Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

Zhou Jianguo closed the door and bolted it.

Bathed in the moonlight streaming through the window, Zhou Jianguo sat down at the old wooden table.

"System, enter the space."

With a thought, the scene before my eyes instantly changed.

The system space was filled with a sense of futuristic technology.

On the storage table, there was a lone metal box.

This thing was covered in black, smelly mud, and had a few strands of what looked like spider webs hanging from it.

He had taken this from under the rubble when the Jia family's chimney collapsed and the whole courtyard was in chaos.

"Clean up."

Zhou Jianguo uttered two words.

In the blink of an eye, the rust that had accumulated over decades on the tin box gradually disappeared.

A rectangular tin biscuit box was revealed.

The box was printed with faded English letters, which could be vaguely identified as high-quality butter biscuits imported from the British Empire decades ago.

Zhou Jianguo picked up a screwdriver and pried along the edge of the metal box lid little by little.

"Click."

With a crisp snap, the seal broke.

Zhou Jianguo lifted the lid.

Under the moisture-proof oil paper, two rows of gold bars were neatly stacked.

Tucked into the crevice were two rolls of old US dollar bills, all of the largest denomination, held together by rubber bands.

[Item valuation in progress...]

[Current black market purchasing power estimate: approximately 50 times the value of a courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang.]

The system's notification sounds were cold and objective.

Zhou Jianguo picked up a small yellow croaker and casually weighed it in his hand.

This number is enough to drive ordinary people crazy.

In an era when you need ration coupons to buy a block of tofu and a pound of pork can get you beaten to a pulp, this box of stuff represents generations of financial security and the capital to wield influence in the black market.

If Xu Damao saw this scene, he would laugh himself silly on the spot; if it were Yi Zhonghai, he would probably bury it in the deepest part of the cellar overnight and starve to death rather than spend it; if it were Yan Bugui, his heart probably couldn't take the shock.

Zhou Jianguo simply raised an eyebrow.

Money is a good thing.

He tossed the gold bar back into the box with a crisp "clang," but for the next ten years, it was a hot potato.

As a time traveler, he knew all too well how fierce the storm would be.

Holding so much gold in their hands, at this critical juncture, the slightest misstep could lead to utter destruction.

more importantly……

Zhou Jianguo covered the box with oil paper, closed the tin box, and his gaze sharpened.

"What I want is not these dozens of gold bars, but a queen who can steer my business empire after the storm."

In the original novel, Lou Xiao'e possesses exceptional business acumen, enabling her to carve out a path to success in Hong Kong's cutthroat world of capital.

Right now, she's just a frightened bird.

To completely win over a woman like this, gratitude alone is not enough, nor is helping her slap Xu Damao in the face alone.

She must be given a shock that will never be forgotten in her lifetime.

Use this overwhelming wealth to break down her defenses!

"This angel investment was a huge success."

Zhou Jianguo chuckled, put the iron box back into his pocket, and exited the space.

……

Two o'clock in the morning.

The house of the third uncle in the front yard.

Yan Bugui was still awake. Even through the paper window, one could hear the intermittent sighs, the despair that followed the turning of the abacus beads.

"Three months... the hostage is gone... I can't live like this anymore..." Yan Bugui's sleep-talking was filled with sobs.

Zhou Jianguo sneered, and without making a sound, he silently passed through the hanging flower gate and disappeared into the alley.

Half an hour later.

The state-run guesthouse in the west of the city.

It was much quieter here than in the courtyard house, and the dim streetlights cast a long shadow of Zhou Jianguo.

He knew the way like the back of his hand and made his way up to the second floor, stopping at the door of the room at the far end.

"Tap, tap tap, tap."

One long, two short, one long.

The room was deathly silent.

A good ten seconds passed before a suppressed female voice came from behind the door: "...Who is it?"

The voice was filled with fear; it would break down at the slightest sound.

"Open the door, it's me."

Zhou Jianguo lowered his voice, his tone steady and forceful.

The breathing behind the door suddenly became rapid.

Then came a flurry of frantic unlocking sounds.

"Squeak—"

The door had barely opened a crack when a pale hand reached out and pulled Zhou Jianguo inside.

Then, the door was slammed shut.

The woman, dressed in a thin silk nightgown, leaned against the door, her body slowly sliding down the door frame.

By the moonlight streaming through the window, Zhou Jianguo could clearly see what Lou Xiao'e looked like.

Her hair was messy, and her eyes were red and swollen.

Upon seeing Zhou Jianguo, the forced strength she had been putting on instantly crumbled.

"Jianguo..." Lou Xiao'e said, her voice trembling with tears, "Is it...is it that beast Xu Damao causing trouble again? Or has someone come to arrest me?"

She is in extremely poor mental condition right now.

During the day, it was a stress response driven by anger. Now that she has calmed down, the fear of being isolated and helpless, as a capitalist's daughter with a bad family background, divorced and having offended people, is enough to devour her.

Zhou Jianguo didn't say anything, but directly lifted her up from the ground and pressed her into the only chair.

"Loosen your grip, it's digging into your flesh."

Lou Xiao'e then realized her mistake, hurriedly let go, a hint of shame flashing across her face, but her eyes still filled with fear.

Zhou Jianguo pulled up a stool and sat down opposite him, then took out the tin biscuit box from his pocket.

"Thump."

Lou Xiao'e shuddered and instinctively shrank back: "What...what is this?"

bomb?

Evidence?

"You know the Jia family's chimney collapsed, right? This thing fell out from a gap at the bottom of the chimney. I think it's in a hidden location, so it must have been left by the previous owner of the house."

"The former owner?" Lou Xiao'e was stunned.

The room that Xu Damao had was originally bought by the Lou family as a gift for the young couple so that Xu Damao would marry into the family. And the predecessor of that room was a hidden house that Lou Zhenhua had acquired in his early years.

A strange sense of familiarity welled up inside me.

Lou Xiao'e stared at the rusty cookie box, her breath suddenly stopping.

When I was a child, my father, Lou Zhenhua, once said, "A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and you can't put all your eggs in one basket."

She always thought it was a joke.

"Open it and take a look," Zhou Jianguo's voice rang out.

Lou Xiao'e swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she lifted the lid.

Despite being mentally prepared, when the box full of gold came into view, she couldn't help but cover her mouth, and tears streamed down her face again.

"This...this is..."

She recognized the way the oiled paper was used to wrap the gold bars; it was a unique folding method used by the head steward of the Lou family.

This is the confidence her father left her!

Lou Xiao'e looked up at Zhou Jianguo.