“Sixth Master is involved in big deals. He wouldn’t be so short-sighted as to take a fancy to these little things of mine.”
Su Nian smiled faintly, certain that Sixth Master wouldn’t care for such a small sum.
The subtle patterns on his long gown were embroidered using Shu embroidery,
and the plum blossom adorning the pocket watch on his chest had ruby petals and a yellow jadeite stamen.
Though the gold bars were valuable, they couldn’t compare to the things he wore.
To have preserved such worldly possessions during the special period was enough to show that Sixth Master’s family was no ordinary one.
Which family’s scion was he, exactly?
And why would he hole up in this small place as the leader of a gang of ruffians?
Su Nian picked at her fingertips, growing increasingly curious about Sixth Master’s origins, while a sense of unease stirred within her.
Before coming, she had firmly believed that wealth could move hearts—if it didn’t work, it was only because the offer wasn’t generous enough.
But after seeing Sixth Master’s appearance of someone who lacked nothing, she had no confidence at all whether he would take on this job.
Su Nian steeled herself, gritted her teeth, and raised the stakes.
“This is just the deposit. Once the matter is resolved, I’ll present you with another generous gift.”
Xiao Sheng’s expression remained unreadable. “First, tell me what you want done.”
His calmness made Su Nian even more nervous. Taking a deep breath, she slowly recounted the matter.
“I’d like to ask Sixth Master to help me find someone. He lives in Hexia Village. Ten months ago, he took Chen Yaozu’s money, hid in the mountain woods between the two villages, and gave me a veterinary aphrodisiac.”
Even though ten months had passed, Su Nian still trembled all over when she recalled that day.
No one knew the despair and fear she had felt then.
After the fruit knife plunged into the man’s shoulder, she fled desperately through the steep woods like a lost soul, with the man relentlessly chasing behind her—a nightmare that still haunted her, often jolting her awake in the middle of the night, leaving her to lie awake until dawn.
Her lips trembling uncontrollably, Su Nian stood up and gestured with her hand at her forehead.
“That man was a head taller than me, about 1.7 meters. His left shoulder was stabbed by me with a fruit knife, so there must be a scar.”
“Sixth Master, I’d like to ask you to help me find him and make him turn himself in to identify Chen Yaozu as the mastermind behind it.”
“Chen Yaozu… the Chen family… You want that man to report your husband?”
Xiao Sheng leaned forward, staring straight at Su Nian. “If he’s convicted of hooliganism and rape, your husband might very well face the firing squad. Are you sure?”
“He won’t be my husband for much longer.” At the mention of Chen Yaozu, Su Nian’s face filled with disgust. “He schemed against me, hired someone to harm me. Getting shot would be letting him off easy.”
“So that’s how it is…” Xiao Sheng murmured softly.
No wonder his judgment hadn’t been that off—someone had interfered and ruined his plans.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his thin lips, and an ambiguous glint appeared in his eyes. “I’ll take the gold bars. Within three days, I can have the man trained and delivered to you.”
Just three days!
Su Nian’s heart pounded like thunder.
If Sixth Master took action, Chen Yaozu could face the firing squad in at most a week?
Just as she was overcome with excitement, Xiao Sheng’s next words poured cold water over her head.
“But I have a condition. If you agree, I’ll have my men start looking for him right now.” He picked up his cup. “If you think it’s unsuitable, take your leave. I won’t see you out.”
She was about to leave Shilianghe Village and didn’t want to get too entangled with someone like Sixth Master.
A clean transaction with money was the best way to cooperate, as far as she was concerned.
But besides Sixth Master, who else could she turn to to find that man for her?
“I’m just a sent-down student. Apart from a few personal belongings brought from home, I don’t have anything else that would catch Sixth Master’s eye. What conditions does Sixth Master have in mind?” Su Nian probed.
Xiao Sheng chuckled lightly, “Haven’t thought about it yet.”
Not having thought about it meant there were no boundaries.
Su Nian’s gaze darkened. She bit her lip in thought, her fingertips unconsciously tugging at the hem of her clothes.
Xiao Sheng watched Su Nian’s inner struggle, leisurely sipping his tea.
Time passed minute by minute. The tea in his cup was refilled twice.
Observing Xiao Sheng’s expression, Su Nian played a little trick. “I agree, as long as it’s not illegal, criminal, or against morality, I can help you do one thing.”
“Nothing in this world is fixed. If you delay too long and I can’t respond, it shouldn’t count as me breaking the agreement.”
“Agreed.”
Compared to finding someone, exchanging for supplies was clearly much simpler. Xiao Sheng agreed readily. Su Nian didn’t have many demands either—just enough to fill her stomach. She wanted whatever fabrics and daily necessities were available.
In addition, she also asked for quite a bit of meat and eggs.
“It’s winter now, so meat can be stored. But once it thaws, how will you store so much meat? Better to exchange for less and get more after you finish it.”
Under Xiao Sheng’s gaze that seemed to regard her as a fool, Su Nian found an excuse to brush it off. “Making salted meat or dried meat can preserve it for a long time.”
While others might struggle with storing meat and eggs, for Su Nian who possessed the Space, it was simple.
She had tested it—things placed inside the Space remained in the state they were put in, as if time had stopped.
Needing too many things, Su Nian simply asked Xiao Sheng for paper and pen.
Her delicate handwriting densely filled two sheets of paper.
As she was leaving, Xiao Sheng called out to her.
“Exchanging for so many supplies—where do you plan to hide them? If someone discovers them, all that money will go down the drain.”
His gaze locked onto Su Nian, carrying a probing tone. “As long as I’m here, the black market won’t lack supplies. What you’re doing is completely unnecessary. Unless… have you received some news about famine in a disaster year? Or that chaos will break out again?”
Exchanging for so much would definitely raise suspicions about her motives.
So before coming, Su Nian had already prepared a reason.
She sighed. “Famine is unlikely, but the experienced farmers in the village say this year is too cold, and the seedlings are frostbitten. Next year’s harvest will definitely be affected. I was thinking that when the time comes, grain prices will surely rise. Stocking up a bit is just for emergencies. Anyway, I’m not short of that little money.”
“True, Miss Su of the Su family isn’t short of this bit of money.”
Seeing that Xiao Sheng didn’t press further, Su Nian tried hard to ignore the persistent gaze following her from behind and quickened her pace to leave.
The closed courtyard gate blocked the gaze from behind.
She let out a sigh of relief and reached up to wipe her forehead—it was covered in sweat.
“What a strange person.”
Su Nian muttered quietly, adjusted her scarf, and headed to the state-run restaurant.
Past lunchtime, the state-run restaurant was quiet and deserted.
She first rented several aluminum lunchboxes with a one-yuan deposit, then spent two meat coupons, eight grain coupons, and seven mao to get some food before hurrying back.
By the time she reached the hospital, it was already one in the afternoon.
From afar, she could hear Fubao’s voice.
[Mom is finally back! The big bad guy will be here soon!]
[The big bad guy will accuse Mom in front of the doctor and Uncle, saying she forced the bad mother-in-law to catch fish, framed Mom for controlling the family’s money and not letting the bad mother-in-law get treatment, and even dragged the bad mother-in-law to kneel.]
[Mom gets misunderstood as the villain by Uncle, who calls the town’s joint defense team to take Mom away, lock her up for criticism and reeducation, then takes the money for treatment and writes a letter of understanding.]
What a piece of work, Chen Yaozu!
Su Nian clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking with the force.
The uncle mentioned by Fubao had the authority to handle documents and command the joint defense team—he must be a high-ranking leader in the commune!
If she hadn’t overheard Fubao’s inner thoughts and exposed Chen Pozi’s pretense of illness and false accusations in advance, encountering such a situation would have left her unable to clear her name no matter what. The only way out would have been to obediently pay up to seek forgiveness!
“Comrade Su! Over here!”
The Women’s Director, holding Fubao, looked around the hallway and called out.
Suppressing the gloom between her brows, Su Nian jogged over and apologized, “Director, I’m sorry. I took a wrong turn and got delayed. You must be starving, right?”
“Come, let’s go in and eat.”
“I’m not hungry yet.”
The Women’s Director shook her head, but her body’s instinctive reaction was triggered by the mention of food—her stomach growled loudly.
With her lie exposed, her face flushed red, and she changed her words, “The comrades delivering the supplies will be here soon. I’ll head back with them on the tractor and eat later.”
[Mom, you mustn’t let Aunt Xiang leave. Aunt Xiang is amazing—Uncle is afraid of her.]