A woman three years older is said to be a golden treasure, but can anyone truly hold on to three bars of gold?

“Eat fish, eat fish, eat fish!”
Du Ruo, holding two stones, walked home with the lively, hopping Ya Ya.
“You really are something, taking Ya Ya out in this heat. Aren’t you afraid she’ll get tanned?”
As soon as they entered, Du Ruo’s mother began to scold her.
“It’s fine. Kids grow faster with more sunlight. By the way, Mom, I’ll be staying at the guesthouse tonight, so you don’t need to make dinner for me.”
Du Ruo grinned as she carried the smoothly washed stones upstairs.
“Uncle, when are we eating fish?”
Ya Ya, her face being wiped by Du Ruo’s mother with a damp towel, anxiously called to Du Ruo, who was almost at the top of the stairs, afraid he’d forget his promise to her.
“I won’t forget your fish. Go wash your hands now; your mom will pick you up soon.”
Even on the second floor, Du Ruo could still hear the conversation between Ya Ya and her mother.
In her room, Du Ruo assumed a horse stance and decided to test the spindle-shaped stone.
Training with the tiger’s mouth stick required no special technique—just one movement: grasping the ends of the stone stick with both hands and rotating inward or outward. The horse stance was simply to strengthen her lower body at the same time.
Of course, for this kind of hard-style training, it was best to apply medicinal wine to the hands and joints beforehand to prevent injury, but since this was only a test, she skipped that step.
Du Ruo practiced for about ten minutes until her wrists began to swell, then stopped and placed the stone stick on the floor. She picked up the cone-shaped stone next.
Gripping didn’t require force or lifting; only three fingers needed to squeeze the stone. Its weight, unique shape, and polished surface made it impossible to lift barehanded.
The adhesive grip training in Nature School wasn’t limited to stone or iron cones; it included sandbags and urns as well, but for now, Du Ruo only needed the stone cone to strengthen her fingers.
The reason it was called “adhesive grip” was because it trained the fingers to be exceptionally strong. When sparring, if the fingers touched an opponent, they would stick like glue on paper, easily holding on. Mastery could reach the point of snapping tendons and breaking bones.
“With my current strength, I can still use the stone stick and cone, but I should soon switch to iron ones. It won’t be long before I need them.”
Du Ruo was satisfied with the results, though she knew such exercises required perseverance to be effective.

Du Ruo looked at the two tools on the floor, considering whether to move permanently to the guesthouse.
She’d need more equipment for future training, and staying at home would only worry her parents. After yesterday’s casual stride and branch-breaking, Ya Ya didn’t notice anything unusual, but her parents certainly did.
“Sigh, the standalone house over there is five hundred eighty-eight a day now, and soon it’ll double. If I stay there…”
The more Du Ruo thought, the more she felt it was a loss; off-season was nearly seventeen thousand, peak tourism season over thirty thousand a month. Though the calculation wasn’t so simple, the loss was real.
“Hey, little brother, come down for dinner!”
Just as Du Ruo was calculating the costs, her sister Du Na called from downstairs, probably to pick up Ya Ya for the town.
“Forget it for now. I’ll figure it out when I get there.”
Some things couldn’t be solved by thinking alone, so Du Ruo packed up and headed downstairs for dinner.
…
“Little brother, I’ll leave my car here for you. It’s always easier to have a car for whatever you need.”
At the table, Du Na asked about Du Ruo’s recent situation and the guesthouse’s business, then pushed a key from her bag toward him.
“You’re giving it to me? Don’t you need it?”
Du Ruo didn’t refuse, just asked.
“I’m the one who usually drives it. Your brother-in-law said he’d buy me a new one.”
Du Na laughed, her face full of happiness. She didn’t care about the new car; what touched her most was her husband’s immediate promise when she suggested giving her car to Du Ruo.
“Hehe, then I won’t be shy about it.”
Seeing Du Na’s smile, Du Ruo understood it was a joint decision and didn’t refuse again. He was used to driving outside, and having no car at home felt strange. If he hadn’t had so many expenses recently, he might have bought one himself already.
“It’s not entirely free. On Fridays, you’ll need to pick up Ya Ya from town and take her back on weekends.”
“No problem, no problem. Even without a car, if you asked me to pick up Ya Ya, I’d go.”

“Alright, here’s your first task: next Friday, Ya Ya’s kindergarten has an event. Both your brother-in-law and I will be busy, so you’ll need to go.”
Du Na was very pleased with Du Ruo’s attitude. She’d always been fond of her brother, and giving him instructions felt natural.
“Ya Ya’s not on break yet? I thought all the other schools were out! What kind of event is it? Don’t tell me I have to attend a parent meeting.”
“I think it’s some kind of school drill requiring parents’ cooperation. It’s a task from the school. You’ll find out when you get there. Ya Ya’s still in the senior class. Kindergarten lasts until the end of July, so she has another month.”
Du Na didn’t explain in detail, making it sound unimportant.
“Alright, just remind me with a call that day. Ya Ya, how many teachers do you have? Are they pretty? Introduce them to your uncle.”
Du Ruo agreed, confident he could handle a kindergarten event, and jokingly turned to Ya Ya.
“Three teachers. Teacher Zhang has a child, Teacher Li has a boyfriend, but our life teacher is still single. Should I get her contact info for you, uncle?”
Ya Ya didn’t realize Du Ruo was joking and answered seriously, perhaps because today’s fish was especially delicious.
“Little brother, Ya Ya’s life teacher is forty this year. ‘A woman three years older is a golden brick.’ I wonder if you can carry three golden bricks.”
Du Na teased, glancing at Du Ruo. She knew better than anyone that he seemed unconcerned about finding a partner, but actually had high standards—hence his continued single status.
“Ahem, well, just joking. You all eat, I’ll go upstairs and tidy up. Sis, let me know when you’re leaving, I’ll drive you home.”
Du Ruo quickly put down his chopsticks and grabbed the car key, heading upstairs before his mother took the conversation seriously.
“No need. Your brother-in-law will pick us up later. Ya Ya will have dinner at her grandparents’ tonight.”
Du Na waved her hand, telling him not to worry about them.