In the back-mountain alcove of Spirit Water Village, Mr. Xu and Second Xu each held a hatchet, chopping wood with all their might.
They had to prepare sufficient firewood to last the winter.
After all, no one knew how this winter would turn out. If they encountered an especially cold winter, without sufficient firewood for heating, it was normal for people to freeze to death.
Mr. Xu was a refugee who had run all the way to the Spirit Water Village, experiencing all kinds of sorrows and joys along the way. This was why the old man was extremely satisfied with his current life; he was still alive, and that in itself was already more fortunate than many other people.
"Aiya!"
As Mr. Xu was cutting firewood, he heard an exclamation from Second Xu, who was beside him, before he disappeared from his sight.
"Second son, second son!"
Seeing that Second Xu was gone, the old man became terrified.
Mr. Xu hurriedly ran in the direction that Second Xu had disappeared from, but after taking two steps, he heard Second Xu call out.
"Dad, I'm fine! I'm down here!"
Hearing the voice of his second son, Mr. Xu could finally let out a sigh of relief.
He slowly approached the source of the voice, seeing that Second Xu had fallen into a pit.
"Are you okay?" Mr. Xu asked while looking down; his fright had still not completely subsided.
"I'm good! I wonder who made this hunting pit? It seems to have been made a few years ago!" Second Xu smiled, "Dad, I found that my luck has been especially good recently. Say, is my good time finally arriving?"
"Stop blabbering nonsense and quickly climb up!"
How could Mr. Xu allow Second Xu to go on? His luck was especially good? Rather, he was afraid Second Xu was silly as usual. Who in their family did not have good luck?
Wait a minute!
Old Mr. Xu suddenly paused. It seemed that among everyone in their family, it was only him who had not had a fortunate encounter recently.
Thinking about this, Mr. Xu suddenly started to doubt his life.
Second Xu did not notice his father's mood change, crawling out of the abandoned hunting pit.
"Dad, is the firewood that we've gathered so far enough for today?"
"How is it enough? Hurry up and cut down two more bundles!"
Mr. Xu was really upset right now, not planning to give his own son a good face.
Then, when Mr. Xu went to retrieve the hatchet he had thrown aside, he discovered that the hatchet had pierced something buried in the soil.
'Could it be that my good fortune had arrived?' he wondered.
Old Mr. Xu's face immediately flushed red with excitement as he started digging with his hatchet.
He dug out a small sandalwood box from the soil, the brass lock on the box covered with specks of rust, easily split open by a single strike with Mr. Xu's hatchet.
The moment Mr. Xu opened the sandalwood box, he felt as if his eyes had been dazzled!
Within the small sandalwood box was priceless jewelry. Made of gold or silver and decorated with pearl, jade, and other gems, it was a dazzling array.
The sun shone on the box, immediately reflecting dazzling light, which made Mr. Xu's heart shiver.
"Second son! Stop chopping, pack up, and go home!"
"What?!"
Second Xu had only chopped a few branches of firewood, and now he was suddenly being told not to chop anymore? Was he being played by his father?
"Stop rambling! Faster! Tie them up and go home!"
Father Xu only had a single thought in his head right now. He must bring the contents of this box back home as soon as possible and hide them in a good place.
No matter who had originally hid this box of treasures, it now belonged to him!