The Domineering Cultivator Farmer

Chapter 17: Treasure Hunters All Over the Mountain

After breakfast, Fang Yun teased Niuniu. The little girl would puff out her chubby cheeks whenever she was teased, her little mouth puckered high—it was quite amusing, and Fang Yun was having a blast teasing her. “This child…” Her mother, standing nearby, shot Fang Yun a disapproving look. “Niu Niu, come to Grandma. We’re not going to pay any attention to your naughty daddy.” Fang Yun reluctantly let go of Niuniu’s chubby little face—she was just too cute, and he hadn’t been able to resist for a moment. Suddenly, a chorus of exclamations rang out from outside the courtyard. Fang Yun hurriedly stood up. “Mom, I’ll go check it out.” “Niu Niu wants to go too!” Spotting the commotion, Niu Niu scampered out as well. Fang Yun went outside and saw a large crowd gathered together, excitedly chatting—mostly tourists, with a few villagers mixed in. “What’s going on? Did something happen?” Fang Yun hurried over to ask. “Someone found gold while washing their hands in a stream up on the mountain!” As soon as Fang Yun approached, one of the tourists replied excitedly. “Gold?” Fang Yun looked over and saw a male tourist in his twenties standing in the middle of the crowd, his face flushed with excitement as he held up the gold for everyone to see. Yang Tengfei was still a college student. He loved to travel, but since money was tight, he could only dream of visiting many tourist destinations. A few days earlier, a friend had recommended Qiaotou Village to him, saying the scenery there was absolutely stunning. There was even a little girl who would play with the waterfowl, and a full day of fun—including meals, lodging, and transportation—cost less than fifty. Best of all, it was right in their own city, just a short trip away. As soon as he arrived, Yang Tengfei fell in love with this peaceful and beautiful little mountain village; the fresh air and picturesque scenery deeply captivated him. However, what Yang Tengfei enjoyed most was climbing the mountain every morning to watch the sunrise; every time he saw the picturesque little mountain village at the foot of the mountain bathed in golden sunlight, it filled him with a sense of peace and joy. That day, as he got up early as usual to climb the mountain, he accidentally slipped and fell, covering himself in mud. Just as he was washing his hands in a mountain stream, he noticed something glinting in the water. He reached in to scoop it up—and to his surprise, it was gold. Overjoyed, Yang Tengfei ran back to the village shouting with excitement. By the time he reached Fang Yun’s yard, a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered around him. “Wow, it really is gold! You’re so lucky.” “Yeah, yeah—a gold bar like that is worth a pretty penny. You’ve hit the jackpot!” The crowd’s envious comments only made him even more excited. “Huh. Little Yellowfish, this guy’s really lucky. Little Yellowfish is worth about 100,000 now,” Fang Yun said, sounding quite surprised. “From the sound of it, you don’t seem surprised at all—just a little surprised by his luck?” asked an observant tourist standing nearby after hearing Fang Yun’s words. “What’s so strange about that? There are plenty of them in the mountains.” Hearing Fang Yun’s explanation, everyone finally understood. It turned out that a sizeable band of bandits had once held sway here, specializing in raiding homes and plundering property, and had amassed quite a fortune in the process. During the War of Liberation, another group of Nationalist troops—who had been routed by the People’s Liberation Army—fled into the mountains and became bandits. The Nationalist government, which had retreated to Taiwan, even airlifted supplies and money specifically to win over this faction. Although these bandits were eventually eradicated, they had hidden their wealth beforehand, and it has never been found to this day. Villagers going up the mountain to gather firewood occasionally come across silver dollars or copper coins, but gold is much rarer. Ten years ago, a villager was weeding his mountain vegetable patch when he struck the ground with his hoe and dug a large hole at the edge of the field. Inside was a huge pile of copper coins and silver dollars. He filled a traditional rice-carrying basket to the brim and carried it all the way home—it nearly killed him from exhaustion. At the time, the incident caused quite a stir in the township. “Look, that’s him,” Fang Yun said, pointing to a villager standing nearby watching the commotion. “No comparison—my whole load wasn’t even as much as what he’s got here,” the villager said, waving his hand dismissively, though his face betrayed a look of smug satisfaction. Fang Yun had heard about this incident. Aside from a few dozen silver dollars that were worth something, the copper coins he carried home were so badly damaged that he had to sell them as scrap copper—and even the scrap dealers wouldn’t take them at the time. Despite the sheer volume of his haul, he ended up making less than 20,000 in the end. “Wow, whoever finds that treasure is going to strike it rich,” the tourists gasped in unison. “Then let’s hurry up and head up the mountain to hunt for treasure.” Some eager tourists took off running. As soon as someone took the lead in calling out, a crowd of people rushed up the mountain. Fang Yun shook his head and headed back home. If that treasure were that easy to find, it would’ve been dug up long ago—the villagers had already combed the entire mountain many years ago. “Niuniu, where are you going?” Upon returning home, Fang Yun spotted the chubby little girl—who had run home ahead of him—wearing her grandmother’s big straw hat, clutching a small hoe in one hand and carrying a little basket in the other as she sneaked out of the yard. “Niuniu’s going to dig for treasure.” The little girl, realizing her dad had caught her, immediately took off running. Just a moment ago, Niuniu had been begging Fang Yun to take her treasure hunting, but because the sun was too strong today, he hadn’t agreed. So the little girl had decided to sneak out on her own. “That little rascal,” Fang Yun shook his head and followed after her. If he didn’t keep an eye on her, who knew what trouble this daring little girl might get into. By the time Fang Yun stepped outside, a group of little rascals had already gathered. They were fully equipped with little shovels, buckets, and all sorts of gear. “Let’s go!” Niu Niu waved her little hand, and the group of kids whooped and rushed toward the back mountain. Their destination was none other than Sanfeng Village, which Fang Yun managed. Imagining a group of cheerful little kids happily digging holes all over the mountain he’d worked so hard to tidy up, Fang Yun couldn’t help but shudder. He quickly stopped Niuniu, who was leading the pack, and led the group toward the small hill at the village entrance. “Niuniu, slow down a bit,” Fang Yun urged, watching his daughter run until she was drenched in sweat alongside the other children. Fang Yun had specifically chosen this small hill—no more than one li in circumference and only about twenty meters high. It was mostly grassy, with sparse trees, and surrounded by the village’s fields, so the little ones could play however they wanted without any trouble. In reality, children don’t care so much about what they’re playing with; what matters is whether someone is there to play with them. Nowadays, many parents buy their children a whole pile of toys, yet the kids still keep asking for this and that. In reality, many little ones aren’t asking their parents to buy them things—they just want their parents to play with them. Fang Yun has always believed that a child who plays with toys quietly by himself is very lonely inside. After spending the morning playing with the kids on the hill, Fang Yun returned to the village to find that most of the tourists had gone down the mountain for lunch. Although only one girl in the group had found a few copper coins covered in patina on the mountain, everyone’s enthusiasm remained undiminished, and they were clamoring to go back in the afternoon. The next day, the number of tourists in the village suddenly surged—all of them had come to the mountain in search of treasure. Later, even a reporter from the city’s evening newspaper arrived in the village to cover the story. After the newspaper ran the story, the influx of tourists nearly overwhelmed the village, and eventually, those who arrived later had to be directed to stay in the town. At first, Fang Yun couldn’t understand why the tourists kept returning empty-handed day after day yet still enjoyed it so much, but one of them finally cleared up her confusion. “Actually, everyone knows they won’t find anything, but what we’re really enjoying is the process of the treasure hunt itself. We just treat it as a fun outing on the side.” “Oh, I see—it’s all about taking part,” Fang Yun realized with a sudden flash of insight.