Chapter 10: Night Operation

Yu Jingjing went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two jin of White Rabbit milk candies, two jin of fruit candies, three jin of brown sugar, three jin of white sugar, five cans of fruit preserves, four bags of sponge cakes, and a pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes. In case she encountered a situation in the countryside where she needed to give gifts, she needed to prepare in advance—such things were unpredictable.

As for items like washbasins, towels, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes, she already had them at home. Once she got to the countryside, she could buy more after things settled down.

After returning home, she packed most of the luggage needed for the countryside and sent it to the post office for delivery. This way, when she left the next day, it would lighten her load significantly.

As for why she didn’t just store everything in her space—of course, it was to hide the existence of the space. If she took out so many things out of nowhere in the countryside, it would definitely raise suspicions.

By the time she stepped out of the post office, it was already evening, and her stomach began growling with hunger.

As she happened to pass by the state-owned restaurant, and having been busy all day, she was too tired to cook for herself. She had heard that the meals at restaurants in this era were made with real ingredients, without the later era’s artificial enhancements or shady techniques, so she walked in.

She went to the ordering window and got a serving of shredded pork noodles and a dish of minced meat with eggplant. After finding a table and sitting down, it took less than twenty minutes for the food to be ready. When the server called her number, she had to collect it herself from the window.

She took a bite—the taste wasn’t bad.

She had only taken a few bites when two men suddenly walked in from outside. When Yu Jingjing looked up, it was the same two men who had helped her catch the thief yesterday—the very two who were likely to have picked up her handkerchief.

Her instinct was to get up and ask them whether they had found her handkerchief yesterday. But thinking about her appearance now—completely different from yesterday—if she told them she had been in disguise, would they mistake her for a spy?

She wasn’t overthinking. This was a very sensitive time; one had to be cautious in everything.

Besides, she had noticed yesterday that these two had a special air about them—very much like soldiers. And soldiers were even more alert to spies than ordinary people. She couldn’t act rashly.

The two had already gone to the window to place their orders. What should she do? Should she leave now, find a place to change back into yesterday’s bucktooth girl disguise, and then come back to ask them?

But she was afraid that if she took too long, the two might leave in the meantime.

As she was thinking this over, Hu Dong suddenly turned his head and noticed her. Seeing a girl as beautiful as a fairy looking in their direction, he instinctively patted Lu Yunxiao on the shoulder.

“Old Lu, look over there—there’s a pretty girl staring at you.”

He knew his own limits. Compared to Lu Yunxiao, he was clearly far less attractive. Whenever they walked together, all the girls’ eyes were always on Lu Yunxiao. This girl was probably the same.

Lu Yunxiao didn’t even turn his head. He had experienced this sort of thing too many times to even bother looking.

Perhaps because Yu Jingjing was just too beautiful, Hu Dong glanced at her again and saw that she was still looking in their direction. He gave Lu Yunxiao another pat on the shoulder.

“Old Lu, come on—just look over there. That girl is really good-looking. You two would make a great couple. You really don’t want to take a peek?”

“Stop talking nonsense. What does her beauty have to do with me?”

Since he had already devoted himself to the country, he had no intention of starting a family.

With one elder brother and one younger brother at home, both capable of carrying on the family line, he had no need to worry about passing on the family name.

Still, he instinctively glanced over. And in that instant, the girl’s exceptionally beautiful face was captured in his dark eyes.

He paused slightly, then looked away and told Hu Dong, “She’s looking at you.”

“Oh? Really?” Hu Dong quickly turned his head again, only to find that Yu Jingjing had already lowered her head and was eating.

“Old Lu, she wasn’t looking at me at all.”

“Alright, alright, stop minding other people’s business.”

Yu Jingjing knew that staring at people was impolite and would only make others suspicious. So how could she keep her eyes glued to them the whole time?

She glanced in their direction again, wanting to see what the two had ordered. If they were eating something that would take longer, she could go out, change back into her bucktooth girl disguise, and then come back to ask about the handkerchief.

But before she could retract her gaze from the two men, two more familiar faces walked in from outside. Not only were they familiar to her—those two also knew her very well.

One was Yu Yanjiao, and the other was her former high school classmate, also the person who had always liked to oppose her—Qin Lulu.

Back in school, Qin Lulu always tried to compete with her—competing over looks, grades… but unfortunately, she lost in every aspect. That made her always want to go against Yu Jingjing.

As soon as Qin Lulu walked in, she noticed the two male comrades standing at the ordering window. When her eyes landed on Lu Yunxiao, she looked like she wished she could throw her eyeballs at him and have them stick.

What a top-grade hunk—he was the most handsome comrade she had ever seen.

But when she turned her head, she saw her nemesis Yu Jingjing was also here, and Yu Jingjing’s gaze was fixed on that handsome comrade. Instantly, her anger flared.

Back in school, because she wasn’t as pretty as Yu Jingjing and her grades were worse, people even said her personality wasn’t as gentle as Yu Jingjing’s. Every boy she liked would end up being attracted to Yu Jingjing. She had hated her so much for it.

Now Yu Jingjing was clearly trying to seduce this handsome guy. It was bad enough being a flirt at school—now even outside she couldn’t behave properly. This was too much!

It wasn’t just her who was captivated by Lu Yunxiao’s looks—Yu Yanjiao was no exception. Staring at that face capable of toppling cities, she nearly drooled.

Qin Lulu noticed her expression but didn’t blame her. With her own face, she was secure enough—looking like that, even if she crawled over to lick someone’s toes, they probably wouldn’t let her. The only one she couldn’t stand was Yu Jingjing.

She pulled Yu Yanjiao over in front of Yu Jingjing, blocking her line of sight from looking at Hu Dong and Lu Yunxiao.

“Well, fancy running into an old classmate here! Old classmate, do you still remember me?”

“Remember you? You’ve got the nerve to eat here when my brother nearly died because of you.”

Yu Jingjing glanced at the two of them and sneered, “Two lunatics.”

“Yu Jingjing, what’s your problem? Is that how little you respect your classmates?”

“I’m trying to eat. Can you two stop barking in front of me?”

“You’re calling us dogs?!”

“You said it yourselves. But hey, at least you’re self-aware.”

Qin Lulu was fuming—Yu Jingjing used to be meek like a dough ball. When did she become so sharp-tongued?

“Yu Jingjing, you better apologize to me right now.”

Yu Jingjing couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. After finishing her meal and preparing to leave, she looked back toward the window—there was no sign of the two men. They weren’t in the restaurant either, so they must’ve already left.

They left so soon? Probably just came to buy something like buns—no need to dine in.

Qin Lulu and Yu Yanjiao turned around too, but didn’t see Lu Yunxiao. Yu Yanjiao, even more upset than Qin Lulu, said, “Yu Jingjing, it’s all your fault—they’re already gone!”

“Nutjobs.”

Yu Jingjing threw out those three words and walked out of the state-owned restaurant.

Outside, there was no trace of Lu Yunxiao or Hu Dong. Looks like it would be hard to retrieve that handkerchief now.

Still, she’d run into them twice in just two days. Maybe she’d see them again soon, and she could ask them then.

—

In the dead of night, as all fell silent, Yu Jingjing arrived outside her eldest uncle’s house. The house had only three low, shabby rooms. From the window, she blew in some knockout incense. A few minutes later, she climbed through the window and entered.

This special knockout incense was her own concoction—far more potent than the one Yu Jianmin used. One whiff would knock a person out immediately and keep them unconscious for hours.

Since people were inside, the door was either latched or locked from within. She used a small knife to pry off the door bolt and entered after opening the door.

She took out a flashlight from her space and first headed into her uncle’s room. He was sleeping like the dead—she even kicked him, and he didn’t respond.

Next, she checked the other room. The old lady and Yu Yanjiao were sharing a bed, both in a deep slumber.

Then, Yu Jingjing began her scavenging operation.

She confirmed that the radio, sewing machine, and other items from her home were still here.

Opening a locked drawer, she found over 2,000 yuan inside. No doubt, part of the money the old hag had demanded from her had ended up with her scumbag uncle. Next to the money were some ration tickets. Beneath those, she found a suspicious notebook.

Opening it, Yu Jingjing discovered it was an account book of her uncle’s dealings—illegally reselling materials from the factory along with accomplices.

Back when he joined the factory, he was just a temp. Now he was a warehouse manager—and apparently moonlighting in smuggling.

Perfect. With this ledger, that old bastard could go join his wife and daughter in prison.

She stuffed it all into her space and continued looting. Whether it was something taken from her home or something that originally belonged to this family, she cleaned it all out—from the bedrooms to the kitchen, everything except the plaster on the walls.

Finally, she dug up another 1,800 yuan from inside the old hag’s underwear pouch. That wicked old woman had squeezed so many benefits from her dad, then turned around and mistreated her. Yu Jingjing took the money without a hint of guilt.

Just before leaving, she got a mischievous idea.

She pulled out a marker from her space—drew a flower next to Yu Yanjiao’s mouth, drew a turtle on her uncle’s face, and drew an old turtle on the old hag’s face. They were all turtles anyway. Of course, she didn’t spare their clothes either. For these greedy, heartless people, what dignity was there to preserve?

All three were like dead pigs. Her uncle was at least still wearing a pair of underwear, but the old woman and Yu Yanjiao were completely naked.

Satisfied with her work, she left with a joyful heart.

Outside, she entered her space and wrote a report letter, delivering it directly to the factory director’s home.

After returning home, she packed up all the clothes, quilts, pots, pans, and utensils—everything that could go into her space—leaving behind nothing but empty furniture shells.

She took a relaxing bath in her space, then went to the kitchen to boil a few poached eggs for food on the road tomorrow, and finally went to sleep.