Chapter 79

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Li Chen set off.  

After he left, Shen Yiyi took Xiao Bao to the Old Li’s Family home. The one who opened the door was He Zhaodi.  

“Where’s Mother?” Shen Yiyi looked inside and saw Mother Li wearing a hat, holding a knife and some rope. “Mother, what are you going to do?”  

“Mother is preparing to go collect firewood with Dahua and the others.” He Zhaodi said.  

Originally, they had enough firewood, but after the family split up, the firewood was also divided, which left them with not enough. So, they had to go and gather more.  

Seeing that Shen Yiyi had brought Xiao Bao, He Zhaodi immediately guessed her purpose for coming and asked with concern: “Are you going to the city? If there’s no one to watch Xiao Bao, I’ll be at home cooking today, I can help take care of him…”  

“No way!”  

A sudden loud voice startled both Shen Yiyi and He Zhaodi. They turned their heads to see Mother Li rushing over, shoving the knife and rope into He Zhaodi’s hands. “You go up the mountain to chop firewood. I’ll stay home and cook!”  

“……”  

Mother Li looked up and saw both Shen Yiyi and He Zhaodi staring at her in shock.  

Only then did she realize that she had overreacted.  

Oh no.  

“Mother…” He Zhaodi looked at her with a hurt expression.  

Mother Li paused for a moment before sighing. “Forget it, forget it. You don’t have to go either, eldest daughter-in-law. And Dahua, Erhua, Xiaohua—you all don’t have to go either, okay? Just stay home and play for a day. Let your father and grandfather handle it. Also, take all of last night’s leftover meat and cook it all. Look how skinny our Sanhua has gotten! We need to make sure she eats well!”

Shen Yiyi: “……”  

He Zhaodi: “……”  

The Sanhua sisters: “……”  

After speaking, Mother Li smiled and looked at Shen Yiyi. “So, you don’t have time to take care of Xiao Bao, right?”  

Just as Shen Yiyi nodded, Mother Li had already squatted down, picked up Xiao Bao, and waved to the Sanhua sisters behind her. “Come on, girls, let’s go for a walk with Grandma!”  

The Sanhua sisters looked utterly bewildered, standing there dumbfounded. But they still followed Mother Li’s instructions. As they got closer, Mother Li even reached out to hold Xiaohua’s little hand, while Dahua and Erhua followed behind.  

“Let’s go~ We’re going out to play!” Mother Li hummed a tune, looking unusually cheerful.  

Shen Yiyi glanced at He Zhaodi. He Zhaodi pressed her lips together and smiled at her. “Mother has changed a lot in the past two days.”  

“……” Shen Yiyi twitched the corners of her mouth and left. As she walked away, she couldn’t help but rub her arms. Why did she suddenly feel chills?  

Just like the day before, Shen Yiyi left the village, disguised herself as Old Hei, and made her way to an abandoned old mansion in the suburbs of the city.  

This place had once been the home of a landlord. During the reforms, he had been sent away for labor re-education, and the mansion was confiscated by the government. Since it was in the outskirts, no one knew what to do with it, so it was simply left abandoned.  

Inside, the house was already in ruins, with wild grass growing everywhere.  

Shen Yiyi walked around the place. It had been thoroughly looted—tables and chairs were crooked, and there were plenty of broken and tattered items. However, there was nothing of real value.  

She felt a bit disappointed. Then, from her space, she took out five tons of grain and a hundred wristwatches.

As soon as Shen Yiyi took out the goods, she suddenly heard movement—Li Chen, Zhou Fengshou, and Chen Qiang had arrived.  

The moment Chen Qiang and Zhou Fengshou stepped inside and saw the bulging sacks and the neatly stacked small boxes beside them, their eyes widened in shock.  

“Check the goods.” Shen Yiyi said in a hoarse, rough voice.  

Chen Qiang and Zhou Fengshou stepped forward to inspect the goods.  

Everything was in order.  

Next came the payment. The rice was priced at 0.8 yuan per jin, totaling 10,000 jin, which came to 8,000 yuan. The wristwatches were 140 yuan each, with 100 watches amounting to 14,000 yuan.  

In total, it was 22,000 yuan.  

However, Li Chen didn’t pay immediately. Instead, he signaled for Chen Qiang and Zhou Fengshou to bring something inside—a half-filled sack. When they opened it, it was filled with porcelain, paintings, calligraphy, and various gold and silver jewelry.  

Shen Yiyi was allowed to pick whatever she wanted.  

She was stunned. She had a keen eye for valuables, and there were quite a few priceless items among them. Some of the calligraphy and paintings were authentic works from well-known historical figures.  

The porcelain pieces were also impressive, but what caught her attention the most was a celadon teapot. When she picked it up and examined it closely, she realized—it was Ru ware porcelain!  

Ru ware was considered the finest of the Five Great Kilns of the Song Dynasty and had a revered status in Chinese ceramic history. The phrase “Ru ware is the best” was well known. By the 21st century, fewer than a hundred authentic Ru ware pieces were known to exist, making them extremely rare and valuable!  

Some had even been auctioned for over 300 million yuan!  

In addition to that, there were also various gold and silver ornaments—items that would fetch an incredible price at modern-day auctions.  

Shen Yiyi declared: “I’ll take all of these!”  

“12,000 yuan.” Li Chen stated.  

???  

Shen Yiyi looked up at him in disbelief.  

Not just her—Zhou Fengshou was also completely shocked by Li Chen’s words. He only managed to rein in his stunned expression after Chen Qiang gave him a discreet nudge, quickly putting on a face that read: “Yes, of course, that’s the correct price!”

Shen Yiyi: “……” Don’t think I didn’t see that!  

She knew very well that these items were worth far more than what they were asking for.  

Of course, even if the price was a hundred thousand or even a million, getting her hands on these antiques would still be a massive win for her.  

But that was because she had foresight—Li Chen and the others didn’t. They had no idea what she knew.  

Right now, antiques were practically worthless. Money was the most valuable thing!  

Li Chen was blatantly trying to rip her off!  

If she agreed to this deal, she would be a fool!  

It seemed Li Chen had already figured out her thoughts, as he suddenly declared: “10,000! No bargaining!”  

“……” Fine, fine! He’s my man, after all.  

Letting him make a little extra—what’s the harm in that?  

“Deal!” Shen Yiyi agreed.  

Li Chen gestured for Chen Qiang to hand over the money. After deducting 10,000, the remaining 12,000 yuan was placed in a thick stack inside a bag.  

With that, Shen Yiyi took the money and the half-sack of old valuables and left.  

She hadn’t walked far when she distinctly felt someone following her.  

Ha, so they don’t trust me, huh?  

Not surprising. After all, being able to supply this much grain and these many goods would naturally raise suspicions. As long as they weren’t planning to rob her, she didn’t care.  

She still trusted Li Chen.  

Ignoring her tail, she rode her bicycle into the city. Weaving through the narrow alleyways, she twisted and turned multiple times before finally disappearing into her personal space.  

When she emerged, she was disguised as a middle-aged woman.  

She waited inside for half an hour before coming out, then casually rode her bike back toward Qingshui Village.  

Before entering, she slipped back into her space, removed her disguise, and returned home!