In the dimly lit cellar, it was filled to the brim with muddy sweet potatoes. Some still had fresh green leaves hanging on them.
This should have been a good thing, but Yun Que'er's face turned as pale as paper. She turned around and ran.
"What's going on..." The second elder brother was about to follow to find out when a little tot rushed over in a hurry, shouting, "Run! Run quickly!"
Run from what?
Why run?
Yun Fu Jin and Yun Jian Zhou were both completely confused. Before they could react, a rumbling sound approached.
They couldn't believe their eyes. The cellar in front of them was not flooded with water, but rather, it was experiencing a sweet potato disaster! The sweet potatoes were jostling against each other, almost bursting the cellar, and were crashing down on them like an avalanche.
Blocked by the second elder brother in front, Yun Que'er couldn't escape. She turned around and saw that the dark mountain of sweet potatoes was still expanding continuously, casting a shadow over the place where she was.
If nothing unexpected happened, the next second, she would be crushed to death by these sweet potatoes that had appeared out of nowhere!
The first one to curse themselves with a blessing?
She was on the verge of tears, choking and muttering, "That's enough, enough. Really enough. I don't want any more..."
The incident happened in an instant. Even the eldest brother didn't have time to react and protect Yun Que'er. His mind went blank.
Time seemed to stand still. The wildly piling mountain of sweet potatoes finally stopped growing. The one on the top wobbled and "plunked" down, right at the little girl's feet.
She gasped, her calves trembling. It was as if she had just escaped death...
The third - level blessing was just too powerful!
The mountain wind blew. The eldest brother's slightly protruding Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He stepped forward and stood side by side with Yun Que'er, looking at the small mountain of sweet potatoes in front of them. It all seemed like a dream.
"Is this... the treasure?" Yun Jian Zhou's mouth twitched twice. He had come with high hopes, and this was what he got?
There wasn't much food at home, and sweet potatoes were the staple food. Although there wasn't enough to go around, they had been eating this stuff for two years, and just the smell made him want to vomit!
Yun Que'er scratched her head, feeling extremely guilty. "When I came here last time, there weren't this many..."
How could she explain the sudden explosion of sweet potatoes in the cellar? Would the eldest and second elder brothers suspect that the sweet potatoes had turned into spirits?
Yun Que'er was in a dilemma again. Yun Fu Jin patted Yun Jian Zhou on the shoulder. "We'll take what we can get. We're not picky. And there's a large quantity. It'll be enough for our family's rations for two or three years. We won't starve, and Dad's work points will be saved, right?"
The logic was sound, but Yun Jian Zhou clenched his fists tightly. His phoenix - shaped eyes, tinged with anger, were bloodshot. "Something is better than nothing. Eldest brother, little sister, you wait here. I'll go home and get the bamboo baskets!"
With that, he turned around and rushed down the mountain. Yun Que'er was still in shock. She timidly took two steps back, afraid that the tide of sweet potatoes would get out of control again and cost her her life.
After the second elder brother left, Yun Fu Jin had only seen this much food during the harvest in the commune's brigade. His heart was pounding like a drum, and he didn't dare to relax. "Little Que'er, you wait here. Eldest brother will go ahead and keep watch."
For Yun Fu Jin, it was despicable to keep the windfall for themselves alone. But if they were really caught, their whole family wouldn't be able to explain it even if they talked themselves hoarse.
Yun Jian Zhou came back quickly, carrying two bamboo - woven baskets on his back.
The eldest and second elder brothers stuffed the sweet potatoes into the baskets, their hands covered in yellow mud. Yun Que'er also helped out. The three siblings were busy and having a great time.
"There must be a treasure down there..." The second elder brother was unusually hard - working, making several trips back home with the sweet potatoes on his back.
Yun Fu Jin was cautious and prudent. He deliberately pulled a few handfuls of wild grass and covered the baskets with it. In this way, even if they were seen by someone, they could just say they were cutting grass to take to the commune.
As the sky gradually darkened, the moon rose high in the sky.
Yun Yi put down her pen. She had already heard quite a commotion at home. Now she stretched her arms and walked into the alley. When she saw what was going on, she was stunned, her body stiff as a fossil.
The eldest brother was sweating profusely. He took off his outer clothes and was only wearing a red - cloth vest. He straightened up and looked at Yun Yi. "Little Que'er found them. Start a fire. We'll roast sweet potatoes today!"
In the past, in order to save food, not to mention roasting sweet potatoes in the fire, even when cooking them, they had to swallow the skins.
"Did you... rob the commune's brigade?" Yun Yi was so shocked that she even imagined the commune coming to their door and arresting the whole family!
Yun Jian Zhou shook his arm. He had just taken the heavy basket off his shoulder. He took three steps in two and rushed forward, quickly covering Yun Yi's mouth. He whispered nervously, "Don't talk nonsense. We picked these up! If others find out, all our hard work will be in vain!"
The eldest brother, Yun Fu Jin, rubbed his shoulder. There were two dark - red marks on his wheat - colored skin from the straps. He told her what had happened in detail.
Yun Que'er followed the eldest and second elder brothers back home cheerfully. She walked through the threshold late, grinning from ear to ear, as if to say: Look, I'm amazing!
Yun Yi's eyes widened. With Yun Jian Zhou covering her mouth, she couldn't speak. She struggled a bit before regaining her freedom of speech. "Sweet potatoes growing in the cellar?"
"Hey, I guess it must be the rare treasure buried by the bandit leader back then. Have you heard of the treasure - gathering basin?" The second elder brother proudly rubbed the tip of his nose, looking like a worldly expert. "Little Que'er said that there weren't many sweet potatoes before. Why did they suddenly explode when we went there? I remember reading a comic book. It said that the treasure - gathering basin can create all things..."
Yun Yi was completely dumbfounded. Yun Que'er slapped her forehead. If there really was such a thing, then she was the treasure - gathering basin itself.
Yun Fu Jin also shook his head. He didn't have high expectations. Forget about the treasure. As long as they could eat their fill and the Yun family was free from illness and disaster, that would be good.
Anyway, they had emptied the cellar and didn't see any treasure.
"Come on, little Que'er, go roast sweet potatoes with eldest brother."
He picked up two sweet potatoes the size of rugby balls and led Yun Que'er to the stove.
Yun Que'er had never seen anyone cook on a stove before. In the era when she was born, the orphanage had already used coal.
She carried a small stool and sat beside Yun Fu Jin. Her big, round eyes stared at Yun Fu Jin curiously. First, he struck a match and lit the kerosene lamp. The husks of bamboo shoots were natural fuel. The flames licked at them, crackling.
The air was filled with the smell of kerosene and a few wisps of green smoke.
While Yun Que'er was still experiencing the life of starting a fire, Yun Yi had been walking around the sweet potatoes that filled half of the alley three times clockwise and three times counter - clockwise. Suddenly, she stopped.
Her face, with a few small freckles and slightly sunken cheeks, was serious and calm. "I'm not interested in any treasure. It's true that these can be eaten, but in a few days, they'll rot, mold, and go bad..."
Hearing this, Yun Que'er's small body trembled.
Why hadn't she thought of that?
At that moment, the second elder brother stopped his excited talk about getting rich overnight, and the eldest brother almost burned his hand on the fire.
They had worked so hard to carry the sweet potatoes back home, and they couldn't store them in a cellar openly. Did that mean they would have to throw out the rotten mess in a few days?
Wasn't all their hard work in vain!
The atmosphere fell silent again. Yun Que'er's mind was spinning fast. Suddenly, her bright eyes lit up. She stood up abruptly. "I have a way!"
After all, a living person couldn't be choked to death by urine. She was a person who had seen the world!