A crowd had gathered around the courtyard, and Ruan Sui’an was among them. She had already left this place yesterday and moved into a guesthouse.
After all, no one knew when the Revolutionary Committee might show up. It wouldn’t be good if they ended up arresting her as well.
Originally, she had thought about staying a few more days at her grandparents’ home, but her grandparents were deeply worried that something might happen to her.
Yesterday afternoon, her grandfather, grandmother, eldest uncle, and second uncle had given her all the family’s savings and ration coupons.
They kept only two or three hundred yuan for themselves.
The people around began whispering and pointing, their harsh words piercing Ruan Sui’an’s ears.
“I always said there was something off about their family. What decent family eats meat every day? We’re lucky if we get meat once a month,” said a sharp-featured middle-aged woman, smirking shamelessly.
Serves you right for eating meat all the time. Now you’re in trouble, you deserve it.
“Exactly… exactly… Their whole family studied abroad. Who knows if they have connections overseas,” another woman chimed in, not to be outdone.
“Even if they don’t have overseas connections, they’re still capitalists. Look at the house they live in, the clothes they wear—nothing like us working-class people,” a middle-aged man added sarcastically.
The crowd piled every possible accusation onto the Chen family.
These people were simply jealous that the Chens lived better than them—not only did the family enjoy a comfortable life, but they also held respectable jobs.
Thinking that all the good things in life belonged to the Chens, they now reveled in the family’s misfortune.
They had often caught the scent of meat wafting from the Chen household, while they themselves subsisted on cabbage and cornbread every day.
It just wasn’t fair.
Listening to the surrounding chatter, Ruan Sui’an clenched her fists tightly, suppressing the urge to kick out at them.
How could these people’s mouths be so foul? Does being poor give you the right to say such things?
Although this era was marked by shortages of food and clothing, and many were just grateful to have enough to eat, that didn’t justify spreading lies and falsely accusing others.
Chen Defu heard the murmurs around him but paid them no mind—these people were merely envious.
He spotted his granddaughter and noticed the anger in her eyes. With a meaningful look, he signaled for Ruan Sui’an to leave quickly.
Catching her grandfather’s gaze, Ruan Sui’an took one last deep look at him before turning to leave.
The rest of the Chen family had also seen her, and they breathed a sigh of relief as she walked away.
Among the Revolutionary Committee members, one had been keeping a close watch on the Chen family. With sharp eyes, he noticed Ruan Sui’an.
He approached Director Feng and whispered, “Director, the Chen family’s granddaughter was just watching from the side. Should we bring her in?”
Director Feng shot the man an annoyed glare and lowered his voice. “Do you know that the Chen family’s granddaughter is the orphan of a revolutionary martyr? How dare you even think of arresting her? Do you have a death wish?”
In this era, the orphans of martyrs were protected by the state. If he dared to arrest her, his position as director of the Revolutionary Committee would be over.
Hearing this, the man who had suggested arresting Ruan Sui’an immediately stepped back and fell silent.
The Revolutionary Committee members searched the entire small western-style building, only hauling out three boxes of valuable items. Everything else was of little worth.
In the study, two foreign books were also found—only these two foreign books could be used to convict them, along with the three chests of items left behind by their ancestors.
They were barely able to pin the label of "capitalist" on them, but there were no other grounds for accusation.
After all, the money and vouchers found in the house added up to only 300 yuan in total.
Director Feng held the 300 yuan in his hand, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Director Feng refused to believe that the entire family had only 300 yuan. The Chen family must have hidden their belongings.
Every member of their family had a salary, and their monthly wages alone amounted to 300 yuan. How could they have only 300 yuan after all these years?
Director Feng scrutinized the Chen family from head to toe and said sternly, "Have you hidden all the valuable things? And your family's monthly salary is 300 yuan. How could you have only this little? Tell me, did you give all the money to your granddaughter?"
Director Feng was clever and immediately thought of Ruan Sui'an—there was no one else it could be.
But even if that were the case, Director Feng couldn't do anything about it. They didn't have the authority to arrest Ruan Sui'an.
The Chen family remained completely unruffled. Chen Defu said, "Director Feng, you shouldn't make baseless accusations. Although everyone in my family has a job, we also have many mouths to feed. Food, clothing, and daily necessities—all of it costs money. In any case, everything we have is here. We haven't hidden anything."
Director Feng tried to detect any signs of guilt on Chen Defu's face but saw nothing after a long while.
The old man was indeed composed, but then again, they had no concrete evidence that the Chen family possessed valuable items.
Nor did they have any proof that the Chen family had given their money to their granddaughter. And even if they did have evidence,
they wouldn't dare to take action. It was better to pretend they knew nothing.
The reason they had come to search the Chen family's home was mainly because the Chen family stood out too much.
Not only did several members of the family have jobs, but many had also studied abroad.
Moreover, their ancestors had been merchants, so they certainly wouldn't lack valuable possessions.
Several families had their eyes on their jobs. As long as the Chen family was removed, those families could arrange for their own people to take over.
After all, their positions were highly coveted. The Chen family was simply unlucky.
They had attracted too much envy.
Director Feng felt that something was off. He didn't believe the Chen family had only this little, but they had been keeping a close watch on them.
The Chen family had no opportunity to move their belongings out. Even when their granddaughter left, she only carried a single suitcase.
"Alright, pack your things and prepare to be sent down in half a month!"
The entire family neither resisted nor protested their innocence, because they knew that no matter how much they said, being sent down was inevitable.
They could only try to follow Ruan Sui'an's suggestion and go to Dahe Village, where they could at least see their granddaughter.
After leaving the Chen family, Ruan Sui'an asked around about the black market.
With so much grain in her Space, she could sell some of it.
Although the Chen family had given her almost all their money and vouchers, who would ever complain about having too much money?
Of course, she couldn't go to the black market with her original appearance. What if there was a surprise inspection?
She disguised herself, transforming into a short, middle-aged man. It was often said that Eastern makeup techniques were one of the four great sorceries.
After applying makeup, Ruan Sui'an looked completely unrecognizable from her original self.
Her originally fair and translucent skin was now painted dark and swarthy.
When she arrived at the black market, Ruan Sui'an carried a basket on her back, not intending to sell the goods herself.
She planned to find a partner.
She walked up to the black-clothed man keeping watch and lowered her voice as much as possible, whispering in his ear, "Little brother, I have a batch of grain to sell. I wonder if you're interested?"
The black-clothed man looked Ruan Sui'an up and down, his eyes filled with suspicion.
The man before him didn't look like someone who had grain at all, but their boss had said that appearances could be deceiving.
Perhaps this person was just unassuming in appearance.
"How much grain do you have?" the black-clothed man couldn't help but ask.
Ruan Sui'an lowered her voice, glanced around discreetly, and then said, "I have 1,000 catties of rice, 1,000 catties of white flour, and 1,000 catties of millet."
Upon hearing this, the black-clothed man's eyes immediately lit up. It seemed he had misjudged—this small, thin man was quite capable.
After all, with the current shortage of clothing and food, obtaining so much grain was no simple feat.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll go find our boss," the black-clothed man said.
He then turned to another black-clothed man who had been squatting nearby and said, "You keep watch for now. I'm going to find the boss."
The squatting black-clothed man slowly stood up, nodded without a word, and didn't even glance at Ruan Sui'an. He simply stood there, head still lowered, as if nothing could capture his attention.
Ruan Sui'an paid no mind, standing there with her basket on her back as she waited.
From time to time, people entering the black market would glance at Ruan Sui'an, their eyes lingering subtly on the basket behind her.
They were all speculating about what was inside.
Ruan Sui'an wasn't the least bit afraid of their scrutinizing gazes, confident that no one could see through her true appearance with her makeup skills.
About ten minutes later, the black-clothed man who had gone to report returned.
"Follow me. Our boss wants to inspect the goods first," he said before striding into the black market.
Ruan Sui'an nodded and followed behind, carrying her basket.
They arrived at the entrance of a small courtyard. The black-clothed man raised his hand and knocked three times, then once more, followed by two more knocks.
Clearly, this was a secret signal. The courtyard gate opened from the inside.
The one who opened it was a man with a rugged appearance and a robust build, a scar on his face dividing it into upper and lower halves.
The man looked to be about 1.9 meters tall, standing before them like a small mountain.
With a fierce and menacing expression, he stepped aside for the black-clothed man and scrutinized Ruan Sui'an from head to toe.
Ruan Sui'an showed no fear and nodded toward the man.
A flicker of surprise crossed the scar-faced man's eyes. This man looked small, but he had quite the nerve.
Many people in the past had been afraid of him, given his fierce and menacing appearance.
The black-clothed man entered the courtyard, and Ruan Sui'an followed.
Inside, she saw a man who looked to be in his thirties sitting by a stone table, leisurely drinking tea.
The man was tall and slender, with fair skin and a refined appearance. He looked more like a teacher than a black market boss.
Behind him stood two fierce-looking men, each holding a club—clearly hired thugs.
When Ruan Sui'an entered, the man drinking tea fixed his shrewd eyes on her, examining her closely.
Ruan Sui'an allowed him to look her over without the slightest hint of evasion.
The courtyard was unusually quiet, with neither side speaking first.
Seeing Ruan Sui'an so calm and composed, the man's lips curled slightly at the corners.
"Please have a seat, Elder Brother. I'm the boss of this black market, called Liang Hu. May I ask your surname? I heard from my younger brother that you have grain to sell. I wonder if I could first take a look at the quality."
The person before him looked thin and small, especially his face, which seemed no larger than his own palm.
Ruan Sui'an sized up the old man in black. Such a refined-looking man was actually named Liang Hu—a name that didn't seem to suit him at all.
But what did that have to do with him?
Ruan Sui'an took the basket off his back and placed it on the stone table, then calmly sat down on the stone stool.
"Brother Hu, this is the grain I want to sell. I guarantee the quality is absolutely top-notch."