Jiang Li curled her lips into a faint smile.
“Auntie, I think I’m already full. I won’t be eating lunch today. I’d like to go home and rest.”
Jiang Jinxiu knew Jiang Li was still holding a grudge.
Frustrated, she marched over to Zhao Zhizhi and slapped her across the face.
Smack!
“You’d better watch your mouth from now on! Don’t just repeat whatever pops into your head. Tell me—did someone who couldn’t stand the fact that you have such a wonderful cousin deliberately try to drive a wedge between you two?”
For a moment, Zhao Zhizhi was completely bewildered.
It was one thing for Jiang Li to slap her.
But now even her own mother was hitting her.
Soon enough, though, she understood.
Her mother was trying to appease Jiang Li.
As long as Jiang Li was unhappy, her mother would discipline her instead.
But why?
The Jiang family was already mostly under their control.
Her uncle and aunt had been sent away, and Jiang Li was practically an orphan with no one to rely on.
Why was her mother still so afraid of her?
Seeing her hesitate, Jiang Jinxiu smacked her again.
“Hurry up and tell your cousin who filled your head with those lies. Don’t let your cousin misunderstand you.”
Left with no choice, Zhao Zhizhi hastily invented an excuse.
“It… it was one of my friends… someone surnamed Wu…”
“Forget it.”
Jiang Li had no interest in listening to her fabricated story.
“As long as we know it was all a misunderstanding.”
Then she lectured her calmly.
“We’re family. Next time someone says bad things about me in front of you, don’t believe them so easily.”
“I understand. I understand.”
Zhao Zhizhi lowered her head obediently.
Jiang Li still insisted on leaving.
“Auntie, I really am tired. I’m going home now. We can discuss everything else tomorrow.”
“But, Lili, you still have to transfer your job to Wu Jianchuan’s daughter.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Auntie, once I’ve recovered, we’ll take care of everything at once.”
“All right… all right.”
Jiang Jinxiu figured Jiang Li couldn’t possibly be plotting anything.
After all, she still depended on her.
Yet after Jiang Li left, she realized that despite spending the entire day with her, she hadn’t accomplished a single thing she’d set out to do.
As soon as Jiang Li was gone, Zhao Zhizhi rushed over to complain.
“Mom, what’s wrong with you?”
“Why are you always watching her mood?”
Smack!
Jiang Jinxiu slapped her again.
“You foolish girl! All you ever do is create trouble for me!”
“Mom, what’s gotten into you?”
Clutching her burning cheek, Zhao Zhizhi looked utterly confused.
Even Zhao Baolin couldn’t understand.
“We’re only missing that girl’s job and haven’t sold her house yet. We’ve already got the Jiang family’s treasure. Why are you still giving in to her? You’re only making our own daughter suffer.”
With no other choice, Jiang Jinxiu finally told her husband and daughter about the second hidden treasure.
If she kept it from them, she feared the two of them would stir up more trouble in front of Jiang Li.
“If it weren’t for that other treasure, why would I put up with her like this?”
“Think about it.”
“If we get our hands on another fortune like the first one, we’ll become wealthy the moment we arrive in Hong Kong.”
“A little money to grease a few palms, our business will grow, and we’ll be able to live like kings.”
Both Zhao Baolin and Zhao Zhizhi worshipped money.
Especially Zhao Baolin.
He was the kind of man who would even let his own wife sleep with another man if it meant gaining wealth and influence.
He once again pictured himself becoming a rich tycoon in Hong Kong.
Once his business succeeded…
He wouldn’t stop at just one wife.
He could have several.
As many as he wanted.
“Jinxiu, where’s this second treasure?”
“She hasn’t told me yet.”
“She says she still can’t remember.”
“That’s exactly why we have to keep indulging her.”
Zhao Baolin slapped his forehead.
“I almost forgot.”
“The real question is when she’ll finally remember.”
“I don’t know.”
“But for now we’d better not provoke her.”
“Let her think carefully.”
“And treat her nicely.”
“If we upset her, she may refuse to tell us—and instead tell Jiang Jin’an.”
“You’re right.”
“That treasure absolutely cannot end up in Jiang Jin’an’s hands.”
“Fine.”
“We’ll be nice to the girl.”
“It’s not like we have to pretend for very long.”
Jiang Jinxiu nodded.
“I’ll keep coaxing her until she tells me where it’s hidden.”
“You two need to restrain yourselves too.”
“Don’t provoke her.”
“We know.”
“We know.”
Zhao Baolin hurriedly promised,
“We’ll treat her well too.”
“We won’t upset her.”
The husband and wife then turned to look at Zhao Zhizhi.
Their warning was unmistakable.
Feeling wronged, Zhao Zhizhi swallowed her frustration.
“I’ll tolerate her too.”
Still sulking, she asked,
“Mom, once we get that second treasure and arrive in Hong Kong…”
“I want to make Jiang Li pay back today’s humiliation tenfold.”
“Of course.”
“Once we’re in Hong Kong, everything will be under our control.”
“You can deal with her however you like.”
“Your father and I will both support you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
After returning home, Jiang Li entered her pocket space and made herself a bowl of tomato gravy noodles.
The fragrant noodles were delicious.
Halfway through the meal, she suddenly realized something.
Since yesterday…
She hadn’t experienced morning sickness even once.
It was probably because of the spiritual spring water.
It seemed to suppress her pregnancy nausea.
That’s good.
Otherwise she’d be vomiting everywhere, making it difficult to get anything done—not to mention feeling miserable herself.
After eating, she exercised for a while inside the space before sitting down at her desk.
She took out paper and a pen from the drawer.
There was still one more thing she needed to do.
Write an anonymous letter reporting Zhao Zhizhi’s pregnancy.
Although she didn’t know who the father was, one fact was undeniable—
Zhao Zhizhi was pregnant while unmarried.
If she reported it to the neighborhood Women’s Federation or another local authority, someone would certainly come to force Zhao Zhizhi to have an abortion and then send her away for hard labor in the countryside.
She quickly finished writing the report, folded it neatly, and wrapped it in paper.
However, she wasn’t planning to send it today.
Tonight she still intended to catch Jiang Jinxiu and Wu Jianchuan in the act.
If she mailed the report now and Zhao Zhizhi was arrested before evening, the Zhao household would descend into chaos.
Jiang Jinxiu might no longer have the time—or the mood—to meet Wu Jianchuan.
So tonight…
The Zhao family had to remain perfectly calm.
There would be plenty of time to report Zhao Zhizhi tomorrow.
She then went to check on the chickens, ducks, and geese she’d placed inside her space the day before.
The poultry roamed freely in the open area outside the courtyard.
She had barely taken a few steps before spotting an egg.
It was about the same size and color as an ordinary chicken egg.
Still warm in her hand—
It had clearly just been laid.
A little farther ahead, she found another egg.
Slightly larger, with a pale shell.
A duck egg.
Then another.
Even bigger this time.
A goose egg.
As she continued walking, she kept finding more.
Eventually she returned to the kitchen, grabbed a basket, and went back outside to collect them all.
By the time she finished, she’d gathered over a dozen eggs.
Under normal circumstances, a hen laid about one egg per day, a duck about one every two days, and a goose roughly one every three days.
Yet today she’d collected:
That meant every bird inside the space was laying eggs at roughly three times its normal rate.
From that, Jiang Li concluded that one day inside the pocket space was equivalent to three days in the outside world.