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Following the same method, Wen Nuan ransacked every room in the entire estate, even the kitchen wasn’t spared.
Especially the small storage room next to the kitchen, where all the rice, flour, oil, dried goods, and valuables were quickly moved into the space.
After this round of activity, the sky was already starting to lighten. Wen Nuan still felt a bit unsatisfied, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time left, so she had to stop.
She returned to the same place she had entered earlier, slipping in quietly and leaving just as quietly.
It wasn’t until the sky brightened that any sound could be heard from the estate.
It turned out to be the servant responsible for cooking who came to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, only to find it completely empty. Even the two iron pots on the stove had been taken.
The shock led to a loud scream, waking everyone in the yard. It was only then that they realized that besides the beds they were lying on, everything else had disappeared without a trace.
In an instant, the entire courtyard was in chaos. Even Hai Ye himself was deeply troubled, repeatedly lamenting that fortunately, the thief had come only for money; if it had been for revenge, they surely wouldn’t have seen the morning sun.
Because of this incident, Hai Ye ordered Zhao Lei to investigate Wen Nuan’s background, but it was completely put on hold. By the time they thought of it again, they had completely forgotten the name on the property deed.
Taking advantage of the last trace of night, Wen Nuan returned to the guesthouse just in time. The door was locked, and to get in, she had to find another way.
After a lot of effort, she finally climbed back into her room. Lying on the bed, Wen Nuan let out a long sigh. That night had certainly been thrilling.
Too thrilling!
After a night of running around, her nerves were still too excited, so Wen Nuan couldn’t feel even a hint of sleepiness. She immediately decided to start counting the money.
Gold, silver, jewels, antiques, and paintings were all set aside. What she focused on now were the cash and various forms of tickets.
Wen Nuan took the handbag out from the space. In both her lives combined, this was the first time she had seen so much cash.
【Please forgive the excitement of a money lover when counting cash.】
She poured the money from the handbag onto the bed, and began to sort it—notes on the left, and tickets on the right.
Once everything was organized, Wen Nuan couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t expected that the handbag would contain 43,600 yuan in cash, all in neatly stacked bills.
As for the tickets, they were even simpler. Aside from the national grain tickets, the most valuable ones were the sewing machine tickets, radio tickets, and bicycle tickets—she had all of them.
Wen Nuan carefully counted them. There were three bicycle tickets, two sewing machine tickets, one radio ticket, and a total of two hundred national grain tickets.
With all of this, Wen Nuan no longer had to worry about running out of supplies in the countryside. For the time being, she wouldn’t have to worry about money or tickets at all.
Once everything was organized, Wen Nuan changed into a new set of clothes.
Considering she would be traveling by bus, Wen Nuan didn’t wear the new clothes she had bought from the department store. Instead, she put on the old clothes she used to wear at the Wen family’s house.
After all, with so many people on the bus, she knew better than to flaunt her wealth.
After changing her clothes, Wen Nuan began organizing her luggage. Since she had the space, she didn’t need to worry about mailing packages.
The bedding and pillows were neatly folded and placed together in one separate bundle, while her clothes and fabric were packed in another bundle.
The final item was her handbag, which contained some toiletries and simple food items.
Considering that there would be many eyes on her during the bus ride, Wen Nuan didn’t plan to take anything too conspicuous with her.
In the food compartment, there was a box of dumplings, six buns, a flask of water, and four boiled eggs.
The eggs were ones she had boiled herself at the Wen family’s house and stored in the space, specifically to be eaten on the bus ride.
Once everything was nearly packed, the sky outside started to brighten. Wen Nuan put on the Shanghai-brand watch that Tan Xiulian had left behind, making it easier to check the time on her journey.
Some things, once taken, would raise no suspicion. But if she were to suddenly take something later, the people in the commune might start inventing all sorts of stories.
Starting over, Wen Nuan had already decided—once she arrived in the countryside, she would move into her own place. She didn’t want to waste time dealing with those narrow-minded people every day.
Of course, the debts of revenge still needed to be settled. Those who had bullied her in her past life—she wouldn’t let a single one escape!
Checking the time, it was already 6 o’clock. Wen Nuan took her luggage downstairs, refunded the deposit, and then left the guesthouse.
At the state-run restaurant at the station entrance, she spent three mao (30 cents) on breakfast before heading straight to the train station.
There was still half an hour before check-in, but there were already quite a few people at the station. The bustling crowd quickly swallowed up Wen Nuan’s figure.
Following the crowd, Wen Nuan, with her sharp eyesight, quickly located the registration office for the educated youth program.
She exchanged her Rural Re-education notification letter for a ticket, received the relevant documents, and was also given several important instructions.
The train they were taking was not a direct one. The educated youth office had someone specifically responsible for leading the group, and there were a total of ninety-six educated youths, all in the same carriage.
The train would stop at Fengtian to transfer. Some of the educated youths would get off there, while the rest would change to another train that would take them directly to Heilongjiang Province.
Once they arrived in the provincial capital, they would then take a tractor to the commune, and from there, the brigade leaders of the various teams would pick them up and take them back to their respective brigades.
[This is basically the process, don’t take it too literally, as the author doesn’t know the exact details. If any knowledgeable readers are out there, feel free to share in the comment section!]
As more and more people gathered at the registration area, the train slowly rolled into the platform.
Under the guidance of the comrades from the educated youth office, Wen Nuan and the rest of the group boarded the train. By coincidence, Zhang Zhenzhen and Zhu Jianjun ended up sitting right across from her.
She remembered that in her previous life, those two were seated behind her. Could this be the butterfly effect at work?
But no matter where they sat, it didn’t make much of a difference. After all, Zhang Zhenzhen was still as obnoxious and arrogant as she had been in her previous life.
“You—yes, the one across from me! I don’t like sitting on the edge. Get up and switch seats with me!” Zhang Zhenzhen immediately began to cause trouble as soon as she sat down. Although she was speaking directly to Wen Nuan, Wen Nuan ignored her completely and turned her head to look out the window, not giving her a single glance.
“Hey, I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?”
Caught off guard by a sudden tap, Wen Nuan turned her head and glared at Zhang Zhenzhen.
Startled by Wen Nuan’s intense gaze, Zhang Zhenzhen still tried to maintain her composure and yelled, “What’s with that look in your eyes? Are your ears not working? I told you to switch seats with me, can’t you hear me?”
“This comrade,” Wen Nuan said calmly, “first of all, I don’t respond to ‘hey!’ or ‘the one across from me.’ If you don’t call me by my name, how am I supposed to know you’re talking to me?”
In her past life, the seat-switching incident happened with another youth going to Fengtian, but she never expected it would be her turn this time.
“Now that you know, hurry up and move!”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I agree to switch with you. Seats are assigned randomly, it’s just a matter of luck.”
“You don’t like sitting at the edge, so you expect someone else to swap with you? Who do you think you are? A fascist? Being so domineering!”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Who’s a fascist? Don’t slander me!”
“You… you… you poor wretch, how dare you say that about me? Do you believe I’ll tear your mouth apart?!”
“If you can’t argue your point, you have to resort to violence? As expected, you have some issues with your thinking. You shouldn’t be sent to the countryside, you should go to a labor farm for re-education, and work on fixing your nasty habits!”
“I… I’ll fight you!”
“Go ahead! Do you think I’m afraid of you?!”