Perfect, this is a great opportunity.
Ruan Sui'an swaggered directly into Zhao Xiaoting's house, since no one could see her anyway.
She first went to the main room, which contained quite a few things. However, she didn’t have time to examine them carefully. With a wave of her hand, she swept everything in the main room into her Space.
Leaving the main room, she headed to the adjacent room. This room was clearly a boy’s room, likely belonging to Zhao Xiaoting’s older or younger brother.
Whether it was her brother or younger brother, she wouldn’t spare them. With another wave, she swept everything in the room into her Space.
Next was Zhao Xiaoting’s room. Surprisingly, the furnishings in Zhao Xiaoting’s room were much nicer than those in the boy’s room.
Wasn’t this an era that favored sons over daughters?
It seemed Zhao Xiaoting was a rather pampered girl. No wonder she was so arrogant and unrestrained, speaking without any filter.
With a wave, she swept everything into her Space. The kitchen couldn’t be spared either. She cleared it out completely, not even leaving the pot on the stove.
After emptying every room, she didn’t overlook the items in the small courtyard either—brooms, baskets, shovels.
She took them all!
She left nothing in the small courtyard untouched, not even the pile of firewood stacked in the corner.
She intended to leave nothing for the Zhao family.
Looking at this small courtyard, she felt she was still quite merciful. Otherwise, she would have taken the house itself.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaoting was startled by the miserable state of the two men and couldn’t help asking, “What happened to you? How did you get so badly injured?”
If she hadn’t asked, it might have been fine. But as soon as she did, the two men exploded.
How dare this little bitch ask? Big Yellow Tooth gritted his teeth, clutching his waist as he cursed, “You have the nerve to ask what happened? You said she was just a weak little girl. What kind of weak is that? The two of us combined weren’t as strong as her. Look how badly she beat us up!”
After saying this, Big Yellow Tooth paused to catch his breath, his chest aching.
Then he continued, “Hurry up and pay us. We still need to go to the hospital!”
There was no way Zhao Xiaoting would just hand over the money. With her swollen face, she shouted at the two men, “You didn’t get the job done, and you still want money? I’m not giving you anything.”
Damn that little bitch, how could she be so tough? She had hoped the little bitch would be ruined by these two, allowing her to vent her anger.
But who would have thought the little bitch could take on both of them and turn the tables?
These two were useless, getting beaten up like this by a little girl.
Hearing this, Big Yellow Tooth and the other man’s expressions darkened further. “Zhao Xiaoting, if you don’t give us the money today, we’ll go to the Public Security. We’ll tell them everything was your idea. They’ll send you off for labor reform. If you don’t believe us, just try.”
Zhao Xiaoting hadn’t expected these two to be so shameless. They didn’t get the job done, yet they still wanted money.
If she didn’t pay, they’d report her to the Public Security.
Gritting her teeth, she glared at them hatefully and said, “Are you two insane? Reporting to the Public Security—do you think you’ll get away with it?”
She had never seen anyone so eager to turn themselves in.
Big Yellow Tooth didn’t care in the slightest. After all, they were just ruffians and thugs, with no family or friends.
They only had each other. At worst, they’d spend a few years in labor reform.
To them, it didn’t matter much.
"We two aren't planning to run. For us two grown men, being sent to a farm for re-education isn't a big deal. But you're a girl—nothing good will come of you at a farm."
They had heard about young women sent down to farms—usually, nothing good came of them.
Zhao Xiaoting was furious with the two men. She knew they were right; if the Public Security caught them for something like this, they would definitely be sent to a farm for re-education.
Though she was deeply unwilling, she knew that no matter how resentful she felt, she had to give them the money today.
She pulled out a stack of money from her pocket—ten-cent notes, one-cent coins, two-cent coins, twenty-cent notes, fifty-cent notes. The largest denomination was a five-yuan bill. She wanted to count the money, but Big Yellow Teeth reached out and snatched it all away.
"What are you doing?" Zhao Xiaoting tried to grab it back.
But Big Yellow Teeth wasn't about to let her succeed. She stuffed the money directly into her pocket.
Without counting, she knew it was probably around sixty or seventy yuan—enough for them to get medical treatment for their injuries.
Without another word, the two left. Zhao Xiaoting stomped her feet in frustration alone on the spot.
"This is infuriating, absolutely infuriating. How can I be so unlucky today? I lost both the battle and the reinforcements."
Fuming, she turned to go home and nearly collided face-to-face with Ruan Sui'an, who was just coming out.
Fortunately, Ruan Sui'an reacted quickly, leaning sideways to dodge. Though she wasn't sure if the other person could touch her while she was in her Space, it was better to be safe than sorry—she had to avoid it.
As she walked out of the courtyard, she heard a scream from inside: "Who was it? Who stole our things?"
The scream attracted the neighbors around. Ruan Sui'an smiled as she watched Zhao Xiaoting stomping around in the courtyard, then waved her hand and left without a trace. As for what would happen to the Zhao family in the future, it was no longer her concern.
Ruan Sui'an slept in late, not even getting up for breakfast. When she woke up, it was already 11 o'clock, and her stomach growled in protest.
She took two pieces of bread and a bottle of cola from her Space. After eating and drinking her fill, she checked the time. It was almost the hour she had agreed to meet with Liang Hu. She went downstairs to check out of the guesthouse and strode away.
Finding an empty street, she slipped into her Space to change her appearance. Arriving at the small, dilapidated courtyard, she waved her hand, and the needed supplies appeared in the main room.
Just like last time, she took out a small stool from her Space. Sitting on it, she cracked sunflower seeds. After eating too many, her mouth felt dry, so she took out a row of Wahaha from her Space, inserted a straw, and gulped down a bottle.
Just as she was about to drink a second bottle, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. Knowing someone had arrived, she put the Wahaha back into her Space.
She remained seated on the small stool, cracking sunflower seeds. Soon, Liang Hu arrived with his people—this time, there were more than last time.
She stuffed the sunflower seeds back into her pocket, patted away nonexistent dust, and stood up.
"Hey there, brother!" Ruan Sui'an called out to Liang Hu, then felt a bit awkward.
Damn, she had watched too many videos. When she saw Liang Hu enter, the phrase suddenly popped into her head, and she blurted it out without thinking.
Hearing this, Liang Hu's mouth twitched. This little girl really knew how to surprise people with her words. She wasn't afraid of him at all!
But that was fine—being closer meant there would still be opportunities for future deals.
The other brothers immediately lowered their heads, having seen their boss's twitching lips, afraid he would catch the smiles on their faces.
They desperately held back their laughter, but their trembling shoulders betrayed them.
Liang Hu cleared his throat, trying to soften his voice.
"Here!"
"Um… hurry up and take stock of the supplies. I need to catch a train soon." Ruan Sui'an was also quite embarrassed.
She hadn't missed how these men were holding back their laughter so hard their shoulders were nearly cramping.
It was really awkward. Thankfully, this wasn't her real appearance, or she'd definitely suffer social death.
Seeing Ruan Sui'an's awkwardness, Liang Hu suddenly found it amusing. He really wanted to know what this young girl actually looked like.
What kind of parents could have raised such an interesting girl?
Soon, Liang Hu's brothers finished counting the supplies and whispered in his ear, "Boss, the supplies are all accounted for, just as she said."
Liang Hu nodded and handed the wooden box in his hand to Ruan Sui'an. "Here's the money and receipts. Count them."
Ruan Sui'an took the box, opened it for a glance, flipped through the money inside, and closed it without counting.
"I trust you wouldn't dare cheat me. I have to catch a train, so I won't waste time counting the money. I'll be off now. Maybe we'll meet again."
With that, she turned and walked out of the small courtyard, leaving the small stool on the ground behind.
What happened next had nothing to do with her, and how the grain would be transported was none of her concern either.
Liang Hu didn't stop her, just watched Ruan Sui'an's retreating figure with a deep gaze.
Hopefully, they'd meet again!
Once out of the small courtyard, she found a nearby deserted alley and entered the Space to remove her makeup.
When she appeared, Wanzi just lazily lifted its head to glance at its owner's appearance before lowering it again to continue napping.
After all, it had seen this once before, and Wanzi had discovered that only its owner seemed able to enter this place.
No one else could come in.
Ruan Sui'an couldn't help but twitch her lips. Why did it feel like her dog was a bit depressed?
While using makeup remover to clean her face, she walked over to Wanzi and crouched down beside it.
Patting Wanzi's head, she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so listless, Wanzi? Are you missing a little female dog? Should I find one for you?"
Her dog might be in heat, which was understandable—after all, it was that age.
It needed a beloved companion by its side.
Wanzi understood its owner's words and even rolled its eyes in a very human-like manner.
What kind of nonsense was its owner talking about? It was the strong and independent Wanzi-sama. How could it possibly need a little female dog?
Seeing Wanzi roll its eyes, Ruan Sui'an immediately realized she had guessed wrong.
"Alright, it seems that's not why Wanzi is unhappy. Then what's the matter?"
Wanzi barked twice in the direction where the small animals lived. Ruan Sui'an was curious—what was wrong with her little chicks and ducklings?
Had something happened?
Puzzled, she stood up and walked over there, with Wanzi also getting up and following.
Only when she walked over did Ruan Sui'an realize that the chicks, ducklings, goslings, and piglets had all grown up.
Even the chickens, ducks, and geese had started laying eggs—chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs were scattered everywhere.
And the grown animals, with their reduced range of movement, seemed somewhat listless too.
Could it be that Wanzi was unhappy because of this?
She lowered her head to look at Wanzi and asked, "Is this why you're unhappy? But what's there to be unhappy about? Now we'll have plenty of chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs to eat. Shouldn't you be happy instead?"
Ruan Sui'an couldn't quite understand why the dog was unhappy.
Wasn't this a good thing?
Hearing her owner's words, Wanzi drooped her head again. It was so hard when communication just didn't work.
Ruan Sui'an didn't have time to keep guessing what Wanzi was thinking. She began collecting the chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs.
To save time, she simply gathered them onto the open ground nearby.
Then she hurriedly took a shower, put on a red polka-dot dress, and slipped into a pair of little red leather shoes.
She tied her hair into a high ponytail with a hairband and fastened a red ribbon around it.
Grabbing her small leather suitcase, she slipped out of the Space and rushed toward the train station.
Fortunately, she had arrived early—the train hadn't yet pulled in, and the station wasn't too crowded.
Her appearance drew quite a bit of attention, mainly because she looked exceptionally fair and pretty, and her clothes were noticeably nicer than those of the people around her.
Ruan Sui'an didn't feel timid under their gazes; instead, she felt rather proud. They must think she's beautiful, she thought.
Indeed, a face nourished by Spirit Spring Water was truly lovely, she mused with a touch of vanity.
Since the train hadn't arrived yet, she decided to look for the train attendant first.
Actually, she had wanted to buy a sleeper ticket, but they were already sold out.
She really didn't want to endure three days and three nights on a hard seat—her poor bottom wouldn't be able to take it.