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With money in hand, Gu Jiao was contemplating what to do next.

The next day, when Xiao Liulang returned home from school, the family of three sat down for their meal in the hall.

They were considered a family of three, despite lacking familial ties. The trio shared an oddly harmonious rapport.

As the old lady gnawed on a large chicken leg, she glanced at Gu Jiao and said: “Speak up!”

Gu Jiao wondered, how did the old lady know she had something to say?

“I want to buy a mountain,” Gu Jiao pronounced.

“A winter coat or an autumn coat?” The old lady shot Gu Jiao a speechless look. She criticised Gu Jiao for dawdling over such a small matter.

“I’m not talking about clothes, but a real mountain—the one behind our village,” said Gu Jiao. She often picked fungus and mushrooms on that mountain and noticed its abundance of good stuff. If she could buy it, she could gather mountain products, herb-picking, logging, and hunting… In short, the whole mountainside was a valuable asset. It would definitely be a profitable venture.

“Go buy it!”

To their surprise, the old lady didn’t hesitate at all. When it came to spending money, the old lady was undeniably generous.

If it were the original owner’s biological mother, Mrs. Wu, she would probably jump up and scold Gu Jiao: “You disaster star, the spendthrift! Even a mountain you want to buy, do you think money is blown by the wind?”

In the eyes of most villagers, the mountain was worthless. At most, they could chop some firewood or pick some wild vegetables. Although there were mountainous fruits and game, nobody would buy the entire hill for these reasons.

Gu Jiao, with impressive knowledge of mountain goods and the ability to handle any danger deep in the mountains, saw the mountain as a treasure trove.

In the past, she would make the decisions. Xiao Liulang would never interfere with her decisions, but ever since the old lady came, there seemed to be a subtle shift in their interactions.

“You’re talking about the mountain behind Uncle Luo’s house, right?” Xiao Liulang asked.

“Mm-hm,” Gu Jiao nodded.

Qingquan Village was surrounded by mountains on three sides. The mountain that Gu Jiao had her eye on was situated in the middle. It was a mountain that villagers frequently visited, with Uncle Luo’s house located at its foot.

“Alright, I’ll go ask Lizheng later,” said Xiao Liulang without any hesitation.

Scratching her head, Gu Jiao wondered why Xiao Liulang needed to ask Lizheng, her grandfather; she could have asked him herself. She had not shared her intentions only to have him running around for her.

After dinner, Xiao Liulang headed to the Gu family’s old mansion.

Zhou and Liao families had been flogged thirty times each by the Yamen and had been staying obediently at home to recover. Hence, the mansion was relatively peaceful.

“Brother-in-law! Why are you here?” The door was opened by Gu Xiaoshun.

“I came to find Lizheng,” Xiao Liulang replied.

Despite being married with Gu Jiao, he always addressed Lizheng by his title.

“Oh,” Gu Xiaoshun was merely surprised that his brother-in-law had come to visit but not about his address for the old man. After all, the Gu family had compelled his sister to marry, and subsequently exploited money from Xiao Liulang. Each incident was a debt in itself.

“Grandpa, my brother-in-law is here!” Gu Xiaoshun led Xiao Liulang to the old man’s room.

The old man was slightly taken aback to see Xiao Liulang. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time Xiao Liulang had visited the old Gu mansion since marrying Gu Jiao.

“What brings you here so late?” the old man asked.

Xiao Liulang casually replied, “I came to ask Lizheng how to buy the mountain behind Uncle Luo’s house.”

“Why are you asking about this? Is someone from the academy looking to buy a mountain?” No matter how imaginative the old man could be, he would never expect his own granddaughter to be interested in buying a mountain. “Buying that mountain would require a significant sum of money… Plus, it’s not up for sale to just anyone. That mountain isn’t managed by the village or the county Yamen. It’s the temple’s property.”

“A temple?” Xiao Liulang frowned in surprise as he had no idea there was a temple around.

The old man confirmed, “Indeed, a temple. You probably haven’t been there since you arrived not long ago. It’s on the other side of the mountain. Walk around the foot of the mountain, and you’ll reach it in about two hours. If someone from your academy wants to buy the mountain, you’ll have to negotiate with the temple’s abbot.”

As if a memory had sprung to his mind, the old man added, “Actually, Jiao was born in that temple.”

When Xiao Liulang returned home, Gu Jiao met him promptly and asked, “How did it go? What did the Gu family say?”

Xiao Liulang relayed precisely what the old man had said.

“So, the mountain belongs to the temple…” Gu Jiao hadn’t gone to that temple before. Wait, according to what her grandfather said, she was born in that temple, so technically, she had been there before. “Did they mention approximately how much the mountain would cost?”

“Not specifically, but smooth negotiations may not be possible with only a hundred taels,” said Xiao Liulang.

“Oh, I can handle that,” as Gu Jiao spoke, she pulled out a handful of silver coins from her pocket and placed them on the table.

The old lady paused her melon-seed-munching.

But Gu Jiao was not finished. She pulled out another handful, and another, and yet one more handful from her pocket.

The old lady and Xiao Liulang were both stunned. These silver coins, when added up, must be worth two to three dozen taels – where did she get them all from?

Xiao Liulang collected his thoughts and asked, “Are all these earned by selling mountainous products?”

“Mm-hm!” Gu Jiao widened her eyes, looking utterly sincere. “I didn’t earn them through fighting—I promise!”

Xiao Liulang: “…”

—

Even in ancient times, students didn’t get many holidays. Apart from a ten-day holiday every month, there was the agriculture break during farming seasons, clothing handover break in September, and the biggest break was the New Year’s holiday from December to January.

The New Year’s holiday usually began in early December, but this year it was postponed to late December. Because the holiday was about to begin, there would be no monthly breaks for the next half-month.

Gu Jiao didn’t want Xiao Liulang to take leave from the academy for this matter, so she decided to visit the temple herself.

Learning from her past mistakes, Gu Jiao didn’t just leave food in the pot for the old lady this time, but asked Xue Ningxiang to take care of her.

“Your aunt-in-law…”

“Her disease is under control now. It’s not contagious.”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant.”

How could Gu Jiao not know about Xue Ningxiang helping her cover up? She guessed that Xue Ningxiang had figured it out. But Xue Ningxiang had neither accused her nor distanced herself from her.

Xue Ningxiang never asked how Gu Jiao cured leprosy, she just believed Gu Jiao was right, “Don’t worry, I will take good care of your aunt-in-law.”