“Remember when I mentioned the gold bars to you? Those gold bars were hidden inside a basket of old clothes. When the clothes came from my aunt’s house, there was nothing hidden inside. Then Uncle Dalin carried them onto the boat. The baskets only left Uncle Dalin’s sight while we were on the boat. So, someone on the boat must have stuffed the gold bars into them. After that, Uncle Dalin carried the baskets back. They first went to my second uncle’s house, and then my family brought them home.”
That was the journey of the gold bars, as she understood it.
Where had the gold come from?
After everything that had happened, Yun Su had already reached a conclusion.
Those people—the ones who went to the trouble of orchestrating burglaries across three villages—must be looking for these gold bars.
—
Ji Xiangtian was stunned by Yun Su’s analysis.
He knew about the gold bars. But there were only six of them. Even if they were the “big yellow croakers” from the Republic of China era, their market value wouldn’t exceed six thousand yuan.
Moreover, the gold had been lost on the boat. There were too many potential targets on a boat—it would be very difficult to track down where exactly it had gone missing.
Would anyone really go to such lengths for just six thousand yuan?
Ji Xiangtian didn’t think so.
His instincts, honed by living in the military district for so long, told him there was a deeper reason behind it all.
“Could I take a look at the gold bars?”
Yun Su nodded, took his hand, and led him to her parents’ room. She pulled the items out from a locked cabinet.
The gold bars had originally been hidden by her parents in a deep hole beneath the cabinet. But after the burglary and what she’d heard from the brigade captain, Yun Su had analyzed the situation and realized the gold might be the key to the whole case. So she’d had her parents dig them up in advance.
She had planned to hand the gold over to Ji Xiangtian when he came today and have him find someone to investigate what secrets these gold bars held.
Moreover, at this point, Yun Su had a vague feeling about something. These gold bars might be closely connected to the tragic fate of the original character in the book.
Although, in the book, these same gold bars had become the seed money for the heroine, Yun Feng, to build her fortune.
There must be some connection between all of this.
—
Ji Xiangtian had naturally encountered the Republic of China era “big yellow croakers” and “little yellow croakers” before.
A “big yellow croaker” typically weighed over 300 grams. As an orthopedic doctor, he was very sensitive to weight. The moment he held them, he could tell the bars’ weight was fine.
As for whether there was anything else unusual about them, that would require a professional to examine them.
He put the gold bars away and said, “How about we go back to the military district? If we get these out sooner, we might get results sooner.”
Yun Su agreed. She wasn’t going to the supply depot today precisely so she could explain this matter to Ji Xiangtian.
“Speaking of which, aside from your brother’s acceptance letter, could you have your brother deliver the other two?”
Yun Su nodded. She called her older brother, who had stepped out to the yard, inside and personally handed the acceptance letter to him. “Brother, here’s the factory acceptance letter. Could you deliver Yu Ge and Ximei’s letters? Xiangtian and I need to go out for something.”
Yun Su’s older brother, who had been overjoyed just a moment ago, instinctively wanted to ask where they were going.
But he held back.
His sister was about to get engaged to Xiao Ji; being too nosy would just be annoying.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go deliver them now. If you’re leaving, lock the doors and windows. I have my key.”
Yun Su’s mother and little brother were at the supply depot minding the shop, and her father had gone to visit some old friends.
Yun Su nodded. “Then we’re off. Don’t make lunch for the two of us.”
With that, Yun Su turned back to lock the doors and windows, then followed Ji Xiangtian to the car to leave.
“Good thing you drove. Otherwise, at this hour, there’d be no oxcart. Walking to town would be a real pain.”
Ji Xiangtian smiled. The car was borrowed from his father’s connections, making it easier for him to come on weekends. After all, the bus back to town could only be caught in town, and the road from the village to town only had oxcarts—very inconvenient.
Across the way, Yun Feng watched Yun Su leave in the big jeep again. She leaned against the door and cursed under her breath: “Off gallivanting again, off gallivanting again. Not even married yet, already running around with a man. Shameless… Gallivant all you want, gallivant all you want.”
After the jeep’s rear end disappeared from view, Yun Feng heard a sudden shriek from the Lin family’s house across the way: “Oh my god! An acceptance letter… Ah! My Ximei is going to be a factory worker!”
The joyful shout immediately drew neighbors over to see what was happening. Then everyone learned that the processing factory’s acceptance letters had arrived, and Yun Su’s boyfriend had delivered them. A lively commotion broke out.
Yun Feng looked at Yun Huaimin, who was standing among the crowd wearing a proud smile. She felt that this cousin had become utterly detestable.
In the past, this cousin used to treat her better than Yun Su. He used to praise her constantly as a good girl. Now that Yun Su had found a good match, his attitude toward her had changed completely.
Hmph, she wouldn’t let him live comfortably either…
—
Back at the village, Yun Su and Ji Xiangtian were temporarily unaware of what was happening.
The car left Yun Family Hollow Brigade smoothly, heading straight for the military district.
But as they passed the village entrance, they saw Li Hong and Hu Chunhua at the supply depot entrance.
Yun Su didn’t pay much attention to Hu Chunhua, but she looked at Li Hong several times.
She noticed that although Li Hong wore a simple, honest expression, her eyes kept drifting toward the jeep.
Inside the car, Yun Su told Ji Xiangtian about this.
“I didn’t pay much attention to others when I was on the boat.”
Although his fear of water had been cured, Ji Xiangtian still didn’t like large bodies of water. The reason he had gone up to the deck that day on the ferry was because many people were smoking inside the cabin. As a doctor, he naturally didn’t smoke. He hadn’t been feeling well that day, so he went up to the deck to get some fresh air.
Yun Su said, “Don’t dwell on it. First, let’s find out whether these gold bars are problematic or not.”
The gold bars had already been wrapped up and brought along, and they were now being delivered to the military district. If things moved quickly, they might have results before their engagement.
They had been so engrossed in discussing the burglary, the gold bars, and the Li siblings that Yun Su had nearly forgotten about her and Ji Xiangtian’s engagement.
The engagement date was set. There wouldn’t be much fanfare—after all, times were hard for everyone. They would simply invite relatives and friends over for some wedding candies and let them know the news. Of course, the bride price would also be delivered that day.
Yun Su was about to bring up the engagement with Ji Xiangtian when she spotted two familiar figures on the main road in town.
Since the car was moving faster than people could walk, she only caught a glimpse of them. But after checking her rearview mirror and confirming she hadn’t mistaken them, she turned her head back, her face full of surprise.
Ji Xiangtian, who was driving, noticed Yun Su’s strange expression and asked directly, “What’s wrong? Did you see someone?”
Yun Su nodded. “I saw two unexpected people. It’s… really hard to explain.”
Seeing that Yun Su didn’t seem to want to talk about it, Ji Xiangtian didn’t press further. Instead, he casually mentioned some things that had happened at work.
Since they could only see each other on weekends and had no phone contact during the week, every time they met, they would first catch each other up on what had happened in the past week, then move on to other topics. It might sound mundane, but Yun Su loved this way of being together.
When it came to feelings, she preferred a slow, steady build—little by little, drop by drop.
—
Meanwhile, Li Hong had accompanied Hu Chunhua to the supply depot to buy some brown sugar. As they came out, they saw the jeep. Li Hong knew that inside sat Yun Su and her military doctor boyfriend.
After the jeep had disappeared from view, Li Hong heard Hu Chunhua sigh, “As they say, comparing yourself to others only makes you angry. Yun Su doesn’t know how to do anything, yet she gets to marry someone with such good prospects.”
Hearing this, Li Hong joked, “So you’re saying my brother isn’t good enough for you?”
Hu Chunhua quickly shook her head. “Not at all. Biao Ge treats me wonderfully. Otherwise, how could I drink brown sugar water every day?”
Li Hong chuckled, saying, “Of course he treats you well—who else would he treat well?” But her eyes kept drifting to Hu Chunhua’s belly. Recently, Li Biao had finally started putting in real effort. Li Hong was just waiting for Hu Chunhua’s belly to swell so the villagers would accept them as their own. Then, she would find a way to take over the job of delivering seafood to the military district.
Once she had that job, getting into the military district to search for the items would be much easier.
Li Hong, lost in her daydreams, had no idea that the very thing she had been searching for was actually in the jeep that had just driven away.
—
The jeep moved quickly.
After returning to the military district, Ji Xiangtian had Yun Su wait at home while he took the gold bars and went straight to Family Courtyard No. 1 to find an acquaintance for help.
Ji Xiangtian’s parents were also on duty at the hospital over the weekend, so no one was home.
Yun Su simply sat in the living room, letting the electric fan blow on her while she waited for him to come back.
But before Ji Xiangtian returned, Yun Su saw, through the open gate, Gu Zhengrong hurrying home with a large pack on his back.
He was covered in dust and looked quite exhausted. It was clear that this mission hadn’t been easy.
Yun Su had nothing against him. When he glanced her way, she nodded slightly in greeting.
Gu Zhengrong recognized Yun Su at once. Seeing her alone at the Ji family home, he knew that her relationship with Ji Xiangtian must have been approved by both families.
Immediately afterward, he thought of Yun Feng.
Yun Feng was a kind and clever girl—there was no doubt about that. Although Gu Zhengrong hadn’t truly fallen in love with her yet, this time he was prepared to formalize their relationship as quickly as possible.
With these thoughts on his mind, he quickly reached his own home in a few strides.
As soon as Gu’s mother saw her son in such a state, she wailed, “Oh my, you’re back! Why are you in such a sorry state? Honghua, Hongmei, hurry up and get your brother some clean clothes. Xiaolei, Xiaolei! Your father is back.”
Xiaolei’s full name was Gu Lei. He was a five-year-old boy, the orphan of a comrade-in-arms that Gu Zhengrong had adopted.
The commotion at the Gu household soon became known to the neighbors. Everyone was happy to see such a family reunion scene.
Of course, there were always those who were unbalanced and felt Gu’s mother was being overly dramatic. What was the big deal about returning from a mission? Why act like it was a life-or-death separation?
From the Ji family’s courtyard, Yun Su observed all of this clearly. She thought to herself that no matter where you went, there would always be people who couldn’t stand others’ happiness.
Yun Su didn’t dwell on it. When Ji Xiangtian returned, they didn’t linger at the Ji house. They got straight into the car and left, preparing to go home.
In the car, Yun Su mentioned to Ji Xiangtian that Gu Zhengrong had returned. Ji Xiangtian was momentarily stunned, then said, “People in his line of work really go through a lot.”
After that, Ji Xiangtian brought up the gold bars.
“I’ve handed them over. It shouldn’t take long to get results. I’ll tell you as soon as I know.”
Yun Su nodded, feeling a sense of urgency that the truth was about to be revealed.
The car made good time, arriving at the commune before one in the afternoon.
Yun Su had never been to this commune before. They stopped there to find a state-run restaurant for lunch.
The commune was very crowded, much livelier than the town. On weekends, the state-run restaurant was packed to the brim.
Given the heat, Yun Su simply ordered cold noodles to eat.
But just after she sat down and took a couple of bites, she ran into someone she knew.
Leave a Reply