Liu Gouzi dashed off to town and found Wang Xiaofa, the older guy he usually hung around with, in a small house tucked away in a corner of the back street.
“Brother Fa, I might have found the ginseng you’ve been looking for,” Liu Gouzi said excitedly to Wang Xiaofa.
Wang Xiaofa’s older brother was in charge of the town’s black market. Though it was shady business, he had some connections in the Speculation and Profiteering Office and was doing pretty well.
Recently, word was that someone higher up was looking for well-aged ginseng. Wang Xiaofa saw a chance to expand his network and wanted to help, but he hadn’t found a lead yet.
Wang Xiaofa, who relied on his brother for a living, heard about this and wanted to lend a hand. He even sent his underlings out to search, thinking they might get lucky.
When Liu Gouzi mentioned finding ginseng, Wang Xiaofa’s initial excitement faded as he caught the word “might.” His face darkened, and he immediately slapped Liu Gouzi.
“Might? You come here talking about something that’s not even confirmed? You got my hopes up for nothing!”
Liu Gouzi quickly covered his head and crouched on the ground, protesting, “Hey, hey, Brother Fa, don’t hit me! Even though I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, I’m almost certain it’s true.”
He then told Wang Xiaofa how Gao Old Lady had seen Xing Zhaozhao returning from the mountains with wild raspberries.
Wang Xiaofa was skeptical at first. “Wild raspberries at this time of year? You think I’m an idiot? Who are you trying to fool?”
“It’s true! My aunt saw it herself. They say she found a treasure land in the mountains. Think about it—if it’s a treasure land, why would there only be wild raspberries? Right?” Liu Gouzi said eagerly, watching Wang Xiaofa.
Wang Xiaofa thought it over and decided it made sense. He stood up to go find his brother. “I’ll go tell my brother.”
Liu Gouzi quickly grabbed him. “Wait, Brother Fa, don’t rush!”
Wang Xiaofa turned back, confused.
“The ginseng isn’t in our hands yet. What’s the point of telling Brother Fei now?” Liu Gouzi said.
“Of course, we go buy it right away,” Wang Xiaofa replied matter-of-factly.
Liu Gouzi looked at him, a strange glint in his eyes. “A single ginseng root costs several hundred, right? If it’s just picked from the mountains, why waste the money? Besides, what if she refuses to sell? Then we’d be disappointed for nothing, wouldn’t we?”
Wang Xiaofa caught his drift and raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re suggesting…”
“She lives up in the mountains now, with no neighbors around. There’s no man in the house—just a woman and three kids. We can slip in quietly, take what we need, and leave without a sound. No one would ever know,” Liu Gouzi said meaningfully.
Wang Xiaofa frowned, hesitating.
If they were caught, the consequences would be severe. He was living comfortably now and didn’t want to end up in a labor camp.
“A single ginseng root is worth several hundred. None of us brothers have ever seen that much money. Why let that woman have it? Besides, hasn’t Brother Fei always looked down on you for not making something of yourself? If you help him get the ginseng this time, he’ll definitely see you in a new light. We can just say we found it in the mountains ourselves,” Liu Gouzi continued to tempt him.
Wang Xiaofa was completely convinced. After a moment of silence, he quickly nodded in agreement: “Alright, I’m in. Tonight it is. You know the place, you lead the way.”
“Got it, Brother Fa. You can count on me,” Liu Gouzi said excitedly.
In the dead of night, when all the villagers had fallen asleep and silence enveloped the area, occasional barks from unknown households pierced the quiet.
Liu Gouzi led Brother Fa and the others, slipping silently into the village and heading straight for the mountains.
Although Liu Gouzi had often visited the village before, most of his trips were to his aunt’s house to freeload meals. He wasn’t very familiar with the mountainous terrain. To ensure nothing went wrong, he had specifically come earlier to scout the area and had also recruited two former companions from the village to join the operation.
The group moved skillfully up the mountain in the darkness.
Soon, in the night, they saw the dark outline of the stone house.
“We’re here, just ahead,” Liu Gouzi pointed and whispered in a hushed tone.
Wang Xiaofa immediately began assigning tasks according to the plan made earlier: “Da Mao and Er Mao, keep watch at the intersection. The rest of you, come with me to climb over the wall. Move quietly and try not to wake anyone. If there’s no other choice and we do wake someone, quickly tie them up and cover their mouths. Under no circumstances should we let them make a sound. Even though this place is far from the village and won’t alert the villagers, we can’t let our guard down. Once we find what we’re after, we leave immediately.”
“Understood, Brother Fa,” the others replied in unison.
The group then split into two teams. Aside from Da Mao and Er Mao, who stayed at the intersection to keep watch, the rest followed Wang Xiaofa to the wall surrounding Xing Zhaozhao’s house. They formed a human ladder and climbed over.
Xiao Hongling had woken up once in the middle of the night. Xing Zhaozhao had just finished feeding her and had lain back down when she suddenly heard rustling sounds from outside.
Startled, she immediately sat up in bed.
Not good—there were thieves.
She quickly rolled out of bed, slipped on her shoes, and rushed to the door in a few steps, pressing her ear against it to listen carefully.
They were already inside the house, and from the sounds, there wasn’t just one or two thieves tonight.
She couldn’t understand it. Aside from delivering a handful of wild raspberries to Aunt Hao’s place earlier that day, she hadn’t shown off any wealth. How had she attracted so many thieves so quickly?
But there was no time to dwell on that now. Two thieves had already made their way to her bedroom door.
Xing Zhaozhao thought for a moment, then pulled the door open directly.
The two thieves, crouching low, had just reached the door and hadn’t yet pushed it open when the previously shut door suddenly swung open on its own. They froze in surprise, and when they looked up, they saw someone standing stiffly in the doorway, looking down at them from above.
In the pitch darkness, they couldn’t make out any features, but the oppressive aura from above still made the thieves’ pupils contract in fear. Their legs trembled, and they instinctively opened their mouths to scream.
Xing Zhaozhao threw two swift punches, striking both of them on the temples and instantly knocking them unconscious.
This was immediately followed by two heavy thuds as their bodies hit the floor.
Wang Xiaofa and Liu Gouzi had just reached the door of the side room where Hongfei and Hongyu were staying when they heard the noise. Startled, they hissed in the direction of Xing Zhaozhao’s room, “Keep it down! Have you forgotten why we’re here? Don’t wake anyone up!”
After speaking, he prepared to follow Liu Gouzi to push open the doors to Hongfei and Hongyu’s rooms.
Xing Zhaozhao tiptoed straight over and patted his shoulder.
Wang Xiaofa was furious.
Did these people even know what they were here for? So much trouble.
He abruptly turned his head and growled in a low voice, “What do you want?”
Xing Zhaozhao leaned in closer, meeting him eye to eye. “What are you doing?”
Wang Xiaofa’s eyes widened in terror, his mouth agape. He instinctively tried to scream, but his throat seemed blocked, unable to make a sound.
Xing Zhaozhao rolled her eyes, unwilling to waste words on him, and directly knocked him out with a punch.
Nearby, Liu Gouzi, sensing the situation had turned bad, turned to run but was grabbed by the collar and pulled back by Xing Zhaozhao.
By now, Xing Zhaozhao’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
Holding Liu Gouzi up before her, she stared at him for a moment, then narrowed her eyes slightly.
She seemed to recognize this face.
She roughly understood where these thieves had come from.
With a “thud,” she knocked him out with a punch, tossed him aside, smoothed her sleeves, and continued to deal with the others.