He tore a piece of paper in half and handed one half to Luo Ren. They both lowered their heads and wrote something. Yan Hongsha was dying of curiosity. She tried to see what Luo Ren wrote, but Mu Dai blocked her view. She tried to see Thirteen Thousand’s, but he was in the rear compartment and deliberately cupped his hand—she couldn’t see anything.
After a while, they exchanged papers. Thirteen Thousand had written “the stones.” Luo Ren had written “Old Man Yan.”
Yan Hongsha immediately understood.
Mu Dai smiled at her. “I’ve been thinking about it too. The last treasure well your grandfather dug actually had gemstones in it. They were just moved into a cave, under that woman Saoqingniang’s bed. That batch of rough stones should be worth a lot.”
Cao Yanhua suddenly got it. “Right! After everything’s over, we’ll take a trip to the Four Fortresses and help Hongsha dig out the stones and sell them to pay off the debt.”
Was that really okay? Yan Hongsha bit her lip and stayed silent. Deep down, she desperately wanted to get rid of this unjust debt—but was it right to use it all for herself?
Luo Ren smiled at her. “Let’s settle it this way. Use that ill-gotten money to clear the debt you never should’ve had to bear. You’re at a great age—working hard to earn money is right, but it should be for a better life, not just to pay off debts.”
That reminded Mu Dai of something. “I want to go back to Cao Family Village with Fat Cao too. There were so many bones in that underground cave. I swore back then that if we got out alive, I’d bury them properly. There were also quite a few silver dollars down there—the expenses shouldn’t be a problem.”
It seemed like someone still hadn’t spoken. Cao Yanhua’s eyes spun as he looked at Luo Ren in the rearview mirror. “Brother Luo, what about you?”
Luo Ren smiled. “Just do whatever needs doing.”
Cao Yanhua wasn’t satisfied. “Come on, Brother Luo, we’ve all worked so hard for so long. Don’t we need to celebrate? You’ve been leading us the whole time—you should at least treat us to a meal or a trip or something…”
Mu Dai nodded. “That’s right. You even said you’d take me mountain climbing in the snow.”
In a flash of inspiration, Cao Yanhua blurted out, “Marriage! Brother Luo, marry my junior master!”
Marriage?
Luo Ren froze for a moment. Mu Dai was caught off guard, too.
But one completely unrelated person was thrilled.
“Marriage is great!” the fortune-teller danced with joy. “You must get married! I love watching people get married—I’ll officiate!”
He sat in the front passenger seat, seatbelt on. No matter how far he stretched, he couldn’t reach Luo Ren, and it itched.
“Little Radish, officiating weddings is my specialty! I even have formal wear—iron it once, not a single crease!”
“You have to get married in my friend’s inn, in the honeymoon room. It’s insanely lucky.”
Yan Hongsha didn’t understand. Since when could a honeymoon room manifest luck?
The fortune-teller grew more and more smug, babbling away as he showed off.
He claimed he had a good friend named Little Maomao, who ran an inn in Renli Ancient City, not far from Lijiang.
Not long after the inn opened, another pair of friends—perfectly matched, talented man and beautiful woman—got married there after many hardships. Their wedding room was one of the inn’s guest rooms, decorated by the inn staff and the fortune-teller himself.
“I officiated their wedding and sent them into the bridal room! Just think—double blessings from me and my friend. From then on, that room was soaked in good fortune all the time.”
“After getting married, those two were inseparable…”
He left the rest unsaid: they ended up having a fierce little kid who was annoying as hell.
“At first, Little Maomao reserved that room just for them and cleaned it regularly, not letting anyone else stay. But they didn’t visit the ancient city that often, and an inn has to do business, right? So he selectively opened it to others.”
What did “selectively” mean? Apparently, they only hosted newlyweds or couples deeply in love. Anyone who stayed in that room afterward had smooth, harmonious relationships. Even more miraculous, once, Little Maomao broke precedent and let a couple on the brink of divorce stay there. After one night of heartfelt conversation, they decided not to divorce and went home hand in hand to start a new life.
Thirteen Thousand rolled his eyes, thinking: predatory marketing. Pure hype.
The fortune-teller was still excited. “Really, Little Radish, you might not even get a chance to stay there. But since you know me, a room that lucky—how could you not get married there…”
Mu Dai felt a little tempted.
She didn’t necessarily believe the room had magic, but good fortune was always nice to rub off on you. She turned her head and glanced at Luo Ren, deliberately casual.
Luo Ren smiled. Mu Dai’s thoughts were obvious to him at a glance.
Marriage was a major life event. He didn’t have a perfect plan yet, and a so-called lucky room in an ancient city wasn’t enough to sway him. With everything so urgent in twenty days, it also felt rushed.
But he did have a compromise.
He leaned toward Mu Dai, smiling meaningfully. “How about this—when we’re there, we do a trial marriage first? Get familiar with the process, borrow a little good fortune from our predecessors?”
Mu Dai thought that sounded reasonable. A trial marriage was a good idea. Ever since she and Luo Ren met, they’d been busy chasing ferocious slips. They hadn’t even properly dated yet. Rushing her into marriage really didn’t sit right with her.
Everyone was watching her, waiting for her to nod. No—that wouldn’t do. She had to keep up appearances.
She blinked, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, neither accepting nor refusing.
Just then, Cao Jiefang’s excited voice suddenly rang out from the rear compartment: “Heh… do… lo…”
A scrappy little chicken—why was it butting in? Did it even understand?
After a brief silence, Thirteen Thousand, sitting in the rear extra seat, calmly reached out and patted Luo Ren on the shoulder.
“Brother Luo, my future boss lady seems hesitant, but Cao Jiefang says she is willing. Why don’t you consider it?”
…
“Get lost.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152