Aunt Yu held her head, which had just been hit by a small stone, and looked terrified.
Her mother, Grandma Wang, had been mumbling about "ghosts" and "unclean things." Now, those words echoed louder and louder in her mind.
Everything that happened today felt like a nightmare. And that sudden splash of water from above completely shattered her last bit of reason.
She scrambled away from the Yu house, crawling and running in panic, and disappeared into the darkness looking completely humiliated.
It was said that when Aunt Yu got home, she had a high fever and kept rambling nonsense. One moment she screamed about ghosts, and the next she was begging, saying, "Don't throw things at me."
Her family was so scared they wanted to take her to the hospital, but she absolutely refused. She insisted on going to a Taoist temple instead, saying something dirty was following her.
Her strange behavior confirmed what many people believed already. They said she brought bad luck, so everyone around her began to avoid her even more.
But all that would happen later.
Right now, the Yu family home was full of excitement and happiness.
After Aunt Yu and the curious villagers left, Celine pulled out a bag of gold from her space.
Although some of the gold bars were a little dull, under the warm yellow light they still sparkled with an irresistible shine.
Five kilograms of gold, stacked together, gave off a dazzling glow that made it hard to breathe. It felt like wealth itself had taken form.
Mother Zhou looked at the pile of gold with her throat tightening. She couldn't say a word for a long time.
"This... this... so much gold..."
It took her a while to find her voice, and even then, she stuttered badly.
Shenan and Eleanor were both stunned.
They had never seen this much gold in their entire lives.
They stood there frozen, eyes wide open, even breathing carefully as if afraid to disturb the moment.
Seeing their reaction, Celine smiled and explained, "Gold isn't worth much in the other world. Crystal cores are more useful."
"In that world, crystal cores are like money. You can use them to buy things. Gold is pretty much just junk there."
Then Celine suddenly remembered what Red had asked her to trade for.
Food was no problem, but a truck... she had no idea how to handle that.
She looked toward Eleanor for help.
"Eleanor, I need a truck."
That snapped Eleanor out of her daze. Her eyes moved from the gold to Celine's face.
"They need a truck? How many? What kind? Any specific needs?" Eleanor asked several questions at once.
Celine shook her head. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly in confusion.
"I'm not sure. Red just said he needed a truck. He didn't give details."
Shenan and Eleanor exchanged a look. They both had the same thought. This was something they'd need to ask Mateo about.
"Mateo?" Celine looked confused. She didn't understand why her fourth brother was brought up.
Shenan explained, "Every year, the army retires a batch of military trucks. Even though they're retired, they're still in good condition."
"As long as the trucks don't involve any confidential tech, they can be requested through official channels."
He paused, then added, "Mateo works in the army's equipment department. And one of his old classmates from military school is in charge of military vehicles. So we might be able to go through them to get what you need."
Shenan's words cleared things up for Celine right away.
Her eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "Then I'll call Mateo!"
Shenan quickly stopped her. "No rush. I'll contact him. You and Eleanor should first figure out how to turn this gold into cash. Buying a truck isn't cheap."
Celine nodded in agreement.
She knew Shenan had thought it through carefully. Now, the most important thing was to quickly convert the gold into cash to prepare for the next plan.
"This matter of turning gold into cash still depends on Eleanor," Shenan said after a moment of thought, his gaze falling on Eleanor. "You know many people and have many connections. You handle this."
Celine nodded quickly, agreeing.
Her second brother had always been a social butterfly since childhood. He knew people from all walks of life. He was the perfect choice for this.
Eleanor didn't refuse and immediately took the arc phone to contact people.
Before cashing in, Celine stopped Eleanor gently as she was about to leave. "Second brother, don't rush yet. Let Mother Zhou pick some first."
Eleanor was surprised but soon understood. She smiled and went back inside to find Mother Zhou.
Mother Zhou sat in a chair, holding a cloth, carefully wiping those shiny golden jewelry pieces.
Hearing Celine's words, she looked up.
"Celine, it's better to turn the gold into money first. The family matters aren't urgent."
Celine knew her mother's thrifty nature. She always put the kids' needs first.
She walked closer, sat next to Mother Zhou, and said firmly, "Mom, please listen this time. Let's pick some good gold to keep. There will be more later."
Mother Zhou couldn't refuse her daughter and smiled, nodding.
Actually, she had thought about this too.
She wanted to keep some gold for Celine's future dowry and some for her sons' weddings.
Mother and daughter started carefully choosing.
Mother Zhou's taste was excellent. She picked pieces with full color and new designs.
The gold bracelets had to have dragons and phoenixes, rings with rubies, necklaces shaped like water drops, earrings shaped like goldfish playing in water...
Each gold piece shined as Mother Zhou turned them over in her hands.
Celine watched warmly from the side.
"This bracelet is really pretty, Mom. Try it on."
Celine picked up a bracelet carved with delicate patterns and slipped it onto Mother Zhou's wrist.
Mother Zhou looked down at the bracelet on her wrist and smiled with satisfaction.
Without realizing it, they had picked quite a few pieces.
Looking at the pile of gold jewelry that looked like a small mountain, Mother Zhou hesitated.
"Celine, isn't this too much? Is there enough left on your side to turn into cash?" she asked worriedly.
Celine put her arm around Mother Zhou and shook her head gently, smiling to comfort her.
"Mom, it's not too much. There will be more later. Don't just pick for us kids, pick some for yourself to wear too."
Celine started picking for Mother Zhou.
She chose a bracelet with a rich peony design, a ring set with a green gemstone, and a simple but elegant necklace...
Mother Zhou loved dressing up but usually didn't allow herself.
Now that her daughter picked these for her, she was very happy.
"This ring is beautiful, it matches your bracelet perfectly," Mother Zhou said, holding the green gemstone ring, reluctant to put it down.
Celine looked at her mother's smiling face, feeling full of happiness.
The hardships from her past life made her cherish every moment with family more.
This life, she was determined to let her family live happily and peacefully.