“Wang the Cripple is finished this time!”
“No kidding, that’s brutal!”
“Ah, Guifen is such a poor soul too.”
The murmurs and sighs of the surrounding crowd reached Ruan An’an’s ears. She nodded, her little face pale, playing the part of a frightened girl perfectly.
In truth, her gaze was icy as it swept over Wang the Cripple lying on the ground like a lump of rotten mud—
His face barely recognizable through the blood and gore, and the lower half of his body was the most horrifying.
It looked as if a wild beast had torn him apart—flesh ripped and peeled back, stark white bones exposed.
Some areas had even been gnawed into deep pits.
The “Premium Livestock Frenzy Potion” from her space really worked wonders!
Just a tiny drop, and even castrated pigs could go wild like this…
Serves him right! Can’t control those two ounces of flesh? That’s what he gets!
A cold smile flickered in Ruan An’an’s mind, though her face remained full of faux pity. She turned and entered the room where Xu’s mother stayed.
She rummaged through the box where Xu’s mother hid money and ration coupons, pulled out a few bills, and handed them to Luo Guifen:
“Guifen Auntie, I’m sorry. The money and ration coupons were all kept by my mother-in-law… this is all I could get… please take it and use it to treat Brother Wang…”
Her voice choked with emotion, eyes red, she acted the part of a powerless, wronged young bride to perfection.
Luo Guifen clutched the stack of soft, sweat-dampened bills and the heavy ration coupons, and tears streamed uncontrollably:
“Good child… Auntie… I’ll remember you forever!”
Watching her look so grateful, Ruan An’an’s cold smile deepened.
In the ’70s, a top apprentice earned barely a dozen bucks a month.
All this money plus the ration coupons added up to almost a hundred yuan—not enough to treat Wang the Cripple, but certainly enough to buy him a coffin.
Moreover, she was using Xu mother’s money to do herself a favor—she wasn’t losing out!
With the matter settled for now, Liu Po comforted Ruan An’an a bit, then led everyone back to the neighboring house to sleep.
Before leaving, she reminded Ruan An’an:
“An’an, your mother arranged for you to marry Xu family’s eldest, with a gilded marriage certificate. As for the widow of a martyr, that title rightfully belongs to you!”
Ruan An’an had never heard about this marriage certificate before.
The original account only mentioned that Xu Yanchen was the groom chosen by Ruan’s mother, but it never mentioned there was a written certificate!
If such a certificate really existed,
The Xu family wouldn’t dare use the “capitalist young lady” label to report her for reassignment.
It was basically a life-saving talisman! She had to find it immediately!
Eager to locate the marriage certificate between her and Xu Yanchen, she assumed the lights were out in the neighboring old Western-style house. Like a nimble night owl, she pulled out a flashlight wrapped in cloth from her space and silently sneaked into Xu mother’s grimy, oily outer room.
[Beep! Treasure detected at 12 o’clock!]
12 o’clock? Ruan An’an swept her flashlight across the dim room, finally landing on the corner with the long-neglected, greasy, blackened stove.
Could it be under the stove?
Looking at the thick layer of dust and the shiny black iron pot, she wrinkled her nose in disgust.
So dirty—surely she wouldn’t have to crawl in there?
With a thought, she activated her teleportation.
The stench of mold mixed with damp earth hit her. The narrow tunnel extended only two to three meters down.
At the end was a small, square cellar. Along the walls were neatly stacked over twenty dark brown camphorwood chests!
Ruan An’an’s eyes lit up—
Camphorwood keeps insects, mold, and moisture away. These were exactly the chests Ruan family used to pack the original bride’s dowry!
Packed to the brim, they were filled with the weight of her parents’ love.
As expected, the chests contained rare treasures.
Two chests of small yellow croakers, three chests of jade artifacts, five chests of Qing Dynasty porcelain, ten chests of rare Chinese herbs.
The last chest was the largest. She opened it to reveal a full chest of perfectly round, pearl-sized quail eggs…
And atop them, quietly resting… a solid gold marriage certificate!
Heavy in her hands, icy cold to the touch.
The Ruan family really knew how to show off!
A pure gold marriage certificate!
But in the current situation…
It was too hot to handle.
Taking it out would only bring trouble; the Red Armband militia could seize it in an instant!
So she returned to her Huizhou-style house in her space, and used brush and ink to make a copy. Once the ink dried, she picked it up to inspect carefully.
[Ruan An’an of the Ruan family, Xu Yanchen of the Xu family—union of two families, contract concluded.]
[A blessed union, well matched.]
[With this white-haired pledge, inscribed on grand letter paper; sealed with the red-leaf covenant, recorded in the love registry.]
Below were their birth dates and the name of the witness, Zhou Huaian.
Ruan An’an’s heart surged. She carefully stored the paper “protective talisman.”
Just as she was about to leave, the alert sounded again:
[Beep! Weapon detected at 6 o’clock behind you!]
Behind her? At six o’clock?
Ruan An’an’s senses went on high alert. She tapped the earthen wall behind her—
Thump, thump! Empty!
Another tunnel in the neighboring room?
Fresh, damp soil on the floor confirmed her suspicion.
No wonder that old hag with the shovel was digging just now.
Ruan An’an clicked her tongue in admiration.
But the neighbors—Liu Po, Wang the Cripple—were ordinary people barely scraping by. Where would a weapon come from?
Unless… it belonged to the previous house owner!
The old Western-style house used to belong to someone involved in a reactionary organization, who fled with her foreign husband at the founding of the country. That’s why Wang the Cripple and his family got the house.
Unexpectedly, the people were gone, but their belongings were still hidden there.
Taking the enemy’s stuff—was that stealing?
No, that’s confiscation! Support for the frontlines, aiding the great revolutionary construction!
With that thought, she teleported and found herself in the neighboring tunnel.
This place was clearly higher grade.
The floor was covered in milky-white tiles with dark blue patterns.
In front of her were rows of dark green military crates, each bearing the terrifying emblem of the reactionary organization.
Ruan An’an casually opened one—it contained antiques, yellow croakers, jade, and some Western antibiotics.
Other crates revealed light machine guns, Czech ZB26s, Type 54 magazines, and Gabrán ammunition.
Most importantly, there was a huge stash of national ration tickets: rice, flour, grain, oil, cloth—everything.
Ruan An’an grinned ear to ear and packed everything into her space, leaving not even the old bulb above.
Soon, strict crackdowns would begin on this street, and remnants of the organization would try to cause trouble.
Now, with all these supplies gone, how could they still act arrogantly?
Wait…
Reactionary elements are ruthless. If they discovered the loss, they would investigate thoroughly.
Better to leave some evidence making it seem like Xu mother and son took the items.
Thinking this, Ruan An’an grabbed the shovel she had just borrowed from Xu’s place and started digging into the wall.
With the boost of the Ling Spring, she had plenty of energy. In less than half an hour, she forced open a crooked tunnel.
She deliberately left many drag marks at the entrance and along the tunnel, even covering it with dry straw from Xu’s wood shed to disguise it.
Before leaving, she took a small pistol and two magazines, hiding them separately in Xu’s inner and outer rooms.
While searching for the gun stash, she unexpectedly found a heavy tin of cash tucked into a crack under Xu mother’s bed.
Grabbing the thick stacks of bills, Ruan An’an seethed internally.
The old hag! Taking Ruan family’s money, sucking Ruan family’s blood, not even willing to spend a drop of oil in the kitchen.
All hidden here!
No wonder the original owner lived like a beggar!