He Wanted Both the Woman and the Goods

This program was produced by Tomato Listening, Episode 50.

If both the woman and the goods became his, no one would care about his injuries anymore.

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

A violent wind raged through the night. Skinny Monkey and Brother Niu leaned against each other, shivering in a dilapidated little shack.

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

Forget it. Those people will definitely have someone waiting there. Endure it a little longer and get some sleep tonight!

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 the brothers under him had vanished one after another for no apparent reason, he decided not to let his only remaining lackey 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 response was the howling autumn wind.

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

Without anything to offer, will that person help us?

Don't worry. 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 status currently that of a relocated educated youth?

That's what they say!

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

His gaze was firm and sincere.

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

In just one night, the matter at the Educated Youth Dormitory spread rapidly.

Thanks to the Dong Sisters, Lin Yuzhu and Wang Xiaomei had successfully been relegated to the background. The Dong Sisters had become the Educated Youth Dormitory's new generation of parental figures.

The next day at work, everyone chatted with great enthusiasm.

What?

You mean Wang Xiaomei and Lin Yuzhu?

Heh, that's old news. Those two only looked impressive but were useless. They were nowhere near as good as the Dong Sisters.

I heard Li Xiangbei beat up the scorekeeper a while ago. The moment they disagreed, he went right up and started punching him.

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.

Come on, at least we knew from the start that he was a weakling. Look at Wang Xiaomei and Lin Yuzhu. They looked so capable 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 grain depot to bag up the grain. Those aunties were practically whispering gossip directly 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?

Her body collapsed first. After working all morning, she was no better off than during the autumn harvest. She missed her parents a little.

The deepest impression she had of her biological parents from when she was young was that they would scold her whenever she failed to finish the rice in her bowl.

Her father had taught her with a regretful look to cherish every grain of food. Back then, she had been too foolish to understand how he felt. Now she truly understood: every grain of food came from hard labor.

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

At the other end of a parallel world, a slender girl with a slightly heroic air about her was 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 gravestone and said softly, "I came 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 help her visit you again in the future."

After lunch, Elder Liu from the Scrap Station lounged lazily 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 a while ago. There was a table that could still be used after some repairs, and I'd like to buy it back."

Elder Liu raised his eyes briefly, then closed them again. Too lazy to bother with him, he waved a hand and let the man go in to look for it himself.

Only then did Brother Niu enter the yard and search the area specially used for discarded furniture. But when he reached the furniture, he could not find even a single familiar table.

Brother Niu panicked and rummaged through the pile recklessly, yet still failed to find the broken table he wanted.

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

Brother Niu squatted there in silence for a long time before getting up and walking over to Elder Liu once more. Somewhat ingratiatingly, he asked, "Sir, has anyone come to collect furniture these past few days?"

Elder Liu snorted and replied blandly, "My Scrap Station has been quite lively lately. Lots of people have come by. I'm old, so I don't remember who took those broken tables and chairs."

Thinking Elder Liu was being dismissive, Skinny Monkey arrogantly wanted to step forward and threaten him, but Brother Niu stopped him.

Skinny Monkey did not understand. Seeing that his boss was unhappy, he obediently stood to the side again.

Brother Niu took out a Great Unity from his pocket and handed it to Elder Liu. In a gentle tone, he asked, "Sir, do you know who took it?"

"Oh, it was a female educated youth. The male educated youth beside her... I happen to know which village they were from." After taking the money, Elder Liu lay back in his rocking chair and swayed again.

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 leisurely said, "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. Thank you."

Brother Niu turned and left after saying that.

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

"I heard Su Dahe say that old man isn't simple. Damn it, Brother, if the stuff in that table is gone too, do we have no choice but to run?"

Skinny Monkey asked worriedly.

Brother Niu's gaze darkened as he said coldly, "A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Don't worry, and stop being such a jinx. 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. Looking around, he whispered, "I wonder if they found it. Should we go to Kindwater Village now?"

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

At that moment, Lin Yuzhu was deeply envious of the female lead, Li Xiangwan. Her work points were fixed, and her job was easy. As she worked, she wondered which village the elementary school would be built in.

Connections. She still lacked connections too badly.

After feeding the pigs, Li Xiangwan returned to the Educated Youth Dormitory. She was the only one there at the moment. As she passed through the front yard, she casually glanced at the old furniture in the courtyard and gave a surprised sound. Walking over, she tapped the bottom of the table. Sure enough, it had a hidden compartment.

She knew a little about this sort of mechanism. Her biological father had been obsessed with them for a time, so she had learned something about them as well.

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

The small compartment was packed full of Little Yellow Fish. Li Xiangwan quickly stored them in her space, restored the compartment to its original state, and only 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. When he had gone to the countryside in the past, children around his age would come to the mountains near Kindwater Village to pick wild fruit. Therefore, he was extremely familiar with Kindwater Village's terrain.

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

Seeing how fierce he looked, the child tearfully told him where the Educated Youth Dormitory was.

The two did not waste any more time and quickly headed there.

At this time, all the adults in the village were busy in the fields. When the children saw bad men entering the village, they rushed off to report it. Brother Niu and Skinny Monkey also hurried to the Educated Youth Dormitory. The moment they entered the yard, they saw the pile of broken furniture, and the table missing a leg 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 thought, Who was it? Who took my gold again?

Skinny Monkey was 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 aloud.

Skinny Monkey wanted to use the toilet, so he weakly said to Brother Niu, "Brother, I need to use the toilet."

Brother Niu had seen every kind of storm since entering this line of work. He let out a long breath. It was fine. He still had some gold bars hidden in the mountains, and they could go get them later.

Skinny Monkey got up and rushed toward the backyard. As soon as he went over, he happened to see Li Xiangwan sitting by the door washing clothes. His eyes widened as he thought, Good!

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 clearly saw Li Xiangwan's face, he was instantly stunned by her beauty. His heart surged with excitement. He had to have this woman. He wanted both the woman and the goods. She was the source of the trouble with his batch of grain, and his gaze fixed greedily and viciously on Li Xiangwan.

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

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

How could a man let himself get kicked there?

Skinny Monkey's first reaction was to dodge immediately.

Taking advantage of that brief 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. With a scream, he was immediately blinded.

Li Xiangwan ran past him, gripping a washboard in her hand, and smashed it at the approaching Brother Niu.