Chapter 7

Wei Yanzhen gave chase. Having trained for years in the military, his physical strength was far beyond that of ordinary people.

The group of boys was quickly pinned to the ground by him.

One by one, they groaned in pain and reluctantly pulled out the stolen goods from their pockets, throwing them onto the ground.

“Stop hitting us!”

“Please, sir! Uncle! Brother!”

“Wei Ge! Please, don’t hit us anymore!”

Amid the clamoring voices, Wei Yanzhen finally heard a familiar “Wei Ge.”

The black market was dimly lit, set inside an abandoned factory. The man looked down at the boy who called him “Wei Ge.”

Wei Yanzhen recognized him immediately.

This was Song Chengzu, the pampered son of the Song family in the compound.

“Song Chengzu!”

“Bored enough to become a thief? You’re really something!”

Song Chengzu, bruised and battered, gritted his teeth and said, “Wei Ge, I’m not a thief! I’m here to catch the thieves!”

Wei Yanzhen frowned. “Catch thieves? You’re hanging out with them — who would believe you?”

Song Chengzu looked close to tears. “Really, Wei Ge.”

Wei Yanzhen feigned doubt. At that moment, the other boys also started babbling, confirming Song Chengzu’s story.

Looking at the stolen goods on the ground and Song Chengzu’s pitiful appearance, Wei Yanzhen sighed. “Alright, you’re somewhat decent. Get up and come with me to take these guys to the police station.”

Song Chengzu immediately perked up, struggling against the pain to get up, then tried to run.

But Wei Yanzhen was prepared.

He had guessed the boys were lying. Song Chengzu was no good — there was no way he was really here to do good.

Wei Yanzhen threw a pebble, hitting a few of them in the legs, making them stumble and fall.

He tied up three of the boys with a rope, dragging all three back to find Deng Zhilin, then together they headed to the police station.

At the police station, they learned these three were repeat offenders.

Besides theft, they had even assaulted women — the kind of awful things they had done.

The police had been after them for a long time, and only just caught them today.

Beside him, Deng Zhilin’s mind was already turning, formulating a plan.

After leaving the police station and returning home, Deng Zhilin stayed up late writing a letter.

She waited for the middle of the night to sneak it into the Wei family’s mailbox while everyone was asleep.

Since the Weis had been sent down (to the countryside), there would definitely be a second raid after they left.

At that time, whoever opened the mailbox — likely the Red Committee — would find this letter.

If she could drag one person down with them, even better. Song Yitao wouldn’t get off so easily!

…

The day before their departure, Wei Yanzhen and Wei Xiaotian went to the army to complete the handover formalities.

Deng Zhilin finally had a chance to go out alone.

Without Wei Yanzhen by her side, many things became easier for her to handle freely.

Since there was nothing much to buy at the black market, she went to the vegetable market.

The vegetable market in the 1970s was bustling.

Narrow streets on both sides were lined with all kinds of vegetable stalls.

Deng Zhilin wore her braided hair and a simple floral blouse.

Her hand tightly gripped her handbag, which contained money and tickets — she had to stay vigilant and not get pickpocketed!

She weaved through the crowd. The market was full of colorful fresh produce.

Crisp green vegetables, fresh and dewy; heads of cabbage emitting a refreshing scent; and bright red tomatoes shining with a natural gloss.

“Boss, I want all these greens.”

“Also all the tomatoes.”

“Do you still have potatoes?”

“How about baby bok choy?”

The stall owners had never seen a customer buy in such large quantities, especially one so young.

One of the vendors carefully asked, “Comrade, all these vegetables aren’t cheap. Do you have enough money?”

Few people bought vegetables in such big bundles, and since she was alone, how would she carry them all home?

“Oh, uncle, my relative is hosting a banquet.”

“They’re having a wedding, and asked me to buy the vegetables. There’s a car waiting outside to pick everything up.”

Satisfied with her explanation, the vendor finally relaxed.

Otherwise, he would have suspected a scam.

When Deng Zhilin openly took out the money, the vendor beamed with joy and helped carry basket after basket of vegetables to a quiet alley outside.

In the calm alley, Deng Zhilin glanced around.

Seizing the moment when no one was watching, she stored all the vegetables into her space.

Then she returned to the market, covering her head with a scarf.

This time she went to the meat stalls.

In the meat section, the butcher skillfully sliced and weighed pork and ribs on a chopping board, working swiftly and cleanly.

“Boss, I want all the meat here.”

In the countryside, meat was scarce. Meals had little oil, so for the sake of her family’s health — and the baby she was carrying — she needed to prepare vegetables, fruits, meat, and eggs all properly.

Outwardly, she couldn’t reveal this, but inside her space, everything had to be complete.

She had already studied this: the spiritual spring water in her space could clear toxins over time, but the effect wasn’t immediate.

Long-term use would help cleanse the body thoroughly.

The space also gave off a faint orchid scent and had preservation properties — anything stored inside wouldn’t spoil or rot.

As for the upcoming childbirth, with Qin Ping, her inexpensive mother-in-law, who was the head of obstetrics, there would definitely be no big problems.

The butcher also asked what she was doing there, and she repeated her story about the relative hosting a banquet.

He accepted her money and tickets with a smile, happily helping her carry the meat to the alley.

During her shopping, the vegetable market buzzed with calls from vendors, inquiries from customers, bargaining, chopping sounds, and fish splashing in water tanks.

She didn’t buy fish.

For one, fish in the countryside were limited and couldn’t be easily faked.

If she ate fish, others would suspect she stole fish from the collective.

Besides, her spiritual spring pool already contained many fish.

Finally, she bought some eggs and left feeling satisfied.

Back at the compound, Deng Zhilin purposely took a detour past the Song family’s door.

It was getting dark.

The Song family’s house was lit, the lights flickering.

Deng Zhilin saw someone inside wielding a broom chasing someone else.

The person holding the broom was definitely Mr. Song; the one being hit was Song Chengzu.

Song Chengzu had been arrested by the police station but was bailed out today by his father, no doubt paying a hefty price.

The Song family didn’t yet know more trouble was coming — what happened now was nothing compared to that.

Deng Zhilin turned and left.

Just then, Wei Yanzhen also returned from outside.

She walked over and took his hand, and the man unconsciously smiled.

“What were you just looking at?”

“I was watching Song Chengzu getting spanked by his dad.”

As expected, Wei Yanzhen’s face darkened immediately.

He said, “You’re looking at other men again, aren’t you?”

“Other men? They’re nowhere near as handsome as me.”

“And that Stone Hui — ugly as hell, not as tall as me, not as strong as me. Deng Zhilin, where are your eyes?”

Only Deng Zhilin’s light laughter filled the air.

“You’re jealous, huh? Wei Yanzhen, you’re so petty!”