CH 19

DECEMBER 6, 2022 NYXBIRD LEAVE A COMMENT

Yan City was basically a square shape, spreading from the center to all sides. The places close to the neighboring provinces and cities were considered suburbs. However, although the suburbs were not remote, for example, while the suburbs on both sides of the southwest might not be able to compare with the city center, but compared with the urban areas of some second- and third-tier cities, they might even be more lively and prosperous.

The only exception was the eastern suburbs. It was not like the northern suburbs with high mountains and clear water, and it was not as lively as the southwestern suburbs either. The large fields and undeveloped land there were closer to the state of some wealthy rural areas in China. There were fewer people and more land, as well as the harder it was to drive the farther east one went, but also less traffic.

No. 213 was the only bus that could go from the urban area to the eastern suburbs, but even so, the bus would only park on the main road outside the village. If you wanted to go further, you could only rely on a private car or your own two legs.

Jiang Chen got off the bus and saw a wide road and a row of three-storey buildings. Although it was not prosperous, it was neat and lively. It didn’t look like a village until he walked along the buildings and came to the end of this street. At the end of the road, after turning on the fork in the road, and walking a few dozen meters, he could finally see the continuous fields.

Jiang Chen stopped at the intersection for a while, and after waiting for a farmer to pass by, he followed the directions given by the other and walked forward for nearly half an hour before reaching the Donghua Village he was looking for.

Compared with the fields just now, it was a little more lively here. The self-built houses were not far away, and there was a child with a red face playing and talking to the big dog lying beside her.

It was around two in the afternoon, and also the hottest time. There were no farmers working in the fields and only this child playing nearby. Donghua Village looked bigger than he imagined. Don’t know how much time he would waste looking for an ancient currency that he didn’t even know would appear today or not.

Jiang Chen raised his eyes and looked into the distance. The green fields looked like waves as they blew along with the breeze, bending to one place layer by layer, bringing the moist smell of soil and fresh air, which made one feel relaxed and happy.

Walking in this idyllic scenery, the thought of picking up money had faded. Although the family was short of money now, it was not that there was no solution. Whether he had the ancient currency did not have much impact on him. That he would bother to make this trip, other than having nothing to do in the afternoon, coming here was more of a whim.

His thoughts and ponderings had faded, but Jiang Chen had no plans to leave immediately. He had lived in a prosperous city for two lifetimes. He rarely saw such scenery. Especially in the interstellar era, this kind of scenery could only be seen from the ancient pictures on the optical computer. So since he was now here, it was natural to appreciate it a bit longer before leaving.

Not far away, there was a fat cat pacing slowly, with a sparrow in its mouth. When passing by Jiang Chen, it raised its head and glanced at him before continuing to pace past him.

Jiang Chen didn’t pay it any attention either, he raised his legs and walked forward.

After walking a short distance, he heard a huge childish voice shouting something loud, with a local accent and anxiousness. Jiang Chen understood half of it, and the other half was guessed when he turned around and saw the cat flying and the dog jumping.

The fat cat that just passed Jiang Chen was fighting with the big dog who was lying beside the little girl before. Although the big dog had an advantage in size, it was not as agile as the cat. The little girl in red didn’t know to avoid. She wasn’t much taller than the dog, but she still wanted to help.

Jiang Chen was startled, raised his legs and ran over.

He was tall and long-legged, and managed to grab the little girl away before she tried to join the battlefield. The little girl hugged his neck, seemingly not afraid of strangers at all. Her round face was full of urgency, and she waved her short fingers to point at the cat and dog who were still fighting: “Bad Gou Dan hit Lai Fu! Lai Fu, Lai Fu! Big Brother, save Lai Fu!”

Jiang Chen carried her back a few steps, his eyes fell on the cat and the dog, and after turning his eyes a few times, he realized that the cat was called Gou Dan and the dog was called Lai Fu. (TN: gou dan=dog egg, lai fu=lucky/fortune)

“Big Brother! Big Brother!” Seeing that he was not helping, the little girl twisted and struggled: “Lai Fu!”

Jiang Chen hugged her tightly, rubbed her head, and coaxed softly, “Lai Fu is playing a game with Gou Dan, they aren’t fighting, don’t be afraid.”

The little girl was stunned for a moment, looked at him dumbfounded, and then turned to look at the cat and dog who were fighting fiercely. Her big eyes were full of doubts, and she seemed to be thinking, should she believe what she saw or what the big brother said?

After thinking about it for a long time, she felt that adults would not lie to children, so she felt relieved, and asked in a high, childish voice, “Big Brother, Lai Fu and Gou Dan also like to play house?”

Jiang Chen nodded without changing his expression: “Yes.”

“Will big brother accompany Miao Miao to play house?”

The arms Jiang Chen carried her with shok a bit, and he smiled slightly, “Big Brother is an adult, adults don’t play house.”

“Oh…..” The little girl was a little disappointed, buried her head on his shoulder, and a chubby hand pointed to the ground: “Miao Miao wants to play house, Miao Miao is the boss, and Lai Fu is the customer, but Lai Fu does not know how to give money to Miao Miao and doesn’t know how to speak, and no one buys the bowls that Miao Miao makes.”

Jiang Chen looked in the direction she was pointing. There was a distance from the battlefield, so everything was still in good condition, a few stones were stacked on top of each other, and there was a strange mud shape with a concave opening in it, which might be the little girl’s “bowl”. And under the bowl was a few pieces of paper money, which should be the money she used to play house with the big dog.

Paper money?

Jiang Chen’s eyes that had moved away suddenly snapped back to the paper currency that was pressed underneath the mud bowl. The exposed corner was very similar to what he had seen in the hands of a certain collector, and it was exactly the same as the ancient currency that that business partner had picked up, Hubei Official Money Bureau Silver Banknote.

“Playing house?”

“That’s right!” The little girl swung her legs, not worried about the cat and dog fight, she was very comfortable being held in Jiang Chen’s arms, she smiled brightly and said: “The money Miao Miao and Lai Fu use to play house!”

Play house…..

Jiang Chen was a little amused and exasperated, but he probably guessed how that person picked up the ancient currency. It was estimated that the child took it out to play house and carelessly forgot to bring it home, and was picked up by a passer-by.

It was just that the child not knowing the value of the ancient currency was normal. But why did the adults in her family let her play with the ancient currency so casually?

“Miao Miao, do your parents know that you brought out the money to play house?”

“Grandpa knows!” Miao Miao blinked her big eyes: “Miao Miao has no parents, only Grandpa, Big Brother, will you play house with me?”

Jiang Chen frowned, guessing that the old man in this child’s family probably didn’t know the value of this ancient currency.

“Where is your home? Big Brother will take you back.”

Miao Miao pointed, without the slightest defense: “Over there!”

Jiang Chen sighed in his heart, grabbed her chubby hand, and said seriously: “When someone asks you in the future, you can’t just tell strangers where you live, do you know?” He also tried to scare her: “If it’s a bad person, they would snatch you away.”

Miao Miao was puzzled: “Is Big Brother a stranger?”

Jiang Chen: “Yes, people who don’t know your grandfather are all strangers.”

“You’ll meet Grandpa later!” Little Miao Miao had her own logic: “And good-looking people are all good people!”

Jiang Chen: “…..”

At this time, the cat and dog battle also stopped. The cat dug up the sparrow it had just held from nowhere, and walked away with its little head raised in a victorious attitude. The big dog ran over to the little girl and whined for comfort.

Jiang Chen put the little girl down, the little girl hugged the big dog and petted it, then took Jiang Chen’s hand and said, “Big Brother, let’s go.”

After speaking, she led the way, completely forgetting the ancient currency she laid out on the stone.

Jiang Chen was exasperated, he could only turn around and pick up the banknotes. The little girl also remembered after seeing his movements, picked up her mud bowl, and followed Jiang Chen step by step, pointing the way to her house.

“Grandpa!” The little girl shouted excitedly as soon as she arrived at the door: “I’m back! I brought a big brother back!”

An old man with a hunched back walked out of the house. His face was wrinkled and his skin was dark, but his eyes were clear and kind. Hearing the little girl’s words, he first touched his granddaughter’s head, and then raised his head and smiled at Jiang Chen. He smiled: “Young man, who are you?”

“My name is Jiang Chen.” Jiang Chen said, “Just now I saw Miao Miao playing alone on the side of the road, so I sent her back.”

“Thank you.” The old man smiled and said, “Come in for a cup of water?”

Jiang Chen shook his head, and the little girl pulled the old man’s clothes and said, “Just now Lai Fu played with Gou Dan. Grandpa, it turns out that dogs and cats can also play with each other.”

The old man thought of the most vicious cat in the village, and quickly grabbed his granddaughter to look her over and asked, “Are you hurt?”

Miao Miao was puzzled: “I thought Lai Fu and Gou Dan were fighting and wanted to help, but Big Brother was holding me so I didn’t help. Big Brother said that they are playing house. Will playing house get you hurt?”

The old man was stunned for a moment, and looked at Jiang Chen with a little more gratitude: “Young man, thank you, I really mus thank you just now, the cat in the village is a fierce one, not only scratches dogs, but also scratches people, if Miao Miao was scratched or bitten, I don’t know what I could do.”

Jiang Chen shook his head, but still reminded: “Miao Miao is still young, you should try not to let her play outside alone in the future.”

The old man smiled, his expression a bit bitter: “I want to look after her too, but I have to go to the fields to water the ground every afternoon, and there is no one else at home, so I can only let her play by herself for a while. Nothing happened before, but this time, thank you very much.”

“No need to thank me.” Jiang Chen raised his hand and handed the ancient currency to the old man: “Sir, this is Miao Miao’s playing house money, do you know this money?”

“Of course I know.” The old man nodded and said with a smile: “There are several pieces at home, the family elders kept some, but they can’t be used anymore. Since they just lay around, I let Miao Miao play with it.”

Jiang Chen understood, he took the ancient currency and briefly explained the value of this ancient currency to the old man.

The old man’s eyes widened, unable to believe his ears: “How much did you say? How much can this old money be exchanged for?”

“At the moment, a single Hubei Official Money Bureau Silver Banknote can be sold for at least 600,000 yuan, but if you are not in a hurry and slowly find a buyer who collects ancient currency, you may be able to sell it for more than 700,000 yuan.”

“Seven, seven hundred thousand?” The old man repeated several times before asking, “Seven hundred thousand and not just seventy yuan?”