Chapter 37 A loud 'bang' came from outside...

A loud bang was heard outside, followed by Granny Xu's wailing, "Which bastard smashed my window? Can't a person live like this? I curse your whole family to die a horrible death, may the men be childless and the women forced into prostitution."

Old Yu rushed out to check and found that both windows of Granny Xu's house were broken and lying on the ground.

Yu Jiamin: Oh no! I can't take Jiajia to smash the Xu family's windows tonight. Someone beat us to it.

Granny Xu looked at the Yu family and asked, "Where are your eldest and second sons? Did they do it?"

Cheng Xiuying: "If my family wanted to break your window, we would do it openly and honestly. My family would never dare to do anything underhanded! You should think about how many people your family has offended."

Granny Xu's family has indeed offended many people. If it's not the Xu family, then it must be the Hu family, right? The two were still arguing last night. The sixty yuan she paid to the Hu family in the morning was also recovered by the police, who said it was stolen money. So, Granny Hu was so angry that she smashed her window?

She started cursing the Hu family again, and Aunt Hu rolled up her sleeves and continued to curse back.

Grandpa Wang: "Can't we just have some peace and quiet every day?"

Granny Xu said that Grandpa Wang and Grandma Hu were having an affair, otherwise why would he speak up for Grandma Hu?

Grandma Hu is so old, and to be wronged like this is truly absurd. Is this Granny Xu a mad dog?

But she was a little scared. If this mad dog came up and bit her, wouldn't that be a pointless bite?

Old Mrs. Xu is barefoot now, but she's wearing shoes.

Everyone was speechless and wanted Granny Xu to get out of there and stop causing trouble in their compound.

Granny Xu cried and went to call the police, but she was just trying to scare everyone. She didn't dare go to the police station at all, afraid that the police would arrest her too.

When the police came to her house to collect debts, it was terrifying. She still feels scared just thinking about it.

Let's just let this matter of smashing the window go.

Xu Jinbao hadn't eaten properly all day. He wanted to eat something good, but the family had no money. He said, "Grandma, let's sell Dad's job. What if the factory fires him? We'll be finished. We'll have no job and no money."

With money, I can buy meat.

Granny Xu's heart skipped a beat. How could she have forgotten about this? "Jinbao is so clever, even Grandma forgot."

She hoped to be released through her efforts, but that was impossible. She had stolen four bicycles; she was definitely going to jail. How could the factory possibly hire a worker who was already in jail?

She quickly packed her things and went out to find a buyer.

Most people wouldn't dare buy such a job, fearing they'd be retaliated against. But families desperate for work are willing to give it a try because of the cheap price. They'd pay fifty yuan upfront, and write an IOU for the remaining two hundred and fifty yuan. If they were fired later, they wouldn't get the rest.

Granny Xu had no choice but to agree, fearing she'd lose the job. If there were no problems with the job, she wasn't worried about not being able to get the remaining two hundred and fifty yuan back.

Of course, she'll take the money first, and tomorrow she'll look for someone willing to buy the job and see if she can sell it for four hundred.

Contracts can only bind others; others cannot bind her.

She had fifty yuan in her pocket, but her heart was still heavy. From now on, Wang Cuifen would be the only one in the family earning money. Jinbao was growing up, and she also had to help out Chang Jinda in prison. This money was not enough.

She looked at the toilet and remembered the gold bars inside.

She wasn't careful enough last time and fell in. This time, she'll be more careful! She definitely won't fall.

Although there were too many people in the toilet at this time, she could just kick them out. She said that her food ration coupons had fallen in and she was going to dig them out of the toilet.

Pan Hongying, who was squatting in the toilet, was speechless, but Granny Xu didn't care at all and started digging. The smell was too strong and it was also splashing.

Granny Xu did it on purpose; if she managed to retrieve some gold, wouldn't people see it?

Pan Hongying was afraid of getting it on herself, so she angrily pulled up her pants and ran away.

Yu Jiajia and Yu Jiamin were also about to go to the toilet, but they definitely couldn't go now, so they had to go to a public toilet further away.

Yu Jiajia: "Why does she have such a strong aversion to toilets? I hope she doesn't fall into one again."

When the two returned, they saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of the public toilet. Wang Cuifen and Xu Jinbao were trying to rescue Granny Xu, who had fallen in again.

this……

Pan Hongying: "What exactly is in the toilet? Is it really grain coupons?"

“How could Granny Xu lose the grain coupons?” Su Man’s mother said. “There were rumors before that there was gold and silver jewelry in the toilet. Could Granny Xu have believed it? Isn’t this just a lie?”

She was starting to hesitate.

Did Granny Xu receive some definite information? Confirming that there really is treasure in the toilet!

Everyone: ...

Pan Hongying found it utterly ridiculous. "How could there be gold in a latrine? Are you crazy? Who would throw gold in a toilet? And toilets need to be cleaned every month. If there were gold, would it be Xu Pozi's turn?"

Granny Xu lay frozen in the latrine, the murky excrement up to her waist. Suddenly, she shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning!

Gold is in the toilet, but who says it has to be in the latrine? There are plenty of places to hide gold in the outhouse!

She grinned, a chilling laugh bursting from between her yellow teeth, the sound rippling across the surface of the cesspool. She was now even more deranged than before.

This version of Granny Xu is even more frightening.

Wang Cuifen started to get scared. Xu Jinbao didn't want to care about his grandmother at all, but he couldn't ignore her because Wang Cuifen couldn't move her by herself.

Xu Jinbao found a rope and tied it around Xu Pozi's body. He and Wang Cuifen tried to pull the rope together, but they couldn't budge it. They needed help from others. This time, everyone had experience and pulled hard on the end of the rope.

We can't just let Granny Xu stay stuck there forever.

After Granny Xu came out of the latrine, everyone dropped the rope and ran away. The area outside the latrine was empty, and everyone watched from a distance.

There was nothing that could be done; Granny Xu was too eccentric, and she didn't know what was good for her.

Granny Xu laughed one moment and cried the next, lamenting, "Why is my life so miserable?"

She vigorously shook off the filth from her body, scolding Wang Cuifen to go back and cover her with a whole sack. She couldn't let the outside get messy; she didn't have time to clean up after herself. She needed to find gold.

This was the perfect opportunity; only she and Xu Jinbao were in the restroom.

Granny Xu lowered her voice: "Jinbao, step on Grandma and climb up to the beam to see if there is any gold up there."

Where's the safest place? On the roof beams of the toilet!

Isn't this a case of "blind spots"? Who would bother to look at the roof beams?

Xu Jinbao was shocked. "What?"

Grandma Xu: "Grandson, there's gold in the toilet!" She lay down on the ground and let Xu Jinbao step on her back to see.

Xu Jinbao genuinely found it disgusting; stepping on Granny Xu's back was like stepping on excrement, utterly repulsive. "When my mother comes, I'll step on her to go see her."

Grandma Xu felt that her grandson knew how to care for her.

After a while, Wang Cuifen not only took a burlap sack but also a bamboo strip. She first scraped her body, then put on the burlap sack to wash.

But Granny Xu didn't care about any of that. She told Wang Cuifen to bend down quickly so that Xu Jinbao could step on her to look at the roof beam.

Granny Xu watched expectantly as Xu Jinbao climbed onto the beam and quickly climbed down. "Grandma, there's nothing here."

Granny Xu was very disappointed, but she quickly cheered up again. "If it's not in the women's restroom, it might be in the men's restroom. If it's not in the men's restroom either, it might be another restroom. We'll search one restroom at a time, and we'll definitely find it!" She then instructed Wang Cuifen to use a bamboo stick to scrape off the filth from her body.

Everyone was whispering inside, but no one knew what they were doing, and no one dared to go in.

Aunt Hu: "That old hag is definitely waiting for someone to go in so she can mess with them. She's full of bad ideas and never holds back her good intentions."

Everyone agreed.

Granny Xu finally came out wrapped in a burlap sack, glanced at the crowd far away, and then turned to bathe in the river.

Wang Cuifen was cleaning the toilet, while Xu Jinbao followed Granny Xu, his mind preoccupied with the matter of the gold.

Yu Jiajia and Yu Jiamin went home with Cheng Xiuying and the others who had come out to watch the commotion. After arriving home, Cheng Xiuying sniffed and said, "Why do I still smell a foul odor? How disgusting is that old woman Xu?"

Yu Jiajia: "Mom, is there really gold in the toilet? I think it looks plausible, otherwise she wouldn't be so persistent. Could she have gone crazy from some trauma? But no, nothing was wrong with her family before, and then she started digging in the toilet." She remembered the novels she used to read, where the protagonist would often find gold on the toilet beams: "Mom, let's go look for it too!"

Cheng Xiuying: ...

But she claimed to love her daughter dearly, saying, "Okay, let's go out and look for her tonight."

Yu Songchuan: "No way, you guys actually believe that? If I had gold and silver jewelry, why would I put it on a public toilet? What if someone found it?"

Yu Jiajia: "If everyone thinks like that, wouldn't the toilet be quite safe? And the cleaners wouldn't clean the roof beams, would they?"

Now that she put it that way, it does seem to make some sense.

Yu Jiamin: "I went to look for it after 10 o'clock, but everyone was asleep and there was basically no one in the toilet."

Yu Jiajia: "Mom and my third sister are the best!"

Yu Songchuan: "Go away, Dad and I will go to the men's room to check."

Yu Hongding really wanted to say something uncivilized, but the spare ribs were very delicious that night, and it was only because of the Four Treasures that he could have some.

Sibao only made a small request, how could we refuse? "Let's go for a walk tonight."

Yu Jiajia was very happy and looked forward to ten o'clock. She went up to Yu Jiamin and asked how to deal with Granny Xu, as she remembered it.

Yu Jiamin felt slightly embarrassed and said in a low voice, "Let's wait until Granny Xu's windows are replaced with new ones first."

Yu Jiajia immediately understood, and she laughed, leaning on Yu Jiamin's shoulder: "Okay!"

Yu Jiamin also laughed.

Yu Songchuan: "What are you saying?"

Yu Jiajia is not going to tell him!

It was completely dark when the Yu family locked the door and came out together. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they ran into the Fang Yong family, who were returning looking disappointed. When they reached the toilet door, Aunt Hu pulled Cheng Xiuying and spoke loudly. Soon, Uncle Hu and Hu Jianjun came out of the men's toilet, and Hu Xiaolan came out of the women's toilet.

The Hu family returned home disappointed.

Cheng Xiuying: ...

Is it even necessary to go to the toilet to check?

No need! The toilet's already been used several times already?

No wonder Fang Yong and his family looked disappointed; they had also touched the toilet.

Yu Hongding: "Don't bother looking anymore, go back to sleep."

Yu Jiajia blinked, speechless. "Let's go check out the other restrooms. We're not sleepy anyway."

Cheng Xiuying: "Look!"

They didn't turn into the toilet, but saw Pan Hongying and her husband taking their two sons to the toilet.

That's really exaggerated and hilarious.

The toilet never imagined it would become so popular. Neither did the roof beam expect to be so well-liked.

Yu Jiamin: "Jiajia, which restroom do you want to go to?"

Yu Jiajia: "Let's walk along Jiefang Road to Yong'an Road, and go home when we get tired."

Yu Songchuan: "Let's go, let's go!!!"

The family strolled along the street, chatting and laughing; it was quite enjoyable.

When they arrived at the restroom, Yu Hongding and Yu Songchuan went to the men's restroom, while Cheng Xiuying led Yu Jiamin and Yu Jiajia to the women's restroom.

With a quick leap, Cheng Xiuying could reach out and hook her hand onto the roof beam. Pressing down, she could see nothing on the beam except for dust. She wasn't disappointed; she hadn't had any expectations anyway, she was just playing with Sibao.

The men's restroom was the same; there was nothing there. I checked four restrooms in a row, and all I could find was stench and dust.

They're almost out of Yong'an Road.

It was another toilet. When they got to the women's toilet, Cheng Xiuying grabbed Yu Jiajia's waist and lifted her up. It wasn't that Cheng Xiuying couldn't climb up, but the toilet beams were too dirty, and she got her hands covered in grime. She just wanted Sibao to see it like that.

There's a light in the toilet; you can see clearly whether there's anything there with a single glance.

Yu Jiajia was actually disappointed. Maybe anyone who hides gold and silver in the toilet is a fool. If there really is something good, it would be better to dig a hole in the mountains than to hide it here.

etc!

She excitedly exclaimed, "Mommy, Mommy, lift me up a little higher!"

Cheng Xiuying continued to lift her up, and Yu Jiajia was now sprawled on the roof beam. She reached out and picked up two large gold bars—they were heavy! Each one must have weighed almost half a pound. "Oh my god, second sister, catch them!!!"

Cheng Xiuying gasped, muttering, "My God! Jiamin, look quickly, is it real!"

Yu Jiamin also gasped, then wiped the heavy gold bar directly on her clothes to remove the dust, and squeezed it hard, leaving two finger marks on the gold bar. "This is a large yellow croaker, one piece for ten taels!"

One tael is 31.25g! Ten taels is 312.5g!

Her heart was pounding, and her voice was trembling with excitement.

This is like a dream.

Cheng Xiuying held her breath, afraid of scaring the gold bars away, "Sibao, how many are there in total!"

"There are three! Let me look again!" Yu Jiajia tossed three gold bars to Yu Jiamin, who lay on them and continued to look, reaching out and touching everything.

What appeared to be touching was actually moving the three pieces stacked underneath into the spatial backpack.

Cheng Xiuying: "Is there any more?" She was so anxious that she put Yu Jiajia down and jumped up herself, climbing on the roof beams to search. She felt all over the beams, afraid of missing anything, but there was nothing left.

Yu Jiamin also climbed up to take a look, afraid of missing out on the gold.

At times like this, no one can remain calm.

Real gold.

In this simple era that valued hard work and frugality, people indeed dared not wear gold, for fear of being criticized and denounced. But gold will always be valuable. Otherwise, why would there be the saying "wearing gold and silver"?

Unfortunately, there were only three pieces in total, and no others.

Cheng Xiuying: "Quick, give it to me, let me see." She didn't make a handprint; she just took a bite, leaving a row of teeth marks. This is the taste! Her voice trembled with excitement: "Sibao, you're so lucky. This is thirty taels!" She hugged Sibao around, wow, she's struck it rich!

This is a whopping 1200 grams, more than a kilogram of gold! What does that even mean?

Yu Jiamin couldn't help but hug Yu Jiajia.

Before leaving the toilet, Cheng Xiuying climbed onto the crossbeam and wiped away all the handprints on it with a handkerchief; their hands were clearly female.

When the mother and her two daughters emerged from the restroom, their legs felt weak, as if they were walking on cotton. It was all so unreal, like a dream. But the heavy weight in Cheng Xiuying's pockets was real gold.

The taste of gold seemed to linger in her mouth, which was truly captivating.

Upon seeing the expressions on his mother's and two older sisters' faces, Yu Songchuan also became excited. He lowered his voice and asked, "Mom, what did you find?"

Cheng Xiuying pulled Sibao along, saying, "Let's go, let's get out of here quickly!"

The five people hurried away. Fortunately, there were few people on the road, the streetlights were particularly dim, and the dark clouds covered the moon, so there was no moonlight at all. This was the best camouflage!

"Three large yellow croakers, weighing over a kilogram!"

Yu Songchuan: "!!! Mom, let me touch it! Let me touch it quickly." He reached into Cheng Xiuying's pocket and immediately touched the gold in Cheng Xiuying's hand.

Cheng Xiuying slapped his hand away, "Go back and watch it!"

Yu Songchuan: "I feel the pain! I'm not dreaming!!! Mom, let me touch it again, quick, let me touch it again. I've never touched gold before."

Cheng Xiuying let him touch her again, then laughed and scolded, "You're so pathetic!"

His grin stretched from ear to ear. After touching the gold, he reached out and hugged Yu Jiajia, exclaiming, "Fourth Sister, you're amazing! You even managed to guess this!" He had never seen gold before, but he knew it was very valuable.

Yu Jiamin: "Slow down, don't let Jiajia fall!"

Yu Jiajia:......

Her mother held her, her sister held her, and her brother held her too.

Yu Hongding was in high spirits and excitedly hugged his wife, while criticizing Yu Songchuan: "Sibao has grown up, you can't just hug your sister like that."

Yu Songchuan disagreed. "How can that be so feudal! They're siblings!" he said. "Sister, should we keep looking?"

Yu Jiajia: "Let's look! Even if we can't find it, we still have to look. Just in case it's still there."

Everyone felt that the possibility of finding another one was very small, but they had to search for one, and it would be best to search all the toilets in Qingshan County!

Otherwise, I always feel that their family has missed out on another opportunity.

Next, everyone split into three groups. Yu Jiamin went first, and when she saw the restroom, she went in first. Cheng Xiuying and Yu Jiajia followed at a distance behind. Yu Hongding and Yu Songchuan brought up the rear and headed straight for the men's restroom.

Unlike before, when everyone would stroll and chat, this time everyone was sneaking around, avoiding people, and going wherever it was dark, afraid of being seen.

Could someone who could hoard so much gold be an ordinary person?

That's definitely not allowed, so we can't let anyone see them nearby.

The family walked quickly and soon arrived at another toilet. Yu Jiamin stood at the door and shook her head at Cheng Xiuying, but Cheng Xiuying did not trust the third son and went to check again herself.

Yu Jiamin rolled her eyes.

After checking the women's restroom, Cheng Xiuying went to check the men's restroom. There was no one in the men's restroom anyway, but unfortunately, she didn't find any treasure there either.

Now that they've found two more toilets, Cheng Xiuying says, "No! The order is wrong. Jiajia should be the one to see." Besides, it's too inefficient. She adds, "Jiamin and Songchuan, go this way. I'll take Jiajia inside. Be careful not to let anyone see your face. Whether you find them or not, get home before dawn. Hongding, hide these three sticks in the usual spot. It's not safe to carry them around!"

Yu Jiajia: "Mom, is the old spot still at home? We can't hide it at home."

If someone were to raid their home, they could turn up every last inch of it. Of course, a family of such high standing would never have their property raided, but we should still prepare for the worst.

Cheng Xiuying smiled broadly: "Don't worry, it's not at home, so it's perfectly safe." She then instructed Yu Jiamin: "You two search together, keep an eye on each other, and don't hide anything. If you find it, wipe away the fingerprints, dig a hole in a safe place, and hide it. Don't bring anything home."

Yu Jiamin and Yu Songchuan nodded.

The group split into two groups again.

Next, Cheng Xiuying carried Yu Jiajia up to check if there were any treasures on the roof beams. She felt that Yu Jiajia was walking too slowly, so she simply carried Yu Jiajia on her back and ran forward.

They run incredibly fast.

Fearing someone might be in the men's restroom, Cheng Xiuying would throw stones inside. If she heard cursing, then someone was there; if she didn't, then no one was there.

They encountered someone in the toilet, who cursed and swore for a long time before finally coming out.

Cheng Xiuying led Yu Jiajia inside, pinching Yu Jiajia's waist and making her go up to see.

Upon seeing this, Yu Jiajia became excited again. There was a small box on the beam, about eight centimeters long, five centimeters wide, and five centimeters high. She half-lay on the beam, picked up the small box, put the two large yellow croakers next to it directly into her spatial backpack, and then vigorously rubbed off the dust marks with her hands. She touched it around, pretending to be looking for something.

Cheng Xiuying asked anxiously, "Is there something there? What is it?"

Looking at the gray marks on it, Yu Jiajia couldn't tell what it was at all. She said, "A very heavy little box! Mom, take two steps to the left, there seems to be something else there."

Cheng Xiuying: "I'll do it!" She put Yu Jiajia down, jumped up, grabbed the beam, and climbed up. On the left was a protruding wooden fork, which was not a good thing. After carefully examining it, she found nothing else of value. She picked up a handkerchief, wiped all her handprints off, jumped down from the beam, took the small box, picked up Yu Jiajia, and ran outside.

After running several hundred meters, Cheng Xiuying stopped and pulled Yu Jiajia behind a big tree to examine the small box. It was locked and would have to be forcibly disassembled, but it wouldn't be easy to do so outside. She couldn't bear to damage the wooden box, so she shook it vigorously. It rattled inside and was full of things!

This is definitely good stuff, I just don't know what it is.

With excitement, they continued their search. After finding two more public toilets, they spotted several suspicious figures in the distance. Cheng Xiuying quickly carried Yu Jiajia on her back and hid. When the people approached, they turned out to be Granny Xu, her mother-in-law, and Xu Jinbao.

The whole family was grinning from ear to ear, clearly having had a very fruitful haul!

Cheng Xiuying wished she could knock these people unconscious and rob them, but there were three of them, and she couldn't possibly take them all out at once. Afraid of causing unnecessary trouble, she could only watch helplessly as they ran over and rushed into the public toilet they had just visited.

Cheng Xiuying secretly regretted her slow pace, allowing Granny Xu's family to get there first. It was clear that the other public toilets had already been searched, so there was no point in looking at them again. However, they still went to look at one more public toilet.

The beams were covered in handprints; they had been touched all over.

There's really no point in exploring any further; it would only be a waste of time!

They took a different route, and not far along, they ran into Aunt Hu and her family again. They looked serious and were still arguing, clearly having gained nothing.

Yu Jiajia was also speechless. Didn't everyone say they didn't believe it? They even mocked Granny Xu for being delusional, wondering why she would secretly come looking for someone in the middle of the night?

This road won't work either, let's try another one.