Chapter 10
She never expected that the Yun family’s cellar actually hid such a secret mechanism. Once the stone door opened, it revealed a staircase leading down to another cellar of the exact same size as the one above. Locked chests were piled up one after another, and Yun Shu estimated there were roughly over two hundred chests in total. Yun Guoliang casually opened one of them, and row upon row of glittering gold bars were neatly arranged inside. This was the first time Yun Shu had ever seen so much gold, and she couldn’t help but stare in absolute astonishment. Not only was there gold, but there were also countless antiques, famous paintings, jewelry, and jade items… Any single one of these pieces placed in the future world would be an priceless treasure.
“These are all the riches accumulated by our Yun family over generations. Your great-grandfather loved gold, your grandfather loved jewelry and antiques, and tracing back even further, our ancestor served as prime minister and loved money and wealth above all else.” Since Yun Shu was a transmigrator, she possessed a bit of understanding regarding this background. To put it nicely, the ancestor loved money; to put it bluntly, he was a corrupt official. She looked at Yun Guoliang and casually asked, “What do you love the most, Dad?” “I love spending money,” Yun Guoliang replied in a completely earnest tone. “…” Yun Shu didn’t know what to say, nor did she know what expression to use to convey her thoughts. Is this the sheer arrogance of the incredibly wealthy? However, she truly had never noticed that Yun Guoliang was a man who loved spending money. He dressed simply, kept a low profile, and wasn’t flashy in the slightest, showing absolutely no outward signs of someone who enjoyed spending wealth. The decorations both inside and outside the house were very modest, with not a single item looking particularly valuable.
“These are extraordinary times, and this wealth can also be an ominous thing. Your dad still wants to live for a few more years.” Yun Guoliang turned his head to look at Yun Shu. “Dad has only ever brought you down here. Your younger brother and sister still have no idea that our family has such a cellar, so…” “You can rest assured, Dad. I’ve chewed this secret up and swallowed it down into my stomach. Without your approval, I won’t let half a word slip out. Just put your heart completely at ease!” Yun Shu raised her hand to vow, her expression entirely spot on. For Yun Guoliang to trust her so implicitly showed that he truly loved the original host to his very bones.
Yun Guoliang was amused by Yun Shu. “Yun Ze and Yun Yun are still young, so it’s hard to avoid them becoming arrogant and stirring up trouble. You are older now, married, and expecting a child. Through this whole ordeal with Duan Jianguo, Papa can see that you have truly matured a lot. I believe Huizhi will also be very relieved in the afterlife.” Huizhi was the original host’s biological mother, who also came from a wealthy family of an eldest daughter. Her ancestors had served as officials, and she was a childhood friend of Yun Guoliang, with the two sharing a deep affection. Regrettably, a high fever during her childhood had left her with chronic ailments. After giving birth to the original host, her constitution was completely broken, and no matter how she nursed her health, she couldn’t recover, passing away when the original host was just three years old. Yun Guoliang was forced by Grandfather Yun to remarry, solely to carry on the Yun family line. Yan Meili was a virtuous woman with a gentle and beautiful appearance, and she poured her heart out to care for Yun Guoliang with utmost devotion. Yun Ze and Yun Yun were the twins born to Yan Meili, four years younger than the original host, though in reality, only three years younger. Because of the original host’s tyrannical behavior, Yan Meili had no choice but to send the two siblings to board at school to prevent the household from being turned upside down. Speaking of which, the novel didn’t mention how the relationship between Yun Ze, Yun Yun, and the original host actually was, so Yun Shu couldn’t easily judge. But given the original host’s personality, their interactions must have been unpleasant; otherwise, those two siblings wouldn’t have boarded at school and refused to come home, especially since the school was located right in Shanghai.
After the father and daughter chatted for a while, they left the cellar. Yun Shu went back to her room, and as she lay under the breeze of the fan, her mind was entirely filled with those dazzling, glittering treasures. She couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. No wonder Duan Jianguo was coveting it; anyone else would inevitably be tempted too. The original host didn’t know about the secret mechanism, but Yun Shu couldn’t be sure if Duan Jianguo knew about it or not. If he reported the Yun family and the authorities came to investigate, wouldn’t those treasures in the cellar be… Yun Shu couldn’t lie still anymore. She couldn’t just sit around waiting for doom; she had to resolve this hidden threat of Duan Jianguo before joining the military.
…
After leaving the Yun residence, Duan Jianguo went to the hospital to tend to his wounds, and then he immediately headed to the home of Jin Xiaoming, a leader of the Revolutionary Committee. The two had private dealings with each other; it could be said that with Duan Jianguo’s assistance, Jin Xiaoming had amassed a tremendous amount of dirty money. Right after transmigrating into the book, he had sought out Jin Xiaoming and reported every capitalist he knew about. This was done partly to win Jin Xiaoming over and partly to secure a share of the profits. Because he knew the plot, every single report hit the mark accurately, leaving Jin Xiaoming with arms tired from conducting raids and hands cramping from counting money. As for how Duan Jianguo possessed such knowledge, Jin Xiaoming wasn’t a fool, but he never dug deeper. With such a useful informant, he was more than happy to play dumb and wait for the fish to be delivered to his door. This time, when Duan Jianguo was reported for disrupting a military marriage, Jin Xiaoming had pulled quite a few strings for him behind the scenes, otherwise the punishment would have been handed down that very day.
“Director Jin, this time the fish is quite large, so you mustn’t give me a smaller share.” Duan Jianguo held his teacup, looking at Jin Xiaoming with a smile, his intentions crystal clear. Originally, he had planned to follow the plot of the original novel, but who could have guessed that Yun Shu had actually been replaced by a transmigrator too and made it clear she wanted to cut ties with him? He had no choice but to bring his plans forward. “Rest assured, Troupe Leader Duan. If this matter turns out to be true, I naturally won’t treat you unfairly.” Jin Xiaoming also made his stance clear. “However, has Troupe Leader Duan truly thought it through regarding investigating the Yun family?” He had heard a bit of gossip about his situations with the Yun family’s eldest daughterâweren’t the two of them close to securing a good thing together?
Duan Jianguo set down his teacup and couldn’t help but sigh. “Let’s put it this way, Director Jin. I am the victim here. Miss Yun was merely playing with my feelings, tossing me aside once the novelty wore off. Since she is being so ruthless, I don’t need to be mindful of old sentiments either.” Since it wasn’t his girlfriend who had transmigrated into her, what did he have left to worry about? No matter how beautiful Yun Shu was, once he became wealthy, would he ever have to worry about a lack of beautiful women? “No wonder,” Jin Xiaoming nodded in realization, asking no further questions. The two began to discuss how to search the Yun residence and handle the Yun family’s gold, silver, and jewelry.
In contrast, Yun Shu didn’t sleep soundly at all that night. She dreamed that Duan Jianguo led a group of men to burst into her home, carrying away all the treasures in the cellar, and her entire family of five was sent down to a bitterly cold region for labor reform. When Yun Shu woke up again, her body was completely drenched in sweat. Thinking of the scenes in her dream, she couldn’t put her mind at ease. Consequently, after finishing breakfast and taking advantage of the window when Yan Meili and Yun Guoliang went out, Yun Shu went down to the cellar, opened the mechanism, and collected every single treasure into her space. If Yun Guoliang needed to go to the cellar, she would simply follow him down, and then act according to the circumstances, slipping the treasures back when Yun Guoliang wasn’t paying attention.
However, right at noon that day, the people from the Revolutionary Committee arrived, accompanied by the inspection team. There were over a dozen people in total, and their posture made it clear they came fully prepared. “Someone reported your Yun family for colluding with foreign countries and treason, secretly conducting trading transactions with foreigners, and selling off state cultural relics. We must now carry out a verification check. Please actively cooperate with our work.” Yun Guoliang shielded Yan Meili and Yun Shu behind his back. Facing the people from the Revolutionary Committee and the inspection team, his expression remained perfectly calm. “Director Jin, we accept the investigation, but please do not harm my wife and daughter.” “That’s easy to handle, as long as you cooperate.” Jin Xiaoming spoke with a smile, appearing to have a good temper, but a sharp edge was hidden in his eyes.
Yun Shu whispered to Yan Meili, “What is this Director Jin’s full name?” “Jin Xiaoming, why do you ask?” Yan Meili questioned back in bewilderment. “It’s nothing,” Yun Shu shook her head. She remembered this person, Jin Xiaoming. The original novel had introduced him as a deeply corrupt official who used his position to amass an untold amount of dirty wealth. Once he took action, even if something was perfectly white, he would turn it black. There were countless individuals who had grievances but nowhere to appeal them.
