What Qiao Mei said made sense, so Xia Zhe went to retrieve the soft rope ladder from the storeroom and picked up the shovel from the side. After tying the rope, he went down the well.
“Stay up there and keep watch. Don’t come down. It’s dangerous, so just stay up there,” Xia Zhe said.
“Alright, then you be careful,” Qiao Mei said as she held onto the soft rope ladder by the well.
When Xia Zhe reached the bottom of the well, he only needed to dig a few times before being able to retrieve a wooden box with its four corners wrapped in brass. In the past, it would have been regarded as a high-grade box.
Xia Zhe gently shook the soft rope ladder and Qiao Mei threw down a rope. Xia Zhe tied one end of the rope to the handle of the box and pulled the rope to send a signal to Qiao Mei.
Upon receiving the signal, Qiao Mei pulled the box up forcefully. Her eyes lit up when she saw the box.
Xia Zhe slowly climbed up and packed up his tools. Then, he walked in front of the box and wiped the top.
“Stand behind me, and stay further away in case there’s any bugs inside that may give you a fright,” Xia Zhe said.
Qiao Mei nodded and stood gingerly behind Xia Zhe, staring at the box. After all, this box had been placed underground for a long time and there might be bugs that had used it as a nest.
Xia Zhe opened the box gently, and what appeared in front of them was a box full of gold bars and silver dollars.
“Wow!” Qiao Mei exclaimed with her eyes wide open.
Xia Zhe also found it unbelievable. He did not know that his grandmother really had such assets.
This was the first time in Qiao Mei’s life that she had seen a box full of gold bars. This was all real money!
Qiao Mei went forward excitedly to take a look. These gold bars were very well-preserved. Only the box had rotted slightly after being kept under the well for a long time. There was a little mud inside, but it was not a big problem as the contents were waterproof.
“These are all good stuff! There’s nothing special about these gold bars, but look, these silver dollars are all priceless,” Qiao Mei said excitedly as she picked up a few silver dollars from the box.
Xia Zhe did not know much about these things and did not know what they were worth, but seeing how excited Qiao Mei was, they must be worth a lot of money.
“Mei Mei, you can take out these silver dollars and have fun with them. Then we’ll bury the rest back. What do you think?” Xia Zhe said.
He did not know if anyone had seen him digging just now, nor did he know if he made any loud noises. If someone passed by and discovered what he did, it would become a big deal. It would be better to bury the box back quickly.
Qiao Mei was also a little worried when she heard what Xia Zhe said, but she liked the way that Xia Zhe discussed the matter with her. It made her feel that he valued her opinion very much.
“We should bury these together too. Let’s just pretend that we didn’t open it and we’ll dig it out again during a more peaceful time in the future,” Qiao Mei said as she put the silver dollars back.
She would be heartbroken if she lost these things after taking them out. Besides, she would also feel more at ease if they remained buried in the soil. Furthermore, these things would oxidize once they were taken out and they would lose their value.
Xia Zhe knew that Qiao Mei was a sensible person at the end of the day. Although she was a little obsessed with money, she still knew how to look at the big picture.
The two of them quickly hid the things back where they found it. By the time they were done, it was already past midnight.
Xia Zhe went to heat up the food.
“Try it. I learned this from Aunt.” Xia Zhe stood in front of Qiao Mei, wearing a pink apron, and spoke to her while pretending to be calm.
“You learned this from Aunt? We’re always together, so how do you have the time to learn from Aunt?” Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe in puzzlement.
“When I walked with Aunt, I asked her about the easiest dishes to cook and she told me about these two. Then I went to look up the recipes,” Xia Zhe said.
When Xia Zhe went out to buy breakfast in the morning, he had already planned to make a nice meal for Qiao Mei. He had bought a few food magazines from the roadside stall and followed the recipes while cooking.
Doubtful about what he said, Qiao Mei picked up some of the scrambled eggs and put it in her mouth to try. It was not unpalatable and tasted quite alright. It was just that he had fried it over too high heat. However, for someone who was cooking for the first time, it was already a very good attempt.
