“Grandfather, Grandmother, I have a way to hide those things.”
As Ruan Sui’an spoke, she pushed open the study door. Everyone turned to look at her standing in the doorway.
Their eyes were filled with disapproval.
Li Xiaolian glared at Ruan Sui’an and said, “Why aren’t you resting properly? What are you doing out here? This is a matter for adults. A child like you shouldn’t get involved.”
This girl really was something—so young yet already worrying about everything. They had kept it from her precisely because they didn’t want An’an involved in these matters.
And now she had overheard them. They absolutely could not let anything happen to the only bloodline left by their daughter, nor could they allow her to get involved.
Otherwise, after receiving news of their daughter and son-in-law’s sacrifice, they wouldn’t have stayed quietly in Hushi—they would have long since gone to the southern military district.
It was because their family was on this purge list that they dared not make any rash moves, fearing they might implicate An’an.
Who would have thought they still couldn’t keep it from her in the end.
Ruan Sui’an strode over to her grandmother’s side and sat down beside her chair. “Grandmother, I’m already seventeen—I’m not a child anymore. Besides, I’ve slept for a full day and night; I simply can’t sleep anymore. I happened to pass by the study and overheard your conversation, so I couldn’t help but listen.”
Thank goodness she had come to listen—otherwise, she would have known nothing at all.
Since she was using the original owner’s body, she ought to look after the original owner’s family.
Ruan Sui’an paused briefly before continuing, “Grandmother, what did you mean by those words? Has something happened to our family?”
Although Ruan Sui’an had a rough idea of what was going on, she still needed to ask.
In this era, even the slightest accusation could bring down an entire family—like being labeled capitalists or having family members who had studied abroad.
Many had already been purged. In the original owner’s memories, several members of her grandfather’s family had studied overseas.
Moreover, her grandfather’s family ran a business, which technically made them capitalists.
It was understandable that they would be targeted for purging, but she hadn’t expected to receive such news on her very first day here.
The family had originally intended to keep it from Ruan Sui’an, but since she had already overheard, there was no point in hiding it anymore. So they explained everything.
Ruan Sui’an fell into thought. Being sent down was no small matter—she had read plenty of period novels and watched enough short dramas to know.
She knew that those sent down lived in the most miserable conditions: they stayed in drafty cowsheds, ate the poorest quality food, and wore the shabbiest clothes.
They undoubtedly led the hardest, most bitter lives of this era. But she had just arrived and had no idea how to save her grandmother’s family.
It was inevitable that her grandfather’s family would be purged and sent down, but perhaps the location could be arranged.
“Grandfather, Grandmother, is there any way to have you sent down to Dahe Village? That way, I could look after you,” Ruan Sui’an said, looking at her grandparents.
From what she knew, connections often proved useful, no matter the era.
Her third uncle was, after all, the village chief of Dahe Village. Even if he couldn’t openly assist them, he could probably visit them secretly at night.
Besides, she remembered that the original owner’s family had a house in Dahe Village, and it was quite close to the cowshed.
It would be easy to sneak over and check on them at night. After all, once it got dark, everyone in the village would go home to sleep.
In this era, there were few forms of entertainment, and villagers conserved lamp oil by going to bed right after dinner.
Chen Defu hadn't expected his granddaughter to say this, but he felt deeply comforted.
Though young, the little girl knew how to care for others—it truly hadn't been in vain to dote on her.
As for the idea of leveraging connections to be assigned to Dahe Village, it was indeed something that could be arranged.
He had initially thought not to trouble An'an, but on second thought, being able to see her occasionally would be wonderful.
"This can indeed be arranged," Chen Defu agreed.
He didn't expect his granddaughter to take care of them; they simply wanted to be closer to her, even if they couldn't care for her.
As long as they could see her living well.
Even if they couldn't speak, seeing her regularly would put their minds at ease.
The others felt the same way.
Chen Weiguo, recalling what his niece had just said, asked, "An'an, what did you mean earlier when you said you could hide the things? Where could so many things possibly be hidden?"
The others also remembered An'an's words upon entering and turned their gazes toward Ruan Sui'an.
They shared the same doubt—the items left by their ancestors were numerous, totaling over thirty crates.
Hiding them seemed like an impossible task. They had considered digging a hidden cellar somewhere, but the scale was too large, and there were always eyes watching their family. Transporting the items out would be extremely difficult.
Feeling uneasy under their stares, Ruan Sui'an cleared her throat and said, "I have a place where I can hide these things, and I guarantee no one will find them. I just can't tell you where. Do you trust me?"
After all, she couldn't very well tell them she had a Space to hide things in.
Although she knew these were the original host's relatives, who had always cherished her deeply, human nature was unpredictable, and it was wise to keep some cards close to her chest.
Everyone present could see that Ruan Sui'an didn't want to elaborate, so they didn't press further.
Moreover, they could tell that An'an seemed very confident. If that was the case, they would simply trust her.
As long as the ancestral items weren't ruined by the Revolutionary Committee, that was all that mattered.
"Alright, we won't ask. Just tell Grandmother when you can take the things away—the sooner, the better. Time is running out," Li Xiaolian patted her granddaughter's hand.
Recently, too many people had been purged, and several families had already been sent down. It was only a matter of time before their family faced the same fate.
Seeing that they truly didn't press further, Ruan Sui'an quietly sighed in relief.
The original host's relatives were really good—they actually didn't ask.
Ruan Sui'an said to her grandmother, "Grandmother, first take me to see where the things are. I'll hide them tonight. Just stay in your rooms, no matter what sounds you hear, don't come out. I promise to hide them in a safe place. But shouldn't we leave one or two crates behind? Otherwise, the Revolutionary Committee won't let it go."
If the Revolutionary Committee couldn't gain any advantage, they would never easily let Grandfather's family off.
They had to give them a little something to keep Grandfather's family safe.
Chen Defu looked at his granddaughter with admiration and said cheerfully, "An'an, you're right. We should indeed leave one or two crates behind. If there's nothing at all, the Revolutionary Committee will definitely cause trouble."
The others also agreed with both of them, nodding in unison.
Grandmother couldn't help but stroke An'an's head and said, "Our An'an is getting smarter and smarter, even thinking of such details."
Ruan Sui'an felt a bit embarrassed by the praise, but still raised her head proudly and said, "Of course, just look at whose granddaughter I am."
Li Xiaolian looked at her granddaughter's proud expression and finally felt at ease.
With her son-in-law and daughter having sacrificed themselves, she had feared her granddaughter would never recover. But it seemed An'an was gradually moving forward.
Everyone else was also happy, not wanting An'an to remain sad and distressed forever.
After dinner that evening, everyone returned to their rooms and didn't step out again. They didn't deliberately listen for sounds outside.
Although curious about where Ruan Sui'an could hide the items, none of them wanted to investigate.
They were just somewhat worried those things might bring trouble to An'an.
Not a single person stepped out of their room—they still trusted An'an's words.
Though young, An'an never exaggerated. If she said she could hide things without being discovered,
then she could definitely do it.
Ruan Sui'an looked at the dozens of boxes in the room and couldn't help but admire how wealthy her grandparents were.
Although she had seen them that afternoon, she still felt quite astonished.
Though very interested in these items and envious of her grandparents' family having so many treasures,
she had no intention of claiming them for herself. Others' belongings belonged to others—no matter how much she liked them, she couldn't take them.
Even though they were her grandparents' family's possessions, they ultimately didn't belong to her.
Without opening the boxes again, she directly stored them in her Space, using her consciousness to place all the boxes in the storage room of the small western-style building inside the Space.
As agreed, of course, three boxes were left outside.
The items in the remaining three boxes were specially selected by Grandfather and Grandmother to be kept outside.
Before leaving, Ruan Sui'an sprinkled a thin layer of dust on the boxes and the floor, making it look as if no one had entered this room for a long time.
Ruan Sui'an walked to the living room and casually swapped the pearwood furniture there with the ordinary furniture from the small western-style building.
Pearwood was valuable—she absolutely couldn't let those people from the Revolutionary Committee destroy it.
She also replaced the vases and antiques in the house with ordinary vases from the small western-style building.
After walking through the entire house, she replaced everything that could be replaced. What couldn't be replaced was stored in her Space. In short, she filtered out all the antiques and valuables.
Only when Ruan Sui'an felt satisfied did she return to her room to sleep.
Early the next morning, everyone stood stunned in the living room. They discovered their living room had completely changed.
The pearwood tables, chairs, and benches had all been replaced with furniture made of ordinary wood.
Even the antique vases had been swapped for ordinary ones.
But they quickly calmed down, guessing who had done this.
After just exchanging glances, they each went about their own business.
As if nothing had happened at all.
Just as they expected, three days later, people from the Revolutionary Committee arrived at the Chen family's home in a menacing manner.
"Chen Defu, we've received a report that you've been hoarding foreign books and living a capitalist lifestyle," a man with a square face sternly and harshly reprimanded.
The whole family had anticipated this long ago and didn't panic. They calmly watched the Revolutionary Committee members.
Chen Defu wore a serious expression and spoke with neither humility nor arrogance, "Director Feng, you must not speak carelessly. We have always conducted ourselves honestly and have not engaged in any unlawful or disorderly activities."
"That's right, Director Feng, you must not listen to baseless rumors. Those few foreign books at home were brought back from abroad during my studies overseas. There's nothing special about them; you must investigate thoroughly," Chen Weiguo said to Director Feng.
Fortunately, the important items had already been safely hidden away, leaving only two foreign books intentionally out in the open.
The books were merely ordinary accounts of local customs and lifestyles, nothing out of the ordinary.
All the heirlooms passed down from their ancestors had also been completely concealed, so even if a search were conducted, very little would be discovered.
"Enough, no amount of talking will change anything. Let's search first and see," Director Feng said with an air of righteousness, though his eyes betrayed his true intentions.
His gaze swept back and forth across the entire living room, eager to see how many valuable items he could claim for himself.