Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 533 - 416: Wealth Delivered to the Door

After sending off Mr. Liu and not seeing his figure anymore, Zhang Guoqing chuckled. This old man is really cunning, already wanting to store food. Truly an insightful person.

He hadn’t even reached the living room yet and already heard Zhou Jiao educating the child.

"Alright, son knows he was wrong. Isn’t that right, son? From now on, if it’s someone else’s thing, you need their permission before taking it, understand?"

"Grandpa said it was for dad. I heard it."

Hearing this, Zhang Guoqing squatted down in front of Ping’an and patted him, "You’re still young and don’t understand. He wanted dad to trade a lot of our family’s food with him. Dad can’t let Ping’an and mom go hungry, right? If dad doesn’t agree, then it has to be returned to grandpa."

Ping’an reluctantly handed the box over, "Dad, give it back to grandpa. I don’t want it anymore."

Zhang Guoqing laughed heartily, "So obedient. This time grandpa said to give the box to Ping’an, so you keep it. Remember, you mustn’t take others’ things in the future."

Zhou Jiao stood beside, shaking her head, "I don’t know if this box is clean or not, I’ll wash it first for Ping’an to play with."

"No need. You stay with the child, I’ll wash it. What’s so special about this broken bird that it has caught my son’s attention? It’s really strange. Last time there was that music box, which was more fun, and he didn’t even rush to get it." After speaking, Zhang Guoqing picked up the box and was about to walk out when...

"Dad, it’s not a broken bird. It can sing."

Zhang Guoqing immediately looked at the box in his hands, "Son, you heard it sing?"

Seeing his face turn pale, Zhou Jiao knew he was overthinking it. She knew her child well; probably the phoenix had its head raised, and he thought it would sing.

Indeed, Ping’an imitated the phoenix’s pose with his head held very high, didn’t it look like he wanted to sing?

Zhang Guoqing exhaled, patting his chest—he really got scared. He thought something supernatural had happened. Ever since having the space, he realized some things in this world can’t be explained by common sense.

This scare made Zhou Jiao unable to bear it, so she personally brought water and indicated he could put the box in.

Zhang Guoqing smiled and shook his head; since it involved his son, he couldn’t just ignore it.

He put the box into the water, and soon, he reached in and took it out, observing it very seriously this time—discovering it was just ordinary wood.

He didn’t believe it and put it back into the water again.

Zhou Jiao curiously stepped forward and shook her head. Nothing out of the ordinary!

Zhang Guoqing picked up the box again, tapping it on all sides with his fingers, finding still nothing unusual. His eyebrows tightly furrowed, he squatted to the side, deeply in thought.

This time, Zhou Jiao knew there was definitely something weird. She quickly moved closer to him, examining the wooden box. After a long while and not finding anything strange—it was just a box, wasn’t it?

She worriedly glanced at Ping’an, seeing him watch them both with wide eyes, and couldn’t help but laugh.

"Jiao Jiao, don’t laugh. Help me think, what kind of wood makes a bubbling sound when placed in water?"

Zhou Jiao immediately reined in her laughter, took the box, shook her head, "Did you hear a bubbling sound? Could it be the sound of rain outside that you misheard? Try again."

Zhang Guoqing gestured for her to put it in the water.

This time even Ping’an couldn’t sit still, running over to squat beside them. The child didn’t understand and thought they were playing a game together, giggling with delight.

Zhang Guoqing motioned for him to be quiet, listening carefully, and indeed heard the sound; he wasn’t mistaken.

This time he unhesitatingly took it out, wiped it clean with a cloth, and placed it on the coffee table.

"Ping’an, can dad take it apart?"

"I want the bird."

"The bird will still be here. Dad will be careful. If the box breaks, you won’t cry, right?"

Zhou Jiao couldn’t stand his procrastination, "Take it apart and then put it back together. If you can’t, just ask Second Brother for help."

Zhang Guoqing’s eyes lit up. He went to the cabinet, took out a dagger, and soon disassembled the entire box into parts with force. As he observed piece by piece, he finally found one side that was unusual.

He scraped off some resin, removing the glue, and saw inside a rough black hole the size of a nail. Delighted, he immediately raised his head to look proudly at Zhou Jiao.

Zhou Jiao, seeing this, took out a pair of small tweezers and handed it to him.

In no time, Zhang Guoqing used the small tweezers to pull out a piece of silk. He wiped his hands clean, took up the silk, and found that when he unfolded it, it was a painting the size of half a handkerchief.

Zhang Guoqing handed the painting to Zhou Jiao, rubbed his numb legs, picked up his son, and led Zhou Jiao back to the bedroom. Thinking it over, he still felt uneasy, went out, tidied up, and wrapped the wood pieces of the entire box in a handkerchief. This box still needed to be restored; who knew if Mr. Liu might whimsically want it back.

On the main bedroom kang, Zhou Jiao placed the painting on the kang table. She couldn’t make out where the place in the painting was, but the brushwork was exquisite, and the silk used was quite expensive, implying there must be a secret.

Zhang Guoqing came in, glanced at it a few times, "Keep the painting hidden for now. I have a general idea of where this is painted and who painted it."

Zhou Jiao put it away, holding their son, looking at Zhang Guoqing.

Zhang Guoqing slightly furrowed his brow, glanced at Ping’an, and said in a low voice, "Son, if someone asks you about the box, you mustn’t tell anyone, understood?"

Ping’an blinked and nodded.

"If you tell, you’ll never see mom and dad again, and a lot of people will come to our house to take things."

Zhou Jiao, seeing the child nodding repeatedly, patted his head, "Stop saying that, the more you say it, the scarier it sounds, be careful not to frighten the child. Our Ping’an is great, saying he won’t tell is not telling."

"Yeah, I didn’t even tell grandpa and grandma."

Zhou Jiao gave Zhang Guoqing a look, signaling him not to continue. She went outside, brought in a bowl of milk, fed it to the child, coaxing him to take a nap.

Zhang Guoqing leaned against the kang, holding a book, absentmindedly watching mother and child. Secretly, he wondered how the item ended up in Mr. Liu’s possession. He felt fortunate to have rejected the old man earlier. It seemed that when Wang Baiwan got into trouble, there was some hidden storyline.

Zhou Jiao waited until their son fell asleep, then patted Zhang Guoqing.

Zhang Guoqing slightly furrowed his brow, "Jiao Jiao, this matter is somewhat complicated. Do you remember Wang Baiwan from the county town? How do you think the item got into Old Liu’s hands?"

"Don’t worry about Old Liu. He certainly didn’t know. Otherwise, why would he give away the box?"

"Do you think Wang Baiwan’s sons and daughters are still around? How did both the elders die, and there’s no sign from abroad? With so much estate moved there, couldn’t they just change identities and come back for a look?"

Zhou Jiao smiled lightly, "How do you know they haven’t returned? Maybe they’ve already come back secretly. Alright, don’t think about things that have nothing to do with us. First, tell me what the painting means?"

Zhang Guoqing, reassured by her words, laughed, "This painting is likely the Wang Family treasure map that those people sought in the past. This should have been drawn by Mrs. Wang herself. I’ve taken you to this place before, it’s not far from the Half Mountain Taoist Temple. It used to be rumored that Wang Baiwan loved going to the temple for fortune telling."

Zhou Jiao pondered for a while, "Whether it’s a treasure map or not, we should take a look. It’s meant for a destined person. If I’m correct, this map was intended for the Wang Family descendants but got lost somehow. If we don’t look for it, the Wang Family won’t find it either."

Zhang Guoqing nodded with a smile, "Alright. But you might be disappointed. The Wang Family assets have long been transferred; there’s likely nothing good left in the country."

Zhou Jiao wasn’t bothered. She’s not lacking wealth, just curious. What kind of thing could be so carefully hidden by the lady of the house?