Chapter 85: Amber

Chu Xuan angrily kicked the spot where something had jabbed her foot.

A pitch-black, ugly, stone-like object went flying.

It landed right in the seawater.

The tide was still going out.

As the object was washed by the waves and then revealed again above the surface, it was no longer black—instead, it had become as clear and lustrous as a sapphire.

It caught Chu Xuan’s eye.

She walked over and picked it up, examining it closely.

It didn’t quite look like a gemstone; it had natural patterns, and most strikingly, there was a bug encased inside.

“This… this is amber, isn’t it? Insect amber?”

Suddenly, she remembered something from her previous life—a woman had once found a piece of amber, which a foreigner bought from her for ten thousand yuan.

It seemed to be this kind of insect amber.

By a series of coincidences, tiny insects or reptiles would get trapped in dripping tree resin, and after millions of years of fossilization, insect amber would form.

It had great ornamental and collectible value, and was extremely expensive.

Blue insect amber must be even more valuable, right?

Thinking of this, Chu Xuan hurriedly wiped the mud off the amber with the corner of her clothes, making it shine even more brilliantly.

She slipped it into her pants pocket.

She couldn’t keep something like this all to herself. She planned to discuss it with Mu Chenze when they got back—whether to sell it now and split the money, or keep it for a few years and sell it later.

She continued searching the tidal flats, not noticing Mu Chenze standing not far away.

Mu Chenze deliberately didn’t call out to her. In fact, he had already seen her pick up that strange object.

As long as he didn’t mention it, he could leave it for her alone.

They had already agreed on how to split the catch; as for anything else they found, he didn’t really care whether he got a share or not.

So he quietly waited in place for over twenty minutes before finally calling out, “Hey, how’s your luck today combing the beach?”

Chu Xuan didn’t answer right away. Instead, she happily slung her basket onto her back and ran over to him. “Mu Chenze, let me show you something amazing.”

She stopped, then pulled out the fist-sized, breathtaking piece of amber from her pocket.

Mu Chenze rubbed his forehead. After waiting so long, he’d hoped Chu Xuan would keep something for herself—why was that so hard? “You really don’t keep anything to yourself, do you? It’s definitely a good find. You should just keep it.”

Chu Xuan slapped him on the back. “You big dummy, this amber is worth a lot! At the very least, it could sell for ten thousand yuan! In a decade or so, who knows, maybe it’ll be worth hundreds of thousands or even a million.”

Mu Chenze staggered from the slap, but wasn’t angry—he just stared in shock, taking a while to recover. “Something that small is worth more than gold? Just because there’s a bug inside?”

“That’s right. It’s valuable precisely because of the insect, and the color too. Think about it—should we sell it now, or keep it and sell it in a few years?”

“You found it, so it’s your call. No matter how much you sell it for, I won’t ask for a share. It’s not part of the catch—it’s just your good luck.”

Faced with Mu Chenze’s generosity, Chu Xuan didn’t argue further and put the amber back in her pocket. “If I ever decide to sell it, I’ll definitely split the money with you. And if we find another one, we’ll each get one.”

Mu Chenze muttered under his breath, “Even if you give me money then, I won’t want it.”

He started walking ahead.

After just a few steps, something jabbed his foot. “No way, am I really going to find one too, like you said?”

He bent down to dig in the sand.

He dug out a fist-sized black stone.

Chu Xuan was even more excited than Mu Chenze. “Quick, go wash it in the seawater!”

“Okay.”

The two of them took turns washing the stone for half an hour, but it remained just a black rock.

Mu Chenze wanted to throw it away, but Chu Xuan stopped him, saying they could keep it as a memento.

Mu Chenze stuffed it into Chu Xuan’s hand. “It’s yours.”

Seeing the tide coming in, they didn’t linger any longer.

Back on shore, Chu Xuan tried to give him some of the blue-scaled fish she’d caught, but he refused.

“This is all the catch we got today? Not interested. Take it back and add it to the family meal!”

“I’ll thank you on everyone’s behalf!”

Chu Xuan’s face was full of contentment.

Mu Chenze sighed. “Are you still trying to hide it from me? The whole village knows you were taken by the security team for questioning and then released.”

As soon as he heard about it, he didn’t even bother going home to catch up on sleep—he came straight here.

Chu Xuan looked relaxed. “I’m fine now, don’t worry! The ones in trouble are the couple who tried to frame me. What about you? Didn’t you get any sleep? Are you holding up?”

Mu Chenze walked ahead as he spoke. “When it comes to making money, I can go three days and nights without sleep, no problem.”

Chu Xuan quickly caught up. “Looks like those men’s shirts are selling well.”

Mu Chenze grinned, showing his neat white teeth. “That’s right. Thirty yuan each, sold thirty-five of them. Made over a thousand yuan, with more than five hundred in pure profit. I owe it to you and Xiao Feng this time.”

Chu Xuan looked modest. “I didn’t do much—the credit goes to Xiao Feng.”

“I heard Xiao Feng has always wanted a watch, so I bought one for him today.”

Mu Chenze didn’t mind the expense at all.

Chu Xuan was about to politely refuse, but Mu Chenze cut her off, “If you dare refuse, I’ll just give Xiao Feng a share of the profits—six yuan per shirt!”

“Mu Chenze, do you have money burning a hole in your pocket or something?”

“I just want to!”

Chu Xuan couldn’t do anything about him. She finally realized that being friends with Mu Chenze only meant you’d end up taking advantage of him.

Seeing Chu Xuan fall silent, Mu Chenze deliberately changed the subject. “I heard Liu Dapeng testified for you?”

“Yeah. I really owe him today.”

“I could have testified for you too.” As soon as he said this, Mu Chenze quickly explained, “Don’t get the wrong idea—we’re friends. Of course I’d want to be the first to help.”

“I appreciate it. But you left my house after ten last night—how could you testify for me? Lie to the security team? That’s not right. Besides, everyone knows about us, and even if you did testify, they might not accept it. Liu Dapeng was the best choice.”

Mu Chenze chuckled, looking unconcerned. “You’re right. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. Let’s head back. I need to catch up on sleep—I’m really getting tired now.”

“Alright.”

Neither of them brought up the watch again.

When they reached the entrance to the village, they went their separate ways.

Mu Chenze went home, locked the door, and headed to his bedroom to catch up on sleep, but then there was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me! Liu Dapeng.”

Mu Chenze was surprised. What was this guy doing here?

Yawning, he forced himself to the gate and unlatched it.

“Liu Dapeng, what do you want?”

Liu Dapeng looked embarrassed, hesitating to speak.

Mu Chenze was speechless. “I haven’t slept in almost 24 hours. If you don’t spit it out, I’m going back to bed! You’re a grown man—stop dithering!”

Liu Dapeng finally mustered up his courage. “I came to ask you—do you actually like Chu Xuan?”

His voice was barely above a whisper, like a mosquito buzzing.

Mu Chenze was stunned. Why was this guy asking that? He didn’t really need to answer.

Thinking he hadn’t heard, Liu Dapeng asked again, louder this time, “Do you like Chu Xuan or not? Are you going to marry her? Was it really just a misunderstanding between you two?”"