Chapter 202: Four Boxes of Gold
Mu Xueli and Wang Li looked at each other, their faces full of shame.
"Brother-in-law, I—" Just as Mu Xueli was about to speak, Wang An interrupted him: "Do you have a death wish? Do you think my words are just farts in the wind?"
As he spoke, Wang An promptly gave Mu Xueli a kick, adding as he did so, "This is for not being able to tell 2 from 3. I wanted to kick you just now, did you know that?"
"No, brother-in-law, I meant—" Having taken a kick, Mu Xueli immediately tried to explain, but Wang An interrupted him again and delivered another kick. After the kick, Wang An said, "What do you mean 'no'? 'No' is exactly what's landing on your body."
Having taken another kick, Mu Xueli looked somewhat aggrieved and hurriedly said, "I was asking how you plan to spend all this money! Why do you keep kicking me?"
"How to spend it? Spend it however you want, why should I care! I'll kick you if I want, so what? You got a problem?" Wang An was clearly picking a fight, speaking in a very rogue-like manner.
"T-then kick away." Mu Xueli cowered, shrinking back two steps.
Wang Li, standing to the side, suddenly burst out laughing, saying, "Serves you right! It's your fault for not being able to tell 2 from 3."
Hearing Wang Li laughing, Wang An immediately walked over to him. With a "bang," he kicked Wang Li and then asked, "What are you grinning at over here? Why are you so happy that he's getting kicked?"
Wang An's kick immediately knocked the wind out of Wang Li's sails; he didn't dare laugh anymore and kept his head down in silence.
Wang An thought for a moment. He couldn't play favorites; a man had to be fair and just. Thus, Wang An raised his big foot again. With a "bang," he kicked Wang Li once more. After the kick, Wang An asked, "I kicked him twice, so I have to kick you twice. You got a problem?"
"No, no problem, Fourth Brother," Wang Li said in a small voice, stealing a glance at Wang An.
After kicking the two of them, Wang An instantly felt a great sense of relief. Every single day, he felt the need to use his hands—no, he meant his feet.
Although both had taken two kicks, they were actually quite cheerful. This proved that the matter of them teaming up to prank Wang An was now settled. Otherwise, if Wang An suddenly felt like nitpicking some other day, they would still get kicked; it was better to get it over with early.
It had to be said that Mu Xueli and Wang Li understood Wang An well. Wang An was truly generous when he wanted to be, and he was truly good to them, treating them like his own younger brothers all along.
However, but, yet—Wang An was petty. Not only was he petty, but he was also extremely vengeful!
But Wang An had one virtue: once a matter was settled, he generally didn't bring up old accounts. Therefore, for the two of them, taking two kicks was actually quite a good deal!
Now that Wang An was in a better mood, a smile appeared in his voice as he commanded Mu Xueli and Wang Li, "Continue. Get those four small boxes open. There's definitely good stuff inside."
Although these four boxes were small, they were heavy enough to keep the ropes from floating in mid-air. In other words, these four boxes could withstand the simultaneous pulling of both Mu Xueli and Wang Li!
From this, one could see how heavy the boxes were. Thus, Wang An was certain that these four boxes contained something significant—not just significant, but something high-value.
Working together, Mu Xueli and Wang Li lifted the top box from the stack of four. Although the box wasn't large, it was evident that the two of them had to exert themselves.
"Brother-in-law, what is this thing that's so heavy? It's dead heavy, way heavier than stone!" Mu Xueli asked in confusion after they placed the box on the ground.
"Hahaha, whatever you think it is, it is." Mu Xueli's question only further confirmed Wang An's guess, making him even happier.
Wang An ignored the pondering Mu Xueli and Wang Li and unbuckled the leather straps on the sides of the box. However, he didn't rush to open it. Instead, he looked at the two of them with a smile and asked, "Figured out what it is yet? This is a very simple matter."
"Fourth Brother, could it be silver? I've heard silver is heavier than iron," Wang Li said, frowning.
"Yeah, I feel the same way," Mu Xueli echoed.
Their answers momentarily stunned Wang An. He became confused and lost his confidence.
But the "Little Japanese" lands were where silver was produced; surely they wouldn't transport silver over thousands of miles? Then again, beasts were different from humans; it really was possible.
Thus, with a frown and a heart full of suspicion, Wang An opened the lid of the box.
Once the lid was open and Wang An saw the contents, his frown vanished instantly. He broke into a wide, toothy grin; though his expression was vivid, he didn't make a sound.
Thank goodness, his guess was correct!
Mu Xueli and Wang Li crowded around at the same time. Looking at the contents of the box, they gave another vivid and graphic performance of what it meant to have one's "jaw drop"!
Even the words "Holy shit" were choked back by the shock. Both of them stood with mouths agape and eyes wide, staring into the box. Aside from their breathing becoming heavy, they made no other sound.
Inside the box was a full load of gold—not gold bars, but gold bricks!!!
Under the light of the horse lamp and candles, every gold brick emitted a yellow glow. No matter who looked at it, they would feel that this stuff was incredibly desirable!
The three of them each picked up a gold brick to examine it closely. There wasn't a single word written on them. After inspecting it, Wang An weighed it in his hand; it was roughly the same weight as the largest "jumping cat" (weight unit). This meant one gold brick weighed about 5 jin. There were 20 identical gold bricks in this box.
After a long silence, Wang Li murmured, "We're rich. We're really rich!"
Hearing this, Mu Xueli's lips trembled, and he suddenly shouted excitedly, "We've struck it rich! Hahaha...!"
Mu Xueli's sudden shout made both Wang An and Wang Li shudder. The hollow "urn-like" space they were in acted as a resonator, causing Mu Xueli's shout to bounce back and forth, repeatedly assaulting their ears.
The appearance of so much gold and the confirmation of his guess had made Wang An happy and excited, but being startled by Mu Xueli instantly ruined his mood.
So, after the shudder passed, Wang An delivered a slap. The slap landed squarely on Mu Xueli's hat, sending the man—who had been squatting on the ground grinning at the gold—flat on his backside. The laughter stopped abruptly.
"Are you sick in the head? Huh? What are you howling for?" Wang An scolded in a low voice after slapping him.
After taking the slap, Mu Xueli said sheepishly, "I thought we were all happy, so I shouted to add to the excitement."
"Cut it out! That shout almost scared me to death!" Wang Li said irritably.
"Hehehe, I was just happy," Mu Xueli said with a cheeky grin, looking at the two of them.
"Enough, stop showing off. Bring the other boxes over; let's open them all and see," Wang An ordered.
Hearing this, Mu Xueli and Wang Li lined up the remaining three small boxes, unbuckling and opening them one by one.
Four full boxes of gold appeared before the three of them. However, the last box contained gold bars instead of bricks. Wang An picked one up randomly to weigh it; one bar was about 1 jin!
Wang An counted them; there were exactly 100 bars. This meant this box of gold bars weighed approximately 100 jin.
Once the initial excitement faded, the three of them stared at the four boxes of gold in silence for a long time. Wang An knew this stuff was extremely precious and valuable, but in this era, it couldn't be traded—meaning it wasn't liquid. Other than hiding it at home and looking at it occasionally, it was useless in the short term.
"Fourth Brother, we all know this stuff is precious, but what is it actually useful for?" Wang Li asked, frowning and pointing at the gold on the ground.
(End of Chapter)