Chapter 405: Treasure Trove
Chapter 405: Chapter 405: Treasure Trove
Bai Suihe shook her head. This wasn’t the place to talk. "I just remembered something. I’ll explain the details when we get back."
Gu Xingyang’s slightly excited voice rang out in their minds. "Mommy, if it’s hard for you to explain, I can help you!
"I’m Mommy’s little megaphone, your personal radio!"
Gu Kaiyuan heard another new term but didn’t ask about it. The mother and daughter already shared a deeper level of tacit understanding than he did with them. He didn’t even know how to express his jealousy anymore and could only accept it in silence.
Bai Suihe transmitted her thoughts to Gu Xingyang, who immediately clapped her little hands in delight. "Mommy, this idea is fantastic! I can already see the money pouring in..."
Gu Kaiyuan gently grabbed her small hands. "You little munchkin, you even know about ’money pouring in.’ However, your mother’s idea is quite good, and her concerns are valid. We still need to plan this carefully.
"With our current status alone, we won’t be able to protect this. Let me think about it and figure out a way to contact a reliable partner later."
As for the Bai Family, while their business was doing well, the relationships behind the scenes were too complex; there was no need to get involved. Moreover, faced with such a massive temptation, even the Bai Family probably wouldn’t be able to resist.
Although the Bai Family had expanded their business significantly over the years, none of their ventures were particularly high-profile. Even if they suffered a loss, it wouldn’t severely damage or impact the Bai Family.
After the carriage returned to the city, Gu Kaiyuan and Bai Suihe used the excuse of inspecting a house to store all the delivered seafood into Bai Suihe’s spatial realm.
Just as they were about to head back, Gu Xingyang suddenly stopped them. "Mommy, didn’t you want to get rich? I found a treasure!"
She knew her parents had been working hard lately to expand the family’s assets, and she wanted to do her part too.
Bai Suihe’s brow twitched. She had a premonition that this little girl was about to give them a fright.
Gu Kaiyuan picked her up, holding her upright. "Treasures are hidden in deep mountains and old forests. This is just a residential area. Who would be silly enough to hide things here?
"Did you just find some loose silver dropped in a corner, little girl?"
Gu Xingyang pouted. Her own father’s distrust made her a bit unhappy. She waved her arms, wanting to defect to Bai Suihe’s embrace, and Bai Suihe obligingly took her.
"Mommy, I’ll tell you a secret, but let’s not tell Daddy," Gu Xingyang said in a milky voice.
Bai Suihe raised an eyebrow at Gu Kaiyuan, who was already smiling wryly, and decided not to tease him further.
Gu Kaiyuan couldn’t help but reach out and rub the hat on Gu Xingyang’s head. "Your dad hasn’t even said anything yet, and you’ve already given me the death penalty?
"Besides, if you’re going to tell a secret, little girl, you should at least step a bit further away from me."
As long as there was some distance, he definitely wouldn’t be able to hear it.
"Stinky Daddy," Gu Xingyang replied. "Even if I only told Mommy, she would secretly tell you the moment she turns around. I’m not going to waste my energy doing that.
"I’m just expressing my dissatisfaction. You need to learn how not to be a wet blanket."
Gu Kaiyuan didn’t understand. What did she mean?
"Not being a wet blanket covers a lot of things. In short, it means that whatever Mommy and I need, you just cooperate."
Seeing his wife nodding in agreement, Gu Kaiyuan quickly surrendered. "You and your mother are both right. From now on, I’ll be the loyal servant for the two of you. I’ll go wherever you point."
This made Gu Xingyang giggle. "Then I’ll tell you! In the backyard of this house, near the water vat, there is an entrance. There’s lots of gold, silver, and jewelry inside. Our family is rich!"
The couple exchanged a glance. Since when did they have such good luck? They had casually bought a small courtyard, and now they could dig up a treasure here?
"Who did you buy this house from?" Bai Suihe wasn’t going to rashly take the items out. What if they belonged to someone else?
"I bought it through an agency, but I heard the broker mention that this house was purchased by the maiden family of the beheaded County Magistrate’s wife. They rarely lived here.
"This time, implicated by the County Magistrate’s downfall, the family was afraid of facing retribution here. As soon as the County Magistrate was arrested, they packed their bags and fled back to their hometown. All these properties were bundled and sold to the agency. They probably won’t dare return here for the rest of their lives."
As Gu Kaiyuan spoke, he formulated a guess but wasn’t entirely certain. He could only ask his precious daughter, "Baby, is this the former County Magistrate’s stash?"
Gu Xingyang blinked. "Daddy, I really don’t know about that. I only know where the treasure is hidden."
She was just a baby, how could she know so much?
"Didn’t Daddy buy this house? Then everything inside it must definitely be ours!"
Gu Kaiyuan was speechless. Her logic was impeccable.
However, since it was just their family of three here right now, it wouldn’t hurt to go take a look.
"You aren’t thinking of turning these things in, are you?" Bai Suihe asked.
Doing so would be quite foolish. Even though this was likely ill-gotten wealth extorted from the people by the County Magistrate, handing it over just like that would only invite suspicion. Who would believe they hadn’t secretly pocketed some of it for themselves?
"Of course not. Even if we handed it over, not only would they distrust us, but the treasure would probably end up lining someone else’s pockets anyway. It’s better if we keep it and find an opportunity to give back to the poor later."
As the couple spoke, they tacitly made their way toward the backyard.
They looked at the large, dust-covered water vat sitting there. It was so big that it would take two people to lift it together. Gu Kaiyuan began to examine it.
Bai Suihe checked the surrounding area but found no flaws. They pressed all the corners of the walls but found nothing, ultimately focusing their gaze back on the vat.
Gu Kaiyuan clapped his hands to dust them off. "I’ll try moving this water vat."
They had thought there might be some clever mechanism, but now it seemed they just needed to use brute force.
However, perhaps due to his limited strength, the water vat wouldn’t budge an inch.
"Try turning it. See if it rotates?" Bai Suihe suggested.
She had seen mechanisms open like this in movies before. Although the water vat was a bit large, it wasn’t impossible.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE.
As soon as she spoke, Gu Kaiyuan followed her advice. He successfully turned the water vat. As it rotated, a one-meter-wide entrance appeared on the floor inside the adjacent kitchen.
No wonder they hadn’t found anything by knocking around out here; the mechanism was outside, but the entrance was in the kitchen!
Gu Kaiyuan stopped Bai Suihe as she tried to step forward. "Wait a moment. Let me see if it’s safe to go in."
Bai Suihe was curious, but she wasn’t foolish. She merely wanted to poke her head in to look.
Gu Kaiyuan picked up a stone and tossed it inside. A moment later, they heard the sound of the stone hitting the ground, indicating the hole wasn’t very deep.
He pulled out a fire starter, found a candle in the kitchen, and lowered it toward the opening. When the candle’s flame didn’t go out, he finally stepped closer.