The opportunity Su Wanning had been waiting for finally came the next evening.
Footsteps suddenly echoed in the courtyard—“thump thump thump”—her older stepbrother Wang Qiang had returned. He was waving two movie tickets and shouted as soon as he entered: “Mom! Dad! Look what I brought! Tickets to South and North Conquest! The hottest movie right now!”
Su Yuling, sitting in the main room sewing, immediately put down her needlework and snatched the tickets: “Really? These tickets are so hard to get! Where did you manage to get them?”
Wang Qiang smugly tilted his chin and plopped onto a chair, crossing his legs high: “Where else? A friend who works at the cinema gave them to me! They saved the best seats just for me!”
Su Yuling’s eyes narrowed into happy slits as all the frustration she’d felt over Su Wanning melted away. “My son really knows how to do things! Come on, the three of us will go tonight! Let the neighbors see—we can watch a popular movie too!”
She ran into the house, rummaged through the cupboards, and pulled out the long-hidden di-ke linen shirt—sky blue with little embroidered flowers at the collar, her finest clothing. After brushing her hair in front of the mirror and applying a touch of face cream, fragrant and clean, she linked arms with Wang Zhenhai, carrying her youngest son, while Wang Qiang followed. The three of them left the house, cheerful and radiant.
“Mom, hurry up! Don’t be late!” Wang Qiang urged, his voice full of excitement.
“Relax, the cinema isn’t far. We’ll get there if we walk fast!” Su Yuling laughed, unconsciously quickening her steps.
For them, it was a rare night out to show off and enjoy themselves. But for Su Wanning, it was the perfect, unmissable window of opportunity.
Bang!
The sound of the front door closing carried along with the family’s laughter, gradually fading down the alley.
Su Wanning stayed motionless in the storage room, ears pressed to the door, listening quietly. She didn’t move immediately, patiently waiting half an hour to ensure they had gone far enough and wouldn’t return unexpectedly. Sensing it was safe, she got off the bed, retrieved her hairpin, and expertly unlocked the door—silent and precise.
The house was now empty, except for her. The faint scent of Su Yuling’s face cream lingered in the air—a cheap fragrance that made Su Wanning wrinkle her nose—but she didn’t pause, heading straight for the mottled mud wall in the main room.
The wall, part of the old house, had plaster peeling off, revealing green bricks underneath. It looked worn but solid. Su Wanning extended her hand, tapping gently on the surface while listening to the echoes inside the wall.
Thunk, thunk, thunk…
The sound was dull and solid, confirming the wall was intact.
But as her fingers moved near the kitchen doorway, the tapping changed—thunk… tap, tap—a hollow sound different from the rest.
“This is it,” Su Wanning thought. She turned to the kitchen and grabbed a rusty spatula. Its wooden handle was chipped, the blade full of rust. She pressed the blade against the wall where she had detected the hollow sound, carefully prying.
Dust and dried mud fell in clumps, revealing a loose brick. Behind it, stuck in old mortar, was a blackened hole just large enough to fit a hand. She reached in, feeling a hard, heavy object, and pulled out—an iron box, palm-sized, aged and oxidized, the lock simple and ineffective for her. She inserted her hairpin into the keyhole, gently twisted, and click—the lock opened.
When she lifted the lid, a dazzling golden light hit her eyes—rows of gold bars of varying sizes lay neatly inside, along with jade bracelets, pearl necklaces, and other jewelry, their gentle glow still visible in the dim light.
This was the true Su family fortune, the savings her father Wang Zhenhai had accumulated over a lifetime, combined with the wealth from his medical practice—enough to ensure a lifetime free from want. Su Wanning lightly touched the gold bars; their icy chill transferred to her fingers, but her heart felt warm—the love of her father, all there.
Without delay, with a thought, the iron box vanished from her hands and reappeared safely on the table in the bamboo house in the secret space, alongside the medicine box.
First objective complete. Su Wanning replaced the brick and mixed some water with dry mud from the kitchen to smooth the wall. The surface looked unchanged.
Next, she opened the red-lacquered wooden chest filled with Su Yuling’s treasures: neatly folded di-ke linen she had been hoarding, some bright new balls of yarn, and even a pair of brand-new cloth shoes still unused. Without hesitation, Su Wanning moved all of it into the secret space, emptying the chest.
Then she moved to the wardrobe. Wang Zhenhai’s hardly-worn dark blue Zhongshan suits, still creased; Su Yuling’s prized wool coat tucked inside. With a wave of her hand, all the clothes vanished.
In the bedside drawer, Wang Zhenhai’s secret stash of several hundred yuan, hidden between books, thinking no one could find it—Su Wanning pocketed it and the book together.
Her actions were calm and efficient, taking everything she could. But when her hand reached under Wang Zhenhai’s pillow, she paused—she felt a hard object, not money.
She pulled it out: a notebook with a gray cover, worn and scuffed. Opening it, she saw densely scrawled records of dates, numbers, and transactions:
“May 3: Bicycle parts, 20 sets, 120 yuan.”
“May 10: Watch mechanisms, 5 units, 80 yuan.”
“June 1: Radio parts, 10 units, 150 yuan.”
Her eyes narrowed—this wasn’t an ordinary ledger, it was proof of Wang Zhenhai’s illegal trading! In this era, secretly reselling industrial goods could get you publicly criticized or even imprisoned.
A cold smile tugged at Su Wanning’s lips. She had intended only to take money and teach them a lesson, but now Wang Zhenhai had delivered a gift himself.
From her memory of the original owner, Wang Zhenhai had a business rival named Li Mazi, who lived in a nearby compound. A plan formed instantly. Su Wanning wrapped the ledger in clean oiled paper, carefully tucking it under her arm—she would deliver this “gift” to Li Mazi at the right moment.
Finally, she looked at a brand-new leather coat hanging in the corner, still in its plastic dust cover—a recent purchase from out of town by Su Yuling, cherished but never worn. Su Wanning collected it and the dust cover into the space with a decisive movement.
Now, the so-called home was stripped bare, save for the immovable old furniture. She checked everything once more, locked the chests, closed the wardrobe, leaving no trace of disturbance.
She even took the money and industrial coupons hidden under Wang Qiang’s mattress—every bit counts, especially since they were owed to the original owner.
All preparations complete. Su Wanning listened outside the front door—only the occasional dog bark punctuated the quiet. She slipped out and carefully closed the door, disappearing into the night.
Instead of heading straight to the train station, she detoured to Li Mazi’s large compound. The courtyard was dark; most were asleep, only a few windows glowed. Agile as a cat, she scaled the wall.
Using her memory, she found Li Mazi’s window. It was closed, no sound inside, likely asleep. At the base of the wall, she found a hidden brick gap just the right size for the ledger. She slid the wrapped notebook in and blocked it with broken bricks—safe from rain but discoverable if someone were active in the courtyard.
The rest, she left to fate. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps next month, when the ledger was found, it would shatter Wang Zhenhai’s sweet dreams.
With the last step done, Su Wanning finally exhaled. She left the compound and strode toward the train station. The night wind lifted wisps of hair on her forehead, cool against her skin, but her heart burned hot.
From this moment on, she was no longer the bullied girl waiting to be sold. She carried the mysterious space with her, ready to start a new life and move toward a completely new future.
As for that so-called home, and all the filthy people and events tied to it—they were left behind forever, never to return.