Lin Zhijin and the three maids sorted through the things she had been given, and afterward, only one thought remained in her mind.
She was rich.
She was really rich.
A full two thousand silver dollars, ten small gold bars, a chest of jewelry, as well as all kinds of fabrics, furs, and decorative objects.
Lin Zhijin stroked the snow-white fox fur and had Xiaohong invite the master tailor from the sewing room over. The tailors in the Chen residence were all highly skilled masters. While things had not yet become strict, she might as well freeload as much as she could.
“Use these furs as the lining for me. I want one long coat, two short ones, and two vests. Use these bolts of fabric to make padded jackets and padded trousers. Make a few dresses for hot weather too. As for the styles… here, I want this kind.”
Lin Zhijin tapped the sample book.
“Ninth Concubine, the weather is about to warm up. You still want thick outerwear made now?” the master tailor asked in confusion.
“Yes. They’ll have to be made sooner or later.” Lin Zhijin nodded.
“All right, Ninth Concubine. Gray squirrel fur would actually be better for lining. These larger furs of yours would be better used for collars,” the master tailor could not help adding.
Lin Zhijin did not understand these things. She rummaged through the furs Mama Sun had sent over.
“Is there any gray squirrel fur here?”
“There is some in the storeroom. First Madam said that if you need anything, just say the word,” the master tailor hurriedly replied.
“Then all right. You decide how to make them. Don’t use colors that are too bright. Keep them plainer.”
Lin Zhijin simply did not want to attract too much attention, but Xiaohong and the master tailor assumed that because she was in mourning, she did not dare wear anything too brightly colored.
After waving the master tailor away, Lin Zhijin continued sorting through the jewelry and decorative objects.
This was ruby, right?
These were pearls.
This was jadeite.
Hiss—
Was this imperial green jadeite?
Lin Zhijin reluctantly slipped the jadeite bracelet off her wrist.
There were so many good things, but she was afraid she would not be able to take them with her when she left.
Other people who transmigrated always seemed to have some kind of storage space.
If only she had one too.
The weather gradually warmed.
Lin Zhijin stayed inside for two days and was so bored she was almost growing mushrooms. Looking at the asparagus ferns in the courtyard, she began missing her phone.
“Ninth Concubine, the flowers in the garden have bloomed. Would you like to go take a look?” Xiaohong asked when she saw how listless Lin Zhijin looked.
“If I go to the garden now, will I run into a lot of people?”
At most, there was only another month before the People’s Liberation Army arrived.
She did not want any unexpected complications.
“The weather is nice today, so there should be other people strolling through the garden. You could find someone to chat with too.”
At first, Xiaohong had thought the Ninth Concubine was pretending to be timid.
Now she suspected she had guessed wrong.
The Ninth Concubine really was timid.
She did not even dare go to the garden.
Lin Zhijin shook her head.
She was not timid.
She was cautious.
Based on her many years of experience watching television dramas and reading novels, gardens were places where incidents frequently occurred.
Right now, she only wanted to lay low until liberation.
She was at the final stretch and absolutely could not allow anything to go wrong.
In the end, although she did not go out, several concubines who had wanted to “coincidentally” run into her were nearly driven mad.
The Seventh Concubine was the first one who could no longer hold back and simply brought people directly to her courtyard to block her in.
“Seventh Sister, how do you have time to come over? Please sit. Xiaohong, serve tea.”
Lin Zhijin entertained her somewhat timidly.
The Seventh Concubine looked around Lin Zhijin’s room, and a trace of disdain flashed through her eyes.
Why was it so shabby?
Hadn’t they said Master had given her quite a few extra good things?
“Ninth Sister, where are the things Master divided out to you? Why haven’t you displayed them?” the Seventh Concubine asked directly.
Lin Zhijin blinked in confusion.
“Most of what Master gave me was fabric and jewelry.”
“Fabric and jewelry?”
The Seventh Concubine narrowed her eyes.
Most of what had been divided to her were decorative objects.
It must have been that old hag Madam Chen Lishi playing tricks.
She gave a cold snort and leaned closer to Lin Zhijin, asking curiously with a smile, “Ninth Sister, I heard Master gave you quite a bit of property in addition to your share. How much was it?”
“Extra? Didn’t everyone get some?”
Lin Zhijin thought carefully.
First Madam definitely had not told her this.
No wonder her share had been so generous.
So Master Chen had given those things to her separately.
The Seventh Concubine was stunned for a moment too.
“The land and other family property were already more or less divided before Eldest Master went abroad. Master’s private assets were all jewelry, fabrics, and decorative objects. Master always cherished beautiful women. Since you don’t have children, he gave you some additional property. So? How much was it exactly?”
Lin Zhijin deliberately looked at the Seventh Concubine with a confused expression.
“I think it was a hundred mu of farmland and a mountain. I’m not sure about the exact details. First Madam was worried that I was too young, so she’s helping me manage them for now.”
“What? First Madam took them?”
The Seventh Concubine sprang to her feet in shock and looked at Lin Zhijin as though she were looking at an idiot.
“I knew it. Since when was she so kind, showing concern for you, a country girl, in every possible way? Turns out she had already made plans from the beginning. And you’re stupid too. Once something enters First Madam’s hands, its surname becomes Li. You still think she’ll return it to you?”
Lin Zhijin blinked in confusion.
“She wouldn’t. First Madam’s family has vast wealth and holdings. How could she covet such a small amount of property from me?”
The Seventh Concubine sneered.
“You really don’t believe me when I say you’re stupid. Haven’t you even asked around? First Madam’s family has vast wealth and holdings? Hah. That doesn’t change the fact that her maternal family is already declining and constantly asking her for money. You don’t know, do you? First Madam’s older brother is an opium addict, while her younger brother is addicted to gambling and women.”
Then the Seventh Concubine seemed to think of something.
She looked Lin Zhijin up and down.
No wonder Master had been so generous.
She really was fresh and beautiful.
Could it be that First Madam had taken a liking to her too?
The Seventh Concubine’s gaze made all the hairs on Lin Zhijin’s body stand on end.
“Seventh Sister, is something wrong?”
“Tsk, tsk. First Madam has already eaten the meat, and now she wants to strip the skin and drink the blood too. Ninth Sister, I’ll be a good person for once today and give you some advice. If First Madam asks you to remarry, make sure you find out exactly which family it is before agreeing.”
After saying that, the Seventh Concubine left directly.
She had to tell the others what she had learned.
Lin Zhijin carefully thought over what the Seventh Concubine had just said.
Then everything suddenly became clear.
Madam Chen Lishi wanted to marry her to her younger brother?
That had to be it.
That way, Madam Chen Lishi could continue managing her land and property as a matter of course, while her younger brother would gain a beautiful young wife.
No wonder she had been so generous.
So she had been planning to move things from her left hand to her right hand all along.
The Seventh Concubine had not been wrong.
Madam Chen Lishi did not merely want to eat the meat.
She wanted to pull out her tendons, strip off her skin, and drink her blood afterward.
Fortunately, Master Chen had not even been dead for a hundred days.
No matter how anxious Madam Chen Lishi was, she would still have to wait until Lin Zhijin completed the mourning period for her husband.
One year.
There was nothing to worry about.
Although there was no immediate danger, Madam Chen Lishi’s intentions really were vicious.
The original owner was pitiful too.
Even if she had not died in childbirth, she would only have entered another wolf’s den.
After thinking through all sorts of messy things, Lin Zhijin was just about to lie down for a while when the Third Concubine came to visit.
She was also here because of the things Master Chen had given Lin Zhijin.
Lin Zhijin did not hide anything and simply repeated what she had told the Seventh Concubine.
In less than two hours, all the concubines and everyone well-informed in the residence knew that Lin Zhijin’s property had already fallen into First Madam’s hands.
Some schemes that had only just begun to sprout were immediately suppressed again.
Although First Madam’s maternal family had declined, a dead camel was still bigger than a horse.
Besides, First Madam herself had firm foundations.
She was absolutely not someone a little girl like Lin Zhijin could compare to.
Now that the property was in First Madam’s hands, none of them dared set their sights on it.
“Ninth Concubine, First Madam is asking you to go to the main courtyard for dinner,” Old Woman Zhang said from outside the door.
“First Madam wants me to go over for dinner?”
Lin Zhijin tidied herself up simply, then went to the main courtyard with Xiaohong.
The moment she entered, she saw Madam Chen Lishi sitting there with a dark expression, not saying a word.
Lin Zhijin knew First Madam was angry that she had told the Seventh Concubine and the others about the land and property.
Madam Chen Lishi deliberately left Lin Zhijin standing there for quite a while before finally acting as though she had only just noticed her.
“Little Nine? When did you arrive? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Lin Zhijin lowered her head and replied weakly, “I’ve been here for a little while. I saw that you were busy, so I didn’t dare disturb you.”
“You child. Why are you being so distant? You don’t need to be so restrained with me. Sit down. Chunlan, serve the dishes.”
Madam Chen Lishi used serving chopsticks to place two portions of food into Lin Zhijin’s bowl.
“Eat more. You’re still young. It wouldn’t be good for you to become deficient.”
Halfway through the meal, Madam Chen Lishi asked casually, “I heard the Seventh Concubine and Third Concubine went to see you?”
Lin Zhijin honestly nodded.
“Yes. First Madam, did Master give me those properties separately?”
A sharp glint flashed through First Madam’s eyes.
“That’s right. Master pitied you because you became a widow as soon as you entered the household, so he gave you some additional things. But Little Nine, you have to understand one principle: never reveal your wealth. You can’t tell other people what Master gave you. Won’t that just make people covet it? I’ll tell you something privately. Although the things each of you received were equal in value, what you actually received was completely different.”
Seeing Lin Zhijin stare at her blankly, First Madam took a deep breath.
“Most of what the other concubines received were decorative objects and antiques. Do you understand what I mean now?”
She understood.
The same antique vase could be from the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, or the modern era.
They all looked like vases, but the difference between them was enormous.
“Everything I selected for you is top quality. Keep them carefully. In the future, they’ll all be something you can rely on,” Madam Chen Lishi said earnestly.
Lin Zhijin sneered inwardly.
Rely on?
She wanted Lin Zhijin to bring all these things with her when she married into the Li family, didn’t she?
“I understand. I won’t tell anyone else.”
Lin Zhijin nodded repeatedly.
After returning to her room, Lin Zhijin felt that it was time to prepare to leave.
First, she needed somewhere to live.
The three-courtyard residence Master Chen had given her definitely would not do.
Such a huge house—was she afraid people would not know she had been a capitalist’s concubine?
Second came the jewelry in her room.
If she did not take it, she could not bear to leave it behind.
But if she did take it, it would attract people’s covetous eyes.
Lin Zhijin tossed and turned all night.
In the end, she decided to solve the housing problem first.
The next day, she went to see First Madam.
“First Madam, the house Master left me is too big. Can I exchange it for a smaller one? Then if my parents come to the city in the future, they’ll have somewhere to stay.”
“You don’t want the three-courtyard residence, but you want a smaller one?”
Madam Chen Lishi looked suspiciously at Lin Zhijin.
Seeing that she was serious, she thought that all these things would belong to her younger brother sooner or later anyway and smiled.
“It was given to you, so it’s yours. If you really like smaller residences, I’ll give you another one. There’s a single-courtyard residence near the East Gate. Go take a look later. If you like it, I’ll give it to you.”
“Can I go see it today? I also want to make a trip to the department store. I still haven’t picked up the undergarments I had custom-made last time.”
She had also ordered two pullover sweaters, two cardigans, and two sets of Lenin suits.
“Have Xiaohong and Old Woman Zhang accompany you. Go ahead.”
First Madam waved her hand.
They lived in the western district, while the East Gate was in the eastern district, which was somewhat far away.
So First Madam had the chauffeur drive them there in a car.
“Driver, how long does it take to get there by car?”
When Lin Zhijin learned that it would take more than twenty minutes, she was very satisfied.
That would be where she lived in the future.
The farther it was from the Chen family, the better.
Naturally, any house the Chen residence considered good enough would be excellent.
Although it was only a single-courtyard residence, it covered more than three hundred square meters.
Inside were artificial rock formations, a pond, and even a small garden.
Everywhere one looked, it was exquisitely designed.
But it was precisely because the residence was too good that, no matter how much Lin Zhijin liked it, she could only give it up.
Then she thought about it again.
Actually, there was no need to give it up.
She was now a concubine who had been brought in for chongxi.
Even though the marriage had never been consummated, her reputation was already ruined.
She could accept the things Master Chen had left her with a clear conscience.
Then she remembered that the country was still at war.
She might as well donate these things to the army.
Even helping a little would still be helping.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
None.