As Chen Ping'an approached the stone bridge, he gulped nervously and was rather hesitant about continuing onward. After some internal conflict, he decided to follow the creek, and upon reaching the narrowest part of the creek, he performed a run-up, then vaulted himself over the creek before making his way toward the Azure Cow Ridge. 

Unbeknownst to him, his decision to take the long route had resulted in him missing Ruan Xiu, who was on her way to the blacksmith shop, rushing over the stone bridge while holding a flagon of spring peach blossom wine. 

This time, as she was walking past the pastry shop on Dragon Riding Alley, she had lowered her head and hurried past for fear of being tempted by the array of delectable pastries. She was going to begin saving up a private stash of money, and she couldn't afford to splurge on those pastries.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping'an paid a visit to Liu Xianyang's house. He carried an oil lamp as he made his way throughout all of the rooms in the house, and only after confirming that nothing was missing did he snuff out the oil lamp before departing and returning to Clay Vase Alley. 

While passing by the old house with the hole in the roof, Chen Ping'an heaved an internal sigh of relief. There was still a burden on his shoulders, but it was already far lighter than when he left Clay Vase Alley on the way to the blacksmith shop. A smile involuntarily crept onto his face as he thought about how good it felt to finally have some money in his pocket.

Throughout his entire life thus far, Chen Ping'an had only ever seen pieces of scrap silver. He had never seen an ingot of silver before, and he had certainly never seen any gold.

Upon returning to his house, he opened the door, then rushed back out into the yard to ensure that the yard gate had been bolted shut properly. After returning...