There were three things to take care of today.
First, Li Luoyu returned to her space. After carefully doing her makeup in front of the mirror—drawing her brows and applying powder—she looked at the face staring back at her, one that bore a slight resemblance to Jiang Qinghui’s, and felt quite satisfied.
She put on a navy-blue Zhongshan suit she had taken from her uncle’s room, donned a period-style side-part wig, and slicked the sides down neatly with pomade, letting the ends curl slightly upward. She stepped into a pair of polished black leather shoes, even adding height-increasing insoles so the slight mismatch caused by her height difference would be barely noticeable.
Checking the time—9:05 a.m.—the bank had long since opened.
“Withdraw money. All of it.”
In this era, withdrawing money required paperwork. Li Luoyu passed Jiang Qinghui’s bankbook and household registration booklet through the small window. The clerk took them, stamped them repeatedly with loud thuds, then handed back 20,000 yuan along with the documents.
Li Luoyu nodded, packed the cash into a burlap sack, and quickly left the bank.
She had expected to be questioned about withdrawing such a large amount—she had even prepared an excuse—but the clerk didn’t ask a single thing.
All the better.
She repeated the same process, withdrawing the 8,000 yuan belonging to Li Hezhi and the 3,200 yuan belonging to Jiang Chi’er before leaving briskly.
Wearing Jiang Chi’er’s face, she rode a bicycle to an abandoned courtyard on the outskirts of the capital.
“Big sister, there’s a switch for the basement in this room. Let’s go from here.”
Li Luoyu was slightly surprised. “Oh? So Xiao Liuli knows there are treasures in the basement too?”
“Of course!” Xiao Liuli bounced on the bed inside the space, hands on her hips and chin raised proudly. “My spiritual sense can now cover a hundred-meter radius!”
Li Luoyu quickly entered the dilapidated room and casually pressed a stone on the wall. A staircase leading underground appeared.
“You’re better than me,” she said as she walked down. “My mental power hasn’t advanced yet—I can only sense about twenty meters.”
Liuli curled her lips in disdain. “These things don’t have any spiritual energy at all. I don’t know why you want them.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
The space wasn’t large—just over a hundred square meters. Li Luoyu counted the crates before her: one hundred large boxes, all filled with antiques from various dynasties. It made sense—smuggling operations favored items like these.
Using the same method, she swept through six other locations. None escaped her grasp.
This trip netted her a total of 1,320 crates of antiques—larger pieces packed individually, smaller ones grouped together.
There were Shang and Zhou bronze tripods, Ru ware celadon plates, blue-and-white porcelain vases, Ming and Qing calligraphy and painting scrolls, repaired plum vases with metal staples, Tang tri-colored ceramics inlaid with glass beads, jade carvings of foreign riders on horseback, as well as ancient books, rare manuscripts, and the “Four Treasures of the Study.” All were items she had seen in museums and private collections overseas in her previous life.
She gently touched a chipped Tang tri-colored camel figurine and sighed.
“It’s not that I don’t want to hand you over to the country… but these days, it’s hard to tell friend from foe. If I misjudge someone, you might suffer again. For now, just bear with it—nowhere is safer than my space.”
“As for your future… we’ll see. If I ever reach the top, I’ll open a grand private museum for future generations to admire.”
She checked the time—almost 3 p.m.
No wonder she was hungry.
Returning to her space, she took out a three-in-one mixed noodle dish she had bought in her previous life from the “Carb Capital,” added vinegar and chili oil, and mixed it well. The aroma was irresistible.
Liuli suddenly flew over. “Wow, that smells amazing!”
Li Luoyu smiled. “Want some?”
“Yes!”
“Wait—you spirit artifacts can eat regular food too?”
“Of course.”
“…Then do you also need to poop?”
“Nope. Just fart and that’s it.”
Li Luoyu: “?”
“…Alright, I’ll give you a small bowl. If you want more, go grab it yourself from the storage.”
“Hehe~ okay!”
“Ahhh—so spicy!” Liuli stuck out her tongue. “Give me some water!”
Li Luoyu quickly handed her a cup of spiritual spring water. “Slow down. I’m not fighting you for it. We’ve got plenty of noodles—eat as much as you want.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She pointed at the patch of black soil in the distance, a gentle smile forming as an idea came to her.
“In the afternoon, how about you help us farm? Half for wheat, half for rice, and we’ll leave a small section for fruits and vegetables. Sound good?”
“Hiss… Sister, I don’t know how to farm…”
“It’s fine. There are agricultural books—you’ll learn quickly.”
“Okay~”
After eating and drinking her fill, Li Luoyu took out paper and pen and began writing anonymous reports.
She reported Li Hezhi for human trafficking, noting that the account book was hidden in a secret compartment beneath his bed.
She reported Jiang Qinghui as a spy involved in smuggling cultural relics, mentioning a hidden room behind his study bookshelf containing a radio and correspondence.
As for the raid committee director who had come to her house that morning—he didn’t seem like a good person either. Better leave him to the authorities.
After leaving her space, she once again wore Jiang Chi’er’s face and went to the police station. She bribed a young boy with two pieces of White Rabbit candy to deliver the letter inside, then didn’t bother with it further.
As she walked on, she spotted the People’s Department Store at the corner.
Right—she was going to be sent down to the countryside with her grandfather. She needed to prepare supplies.
The gray-and-white building bore a striking red slogan at the top: “Develop the economy, ensure supply.” A wooden sign reading People’s Department Store hung under the eaves. Posters flanked the entrance—on one side, workers forging steel; on the other, farmers carrying wheat. A handwritten notice in the corner read: “Save grain.”
Swinging her army-green canvas bag over her shoulder, Li Luoyu pulled out a stack of money and ration coupons she had gathered over the past two days and strode inside, ready for a shopping spree.
On the first floor, in the food section:
“Comrade, five pounds of White Rabbit candy, five pounds of fruit hard candy.”
The clerk adjusted her glasses, weighed the items, and wrapped them in kraft paper.
“17 yuan, 10 candy coupons.”
White Rabbit candy cost 2.2 yuan per pound, while fruit candy was cheaper at 1.2 yuan per pound.
Li Luoyu paid swiftly and moved on. She bought two boxes of peach pastries, two pounds of sponge cake, two tins of cold cream, and two bars of soap.
Upstairs on the creaky wooden stairs, she headed to the clothing section. Avoiding a group of girls buying fabric for wedding dresses, she picked out two pairs of black trousers and two white shirts.
At the next counter, she chose two plaid long skirts—one navy with white checks, one maroon with yellow checks—along with two pairs of buckle leather shoes and two pairs of Warrior sneakers.
She also bought two navy Zhongshan suits for her grandfather, though she wasn’t sure if they’d be allowed where they were going. She added two sets of work clothes, a gray traditional jacket with hidden inner pockets, and two pairs of Liberation shoes and cloth shoes.
On the third floor, she purchased a kerosene lamp, kerosene, two thermos flasks, enamel basins with the slogan “Grasp revolution, promote production,” and a large enamel mug for her tea-loving grandfather.
After a full shopping spree, she had spent just over 300 yuan.
Having grown used to spending hundreds or thousands in her previous life, paying in such small amounts now gave her the illusion that everything was incredibly cheap.
Though she bought a lot, her strength made it manageable. Carrying everything in both hands, she left the department store. Seeing the sun beginning to set, she remembered Grandpa Liu had said her grandfather would return that evening, so she quickened her pace.
At a secluded corner, she stored everything away, took out her bicycle, and pedaled off at full speed.