Chapter 148: Telling

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Telling

"Don’t worry, don’t worry, everyone’s fine." Wen Xiu was picking up a piece of wild boar meat to take inside when she saw her eldest son’s nervous expression and couldn’t help but laugh. At the same time, her heart ached with a bittersweet feeling. ’They are all my sons, yet my eldest’s first thought upon seeing the boar meat was whether his family was safe. My second and third sons, however, didn’t even offer a word of concern; all they saw was the meat.’

"What happened here?" Zhang Wei Qiang found it hard to believe that his elderly father, younger sister, and niece could have subdued these two ferocious-looking, full-grown wild boars all by themselves.

"Eldest Uncle, I knocked them down with a tree and then killed them with a hatchet." Since there was no way to hide it from her eldest uncle, Gu Nuan Nuan decided to drop the pretense, putting on an air of smug pride typical of any child.

"Really? That’s incredible!" Zhang Wei Qiang patted her head, praising her with a hearty laugh.

"Hmph, fine, don’t believe me." ’His praise is so insincere; it sounds totally fake.’ Gu Nuan Nuan turned away in a huff. To really shock her uncle, she casually picked up a large boar leg in one hand and sauntered off.

"..." Zhang Wei Qiang’s laughter died in his throat. He stared, dumbfounded, at Gu Nuan Nuan’s retreating back. Two boar legs, each easily more than half her height, were being carried by the tiny girl, who walked so effortlessly he thought his eyes were deceiving him.

Lin Qin was also stunned by the sight.

Both of their confused gazes snapped to Wen Xiu.

"Ah, don’t ask just yet. It’s a long story. You’ll find out later when your father explains." Wen Xiu waved her hand with a smile. "For now, hurry up and help move all this into the cellar, or it’ll spoil if we leave it out overnight." She then picked up a medium-sized chunk of meat herself and headed inside. Just as she entered the house, Zhang Minzhen, Zhang Su, and Zhang Kai came out.

"Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, you’re back?"

"Dad, Mom."

Zhang Minzhen, Zhang Su, and Zhang Kai were overjoyed to see the couple.

"Let’s get to work. One more trip should be enough after this." Following Gu Nuan Nuan’s example, Zhang Wei Qiang also picked up a large boar leg with one hand. The weight in his grasp made him frown slightly. He had to admit that carrying both of them would be nowhere near as easy as Gu Nuan Nuan had made it look. ’Does that mean Nuannuan is even stronger than me? How is that possible?’

...

「In Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu’s room.」

After Zhang Dazhuang finished recounting the trio’s harrowing encounter with the wild boars, all eyes were on Gu Nuan Nuan. Everyone was sizing her up, and her two cousins, in particular, were staring at her with feverish envy.

"Nuannuan, your incredible strength... did you have some kind of amazing encounter? Did you eat a heavenly treasure?" Zhang Kai was practically drooling. He and his brother had recently grown close to their Great-Granduncle, Zhang Damei, listening to his many legends and tales of adventure from the martial world. Their heads were full of such things, so they were intensely interested in fortuitous encounters and priceless treasures, and he immediately made the connection.

"Idiot. Heavenly treasures aren’t that easy to find. You have to go deep into old-growth forests or to the bottom of a cliff to find things like that. When would she have had the chance to go to a place like that alone? Besides, she already saved Auntie once before. So Nuannuan’s strength must be innate. History has plenty of examples, like the Overlord of Western Chu, who was born with superhuman strength."

Zhang Su’s analysis was so methodical that the others didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Lin Qin said with a sigh, "I’ve noticed you two running over to your great-uncle’s place constantly. So this is what you’ve been listening to?"

"That’s not all! We’re learning Kung Fu, too! Today, Great-Granduncle told us to come stay with him during the school holiday so he can help us build a solid foundation," Zhang Su and Zhang Kai said with proud expressions.

"Alright, alright. We all found out today when we got back that Nuannuan is stronger than an ordinary person. But others don’t know the full extent of it; they probably just think she’s as strong as a grown-up. This is something you two need to keep to yourselves. Don’t go out of your way to mention it to your Great-Granduncle, you understand?" Zhang Dazhuang began waving them away. "It’s getting late. You two, hurry back to bed. We just have a couple more things to talk about, and then we’ll be done."

"We understand." The two brothers nodded. They knew that the next part of the conversation wasn’t for them to hear, so they obediently got up and returned to their room.

Watching her sons leave, Lin Qin knew her father-in-law must have something important to discuss. Unsure if she was meant to stay and listen, she hesitated before tentatively offering, "Perhaps I should go check on them."

"No need. They’re old enough now, they don’t need you to look after them. I have something very important to discuss, so please sit down and listen." Zhang Dazhuang shook his head. This was something the three of them—he, Wen Xiu, and Nuannuan—had agreed upon on the way home. Hiding the matter of the Fish Spring from his eldest son’s wife would be difficult, so they decided it was better not to try. He then instructed his eldest son, "This is crucial. Go take a look around outside and make sure no one is nearby."

Zhang Wei Qiang’s expression grew serious. He nodded and went outside. Gu Nuan Nuan started to call out to him, to tell him the area was perfectly safe, but then she thought better of it. ’There’s no need to reveal all my trump cards in front of everyone,’ she reasoned, and so she remained seated, perfectly composed.

In truth, it was Gu Nuan Nuan herself who had suggested revealing the secret of the Fish Spring to her aunt. She remembered from her past life how, after her uncle’s death, her aunt had steadfastly refused to remarry. Even when her own family pressured her, she wouldn’t yield, eventually becoming estranged from them. She had devoted herself entirely to raising her two sons, teaching her cousins to be loyal, honorable, and grateful. Gu Nuan Nuan was certain that an aunt like that would never be the type to betray her husband’s family—and by extension, her own new family’s interests—for the sake of her maiden family.

Only after Zhang Wei Qiang returned and shook his head at Zhang Dazhuang did the old man turn to the others and say gravely, "You all know that if we hadn’t discovered the extent of Nuannuan’s strength today, we might have all perished on that mountain. These two wild boars certainly wouldn’t be about to become meat on our plates. But what you don’t know is that you would have also missed out on some incredible news from a discovery Nuannuan made—news that could make our family rich."

After he finished speaking, Zhang Dazhuang said to Wen Xiu, "Go get those three fish."

When Wen Xiu returned with the fish in a large wicker basket, Zhang Wei Qiang asked, puzzled, "These fish are huge. Did you catch them at a new spring you found on the mountain?"

"That’s right. But actually, we didn’t discover it—Nuannuan found it all on her own. You wouldn’t believe it if you didn’t see it with your own eyes. The fish in that Fish Spring... my god, they’re packed in so tightly they’re standing upright in the water. It’s so crowded they can’t even turn around." Even as he said it, Zhang Dazhuang still found it hard to believe.

"A Fish Spring? So packed with fish they can’t even turn around?" Both Zhang Wei Qiang and Lin Qin stared with wide eyes.

"Exactly. The location of the Fish Spring is incredibly well-hidden. If Nuannuan hadn’t stumbled upon it by accident, we never would have found it."