As long as the child doesn't bring up bothering his father's ancestral grave, anything goes. Especially that boy, wanting to dig up graves at night and secretly bury them there—just thinking about it is maddening.

Who has the time to constantly watch two children? I’m genuinely afraid these two will cause trouble.

Cheng Ying: "Alright then, I'll go home and discuss it with my mother." Cheng Shan felt deeply apologetic toward Yang Zhi and Yong Zi. Their lives were finally settling down, and now this—it was only causing more trouble.

"If this child starts acting up, how can we even live?" "Yingzi, your mother hasn't had it easy." Cheng Ying nodded and pulled Chi Wu along as she left. Cheng Shan sighed; at least he had said his piece, and his conscience felt a little clearer.

The Old Captain: "We’ll properly visit the ancestors’ graves later." He had taken Cheng Ying's words to heart. Cheng Shan: "I heard someone saw the two kids playing near where Yingzi's father was buried a few days ago.

They must have encountered something unclean." Old Captain: "Alas, if Yingzi's father were alive, he would have been quite a figure." Once a person dies, they are gone; all that remains is a lingering sigh. Chi Wu: "Yingzi, don't be sad.

If you ask me, it's more reliable if we sneak over and move your father into the ancestral grave." No matter how Chi Wu thought about it, their household couldn't scrape together five hundred yuan. Cheng Ying shot Chi Wu a glare.

Did he really want her father to be restless even in death? She had just been speaking casually; this brat was actually planning to take drastic action.

She sternly warned Chi Wu: "You dare? I’m telling you to stay far away from my father’s grave." Chi Wu looked a bit hurt.

Cheng Ying: "That's not what I meant. Graves shouldn't be tampered with.

Treating the dead with respect is paramount, understand? If you don't get it, don't meddle." Chi Wu stayed silent.

"Then what do we do? Five hundred!

That’s five hundred! If they sold me, plus everything I have, it still wouldn't be enough." Cheng Ying looked at Chi Wu, realizing the boy genuinely had her best interests at heart, worrying about the money.

"Solutions come from people thinking. Don't trouble yourself with the thinking part; just help me when I ask." Then she looked at Chi Wu: "Oh, right, I asked you to watch Grandma.

Did you watch her?" Chi Wu: "You were crying so hard, I forgot." Cheng Ying: "You’re such an idiot. Don't bother me now," she said, entering the east room.

Cheng Ying began sorting through her belongings, checking everywhere in her spatial dimension. Even selling the ornamental fish from the pond as food wouldn't fetch five hundred yuan.

Besides, Cheng Ying didn't want to work at it for ten or eight years; if she was going to do it, she wanted something big, a permanent fix. Once her mountain plot started producing, it would be hard to secure the rights again; everyone would be envious.

The safest time to act was before everyone else realized the value of the land. Sigh.

The ground was covered with saplings, and her eyes were filled with ginseng sprouts, but not a single mature product. Cheng Ying was about to go mad with worry.

Other than her space, she pulled out her winter padded coat. Inside was only one hundred and sixty yuan, including what her maternal grandfather had given her.

As for borrowing money, that was definitely out of the question. It wasn't that Cheng Ying was boasting, but if you pooled all the money in the entire village, getting to two thousand would be a good haul.

Who could possibly have that much on hand? Her own mother and stepfather together only earned thirty yuan a month.

Considering the prices and the times... Cheng Ying took out the money, intending to put the padded coat back.

The old lady was meticulous; clothes not worn in winter were stored at the very bottom of the cabinet. Cheng Ying accidentally spotted a treasure.

She rummaged until she pulled out a large, spread-out tiger skin that had been laid flat underneath the cabinet. The old lady had placed it so carefully that not a single crease marked the folded hide.

Cheng Ying spread it out on the kang bed. It looked to be over two meters long, no matter how she looked at it.

Cheng Ying stroked the tiger skin. This was Grandma's dowry for her.

Even in these difficult years, the old lady hadn't brought it out. For the sake of this, the two daughters-in-law probably held grudges.

Looking at the tiger skin, Cheng Ying thought this item could be a family heirloom. In her view, the money problem was solved, but this item was Grandma's most cherished possession.

Perhaps Grandma would take it out when she missed her son. If she sold it, Cheng Ying wasn't sure if she'd be betraying the old lady, but she was certain her own backside would suffer.

Yet, if she didn't sell it, where would the money come from? Cheng Ying looked at the tiger skin.

"Dear father, let's exchange you for money. Even as money, it’s for the sake of Grandma's future comfort, isn't it?

You wouldn't want your own mother to suffer, would you?" Cheng Ying was overcome with emotion; her eyes were red, and her hands trembled slightly. She took the large scissors from the old lady's needle box and, closing her eyes, cut off the tiger's head.

Now the tiger skin was worth much less than before, but she had to leave the old lady something to remember it by. Cheng Ying carefully laid the skin of the severed tiger head back at the bottom of the cabinet.

She wrapped the rest of the tiger skin in a cloth and placed it into her spatial dimension. When she was done, she was drenched in sweat—not from exertion, but from fear.

If the old lady found out, she would surely be skinned alive. Cheng Ying exited her space and went to find Chi Wu.

One good man needs three helpers; she couldn't convert the money herself. And it had to be done without the old lady knowing—Chi Wu's help was essential.

Cheng Ying: "I have a way to get the money now. You have to help me." Chi Wu, sitting on the west room kang, nervously counting eleven yuan, held up his fingers.

"Five hundred yuan?" Cheng Ying: "Small vision. In the future, we'll be looking at five million." Chi Wu’s facial muscles seemed to seize up.

After hearing "five million," his mouth remained agape. Cheng Ying: "Why am I telling you this?

Never mind. You don't need to worry about the money, but you must be my bodyguard, got it?" Chi Wu: "Can you really get it?

Cheng Ying, I'm telling you, illegal activities and stealing—they lock people up in dark rooms." Cheng Ying thought to herself that at worst, she was just a household thief. If the old lady didn't call the police, no one would arrest her.

Moreover, she was just taking out her dowry early; it didn't count as theft. "Am I that kind of person?

Besides, tell me, whose house has five hundred yuan for me to steal?" Chi Wu was reassured. He had overheard while fishing with others a few days ago that in the middle of the sixth lunar month, every household was short on cash.

The little money they exchanged for work points before the New Year was almost gone. He heard people were planning to go out to work.

The situation was probably the same everywhere. Cheng Ying: "Listen to me.

Tomorrow, you need to wake up early, and we'll go to the township. Tonight, tell them we're going, and we need to leave early." Chi Wu: "Why do I have to say it?" Cheng Ying: "Do I look like someone who's just out for fun?" Chi Wu pursed his lips and said nothing.

He had never seen someone ask for help this way. Cheng Ying: "Did you hear me?" Chi Wu grumbled an "Mm," then handed Cheng Ying his eleven yuan, including the one- and two-cent coins.

Of course, even one cent back then was small change. Saving up must have been hard.

Chi Wu: "Take it. It’s all I have." Cheng Ying felt if she didn't take it, Chi Wu might get upset.

Boys care a lot about face. Taking Chi Wu's eleven yuan, she said, "When I get the money, I will pay you back." This money felt heavy.

Never mind that it was just over eleven yuan; it represented friendship. Chi Wu: "It's all I have, so of course, you have to pay me back." Cheng Ying smiled and left.

Looking at the money, she figured most of it was from her maternal grandfather during the New Year. The remaining one yuan was likely small change Chi Wu had saved himself.

When the old lady and Chi Yong returned, Cheng Ying had already prepared dinner. Chi Wu had gone back to the river to catch fish that afternoon.

Perhaps luck was with him; he caught several big ones. In those times, if you caught fish and didn't eat them, they’d spoil in a day in the heat of the sixth month.

Chi Wu: "Tomorrow, I plan to go to the township and sell these fish." He said it awkwardly, his voice rough, like bearings without oil. Chi Yong: "Why are you suddenly thinking of that?" Chi Wu glanced at Cheng Ying.

"I saw other people doing it that way." It went smoother; the more lies he told, the smoother they became. Chi Yong smiled.

"If you have nothing else to do, you can play however you like, but be careful. Didn't I tell you to stay away from the riverbank?" Old Lady: "That place isn't good.

Don't be tempted by easy gains. The township is so far away." Chi Wu rarely dared to speak back to the old lady.

"Mm, there’s a vehicle, so it won't be too hard." He then looked towards Cheng Ying, making Cheng Ying angry. Why was he looking at her?

Wasn't he telling the old lady that she wanted to go? What kind of person was the old lady?

How could she not see through it? "Go then, but don't sell the fish.

Send the fish over to Yingzi’s maternal grandfather instead." The old lady assumed her granddaughter just wanted an excuse to visit her maternal grandparents' home and was using Chi Wu as a pretext. Cheng Ying: "Then I'll go too." This statement confirmed the assumption.

Chi Wu lowered his head, silent. The old lady glanced lightly at her granddaughter, which made Cheng Ying extremely uneasy, especially thinking about that tiger skin.

Fortunately, the old lady hardly ever opened that cabinet now. It would probably be a long time before the old lady discovered it.

Cheng Ying was prepared to be severely disciplined. Cheng Ying: "How about we leave early tomorrow?

That way, we can spend the whole day in the township." Yang Zhi: "Yingzi, are you missing your little cousin?" Cheng Ying kept her head down and ate, which served as an admission. Chi Yong: "Be safe.

If you really want to stay, stay in the township for a day, but don't start before dawn and return after dark." This was for safety. The old lady insisted they return the same day.

She kept a tight watch on her granddaughter, especially regarding her in-laws, whom she had to guard against. That in-law had wanted to take Yingzi and her mother away back then.

If she hadn't forcefully pushed the in-laws away, they might have caused endless trouble over the years. The old lady held deep reservations about Cheng Ying's maternal grandfather.

Cheng Ying: "Okay, okay. If we can play for a whole day, but Grandma, don't worry if we come back late.

I just really love my little cousin. You haven't seen him; his face is as tender as tofu, and his lips are so red, so beautiful.

Once I pick him up, I can't bear to let go." She was telling her grandmother that even if she stayed at her grandfather's house, it wasn't for the grandfather she cared about, but for her cousin. The old lady glared at her granddaughter.

Don't let the girl’s boisterousness fool you; with a quick turn of her mind, the elder could see right through her. The old lady just didn't know that the girl’s audacity was greater than she appeared.

With the groundwork laid, Cheng Ying found her dinner delicious. But Chi Wu was not doing well.

Hearing Yingzi talk like that meant they would definitely be coming back very late tomorrow. What exactly was this girl planning to do?

Chi Wu looked at the food on the table; for the first time, he had lost his appetite. Nothing tasted good.