“What red cornelian cherries? There’s clearly not a single red cornelian cherry, but wildflowers are everywhere.” Standing high, Qiu Sanniang could see far but found no pleasant surprises. “Let’s go back. Desolate like this, this land can’t be very fertile. Right now I don’t have extra energy to manage a barren piece of land abandoned for nearly a hundred years.”
“Young master, at least the land is large. The person I asked said that from the stone marker as the boundary, all the way to the Ya River’s edge, five qing of land all belongs to Hongyu Hollow. That’s half the size of that little village’s farmland up ahead. With a river, it’s near water. Mountains across the river—facing mountains. Near water, facing mountains—good feng shui.” The driver actually wasn’t stupid and even knew about feng shui.
“Land only has good feng shui if it produces. Look at the cracks in the ground beneath your feet—you can see hard solid stone. This is called stone-bed ground. The soil is thin and shallow—you can’t grow crops at all. What use is being near water and facing mountains?” Qiu Sanniang was no ignorant wealthy woman. Before buying two estates, she had even gone down to the fields with farmers to plant fruit trees, so she could distinguish between fertile and barren land.
The driver stamped on the ground beneath his feet. Seeing the top layer of dirt separate to reveal actual stone underneath, he changed his tune. “No wonder such a large piece of land doesn’t even have a ghost’s shadow.”
“Let’s go.” Qiu Sanniang was in a bad mood—the disappointing result of having high hopes dashed.
“Master, since we’ve already come, why don’t you let me go look?” Mo Zi was someone who found peace near water. Whether land was barren or fertile—to be honest, she couldn’t distinguish the five grains, couldn’t wield a hoe or plant fields, so naturally she didn’t particularly care.
“What more is there to see?” Qiu Sanniang lifted the door curtain, about to bend down and enter the carriage. Hearing Mo Zi say she wanted to look, she turned back to ask.
“If we can’t farm the land, perhaps we can catch fish—isn’t there a river? We could take the aquatic products route to prosperity.”
“If we could catch fish, people would have already lived by the river, but I haven’t seen a single thatched roof.” The place where Qiu Sanniang had just stood actually couldn’t see the full view of the hollow, because the hollow went from high to low, embracing into a shape. But her first impression of Hongyu Hollow was already completely disappointing, so she immediately had no interest in staying any longer.
“Master, I’ll just go down to look at the river water once and come right back.” If Qiu Sanniang had her persistence, how could Mo Zi not have hers? “You can take a nap in the carriage. I guarantee before you fall asleep, I’ll be back in the carriage.”
“Fine, if I don’t let you go, I’m afraid you won’t give up. Go ahead. Look carefully—if there are any treasures my old ancestors hid, hurry up and bring them to me, so I don’t carelessly dispose of this land at a bargain price.” Qiu Sanniang couldn’t refuse, so she had to allow it.
Mo Zi acknowledged and turned to look ahead for a path into the hollow.
Xiao Yi wanted to follow, but because Qiu Sanniang had entered the carriage and couldn’t leave her alone with the driver, she had to listlessly walk back beside the carriage. With narrowed eyes, she looked at that big tree struck by lightning on one side, measuring its climbability in her mind, while watching Mo Zi’s retreating figure on the other. The tree naturally remained completely motionless, but that old cyan robe plunged into the grass thicket and quickly disappeared.
It turned out Hongyu Hollow had a path. Though the crisscrossing tall stems of wild grass almost made one miss it, it was still discovered by the sharp-eyed Mo Zi. The path was very small, only wide enough for one person to pass, with various obstacles blocking the way from time to time—such as a shallow little drainage ditch, a patch of suddenly sprawling grass, a strange rock stuck in the ground. But overall, it was better than forging a path blindly with one’s body. After walking not long, Mo Zi noticed that this small path, though seemingly natural, was actually cleared by human hands. Some broken grass blades had very neat cut marks on them, obviously caused by sharp tools. Moreover, the deeper into the interior, the cleaner the small path became.
When Mo Zi walked out from the end of the small path, her vision suddenly opened up. She reached up to pick off grass leaves from her head and patted dust off her body. She got her wish to see flowing water.
However, it wasn’t a river but a stream—a stream of quite good width. A hundred meters upstream to the north was squeezed narrow by mountain ridges and couldn’t accommodate river boats, but by the time it reached the Hongyu Hollow section, it broadened widely heading south.
She walked to the stream bank and looked in the direction of the flow. The river mouth was actually less than two li away. Once out of the river mouth was the vast river surface. That was probably the Ya River, where you could see white sails and large boats traveling alongside towering mountains. Standing still for quite a while, she understood why there were no boats on this section of river. First, the north side was too narrow—large boats entering from the river surface could only get to Hongyu Hollow with nowhere else to go. Second, the southern mouth where the river flowed into the main river was turbulent and unrestrained, like thousands of soldiers charging forward, with dust and wind sounds following waves and ripples. The current was strong and swift. Ordinary small and medium fishing boats found it very difficult to travel steadily and could easily be rushed to the river mouth if not careful.
Having figured this out, the little treasure-hunting game was over, yet she would return empty-handed. But she still had several questions weighing on her mind. Why would Hongyu Hollow become the ancestral property where the Qiu surname made their fortune? In this place that seemingly couldn’t farm or fish, what business did Qiu Sanniang’s ancestors engage in to earn their first pot of gold? Also, since it could make money, why was this business abandoned by later descendants?
Thinking she couldn’t stay long and should walk back, her feet instead changed direction and moved forward. Circling halfway around that wild grass, she actually found another small path of the same width, with grass blades also cut by sharp implements. She hesitated for a moment. Following the treasure game’s slogan “if you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch the tiger cub,” she finally stepped onto that path not knowing where it led.
With full mental preparation, this path was unexpectedly short—after walking only about ten meters, the sky opened up before her eyes. However, though the path was short, the scene she saw still made her pause.
A house built up with stones, with doors and windows. In front of the house, low walls were piled with stones and dry grass. Inside the walls were chicken and duck pens—about ten chickens and one or two ducks. Not far away, a vegetable garden about one mu in size had been cultivated, green and red. Beside the vegetable garden was actually a small pond, and the ducks that seemed disproportionately few actually numbered over twenty playing in the water there.
Taking it as her own imagination, she blinked her eyes, but this picture of a simple yet warm pastoral cottage still stood quietly before her.
Mo Zi walked over and gently pushed open the firewood gate, calling out, “Is anyone home?”
Only clucking hens and quacking ducks answered her.
Looking at this situation, the small house must have someone living in it, but she didn’t know who. She leaned in a bit and asked again, “Is anyone here?”
Still no one answered.
Mo Zi thought the person had gone out. Since she’d told Qiu Sanniang she’d be back in a while, it wasn’t good to drag out the time further, so she turned to leave. Suddenly, from the corner of her eye she glimpsed a pair of goat-horn braids poking out from behind the stone house.
It was a pink and tender little girl with not-large eyes, but very bright and lively, hiding behind the house watching her with sparkling eyes. She was probably still very young, looking about three or four years old.
“Little girl?” With this call, Mo Zi herself felt a bit like an ill-intentioned child trafficker. She quickly revealed a friendly smile, her tone gentler. “Are your parents home?”
The little girl shook her head, her goat-horn braids slapping against her small cheeks. She reached out her little hand to grab them, then ran out from the side of the stone house, calling in a baby voice, “Grandpa, Grandpa.”
Mo Zi looked in that direction and saw an old man holding a sickle in one hand and a vegetable basket in the other, wearing short clothes and black pants full of patches. His skin was dark, but he had a snow-white beard. He first glanced at her, then smiling, put the blade into the basket and picked up the little girl with one hand.
“Niuniu is so good. Wait for Grandpa to wash his hands, then we’ll eat, okay?” The old man’s voice was loud and vigorous, his spirit robust.
“Niuniu wants to eat vegetables, not eggs. That way Niuniu can grow as tall as Grandpa.” The child said seriously.
“Right. Also, these eggs aren’t for us to eat. We have to take them to town to sell. When Grandpa has gathered enough money for this month and has extra copper coins, then I’ll buy eggs for you to eat.” The old man lovingly touched his forehead to the child’s.
They had eggs—why would they need to buy them to eat? Strange logic.
Mo Zi spoke again. “Old sir, may I ask if this is Hongyu Hollow?” Though the stone marker clearly stated it, since someone lived here, it was better to ask again.
The old man placed the basket in a corner of the low wall and let the child sit on a low stool before turning around. “This is Hongyu Hollow, but only my granddaughter and I live here. You must have come to the wrong place.”
“Since it is Hongyu Hollow, then I haven’t come to the wrong place.” Did this old man see it was abandoned, think it was ownerless, and settle down here? If Qiu Sanniang knew, she would drive the person away. After all, that this place couldn’t make money was one thing, but letting someone occupy it was another. Mo Zi therefore wanted to ask clearly.
“Who are you? What are you doing coming to Hongyu Hollow? I’ll tell you first—this land isn’t for sale.” Hearing she had come specifically looking for the place, the old man became less friendly.
Someone occupying the land saying the land wasn’t for sale? Mo Zi was startled and blurted out, “I’m not here to buy land. Hongyu Hollow belongs to my master’s family. Today I came specifically with my master to look. I wonder, old sir, you—” are what kind of person?
“You say Hongyu Hollow belongs to your master’s family?” The old man’s face was instantly full of excited expression. His hands didn’t know where to go in his agitation, finally rubbing his large palms together as he stepped forward. “May I ask what your master’s surname is?”
“Surnamed Qiu, currently residing in Luo City.” He didn’t look like someone occupying land after all.
“That’s right, that’s right!” The old man grinned widely, nodding continuously. “Hongyu Hollow does belong to the Qiu surname. Now there aren’t many people who know that. Young sir just said you came together with your master?”
“Precisely.” Seeing the old man’s joy didn’t seem fake, Mo Zi gained some understanding in her heart.
“This humble one’s ancestors shared the master’s surname. Later when the master family went south, they left him to guard Hongyu Hollow. This humble one is called Qiu Dadong. Please, young sir, report to the master that I may see the current master once, recognize a face, so that when I go down to the Yellow Springs, I can still report to my grandfather’s grandfather the joyful news that the master family remains prosperous and thriving.” The old man entreated Mo Zi.
A servant who could take the master’s surname might be a helper the master liked. And a servant who could guard the master’s ancestral property, moreover for several generations without ever leaving—this loyalty, this righteousness was simply a rare treasure.
“Old sir, then come with me. My master is waiting at the stone marker.” Mo Zi would of course bring the person to meet Qiu Sanniang, because just as she herself was very curious, Qiu Sanniang must also be curious about what exactly had happened on this piece of land called Hongyu Hollow.
Qiu Dadong couldn’t bother with eating. Before leaving, he gave Niuniu, held in his arms, a large flatbread and followed Mo Zi into the small path through the wild grass.
One vote short of 210 pink tickets.
It’s not that I’m cruel—truly the bonus chapter isn’t ready yet, and it’s time for me to sleep.
If it reaches 210 tomorrow, I’ll do a double update.
Dears, kisses, good night.