People and the Goods Would Both Be His

This program was produced by Tomato Listening, Episode 50.

Both the person and the goods would be his. Then no one would care about his injury anymore.

That evening, Lin Yuzhu sneezed and had the strange feeling that someone was cursing her behind her back.

That night, fierce winds howled. Skinny Monkey and Brother Niu leaned against each other, shivering inside a dilapidated shack.

"Brother Niu, how about I sneak back and grab some thicker clothes?"

"Forget it. Those people will definitely have someone waiting there. Hang on a little longer and get some sleep!"

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to find someone. As long as that person is willing to help us, we'll be safe."

Thinking of how his men had vanished one after another for no apparent reason, he decided not to let his only remaining underling act alone.

"Brother, I'll listen to you. I don't know which bastard took our bag, but I curse him to impotence."

The only answer was the whistling autumn wind.

After a while, Skinny Monkey asked again, "Brother, what do we do next?"

"Will that person help us without the goods?"

"Relax. How could anyone put all their eggs in one basket?"

"Tomorrow, we'll find a chance to go back to my mother's place."

"Okay, Brother. Is that person's identity currently that of a disgraced official?"

"That's what they say."

The first ray of morning sunlight streamed through the window crack. Fatty Li got up, dressed, pulled open the curtains, then knelt reverently on the kang and muttered, "I'll confess. I'll definitely confess. I absolutely will!"

His gaze was firm and sincere.

Shen Bojun stared at Fatty Li in bewilderment. Had something gone wrong with his brain?

In just one night, word of what happened at the Educated Youth Dormitory spread everywhere.

Thanks to the Dong Sisters, Lin Yuzhu and Wang Xiaomei successfully retreated to the sidelines, while the sisters became the new generation of "parents" at the Educated Youth Dormitory.

The next day at work, everyone was chatting enthusiastically.

"What?"

"You mean Wang Xiaomei and Lin Yuzhu?"

"Ha, you're old news. Those two are all looks and no substance. They're nowhere near as good as the Dong Sisters."

"I heard Li Xiangbei beat up the scorekeeper a while back. He just went up and pummeled him after a disagreement."

"Oh my, I was wondering why the scorekeeper was all bruised and swollen. Who knows what happened? I'll tell you when we get back. We can't talk about it here."

"They're all educated youths from Beijing, so why is Wang Yang the biggest loser?"

"People really are different."

"Hey, at least we knew from the start that he was useless. Look at Wang Xiaomei and Lin Yuzhu. They seemed so impressive at first, but now they're no good either. Who knows how badly they'll get bullied in the future!"

Lin Yuzhu, Wang Xiaomei, and Wang Yang were speechless.

After the autumn harvest, everyone gathered at the granary to bag the grain. Those aunties practically whispered gossip straight into the three of their ears.

Lin Yuzhu was on the verge of breaking down. Was the image she had worked so hard to maintain about to collapse?

What collapsed first was her body. After working all morning, she was even more exhausted than during the autumn harvest. She kind of missed her parents.

Her clearest memory of her biological parents from when she was young was that whenever she failed to finish the rice in her bowl, her father would look at her regretfully and teach her to treasure every grain.

Back then, she had been too foolish to understand his feelings. Now, she truly understood. Every grain of food really was earned through hard labor.

Thinking of this, Lin Yuzhu felt melancholy. Since she had transmigrated here, she had no idea who would visit the graves of her old man and beautiful mother for her.

Meanwhile, at the other end of a parallel world, a thin girl with somewhat heroic features seemed to be searching for something in a cemetery.

When she stopped before a gravestone and saw the photograph on it, she paused. She placed the bouquet in her hands beside the grave and said softly, "I'm here to see you now. I'm sorry, I couldn't keep your daughter's job, so I've been busy looking for work and didn't have time."

"I've found a job now, so don't worry. I'll come visit you for her in the future too."

After lunch, Elder Liu at the Scrap Station lounged in a rocking chair, swaying back and forth.

A broad-shouldered, burly man with a fierce expression walked in and politely said, "Sir, my mother sold a batch of old furniture here some time ago. One of the tables could still be used after repairs, and I'd like to buy it back."

Elder Liu lifted his eyelids, then closed them again. Too lazy to bother with him, he waved a hand and told him to go in and look for himself.

Only then did Brother Niu enter the yard and search the area where the broken furniture was stored. By the time he reached it, he could not find a single familiar table.

Brother Niu panicked and rummaged through everything recklessly, but still could not find the broken table he wanted.

Skinny Monkey, who had been waiting outside, could not help coming in. Seeing his boss's grim expression, a bad feeling rose in his heart. "Brother, did you find it?"

Brother Niu squatted there silently for a long while before standing. He walked over to Elder Liu again and asked in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "Sir, has anyone come to collect furniture these past few days?"

Elder Liu snorted and said blandly, "My Scrap Station has been lively lately. Quite a few people have come by. I'm old, so I can't remember who took those broken tables and chairs."

Skinny Monkey felt that Elder Liu was brushing them off and wanted to step forward and threaten him, but Brother Niu stopped him.

Skinny Monkey did not understand, but seeing his boss's displeased expression, he obediently stood to the side again.

Brother Niu took out a Great Unity from his pocket and handed it to Elder Liu, asking mildly, "Sir, do you know who took it?"

"Oh, it was an educated young woman. The educated young man beside her..." Elder Liu took the money and resumed rocking in his chair. "I happen to know which village they were from."

Brother Niu was silent for a while, then took another Great Unity from his pocket. "Sir, could you give us a few more details?"

Elder Liu accepted the Great Unity and said calmly, "Shanshui Village. An ordinary-looking girl, neither fat nor thin, with two thick braids. I think her surname was Zheng. That's all I know."

Brother Niu turned and left.

Skinny Monkey followed behind him and asked, "Brother, why were you so polite to that old man?"

"Su Dahe said that old man isn't simple." Skinny Monkey hesitated, then asked, "Brother, if the things in that table are gone too, do we have no choice but to run?"

Brother Niu's gaze darkened as he said coldly, "A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Relax, and stop jinxing us. Brother, should we look for the next one?"

Before Skinny Monkey could finish, Brother Niu shook his head. "That table had the most hidden inside it."

Skinny Monkey fell silent. He glanced around and whispered, "I wonder if they found it. Let's go to Kindwater Village now."

Zhang Dayou and the others, hiding in the alley, quietly followed after them again.

Lin Yuzhu was extremely envious of the female lead, Li Xiangwan. Li Xiangwan's work points were fixed and her job was easy. As she worked, Lin Yuzhu wondered which village the primary school would be built in.

Connections. She still lacked connections too much.

After feeding the pigs, Li Xiangwan returned to the Educated Youth Dormitory. She was the only one there at the moment. Passing through the front yard, she casually glanced at the old furniture and let out a surprised sound. She walked over and tapped the bottom of the table. Sure enough, there was a hidden compartment.

She knew a little about such mechanisms. Her biological father had once been obsessed with them for a while, so she had picked up some knowledge.

When she opened the compartment, Li Xiangwan's lips curled upward. She really had to thank Zhao Xianglan for this.

The small compartment was filled with Little Yellow Fish. Li Xiangwan quickly stored them in her space, restored the compartment to its original state, then got up and left.

It could only be said that fate worked in mysterious ways. If Lin Yuzhu had not interfered, Zhao Xianglan would have bought old newspapers that day.

This broken table would have continued gathering dust at the Scrap Station, only to be discovered by Li Xiangwan in the end.

Brother Niu's maternal grandmother's home was not far from Kindwater Village. Back when he had gone to the countryside, he and several children around his age would come to the mountains near Kindwater Village to pick wild fruit, so he was extremely familiar with the village's terrain.

He brought Skinny Monkey to Kindwater Village. When he saw a group of children, he walked over, casually grabbed one, and asked where the Educated Youth Dormitory was.

The child was frightened by his fierce appearance and tearfully told him where it was.

The two did not waste any more time and quickly headed to the Educated Youth Dormitory.

At this time, all the adults in the village were busy at the wheat fields. When the children saw bad men enter the village, they hurriedly ran to report it. Brother Niu and Skinny Monkey quickly arrived at the Educated Youth Dormitory as well. The moment they entered the yard, they saw the pile of broken furniture, and the legless table was especially conspicuous.

Brother Niu excitedly opened the hidden compartment beneath the table. When he reached inside, he found nothing. Refusing to believe it, he felt around again, but it was still empty.

His face gradually darkened as he furiously wondered who had taken his gold again.

Skinny Monkey stood there dumbfounded. He wanted to ask whether his boss had lost gold again, but seeing that face as dark as the bottom of a pot, he did not dare say it.

Skinny Monkey needed to use the toilet and timidly said, "Brother, I need to pee."

Brother Niu had been through all sorts of storms. He let out a long breath. It was fine. He still had some gold bars hidden in the mountains, and they could go retrieve them later.

Skinny Monkey got up and hurried toward the back yard. As soon as he got there, he saw Li Xiangwan sitting at the doorway washing clothes. His eyes widened as he thought, Well, well!

So this bitch was here. He immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brother! The woman we're looking for is here!"

The moment Brother Niu heard that, he ran over. When he saw Li Xiangwan's face clearly, he was instantly stunned by her beauty. His heart surged with excitement. He had to have this woman. She was the source of the trouble with his grain shipment, and she would be his too. He stared at Li Xiangwan with greedy, venomous eyes.

Li Xiangwan naturally recognized Skinny Monkey. Seeing him at the Educated Youth Dormitory shocked her, and when she saw he had an accomplice, panic rose in her heart. A moment later, she forced herself to remain calm and quickly thought of a way to deal with them.

As Skinny Monkey was only a few steps away from pouncing on her, Li Xiangwan stepped forward and raised her foot to kick him between the legs.

How could a man allow himself to be kicked there?

Skinny Monkey's first reaction was to dodge.

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Li Xiangwan sprayed the self-defense spray in her hand at him. Skinny Monkey got it all over his face and instantly felt awful. He let out a miserable scream and was immediately blinded.

Li Xiangwan ran past him, grabbed a washboard, and smashed it toward the approaching Brother Niu.