"Open all your luggage, we need to check it."
As soon as Li Ci and his group came out, they were stopped by the people at the door, who showed them no mercy whatsoever.
"There are just some clothes inside. Are you going to check all of these? The larger items are just sitting at home."
Li Ci was terrified when she saw that they were really going to search her. She had sewn all the money and tickets into the pockets of her clothes, and she was even more afraid that they would search her body.
She didn't dare bring the jewelry, thinking that if they didn't check at the door, she would pretend to have a stomachache and go to the toilet, and then bring the jewelry with her.
Without even lifting their eyelids, the group rummaged through all their luggage and checked every pocket inside their clothes.
"Check your pockets." Seeing the food and clothes in their luggage, the group didn't believe they would be so honest.
"What do you want to do? Even if I've made my dad angry, I'm still his own daughter. Does he know you're treating me like this?"
Li Ci was startled; all her belongings were on her person, and this search would expose her.
"Don't threaten us with the old marshal. This is what he agreed to. See those female comrades over there? They were sent to search us."
"What about the bankbooks and ration coupons at home? Are you going to hand them over honestly, or do you want us to search them?"
Several people remembered the bankbook that Minister Qi had mentioned, but they hadn't seen it.
The old marshal also said that no more than one hundred dollars could be taken away.
"You've gone too far! The bankbook is mine, why should I give it to you?"
Li Ci's eyes widened, realizing they were taking advantage of her dejected state to try and extract something from her.
"This is what the higher-ups require, hurry up!" Several people nodded to the woman over there, and pulled her into the house regardless of Li Ci's struggles.
From time to time, Li Ci's furious roars could be heard from inside the room, while Qi Bowen stood aside in a panic.
"It's all here." Soon the woman inside came out, carrying a bankbook, a stack of money, and receipts.
"Hmph, if they had handed it over earlier, there wouldn't have been any problem. Take them away." The staff from the neighborhood committee knew they weren't being honest and didn't want to waste any more time with them, so they dragged the people away.
"Go up." When they arrived at the educated youth office, quite a few people were already there. It was likely that they had been given instructions from above and were being waited for.
"Thank you for your trouble." The staff from the neighborhood office efficiently tossed them out.
The people from the educated youth office just dragged the few people who looked completely distraught to the train station.
"Let's wait until we're sure they're on the train before we decide what to do next."
The people at the street office were worried; Li Ci was just too good at causing trouble.
They took all the money and banknotes from her.
Even if there's a little left, it's probably within the old marshal's requirements, so they'll probably turn a blind eye.
They watched as Li Ci and the others boarded the train, looking utterly dejected, before turning back to report.
When Su Ti and Li Baichuan returned from get off work that evening, they learned that Qi Bowen and the others had indeed been sent away.
It was quite unexpected that he left so decisively and without any ripples.
They were unaware of the old marshal's behind-the-scenes actions; they were simply happy that those troubles were finally gone.
“Su girl, come here. Now it’s just the family left at home. I’m thinking of letting you run this household from now on.”
Qi Feng didn't feel uncomfortable at the moment; he just felt exceptionally relaxed.
He handed over the bankbook he had taken from Li Ci, along with the money he had saved, as well as the jewelry, ornaments, and goldfish from the family compound, to Su Ti.
"Dad, what are you doing? We both have jobs now and can earn money to support ourselves."
Suti knew in her heart that everything in the house belonged to Baichuan, and she wasn't in such a hurry to get her hands on everything.
Besides, it's fine to manage your own man's money, but why would you manage your father-in-law's money?
“Su girl, you’re wrong about that. You should save your own money for your own spending.”
"Look at other families, the women usually manage the finances. In our family, you're the only one left now. If you don't take care of it, who will?"
“Not only your father’s, but also your grandfather’s will be handed over to you to manage. You will be in charge from now on. Besides, we haven’t even given the betrothal gifts yet for your marriage to Baichuan.”
"If my old friends find out that I, as the grandfather, didn't contribute a single penny to my grandson's wedding, how will I ever have the face to gloat in front of them again?"
"Girls, come with me. There are some things I need to tell you about at home."
Marshal Li led a few people to a wall, pinched and turned something next to him.
What was originally an ordinary wall suddenly sank in.
Su Ti and Li Baichuan followed quietly behind Marshal Li, feeling both surprised and somewhat understanding that the Li family had such a place.
The group slowly walked down the stairs along the passageway. When they reached the bottom, Suti saw various boxes of different sizes laid out below.
The wooden boxes looked quite old, and each one seemed rather heavy.
Su Ti then realized that the Li family home was very quiet tonight. Not only was Old Madam Kang gone, but even the nannies were nowhere to be seen.
It seems that Grandpa and the others deliberately sent everyone away.
“Come here, this is the Li family’s wealth, it’s all yours, you can’t be indifferent to it.”
“Our Li family ancestors came from Heilongjiang Province. I heard that our ancestors were imperial chefs. Now, I guess that place is just ruins. That year, my grandfather took my father to escape the war.”
"I carried a lot of valuables for self-defense, but after things stabilized, I managed to get many of them back."
"Later, all the good sons of our Li family were gone, and after going around in circles, all these things ended up with me."
“These antiques must be quite old, and these pieces of jewelry must be very valuable, otherwise our ancestors wouldn’t have sold them during those difficult years.”
"There's still a lot of stuff here that was looted by those landlords. Some of it was dealt with by the higher-ups, but some was left as an extra reward."
"These things can't be brought into the light right now, so just keep them as a memento. After all, they're things left by our ancestors. Don't worry, no one will dare to investigate our Li family. Keep them safe."
"And these properties belong to your great-grandmother, your great-grandfather, your great-great-grandfather, your great-great-grandfather, your uncles, and your great-uncle."
"They didn't confiscate it; they left it all for me to remember it by."
"They're gone, leaving behind all this useless stuff. What's the point of keeping it?"
Marshal Li looked very forlorn. He never mentioned these things about his family, and he was even more afraid to mention them.
These things have been sealed away, just like the people in his memory—he didn't want to remember them, yet he dared not forget them.
"Look at me, why am I saying all this? This old man has had his food and drink taken care of by the state all these years, and I haven't needed any money or coupons."
“When I first came to Beijing, in addition to this apartment in the family compound, I was also allocated two other apartments.”
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