Chapter 55 Hidden Gold

When Cheng Jiajia went to work at the recycling station in the afternoon, she was still extremely excited.

She tried hard to keep her expression in check, lest she burst out laughing in front of Grandpa Wang. She also tried to control herself from glancing at the pile of wood too often.

I finally made it through the afternoon, and it's almost time to get off work.

She was originally worried about how to avoid Grandpa Wang when she took a few wooden sticks, but Grandpa Wang had something to do at home, so he told Cheng Jiajia to lock the door and left early.

This makes things convenient for Cheng Jiajia.

Although Grandpa Wang and Yu Junsheng had a good relationship, it was best to keep this kind of bargain-hunting secret to as few people as possible. After all, money can be a powerful motivator, and no one knows what choices people might make under the lure of huge profits.

She didn't want to gamble with human nature.

Taking advantage of the absence of others, Cheng Jiajia carefully sifted through the pile of dark wooden strips again, finally confirming that none had slipped through the net.

The remaining wooden strips were thinner and lighter than the ones at home, so they didn't look like they were used to hide anything.

Yesterday I saw Jiang Qiubai and her second brother also using these thicker wooden strips. I wonder what the situation is like on her side, whether it's cement or gold?

Cheng Jiajia selected a few straight ones and put them into the prepared cloth bag. Then she took out five cents from her pocket and stuffed them into Grandpa Wang's desk drawer. Perfect!

Grandpa Wang doesn't have the habit of keeping accounts every day, so he should be able to get away with it.

Cheng Jiajia took her things, locked the door, and then went to a supply and marketing cooperative a little further away to buy a few kilograms of grain.

Winter days are short and dark. By the time Cheng Jiajia returned to the compound, it was already getting dark.

Liu Xiaohong, who lives in the front yard, was eating at the door with her bowl in hand. When she saw Cheng Jiajia, her eyes were glued to the bag she was carrying.

She said affectionately, "Oh, Junsheng's wife, what are you carrying? My family is having a hard time, so please share some with me!"

It's bulging, it looks like it contains something good.

Cheng Jiajia paused, then replied quite naturally, "We ran out of mixed grain noodles at home, so I bought a few pounds on the way back." Before anyone could speak, she continued, "Aunt Liu, if you want some, go early tomorrow morning, the supply and marketing cooperative still has some."

Want to get something for free? No way!

Liu Xiaohong choked, thinking, "No wonder she's Yu Junsheng's wife, that stingy man!"

Liu Xiaohong pouted and couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Oh, it's so different when you start working! You can buy whatever you want to eat, unlike us at home where we're strapped for cash and have to be so stingy with everything we buy."

Then, in a tone of an elder, she lectured Cheng Jiajia, "I'm not saying this to criticize you, but Junsheng's wife, we women should be more virtuous. Don't be so greedy, and be more frugal with money. You can't be so extravagant."

"Also, I saw your Yu Junsheng cooking. How can you let a man do cooking? They've worked hard all day, we should be considerate of them."

Tsk tsk, the sourness in those words is practically overflowing.

Cheng Jiajia paused, then replied with a smile, "Aunt Liu, are you eating? Did Sister Dayan make it again?"

Seeing Liu Xiaohong's proud expression, she added with envy, "If you ask me, no one in our compound is as lucky as you. You don't work, and you don't cook at home. Sister Dayan works all day and then comes home to cook, how hard that is for you, and you just pretend you don't see it. Although parents should be kind and understanding towards their children, I don't think so. Look how comfortable your life is! I'm so envious!"

Liu Xiaohong's face flushed bright red. "You brat, are you implying my mean daughter is being mean?"

With a "pfft," Fu Jiaojiao, who was watching the show next door, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She glanced at Liu Xiaohong, whose face was flushed, and said, "Xiao Cheng, you're right. Parents should be more kind and gentle! Otherwise, they might suffer the consequences one day!"

Bao Dayan is no good, and Liu Xiaohong, who treats her daughter like a workhorse, is even worse!

She hated the whole family, and when Liu Xiaohong was humiliated, Fu Jiaojiao naturally wanted to kick her while she was down.

Liu Xiaohong was very annoyed by the two men's sarcastic remarks. She glared at them and said, "What do you know? A young lady should be diligent, otherwise she will be beaten by her mother-in-law when she gets married."

"Oh, I see!" Cheng Jiajia nodded in understanding, but quickly asked again with doubt, "But didn't Sister Dayan take in a husband at home? Aunt Liu, what, you would hit Sister Dayan?"

She stared at Liu Xiaohong in disbelief, as if she were some kind of terrifying violent maniac.

Finally, with a sincere expression, she suggested, "Aunt Liu, parents should be more kind and gentle!"

Liu Xiaohong: "..."

Liu Xiaohong cursed inwardly at the sharp-tongued little vixen!

To be honest, Liu Xiaohong didn't have any hostility towards Cheng Jiajia at first. She was just an unfamiliar neighbor, the kind of neighbor who looked down on her. What could she possibly be hostile to?

But ever since she learned that Yu Junsheng had been accepted into the machinery factory and had even transferred his job at the scrap yard to Cheng Jiajia, her mindset completely changed.

Everyone knows how difficult it is to find a job these days. A perfectly good opportunity was right in front of her, but Er Yan couldn't even take the job recruitment exam because she didn't have a high school diploma.

This girl from the countryside doesn't even have a city household registration, yet she can easily get a job at the recycling station. Liu Xiaohong really wants to ask, why?

Liu Xiaohong was extremely unwilling, but she knew there was nothing she could do. After all, the transfer of the job was legal and compliant, and even if she reported it, it would be useless. Besides, she didn't have the guts to do so.

So all he could do was rant and rave when he saw Cheng Jiajia, venting his anger.

Unfortunately, Cheng Jiajia was no pushover and immediately shut her up.

Liu Xiaohong is a perfect example of someone who is both incompetent and loves to play. She actively provokes Cheng Jiajia, but can't win an argument with her and can only sulk in her heart.

...

Cheng Jiajia didn't care whether Liu Xiaohong was sulking or not. After making sarcastic remarks to Liu Xiaohong, she picked up her things and went back to the Second Hospital.

That's why she bought a few kilograms of grain to cover it up. It was dark, and most people couldn't see what she was carrying; they would just assume it was grain.

The main gate of the east wing was open.

As soon as Cheng Jiajia entered the door, Yu Junsheng was indeed busy in the kitchen, just as Liu Xiaohong had said. She quickly put down her things and went into the kitchen.

Hearing the noise, Yu Junsheng turned around and laughed, "Honey, you're back? Why are you home so late? There's not that much work at the recycling station."

He always leaves for work early, so could it be that Old Man Wang is taking advantage of his wife while he's away?

Cheng Jiajia had no idea that in just a few seconds, Yu Junsheng had imagined so much.

She chuckled twice, tiptoed to close the door, and then mysteriously pulled the person into the inner room. "Come here, come quickly, I'll show you something!"

Yu Junsheng was washing vegetables when his wife suddenly pulled him into the inner room, making him look very uncomfortable.

"…Honey, isn't this inappropriate? We haven't had dinner yet, we'll get hungry later." He tentatively suggested, "How about we wait until after we finish eating, then we can do *that*?"

Cheng Jiajia: "..."

Cheng Jiajia's lips twitched, utterly speechless. "Get rid of the lewd nonsense in your head. I have something serious to tell you."

Yu Junsheng: "..."

Yu Junsheng gripped the ground with his toes, then gave an embarrassed smile, realizing he had been overthinking things.

But what exactly is wrong with my wife? Why is she being so mysterious?

Yu Junsheng was filled with doubt.

Until he saw his wife rummaging through the closet and pulling out a dozen or so gold bars wrapped in an old garment.

Yu Junsheng: "!!!"

Yu Junsheng's eyes widened; the impact was so great that he felt his heart stop for a moment.

The young man stared blankly for a long while before finally asking in a slurred voice, "Wife, where did you get this?"

Upon thinking of Cheng Jiajia's great strength, Yu Junsheng's expression suddenly changed.

Oh no, did they rob some big spender?

"Wife, which family is it...?"

Just as Yu Junsheng was wondering whether he should go and help clean up the mess that evening, he saw Cheng Jiajia proudly raise her chin and say, "It came from the wooden strips we brought back from the scrap yard yesterday."

"What...what?!"

Yu Junsheng looked at Cheng Jiajia in disbelief.

Cheng Jiajia chuckled and recounted how Jiang Qiubai had gone to the scrap yard to look for something that day and her own suspicions.

"I was just trying it out, thinking what if it actually worked!"

After listening, Yu Junsheng said with a serious face, "Wife, we need to find some similar pieces of wood to put in the house, and we also need to find a new place to hide these gold bars and wooden boxes. The wardrobe is too unsafe."

Since Jiang Qiubai knows about the gold bars, if she doesn't find them, she might suspect their family. Given the previous theft of the Ren family, who knows if she might go crazy?

These things need to be hidden in a safer place.

"And we must not reveal anything for the next year or two."

Like I said before, you have to pretend to be poor.

Cheng Jiajia gave him an admiring look. As expected of the man she had her eye on, his mind worked so fast!

“I just brought back a few of the same wooden strips; you can use those to nail together a shoe rack.”

Yu Junsheng gave a thumbs up, "Wife, you're such a clever little devil!"

Cheng Jiajia chuckled, and the couple began to flatter each other.

"Got it!"

Yu Junsheng thought of something, and led Cheng Jiajia to the storage room. He squatted on the ground and searched for a while, then suddenly picked up a screwdriver and began to pry open a bluestone slab.

Seeing this, Cheng Jiajia quickly came over to help. She was strong, and in no time, the heavy bluestone slab was pried open, revealing the soil underneath.

"Let's bury the thing inside, that way no one will find it."

Without further ado, the two of them started digging a pit in the storage room that very night after finishing their meal.

Since the wooden box wasn't very big, they didn't need to dig a large pit. Yu Junsheng and Cheng Jiajia took turns digging, and the pit was finished in less than two hours.

The gold bars were also placed in a carved wooden box, wrapped in oiled paper, placed in the pit, and buried in soil.

Cheng Jiajia tamped the soil down firmly before covering it with the bluestone slab again.

Yu Junsheng then moved some of the miscellaneous items that were placed nearby over.

Alright, no one can tell there's something hidden here!

"All done! It's getting late, let's wash up and go to bed! I'll take the extra dirt out to throw away tomorrow morning when I go to work." Yu Junsheng patted the dust off his hands and said with a relaxed expression.

"Hey, how did your report go today? Did no one give you any trouble?" Cheng Jiajia suddenly remembered and asked. She'd been so shocked by what she'd experienced today that she'd completely forgotten about it.

The person being referred to is Lin Zhengqiang, the finance director who had his niece take over the position of Yu Junsheng's mother.

Before reporting for duty, Cheng Jiajia was very worried that Lin Zhengqiang would cause trouble for Yu Junsheng. After all, the person she had forced out had passed the exam and gotten into the machinery factory. Wasn't that a slap in her own face? If he was petty, he would definitely do something underhanded.

Yu Junsheng comforted her, "Don't worry, it's alright."

Compared to Cheng Jiajia's rollercoaster-like mood on her first day at work, Yu Junsheng's day at the machinery factory was quite ordinary.

In the morning, I went to the factory with Wang Xiaowu and Zou Qingshu. We first reported to the personnel department, and then the staff of the personnel department led us to the technical department. The journey was very smooth.

The colleagues in the technical department are all focused on their work and research; there are no particularly outgoing or eccentric individuals among them.

Section Chief Liao also found a mentor for him and Wang Xiaowu, and the mentors were all quite good.

In short, Yu Junsheng spent a day there and felt quite good.

"That man's reach doesn't even extend to the technical department."

Section Chief Liao of the Technical Department is an upright and meticulous person who has little contact with Lin Zhengqiang and would not help him make things difficult for himself.

After listening to his analysis, Cheng Jiajia felt a little relieved.

With their business finished and it getting late, the two washed up with the hot water they had boiled while cooking and went to bed.

Before falling asleep, Cheng Jiajia suddenly said, "I just wonder how things are going with Jiang Qiubai?"

"Don't think about it. No matter what, it has nothing to do with us." Yu Junsheng was a little sleepy and said in a slurred voice.

"Actually, I hope she finds it, so at least she won't keep bothering us."

"We're prepared, so don't be afraid if she comes looking for us!"

...

Meanwhile, Jiang Qiubai, whom Cheng Jiajia was thinking about, was huddled in a corner of the Jiang family's balcony, clutching a tattered quilt and silently shedding tears.

Unfortunately, she did not find the gold bars as Cheng Jiajia had hoped.

In the afternoon, witnessed by the entire Jiang family, Jiang's second brother happily split open the first wooden strip, only to find that it contained not the gold bars they had been expecting, but cement!

He refused to believe it and continued chopping.

One, two, three, four... all made of cement!

It would be the same if Jiang's third brother and father came instead.

There are eight wooden strips in total, all of them are cement, all of them!!!

The Jiang family's beautiful dream shattered into pieces in less than a day.

Forget about getting married, forget about retirement money, it's all gone!

The Jiang family was practically cursing. Who was so heartless as to pour cement into the wooden planks?!

Is his mother out of her mind?

Jiang Qiubai, no matter how much she refused to believe it, had to face the facts; her dream had failed her once again.

This made Jiang Qiubai wonder if his intuition was really right.

No, no, no, her intuition must be right. There was indeed something in that place last time, but someone had dug it up first.

So, could this time the wooden strips have also been taken beforehand? Or are they among the remaining wooden strips at the scrap yard?

Yes, maybe my second brother just had bad luck and picked a few that didn't have gold bars!

Jiang Qiubai didn't believe there was no gold. She was going to go back to the scrap yard tomorrow to check again; maybe it was hidden in the remaining wood?

With this in mind, Jiang Qiubai regained his confidence.

The main problem was that after her family received the devastating news that afternoon, their attitude towards her reverted to its previous state, and they even threatened to kick her out. It was only after she repeatedly promised to go to the scrap yard again the next day that her parents reluctantly agreed to let her stay. If she really didn't find the gold, where could she go?

She dares not go back to her husband's family. Her own family doesn't want her anymore.

This dream has to be accurate, even if it's not!

Jiang Qiubai's tears flowed again.

Having not slept all night, Jiang Qiubai went to the scrap yard again as soon as it was dawn the next day.

After waiting there for an hour or two, Grandpa Wang finally came over, swaying and humming a song.

When Grandpa Wang saw her, he was extremely annoyed and shooed her away like a fly, saying, "It's you again!"

He sneered, "What are you doing here again? Have you run out of firewood?"

Jiang Qiubai's expression changed slightly. She was about to explain, "No, sir, I..."

Grandpa Wang interrupted, waving impatiently to shoo him away.

"I don't have what you want here, get out of here!"

Jiang Qiubai was slammed shut outside the door before he could even enter, and he almost bumped his nose.