Finally, it was agreed that two more carts of grain would be delivered tonight.
The two of them pulled the cart out, realizing no one was following, and only then they felt at ease.
It was quite cold wandering outside. So they found a sheltered place to stay.
Tan Shaoting handed the gold bars to Su Yuanyuan, asking her to keep them.
"You hold onto them."
Tan Shaoting laughed, "I don’t have a liking for these. You keep them, and when we get back, I’ll take you to deal with what’s underground." He just wanted to see her surprised expression.
Su Yuanyuan thought it over and accepted without ceremony, then took out another cart, deciding each would take one, otherwise they’d have to make another trip.
Tan Shaoting understood Su Yuanyuan’s meaning, "Too exhausting, I can manage myself."
"I’m fine, don’t worry."
Despite what was said, really pulling a thousand jin of grain was no easy task.
The two arrived once again at the residential house, unloading the grain into the house, and the people’s eyes sparkled even more.
"Xiao Tan, is there more? Any pork left?"
"There’s still more, but it’s too much work for just the two of us to pull. Brother Xing, maybe you could find a cart or a donkey cart."
"We have one, we have one, there’s a donkey cart at home right now, I’ll have them hitch it up for you."
Tan Shaoting took 520 yuan, "Brother Xing, the last trip will bring you two thousand jin of grain and one pig."
"Alright, alright, that’s great, Xiao Tan, prepare some for me in the next few days too."
"I can do that, but let’s use gold to settle, though not with the quality of gold you brought last."
"Sure, no problem, I’ll get it exchanged for pure gold. Rest assured, the quality will be top-notch."
"Alright, tomorrow night then, I’ll come by first to drive the cart."
The transaction went smoothly. The two returned to the inn.
Su Yuanyuan felt a bit anxious, holding too much stuff and selling too slowly; she wanted to hurry home, though she wouldn’t admit she was intrigued by the underground gold.
The next day neither went out; they were quite distinct and easily noticeable, better to quietly amass wealth.
"Do you think I should lose weight?"
"Lose weight? You’re just right , no need to slim down."
"But we’re too healthy, too conspicuous among the crowd."
"What’s so conspicuous? We’ve got so much money and grain. Truly being skin and bones from hunger would be the problem."
Tan Shaoting quickly dismissed Su Yuanyuan’s idea, thinking what a mess. Why lose weight when life is good?
Actually, Su Yuanyuan was just saying; she didn’t have the willpower to diet.
At night, they went out again, luckily, the hotel staff rotated shifts, otherwise, it’d be hard to explain.
They loaded twenty bags of grain and a pig, this time the quality of the Jinyu was really good. The two then went straight to the train station, not knowing if there was a train back at this hour.
Fortunately, there was a train passing by in an hour.
"You wait here, I’ll go check out." Tan Shaoting didn’t want Su Yuanyuan to freeze outside, so he went to the inn himself.
Once on the train, Su Yuanyuan felt a longing to return home.
There were no sleeper beds for short distances, Su Yuanyuan thought it was just a matter of two days, and she could make do.
But Tan Shaoting wasn’t willing, why endure hardship when conditions allow?
So he traded three pretzels for two sleeper tickets.
Su Yuanyuan found it amusing how Tan Shaoting managed everything, and this one certainly knew how to enjoy life. Completely aligned with her preferences.
Arriving in the city, both of them breathed a sigh of relief. Although it wasn’t their home, they could finally relax.
They still stayed at an inn, not in a hurry to return. Walking back would be extremely tiring.
Moreover, Su Yuanyuan was still yearning for those nice things she fancied.
The next day, Su Yuanyuan followed behind Tan Shaoting, and they left the city. After about an hour’s walk, Tan Shaoting stopped in a forest.
"Yes, you have to try using your Divine Sense."
Su Yuanyuan had really forgotten, not yet in the habit.
Following Tan Shaoting’s instructions, Su Yuanyuan’s Divine Sense probed down about two meters underground, where indeed there were several boxes.
They seemed to be quite old, as the boxes were all rotten.
"You keep watch. I’ll get them up for you."
Tan Shaoting’s Spell was naturally much more adept than Su Yuanyuan’s, though their cultivation was about equal now, his skills were inexorably ingrained in him.
The few boxes came up, making Su Yuanyuan feel a bit uneasy. So she collected all the gold and silver from inside, and the boxes were burned.
Su Yuanyuan didn’t realize how dazzling her smile was. Tan Shaoting liked the girl’s smile .
"I guess it was buried here in a hurry while fleeing?"
They returned to the city, "In the afternoon, let’s buy some daily supplies and then head back."
Tan Shaoting had no objections; it was fine wherever. Going back was the same; even after New Year’s, things wouldn’t change dramatically. But perhaps it’d feel more grounded than being outside?
In the afternoon, they wandered around the building, in the supply and marketing cooperative, picking up some daily necessities they could use.
Fabric was hard to come by though. But Su Yuanyuan’s space had plenty; they bought a lot abroad this time, enough to make clothes when they got back.
The next day, they didn’t rise early, setting off around eight, knowing they’d get home the next day, so there was no rush.
By evening, they didn’t look for lodging but instead found a sheltered spot to build a fire.
The food was certainly abundant. Su Yuanyuan didn’t take out the tent, as it was too cold; one couldn’t make a fire inside a tent.
Tan Shaoting sat on one side, seating on straw mats and a quilt.
"Su Yuanyuan, come into my arms, my coat is big, we’ll be warmer together."
"No need, I can tough it out."
Even though they were still young, there remained a distinction between male and female; though they had slept on the same bed, physical contact was absent. The external conditions were what they were.
Tan Shaoting raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was developing boundaries?
"Then sit next to me. That way, it’s still warmer."
The two rested for two hours before continuing their journey.
They arrived home around seven in the morning.
Once home, Tan Shaoting lit a fire, heating water in the big pot, and stoked the stove too. Though it would take a day for the temperature to go up.
After washing up, they ate breakfast. Tan Shaoting still wasn’t used to milk, though it wasn’t that he couldn’t drink it, he just didn’t like it.
Each had a cup of milk and a bread roll. Of course, it wasn’t enough for Tan Shaoting, so he ate two meat buns as well.