Su Yun…
How could she not feel any psychological burden?
She looked at the iron box in his hands, then at his thin yet resolute face, and silently sighed in her heart.
Only then did she reach out and take the box.
The reason she hesitated for a moment was because she understood what it meant to accept it.
The money and ration coupons inside that box were the entirety of the man’s possessions.
By handing them to her, it meant he no longer kept anything from her.
Su Yun was not a child—she naturally understood what Xiao Yuan meant.
She had originally thought they would go their separate ways in the future, but now it seemed… it would be difficult to part.
“Where should we hide the money?”
She turned around and searched the room.
The empty space only had a bed—there was nowhere to hide anything.
Xiao Yuan looked at her serious searching figure and smiled slightly.
“Why not hide it in the wall?”
“Hm?”
Su Yun glanced at the mud wall, considering whether it was thick enough to carve out a space.
Xiao Yuan walked over and motioned for her to help move the bed aside.
Once the bed was moved, he removed a mud brick, revealing a hollow space that fit the biscuit tin perfectly.
She placed the box inside.
He then put the brick back in place.
It looked completely seamless.
After the bed was moved back, the edge of the bed neatly covered the brick, making it invisible.
It was truly a perfect hiding spot.
Su Yun gave him a thumbs up.
“You dug this out during the day?”
The size fit perfectly—he must have prepared it in advance.
So he had already decided during the day to give her everything he owned.
Having been seen through, Xiao Yuan coughed awkwardly.
He turned his face away slightly.
“I… my legs aren’t good, I can’t really help you with anything…”
As part of this small family, he could no longer secretly hide money.
Seeing him like this, Su Yun teased him on purpose.
“You didn’t tell me you had money a few days ago. Were you not planning to keep me here back then?”
“So you didn’t treat me as one of your own?”
Seeing through his thoughts, Xiao Yuan coughed again.
He answered somewhat awkwardly, “I… I’m a cripple…”
Su Yun was amused by how honest he was.
She reached out and pinched his cheek.
“You’re not a cripple. You just have a leg injury—you’re only temporarily a patient.”
“But now that I’m here, it won’t stay like this for long. I’ll cure your legs.”
And I’ll also deal with those who bullied us.
Her gaze turned firm.
Xiao Yuan’s heart skipped a beat for no reason.
After a long pause, he finally replied with a simple “okay.”
He looked a little foolishly obedient.
Su Yun couldn’t help but laugh.
She turned over and lay down inside the bed.
Life like this… wasn’t bad.
Xiao Yuan blew out the oil lamp and also got into bed.
The bed was newly made and slightly wider than before.
Yet for some unknown reason—perhaps because of the cold—the distance between them slowly shrank through the night.
Until their shoulders touched, and their hands gently held each other.
In the darkness, neither of them spoke.
They simply fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Wu Jiangtao came rushing over with explosive news.
Qin Aiguo had dug up his parents’ graves!
“Old Xiao, you don’t know yet, but people who saw it said the coffins of Qin Aiguo’s parents were dug right out!”
Wu Jiangtao laughed as he spoke, clearly entertained.
“It’s already spread everywhere in the brigade. What kind of madness is this? Why would he dig up his own parents’ graves?”
He asked.
Xiao Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, his expression calm.
“He hid something in their graves.”
His tone was certain.
In the kitchen, Su Yun paused while cooking porridge.
So Xiao Yuan also knew that Qin Aiguo had hidden gold bars in the grave?
She pricked up her ears and listened carefully.
Wu Jiangtao’s expression immediately changed.
“Ah Yuan, you mean—”
Xiao Yuan did not answer directly.
“A normal person wouldn’t dig up their parents’ graves for no reason.”
“Especially someone like Qin Aiguo, who values his reputation even more so.”
“So there must have been something very important hidden there.”
“And now, that thing is gone.”
“That’s why he went crazy and dug up the graves.”
His analysis was extremely logical.
Wu Jiangtao nodded.
“Right! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“I’ll go check what’s really going on.”
He then left the courtyard.
Xiao Yuan continued weaving bamboo strips as if nothing had happened.
In the kitchen, Su Yun finished cooking porridge and stir-fried cabbage.
Thinking of the iron box in the wall containing over 4,000 yuan, she added extra oil to the dish this morning.
Their bodies were both too thin and lacking nutrition—they needed to be properly nourished.
After finishing, she called Xiao Yuan to eat.
During the meal, she asked what he thought of Qin Aiguo.
“A hypocritical villain,” he replied.
Then she asked, “If I want to deal with him and send him to prison, can you help me?”
He looked up at her, a faint disapproval in his eyes.
Just as she was about to explain, he spoke first.
“Xiao Yun, whatever you want to do, tell me. I’ll do it. Don’t take risks.”
His disapproval wasn’t against her plan—it was concern for her safety.
Realizing this, Su Yun smiled.
“This really is something only I can do.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him.
It was just that gathering evidence required someone who knew the original novel—like her.
“It’ll be dangerous,” he said.
“If Qin Aiguo finds out you’re targeting him, he’ll fight you to the death.”
“Oh, but I already told him I was going to deal with him.”
She blinked innocently.
Xiao Yuan’s hand trembled.
“Xiao Yun, you…”
“That 100 yuan he gave me was because I threatened to expose him for stealing work points, falsifying records, and embezzling public goods.”
She paused, then added apologetically,
“I’m sorry. The fire at your house… was probably because of me.”
It was because she had forced him into killing intent that he had been implicated.
Xiao Yuan held her hand.
“We don’t need apologies.”
Su Yun looked at him and smiled softly.
“Okay.”
In the end, it was decided that Su Yun would handle sending Qin Aiguo to prison.
Xiao Yuan’s legs made it inconvenient for him—she was the right person for the job.
She prepared to leave for the brigade office.
That day, Qin Aiguo was busy dealing with rumors in the village and did not come to work.
With Wu Jianguo’s help, Su Yun successfully obtained the Second Team’s work-point ledger.
This ledger… was the ironclad evidence that would bring Qin Aiguo down.