The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter-Chapter 160

"Auntie, I have some grain seeds and cotton seeds here. Do you think I could trade them for a few peach trees?"

Old Gu Six took out sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cotton seeds to show Li's Mother.

Seeing her hesitate at the sight of the sweet potatoes and potatoes,

Old Gu Six then pulled a roasted sweet potato from his basket, broke it in half, and offered her a piece.

Li's Mother's eyes lit up after tasting the roasted sweet potato, and she immediately agreed to trade the fruit trees. After all, fruit could be eaten but didn’t fill the stomach—having grain was far better.

Taxes were paid in rice, but other grains didn’t need to be handed over. With more stored food, they wouldn’t have to rely on these fruit trees for survival.

"Auntie, two sweet potatoes and two potatoes for one peach tree, and a handful of cotton seeds for one plum tree—does that sound fair?"

"Of course! If you like, you can take them all," Li's Mother replied. Trading fruit trees for grain seeds was a great deal.

They didn’t take all the trees, though—just five peach trees and two plum trees.

Then, Old Gu Six carefully taught Li's Mother how to plant sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Li's Mother listened attentively and double-checked, "So, next year, we plant the sweet potato seeds first, wait for the vines to grow, then cut and replant the vines.

And for potatoes, we let them sprout first, cut them into pieces with the sprouts, coat them in wood ash, and then plant them?"

"That’s right. But before that, you must store them properly—don’t let the seeds freeze in winter or get eaten by mice. As for the cotton seeds, start them as seedlings before transplanting."

After giving detailed instructions, Old Gu Six carried the dug-up trees one by one out of the village and placed them on the opposite mountain.

Then he went to the old woman’s house and traded for three more peach trees in the same way.

Other villagers, seeing the cotton seeds, wanted to exchange their peach trees for them, and the father-daughter pair agreed.

However, apart from Li's Mother and the old woman, no one else traded for sweet potatoes or potatoes, unsure if they could grow successfully.

They decided to wait until next year to see how Li's family and the old woman’s crops turned out. If the seeds worked, they could always trade with Old Gu Six later or buy some from those two households.

Old Gu Six didn’t trade all the seeds in his basket. In total, they exchanged for twenty peach trees and two plum trees.

"Dad, twenty is enough."

"Mm, enough to cover the hillside by our door."

On the mountain opposite Li Village, Old Gu Six stored all the trees in his spatial storage.

Planting trees now wouldn’t normally work, but he wasn’t like others.

Their valley was quite a distance from Li Village—it took three days of walking through the mountains to return.

The father-daughter pair, along with six puppets, diligently planted the peach trees in the valley. The carefree Chang'an didn’t question whether planting peach trees in autumn would work.

To her, trees were easier to grow than crops—just stick them in the ground, and they’d survive.

What she didn’t know was that the reason they thrived was because her dear father watered them with spiritual spring water.

The twenty traded peach trees, plus two they found in the mountains, were all planted around the house.

A grove of peach trees encircled the home, and Chang'an eagerly looked forward to the sight of blossoms covering the branches come spring.

The two plum trees were planted in the yard. Except for the vegetable patch, the rest of the courtyard was paved with bricks, making the home feel more proper in Chang'an’s eyes.

Maybe it was the neat and tidy appearance that made it more pleasing.

Old Gu Six made two fishing rods, and the father-daughter pair spent their days idly fishing in the small river below the hillside.

They didn’t even bother with bait—fishing was more about hoping the fish would bite on their own.

It never occurred to them whether this little mountain stream even had fish.

The two wore hats woven from leafy branches, the vibrant green nearly blinding the puppets and four wolves.

Such eccentric characters were a first for them, and they’d rather not be associated—even the thickest skin couldn’t withstand this level of absurdity.

After seven or eight days of fishing, not a single scale was caught. The father-daughter pair had fished up nothing but disappointment.

Giving up, they placed two rocking chairs under the eaves of their house, set out snacks on the tea table, and each sipped freshly brewed milk tea made by Chang'an.

Eating snacks, drinking tea, and lazing around while enjoying the view—life couldn’t be more leisurely.

Half a year passed in this carefree manner. Then, one spring night, a thunderstorm struck.

Torrents of floodwater rushed down the mountains. Fortunately, they had chosen a high location. The river below swelled rapidly, nearly reaching their peach grove.

The two got up to check, relieved to see the water level still separated from them by the trees.

The last thing they wanted was their newly built home getting flooded—that would be truly disheartening.

"Lower-lying villages might suffer this time," Old Gu Six murmured, his brow furrowed. This kind of downpour could easily trigger landslides.

"Chang'an, go back to bed. I’ll check around the house."

With that, he hurried out into the rain. An umbrella wouldn’t have helped anyway.

Chang'an didn’t return to sleep. She waited by the main hall door for her father.

Outside, Old Gu Six picked up some stones and walked a full circle around the peach grove and house, placing differently sized rocks at key points.

As the last large stone was set outside the courtyard wall, space twisted once more—their house vanished from the valley without a trace.

Of course, Chang'an at home noticed nothing amiss. Everything appeared normal to her, unaware that her father, Old Gu Six, had set up protective formations around the house.

Old Gu Six had only just remembered he could use formations to shield their home. Had he thought of it earlier, even that little valley by the sea could have been hidden from sight with such magic. Wouldn’t that have saved them the trouble of moving? He mused that this was something his daughter must never find out—otherwise, she’d surely tease him again for being an old, useless man.

The rain poured as if the sky had split open, and Chang'an had no reason to venture outside. Once the skies cleared, he’d simply remove the formations, and she’d likely remain none the wiser.

Down the mountain, villagers fleeing the disaster might seek refuge in the hills. He wasn’t sure if they’d stumble upon this valley, but it was better to take precautions.

They had worked too hard to build this home—it couldn’t afford to be ruined by outsiders.

Villagers escaping calamity would likely have little food. With just him and his daughter, they’d appear vulnerable, easy targets for desperate souls looking to rob them.

Better to stay hidden. Constantly fighting wasn’t sustainable, and their accumulated virtue was too precious to waste.

By the next day, the rain showed no sign of relenting, just as Old Gu Six had predicted. Lower-lying villages were swallowed by floods, while landslides buried two settlements, leaving many dead or injured.

Villagers fled to higher ground, those with food supplies heading deeper into the mountains, hoping to resettle elsewhere.

The floods had made one thing clear—their village was too low-lying. Perhaps it was time to find a new home.

Their resilience was admirable; they knew wailing wouldn’t solve anything. Survival came first.

Liangzhou County was devastated. Prince Qi worked through the night, drafting a report to the capital, dispatched by couriers braving the storm.

The torrential downpour lasted seven days and nights, chilling the people of Liangzhou County to the bone.

Even when the heavy rain finally eased, a persistent drizzle lingered.

Prince Qi set up porridge stations at the city gates to aid refugees, along with makeshift shelters for temporary housing.

Meanwhile, intruders did stumble into Chang'an’s valley, only to be deterred by the raging river.

Suddenly, she remembered her father’s claim of not being human. "Dad, didn’t you say you were a dragon? Go stop this rain already. Show me what you’ve got!"

She clapped her hands twice, eyes wide with mock sincerity as she stared at Old Gu Six.

He scowled, turning his back to her as he gnawed on an ear of corn.