The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter-Chapter 149

Old Gu Six thought Chang'an's suggestion was quite good—they were supposed to be living a secluded, leisurely retirement life, so why were they working as hard as oxen? It made no sense.

So, he pulled all four of the farming puppets out of their spatial realm where they had been tending the fields.

Chang'an brought out all the seeds and set them aside, then explained how the land should be divided: "Plant the sweet potatoes behind the house, the potatoes on the opposite hillside, the corn along the fence, and the vegetable plot can be used for whatever greens you like."

After delegating the tasks, the father-daughter pair went home to drink tea and laze around, leaving the four bewildered puppets to continue working.

In the courtyard, Chang'an asked Old Gu Six, "Dad, don’t you think we should give them names?"

After a moment of thought, he replied, "How about Big One, Big Two, Big Three, and Big Four?"

Chang'an: Perfect, now we’ve got an entire university out here farming.

"Care to reconsider?"

"Little One, Little Two, Little Three, Little Four?"

"Never mind, the first set sounds better."

The four puppets were seasoned farmers. They leveled the soil and skipped the fertilizing step since there was none available, proceeding straight to planting.

Old Gu Six figured they could just water the crops with spiritual spring water later—it would make them grow fast and hard to kill.

While they were busy with spring planting, construction in the nearby town had already begun.

Eager to earn high wages, the able-bodied men from the mountains had left their spring farming duties behind and come down to work. The women and children took over the farming at home. Since they were used to fieldwork, it wasn’t too strenuous, just more time-consuming.

When the laborers heard from Second Jiang that a private school would be established in the town later, they grew even more excited. They could save up to send their sons to study and learn to read.

Who wouldn’t want their children to have a brighter future? Even if they couldn’t take the imperial exams, knowing how to read would help them find better work in town—far more promising than struggling with the meager mountain fields.

Some had even been considering moving down the mountain now that the outside world was more stable. But seeing how things were progressing, staying put didn’t seem like a bad idea. In fact, people might soon be clamoring to move up instead.

The temple being built on the mountain was massive—Second Jiang’s family was clearly loaded, letting him splurge like this.

The workers were thrilled with their high wages, and Second Jiang was equally pleased with the rapid progress of the town’s construction.

See? There’s no problem money can’t solve—if there is, you’re just not spending enough.

Compared to the bustling outside world, the valley felt eerily quiet.

Thanks ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‍to the puppets handling the farming, the father and daughter had an easy spring season.

With time to spare, they often went beachcombing or checked their fish traps. Little by little, they managed to stockpile quite a few shrimp.

Only once had a hapless clam gotten caught in the trap, and after that, none ever appeared again.

That clam must have gone back and warned its friends: "Stay away, there’s a trap!"

"Sweetie, just wait on the boat. I’ll go catch that runaway clam for you."

Clam: Thanks a lot. It’s been ages, and you’re still coming after me?

Chang'an dangled her short legs over the side of the boat and waved. "Hurry back, Dad."

With a splash, Old Gu Six dove into the sea and vanished beneath the waves.

She stared at the spot where he’d disappeared, patiently waiting for him to return with the fugitive clam—and hopefully some pink pearls.

Though summer hadn’t officially arrived, the sun was already scorching. But with the sea breeze, sitting at the bow didn’t feel too bad.

Before her dad returned, something else caught her attention: a pitch-black coffin drifting downstream with the current.

"See a coffin, get rich"—her dad was bound to catch that clam. But Chang'an ignored the dark object, letting it float past.

Except it didn’t. It stopped right in front of her. Now what?

Should she open it?

Maybe it had been dug up from the construction site. How irresponsible—couldn’t they have reburied it somewhere else?

After gauging the distance, Chang'an gave up on the idea. She didn’t want to get in the water. If it insisted on staying, fine—they could wait together.

Her dad could deal with it when he got back. But just so it knew: "You chose to stay. Don’t blame us if we raid your secret stash."

Her dad, Old Gu Six, would strip it clean down to the last thread. "Last chance—leave now if you know what’s good for you."

Thinking of her mother, buried in the valley without a coffin, Chang'an smirked. "Heh, we’re not just taking your savings—we’re taking your whole house."

She waited on the boat for two hours, munching on grilled shrimp when hunger struck.

By the time the sun began to set, Old Gu Six finally resurfaced.

Watching him emerge, Chang'an suddenly realized something: how had her dad stayed underwater for two hours without drowning?

Distracted, she absentmindedly chewed on a shrimp.

Old Gu Six had barely surfaced when he noticed the dark object blocking his way. He pushed it aside, then, recognizing what it was, pulled it back and started swimming toward shore with it in tow.

He was about to call Chang'an to the beach when he saw her staring blankly at him, lost in thought.

"Sweetie?"

...

"Sweetie?"

...

"SWEETIE!"

The shout startled her, and the shrimp in her hand slipped into the sea.

Old Gu Six let go of the coffin, lunged forward, and caught it midair. Seeing it was just one shrimp, he popped it into his mouth.

"What’s on your mind, kiddo? You zoned out hard."

"Dad, how did you stay underwater so long? Don’t you need to breathe?"

"Ah, that’s a long story," he said, effortlessly vaulting onto the floating coffin and sitting cross-legged.

"Go on, I’m listening," Chang'an replied, feigning fascination.

Old Gu Six cleared his throat dramatically. "Well, the truth is… I’m not human."

"Wow, really? Then what are you?" She played along, widening her eyes in mock surprise.

"Remember when you asked if I knew any other dragons? I am that dragon."

Beneath his playful tone was genuine tension as he watched for her reaction.

But Chang'an just laughed, thinking it was another of his jokes. "Oh, you’re sooo impressive."

If he’d claimed to be the Pig from Journey to the West, she might’ve believed him. But a majestic, awe-inspiring dragon? No way. She refused to believe any self-respecting dragon could be this ridiculous—directionally challenged, gluttonous, and prone to mischief.

The list of flaws was too long to detail. Since her dad wanted to believe he was a dragon, she’d humor him. What mattered was that he was safe.

Seeing her skepticism, Old Gu Six grumbled inwardly, Just wait till I transform—your jaw’s gonna drop.

"Come on, let’s head back," he said, dragging the coffin ashore.

Chang'an stood up, stomping her feet to shake off the numbness from sitting too long. The small boat rocked as she hurried toward the bow.

Old Gu Six hauled the coffin onto the beach with one hand, then wrung out his soaked clothes, feeling like a salt-cured fish fresh out of the brine.

"Sweetie, wait here. I’ll duck into the spatial realm to clean up and change."

"Go on, go ahead," Chang'an waved dismissively, her gaze fixed on the coffin.

Once Old Gu Six's father had stepped into the space, she pulled out a flat-headed iron bar, ready to pry open the coffin.

The lid was secured with nails driven deep, making them nearly impossible to remove without specialized tools. Determined, she decided to force it open with sheer strength.

Her plan was to tidy up the coffin and repurpose it for her mother’s use, so she worked carefully, avoiding any reckless destruction as she pried.

The coffin creaked and groaned under her efforts, the sound of wood straining loud in the quiet.

By the time Old Gu Six had changed his clothes and returned, he found his daughter utterly absorbed in the act of prying open someone else’s coffin.

With her sweet, innocent face, she looked the picture of harmless charm—yet here she was, committing such an unscrupulous deed.