Chapter 18 - recuperate from injuries

Zeng Wenxiu had indeed heard from the patriarch about this thing, but it was extremely rare. It was said that even Emperor Qin Shi Huang had once searched for it but failed to find it. She never expected that her son would have a whole water kettle of it. If this got out, people in the cultivation world would go crazy trying to snatch it! Zeng Wenxiu quickly reminded her two sons not to breathe a word about this thing. Otherwise, their family would never have peace. Liu Heping, seeing how highly this thing was spoken of, also wanted to take a sip. Noticing the eager look in her eldest son's eyes, Zeng Wenxiu handed him the water kettle and said, "Just take a small sip. This thing is too precious. You can't buy it even with money." She then asked her youngest son where exactly he had gotten this thing. Xiaojiu said, "Last time you came to find me on the mountain, I made a deal with the big snake, and this thing is what I got from it." Zeng Wenxiu said, "What kind of deal did you make with that snake to make it willing to give you such a precious thing?" Xiaojiu said, "Mom, don't worry about it. Anyway, the thing is mine now." While the two were talking, Liu Heping took a small sip. He felt that this thing was incredibly fragrant. After drinking it, his whole body felt light as a feather, and it was as if his internal organs had received a massage. In a word, it was extremely pleasant. He wanted to have another sip, but his mother, Zeng Wenxiu, snatched the water kettle away and said, "One sip is enough. Drinking more would be a waste. The rest is for your younger brother to use for healing. If you drink too much, what will your brother do?" Zeng Wenxiu then asked the two of them how much money they had actually earned by risking their lives this time. Liu Heping held up two fingers and said, "Mom, take a wild guess." Zeng Wenxiu said, "200,000 yuan?" Liu Heping shook his head and said, "Wrong. Guess more boldly." Zeng Wenxiu slapped her eldest son on the head and said, "I'm not guessing. Hurry up and bring the passbook." Liu Heping could only obediently take out the passbook from his suit pocket. Zeng Wenxiu took it and saw so many zeros that she couldn't even count them. She asked her eldest son again how much money it was exactly. Liu Heping said, "Mom, you've seen it yourself. Why are you still asking me?" Zeng Wenxiu got angry again and said, "Don't you know I only went to the second grade? How can I count so many zeros?" Xiaojiu interrupted and said, "Mom, there's no need to ask. It's 202 million yuan. Otherwise, I wouldn't have risked my life to take this job. Who would help him change his fate against the will of heaven without money? We've earned the money, but I almost ended up disabled." Zeng Wenxiu put away the passbook and said to Xiaojiu, "Don't do anything reckless in the future. You were lucky this time and didn't die on the spot. Otherwise, what's the use of earning so much money? From now on, stay put and don't go anywhere without my permission." After saying that, she took the passbook and left, saying that she was going to cook for her two sons. Liu Heping and Xiaojiu stared at each other, looking bewildered. They wondered if they could ever get the money back once it was in their mother's hands. Hadn't they worked so hard for nothing? Xiaojiu sighed and said, "It's okay. As long as we're safe, it doesn't matter about the money. You still have the few hundred thousand yuan in cash that Boss Xu gave you. Keep it well. If mom confiscates it later, it's not my problem." Xiaojiu comforted his elder brother and said, "Once I recover from my injuries, we can still make a lot of money in the future. There will surely be opportunities for you!" Liu Heping thought that what his younger brother said made sense. With his younger brother's abilities, making money would be as easy as drinking water, wouldn't it? Although Xiaojiu was comforting his elder brother, in fact, he was also comforting himself. The money he had earned so hard was gone just like that, and he had almost lost his life. In the future, he really needed to be on guard against his mother, just like being on guard against fire and thieves. Otherwise, who could stand doing all the hard work for nothing every time? After eating the meal their mother cooked, both of them went to rest. Zeng Wenxiu also returned to her room, took out the passbook, and looked at it from all angles. She couldn't count the zeros on it no matter how hard she tried. She never expected that after working so hard for so many years, she could finally enjoy the blessings brought by her sons. Zeng Wenxiu slept with the passbook in her arms that night. She had never seen so much money before and was afraid that the passbook would disappear accidentally. Holding the passbook while sleeping, she seemed to have a wonderful dream and even had a smile on her lips. In the following days, Xiaojiu didn't go anywhere and just stayed at home to recuperate from his injuries. It happened that the Spring Festival was approaching. His eldest sister and brother-in-law came with cured meat and gifts to give New Year's presents. His eldest sister was also holding a three-year-old nephew in her arms. When his sister and brother-in-law arrived in front of the house, they could hardly recognize it. Last Spring Festival, their home was still an old house. How could it have turned into a small villa this year? They even wondered if their younger brother had lost a lot of money gambling and sold the house to someone else. Xiaojiu's eldest sister was named Liu Hexiang. She was the eldest among the siblings. Previously, when she was admitted to university, there was no money for her to study, so their mother married her off to their brother-in-law, Chen Jun, who was a retired soldier. Chen Jun was an honest, reliable, and decent person. Finally, the two of them gathered the courage to go inside. Seeing the furnishings in the house, all made of redwood furniture and modern electrical appliances, they simply couldn't imagine that this was the once poor family. They still hadn't seen any family members and didn't know if this was really their home. Coincidentally, Zeng Wenxiu had gone to the town to buy New Year's goods and wasn't at home. The two brothers were upstairs watching a video tape of a Hong Kong movie. Xiaojiu had sharp ears and heard some sounds downstairs. He asked his elder brother to go down and check, worried that there might be thieves. Liu Heping quickly got up from the sofa and ran downstairs. He happened to meet his eldest sister, Liu Hexiang. Liu Hexiang confirmed that this was her home when she saw her younger brother, Liu Heping. She grabbed him and asked how the house had changed like this and why she didn't know about it. Liu Heping asked his eldest sister to go upstairs first and said, "Come up to the second floor and sit down. I'll tell you slowly." He also greeted his brother-in-law and told him to come up quickly. He even took the child from his brother-in-law's hands. The two of them followed him to the second floor and were stunned when they saw how luxurious it was. When Xiaojiu saw his sister and brother-in-law coming, he quickly greeted them, saying, "Hello, eldest sister and brother-in-law." Liu Hexiang stroked Xiaojiu's head and asked, "Is my little brother being good at home?" Xiaojiu said, "I've been very good. I've been staying at home every day." After the two of them sat down, Liu Hexiang started asking Liu Heping what was going on. Liu Heping had no choice but to take the blame again and said, "I was working in Guangdong and met a boss. The boss thought I was a decent person and took me along to make money. After working for two years, I earned some money and came back to build this house. Now the business is not doing well, and I don't want to go back to Guangdong." Liu Hexiang looked skeptical and said, "You? A decent person? I feel like you're telling a fairy tale." Liu Heping argued, "You haven't seen me for two years. Can't I have changed for the better?" Even though Liu Hexiang didn't believe it, with the house, furniture, and electrical appliances right in front of her eyes, she had to believe it. She could only wait for her mother to come back and ask her. She didn't believe a word her eldest brother said. She believed that a leopard can't change its spots, and she knew exactly what kind of person her younger brother was. She would rather believe that a pie would fall from the sky than believe what her brother said. When her brother was at school before, he had cheated her out of the ten yuan she had好不容易 saved and finally lost it all in a card game. Xiaojiu was too lazy to get involved in the conversation between his eldest sister and elder brother. He went to the cabinet and took out a lot of candies for his little nephew to eat. When the little nephew heard there were candies, he quickly ran over. Xiaojiu asked him to call him uncle, but since the nephew was only three years old and couldn't speak clearly, he called him "jiujiu" instead. Xiaojiu didn't bother to argue with his nephew. After waiting for a while and seeing that their mother still hadn't come back, his eldest sister went downstairs to cook. When the meal was ready, Zeng Wenxiu also came back. She was quite happy to see her eldest daughter. Liu Hexiang took the things from her mother's hands and asked her mother, "Did my younger brother build this house? Where did he get so much money? Did he do something illegal outside?" She simply couldn't believe that her younger brother could earn so much money.