Qu Weiwei was worried about running out of time, so after looting the backyard, she hurriedly tidied up and prepared to leave. She didn’t dare go to the study anymore. It was already past 9 p.m., and her mother—who had gone out to try to buy train tickets—should be back soon.
If she didn’t return, her mother would definitely panic when she couldn’t find her. To avoid exposing her secret, she had to obediently act like a good child.
Feeling anxious, Qu Weiwei returned to her space to look for some kind of transportation that could get her back faster. With her short legs, it would take at least half an hour to run home from here.
After entering the space, she rushed straight into the warehouse, to a room labeled “vehicles.” As soon as she opened it, she saw all kinds of transportation: ox carts, flatbed carts, jeeps, sedans, large trucks, cargo trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, electric scooters—even balance boards. The sight left her dazzled.
Looking at the wide array of vehicles, it was the first time Qu Weiwei felt that this warehouse was far from simple. It only looked like a space of a little over forty square meters—how could it possibly hold so many vehicles?
But pressed for time, she didn’t dwell on it. She grabbed an electric balance board and practiced riding it inside the space. After getting the hang of balancing, she came out.
Following the route she had taken earlier, she was fortunate that this was a provincial capital city—the streets were smooth and even. Otherwise, the balance board wouldn’t have been usable.
Using the electric balance board, it took her less than ten minutes to get home. Seeing the lock still hanging on the door, she quickly took out her tools, climbed over the wall into the courtyard, and quietly returned to her room—just as if she had never gone out.
Less than half an hour after she got back, there was movement at the front door. Qu Weiwei silently rejoiced that she had returned early. If she had been even half an hour later, getting caught would have been inevitable.
He Youyou returned to the room, exhausted, carrying two large bundles. The moment she saw her daughter sitting obediently on the kang waiting for her, all her fatigue instantly vanished.
That sense of responsibility as a mother made her suddenly feel a bit ashamed of herself. She was no longer a young girl—she was now a mother. She had to become a shelter for her daughter.
“Mom, you’re back. Are you tired? Have some water first,” Qu Weiwei said obediently, pouring a small cup of warm water onto the kang table. She reached out to help move the bundles onto the bed.
Seeing her well-behaved and sensible daughter, He Youyou felt warmth in her heart. She took the water, drank it in one gulp, then sat down and lifted the little girl onto the kang. The mother and daughter began opening the bundles together to check what was inside.
The first bundle contained six sets of plain, coarse cotton clothes and a black padded cloak.
However, the color of the clothes seemed off to Qu Weiwei no matter how she looked at them. Were these really colors for women? Why were they all dull gray-blue? And they were long gowns—she had only ever seen the household accountant wear this kind of clothing.
When she saw the hat, she immediately understood her mother’s plan. Her mother intended to disguise herself as a man. Beneath the clothes were even two chest binders.
“Listen carefully,” He Youyou said. “In times like these, it’s not safe for a woman to travel outside, no matter whether she’s pretty or plain. These clothes are all men’s clothing. I even planned to cut my hair—but I like my hair too much, so I couldn’t bear to. Instead, I’ll wrap it up and tuck it into the hat so no one can tell its length.
That way, even if we don’t have train tickets, it’ll be safer for the two of us to travel outside. These sets are for you. Since we’ll be on the road, I deliberately made them a bit ugly. But it’s fine—once we reach your grandfather’s place, we can change into nice clothes. Bear with it for now.”
As she spoke, she took out the smaller clothes and held them up against her daughter to check the size.
Although she wasn’t especially favored in the Qu family, everything she ate, wore, and used had always been refined and fashionable.
The young masters and young ladies in the family had long stopped wearing traditional jackets and embroidered skirts. Since birth, her daughter had worn wool dresses and little leather shoes imported from abroad. Even if she wasn’t favored, the main wife would still send them a share to avoid losing face in public.
The blue-and-white layered dress her daughter had worn yesterday was something Master Qu had brought back from overseas.
Now, forcing her daughter to wear such rough cotton clothes made He Youyou feel deeply reluctant. But there was no choice—when traveling, one must not flaunt wealth. She understood this principle well.
“Mom, wearing this outside is already good enough. Don’t worry too much. We’re no longer at the Qu residence, and we don’t have much money left. We can’t spend recklessly—what if we run out before reaching Grandpa’s place?” Qu Weiwei sighed and patted her mother’s shoulder, trying to comfort her.
“I know… it’s just that you’ll have to suffer a bit,” He Youyou said. “I’ve already asked someone to help arrange your household registration. They’ll also issue a certificate saying we’re going to stay with relatives. Your Grandpa Lin said he’ll try his best over the next couple of days to see if he can get train tickets for us, so we should wait a bit. As for selling this house, it won’t happen quickly.”
“Mom, are there deeds or land certificates that don’t have names on them?” Qu Weiwei suddenly asked, thinking of the unnamed property deeds she had found at the Zhang family’s place. She wondered if those could be sold.
“Yes,” He Youyou replied. “As long as you bring them to the current land administration office and have a name registered on them, they’ll be valid.
Back in the day, the Zhang family used this method. They would write up contracts for relatives who didn’t have proper deeds, leaving the ownership name blank. When those people left or died, they would simply write their own name on the deed, and the property would become theirs.
These days in Ping City, it’s practically become a common practice. Too many people are forcibly taken away, leaving behind empty houses. Whoever occupies them first claims them. Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?”
He Youyou didn’t know why her daughter asked, but she didn’t brush her off. Instead, she explained everything clearly.
Qu Weiwei was a bit stunned. This was a provincial capital—if it were modern times, it would be considered a major first-tier city. Yet such practices still existed.
“The Qu family used to have a lot of these kinds of deeds, but I think they were all burned in the mansion this time,” He Youyou added. In the past, some people who couldn’t repay loans from the Qu family’s bank would mortgage their houses.
“Mom,” Qu Weiwei said in a lowered voice, “I actually have some—quite a lot, in fact. The day we were escaping, I passed by Steward Hu’s courtyard and found them there, all wrapped up neatly in paper. Do you want to take a look?”
Since they were leaving anyway, she thought it would be best to sell them all. The money could be used to buy land in the south once they arrived.
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