Ignoring everyone’s stares, Shen Xiaoyuan buried herself in the feast.
The food of this era really did taste different.
The ingredients were all natural and free from pollution, with no excessive chemical additives, preserving their original flavors to the fullest.
Not only did they taste better, they were healthier too.
Take the braised pork in front of her, for example.
The pork came from free-range native pigs, with perfectly balanced layers of fat and lean meat. Its rich aroma was something that modern factory-farmed pork could never compare to.
The dish was also made with very little sugar, relying instead on slow simmering over low heat to develop its flavor.
The portions were generous as well.
After eating only a short while, Shen Xiaoyuan was already full, yet more than half the dishes remained untouched.
She asked the waitress to pack up the leftovers.
When she went to pay, every pair of eyes in the restaurant turned toward her.
The cashier checked the bill.
“Two yuan and eighty cents.”
Shen Xiaoyuan rummaged through her canvas bag, counted out five yuan, and placed it on the counter.
“No need to give me the change.”
“My name is Shen Tiantian.”
“Remember me.”
“I’ll be back next time. Just deduct it from this.”
The entire restaurant fell silent.
Not only had this young girl paid in full for four meat dishes and a soup…
She had even left money on deposit at the state-owned restaurant.
What kind of wealthy family did she come from?
Under everyone’s astonished gaze, she strolled out of the restaurant as casually as if nothing had happened.
From that day on, rumors spread throughout Shanghai about a girl named Shen Tiantian, who spent money like water and casually ordered four meat dishes and a soup at the state-owned restaurant.
By the time Shen Xiaoyuan returned home, it was already dark.
Aunt Wu told her that Shen Hanning and Pang Dongling had gone back to their ancestral home in Xiangcheng after dinner to pay respects to their ancestors and wouldn’t return until the following morning.
Meanwhile, Shen Jiawei and Shen Tiantian were each in their own rooms packing for their trip to Hong Kong in two days.
The corners of Shen Xiaoyuan’s lips curved upward.
Back to their hometown?
Wasn’t this the perfect chance to empty out the secret vault?
I’m just moving my own family assets.
Let the Shen family think ghosts stole everything.
As soon as the clock struck nine that night, Shen Xiaoyuan quietly slipped into the study on the first floor and locked the door behind her.
Following the method she’d seen Shen Hanning use, she opened the hidden entrance.
Then she slipped inside.
Behind the door was a long staircase leading down into an underground chamber.
Descending the steps, the first thing she saw was a huanghuali Eight Immortals table.
Two unopened bottles of champagne sat on top.
More than a dozen bottles of Moutai and Wuliangye liquor were lined up on the floor.
Against one wall stood two boxes filled with gold bars, along with an exquisite wooden case.
Opening it, she found five thousand yuan in cash and a stack of ration coupons.
A splash-ink landscape painting by the contemporary master Zhang Daqian hung on the wall.
With a single thought, she stored everything into her space.
That’s it?
The Shen family’s fortune can’t possibly be this small.
Keeping a calm expression, she slowly circled the room, touching and tapping every wall.
Eventually…
She found something unusual.
Near the bottom of the staircase was a slightly protruding brick.
She pressed it firmly.
Click.
Another hidden door, almost perfectly camouflaged into the wall on the left, slowly opened.
A stale, moldy smell rushed out, making it difficult to breathe.
Covering her nose, she stepped inside.
This hidden chamber was far larger than the first one.
She took out a high-powered flashlight from her space.
The beam instantly illuminated the darkness.
Rows of large wooden crates filled with gleaming gold bars stretched before her, dazzling in the light.
Nearby were stacks of Jingdezhen porcelain and several purple clay teapots from the Ming Dynasty.
The bottoms of the teapots glowed with the rich reddish sheen that only decades of handling could produce.
A pair of Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vases rested atop a rosewood cabinet.
One glance was enough to tell they were priceless.
In one corner stood a Sony Trinitron color television—the first model imported into Hong Kong.
This wasn’t something money alone could buy.
The Shen family had clearly possessed considerable influence.
Beside it stood a German-made refrigerator and a Japanese rice cooker.
In this era…
How many families could possibly own appliances like these?
This wasn’t merely wealth.
It was a symbol of privilege in an entire era.
While silently marveling at it all, Shen Xiaoyuan tearfully stored every last item into her space.
She continued exploring.
In another corner sat a large safe.
It was locked.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
There has to be something good inside!
She fetched a heavy sledgehammer from her space.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
She smashed the lock over and over.
More than twenty blows later…
The lock finally broke.
Excitedly, she opened the safe.
It was…
Empty.
“What the heck?”
“Where’s everything?”
Such an elaborate safe…
And nothing inside?
That didn’t make any sense.
She scanned the room again.
Something still felt off.
Several areas looked oddly empty.
Squatting down, she shined the flashlight over the thick layer of dust covering the floor.
Only then did she notice several footprints and drag marks left by heavy objects.
The footprints clearly weren’t hers.
They were much larger.
Someone had been here before.
And they’d already removed part of the valuables.
Thinking back to Shen Hanning and Pang Dongling suddenly leaving for Xiangcheng to “pay respects to the ancestors,” realization dawned on her.
That ancestral visit had probably been a cover.
Their escape to Hong Kong was supposed to remain secret.
They couldn’t carry too many valuables all at once.
So they must have secretly transferred part of the family fortune to their hometown first.
Looks like…
She’d have to make a trip to Xiangcheng before heading to the countryside.
She stored the safe itself along with the dusty floor into her space to eliminate every trace of her visit.
By the time she left the secret chamber, it was nearly ten o’clock.
Returning to the second floor, her eyes settled on the half-open door to Shen Hanning and Pang Dongling’s bedroom.
Shen Tiantian’s and Shen Jiawei’s rooms were on the third floor.
Neither of them was likely to come downstairs.
In a flash, Shen Xiaoyuan slipped inside the master bedroom and locked the door.
Then she began searching.
The first thing she saw was an elaborate Qing Dynasty thousand-work canopy bed.
It was made with astonishing craftsmanship.
Blue duck-down bedding and two genuine silk pillows rested atop it.
The bedding they’ve already used?
Forget it.
But the bed itself is worth a fortune.
With a thought, the enormous bed vanished into her space.
The bedding and pillows dropped onto the floor.
Next came the rosewood bedside cabinet.
Inside were two bankbooks.
Both were under Shen Hanning’s name.
One belonged to the Bank of China and contained five thousand yuan.
The other was from HSBC and held nearly thirty thousand yuan—money clearly prepared for their escape to Hong Kong.
Digging further inside, she found a men’s Rolex watch and a ladies’ Patek Philippe gold wristwatch.
Another thought.
Everything inside the cabinet disappeared.
The cabinet itself followed.
Across from the bed stood a camphorwood wardrobe.
Two silk quilts were folded neatly on top.
Opening it, she found more than a dozen designer silk scarves, several trench coats, and all kinds of custom-tailored suits.
She selected everything in excellent condition and stored them away.
Next was the dressing table.
Inside a lacquered Yangzhou jewelry box lay several gilt bracelets and two jade hairpins.
Beside them sat a nearly empty tin of Friendship Snow Cream.
She left the cream behind.
Everything else disappeared into her space.
Finally, beneath the window stood a rosewood writing desk.
On top sat a Hongxing-brand radio, an imported Italian desk lamp, and several books.
She left the books untouched.
Everything else—including the desk—went into her space.
Satisfied that she’d taken nearly everything worth taking, she switched off her flashlight and quietly slipped back to her own room.
Although everything had been moved with a single thought, the process still exhausted her mentally.
She collapsed onto the bed.
She didn’t even have the energy to close the door.
Tonight’s harvest had been exceptionally fruitful.
Her mood couldn’t have been better.
She was already planning to open a bottle of champagne later to celebrate.
But before she’d had a chance to rest…
She heard footsteps downstairs.
Along with several faint voices.
Immediately, she pulled the door almost shut and peered through the narrow crack into the hallway.