On Monday, An Moxue went to school with her schoolbag on her back. The first thing she had to do was go to the head of the teaching department to cancel her leave.
After her leave ended, she went back to class.
Outside the classroom, before she even stepped inside, she was spotted by sharp-eyed classmates. Immediately, hushed whispers arose in the classroom, and many students looked out the window.
An Moxue noticed this and smiled amicably into the room. As she entered the classroom, even more curious gazes fell upon her.
Unable to contain their curiosity, someone asked, "An Moxue, are you back for class?"
An Moxue looked at the classmate who asked the question, and seeing that he meant no harm and was just curious, she replied, "Yes."
"You weren't fired?"
"No," An Moxue asked curiously, "Did someone say I was fired?"
The man shook his head and said, "No, I was just guessing."
She didn't believe it at all. She hadn't been to class for so long; who knows what rumors were circulating about her!
She didn't ask any further questions and returned to her seat.
Many people were curious and looked at her hesitantly, but she ignored them all, opened her book, and began to catch up on her lessons.
After class, just as a classmate came over to ask her something, Hu Zi walked over, holding a stack of notes, and placed them on An Moxue's desk, saying, "These are notes from all subjects since the start of the semester."
"Okay, I'll pay you back after I catch up on the lessons. Let's meet up with Xiaoshanzi after class at noon, the three of us can have lunch together. I have something to tell you two."
As a result, An Moxue listened attentively in class and made up lessons after class, so that many curious students did not have the opportunity to satisfy their curiosity in front of her.
At lunchtime, she and Hu Zi were the first to leave the classroom.
After walking some distance, the two slowed down. An Moxue said, "Let's go find Xiaoshanzi, and the three of us will eat outside."
So the three of them went to a restaurant outside the school.
After ordering, the three of them sat down on the stools. An Moxue said, "When you have time, call home or write a letter. Our export trade will soon be in the works. Have them find more sources of goods so that we can start doing business openly. We can export the good quality goods and sell the rest locally. But don't mention it when you call. Wait until winter break and things are settled before you talk about it."
The two men's eyes lit up when they heard this, and Xiaoshanzi asked, "Does that mean we're going to make money off foreigners?"
An Moxue smiled and said, "Yes."
The two brothers exchanged a glance, their excitement barely concealed. Tiger said, "Comrade An, we have more good news for you. We've perfected our network around Kyoto, with one person in each area buying scrap metal. So far, it seems to be reaping good results."
An Moxue asked, "Is there enough funding? Let me know if not."
Xiao Shanzi said confidently, "Comrade An, don't worry, it's enough, there's even a surplus. Although there's a lot of stockpiled goods, we can offset the losses by selling other items, and that should be enough to make ends meet."
Hu Zi asked, "Comrade An, if you have time, why don't you go and take a look? We can sort them out and move some of the more valuable items. If we leave them there for too long, I'm afraid they'll attract the attention of those with ulterior motives."
"Okay, I got it. How about we go this weekend? I'll pick out a place before then, and then we can move everything over. Do you have a lot of stuff?"
The two brothers exchanged another glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes. Comrade An doesn't care at all! Just like back then.
Tiger thought for a moment before saying, "There are quite a few. You'll see when you see them. There are also a few things I'm not sure about. You can come and check them out when you go."
"OK."
After school in the afternoon, An Moxue remembered the three-courtyard house that her workplace had awarded her. She went home, put down her schoolbag, and rode her bicycle there.
The place is quite far from Kyoto University, taking more than 40 minutes by bike to get there. This area used to be inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles. Even the smallest mansion had two courtyards, and the roads were wide enough for four carriages to pass at the same time. The roads were paved with black flagstones, and there were stone lions in front of the gates. Each gate had door studs.
An Moxue's house is located in the middle, and the porch is well preserved, with two large lions sitting intact on both sides of the gatehouse.
She took out her key, opened the door, and went into the yard.
Upon entering, you are greeted by a three-dimensional relief screen wall, featuring a magnificent design of nine dragons playing with a pearl.
An Moxue walked closer and realized that the screen wall was quite old.
This is her first time here. It seems that the previous owner of this house must have been a high-ranking official of the third rank or above, maybe even a first-rank official. You can tell just by looking at the door studs and the screen wall. Director Hou is reliable.
An Moxue went in and took a quick look around the first courtyard. The rooms and courtyard were very large. She then went into the second and third courtyards. After looking around, she was satisfied.
Remembering her purpose, she began to inspect each room, not even missing the old stables. After checking everything, she was pleasantly surprised.
Upon entering the main courtyard, a secret room was discovered. In the second courtyard, two secret rooms were found in both the main courtyard and the side courtyard. The third courtyard was even more remarkable, with secret rooms of varying sizes in every room.
Although no treasure was found inside, judging from the traces of the secret room, only the largest secret room in the second courtyard might have been entered recently. The other places showed signs of not being opened for a long time. Even if the secret room was known to others, she was not afraid. At worst, she could work hard for a few days to renovate it.
After viewing the house, it was almost time to go home, so instead of going home to cook, she found a nearby restaurant, ate dinner, and then went home.
For the next few days, she attended classes and tutoring during the day, and went to the three courtyards to renovate the secret room after school in the afternoon. Her life was extremely busy, so much so that her mother went to her house several times after school but could not find her.
On Sunday morning, An Moxue, Xiaoshanzi, and Huzi rode their bicycles to the treasure trove that Huzi had mentioned, a hutong (alleyway) not far from Kyoto University.
When they arrived, there was an old man guarding the gate, and they could hear voices coming from the courtyard.
As soon as the old man saw Tiger and Shanzi from afar, he called out, "Little Tiger, little Shanzi, you're here early today!"
As they entered, Tiger said, "Uncle Wang, it's Sunday today, a day off, so let's go in and have a look!"
As they entered the courtyard, the old man saw An Moxue's beautiful face and couldn't help but glance at her a few more times, muttering, "What a pretty girl, what is she doing in this dirty place? She's gotten her clothes all dirty."
An Moxue, with her sharp eyes, overheard his words and couldn't help but glance at Hu Zi and Xiao Shanzi a few more times.
These two have really got some skills now. The gatekeepers all thought this place was just a place that collected junk and worthless stuff.
Upon entering the courtyard, she found piles of broken copper and scrap iron. She followed the two of them further in.
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