A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

Gu Da'an grabbed the rusty iron box with both hands and pulled it out of the mud.

The whole family gathered around, and Gu Jianguo took out a flashlight and shone it on the metal box.

Only then did I notice the rust on it and the mud and sand in the crevices.

There are some strange symbols on it, probably because they've rusted and are hard to read.

"What is this? What kind of scribbling is on it?"

Su Xiulan asked in confusion, "How could there be such a thing in the cave? It feels eerie and abnormal."

Gu Da'an stared wide-eyed, and after a long while, muttered, "Engineer... engineer's data?"

Gu Jianguo's heart skipped a beat. Engineer's files? How did they end up in this cave?

Could someone have been here before and hidden something in the water?

He pointed to the tin box; it was quite heavy.

It seems the other party put in a lot of effort; the seal is quite good. Otherwise, after soaking in water for so long, the contents would have spoiled long ago.

"What's this good stuff, Dad? Is it a gold ingot?" Gu Xiaoan came closer, her eyes practically sparkling.

Nuannuan also stretched out her little hand and poked the tin box, feeling its cool and refreshing texture.

Gu Jianguo didn't speak. He found a stone and carefully pried open the wire wrapped around the tin box. The lid of the tin box was stuck tightly with rust, and it took him a lot of effort to slowly open it.

With a creak.

A smell of earth and rust wafted towards us.

There was no gold or silver treasure inside, nor any glittering gold ingots.

Inside the box, the contents were wrapped in layers of oil paper. The oil paper was wrapped very tightly, showing that the person who placed the box was very careful.

Gu Jianguo carefully peeled off the oil paper. One layer, two layers, three layers... a total of five layers of oil paper.

Finally, what was inside was revealed.

It was a thick stack of yellowed drawings, and a similarly yellowed notebook.

The drawings were covered with dense lines and symbols, making them incomprehensible.

Su Xiulan's heart skipped a beat, and a hint of disappointment flashed across her face. She had originally thought it would be something valuable, but it turned out to be these pieces of paper that she couldn't understand.

Gu Xiaoan was also a little disappointed, pouting, "It's not a gold ingot..."

Gu Jianguo picked up the blueprints and examined them carefully. He couldn't understand them, but Gu Da'an suddenly leaned over, picked up a blueprint, ran his finger across it, and mumbled something. His usually expressionless eyes suddenly lit up.

He perked up, flipping through the blueprints one by one, occasionally pointing to the symbols and muttering words like, "coal seam...geology...exploration..."

Gu Jianguo was startled. The fact that Da'an could recognize these meant that these blueprints were definitely not ordinary. They were likely related to the geological resources of the area. He thought of how highly the military commander valued Da'an; perhaps these blueprints would indeed come in handy in the future.

He handed the blueprints and notes to Gu Da'an, telling him to keep them safe. Da'an took the blueprints, carefully cradling them in his arms as if they were precious treasures.

Gu Jianguo turned the tin box upside down to make sure nothing was missing. Just then, his fingers touched a protrusion on the bottom of the box.

"what?"

He pressed hard, and surprisingly, he managed to pry open a crack in the bottom plate. It turned out there was a hidden compartment at the bottom of the metal box!

A thought struck him, and with another burst of strength, he finally managed to open the interlayer.

There was no oil paper wrapping inside; instead, two items were directly exposed.

Two gold bars, and a finely crafted German-made dagger.

The gold bars were shiny and the dagger's hilt was engraved with intricate patterns. The blade was a bit black, but the craftsmanship was still evident.

"My God!" Su Xiulan was so frightened that she took a step back and held her breath.

Gu Xiaoan's mouth gaped open, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "Gold bars? Gold bars?!"

Gu Jianguo's heart skipped a beat, his hands trembled as he picked up the gold bar, feeling its weight and its icy touch.

A perfectly sealed box, gold bars, a German-made dagger, and Russian engineers' documents.

"It's probably left behind by the old survey team!" His voice was hoarse. These days, hoarding gold bars is a serious crime, at the very least punishable by detention, and if it's taken too seriously, it can lead to jail time.

Su Xiulan was also terrified, her face turning deathly pale. She tugged at Gu Jianguo's sleeve and whispered, "Honey, we can't keep this thing. Shouldn't we hand it over?"

She trembled with fear. Their good days had just begun; she couldn't afford to cause any more trouble because of this gold bar.

Gu Jianguo held the gold bars in his hand, his mind in turmoil. Should he hand them over? He had considered it. But these two gold bars were no small sum. If he really handed them over, he probably wouldn't even get a commendation, and might even attract countless questions. At that time, all of their family's secrets would likely be unearthed.

He considered Commander Gao's words; the military would never mistreat talented individuals. Da'an's information might be helpful to the country in the future, but these gold bars…

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Let Da'an keep the blueprints and documents," Gu Jianguo said, looking at Gu Da'an, who was carefully handling the stack of blueprints. "The army might need them later. Let's keep the gold bars for Nuannuan."

"For Nuannuan?" Su Xiulan was taken aback.

"Yes, give it to Nuannuan." Gu Jianguo made up his mind. "Nuannuan is our family's lucky star. This... will be her private savings. No one can tell anyone. It will stay a secret between us."

Gu Jianguo knew that Nuannuan harbored a great secret: she could find the spiritual spring water, make plants grow, and make animals obey her; now she had found this iron box and gold bars. He believed the gold bars were Nuannuan's good fortune. He also believed that as long as they were hidden well, no one would discover them.

The whole family knew that this matter must never be mentioned to outsiders. It was their family secret, and also Nuannuan's secret.

When Nuannuan heard her father say he was going to give her gold bars, she reached out her little hand and grabbed one. The gold bar was cool to the touch, but she felt warm inside. She whispered, "Thank you, Daddy."

She knew that her father was doing it to protect her.

With the sense of crisis averted, the family felt more at ease. Gu Jianguo carefully put away the gold bars and the dagger; he knew the dagger was also a valuable item and might come in handy later.

This cave is now truly their family's treasure trove.

Gu Jianguo looked at the cave and began to make plans in his mind.

This cave is very large. It's warm in winter and cool in summer, and there's even a hot spring inside. A place like this would be wonderful if it were put to good use.

Nuannuan squatted by the hot spring pool, her little fingers playfully poking at the small fish in the water. The water in the pool, because it rarely gets sunlight, was exceptionally clear. The little fish swam around lively in the water.

She suddenly turned around, a sweet, innocent smile on her face, and said to Gu Jianguo, "Daddy, let's grow vegetables! We'll sell them in the winter!"

When she said that, the whole family was stunned.

"Growing vegetables?" Su Xiulan asked, somewhat puzzled.

Gu Xiaoan's mind worked quickly, and he immediately understood what Nuannuan meant.

"That's right!" he exclaimed excitedly, slapping his thigh. "The water's so warm, we can grow vegetables even in winter! And the temperature inside the hole is constant, and the humidity is high, so they'll definitely grow well!"

He became increasingly excited as he spoke: "Let's keep all those blueprints safe and hide the gold bars. We can't let this cave go to waste!"

Gu Xiaoan was quick-witted; he had already thought of it.

In winter, it's freezing cold outside, and vegetables are scarce. If they could grow fresh vegetables in the caves, they could definitely sell them for a high price!

"If this were taken to the black market... no, to the town's supply and marketing cooperative, it would definitely be a hot commodity!" Gu Xiaoan became more and more excited as she spoke.

Gu Jianguo and Su Xiulan also realized what was happening.

Yes! That's an absolutely brilliant idea!

Growing vegetables in winter is unheard of. They're family-oriented; how rare would it be for them to produce fresh vegetables in winter?

Su Xiulan was overjoyed. She thought about her own Nuannuan's skills, combined with the advantages of this cave—it was practically a gift from heaven!

"Then let's do it this way! We'll grow vegetables in the cave!" Gu Jianguo made the decision.

Looking into the depths of the cave, Gu Jianguo felt a surge of excitement. With this cave, the Gu family's future was sure to be brighter and brighter!

Seeing her family's happy faces, Nuannuan's little face also lit up with a smile. She knew she wasn't a little jinx, she was a little lucky charm!

She poured some more spiritual spring water into the hot spring.

The fish in the pond swam even faster, and the water plants became even greener and brighter.