Fu Xia only learned that Xu Gui and the others had gone to H Province that evening, and immediately called Xu Gui.
"I don't care, I'm coming!" she exclaimed. "I'll buy a plane ticket and fly over right now. Such an exciting event, how can you leave me behind!"
Treasure hunting, after all, how many kids haven't played treasure hunts as children? So, how could she miss out on such a fun event?
Fu Xia figured Xu Gui wouldn't mind her coming, but…
"Is your grandmother alright?" she asked.
The reason Fu Xia had left before was because her grandmother was sick, and she had rushed off with her parents to visit her. Now that she suddenly said she was coming to H Province to meet up with Xu Gui and the others, Xu Gui naturally had to ask.
Hearing this, Fu Xia casually replied, "It's nothing, just a minor cold. It's just that the old lady is getting on in years and misses her granddaughter."
Whether old or young, illness makes people more vulnerable. Fu Xia's grandmother was like that; she wouldn't say she missed them much when they talked on the phone, but when she was sick, she couldn't help but think about her granddaughter.
As soon as Fu Xia and her family arrived, seeing her daughter and granddaughter, her grandmother's illness instantly improved significantly. The old lady who had been wiping away tears on the phone was now lively and energetic again.
"Now my uncles, aunts, and almost the entire family are here. It's so lively here every day," Fu Xia said, pursing her lips. "It's good that I came to H Province to find some peace and quiet."
The family didn't need her anymore; compared to eating, drinking, and having fun with her maternal relatives, Fu Xia was more interested in what was happening in Xu Gui's area.
"Oh, right," Fu Xia said, somewhat embarrassed, "Xu Gui, could you please do me a favor?"
Xu Gui: "Hmm?"
Fu Xia said, "It's like this, my grandmother has a wooden hairpin. Although it's not very valuable, my grandfather carved it for her himself, stroke by stroke, and my grandmother always loved it."
She sighed, "Since my grandfather passed away, this hairpin has become my grandmother's last memento."
The two elders were a young couple who had supported each other through thick and thin for decades, their affection for each other was extremely deep. Therefore, after my grandfather's death, my grandmother was very sad, and that hairpin became her treasured object for remembering her husband.
"But recently, that hairpin disappeared. My grandmother searched the whole house but couldn't find it," Fu Xia said. "She's been so upset about it, she cries every time she talks about it."
Her husband's handmade gift was gone, and she was anxious and heartbroken, blaming herself for not taking better care of it. This was a major reason for her recent illness.
"My parents have also helped look for it, but they've searched everywhere, inside and outside the house, but still can't find it. So, I wanted you to help me figure out where my grandmother's hairpin is."
Fu Xia spoke sincerely, saying directly, "I can pay!"
Hearing this, Xu Gui smiled and said, "Since we're friends, talking about money is too polite. I can give you a free reading."
"Will giving you a free reading affect you?" Fu Xia asked.
Xu Gui's tone was certain: "No."
Since ancient times, in human belief, fortune-telling has been considered as peeking into the
secrets of heaven, and thus fortune-tellers are generally said to suffer from five deficiencies and three lacks. Therefore, there are always many restrictions when telling fortunes. However, for Xu Gui, such worries do not exist. Putting aside the fact that she is not human, her Xuan Turtle clan is born outside the secrets of heaven. Their innate ability is to see through fate. Fortune-telling is instinctive for them, just like the instinct to suckle that humans are born with.
Therefore, Xu Gui has no taboos
when telling fortunes. Fu Xia breathed a sigh of relief after hearing her words—she was worried that she might have caused any bad influence on Xu Gui.
Since there would be no bad things about her being told her fortune for free, she had no more concerns.
"Then please tell my grandmother's fortune." She said immediately.
Xu Gui hummed in agreement.
Since the person to be told was Fu Xia's grandmother, her blood relative, it was very simple. In just a few seconds, Xu Gui had already reached a conclusion.
"Is there a big peach tree in your grandma's yard?" she asked.
Fu Xia: "Yes."
Xu Gui: "Your grandma's hairpin is on that peach tree."
Fu Xia: ?
*
Fu Xia ran downstairs in a rush, disappearing like a gust of wind.
The people chatting in the living room: ...Just now, did something just swish out like that?
Fu Xia's cousins:
"What is Xia doing in such a hurry?"
"I don't know."
"Go out and see?"
"Go out and see!"
After reaching a consensus, the siblings glanced at the elders who were chatting and quietly slipped out. Once outside, the previously quiet group suddenly became like wild horses, running wild. When
they came out, they saw Fu Xia standing under the peach tree in the yard.
It is said that originally, a pear tree was planted here, but since "pear" sounds like "separation" in Chinese, their grandparents felt that this had a bad meaning, so they changed it to a peach tree, meaning "the peach tree is young and tender, its blossoms are bright and beautiful."
To put it simply, it's like she's confessing her feelings to her maternal/paternal grandmother. Anyway, the last tree in the yard will be a peach tree.
This peach tree is forty or fifty years old; it's not a short variety, but a tall, large one with thick branches, as thick as a person could hug. The fruit it bears is also large, with a particularly strong peach flavor. However, this year the peaches are past their ripening season, and all the peaches have been eaten, leaving only a tree full of lush, green leaves.
And now, Fu Xia is standing under this peach tree, jumping and skipping, looking like she wants to climb up.
Cousins:
"Has this person finally gone mad?"
"It seems so..."
"Sigh, what a fine child, how could she go mad? Should we call and send her to a mental hospital?"
"I think we should, let's consider it the last thing we, as her older siblings, can do for her."
"Enough already!" Fu Xia couldn't stand it anymore, turned around and glared at them angrily, "Shouldn't you at least speak ill of someone behind their back? How can you talk badly about someone in public like this?"
Second cousin: "If we don't speak ill of someone to their face, how will the person involved know we're talking badly about them? If she doesn't know, then what's the point of talking badly?"
Fu Xia: Nonsense! All nonsense!
"Xia, what are you doing?" Fu Xia's older cousin was obviously still human, and said something reasonable, "You're not thinking of climbing a tree like this, are you? You're so old, and you've suddenly taken to climbing trees? Is this your belated rebellious phase?"
Fu Xia, who was already used to her cousins' poisonous words: "..." Well, her older cousin wasn't one to speak humanly either.
To prevent them from spreading rumors, Fu Xia said, "I'm looking for Grandma's lost hairpin."
"Grandma's lost hairpin?" Her third cousin looked up at the peach tree. "You don't actually think the hairpin is on this tree, do you?" He looked at her with a "you've lost your mind" expression.
Fu Xia rolled her eyes and said, "It's not that I think it is, the hairpin is on this tree."
Her tone was so certain, she didn't know where her confidence came from… Her older cousin looked at her thoughtfully.
"Did you ask your fortune-telling friend for help?" her cousin suddenly asked.
Fu Xia: "...How did you know?"
Her cousin smiled and said, "You're so sure, what other reason could there be besides asking your fortune-telling friend for help?"
Fu Xia had to admit that her cousin was right.
"So," my older cousin walked over, also looking up at the peach tree canopy, "your fortune-telling friend said that Grandma's hairpin is in this peach tree?"
Fu Xia nodded, saying, "She said the birds stole it to build a nest…"
My third cousin chimed in, "You know what, I remember there was a bird's nest in this tree, it seems like they just built it this year. I remember crows? I've seen them a few times before, and every time they see me they caw and spit at me." My
second cousin: "Crows spit?"
My third cousin: "I'm curious too!"
"…Are you two doing a comedy routine?" My eldest cousin pouted, ordering them, "Go get the ladder from home, second cousin, climb up and take a look." My
second cousin: "…Don't call me second cousin, it's vulgar!"
"Okay, second cousin."
"..."
The second and third brothers went to get the ladder. The second brother, being taller, climbed up the tree using the ladder. Once he was up the peach tree, Fu Xia below couldn't help but ask, "Second cousin, did you find the bird's nest?"
"Found it!" came the second brother's voice from above. He exclaimed in surprise, "There really is a bird's nest up there... Oh my god!"
Suddenly, the second brother's voice became panicked, accompanied by a cawing chorus of crows.
"The crows are pecking at me!" the second brother cried out. The
eldest cousin said, "Never mind the crows, quickly look for Grandma's hairpin in the nest!" That was the important thing.
The second brother: Who will speak up for me?
The second brother held his breath, reached out and swatted away the crow that was pecking at him, then turned on his phone camera, climbed onto the tree trunk, and began searching the crow's nest.
"Caw caw caw!" The crows were angry at this impolite two-legged human and kept trying to fly down and peck at him.
The second son, pecked and hissing, frantically searched the bird's nest: "Ah, found it! It's really in this nest!"
Once he found it, he didn't dare delay, scrambling up the tree in a flash, yelling as he climbed down, "This bird has such a bad temper! Its pecks hurt so much!"
But what he didn't expect was that even after he was down, the crow continued to caw and peck at him. The second son had no choice but to run away and disappear into the house.
Seeing this, Fu Xia and the others felt a chill run down their spines, all thinking the same thing: Thank goodness it wasn't us climbing the tree!
However, despite this minor, intense, and painful incident (only affecting the second son), they still managed to find Fu Xia's grandmother's hairpin.
Fu Xia and the others also found it strange: "They say crows like shiny things, and Grandma's hairpin only has one emerald, yet it still spotted it. It has such good taste, always picking the best ones."
It was a wooden hairpin inlaid with an emerald. The emerald looked translucent and was shaped like a vine, a vibrant green, twining around the black hairpin, giving the whole hairpin a lively, almost lifeless feel.
The emerald on the hairpin was personally cut by Fu Xia's grandfather.
Fu Xia and the others returned the hairpin to their grandmother.
Grandma had been secretly weeping over the lost hairpin recently, and now that her treasure had been found, her joy was indescribable; even her illness seemed to have subsided considerably.
The elders naturally asked where the hairpin had been found, and the topic of Xu Gui came up again.
"Xu Gui? Your fortune-telling friend?" the elders asked.
Fu Xia nodded, "Yes, it's her."
Taking this opportunity, she mentioned her trip to H Province the next day, "Xu Gui said she's going treasure hunting at sea tomorrow, that must be a lot of fun, oh, okay, I'll go check it out!"
What she didn't expect was that what she found exciting, her sisters naturally found equally interesting.
"Such a fun thing, I want to go too!" her second cousin said first.
The third cousin: "Seconded!"
The composed eldest cousin: "I'm free lately..."
Seeing the situation was turning sour, Fu Xia put her hands on her hips and refused, "Xu Gui isn't your friend, why are you going to join in? You're not allowed to go!"
Hearing this, her cousins exchanged glances but said nothing.
Seeing this, Fu Xia thought they had given up the idea, but that very night, she unexpectedly ran into the three of them on the plane.
Fu Xia: "..."
"Shameless, thick-skinned!" she yelled at them.
The shameless man picked his ear with his little finger, then turned to the person next to him and said, "Did you hear that? I think I heard a dog barking?"
Fu Xia inwardly screamed: Why did I have such a shameless cousin?!
Then, she could only take her shameless cousin and her seemingly serious but actually not-so-serious older cousin to the hotel to meet Xu Gui and the others.
"I'm sorry, Xu Gui, I already tried to stop them, but my cousins insisted on coming to join in the fun." Fu Xia looked at Xu Gui apologetically and said angrily, "They wouldn't listen to me at all."
Xu Gui didn't really care, and since they were already there, saying anything else now would seem like expressing dissatisfaction, so she said, "It's okay, it's more lively with more people."
Besides, there were already a bunch of staff members with them today, so it wouldn't make a difference if Fu Xia and her three cousins joined them.
"Hello, Master Xu!"
Just then, a large head suddenly peeked out from behind Fu Xia. Fu Xia's second cousin grabbed Xu Gui's hand and enthusiastically introduced himself, "I'm Fu Xia's second cousin. We're really sorry to bother you today!" Her eldest
cousin and third cousin also introduced themselves.
The eldest cousin looked elegant and poised, saying, "We heard you're going to sea to search for treasure today, and we were just curious, so we came uninvited..."
"It's alright," Xu Gui smiled and casually said, "You're Fu Xia's cousins, and also my friends. I'm very happy to have you here."
Hearing this, Fu Xia looked at her with gratitude and hugged her, "Xu Gui, you're so kind! I swear, you'll be my friend forever! We're the best of friends in the world!"
Xu Gui patted her head.
Now that they had met up with Fu Xia and the others, Xu Gui and her group headed straight to their destination, the island's pier. There, a truly luxurious ocean liner occupied the best spot on the pier.
This was the Lu family's ship; it was precisely this matter that Xu Gui had asked Lu Baiyi for help at the Lu family home that day.
She wanted to go out to sea and had asked Lu Baiyi to inquire where she could find a ship. Unexpectedly, the Lu family owned their own vessel. It was then that Xu Gui learned something:
Jin Ding was actually developed by Lu Baiyi's aunt, Lu Yujun.
She initially invested in real estate, then withdrew from the market to invest in new energy—a truly capable person. No wonder the opposing company resorted to using her charm to extract business intelligence from her side.
Xu Gui thought: This is real business warfare!
It's not about watering the rival company's money tree or stealing someone else's company seal; it's a much more sophisticated form of business warfare.
Well, I digress. Anyway, because of Lu Yujun, the Lu family owns a ship near Jinding. When Xu Gui said she wanted to go out to sea, Lu Baiyi simply brought his own ship.
The crew were all professional maritime workers, specializing in things like salvage.
After Xu Gui and her group boarded, the ship quickly started moving, leaving the Jinding dock and heading out to sea. Xu Gui's live stream started as soon as the ship set off. When Xu
Gui's fans heard she was going live, they rushed into the stream and saw Xu Gui's beautiful, bright eyes and the luxurious, magnificent ship behind her.
Fans: Wow!