Chapter 337 - 127: The Green Tea Female Supporting Character in a Period Piece Novel (14)
Chapter 337: Chapter 127: The Green Tea Female Supporting Character in a Period Piece Novel (14)
He had a meter-long locked wooden chest with several books on it. A cloth pouch on the wall held miscellaneous items, and next to it were piles of bedding, clothes, shoes, and toiletries. Everything was simple, seemingly visible at a glance.
A smirk touched Chi Yun’er’s lips. She walked over to the kang’s fire pit, crouched down, and began feeling around inside.
The Educated Youth were particular. They could make do in other areas, but their sleeping quarters had to be dry and comfortable. To prevent pests like snakes and insects from taking up residence, the kang’s fire pit was built with gray bricks!
’Jiang Zishi was just too arrogant. In her past life, after he returned to the village in glory with Bian Yumin, he would come to visit her in her madness from time to time—for some unfathomable reason.’
’When no one was around, he would even tell her many of his secrets, including how he managed to hide a fortune in a dorm room shared by seven or eight people. It was as if he was using her as a personal dumping ground for his confessions, just to feel more superior.’
’He never imagined that his provocations would shock her into a moment of lucidity, allowing her to memorize his secrets word for word. And he certainly never imagined that she would be reborn, destined to make all his schemes come to nothing!’
Sure enough, Chi Yun’er’s fingers brushed against a sharp stone. She yanked it out. No longer held in place, the adjacent gray brick slipped free, but she caught it swiftly.
She reached her hand back in. Behind where the brick had been was a fist-sized hole. Anyone unaware of the situation would surely assume it was a rat’s nest or a snake’s den and be too frightened to investigate further.
Chi Yun’er pulled out three tightly wrapped cylindrical objects, one after another. Instead of examining them immediately, she slid the gray brick back into place.
Brushing the dust from her clothes, Chi Yun’er walked over to Jiang Zishi’s bunk. She memorized the position of every object, right down to two barely perceptible hairs he had placed in the seam of the chest as a makeshift alarm.
She swiftly moved the books, skillfully unlocked the chest, and opened it. After taking a quick glance inside to memorize the general arrangement of its contents, she closed it again.
Chi Yun’er tilted the chest onto its side. Unsurprisingly, she found three more tightly wrapped paper packets stuck to the bottom.
In the pocket of Jiang Zishi’s winter coat was a small amount of spending money. In a corner of the chest, there was also a neat roll of cash and coupons held together by a rubber band.
She unceremoniously scooped up everything. Only then, satisfied, did she quickly put everything back in its place, relock the chest, and leave.
Back in her own room after shedding her outer clothes, Chi Yun’er’s heart was pounding. Her earlier calm and collected demeanor had vanished, replaced by a wave of exhilarating satisfaction that washed over her entire body.
She lined up her loot on the table and unwrapped each item one by one.
’Her parents had good jobs with excellent benefits, and she was their only, doted-upon daughter. Because of this, they mailed her a considerable amount of money, coupons, snacks, and clothes every month.’
’The cash alone was at least fifty or sixty yuan a month, which was about her mother’s entire base salary.’
’But Jiang Zishi, claiming his family was struggling, would "borrow" twenty or thirty yuan from her each month. He promised to pay it all back once he got a job, even "thoughtfully" offering to calculate interest!’
’Her past self had been so foolish. He’d ask to borrow twenty or thirty yuan, and she, feeling sorry for him, would give him thirty or forty instead, along with plenty of rare coupons. She covered all their daily expenses, too.’
’All Jiang Zishi had to do was say a few sweet things, and she would become completely besotted, giving him everything she had. She would scrimp and save on her own needs, but nearly everything she received from her parents was spent on him.’
’With her covering all the costs, wasn’t it only natural that this house rat, Jiang Zishi, would grow plump? He’d even managed to save up a considerable stash, all while happily trying to latch onto someone of higher status in the village.’
Among the pile of cash and coupons was the 893 yuan she had just given him, along with some coupons. There was also the money Jiang Zishi had saved up month after month—over 900 yuan and a mountain of other coupons!
’She suspected Jiang Zishi had been secretly taking the things he got from her and selling them on the black market under the guise of mailing them home. Otherwise, there was no way he could have saved up so much.’
It was a considerable sum—over 1,800 yuan and a large number of coupons. After counting everything, Chi Yun’er rewrapped the bundles and stuffed them into an empty malted milk extract tin. She then added cotton, comparing it to the full tin Jiang Yihua had brought over yesterday. She made tiny adjustments until the weight, the sound it made when tapped, and the feel of it when shaken were all identical.
She took out some shoe glue she’d brought from home and sealed the tin. Once the glue was dry, the smell had mostly dissipated.
Chi Yun’er examined it from every angle, making sure there were no giveaway details on the fake malted milk tin. Satisfied, she casually stuck it in the cupboard.
That evening, Jiang Zishi returned around the same time as the other Educated Youth coming off their shift.
Chi Yun’er emerged from her room, her eyes and nose red. She shot Jiang Zishi a resentful look before silently taking her things to the kitchen to cook.