A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

The morning sun had just peeked out and was dazzlingly bright.

Su Xiulan woke up and used a loofah to polish the large iron pot until it shone. She was just about to cook some mixed grain porridge when she heard a series of hurried footsteps outside.

Su Xiulan was startled; the courtyard gate was being pounded on loudly.

Nuan Nuan, who was sleeping in the room, suddenly heard Xiao Lü's piercing scream in her mind.

【Warm Baby, get up quickly and put everything away!】

[Someone's here to cause trouble!]

[Your second aunt must be involved; I wonder what she's up to now!]

Nuannuan opened her eyes abruptly, not even bothering to put on her clothes, and jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Gu Jianguo had just opened his eyes when he hurriedly asked, "Nuan Nuan, what's wrong? Do you need to use the restroom?"

Nuannuan didn't bother to explain. She first put away all the good things in the house, then ran to the yard and quickly put the big iron pot into her space.

After finishing, the little girl hurriedly returned to the house.

With a loud crash, the courtyard gate was kicked open.

"We're from the commune's inspection team. We just received a report that your family is engaging in speculation and profiteering, and is practicing capitalist remnants!"

The man leading the group was wearing a faded Zhongshan suit with bright red armbands showing through the sleeves, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Behind him followed four young, strong men, each holding gleaming iron pliers.

Behind her followed a large group of villagers who were watching the spectacle. Zhang Aidi huddled in the crowd, her eyes practically glowing green, her smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Captain Liu, it's them!"

Zhang Aidi screamed at the top of her lungs, "They used to be dirt poor, barely able to afford food, but these past few days they've been eating fish and meat every day. The aroma of the meat fills the whole village. They even bought a new iron pot and a radio. If this family isn't up to some kind of speculator, I'll take their surname!"

"A family of penniless wretch, so poor they're practically bankrupt, how could they possibly have so much money? Did it fall from the sky?"

When Nuannuan came out to collect her things, Su Xiulan was still in a daze.

Upon hearing Zhang Aidi's words, Su Xiulan's heart skipped a beat. Did Nuannuan already know? And she even took everything away beforehand?

The big iron pot has been put away, so there probably isn't much left in the room.

Thinking this, Su Xiulan felt much more at ease. She wiped her hands on her apron, grabbed a fire fork, and sneered, "Oh dear, what gust of wind blew the inspection team here?"

"Zhang Aidi's mouth is so gullible; you believe everything she says?"

"We're dirt poor, can't we even buy some meat for the kids? My children haven't had a single bite of meat in ages! We're starving, just trying to buy a little to tide them over, and you send your son to snatch it away. You threaten to report us if we don't get some? Zhang Aidi, is this how you behave?"

Captain Liu frowned, not wanting to listen to the two women's rambling. He pulled a piece of paper stamped with a red seal from his pocket. "Su Xiulan, someone has filed a formal complaint, accusing you of engaging in capitalist remnants and hoarding contraband! Our commune's inspection team is acting according to the law; we are conducting a search!"

Su Xiulan stood in the doorway, sneering, "Captain Liu, a search is fine, but we need an explanation. If we find something, you can do whatever you want with me, I won't say a word against it! But if we don't find anything..."

Captain Liu frowned. "We're just following the rules!"

"Captain Liu, I understand what you mean. From now on, if I don't like someone, I can report them by name. Anyway, it doesn't matter if they have anything in their house or not, I won't be punished for reporting them!"

Captain Liu was momentarily speechless. "If it turns out they didn't find out, the person who maliciously reported it will definitely be punished!"

Su Xiulan sneered, "Search! Then search all you want!"

Su Xiulan stood ramrod straight, stepping aside. "Our family earns our money through hard work! We collect scraps! If you can't find anything, you have to give us an explanation!"

Seeing how determined he was, Captain Liu became a little uncertain.

But duty called, and with a wave of his hand, the people who had come with him entered the house.

The man was extremely fast and his movements were practiced; it was clear he did this often.

"Slow down! You'll have to pay for anything if you break anything!"

Su Xiulan called out from outside, giving instructions, before following them inside.

Gu Jianguo had already propped himself up and sat up, his face still pale.

Nuannuan huddled in the corner, clutching a small, chipped wooden horse, her little shoulders trembling as if she were about to cry from fright.

"Uncles, are you here to capture Nuannuan?" The little girl's voice was trembling with tears as she looked at the group with a pitiful expression.

The men couldn't help but soften their movements under the gaze.

Zhang Aidi rushed in like a mad dog, faster than the men, grabbed the kang mat and ripped it off.

"Where are the gold bars? The meat? All the good stuff! It must be hidden here!"

As Zhang Aidi spoke, she rummaged through the house, and in less than half an hour, the Gu family's house was turned upside down.

In the end, they didn't find anything good.

The radio parts that Da'an collected were all scrap metal. There were also a few broken earthenware pots with cracks and some old newspapers.

The only one that was repaired still looked broken.

The clothes were also tattered and patched on most of them.

There wasn't even a spare banknote in the house, let alone gold bars.

Tears still clung to Nuannuan's little face, making her look extremely pitiful, but she was muttering to herself.

[Little Greenie, you'd better keep my pot of meat safe! Don't you dare steal any!]

Little Green... what do you mean by stealing food? He's a ginseng spirit, why would he steal meat?

"Reporting, Captain! This place is full of junk; there are no contraband items!"

The team members had searched the place several times, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads. This family was really poor. And yet, they still considered themselves to be on the cusp of capitalism?

"This family is so poor that even mice would avoid them!"

Captain Liu's face darkened. He turned and stared intently at Zhang Aidi. "Is this the enormous wealth you were talking about? Feasts of meat and fish?"

"Impossible!" Zhang Aidi jumped up and down in a panic, pointing at the kitchen and shouting, "Yesterday I saw a new pot here, and you could see your reflection in it, but now it's all empty, there's nothing here!"

"There's definitely something wrong here! They've hidden the thing!"

Zhang Aidi wanted to continue searching, but the house was only so big, and she had already searched everywhere she should and shouldn't have. Where else could she hide it?

"Captain Liu, everyone in the village knows about the pot. We used to have an iron pot at home, but the old lady, the child's grandmother, took it and gave it to the second son's family. The third son's family didn't have a pot, so they've been using an earthenware pot for a while."

"That thing wasn't good for cooking, so my friends and I went to the junkyard and found a used pot. I guess we got it repaired?"

"Xiulan's family has been so poor they can't even afford to eat for a long time. A few days ago, they found a piece of ginseng skin that the second son had dug up before, and exchanged it for some money. They should be able to buy some meat to nourish the children without getting into trouble, right? Does that mean poor families can only eat bran and wild vegetables and don't even deserve the smell of meat?"

Sister-in-law Hongxia rushed over when she heard the commotion, and just then she overheard Zhang Aidi rambling on and on, so she couldn't help but come out and say something fair.