Chapter 8 Getting Rich

Just as An Ruoyan was about to go back to her room and grab something to eat from her space, she turned and sat on the sofa instead. Even though Huang Jinxiu had prepared a lavish meal, it couldn’t compare to what she could get from her space—but food was food, and she intended to enjoy it fully, to eat until Shi Qiang felt a pang of guilt. The more uncomfortable it made him, the more satisfied she felt.

An Ruoyan had guessed correctly: that evening, Huang Jinxiu went out to get another chicken, a fish, ten eggs, and over a pound of preserved meat from home. An Ruoyan enjoyed the meal so much that she even had to fight Shi Meijiao for portions. Meanwhile, Huang Jinxiu was flustered, and Shi Qiang didn’t eat a bite.

After dinner, An Ruoyan rubbed her stomach, burped in satisfaction, and returned to her room as if no one else existed. From the living room, she could hear Xu Qiang throwing down his chopsticks in anger: “All because of the good daughter you raised! You’ve shamed me completely!”

An Ruoyan, annoyed that he was blaming her, cracked the door open and retorted, “Hey, Uncle Shi, don’t blame everything on me! Your face was already ruined when Shi Meijiao was acting as the mistress!” She slammed the door shut again. Shi Qiang’s face turned dark with anger, but he couldn’t lash out—the whole residential compound was watching, waiting for his humiliation.

The next morning, An Ruoyan woke up early and waited in the living room, afraid of missing Zhou Shuchen’s mother bringing the money. Sure enough, Zhou’s mother arrived early and handed over the money at the Shi residence, apologizing: “Ruoyan, this is our fault. We’ve also punished Shuchen. I don’t ask that you forgive him, just that this matter ends here and isn’t brought up again.”

An Ruoyan nodded, understanding Zhou’s mother’s intention. Since they were about to go to the countryside together, she didn’t want Zhou Shuchen’s time there to be made worse. It suited her perfectly—she didn’t want anyone to know and link her with the scumbag. But with Shi Meijiao going too, she feared that even if she stayed silent, Shi Meijiao wouldn’t behave.

An Ruoyan said, “I can only guarantee that I won’t tell anyone, as long as they don’t gossip. After all, Shi Meijiao will also go to the countryside.”

Zhou’s mother bristled: “What? Shi Meijiao is going too? That shameless girl, still clinging to Shuchen!”

The Zhou couple’s original intention in sending Zhou Shuchen to the countryside was to let him reconcile with An Ruoyan. Once they made up, Zhou’s mother planned to find jobs for both children so they could return to the city. Who knew someone else would interfere? But that was Shi Qiang’s family matter—Zhou’s mother couldn’t interfere and had to go back to scold her own son a bit more. She left quickly, as there were still many tasks to handle that day.

Shi Qiang and Huang Jinxiu were also busy.

An Ruoyan returned home, pretended to put the money in her room, and then strode out confidently. She didn’t go far—she waited near the gate of the residential compound. She knew Shi Qiang had already arranged leave, planning to take Shi Meijiao to register for the countryside program and prepare their luggage. Sure enough, within half an hour, Shi Qiang and his family of three left! Once they were gone, An Ruoyan quietly snuck back in.

She went straight to Shi Qiang’s room to search. In this era, everything was done with passbooks—convenient, but risky if the staff recognized her. So she prayed Shi Qiang didn’t have a habit of saving money. Luckily, it seemed her prayers worked.

An Ruoyan found 230 yuan in a corner of the wardrobe, 80 yuan in the bedside drawer. With no other furniture in the room, she moved the bedding and lifted the floorboards. There she found three locked wooden boxes. Fearing Shi Qiang might suddenly return, she didn’t open them but instead took them into her space. After restoring the room, she searched Shi Meijiao’s room, finding a total of 360 yuan. She tidied that room too, then quietly left Shi Qiang’s house.

Being someone who hated trouble, she hoped Shi Qiang wouldn’t notice anything missing before leaving. But even if he did, it didn’t matter—many people in the compound had already seen her leave early. She found a secluded spot and entered her space.

The boxes were neatly arranged on the table in her villa. She touched a lock and said, “Open.” The lock clicked, and she was shocked—inside were gold bars and jewelry. She was rich! Her eyes seemed to see the yuan signs reflecting back.

She eagerly opened the other two boxes. One contained bundles of cash—she counted 6,700 yuan. Perfect—now she wouldn’t run out of money.

After leaving her space, An Ruoyan planned to go to the department store. Her space’s supermarket had everything, but nothing with the era’s unique style, so she couldn’t use it directly. She had the money but no coupons, probably because Shi Meijiao had taken them for shopping.

She first went to the black market to buy coupons, then to the department store. She bought a watch—something she had wanted ever since arriving—so she could keep track of time. She also bought toiletries, daily necessities, pastries, and candy. Seeing that the White Rabbit milk candy hadn’t changed, she didn’t buy more. She bought some wine and tobacco too.

After essentials, she purchased two dresses, two skirts, slippers, small leather shoes, canvas shoes, and shoes with thick layered soles—two of each. Finally, she saw a women’s bicycle and bought one, knowing from novels that women’s bikes were hard to get, and she couldn’t ride a man’s two-eight frame.

After storing everything in her space, she went to the state-run restaurant and ate a plate of lamb dumplings and a plate of pig’s head meat before heading home.

Near home, with no one around, she entered her space again, retrieved the luggage she had prepared, and carried it out. She needed a bag for appearances—she couldn’t just conjure it while at the countryside, or she would scare people.

As soon as she entered, she heard Huang Jinxiu shouting: “You brat, where have you gone again? Not home all day! Don’t you know how busy we are?” Huang Jinxiu mumbled while packing Shi Meijiao’s luggage.

An Ruoyan disdainfully said, “Busy with what? Packing Shi Meijiao’s things? That’s your job anyway! I’m not her mother.”