Chapter 5: Plundering

Once inside the room, Lin Jingyue began a thorough search. No money in this house? Who would believe such a thing? When the original owner's mother married in, she brought a substantial dowry. The Wu family truly was something else. Supposedly they were unkind to their daughter, yet when she married, they provided her with plenty of dowry. And when their daughter died, leaving behind her only bloodline, they neither inquired nor spoke, but instead went so far as to humiliate a young girl. Unbelievable.

While her mind mulled over these matters, Lin Jingyue's hands moved swiftly. At last, she discovered a hidden compartment in the corner behind the bed. Her eyes lit up. She crouched down, opened the secret space, and felt around until her fingers closed over a box, which she quickly pulled out. The moment she opened it, a kaleidoscope of banknotes burst into view—by her estimate, about one or two thousand yuan. She didn't bother counting; she swept them all into her storage space, not leaving behind a single receipt.

Having found the money, she meticulously searched the room again and, in the end, uncovered twenty small goldfish-shaped ingots in another hidden compartment in the bed. One of the bed’s legs had been hollowed out and was packed full. Goodness, Lin Jingyue couldn't help but exclaim inwardly. Without hesitation, she took the gold ingots as well. After triple-checking that nothing else of value remained, she restored the room to its original state and left.

Back in her own room, she locked the door and entered her storage space. She felt no guilt in taking these things; if she guessed correctly, the gold ingots had belonged to her mother—the bed itself was dowry. She reckoned even Father Lin hadn’t discovered those gold ingots hidden in the bed. Lin Jingyue counted the cash: 1,652 yuan and seventy cents, down to the last note and coin. Tsk, she suspected more than half of it was her mother’s survivor’s benefit.

After putting everything away, Lin Jingyue fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When she awoke, night had fallen completely. She glanced at her watch: it was past midnight. The original owner had been a resourceful girl, managing to acquire a Plum Blossom-brand watch.

Lin Jingyue retrieved a large pork bun she’d purchased earlier at the state-run restaurant and began to eat. In her storage space, time was frozen; whatever went in came out unchanged. She mused that she ought to acquire a set of cookware for the space, so she could prepare meals herself. Though she was a wealthy socialite, Lin Jingyue was a true homebody and quite adept at cooking.

The next morning, at dawn, Lin Jingyue left her room and swept up every last cornbread bun her stepmother had made, not sparing even the two boiled eggs. “Lin Jingyue, those eggs were for me and Xinjian!” Lin Xinyu fumed, glaring at Lin Jingyue’s retreating back. In response, the only sound was the slam of the door. Lin Jingyue ate the eggs in high spirits; by now, Lin Xinyu must be livid.

With Guo Yutong and her mother, she completed a job transaction. Once she had the money, Lin Jingyue dusted off her hands and strolled leisurely around the city. Despite the scarcity of goods in this era, there was a certain charm to it—fresh air, for one. She was quite at ease, oblivious to the fact that the Wu family had come calling, wanting her to return home for a meal.

The four members of the Lin family were puzzled. After nearly ten years, did the Wu family suddenly remember they had a granddaughter? When Lin Jingyue returned home that afternoon, her family, after some deliberation, decided not to tell her about the Wu family’s visit. They’d begun to suspect that the Wu family was scheming for Lin Jingyue’s job assignment.

So it was that the Wu family waited in vain for Lin Jingyue to show up, while she remained completely unaware, busy acquiring supplies for her upcoming rural assignment. Three days before her departure, she had the local tailor make her a cotton quilt, jacket, and trousers, which she had already found an opportunity to stow away in her storage space. For the rest, she traveled light.

Upon returning home, Lin Jingyue sensed something was off about the atmosphere. “Auntie, what’s happened?” she asked, nudging the woman standing at the door, watching the commotion. The woman, not bothering to look, launched into her account, spittle flying, “The Lin family’s consciousness is so high—three children, all volunteering to go to the countryside! The street office just came to announce it, and everyone was stunned. What is this family doing, making the rest of us look bad? Girl, what do you think—”

She finally turned and saw the fair-faced, big-eyed girl before her, and it was as if someone had gripped her throat. The crowd fell silent.

Lin Jingyue smiled brightly. “Ladies, you’ve seen enough of the excitement. It’s nearly mealtime; let’s disperse, shall we?” She quickly shooed everyone away.

The moment she turned around, a rolling pin came hurtling toward her. Lin Jingyue narrowed her eyes and caught it with a flourish—her movements effortlessly sharp. Flicking the stray hair from her forehead, she smirked, “Oh my, is this an attempt at filicide?”

Father Lin glared. “Nonsense! Tell me, was it you who reported Xinyu and Xinjian’s names? Huh?”

Hu Cuixi and Lin Xinyu wailed in the background, clutching Lin Xinjian tightly to keep him from lunging forward.

“Dad, what are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean.” Lin Jingyue twirled the rolling pin, then shut the door behind her, cutting off all prying eyes.

For some reason, the entire family of four shuddered. “You—you wretched girl, what are you planning to do?” Father Lin glanced around, searching for something to defend himself with. Lin Xinjian stopped struggling, while Hu Cuixi and her daughter cowered behind the men like frightened quails.

Lin Jingyue sneered. “Cowards.” The four of them glared. Lin Jingyue raised a brow. “What? Not convinced? If you want a fight, come on, then.”

“Oh, you mean the countryside assignment? What of it? We’ll all go to the countryside together! Such high consciousness—how come I can go and you can’t? Whoever signed me up can deal with the consequences.”

With that, she tossed the rolling pin; it whizzed past Father Lin’s ear.

“Aah!” Hu Cuixi and Lin Xinyu shrieked, clinging to each other in terror.

Father Lin turned pale; this wretched girl moved too fast—he hadn’t even had time to dodge. Fortunately, her aim was off.

Just as he thought this, Lin Jingyue lunged and delivered a swift kick to Lin Xinjian, knocking him flat.

“Lin Jingyue!” Lin Xinjian clutched his stomach, wishing he could kill her.

The other three were utterly terrified.

Lin Jingyue regarded them coolly. “If you’re not afraid of a beating, you’re welcome to try again.”

With that, she calmly turned and went back to her room. Her cheerful mood was evident even from her retreating figure.

The four Lin family members were left fuming, yet utterly helpless. None could have foreseen that the pitiful girl they once knew would become such a demon.

Unable to find a way to deal with Lin Jingyue, Father Lin and Hu Cuixi could only scramble to remove Lin Xinyu and Lin Xinjian’s names from the list. After two days of frantic effort, they achieved nothing but lost precious time to prepare for the countryside.

At five o’clock on the third morning, the educated youth assigned to the countryside had to catch the train. With no other option, Father Lin and Hu Cuixi told the children to pack quickly, gave them some spending money, and handed over the fifty-yuan settlement allowance from the street office. The rest of the supplies, they promised to send later.

Thus, all three Lin children boarded the train in haste. Of course, no one looked after Lin Jingyue; she collected her own settlement allowance, brought along a suitcase and a backpack, and set out, traveling light.