Chapter 16: Striking It Rich!

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Wei An opened the door, and the creak it made caused her to pause mid-step. Instinctively, she glanced back, then silently scolded herself: she really wasn’t cut out to be a thief—any slight sound startled her. The room was sparsely furnished—so bare, in fact, that there was only a dusty wooden bed. Wei An headed straight for it, her heart racing. Jackpot! Lifting the bedboard, her spirits soared. Beneath it lay two large redwood chests, each over a meter long, neatly arranged side by side, with two smaller wooden boxes about forty centimeters tall stacked nearby. There was no time to open the chests and inspect their treasures; she placed her hand over them, and in the blink of an eye, the boxes vanished. She carefully replaced the bedboard, locked the door behind her, and retraced her steps. Securing the hemp rope, she cautiously continued until she was far from the courtyard before slowing down. She didn’t stop to change clothes but headed directly to the bus stop, pretending to wait for the bus while secretly watching toward the courtyard. She waited nearly an hour, just as she began to doubt her memory, when finally a stout man on a bicycle appeared, carrying a young woman. Wei An’s lips curled into a smirk—good thing she acted quickly. Had she delayed by half an hour, they might have run into each other. Satisfied with what she saw, she turned and walked toward the nearest telephone office. After about ten minutes, she returned to the bus stop to wait quietly. Then, ten minutes later, she spotted seven or eight red armbands speeding toward the courtyard on bicycles. Only then did she turn and leave again.

...

“Wei An, you finally came to visit me.”

Seeing Wei An, Xiao Qianxi, bored at home, was so delighted she nearly wanted to jump up. “Come on, come on, let’s go upstairs and hang out for a bit.”

“I’m not going up. Let’s go shopping—I want to buy a dress.”

Wei An wanted to check the market for underwear since she couldn’t get used to the vest she wore.

“Sure, sure, but I need to grab my money and tickets first.”

Who doesn’t enjoy shopping? Xiao Qianxi was no exception. Wei An stayed downstairs waiting while Xiao Qianxi went up. Soon, Xiao Qianxi came down pouting, complaining to Wei An:

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“Why can’t we just hang out upstairs? I treat your place like my own home; can’t you be a little more casual with me?”

Wei An sighed helplessly: “If I went up, would you come down so quickly?” She still wanted to catch the excitement, after all—no way she’d let Xiao Qianxi waste time.

Only then did Xiao Qianxi smile: “I was going to change, but since you’re waiting downstairs, I came down like this. If you want, I can go change and come back?”

Usually, when visiting friends or relatives, she wore the dresses her aunt bought her, like the one she wore to Wei An’s house a few days ago. But most of the time, she wore her military uniform for convenience, especially when shopping.

“Better not. That dress looks great on you; no need to dress up just for me.”

Wei An didn’t know about Xiao Qianxi’s preferences; she just wanted to get to the department store—or rather, to use the trip to pass by the Revolutionary Committee.

Xiao Qianxi’s smile blossomed like a flower as she linked her arm with Wei An’s: “I still have several dresses and outfits I haven’t worn. When we get back, do you want to try some? Don’t be picky; they’re all from my aunt. I really haven’t worn them.”

Wei An shook her head: “No need, I have clothes.”

She and Xiao Qianxi were about the same size, though Xiao Qianxi was slightly taller. She also knew that Xiao Qianxi’s aunt was a diplomat, so most of her clothes came from abroad. But Wei An wasn’t interested. One wears the clothes one’s status calls for. Her family’s condition was decent but not to the extent of wearing foreign goods. Besides, in these times, who dared to have ties with foreign countries? She hadn’t fully changed her fate yet and preferred to lie low for now. In a few years, once reform and opening up happened, she could live as she pleased!

Xiao Qianxi pouted in disappointment but wasn’t deterred from wanting to dress up her “little sister.” So, at the department store, whenever she spotted a slightly nicer outfit, she would have the sales clerk bring it out for a look. But that’s another story for later.

For now, the two boarded the bus to the department store, chatting girl-to-girl as their heads leaned close together. When the bus neared the Revolutionary Committee, Wei An subtly turned her face to the window. Sure enough, she spotted those red armbands escorting a man and a woman into her sight. A faint smile touched her lips, then she composed herself and feigned surprise with a soft “Oh!”

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“What is it?”

Xiao Qianxi followed her gaze, furrowing her brow.

“Don’t be afraid; it has nothing to do with us.”

Wei An looked at her dubiously: “That woman is my classmate.” When had she shown fear? She was clearly excited.

Xiao Qianxi nodded in understanding, then gazed at Wei An with concern: “They wouldn’t arrest people without cause.”

She wasn’t sure about other places, but here in Sichuan Province, the Revolutionary Committee’s director was her father. She was confident that his men wouldn’t arrest people arbitrarily. Besides, she clearly saw that along with Wei An’s classmate, they also took a middle-aged man.

Almost immediately, Xiao Qianxi understood why the red armbands had made the arrests.

Though curious to see the commotion up close, Wei An had to stick to her plan. She quickly pulled Xiao Qianxi to her feet:

“No, I have to see. How could she be...”

She didn’t say “taken to the Revolutionary Committee” aloud since they were still on the bus.

Xiao Qianxi stood as well, and they moved to the door, waiting for their stop. She sighed:

“Wei An, you have to prepare yourself.”

Though she hadn’t witnessed such arrests firsthand, she had heard many stories. She trusted Wei An had too. She worried that Wei An might get too involved out of concern for her classmate.

“I know.”

Wei An was especially curious about the circumstances under which Ye Aihua had been arrested. Her mind kept flashing with inappropriate images. She was eager to see just how humiliated Ye Aihua was now. She forced a tight smile.

Xiao Qianxi squeezed Wei An’s trembling hand, silently worried but unable to offer comfort with other passengers nearby waiting to disembark.