The last few large boxes were all filled with cash, including US dollars, Hong Kong dollars, and Chinese yuan.
Foreign exchange controls were extremely strict in this era. There were limits on exchanging US dollars and Hong Kong dollars. Although her grandfather had his own channels, exchanging this much foreign currency in cash would still have required him to go to the black market and pay several times the official exchange rate.
Her grandfather had exchanged so much foreign currency. He must have planned to leave the country at some point. But why had he stayed here all these years without leaving?
Was it because he knew his health wouldn’t allow it? Or did he simply want to remain somewhere close to his family?
The Chinese yuan in the last few boxes should have been added only recently.
From what Grandpa Chen had just said, her grandfather had specifically exchanged this money for her.
Gu Wan’s eyes grew slightly moist. With a wave of her hand, she stored the several boxes of banknotes in her space.
After clearing away the large boxes on the floor, Gu Wan began examining the items on the curio shelves along the wall.
As she searched the shelves, her gaze fell on two enormous vases beside them.
She walked over and looked up at the two giant vases, which were even taller than she was.
They were a pair of large famille-rose vases decorated with figures and double lion ears. The bodies were secured in stands and stood approximately 1.6 meters tall. Their forms were full and imposing, with delicate lion-ear decorations on both sides of the neck and shoulder.
The necks and bodies were painted with pine trees, the God of Longevity, children, immortals, monkeys, deer, and other auspicious figures. The images were vivid and lifelike.
Judging from their shape and specifications, they were probably folk works from the late Qing Dynasty. The craftsmanship was exquisite, and their symbolism was auspicious, so they were likely birthday gifts presented to celebrate someone’s longevity.
The most remarkable thing about these vases was their enormous size. Despite having survived for a hundred years, they remained completely intact.
Judging from their form, they were probably made from Jingdezhen porcelain. Only such a substantial material could prevent them from becoming top-heavy and tipping over.
Placed in the spacious living room she had just seen, these vases would complement the enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling perfectly. One represented the East and the other the West, creating a harmonious blend of Chinese and Western styles.
Were these birthday gifts someone had given her grandfather, or antiques he had collected? Had they originally been displayed in the living room?
Forget it. They had all been left to her by her grandfather anyway.
She would take them!
A small box made from high-quality huanghuali wood caught Gu Wan’s attention.
The little box had the grain of rosewood and the warm golden-brown color of huanghuali. Its texture was fine and delicate, giving it a dignified, timeworn elegance.
The box itself was already worth quite a lot.
What could possibly be stored inside?
Curious, Gu Wan opened the little box.
The moment she saw what was inside, her eyes immediately reddened.
The box was packed full of all kinds of ration coupons!
There were everything from national grain coupons and local grain coupons to cloth coupons, meat coupons, cooking oil coupons, coal coupons, sugar coupons, tofu coupons, vegetable coupons, soy sauce coupons, vermicelli coupons, and all kinds of other food coupons.
There were also coupons for durable consumer goods, such as bicycle coupons, sewing machine coupons, and watch coupons, as well as everyday necessities like soap coupons, match coupons, and kerosene coupons.
There were even welfare coupons for things like haircuts and movie tickets.
This was practically a complete collection of the ration coupons used during this era.
It must have been incredibly difficult for her grandfather to collect so many different kinds.
He had wanted to leave behind everything he could think of and everything he could obtain for his granddaughter, so that her life in the future would be smooth and free of worries.
Gu Wan silently felt grateful for her grandfather’s love.
With a wave of her hand, she stored the little box in her space.
Gu Wan turned her attention back to the curio shelves.
She had already been away for quite some time and needed to return as soon as possible. There was no time to examine everything slowly.
She might as well collect everything first.
Red coral screen—take it!
Blue-ground square vase with gold-painted multicolored flowers and birds—take it!
Gilt-bronze bird-song pavilion-style grand clock—take it!
Swiss enamel-and-diamond beetle watch—this tiny pocket watch had a dial less than one centimeter in diameter. It was incredibly intricate.
Take it!
Gu Wan’s eyes were practically overwhelmed by the dazzling array of treasures.
In the end, she simply waved her hand and stored everything in her space. She could slowly examine and appraise them later.
Finally, she discovered that even the curio shelf itself was made of rosewood.
The shelf alone was a priceless treasure.
How could she possibly leave it behind?
Take it!
Gu Wan looked around the secret room one last time.
It was now completely empty.
Only then did she happily walk out of the secret room and close the door behind her.
Chen Fu was surprised to see her emerge so quickly.
“Young Miss, have you finished taking inventory of everything?”
Gu Wan shook her head.
“There was too much. I didn’t have time to check everything one by one. I’ll sort through it slowly later.”
Chen Fu became anxious.
“Young Miss, you can’t! The committee will be coming to confiscate the house soon. What about all these things…”
Gu Wan reassured him.
“It’s fine. I’ll find someone to move everything out later. Since the house is going to be confiscated, Grandpa Chen, what are you planning to do?”
“I’m going back to the countryside. My son has urged me several times to return home. I just couldn’t leave because I hadn’t finished what I was supposed to do here. Now, I’ve finally fulfilled my duty to the Master and completed his final wish. So I’ll be going home.”
“Then, Grandpa Chen, do you still have enough money? I can give you some.”
“No need. Your grandfather gave me some money before, telling me to return home and live out my retirement. It’s more than enough. I can’t take money that doesn’t belong to me!”
Gu Wan saw Chen Fu off at the doorway.
His back was stooped, but his steps remained steady and sure.
Some people could stand before mountains of gold and silver and still hold firmly to their principles. If something didn’t belong to them, they absolutely would not take it.
Others were greedy by nature, scheming and doing everything they could to snatch what wasn’t theirs.
How could the difference between people be so great?
Gu Wan looked at the little villa again.
She couldn’t take the building itself, so she would take everything inside.
At least she could keep the memories.
So Gu Wan went back inside and began collecting the contents of every room.
The sofas, coffee tables, bookcases, bookshelves, tables and chairs, stools, beds, chandeliers, curtains, bedspreads—even the flooring and the decorations on the walls.
Nothing was left behind.
Everything went into her space.
By the time she finished, the entire little Western-style villa had been reduced to nothing more than a bare shell.
Gu Wan was still reluctant to leave.
She couldn’t take the entire villa with her, and that made her a little unhappy.
But there was nothing she could do.
The committee had specifically ordered this property to be confiscated. If the entire building suddenly disappeared, it would practically become a supernatural incident.
Gu Wan took one last look at the little villa before reluctantly leaving.
When Gu Wan returned home, Li Mingyue was pacing anxiously all over the place.
She had practically worn a groove into the floor.
“Did that little slut Gu Wan take the money and run off? Why hasn’t she come back yet?”
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.
“Who are you calling a little slut?”
“The little slut I’m talking about is you!”
Li Mingyue turned around, opening her mouth to curse, but suddenly realized…
She had just insulted herself.
Seeing this, Liu Jihong immediately stepped in to smooth things over.
“Wanwan, why did you come back so late? How did things go?”
Gu Wan ignored her and walked straight over to the sofa. She dropped herself onto it and rubbed her neck.
“It’s not that easy to ask someone to pull strings for you.”
Thinking about the job, Li Mingyue immediately forgot her anger.
She hurried over and sat down beside Gu Wan.
“What did the leader say? When can I start working?”