Chapter 5: At Fault

Chu Feng nodded vigorously. Instead of blaming Chu Xuan, he looked pleasantly surprised. "I'll definitely keep it a secret. Splitting up is great! We won't have to get beaten anymore. How did you get that Brother Long to help?"

"I'll tell you later."

Chu Xuan placed her hand on his face.

"Hiss..." Chu Feng winced in sharp pain.

Having been frequently beaten by Feng Chunhua in the past, he always kept swelling medicine on hand.

Chu Xuan found a bottle of medicine in the luggage inside the room and handed it to Chu Feng. "Apply some medicine; it'll heal faster. I'm heading to the county town right now. You go chop the fish—cut it into three portions. One for tonight, one to send to Grandpa Village Chief's house, and the last one to pickle with the fish head. Oh, and the portion for Grandpa Village Chief must be the mackerel tail."

She would handle both giving a favor and nourishing her younger brother at once.

Chu Feng took the medicine bottle and made an enthusiastic commitment. "Don't worry, Sis! I guarantee I'll get it done! And I also promise to clean the old house's kitchen and the two livable rooms."

Chu Xuan fell silent for a moment, coughing twice to hide her embarrassment. "Could you also clean the outhouse while you're at it?"

Expecting him to refuse, she was surprised when he agreed instantly. "No problem! Oh, Sis, should we pickle the octopus we caught or eat it tonight?"

"It's up to you."

Chu Xuan patted his shoulder with relief. She went into the house, found a clean set of clothes in her luggage to change into, tucked her mask and the gold ingots into her trouser pockets, put on a straw hat, and stepped out quickly.

Just as she had walked about ten meters, several villagers watching the commotion approached from a distance.

Among them was Auntie Hua, who greeted her warmly, "Chu Xuan, I heard you and your brother found a mackerel king? Can we take a look?"

Chu Xuan made a welcoming gesture. "Feel free to look; my brother is busy prepping the fish in the courtyard. I have some business to attend to, so I must head out."

After a bit more small talk, Auntie Hua and the others headed toward the old Chu residence in high spirits...

Chu Xuan went straight to see the Village Chief, Wang Depin.

Lately, the village had been building an office building, and the tractors were working in two shifts to haul bricks from the county town.

"Grandpa Wang, I'd like to take the village tractor to the county town. Is that alright?"

She didn't mention that her brother would be coming over shortly to deliver the fresh mackerel pieces.

She knew that even if she didn't mention it, Grandpa Wang would agree.

In her past life, Grandpa Wang had frequently reminded her to personally discipline Chu Feng and not to always leave it to Feng Chunhua.

Unfortunately, she hadn't listened then.

In this life, she had to raise her brother properly.

The Village Chief agreed without a second thought. "Of course. If anything comes up in the future, just come find me."

As for contacting Tian Xiaoyun, he planned to bring it up with Chu Xuan only once he had actually made contact.

Half an hour later, Chu Xuan boarded the tractor bound for the county town. As luck would have it, the driver was Mu Chenze.

If she missed this tractor, she would have to wait until 6:00 AM tomorrow.

A long night brings many troubles, and more importantly, the night was better suited for a private gold recycling transaction.

Mu Chenze could not only pilot a boat but also drive a tractor; when he wasn't at sea, he earned a little extra money driving tractors for the village.

While unloading bricks, Mu Chenze had heard that Chu Xuan and her brother had found a mackerel king while beachcombing.

He had also heard that the siblings had been split up due to debt.

Driven by a strange impulse, he had quietly slipped to the door of the old Chu residence, wanting to help them take the mackerel king to the county town to sell it, so they might earn more money and have a better life.

To his surprise, he overheard phrases like "gold ingots" and "going to the county town to ask a private contact about selling it."

To avoid being discovered by the siblings, he silently left.

Originally, a different driver was supposed to take this trip to the county town.

However, Mu Chenze had volunteered to go in his place, using the excuse of having urgent business in town and promising to share the earnings. Anyone would have agreed to such a deal.

At this moment, Chu Xuan was sitting in the cargo bed behind him. The tractor's engine was quite loud, making conversation difficult.

Thus, Mu Chenze remained silent.

By the time they reached the center of the county town, it was pitch black.

Once the tractor came to a steady stop, Mu Chenze turned to look at Chu Xuan.

"I'll wait for you here in one hour."

His voice was as pleasant as ever, his tone very gentle, like a trickling spring, showing none of the anger one might expect from someone whose first kiss had been stolen and whose marriage proposal had been rejected.

Chu Xuan looked at him with gratitude. "Thank you!"

She slowly climbed down.

She wanted to jump, but unfortunately, her body was too heavy; jumping down would likely result in a sprained ankle or injured knees.

Mu Chenze waited patiently until she stood firmly before driving the tractor away.

Chu Xuan chose to walk through alleys with few people; she remembered the address of that private gold recycler.

She had been there with Chu Zhi in her past life.

Ten minutes later, wearing a mask, Chu Xuan stood before a secluded courtyard and knocked.

Soon, someone opened the small viewing window in the door.

By communicating through the door like this, neither party could see the other; it was a transaction, not a friendship.

Chu Xuan deliberately lowered her voice and changed it to a man's tone.

"I'm here to sell gold."

The person inside responded quietly, "Pass it through."

Chu Xuan wasn't afraid they wouldn't honor the deal; after all, they had successfully completed a transaction in her past life.

Selling the gold ingots went very smoothly, earning her over a hundred yuan more than in her previous life.

She received 2,350 yuan.

At first, Chu Xuan was puzzled as to why she could sell it for more, but she soon realized the reason. In her past life, when she and Chu Zhi had come together, it was Chu Zhi who passed the gold through. He had likely taken the opportunity to shave off a small piece of gold.

Chu Xuan wound through several alleys to ensure no one was following her before removing her mask. She headed toward the meeting point with Mu Chenze, calculating how to bring up the matter of building a house with Grandpa Village Chief once she returned.

After all, the old man would ask where the money came from.

While gold trading was permitted in this era, Chu Xuan was afraid of causing trouble and could not tell the truth.

In her past life, she had heard of someone being arrested for selling gold dug from a cave because of the questionable source of the gold.

It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Suddenly, she thought of her biological mother, Tian Xiaoyun.

Tian Xiaoyun had once returned to visit her and her brother, but back then, they had been heavily brainwashed by Feng Chunhua and had flatly refused to see her, leaving her to depart in tears.

Thinking about it now, perhaps there had been some hardship that forced her mother to leave her and her brother behind.

Later, her mother had sent her money several times, but she had used it all to subsidize the Chu family.

In her past life, the date of her mother's first remittance fell within these very two days.

Perhaps she could use the excuse of her mother sending money to explain the funds.

Chu Xuan felt incredibly relieved. Upon reaching the meeting point, she saw neither Mu Chenze nor the tractor, so she waited patiently.

The department stores and supply cooperatives were already closed for the day; purchasing daily necessities would have to wait until tomorrow.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Mu Chenze arrived driving the tractor.

After stopping, the corners of Mu Chenze's mouth curled up slightly. This "fatty" looked quite happy; it seemed the gold ingots had been sold.

Chu Xuan attempted to climb into the cargo bed, but unfortunately, it was much harder than when she arrived because the bed was filled with red bricks.

She had to climb to the very top.

Mu Chenze let out a soft sigh. "Chu Xuan, are you sure you want to sit in the cargo bed? Aren't you afraid of cracking the bricks?"

Chu Xuan's first reaction was that Mu Chenze was looking down on her for being too fat and didn't want to carry her back.

"Mu Chenze, what is that supposed to mean?"

If he dared to refuse her a ride, she really wouldn't do anything to him. After all, she owed him much in her past life, and in this life, she had even stolen his first kiss.

Either way, she was the one in the wrong.