After returning home with her family, Jiang Tang discussed her marriage to Xiao Xun with them.
“Dad, Mom, Big Brother, I have a pretty good impression of Xiao Xun. If possible, I’d like to agree to marry him.”
Jiang Minghong and Sang Suxiang looked at each other, both wearing troubled expressions.
Sang Suxiang said, “Xiaotang, today’s matter was too sudden. I think you still need to consider it carefully. Even though Xiao Xun’s personal background is very good, marriage is a lifelong affair; you can’t just make a decision casually.”
Not caring about all that, Jiang Sijie nodded repeatedly in agreement.
The mere thought that his precious younger sister was going to marry someone else and move out of the house put Jiang Sijie in a terrible mood.
He originally wanted to point out a few of Xiao Xun’s flaws—ideally, flaws that would make his sister dismiss the idea altogether.
Yet, after thinking long and hard, Jiang Sijie couldn’t think of a single flaw that Xiao Xun had.
This man was simply too freakish; it seemed he had zero shortcomings.
Not only was he good-looking and from a good family background, but he also had no messy relationships to speak of, pouring his entire mind into his career.
The more Jiang Sijie thought about it, the more distressed he became. How on earth can I make my sister drop this idea?
Instead, Jiang Minghong took the initiative to ask Jiang Sijie about Xiao Xun’s personal background.
“He is your battalion commander? Are his family members all in the military?”
Jiang Sijie nodded.
Jiang Minghong lowered his gaze in thought. “He can be considered young and promising. Has he ever been married before? Has he ever messed around with improper romantic relations?”
Jiang Sijie replied, “Xiao Xun enlisted at eighteen and has stayed in the military ever since. When I enlisted four years ago, I already heard that he was looking for the person he had an engagement with. Xiao Xun frequently talks about this engagement and has rejected many people who wanted to set him up on dates for this exact reason. Otherwise, given Xiao Xun’s qualifications, there’s no way he’d drag it out until twenty-six without marrying.”
Jiang Sijie hadn’t intended to say anything good on Xiao Xun’s behalf, but whenever he brought him up, everything that came out of his mouth was purely praise.
Who could blame him when he simply couldn’t think of any flaws?
Still, thinking along those lines, Jiang Sijie suddenly hit upon a point that might successfully talk his sister out of it: “Xiaotang, although Xiao Xun is good in every aspect, he is entirely devoted to his work. If you marry him, I’m afraid you’ll find it very boring.”
What Jiang Sijie thought would act as a deterrent, however, felt like an absolute advantage to Jiang Tang.
Boring is great! She was planning to marry Xiao Xun precisely so she could go off and do the things she wanted to do. Boredom would actually give her more energy to focus on her own pursuits.
Noticing the look of anticipation in his younger sister’s eyes, Jiang Sijie couldn’t understand why she would like someone boring.
Oh well, as long as his sister liked it, he could agree to it.
Furthermore, if his sister really married Xiao Xun, she would go to accompany the troops, which meant he would be able to see her often.
If Xiao Xun dared to bully his sister, he wouldn’t care if Xiao Xun was a battalion commander or not—he wouldn’t let him off the hook.
Jiang Minghong and Sang Suxiang also saw Jiang Tang’s intent.
Jiang Minghong carefully analyzed the various pros and cons of Jiang Tang marrying Xiao Xun. Once he finished analyzing, he told her, “Xiaotang, think this over carefully. If you still want to agree after serious consideration, we will support your decision.”
Jiang Tang felt a warm glow in her heart. This is what real family looks like. They would think from her perspective, analyze all possibilities for her, yet never force her to make a choice—only support whatever she decided.
Tears welled up in Jiang Tang’s eyes. “Okay, Dad. I will think it over carefully.”
After discussing it with her family, Jiang Tang used the excuse of spending one last night back at her biological parents’ place and rode her bicycle over there.
With no one home at the Su residence, it presented the perfect opportunity for Jiang Tang.
Earlier, Jiang Tang had thought it would be quite troublesome, but she hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly today.
The Su family lived in a standalone courtyard with its own gate, and the spare key was hidden under the holly bush right by the entrance.
When Jiang Tang had first returned to be recognized by her family, the Su members had told her where the key was kept, saying she could enter the house at any time.
In her past life, Jiang Tang had thought this meant her biological parents treated her as one of their own and were willing to trust her, which was why they told her such an important detail.
Only later did she realize that telling her this was merely a way to leverage familial affection, coaxing her into giving up her job so she would go down to the countryside in the adopted daughter’s place.
Retrieving the key, Jiang Tang unlocked the door, pushed it open, and stepped inside.
To be cautious, Jiang Tang double-checked: indeed, there was no one in the Su household.
Opportunities like this were rare, so Jiang Tang didn’t delay. Following the descriptions in the book, she located the family’s hidden secret room.
The secret room stored valuables and treasures left behind by Jiang Tang’s maternal grandmother, Qin Zhaohua, and maternal grandfather, Wei Qinian. Both the Qin and Wei families had been prominent, well-known households during the Republic of China era, possessing generations of accumulated wealth—though a large portion of it had been lost during the turmoil of war.
Her grandparents had met and fallen in love while studying abroad, sharing a common aspiration to return and build their motherland.
Upon returning, they each devoted themselves to their respective fields. Later on, they donated half of their existing family wealth to the nation, leaving the rest for their descendants.
After Wei Qinian sacrificed his life in the war, Qin Zhaohua raised their daughter alone while stubbornly continuing her work despite illness. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with her, and she passed away not long after Jiang Tang was born.
Standing inside the secret room, Jiang Tang looked at the antique items before her, her heart aching with a bittersweet, sorrowful pang.
However, she couldn’t afford to linger too long. If she didn’t take these things, they would all end up benefiting Su Yinyin.
Jiang Tang’s gaze swept across the secret room—from master calligraphy and paintings to antique porcelain, Western oil paintings, and solid rosewood crates packed full of gold bars.
Without hesitation, Jiang Tang swept all of it into her spatial dimension.
There were jewelry boxes, brocade fabrics, a gramophone, a camera, books, and musical instruments—Jiang Tang didn’t leave a single item behind, tucking everything away into her space.
Only after confirming that nothing else remained in the secret room did Jiang Tang prepare to leave.
Just as she was about to step away, she noticed an old leather trunk tucked into a corner.
The book hadn’t mentioned Su Yinyin storing such a leather trunk in her space, but Jiang Tang still bent down and popped the trunk open.
Upon opening it, she found English documents, letter after letter of correspondence, and photographs of her grandparents from their overseas study days.
Without wasting a second, Jiang Tang swept those into her space as well.
Next, she walked out of the secret room and, following the locations described in the book, found where Su Jiyong kept his private stash of money, taking away both his secret cash and food coupons.
She also scooped up all the jewelry, money, and food coupons Su Yinyin had hidden in her bedroom.
Finally came Wei Cuiying’s room: her jewelry box, along with food coupons, cloth tickets, cooking oil tickets, and meat tickets—she cleaned out the lot.
As she transferred these items into her spatial dimension, Jiang Tang spotted a familiar little square box.
Opening it, she found twenty yuan and a few food coupons resting quietly inside.
Jiang Tang couldn’t help letting out a chuckle. Reborn into a second life, Wei Cuiying was just like last time, preparing a pitifully meager amount of supplies for her simply because she wanted her to take the adopted daughter’s place in the countryside.
Since Wei Cuiying had deliberately prepared this for her, she might as well leave this tiny scrap behind for them.
Having swept everything movable into her space, Jiang Tang calmly walked out as if nothing had happened.
As she stepped out the door, she ran right into an auntie from next door.