Free Web NovelChapter 122: Chapter 122: The Things in the Box
Cao Qiu demanded her mother-in-law either give her the box or at least open it to see what was inside.
In truth, it wasn’t just Cao Qiu who was curious; everyone in the room was.
The older generation had assumed the Sun Family had nothing of value. But then they remembered how Sun Jiaming’s great-grandfather had managed to get grain from the city for everyone back then. What had he used to trade for it, or buy it? Grain was incredibly precious at that time. You couldn’t get it without trading something good.
The younger ones were curious too, eager to know what kind of treasure the box held.
Gu’er felt a faint curiosity as well, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be anything valuable.
Grandma Sun scanned the room. When she saw Cao Qiu’s feverish eyes, she gave a scornful smile.
She reached into her inner clothes again and pulled out a handkerchief. Unfolding it, she revealed a key.
’That must be the key to the box, right?’
Cao Qiu’s arm twitched. ’I should just snatch it,’ she thought, ’and run off with the box. Then it would be all mine.’
’But it’s better to see what’s inside first. I’ll take the valuable stuff and leave the worthless junk. With those things, I can finally live a good life.’
Cao Qiu was practically drooling.
Grandma Sun placed a hand on the box, her expression turning solemn. The room fell utterly silent.
Grandma Sun inserted the key into the lock. Perhaps it was because she was flustered, or perhaps her long illness had left her weak, but she couldn’t turn it on the first try.
"Mom, why don’t you let me do it?"
Cao Qiu was bursting with impatience.
Grandma Sun didn’t answer her, nor did she look at her. She simply tried turning the key again.
This time, the lock clicked open. Grandma Sun removed it, lifted the lid of the box, and everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on it.
Gu’er’s eyes were also on the box. The moment it opened, a faint odor wafted out. It wasn’t a pleasant smell—it was the stale scent of mildew.
With the box open, Grandma Sun began to take out its contents.
One by one, the items were revealed to everyone. All of them were stunned, including Gu’er.
There were quite a few things in the box.
There was a pair of straw shoes, worn so badly they were falling apart. The shoes were woven from Ula grass, unique to the Northeast, and they looked ancient.
There was an old-fashioned pistol—or rather, what was left of one. It was just the grip. It must have been left behind by Sun Jiaming’s great-grandfather.
There was a blood-stained piece of clothing, the type worn in the army. Not only was it stained with blood, but only half of it was there. Parts of it also bore scorch marks, likely a remnant from a battlefield.
Gu’er understood. These must have been Sun Jiaming’s great-grandfather’s personal effects. They might have been sent back by the army, or perhaps collected by Sun Jiaming’s grandfather.
These things might be useless to others, but for Sun Jiaming’s grandfather, they held sentimental value.
Besides these items, there was a notebook. It was very old, and the writing inside was in traditional characters. Gu’er thought it looked a bit like a family registry.
There were also a few faded paper-cuts for windows. They were intricate, but clearly not valuable.
Finally, there was a stack of paper slips. The paper was coarse, and each slip had writing on it and a thumbprint. There had to be dozens, perhaps even a hundred of them.
Gu’er’s heart trembled slightly. These items might have immense sentimental value to the Sun Family, but... but none of them were worth any money.
Gu’er looked at Cao Qiu.
Cao Qiu’s eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
No gold bricks, no gold bars, none of the gold and silver treasures she had imagined. There wasn’t even a single piece of jewelry.
’What about silver dollars?’
There wasn’t even one silver dollar.
’What’s the use of all this junk? Can it even be exchanged for a single penny?’ freeweɓnøvel.com
’Have I been tricked by this damn old hag?’
"You... you damn old hag..."
Cao Qiu was so angry she could have spat blood. In her fury, she had impulsively called her mother-in-law a "damn old hag." Only when she noticed everyone in the room glaring at her did she realize she’d said her thoughts out loud.
’This is so frustrating!’ Cao Qiu seethed. She wanted to scream curses, to hit someone, to go berserk. ’Why is such a nice box filled with junk! And me? I actually signed that agreement! Not only did I let my son stay, but I also agreed not to interfere with his marriage! That old hag played me! How can I accept this?’
"Oh, heavens! I can’t go on living! How can anyone be so cruel? Tying my son down with a pile of junk! Is this how a mother-in-law should act? This is bullying me to death!"
Cao Qiu began to wail, slapping her thighs in despair.
"Shut up!"
Third Grandpa suddenly roared.
Cao Qiu flinched, terrified. She was usually a bully, but many in the village respected Sun Jiaming’s late great-grandfather and grandfather, so they usually gave her some face. She had never been seriously reprimanded. If she truly angered these old men, she knew she should be scared.
"Zhuzi, if your wife dares to say another word, shut her mouth and send her back to her parents’ house. If you can’t control her, fine. Then you and your wife are not to return to this village ever again. If you come back, we’ll run you out. If you don’t listen, we’ll beat you every time you show your faces. When that happens, don’t blame me for not showing you any respect."
Third Grandpa’s face was grim as he gave the order directly to Sun Zhuzi. His words were harsh.
Sun Zhuzi was scared stiff. He could only nod, unable to speak.
Cao Qiu gasped. Being driven out was a completely different matter from choosing not to come back herself. She didn’t dare make another sound.
Third Grandpa glared at the two of them before turning his attention back to the items on the kang bed with the other old men.
Sun Jiaming watched for a moment, then picked up a few of the paper slips to read them. Gu’er stepped closer to look at the contents as well. After reading, she froze.
"Sister Sun, are these... are these all...?"
Third Grandpa and the other elders asked Grandma Sun, their voices trembling.
Grandma Sun nodded, her eyes glistening with tears as she was clearly lost in memories of the past.
"Sigh." freewёbnoνel.com
Third Grandpa let out a long sigh.
Eighth Grandpa and the others said nothing. For a moment, the room was plunged into silence.
Gu’er understood now. The slips weren’t written by a single person, but they were all addressed to the Sun Family. Some were for Sun Jiaming’s great-grandfather, and others were for Sun Jiaming’s grandfather.
The majority of them were IOUs for grain. There were also IOUs for money and other items. The ones addressed to Sun Jiaming’s great-grandfather were all dated around the same time, within a two-year span. This must have been from the famine years the grandpas had mentioned earlier—the year the village had no food, and Sun Jiaming’s great-grandfather managed to bring back grain from the city for everyone. And so, everyone had written IOUs for the grain to Sun Jiaming’s grandfather.
There were also later IOUs from villagers to Sun Jiaming’s grandfather. Some were for borrowing grain when they had no food. Others were for borrowing money when a child or an adult in the family got sick and they couldn’t afford a doctor. Still others were for borrowing various items. The dates on these were all different.
With so many slips, the names at the bottom were all different. Some had borrowed once, others twice. It seemed that almost everyone in the village had borrowed from them at some point.
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Sorry for the late update, I wasn’t feeling well. I won’t say more, on to writing the second Chapter. Thank you to Xin Lan Lan Xue Ren and cjy080837 for the monthly tickets, thank you to Ning Zhihai for the praise, and thank you all for your support.
