Chapter 163: Chapter 163: More Than Shock

The pit was easy to dig, but not so easy to crawl out of.

Fortunately, the brothers above helped by pulling ropes, and eventually pulled the two people from the pit.

“Third Brother, take them to surround the area with firewood or something, so that no child falls in tomorrow.”

Qi Zheng instructed, and then called Qi Quanjin, Qi Ercai, and Qi Dafu inside.

Qi Ercai continued to clean the two newly delivered pots, while Qi Quanjin and Qi Dafu went back to their rooms to change out of their muddy clothes.

Wang Daya hadn’t had any rest; now finally settled, she was already snoring in her sleep, completely unaware that her man had come in and left.

Although Yi Meng was also sleeping, she woke up as soon as Qi Quanjin came in.

“Brother Jin, how are things?”

Compared to Qi Quanjin, Yi Meng was more aware of why her father-in-law kept his six sons tonight.

Qi Quanjin was just about to change clothes when the sudden voice startled him, and he hurriedly asked, “Did I wake you, my wife?”

“No, I haven’t slept well at all.”

Seeing Qi Quanjin’s messy state, Yi Meng quickly got up: “You go wash your hands and face first, I’ll find clothes for you.”

“Alright.”

Qi Quanjin hadn’t intended to disturb his wife, but seeing she was awake, he wasn’t too polite.

While washing his face and hands, Qi Quanjin remembered what his wife had asked earlier, wiped the water from his face, and looked at his wife: “Wife, do you know what we did tonight?”

“I guessed a bit.”

Yi Meng didn’t hide anything from her husband.

Actually, if she hadn’t been busy all afternoon today, she would have brought up the daughter’s matter with him earlier.

Qi Quanjin responded and continued to splash his face with water.

After changing into clean clothes, Qi Quanjin asked, “Wife, do you want to go over and take a look?”

Even if Qi Quanjin hadn’t mentioned it, Yi Meng would have wanted to go check it out, and since he brought it up, she agreed.

Covering her eldest son with a blanket, Yi Meng dressed and followed Qi Quanjin to the back room living room.

Right now, apart from Qi Zheng, Qi Quanyin and Qi Quanli were in the living room, while others hadn’t returned.

“Dad.”

Yi Meng saw a box and two pots on the ground upon entering, but still greeted Qi Zheng first.

Qi Zheng glanced at her, nodded, and continued smoking.

Yi Meng stepped forward and looked, then said to Qi Quanjin, “Brother Jin, bring an ax over.”

“Okay.”

Qi Quanjin immediately turned around to get an ax.

Qi Quanli leaned towards Yi Meng and whispered, “Fourth sister-in-law, are you really going to smash it open?”

“If we don’t smash it open, should we just leave it here to look at?”

Yi Meng smiled at her little brother-in-law.

Qi Quanli rubbed his nose, realizing that made a lot of sense.

But Qi Quanyin wasn’t quite convinced: “Fourth sister-in-law, this thing might belong to the previous owner; wouldn’t it be bad to smash it open?”

With these words, Qi Zheng also looked at Yi Meng.

He had been contemplating this issue as well, but hadn’t found a suitable way to handle it.

Seeing her father-in-law looking at her, Yi Meng knew that the fifth’s question hit the old man’s concerns.

She had already considered this question before going to bed and now smiled: “You said it belonged to the former owner. Think about their situation now. They were exiled, whether they can return is uncertain, and if they do, who knows how many years later.”

“Think about how your second brother and fourth brother signed documents at the government office. Even the official said that besides the house and furniture, everything else can be used freely. If we no longer rent this courtyard later, as long as the house and furniture remain intact.”

“What does this imply? Think about it.”

Yi Meng smiled at Qi Quanyin, letting him ponder.

Qi Quanyin remained silent, but Qi Quanli’s eyes lit up, clapped his hands, and said, “That’s right! It means everything except the house and furniture is ours! Even pots, pans, and firewood belong to us!”

“Whether the pots and pans do or not isn’t important, but other things found in the courtyard certainly belong to us to dispose of as we please.”

Yi Meng asked Qi Zheng, “Dad, don’t you think so?”

The nagging issue troubling Qi Zheng suddenly became clear after Yi Meng’s explanation.

That’s right; the government said everything except the house and furniture was theirs to use freely, meaning anything unearthed in the courtyard belonged to them too!

“Right, the fourth daughter-in-law makes a very good point.”

Qi Zheng’s mind eased, resolving his concerns.

He finished the last bit of tobacco, tidied the pipe, and tucked it at his waist.

Qi Dafu and the others returned one after another, followed by Qi Quanjin with an ax.

No need for Yi Meng to speak; Qi Zheng directly instructed, “Fourth Brother, smash open the box.”

“And you guys, find a kitchen knife or something, and pry open the pot lids.”

Following Qi Zheng’s instructions, everyone immediately got busy.

The pot had a lid, made of black porcelain, but sealed with thick wax around the edges.

To pry the lid off, the wax had to be scraped away first.

With a few crisp sounds of the ax on the box lock, there was a snap as the lock fell to the floor.

“Open it!”

Qi Zheng spoke, and Qi Quanjin lifted the box lid single-handedly.

“Oh my gosh!”

“My heavens!”

As the lid opened, everyone exclaimed in surprise.

Inside the box were stacked Silver Ingots, each weighing about ten taels, creating a striking visual impact.

Although the box looked large, it wasn’t very high, yet everyone was still too shocked to speak.

Qi Quanjin, upon seeing clearly, quickly closed the lid.

Without the visual impact, everyone snapped back to reality.

Qi Quanli exclaimed, “Fourth Brother, why did you shut the lid?”

“Dad, this, this…”

Qi Quanjin ignored his younger brother, instead looking helplessly at his father.

Qi Zheng was similarly stunned, his shock indescribable.

Yi Meng was the first to recover.

Although she had never seen such a silver flash in this era, she had seen plenty of gold and silver displays in jewelry stores in her previous life.

So she recovered quickly: “Brother Jin, open the lid, take out the contents and see how much there is.”

More than the shock, Yi Meng was more concerned about how much Silver there might be.

If there’s enough, it would be their settlement fund in this unfamiliar place.

Qi Quanjin snapped back, responded, and quickly opened the lid again.

No one needed to instruct, as Qi Quanli directly rushed over to help.

Oh dear, so much Silver, he might never earn this much even if he works his whole life. He must feel and savor it well!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep