Inside the bag, the so-called "private money" amounted to a full 12 Silver Snakes.
He had learned about the local currency system from his memories. While it couldn't be called a fortune, it was definitely a substantial amount.
One Silver Snake could generally be exchanged for 200 Copper Swallows. This rate could fluctuate slightly depending on the situation, but the variation typically didn't exceed ten Copper Swallows.
A kilogram of ordinary bread, the staple food for the island's residents, cost 1 Copper Swallow.
An adult's daily food intake was roughly that amount.
A regular Sailor's Long Saber on this island cost over 100 Copper Swallows.
A qualified carpenter earned a little more than five Silver Snakes a year.
This meant the private money he now held was equivalent to two years' salary for a carpenter.
For an ordinary family, having their child become a carpenter was a good choice.
The father in his memories was roughly at this level, perhaps a bit better, but not by much.
Two years' salary worth of "private money"?
Is there really no problem?
With so much money, how had Father avoided being beaten to death by Mother back then?
"Oh, my goodness, little Alka, what are you doing?"
Just then, a woman in a linen shirt and a somewhat faded yellow apron stood at the entrance of the courtyard.
Seeing Alka's actions, she hurriedly walked over.
She forcefully patted the dust off him, then held his head with both hands, carefully inspecting him from top to bottom.
"You've just recovered from an illness; you should be resting well in bed. There's no treasure for you to dig up at home, my little Treasure Hunter."
Alka responded with a somewhat embarrassed smile.
For the past few days, Alka had been feigning illness and staying in bed, trying to recall all the memories of the body's original owner without giving himself away. He did his best to avoid excessive interaction with old acquaintances.
The woman before him was his neighbor, who seemed to have been very close to his mother and was considered almost a relative.
While he feigned illness, she had been the most frequent visitor and showed the most concern for Alka.
Caught red-handed!
His mind raced.
Alka quickly said, smiling somewhat sheepishly, "Aunt Macy, I just remembered that my father left some money for me here."
"Alright, alright. Then congratulations, you've dug up treasure again," Aunt Macy said, her tone slightly perfunctory.
She picked up the dirt-covered Gold Coin Bag from his hand, then grabbed Alka's shoulder and pushed him toward his room.
She muttered constantly, "But now, you should be lying in bed and getting some proper rest."
She's so strong!
Alka, completely unable to resist, was pushed into the room.
He could only sit helplessly on the edge of the bed.
Aunt Macy patted the Gold Coin Bag in her hand, brushing off nearly all the dirt. Only when it looked relatively clean did she nod in satisfaction.
She placed the Gold Coin Bag on the bedside table.
None of her actions escaped Alka's sight.
"Your father finally did something decent, leaving you a respectable sum."
When she had picked up the Gold Coin Bag, she had already discerned the approximate number of Silver Coins inside by its weight and the sound of them clinking together.
This was also why Alka had mentioned it outright; the amount of money wasn't enough to incite serious greed.
There wasn't much need to be secretive about it.
Aunt Macy went to the kitchen area on one side of the room; the stone house's kitchen had an open layout.
"With this money, you'll have enough to learn a trade. Stonemasonry or carpentry would both be good choices. Hans and Toma are quite skilled too."
"You could even consider going off-island to learn cooking. The food at the tavern is terrible... though, going off-island..."
Her voice carried over, rambling on, accompanied by the sounds of her starting to cook.
"If you don't like any of that, you can take up farming. We're still tending to the two fields your mother left you."
"With this money, you could buy two more plots. The annual harvest of golden wheat would be enough to live on."
"All thanks to the Stone Mother's protection."
Upon hearing this, Alka, who hadn't spoken for a while, quickly replied, "Thanks to the Stone Mother's protection."
This response was almost instinctive.
However, Alka's silence gradually stopped Aunt Macy's chatter.
While washing vegetables, she turned her head to glance at Alka, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
With an unreadable emotion in her voice, she said, "I know your dream has always been to become a Treasure Hunter at sea, but you need to understand that the sea is too dangerous, and being a so-called Treasure Hunter is even more so."
"Pirates, storms, Sea Monsters—all these can easily take your life."
"If anything happened to you, your mother's spirit wouldn't rest in peace, and neither would that accursed father of yours."
After she spoke, the room fell silent.
Only the occasional sounds of cooking broke the silence.
In Alka's memories, his parents had disappeared when he was about ten years old.
Though their bodies were never found, not long after, Aunt Macy declared his parents dead.
All the islanders said the same.
Since then, although he lived alone, Aunt Macy from next door had essentially become his second mother.
In his memories, he was somewhat afraid of her.
Aunt Macy was not a small woman; it was said that even several grown men were no match for her.
Alka, accustomed to his originally gentle mother, could well imagine the kind of punishment his mischievous behavior back then would have invited from Aunt Macy.
However, through his memories, Alka understood.
Aunt Macy truly was a good person.
Just a tiny bit violent.
Yes, really just a tiny bit.
At dusk, Aunt Macy brought the prepared dishes to the table.
"Hurry up and eat. Siegert will be back soon, and I still need to go home and make dinner for those two."
She said, wiping her hands on her apron. Without waiting for Alka's reply, she pushed open the wooden door.
Then, pausing by the wooden door, she turned her head and said, "Rest well again tonight. If you feel fine tomorrow, then you can go on your little treasure hunt, alright?"
Her tone carried a hint of seriousness.
"Mm."
Alka nodded quickly; he knew that tone all too well.
Only then did Aunt Macy leave, satisfied.
After she left, he sat at the table and ate the bread, dipping it into the stew.
The bread was surprisingly good, but the stew lacked flavor, having only a slight salty taste.
After all, spices were expensive in this era.
Still, it was at least edible; not to the point of making him feel nauseous or finding it unbearable.
He turned the Treasure Hunting Manual to the map page and began to examine it.
In his vision, the small white dot on the map next to his house had completely lost its glow and dimmed.
Does this mean the treasure has been obtained?
He reached out and tried to tap it.
[Hidden Private Money] (Collected)
[Difficulty: Youth]
[Fame: 2]
[Treasure Information: Something buried by the father many years ago.]
[Treasure Collected: "Silver Snake" ×12.]
"Not much different from before. The name just has an added (Collected) status next to it."
"And there's an extra line showing the rewards from the treasure."
Just then, Alka suddenly felt an impulse.
Picking up the feather quill from the table, he dipped it in ink and made a mark over the white dot's position on the map.
Seeing the check mark, Alka smiled.
It was an instinctive reaction, and a great sense of satisfaction welled up within him.
Then, unable to resist the urge, he tapped on the last unchecked white dot.
This white dot was located at the far end of the island, likely on a cliff by the sea.