Seven Hundred in Hand
Jian Mingyue couldn’t run anymore and decided to throw caution to the wind.
She fell to her knees with a thud, her voice trembling with tears.
“Comrade, please, let me go. My parents are dead, and my grandmother is seriously ill. I had no choice but to come to the black market to earn some money for her medicine. Letting me go would be an act of kindness.”
Jiang Taohua: Dead parents, sick grandmother? If she didn’t know Jian Mingyue, she might have believed this nonsense. The female protagonist’s grandmother had passed away years ago.
“Take out whatever’s in your pocket,” Jiang Taohua said in a rough, husky voice that sounded like a man in his thirties.
Jian Mingyue tried to resist a little longer.
“Comrade, I beg you!”
“Behave!” Jiang Taohua kicked her in the backside.
Seeing no way out, Jian Mingyue reluctantly pulled out the two hundred yuan she had earned that day from her pocket.
Jiang Taohua snatched it away.
“Alright, you can scram now!”
“Congratulations, Host, for angering the female protagonist. You have earned ten yuan.”
Watching Jian Mingyue leave in despair, Jiang Taohua quickly took off the clothes and hat she was wearing and hurried back to return them to their owner.
By the time she finished tidying up, it was already four o’clock. In the northeast, it gets dark by five, so Jiang Taohua rushed to meet up. Wen Shunu was anxiously pacing in place.
Seeing Jiang Taohua appear, she quickly grabbed her to catch the bus. They were lucky today and managed to board the last bus.
By the time they returned to the brigade, it was already dark.
The village echoed with the occasional barking of dogs and the sounds of scolding and hitting children.
They returned to the educated youth point and ate some pastries, malted milk powder, and the buns they had bought on the way.
At midnight, Jiang Taohua woke up alertly, her bright eyes gleaming in the darkness.
“System, has the assassin arrived?”
System 001 replied, “Host, the assassin has arrived. He’s outside the courtyard right now, planning to enter.”
Jiang Taohua decided to go out herself to make it easier for them to act.
Pretending to get up for a nighttime trip, she walked out into the dark courtyard. The assassin, overjoyed to see her, immediately threw a clod of dirt at the door, making it sound like someone was knocking.
“Who’s there?” Jiang Taohua played along perfectly, rushing outside to check.
The assassin remained motionless, hidden in the corner of the wall.
Jiang Taohua had already spotted the assassin’s clothes. She thought to herself, Hurry up and do it, hurry up!
Perhaps the assassin was testing her nerves, but he still clung to the corner of the wall without moving.
Jiang Taohua was so angry she almost cursed. Why isn’t this assassin acting? What’s he doing clinging to the wall? Does he think he’ll grow into a towering tree?
Hmm? Maybe he thought it wasn’t safe to act here?
Should she walk a little further?
Next to the educated youth point was a small grove of trees.
“Who’s there? Come out!” Jiang Taohua walked into the grove, pretending to be scared as she looked around.
“Heh heh heh…” A man’s eerie laugh and the sound of rushing wind came from behind her.
Jiang Taohua’s heart leaped with joy. It’s almost over. I can go back to the modern world soon.
Wait, why did the laughter suddenly turn into a pained grunt?
The assassin, who had been gloating just moments before, was kicked to the ground by a sudden dark figure, his hands bound tightly behind his back, unable to move.
“Are you alright?” The dark figure spoke, and Jiang Taohua recognized it as Yan Jinghong. What was this male supporting character up to? Coming out in the middle of the night to play the hero and rescue the damsel, ruining her plans.
“Heh, I’m fine. Thank you so much!”
Yan Jinghong flashed a bright smile, his teeth gleaming even more conspicuously in the pitch-black night.
“No need to thank me. Helping others is its own reward.”
Then, changing the subject, Yan Jinghong added, “If you really want to thank me, how about treating me to a meal another day?”
Jiang Taohua gritted her teeth. “Sure.”
The assassin couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you two done yet? I’m still here, and you’re chatting away without a care for the timing.”
“Shut up!!”
Jiang Taohua viciously slapped the assassin twice.
Pitying his misfortune, but angry at his incompetence.
He was truly useless!
Together, they escorted the assassin to the commune police station. Only after the officer on duty finished taking their statements were they allowed to leave.
By the time they returned, it was already one in the morning.
Jiang Taohua tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Her storage space contained not only food, clothes, and daily necessities but also some medicines.
She took out the sleeping drug and sprinkled a little in the room, making the others sleep even more soundly.
The majority of the sleeping drug was reserved for the male protagonist.
The male educated youth’s room was furnished similarly to the female educated youth’s side—a large earthen kang, a wardrobe, and a table.
With the help of the sleeping drug, the men in the room began snoring in competition.
Guided by System 001, Jiang Taohua took Shen Zhou’s five hundred yuan, then jumped onto the bed, raised her fists, and unleashed a barrage of punches on him.
After beating him up, she finally vented the pent-up anger in her heart. Since she hadn’t died, she had to seek revenge—she was, after all, quite petty.
The male protagonist Shen Zhou had hired an assassin to take her life, while she had merely taken his money and given him a beating. Truly, she was still too kind-hearted.
One cannot become wealthy without windfall gains. The male and female protagonists had contributed seven hundred yuan to her—what generous souls they were.
Returning to her room and seeing Wen Shunu and the others sleeping soundly, Jiang Taohua entered her storage space to take a bath and drink a sip of well water. After eating a little food, she finally felt alive again.
She slept soundly until daybreak.
The next morning, Shen Zhou woke up aching all over.
It felt as if he had been brutally beaten—every part of his body hurt.
Bai Jinchuan, being a loudmouth, pointed at him and mocked loudly.
“Hahaha, Shen Zhou, your face is covered in bruises! Did you run into a ghost or something?”
Li Guangrong pondered thoughtfully. “I’ve heard of a condition called sleepwalking. Could it be that Shen Zhou was sleepwalking?”
Shen Zhou’s face darkened. Could he really have been sleepwalking?
His eyes glanced at the wardrobe, and his heart tightened. Something was wrong—the wardrobe had been opened.
Ignoring the pain in his body, Shen Zhou hurriedly jumped out of bed and, with trembling fingers, opened the wallet inside the wardrobe.
It was empty—completely empty!
“Where’s my money?”
A chill seeped into him, as if he were standing in the middle of a frozen wasteland.
Who had beaten him last night? And who had stolen his money?
Shen Zhou hastily put on his clothes and headed toward the commune. He was going to report the theft. Losing five hundred yuan was beyond the production team leader’s authority—only the police could handle this.
He was a cautious person and had marked the money. As long as the police got involved, they would surely find the thief.
But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he would never guess that Jiang Taohua had a storage space. The money was inside it, lost forever.
Before leaving, Shen Zhou went to see the production team leader, reported the theft, and insisted that the educated youths couldn’t go to work that day—his money had to be found.
He was certain that the money had been stolen by someone from the educated youth point.
The production team leader stood guard at the door, silently listening to Jian Mingyue’s inner thoughts, his face darkening.
[That idiot production team leader, anyone would think Jiang Taohua is his illegitimate daughter with how he always favors her. Ugh! Shameless old man!]
The production team leader had always worked diligently, though he was a bit petty. Having lived half his life, he never expected to be insulted in the heart of a young girl.
Very well! He silently noted this down against Jian Mingyue.