"Of course not, this is mine, I am the owner of this place. Mother, what do you want to eat? I'll take you there." He Caiwei didn't care anymore; she wouldn't tell unless her mother asked.

Her mother, being such a clever person, must know what secrets were involved. They've been here for so many days, and her mother hasn't asked anything. She just uses whatever she's given, only asking how to use it, never where it came from. That's enough for her.

“My darling is truly a treasure. When you were just a few months old, I took you to your maternal grandfather's house. On our way back, we encountered a wandering Taoist priest who came to the Qu family's gate wanting a cup of water. At that time, there was war everywhere, and my family was quite afraid of getting into trouble, so we wanted to chase him away. Just then, I came back from outside, still holding you in my arms. The old Taoist priest only glanced at you and said that you were destined for great wealth, honor, and a life of glory. Just because of those words, whether it was true or not, I was happy, so I gave him water and a roll of silver coins.”

I was ridiculed by the First Madam for several days because of this, but it doesn't matter. As long as they say good things about me, I'm happy no matter how much money they spend, even if they're lying to me." He Yuping said this with a bit of pride, acting like she was rich, which amused He Caiwei, who had been a little annoyed just moments before.

"Thank you, Mother, for trusting me so much. Actually, I didn't always have this. It's just that we were all unconscious that night, and then I woke up first with a headache. When I smelled the gasoline outside, I panicked. I was thinking about whether I could hide my aunt, and that's how I ended up here. I actually managed to hide Mother here, and I also brought all the things from your room here."

I thought that since Fifth Aunt had only been in the household for a short time and had been quite polite to me, I ran through the small door in the kitchen to wake her up and tell her to hurry up and run with her things. On my way past the kitchen, I also gathered everything we had there; do you want to take a look?" He Caiwei felt that her mother was quite clear-headed and rational, very much like the independent and individualistic women of her time.

"Will we hurt you by putting things in here? And is it really okay for you to put things in here?" He Yuping's first question upon hearing this was whether their actions or her daughter's actions would harm her daughter's health.

"No, the water in the well here is good for your health and makes you less prone to illness. I can come in anytime I want, but I'm afraid of being seen by others and being burned as a monster." After knowing her attitude, He Caiwei had no more concerns.

"Alright, from now on we'll use this water for cooking and drinking. Just don't cause any trouble outside. I'll protect you if anything happens. Sigh, I need to find some time to see if there are any self-defense weapons for sale. If only they were in the Qu family mansion, I could take you to your father's study to get them. There are pistols and daggers there." He Yuping now felt it was a pity that those things were burned. You know, in these chaotic times, having those things for self-defense would be much safer.

Hearing her mother's regretful tone, He Caiwei pulled her mother directly to the warehouse she had cleared out herself, and opened the warehouse door right in front of her.

The first thing He Yuping saw when she entered the warehouse was that desk. She would never forget that desk until her death, after all, it was in this study that she was forced by Master Qu.

"Quickly open this cabinet, there are two handguns inside. You can take this out for self-defense. You're too young to use it, so take this out and put it in a conspicuous place. I'll understand." He Yuping's other feeling upon seeing the desk was that it provided self-defense weapons. The feeling she had just experienced was no longer important. As long as the safety of herself and her daughter could be guaranteed, everything else was secondary.

“No need to take it out. If you want to use it when we're outside, I can get it with just a thought.” He Caiwei looked at her mother’s energetic appearance and found it a little funny, discovering another new skill of hers.

“My dear, can we still put anything in here? I’ll take you to the granary. That’s the escape route your grandfather left for your father. I’ll tell you a secret: there’s a hidden compartment under that granary, filled with big yellow croakers. Even the First Madam doesn’t know about that place. I only found out because your father got drunk in my room one time and I managed to get information out of him. I think the steward was beaten to death by him later. If your father doesn’t go to get it, then my daughter and I will go and bring the things in.” He Yuping spoke very softly, but He Caiwei heard her clearly.

"Is that place far from here? Butler Hu is still outside. Can we get out?" He Caiwei's eyes lit up immediately when she heard there was something there. Her grandfather was a wise old man, but unfortunately, he raised a good-for-nothing son.

"It's quite far. If the two of us walk, it will take at least two hours to get there. The place is rather secluded. The old man who guards it was originally your grandfather's personal servant. After your grandfather passed away, he went to help him look after the things there. Every year, the grain is replaced before the new grain arrives, so there won't be any stale grain. Your grandfather didn't tell your father about the gold inside; he only told this personal servant. He originally planned to use it as a safety net for your father if he ever fell on hard times, because he could see that your father couldn't possibly support the family's wealth."

"But your father, for some reason, was bewitched and beat someone to death. I genuinely didn't know about this at the time. He was just confused after drinking, and when I mentioned the old man who guarded the warehouse, he reacted violently. I knew something was up, so I made him drink several more glasses of wine before I finally got the truth out of him." He Yuping wasn't impressed when she heard this news. After all, such a large warehouse, even with lots of stuff, wouldn't be of much use to a woman.

The reason I thought about this today was because I saw that my daughter had moved the entire study of that man into the house. I was thinking of asking if we could move the granary in as well. As the old saying goes, "Having grain in hand brings peace of mind."

In chaotic times like these, having grain in hand means you won't panic anywhere, and you don't have to worry about storing it in a warehouse and having it stolen by someone else one day.

“Of course we can! There’s so much room here, you see, the amount of stuff we can fit in one room is limitless. Mom, there’s a ladder here. We can wait until the uncle next door goes to work, then we can climb up to his house. There’s a broken wooden door in the backyard of the house next to his. We can go out from there.” He Caiwei had observed the house closely these past few days. The family next door was a big man who had been working the night shift lately. He would go out in the evening and wouldn’t be home at night.

The backyard next door was where people grew vegetables. The old lady there loved to take advantage of small things, so she would open a door in the back and sometimes pick the vegetables she grew and sell them there.

The houses behind are similar to those in front, so going out through the back door usually won't arouse suspicion. But if you climb the wall and someone sees you, you'll have no way to explain yourself.