Anning avoided the early risers that morning and quietly returned to the Jiang residence. It was still early; she needed to go into her space and make preparations.
She went to the small room at the corner of the staircase. Even though no one was home at the Jiang residence, she still closed the door and propped it with a stick. She was ready to enter her space and check the spoils she had collected last night.
Once inside, she found that everything she had stored earlier was neatly organized and categorized.
“Tuzi, did you do all this?”
“Yes, Sister. Tuzi is very capable. With just a thought, everything sorts itself automatically.”
“Thank you, Tuzi. Can you take me and show me what’s in here?”
“Of course, Sister. Come with Tuzi.”
“Your storage space is already full of supplies,” Tuzi continued. “So I’ve put everything we collected into the rooms of the villa. I’ll take you there.”
So, the girl and her little tiger companion went into the villa. Anning had been an only child; the three of them lived here, and many rooms were still empty.
“Sister, in this room we’ve stored several boxes—five in total—of Da Tuanjie and Da Hei Shi. These came from Director Ge’s house.”
“There’s also a box of ration coupons: grain coupons, sugar coupons, soap coupons, tickets for cloth, two bicycle coupons, a tape recorder coupon, a watch coupon, and a sewing machine coupon. The strangest of all is the manure coupons.”
Looking at this small box of coupons, Anning couldn’t help but be happy. She had been worried about not having enough tickets to buy things.
Although the box wasn’t very big, all the tickets were new, bundled neatly, and the quantity was considerable.
“Tuzi, you’re amazing! With these tickets and money, life will be much easier. Even if we go back to the countryside, we won’t have to worry.”
“Tuzi, you’re so cute and thoughtful. From now on, everything in my space will be managed by you.”
“Don’t worry, Sister. With Tuzi here, I’ll make sure everything in your space is perfectly organized.”
Anning hugged Tuzi, stroking him for a while before moving to the next room.
“Sister, this room contains gold, silver, and gemstones, plus jade headpieces. These two boxes are complete sets of jewelry. Over there are single pieces, and in another room, there are calligraphy and decorative items. Most importantly, there’s a pair of long-necked blue-and-white porcelain vases.”
“And they are perfectly preserved, without a single flaw. If these vases were in the future, they would be priceless. Sister, you’ve really hit the jackpot.”
After a tour, Anning roughly understood her wealth—enough for ten lifetimes, and she was ecstatic. When reform and opening up happened, she planned to buy many houses nationwide, become a landlord, and live off rent. Just the thought made her happy.
After checking everything, Anning couldn’t stay in the space too long—she had other tasks. She asked Tuzi, “Tuzi, can you make me look like I’m severely injured, losing blood, weak, and near death?”
“Sure, Sister. I’ll slightly alter your pulse and make your wounds bigger and deeper. That should do it.”
“Alright, Tuzi, do it.”
Half an hour later, Anning’s face was pale, her lips colorless. A finger-length wound on her head was swollen and turning pale at the edges; her pelvis was unnaturally red. Tuzi had adjusted her body temperature to 39.5°C.
Anning took a deep breath—it was time to act. Today would determine if she could leave the Jiang residence safely. She messed up her hair and walked toward the front door, suddenly collapsing weakly just inside.
Her hands feebly reached toward the door as she gasped for help.
It was morning, and many people passed by the Jiang residence. To make it realistic, Tuzi had genuinely weakened her body; she could barely muster enough strength to stagger forward.
She pushed the door open a little and collapsed again. Uncle Zhang from next door happened to come out with his bicycle and saw her: Anning’s body was sprawled on the ground, her face pale, a swollen, pus-filled wound on her forehead.
“Oh my, Jiang girl, what happened to you?”
Because Anning had grown up, Uncle Zhang didn’t dare touch her. He shouted toward the house, “Child’s mother! Come quickly! The Jiang girl has collapsed—she’s in bad shape!”
Aunt Zhang hurried out. Seeing Anning’s condition—pale face, a large swollen cut on her head, pus oozing—she realized this wasn’t a fresh injury. Yesterday, the family had left early, and Anning hadn’t gone with them.
Seeing her like this, she needed to be rushed to the hospital immediately.
But the elderly couple hesitated. The Jiang family was hard to deal with, especially the two daughters-in-law, who could be like street thugs when angry. Many neighbors avoided them—not out of fear, but to save face.
The second daughter of the Jiang family had never been favored, and everyone knew it. As this was a private family matter, and she was their own child, outsiders dared not intervene.
Aunt Zhang helped Anning up and asked, “Ning girl, what happened? How did you get that wound? Where are your family?”
Gradually, neighbors gathered. Seeing Anning’s condition, they were shocked.
Just then, Sister Yang, the street office director, passed by on her way to work. She gasped, “Ning girl, what happened to you? Who did this? Tell me!”
With most of the crowd present, Anning began her performance:
“Uncles, aunts, grandfathers, elder brothers and sisters, yesterday morning, my mother didn’t know what came over her. She pointed at me, saying I wasn’t her child.
“She scolded me, saying I had taken her daughter’s place, that she needed to return to the countryside to fetch her real daughter.
“She didn’t just scold me—she hit me. See the wound on my head? She pushed me into the corner of a table, causing this injury.”