Chapter 2

That stack of bills was all in “big unity” notes!

Lin Xiaoxiao took them out and counted—there was actually 300 yuan!

She kept searching and found another 200 yuan in the drawer.

Mine! Mine! All mine!

Without hesitation, Lin Xiaoxiao swept all the money into her storage space.

After turning over every corner of the four bedrooms in the Lin household, she only managed to scavenge just over 500 yuan in total.

Lin Xiaoxiao felt a little disappointed.

Her father, Lin Jianmin, was a warehouse keeper at the army munitions factory, earning 76.5 yuan a month.

Her mother, Yan Zhaodi, was a maternity nurse at the staff hospital who often lied to mothers claiming their newborns hadn’t survived, then secretly sold the babies to human traffickers—making a lot of dirty money.

Plus, Lin Xiaoxiao herself earned more than a yuan a day folding matchboxes, which was enough to cover the family’s living expenses.

There was no way the Lin family only had this little money. Where was the rest hidden?

With these doubts in mind, Lin Xiaoxiao pressed on and entered her father’s study to search.

When she moved the desk, her eyes lit up instantly.

There was actually a hidden entrance beneath it!

Climbing down the ladder, she found three large bronze chests.

When she tried to lift one, it wouldn’t budge.

“What’s inside that’s so heavy?”

Her curiosity burning, she pulled out an iron hammer from her storage space and smashed open the bronze lock.

She was stunned.

The first chest was full of coins and gold and silver jewelry—
Pre-Qin copper coins,
Shang dynasty cowrie shells,
Han dynasty “Wu Zhu” coins,
Tang dynasty “Kaiyuan Tongbao” coins,
Song dynasty silver ingots,
Ming dynasty large paper banknotes,
Qing dynasty copper coins and gold ingots,
and modern “Yuan Shikai” silver dollars and “President” founding commemorative coins.

A full chest of coins—easily hundreds of catties.

The second chest contained ancient thread-bound books, including Tao Te Ching, Zhou Yi, Classic of Mountains and Seas, Yu Shu, The Art of War, Guiguzi, Shenyi Jing, and calligraphy and paintings from famous artists.

The third chest was filled with jade, bronzeware, and blue-and-white porcelain antiques.

Her father had spent his spare time collecting these items cheaply near his workplace and storing them in the basement before selling them to foreign cultural relic smugglers.

In this era, antiques were worth little—people wouldn’t even pick them up off the street.

But smuggling them abroad could bring in huge profits.

Lin Xiaoxiao moved all the gold, silver, and relics into her storage space.

She despised smugglers who stole and sold the nation’s heritage.

She had two passions in life—first, money, and second, food.

So when she saw the glittering coins, she couldn’t tear herself away.

Heh, sorry, but I’ll gladly take them all!

As for the ancient books and relics, she would safeguard them for now, and when the time was right, she would hand them over to the state.

After emptying the three chests, Lin Xiaoxiao searched the basement with a flashlight and found a rosewood chest under the stairs.

Inside were more than twenty stacks of banknotes and various ration coupons.

She counted—over 2,000 yuan, more than 100 catties’ worth of grain coupons, and twenty lengths of cloth coupons.

She stuffed them into her storage space, and at the bottom of the chest, she found a miniature camera and various photographs.

Curious, she pulled out a few photos and took a closer look—breaking into a cold sweat.

Her father was a spy. Not only did he smuggle cultural relics, but he also sold military and commercial intelligence.

In any era, a traitor who betrayed state secrets would meet a bad end.

Lin Xiaoxiao didn’t want to get dragged down with him—she needed to report this to the Public Security Bureau immediately.

With that thought, she quickly tossed the three bronze chests into her storage space, then put the miniature camera and photos back into the rosewood chest as they were.

She replaced the desk above the hidden entrance and stepped out of the room, just about to head to the Public Security Bureau, when the Lin family of four burst in, looking furious.

Lin Jianmin entered first, pointing at her and cursing, “You shameless brat! Got itchy skin, huh? How dare you lay hands on your mother! If you know what’s good for you, kneel down and apologize before I make you—”

Before he could finish, Lin Xiaoxiao rushed over and slapped him hard across both cheeks.

“You two heartless scumbags think you deserve to be called parents?”

“This auntie here is beating you, and what about it?”

Cursing as she spoke, she punched Lin Jianmin’s mute point, silencing him instantly, then straddled him and began pounding him mercilessly.

Seeing their father losing, Lin Yaozu and Lin Jiaojiao hurried over to help.

“Shameless jinx! Let our dad go—are you rebelling?”

These two had bullied her plenty in the past—ordering her to do chores, even wash their underwear.

So Lin Xiaoxiao had zero mercy for them.

This whole family was rotten; beating them was justice.

She kept hammering Lin Jianmin until he couldn’t resist, then turned to deal with Lin Jiaojiao and Lin Yaozu.

She struck their mute points first, then kicked Yaozu in the groin and whipped her leg in an arc straight into Jiaojiao’s chest.

“Ah—!”

The siblings doubled over in pain, staring at her in fear.

Was she possessed by something?

Why was she suddenly so strong—and so vicious, hitting only the most painful, vulnerable spots?

Neighbors hearing the commotion shook their heads and sighed, “Sigh, the Lin family’s at it again, abusing poor Xiaoxiao. What awful people!”

Inside, Lin Xiaoxiao continued kicking and punching the four.

The dim, cramped room echoed with the sound of blows on flesh.

Yan Zhaodi was beaten to tears.

Finally, unable to endure any more, she crawled to Xiaoxiao, clutching her feet as if to say, “Ancestor, please, no more—spare us!”

“All right, that’s enough for today.”

Seeing their miserable state, Lin Xiaoxiao felt much of her anger had subsided.

Remembering she still needed to report to the Public Security Bureau, she unlocked their mute points and went into the kitchen.

When she came out, she was holding a bottle of 82-proof corn liquor.

She walked up to Yan Zhaodi and Lin Jianmin, raised the bottle, and said in a chilling tone, “You two, open your mouths and cooperate.”

Lin Jianmin stared at the bottle in horror. “You… you… what are you going to do…?”