The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter-Chapter 143

As they passed by the small fishing village, Chang'an noticed a group of people settling in, seemingly planning to stay. There were quite a few of them, and their accents didn’t sound local—more like they were from the south.

Their mule-drawn cart stood out, especially with the guide 'dog' leading the way. From afar, they had already drawn attention, forcing Chang'an to move further away before stowing the cart into her spatial storage.

Who would’ve thought that nearly a year after leaving home, this abandoned fishing village would attract new residents?

Someone noticed them heading toward the coast, and a burly man hurried after them. Old Gu Six stopped the cart, curious about what the man wanted—he couldn’t let him follow too closely, or it’d be difficult to hide the cart later.

Seeing the cart halt, the man quickened his steps, looking slightly embarrassed as he asked, "Brother, sorry to trouble you, but could I take a moment of your time?"

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to ask if there are any other villages ahead. We’re new here and don’t know the local customs. Don’t want to accidentally offend anyone."

"No, everyone lives in the mountains. If you’re heading there, be careful."

Noticing the man still hadn’t moved aside, Old Gu Six added, "Anything else?"

The man snapped out of his thoughts and hastily stepped aside. "Oh, right! No, nothing else. Go ahead, go ahead."

No wonder this village had been abandoned. Old Gu Six mulled it over, wondering if they should still settle here. The original villagers had likely fled into the mountains to escape war—who knew if trouble would return?

He decided to go back and discuss it with the elders.

The cart continued into the woods until it could go no further. After confirming no one was around, Chang'an immediately stored the cart away.

Since someone had already seen them heading toward the coast, the father-daughter pair avoided their original route and instead took to the mountains.

They circled around the hills before returning home, adding three extra days to what should’ve been a four- or five-day journey.

Chang'an swore off going down the mountain again—it was exhausting.

Back home, neither the wolves nor the ox were around. The three wolves were probably out herding the ox.

The fields were overgrown with weeds, and the locks on both the valley gate and their house had been broken.

Had thieves broken in?

There wasn’t much to steal—the house was practically empty—but Old Gu Six had left behind a stash of copper coins from selling sweet potato vines.

Oh no. They’d forgotten to give Dazhu sweet potatoes and potatoes to plant.

Things not done deliberately were easy to overlook.

Chang'an watched as Old Gu Six rushed into the bedroom without even putting the mule in the shed. She hurried after him—was he hiding some treasure he was afraid of being stolen?

Inside, she saw him move a stone in the corner, then ask her for a small hoe. He crouched down and started digging carefully.

Curious, Chang'an approached. Before long, he unearthed a bag. When he shook off the dirt, the contents jingled.

No need to look—it was the copper coins.

Chang'an: "..."

Old Gu Six’s eyes sparkled as he checked the bag to confirm nothing was missing. Then, he prepared to bury it again.

Chang'an didn’t understand her father’s strange habit, but she respected it.

Was this some kind of male hobby?

In her past life, her grandfather had also loved hiding money from her grandmother. No matter how many times he got caught, he never stopped. She’d even swiped his stash a few times—there was no place he wouldn’t hide it.

Chang'an fetched a basin of water from her spatial storage to wipe away the dust. After nearly a year of neglect, the house was coated in thick grime.

Old Gu Six, having successfully hidden his secret stash, suddenly realized his daughter was watching.

His secret was out?

Chang'an: "You shouldn’t have asked me for the hoe. How could I not notice?"

He grinned sheepishly, scrambling for an excuse. "Just saving up for emergencies. If we ever run out of silver, these coins can still be useful."

"That’ll never happen. We have enough to last ten lifetimes," Chang'an retorted, cutting off his escape.

"Heh. Daughter, let me handle the cleaning. You go rest."

Chang'an twitched her lips, handed him the rag, and went to tidy her own room.

Luckily, the house wasn’t big, so cleaning didn’t take long. Once they retrieved daily necessities from the spatial storage, the place looked lived-in and orderly again.

With the valley gate’s latch broken, Old Gu Six had Chang'an bring out blacksmithing tools. He worked late into the night forging a new iron latch.

The silver wolf returned the next morning after searching the mountains for his mate and brother-in-law, bringing the ox back with him.

They didn’t ask about the break-in—even if they had, the wolves couldn’t explain in human language.

Once the house was in order, father and daughter went to weed the fields. They couldn’t wait until spring planting—better to clear the land now while winter kept the weeds from growing back.

But pulling weeds was tedious, so Chang'an simply brought out a plow and had Old Gu Six hitch it to the ox. Burying the weeds now meant they’d decompose into fertilizer by spring.

The mule was also put to work. Thankfully, the fields weren’t large, so the two of them finished in two days.

The cotton they’d planted last year must not have grown—there wasn’t even a root left. Unless thieves had uprooted everything?

Chang'an’s ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‍spatial storage already held a large stockpile of cotton. Two puppets tended the fields inside, where crops matured quickly—harvesting every month. The villa was now stacked with neatly arranged vegetables, watermelons, and potatoes.

Chestnuts and wild persimmons filled the basement storage. Had they spoiled?

They’d forgotten to buy rice seeds for planting in the spatial storage this trip, but wheat would do. Stockpiling more was never a bad idea.

Chang'an loved hoarding—the more she had, the safer she felt.

Her spatial storage still wasn’t big enough. She needed to upgrade it, but without finding the mysterious old man, she’d have to make do for now.

After plowing, they still needed firewood for winter. Father and daughter set out again, this time with the silver wolf. The other three wolves stayed behind to guard the house, herd the ox, and watch the mule.

Suddenly, Old Gu Six remembered his adoptive father and wife’s remains were still in Chang'an’s spatial storage.

"Daughter, bring out that chest with the old quilts," he said.

There were two large wooden chests filled with old quilts in the storage. Chang'an retrieved both and placed them in his room.

She assumed he needed the chests for storage—they had two new ones for clothes, while unused items like quilts were kept in the spatial storage.

That’s why their home looked so bare. A little tidying made it seem neat.

From one chest, Old Gu Six pulled out two tightly wrapped bundles and carried them into the mountains.

"Dad, what are you carrying?" Chang'an asked. They were just gathering firewood—why bring luggage?

"Your mother and grandfather," Old Gu Six replied casually.

Chang'an’s eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

Had this man dug up his father and wife’s graves?

"Your mother and grandfather. I brought them with us when we fled. Now I’m taking them back."

Well. That made sense.

Chang'an: "So they’ve been in my spatial storage all this time, and I’m only finding out now?"

Judging by Old Gu Six’s nonchalance, this might not be the first time he’d done this.

If this was the topic, he suddenly seemed very lively.

Back in the day, forget ordinary graves—he had raided no fewer than two imperial tombs.

During those lifetimes when his memories were sealed, the tools he used for his exploits were all looted from those royal burial grounds.