ts, a deep pain welled up in my heart. Unlike being with Grandpa, I now had to rely on my efforts to earn respect and avenge my family.

Chapter 8: A Fortuitous Encounter

Two years passed, day after day, and I no longer lagged behind Senior Brother Minhua. Although he still outpaced me slightly, chopping about forty trees while I managed thirty, the gap had narrowed.

Today, we happily entered the village to buy supplies. Why was I so happy? Because leaving the mountain was a rare occurrence, happening only every six months. I knew this was arranged by Master, so I didn’t question it much. Senior Brother called out to me.

“Junior Brother, come here and look at this.”

I glanced over and helplessly remarked, “It’s a candied hawthorn skewer.”

“Candied hawthorn skewer? What's that?” Senior Brother asked.

“It’s food, very sweet but a bit tangy,” I explained. “How do you not know what it is?”

“I’ve never seen it before, let alone tasted it.”

“Should we buy one?” Senior Brother said longingly.

I walked over to the vendor, who had the demeanor of a shrewd merchant.

“How much for one skewer?” I asked.

The merchant’s eyes gleamed as he replied, “Four coins per skewer.”

I felt my vision go dark. It was clearly only two coins per skewer, yet he was asking for four. Just as I was about to argue, Senior Brother handed over four coins to the vendor.

I quickly pulled him back and said, “Senior Brother, you’ve been swindled. You could get two skewers for two coins.”

He looked stunned. I thought he realized he had overpaid, but instead, he said, “It’s so sweet. I rarely get to come down the mountain and never tasted anything this delicious before.”

Helpless, I turned to the unscrupulous vendor, “We’ll take another skewer.”

The rogue vendor glared at me, “Run along, little brat. It’s four coins per skewer. Pay up if you want another.”

Just as I was about to argue, Senior Brother handed over another four coins. The vendor then smiled and handed us the skewer.

I turned to Senior Brother and asked, “Senior Brother, are you swimming in money or something?”

He replied, “Master always says that money is just an external possession; we don’t bring it into the world and we don’t take it with us when we leave.”

I was nearly rendered speechless with anger. 

Senior Brother pulled me along and said, “Let’s sell these medicinal herbs and earn more money, so we can buy some candied hawthorn for Master.”

Through this, I realized Senior Brother’s naivete. Though he was honest and simple, I had matured due to circumstances.

We reached an open space where Senior Brother spread out a cloth and placed the herbs on it, calling out, “Medicinal herbs for sale!”

I told him, “I rarely come out; I’m going to look around.”

“Make sure to come back soon,” he replied.

“Okay

 Prev. P 18/162 next