu Xing like a shadow. Zhao Geng was torn between laughter and tears but said nothing. He could see that if Liu Xing hadn’t treated the little one well, she wouldn’t have wanted to stay by his side.

Before long, it was noon. Seeing Liu Dongju busy alone in the kitchen, Zhao Geng rolled up his sleeves and joined her. Outside on the road came the chugging sound of a tractor. Liu Xing, still clearing away the adobe bricks, looked up and saw Boss Wang riding in the passenger seat, the truck bed loaded with glazed bricks. He quickly dropped his hoe and rushed over.

“Boss Wang, why are you delivering the glazed bricks so late? Did you plan to shirk your duties after getting the money?” Liu Xing asked with a grin.

“Not at all! You have to let me find a tractor first!” Boss Wang hurriedly explained. This was true; tractors at the market weren’t always available on demand.

Liu Xing didn’t press the matter. Seeing several laborers sitting on the truck bed, he pointed out where to store the glazed bricks and watched as they unloaded. The bricks looked no different from the ones he had seen before, so he breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that he was overly cautious, but with a secondhand dealer like Boss Wang, one had to stay alert or risk being cheated.

As the entire tractor load of glazed bricks was quickly unloaded, Liu Xing dusted himself off and was about to resume clearing the adobe bricks when the little one suddenly ran up excitedly.

“Uncle! Uncle! Look what I found!” she exclaimed, holding up a silver coin.

“My goodness, where did you find that?” Liu Xing stood frozen. Even in the 1980s, such a silver coin would be valuable.

“Over there,” the little one said happily, pulling Liu Xing toward the ruins on the right side.

Soon, she stopped in front of a clay jar. Liu Xing squatted down to look and was astonished. Though small, the jar was filled entirely with silver coins. When he blew on them, they buzzed—proof they were genuine.

Snapping out of his daze, Liu Xing quickly grabbed the jar and ran to the kitchen. “Sister, look what the little one found!”

Liu Dongju, chopping vegetables, glanced toward the door and smiled dismissively upon seeing the silver coins in Liu Xing’s hands. “The village chief found a couple of these before and had me stash them under the bed.”

“So you’re saying these silver coins aren’t valuable?” Liu Xing was stunned. The little one tilted her head, somewhat displeased—they were so pretty!

Liu Dongju wiped her hands with a cloth. “It’s not that they’re worthless. When building houses back then, people would place silver coins on the rooftops to ward off evil spirits. Someone used to collect these coins, but after the police caught them, no one dared do it anymore.” In other words, these silver coins no longer circulated as currency but served as keepsakes.

“I see!” Liu Xing finally understood. Though his sister spoke of old superstitions, after the reform and opening-up, these silver coins could certainly be freely bought and sold. He just wasn’t sure about their current market value.

“If you want, this whole jar of silver coins is yours,” Liu Dongju said, then returned to her work.

Liu Xing was thrilled and, holding the little one who clung to his legs, headed toward the backyard. This jar of silver coins must be kept safe. When the antiques market opened, he would sell them—or maybe keep them for decades and pass them down as a fortune.

...

Around lunchtime, Boss Wang had the tractor driver deliver a load of old furniture. Since Liu Xing said it was for firewood, they didn’t bother being careful and simply dumped it on the ground. This pained Liu Xing, but when he saw the carved yellow rosewood bed was undamaged, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Nie Quan put down his woodworking tools and, seeing Liu Xing squatting and examining the carved bed, smiled and approached. “Why are you buying this old junk from Boss Wang? It’s only good for burning; it’s worthless otherwise.”

Nie Quan’s words weren’t wrong. In the early 1980s, many rural families owned carved yellow rosewood beds. While some collected them, most didn’t value them at all because food was scarce, and who had time to appreciate wooden furnishings?

Liu Xing knew the background and smiled. “I had Boss Wang bring it here for my sister to burn. You think I’d move it back just to sleep on?”

“Let me chop it up for you. It makes excellent firewood; I’ve tried it before,” Nie Quan said, turning to grab an axe.

Liu Xing panicked and quickly stopped him. “Don’t! This carved bed has another use before it gets burned.”

“What use?” Nie Quan asked, puzzled.

“Don’t ask now—just trust me, it can’t be chopped up yet.” Liu Xing lifted the bed’s headboard and carried it toward the backyard.

Nie Quan scratched his head in confusion but gave up and went to rest.

A moment later, Liu Dongju brought dishes to the table. “Lunch is ready! Everyone, come eat before the food gets cold!”

The little one, knowing there was taro and pork ribs for lunch, was the first to grab her small bowl and dash to the table. Guazi and Zhao Jing followed. But when Guazi saw two beggars still by the roadside, she hesitated, then took a large bowl of rice and several pieces of braised pork and ribs and walked over to them.

“Such a child,” Liu Dongju tried to stop her, but Liu Xing pulled her back. “Sister, don’t interfere. You’ll only discourage Guazi.”

Children with kindness and compassion are something to be cherished, so they must be supported. In truth, Guazi’s actions were Liu Xing’s quiet instruction—those two beggars, an elderly man and a child, truly needed help.

To most people, this might seem meddlesome, but as a reincarnated man, Liu Xing couldn’t just look out for himself; that would be unworthy of his second chance at life. Therefore, he helped whenever possible.

Perhaps... all of this had been predestined.

“I’m not against Guazi giving food to those beggars; the problem is, no one else has eaten yet! She should respect everyone else,” Liu Dongju smiled gently. In other words, everything should follow proper order.

Though the two beggars were pitiful, they couldn’t expect the same treatment as the skilled workers helping renovate the house.

“I don’t need such respect,” Village Chief Zhao chuckled. Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, Zhao Jianzhong, and the others nodded in agreement. After all, everyone experiences hardship at some point.

Maybe today’s kindness toward this elderly man and child would bring blessings in the future.

What Liu Dongju didn’t know was that these two beggars hadn’t left the market because the villagers of Laowu Village were simple and kind-hearted. Many secretly brought them food when they saw them starve and freeze. Otherwise, the grandfather and grandson would have long since perished here.