Why did you provoke me?

Yu Meng looked at the stones at her feet, bent down, and picked one up. Feeling around, she found it also had a thin layer of skin. She carefully peeled the entire skin off.

When I placed it in my palm, a strange thing happened: the skin slowly rolled up in my hand.

In the end, it turned into a round sphere.

Yu Meng picked up the ball, holding it at eye level. Its vibrant colors instantly captivated her.

Yu Meng looked at the stone at her feet, then at the small ball in her hand. She quietly put the ball into her pocket.

It's better to keep this unknown thing hidden.

Her little hand pressed against her coat pocket; her older sister had brought back quite a few things in the past two years. But none of them were like this. Maybe she could ask Dad to take some with him next time he went to town.

Looking at the green grass by the river, Yu Meng felt an urge to pinch it.

Yu Meng didn't make things difficult for herself. She stood up, went to the riverbank, and gently touched the grass blades. Just as she expected, she pinched back a thin layer of grass.

She still held the turf in her hand. A green ball then appeared in her palm.

A storm raged in Yu Meng's little mind: fish, moving things; grass, immobile things; stones, lifeless things. And the big tree in the corner of the yard. She could see a second face in everything.

Where was that person? Her heart pounded with dread. She closed her eyes, touched her other arm with one hand, pinched it, and pinched it again. Suddenly, she felt a sense of relief. Thank goodness, there wasn't another face.

Seeing Yu Meng standing by the river, Yu Hai hurriedly called out, "Little sister, stay away from the river."

Yu Meng obediently returned to the large rock. She muttered softly, "It's a bit chilly."

After sitting for a while, Yu Meng nimbly jumped off the rock, then touched it with her hand; it was warm.

He kicked it, "It's become a spirit."

Yu Hai didn't catch any fish today, but Xiao Hui did.

"Hai Zi, do you go to school? Is it fun?" Xiao Hui didn't go to school.

"It's alright, it's just that the characters are too difficult to write. I only managed to memorize a few characters in a whole day."

"Is your family going to send you to school too?" Yu Hai asked in return.

"Dad was thinking about it, but Grandpa said that he didn't go to school and he wasn't doing badly. So Dad was a little hesitant," Xiaohui said, explaining his family's decision.

Yu Hai said, "My younger sister is the smartest. She agreed to let me go, and I'll listen to her."

Xiao Hui, "How about I listen to your little sister and tell Dad I want to go to school?"

Yu Meng glanced at Xiao Hui; he was stupid too.

Yu Meng followed the two of them home.

When Yu Meng returned home after dinner, she finally heard something big.

Someone came to propose marriage to my older sister.

Yu Meng did the math; her eldest sister was exactly 12 years old this year. That seems a bit young, doesn't it?

"I know that child. He's two years older than our Dali, and he's quite robust," said Mr. Yu from the side.

"Let Yu Jun go and find out about their family situation, whether they are easy to get along with." The mother did not object, but instead asked her eldest son to find out the situation.

"Yes, that's what I think too. Our Dali is still young, a few more years won't be a problem," Dad agreed.

Suddenly, Dad lowered his voice. "I heard that a big guy has been found in town. Everyone knows he has a second face, but no one can peel it off. Now they've put a reward on him. I heard the reward is 1 yuan."

"How many do you think there are?" Mom's chopsticks fell onto the table.

"I felt the same way you did when I first heard it," Dad sighed. "The lives of the wealthy are unimaginable to us."

"We should really set our eldest son up with someone. We don't know if he's found someone after all these years away from home," Mom sighed.

"I've been saving all the money he's earned over the years. With our family contributing some, we should be able to get him a wife." Dad is optimistic. These days, isn't everyone like that?

Yu Meng ate her rice while listening silently. Ever since her father and older brother had that conversation in the yard, her older brother's attitude changed within a few days, and he became much nicer to her and her older sister.

At least every time her older brother comes back, he knows to bring her and her older sister some good food.

Of course, in the end, all the good food ended up in her stomach. Her older sister never competed with her for anything, and would even buy her lots of delicious food.

Yu Meng patted the contents of her pocket. If her older brother couldn't find a good wife, she would lend a hand. She knew that what was in her pocket was definitely more valuable than a second face bound with rope.

Days passed by like this. Every day, Yu Meng would go to the river with Yu Hai, and each time they would bring back two colorful beads and two green beads.

Gradually, both types of beads have filled two boxes.

Her mother didn't stop her when she saw her playing with the beads. She just assumed it was her own little hobby.

Just as her father finished packing and was about to leave for town, Yu Meng took a green bead out of the box and handed it to him. "Selling...it's expensive."

Dad held the green bead in his hand, looking at Yu Meng in surprise. "You're going to sell this? And it's very expensive."

Yu Meng nodded.

Dad put this green bead in a box by himself. "When Dad comes back, I'll give you all the money from selling this green bead. You can keep it yourself."

Yu Meng nodded again.

Mr. Yu arrived in town and found his usual shop. He handed over the fish-skin face masks he had been saving up.

"Old Yu, you've arrived a few days earlier than last time. Your daughter is really capable," the shop owner, Old Wei, praised with a smile.

"My daughter Dali is a hard worker. She works longer hours than others when she's working," Mr. Yu praised his daughter.

Boss Wei finished calculating the bill and handed it to Father Yu. "It's 40 silver coins in total. Here you go."

Mr. Yu took another box out of his pocket and handed it to Old Wei. "Could you help me see how much this is worth?"

Old Wei took the box and joked, "You've got some special stuff here. Old Yu, let me tell you, given our friendship, if you have anything else, you'd better come to me. The price I offer will be the highest in the whole town."

Mr. Yu nodded. "This is a small item I just acquired; could you give me an estimate?"

Old Wei placed the box on the counter and then carefully opened it. A green bead appeared before his eyes.

Old Wei wiped his hands repeatedly before carefully picking up the green bead. The bead was about the size of a longan, light green overall, with faint white markings in the center.

"Old Yu, I'll take all these beads, however many you have. Here's a gold coin for you."

"How is it?" Old Wei's voice trembled slightly.

Mr. Yu lowered his voice, his tone trembling, and asked, "Is it really that valuable?"

Old Wei realized he'd gotten a little carried away and coughed. "We're on good terms, so I'm offering the highest price. How about it? Are you selling this one?"

After a moment of silence, Mr. Yu said, "Our son wants to find a wife. Let's sell him, Lao Wei. You must keep this a secret."

"Okay, okay. Don't forget, Old Yu, if you have any more of this kind of stuff, be sure to sell it to me again, and I'll give you the same price." Old Wei quickly came to his senses, took out a gold coin and stuffed it into Yu's father's hand, then put the bead into his own pocket.

Old Wei's eagerness told Yu's father that these beads were very valuable. But his fourth son already had two large boxes of these beads.