Just when Hua Chengtian thought they were almost done, he underestimated his daughter’s spending ability, as she took them into a costics and jewelry shop once more.
At this point, Hua Chengtian still felt a bit ashad in his heart.
Over the years, aside from buying a pair of earrings each for his mother and wife, and a silver hairpin for his wife, he really hadn’t given them many presents.
As the man of the house, he had the responsibility to support the family and send the children to school, so he had to live frugally.
Watching his daughter buy things for her mother and his wife with her own money, Hua Chengtian really couldn’t find the words to stop her.
As soon as they entered, they each got a bottle of face cream and lip balm; according to his daughter, no matter the age, all won have a love for beauty. Then, in the jewelry store, they each got a solid two-ounce silver bracelet, and before you knew it, a few taels of silver were spent.
This ti, not only did Hua Chengtian not stop her, but to avoid being nagged by his mother and wife when they returned ho, he also spent a large sum—more than an ounce of silver—on two silver hairpins.
Having spent so much silver, he was bound to get scolded when they returned ho, so he didn’t mind spending this extra ounce.
Perhaps, in light of the silver hairpins, his mother might even nag him a bit less.
They ca across a vendor selling roast chickens and bought ten directly; with such generosity, even Hua Chengtian couldn’t help but question if he had been too stingy in the past.
Then, as it was noon and ti for lunch, they hurried back to the inn they stayed at last night, eating and packing food, costing a few more taels.
Passing by a pastry shop, his daughter called for a stop again. At this mont, Hua Chengtian was already numb to it; speaking to his daughter wouldn’t help since she’d launch into a lengthy discourse waiting for him to relent, as was always the case.
Osmanthus cake, pea flour cake, mung bean cake, pineapple pastry—they bought ten jin of each, preparing enough snacks to last for the holidays.
Since these were made from fine grains, their price was naturally high, costing a few more taels of silver.
They shopped and shopped until, upon leaving the city and seeing his daughter not buying anything, Hua Chengtian almost felt a bit uneasy.
Calculating the journey, the child had already spent quite a bit; estimating the remaining silver on hand, Hua Chengtian couldn’t help but ponder.
She didn’t spend it all; having rarely gone into town, Jin’er just wanted to buy more, unable to stop herself in the mont but still left herself so Silver Coins.
However, indeed not much was left, less than twenty taels in the space, still more than most common folks save up.
After a spree of shopping excitent, the aftermath ca, and Jin’er couldn’t resist her drowsiness, eventually retreating to the carriage for a nap after accompanying her father on part of the journey.
She slept until the sky began to darken, waking up to the jostling of the ox cart.
"Dad, how much farther to ho?" she asked, rubbing her face vigorously, stepping out to the wagon shaft to see the increasingly dark sky, and with a flip of her hand, produced an ergency lamp.
This is sothing she had hoarded several of in case of doomsday scenarios, not forgetting even smaller, more portable flashlights, including solar-powered ones.
Though extrely curious, watching the item that suddenly appeared in his daughter’s hand, Hua Chengtian, ever prioritizing his daughter, answered her question first.
"We’ve covered more than half, but now that it’s dark, we’ll be slower from now on; we might only reach ho by midnight."
No sooner had he spoken, he was dazzled by a sudden light from the item in his daughter’s hand, and in the blink of an eye, the previously pitch-black road was clearly visible.
Amazed, Hua Chengtian stopped the ox cart abruptly, looking in wonder at the object in his daughter’s hand.
"Jin’er, is this also from your space?" His eyes were wide open with disbelief.
To him, it seed like a magic artifact; how could such a small item emit such a strong light, driving away darkness?
"Yes, Dad, with this our speed should increase a bit, right?" Jin’er said proudly.
"Yes, absolutely," said Hua Chengtian, almost clapping in excitent, held back only by the whip in his hand, eyes full of curiosity at the object his daughter held.
If what the child said was true, then traveling in the dark really wouldn’t be an issue with this.
Seeing clearly, his hands moved the reins promptly, and the big yellow ox noticeably increased its pace.
Fortunately, there weren’t many villages or towns along the way; otherwise, such sudden illumination might have caused unknown legends to spread.
Whenever they passed through a village or town, Jin’er would turn off the ergency lamp, and the ox cart would slow until they reached an unpopulated area, and then turn it on again.
In no ti, they traveled over two hours, drawing ever closer to Shanggu Town, stopping briefly to eat a quick dinner.
Mostly, it was due to the cold; eating would warm their stomachs and thus greatly boost their spirits.
Despite that precaution, sothing happened; while running, the big yellow ox suddenly ca to a halt. Thanks to instinct, Hua Chengtian quickly grabbed his daughter to prevent Jin’er from falling off the ox cart due to inertia, her little heart pounding in fright.
Even so, both father and daughter ended up in a heap on the ox cart, luckily not falling off.
The cart’s compartnt bumped into the big yellow ox, causing it to bellow in pain.
Hua Chengtian imdiately felt concerned, checking on his daughter before quickly getting out to examine it.
Having raised the yellow ox for years, he understood it was a valuable labor asset, treated with care as a mber of the family.
Jin’er hurriedly shone the ergency lamp she clutched tightly onto the ox’s back.
Hua Chengtian felt reassured after feeling it over; there was no bone break, no wound, rely a bruise.
"Dad, is the ox alright?" Jin’er worriedly hopped off the ox cart.
"It’s fine, just a bump,"
Hua Chengtian said, patting the big yellow ox lovingly. Jin’er examined it closely too, confirming it appeared healthy.
Noticing the ox was startled, Jin’er quickly soothed it by stroking its broad head, even taking out so fresh grass stored in her space to feed it.
The big yellow ox gave a gentle "moo," seemingly responding to Jin’er, nuzzling its large head against her, then nibbling the grass.
anwhile, Hua Chengtian moved to check the road ahead; after raising the family ox for so long, he knew it would never stop without instruction. Sothing must be ahead?
Jin’er also shone the ergency light forward, making both of them gasp in surprise.
No wonder the big yellow ox suddenly stopped; there, lying motionless in their direct path near the bridgehead was a person; had they not seen, both the ox’s hoof and the cart behind it could have ended fatally.
With her good eyesight, Jin’er could still tell, despite the prone position, from the physique and faintly visible features, it was a young man.
But why was he lying at the bridgehead?
In that mont, Jin’er’s thoughts wandered, imagining a protagonist’s fate.
Could this be heaven’s gift, a wealthy person delivered intentionally?
Then the wealthy person, due to various reasons, would temporarily stay at her house, followed by a series of assassination attempts and love triangles, where she likes him but he doesn’t, or they mutually liked but faced epic challenges.
"Tsk..." Jin’er couldn’t help but shiver, the thought too clichéd, she mustn’t dwell on it.
anwhile, Hua Chengtian was already cautiously approaching the bridgehead with the whip.
Seeing this, Jin’er couldn’t help but call out: "Dad, be careful."
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