Chapter 30

Lao Wang didn’t think too much about it. He had limited contact with Xu Nian Nian and always felt that anyone capable of becoming a middleman in business nowadays wasn’t an ordinary person, so he thought it was wise to be cautious.

Dragging a borrowed wooden cart, he sneaked into the small house. When he saw the pile of grain on the floor, he was stunned. On top of it was a note, and by the moonlight, he saw the words on it. He placed the money he had carefully prepared on top.

He pulled out a fruit knife from his pocket, randomly picked a bag of grain, and inserted it. After feeling inside and confirming it was genuine, he felt at ease.

If he had turned around at that moment, his soul would have likely left his body in fright, as Xu Nian Nian, curious about why he hadn’t come out yet, had secretly crept out to take a look. She stood right behind him and saw him inserting the grain.

She frowned. If it had been her, she might also have inserted the knife, but after doing so, the grain would have spilled everywhere. Sure enough, the next moment, Wang Aunt heard Lao Wang’s soft cries for help from inside.

Wang Aunt cursed internally. Wasn’t it agreed that he wouldn’t call for help? However, she still went inside and, seeing her husband’s foolish actions, wanted to scold him. But the timing wasn’t right.

The bag of rice that had been pierced started spilling the grains, and Wang Aunt felt heartbroken. Luckily, she still had a small cloth bag. She wrapped the opening of the rice bag with it and placed it aside, planning to return the rest first.

Once the two of them finally left, Xu Nian Nian took the money and left the house as well.

When Wang Aunt and Lao Wang came out for the second round, they were horrified to find that the money was gone. They had just confirmed that no one was inside the house earlier.

Clearly, someone had been secretly observing. Lao Wang was relieved that he had been honest.

Wang Aunt picked up the spilled rice from the floor for a while, and when she went outside, she carefully hid the rice.

“Tomorrow, we have to distribute the rice and flour. Even though there’s no one around, what if someone sees us through the window? What if they come back in a couple of days and search the house?” Lao Wang thought about it and agreed.

When Xu Nian Nian left, she noticed the security guard was asleep. She quickly ran out through the small door. The guard only saw a shadow and thought nothing of it before falling back asleep.

Xu Nian Nian patted her chest, about to head back, when she noticed a car still parked by the door. The lights flickered as the car idled.

She walked over, and sure enough, it was Xu Tianyang.

“What are you still doing here?”

Xu Tianyang smiled. “I guessed you’d come back. Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

Xu Nian Nian didn’t hesitate. She didn’t want to walk alone at this hour, and honestly, she was a little guilty. If she had to do this again, she probably wouldn’t get involved in such business.

But back then, she hadn’t yet gotten her hands on her original mother’s gold bars, and there wasn’t much in her space, so she didn’t have the confidence she now had. Her confidence was now built on having received the gold bars.

Xu Tianyang noticed her frowning one moment, and smiling the next. “Did something happen?”

His voice was low, and Xu Nian Nian remembered there were others in the car.

“No, no,” she quickly replied, taking two red apples from her bag and placing them on the center console. “Here, have these apples. Thank you for everything today. I really appreciate it.”

Xu Tianyang ran his thumb over his finger, “It’s no trouble. We still have ten minutes until we get there. You can take a nap.”

Noticing her yawn earlier, he figured she must be tired.

Xu Nian Nian nodded but then shook her head. She wasn’t a naive single woman, but something still felt off. Was he interested in her?

She thought about it for a moment and immediately felt self-conscious. She couldn’t believe she was overthinking it. Maybe he was just worried about her safety, but it made her feel like she was being too narcissistic. After all, they had only met once.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and glanced out the window at the street.

It was her first time seeing the 1970s nightscape. The streets had no lights except for the car’s headlights. Everything seemed so simple and pure.

Thinking about the future development over the next few decades, she suddenly felt an emotional rush. Her nose felt a little sour.

This was the capital, and she would return someday!

She took a few deep breaths and managed to calm her emotions.

Xu Tianyang said nothing. He thought she might be sad about leaving her hometown the next day.

When they reached the entrance of the neighborhood, Xu Nian Nian hopped out of the car and waved goodbye to Xu Tianyang before heading inside.

Xu Tianyang rolled down the window, sniffed the apples in his hand, and started the car.

Someone hiding in the shadows stepped back behind a tree. What did they just see?

…

Xu Nian Nian returned to her room, tired from the day. She didn’t feel like tidying up and just went straight to bed.

The next day, she woke up to find the house still empty.

This worked to her advantage, and she immediately packed everything in her room into her space.

She went around, packing all the kitchen items, including grains, seasonings, and pots and pans from the cabinets. She didn’t leave behind even a single bag of flour. She also packed up the sofa and dining table in the living room, as well as the wooden cabinet and bed from her father’s room.

There was no need to leave anything for him when the wood was burned.

It was a shame that she didn’t have enough time for proper revenge, but there was always tomorrow.

She checked the time—there were still ten minutes left until the scheduled time. She tidied up her clothes, grabbed a sack, and headed out the door.

Lu Huaijin was standing by the car, watching the woman in front of him talking away.

From a distance, Xu Nian Nian saw Xu Ruhua flailing her arms in front of Lu Huaijin, and he was actually listening. His face immediately turned sour.

Lu Huaijin noticed Xu Nian Nian approaching and quickly walked over to take the package from her hand.

“Sorry, I should have gone up to meet you,” he said.

Xu Nian Nian didn’t give it to him. She coldly replied, “It’s fine. Were you busy chatting with someone else?”

Lu Huaijin glanced at the people passing by and forcibly took the bag from her hand.

“Let’s talk in the car.”

He hurriedly walked to the car and placed the items in the backseat.

Xu Ruhua saw Xu Nian Nian getting closer and sneered at her. “You’re done for.”

Xu Nian Nian didn’t understand why she was being targeted but hoped that she would remain calm when she returned home.

“If you’re itchy, go back and grab your shoes to scratch it. If not, I can offer you a pair,” she said.

Xu Ruhua looked at Xu Nian Nian’s delicate sandals, which made her feet appear fair and small. Looking down at her own cloth shoes, the comparison was stark.

She ignored the itch and thought only about the shoes. “I want the pair you’re wearing.”