"Can we get a ride to the town, Captain? Maybe you can give us a lift?" asked one tall, fair-skinned young woman with a pointed face, wearing a cotton blouse.
Tom felt both annoyed and sighed inwardly. These were enthusiastic city youths sent to the countryside, full of energy at first, but complaining once work got hard.
The village couldn't just support them without expecting anything in return. They had to work to feed themselves, but the village couldn't let them starve either. Normally, they'd fish three days and dry nets two days.
Tom wasn't their father; he couldn't manage them too closely. "Get on. I'll give you a ride to the town this time, but don't expect a return ride. The road's short; you can come back on your own."
The two female educated youths happily got on the cart and, upon seeing a three-year-old child, paused briefly. They forced a polite, "Auntie" smile and asked, "Little brother, where are you going with the Captain?"
In their minds, they remembered the village gossip—they had heard that the Captain had seven daughters and a mentally challenged son.
The villagers said many things. They had never seen this child, although the Captain's older working daughters had. The young women lived in the youth education dormitory at the edge of the village. When necessary, they would go to the village committee or the Captain's house.
They had seen the Captain's gray-brick tiled house, which was large but not unique—other village houses were similar or even larger, like the village assembly hall.
Tanner (the child) immediately recognized their small talk as idle gossip typical of middle-aged women. Although he had little formal education in his past life, he understood social dynamics. He decided to remain silent, thinking: You ask all you want, but I won't give anything away. Just because I'm small doesn't mean you can spy on my family.
The cart was spacious, so the two women weren't crowded and sat facing each other. The cart had removable wooden benches for people, which could be folded when transporting goods—simple yet clever design.
The first young woman wore cotton shoes and a cotton blouse. The other had an oval face, slightly waxy skin, a somewhat worn white polyester shirt, and black pants. The latter whispered to the first:
"I heard the Captain's son is mentally challenged. Look at him—he doesn't speak at all, already three years old. This must be true!"
"Don't speak so loudly, or the Captain will hear and throw you off the cart. Then everyone in the village will laugh at you!" the first whispered back.
They spoke quietly, thinking Tanner couldn't hear them, all while wearing polite, fake smiles.
Tanner rolled his eyes. Arguing with these two thoughtless fools was a waste of energy; he had no connection with them and was just passing through.
He decided to ignore them—they seemed to be asking for trouble anyway.
"Dad, what does 'mentally challenged' mean? Who are they talking about?"
Tom was driving ahead, dust blowing across his face. He wore a hat to shield himself and thought: these city youths had never seen his son before; they wouldn't dare bully him in his presence. That's why he let them get on the cart.
Hearing Tanner's question, Tom was furious inside but stayed silent. The cart was nearly at the town; ejecting them now would look bad.
Tanner's words stunned the two whispering young women. They had openly spoken gossip about a child, assuming he was mentally challenged. Now, the child's clear and direct question confronted them, exposing their rudeness and making them realize their mistake.
---
If the gossip was true and the child was really "mentally challenged," could a three-year-old so clearly report back what was said? They had spoken so quietly, face-to-face, with the clattering of the cart's hooves—how could he have heard it? Was he some kind of superhuman with perfect hearing?
The two young female educated youths turned bright red. They had never faced a child they assumed to be mentally challenged, only to have him ask back with such clarity—it made them want to disappear!
"I'm sorry, little brother, we didn't mean it!"
Ashamed, the two girls immediately realized that they were working under the Captain's authority; offending his family could lead to trouble.
"It's fine. No need to apologize. I was just asking my dad. I don't even know what 'mentally challenged' means!"
Tanner added slyly, making the girls even more embarrassed. They lowered their heads and stayed silent.
By the time the cart reached the town's outskirts, the two girls scrambled off in embarrassment, keeping their heads down under the Captain's stern gaze.
Previously, they had thought the Captain was handsome and that it was a pity he had married a local woman. They also knew he had family in the provincial city and that others had their own agendas, especially since his nephews were off serving in the military.
But today, encountering him and his son, they had thought they didn't need to curry favor with a small child, only to unintentionally offend both father and son. They didn't know if they would face a "cold shoulder" in the future.
Tom first drove the cart to a rented warehouse. He had given the key to his second brother-in-law so that all the purchased goods could be stored there.
He parked at the warehouse, opened the door, and let Tanner go inside while he stood guard. One reason was to prevent theft of the cart; another was to prevent prying eyes.
Inside, the warehouse contained mostly rice, wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, peanut oil, some flawed cloth, and other daily necessities.
Tanner categorized everything into the Buddha Tower space. Even after storing so much, it still wasn't full.
Another room appeared in the space for the daily necessities. The grain room, as more and more food was stored, expanded to twice its original size.
Tanner realized the rule of the space: the more items he put in, and the more types of categories, the more rooms would appear.
He wondered: if he placed beds or desks, would bookshelves and his stored gold, silver, and jewels create another separate room?
This was undoubtedly a magic treasure bag, capable of holding more and more.
How big could this space eventually become?
Another of Tanner's spaces had also grown slightly. It was now about the size of a room but still didn't have plantable land. Perhaps he hadn't earned enough "likes" yet to unlock it fully.
The spirit of the space would appear daily, urging him to work harder and level up.
Tanner thought: I've already worked hard enough. Now, apart from my family, no one dares approach me. Those who do have other motives.
Just like earlier, when my father kindly gave a ride, all that remained for father and son was the gossip-induced anger of others.
Tanner stored everything from the warehouse into the space, then stepped outside. His little legs moved quickly, his heart full of joy, humming a tune in his mind—he felt like singing, "Congratulations on getting rich!"
(End of Chapter)