Chapter 9: Emptying the Basement

Zhong Xiao did not rush. Instead, she first circled the basement inside. The basement was quite new, even equipped with running water and electricity, and there was a small bed in it. Aside from the bed, the surroundings were filled with neatly arranged wooden crates, each marked with a symbol on its surface.

Some bore the shape of a gold ingot, others had clusters of dots, and some were marked with triangles. Presumably, Du Huacheng and Yang Yuehe were illiterate, so they used these symbols to indicate the contents within.

Zhong Xiao began her inventory with the innermost crate, and as soon as she opened it, she was nearly blinded by the dazzling light. The crate was packed full of diamonds, each stone placed in a transparent box, the basement lights refracting off their surfaces in brilliant flashes. The smallest among them was at least fifty carats.

At this time, diamonds were still virtually unknown, only popular and available in select regions overseas. The fact that Du Huacheng and Yang Yuehe could acquire so many diamonds meant they had engaged in foreign dealings numerous times and were ready to flee at any moment.

Zhong Xiao swept the diamonds into her space, then opened the second crate beside it. Her brows furrowed—it was filled with her mother Zhong Rui's old jewelry and bridal dowry.

Although Zhong Xiao had never met her mother, she often pored over old photographs and was familiar with these pieces. There were ten gold hairpins, ten jade hairpins, ten jadeite hairpins, along with gold, silver, jade, and jadeite hairpins of various shapes, each inlaid with lustrous, flawless gemstones. Among them, a gold-engraved hairpin shaped like blooming flowers and auspicious clouds appeared to be something out of a royal collection.

There were ten pairs of thick dragon-and-phoenix bangles, about thirty gold rings set with gems and pearls, and twelve gold necklaces. Piled among them were all manner of gold, silver, and jewels, many whose names Zhong Xiao did not even know, but all of which she recognized as dowry items her grandfather had prepared for her mother.

She swept everything into her space without hesitation.

After storing away the crate, Zhong Xiao suddenly noticed a large pile of items behind it. There was a huanghuali canopy bed with begonia and flower carvings, a three-panel rosewood luohan bed, a huanghuali top cabinet, a huanghuali wardrobe, a nanmu bookshelf, and a pair of nanmu display shelves.

These must have been the dowry furniture, left outside the crates because they would not fit. Zhong Xiao collected these as well.

She continued opening the remaining crates, finding more jadeite, jewels, and diamond necklaces. Then, as she opened the crates closer to the entrance, she saw they were filled with stacks of cash—white, crisp bills!

Besides local currency from Yue City, there were also large amounts of US dollars and Hong Kong dollars. One crate of Yue City banknotes, two crates of US dollars, and two crates of Hong Kong dollars.

Foreign currency was hard to come by; there was no way Du Huacheng and Yang Yuehe could have obtained it through official channels. The only possibility was the black market, where exchanges were not simply made at standard rates—they must have paid several times more in cash to accumulate so much.

As Zhong Xiao continued to store away the contents and open more crates, she found most of the remaining boxes held valuable items that were too dangerous to take out openly: ten Rolex watches, twenty Montblanc pens, dozens of gemstone cufflinks. There were Chanel tweed suits and little black dresses, Louis Vuitton canvas trunks and handbags, Hermès scarves and Kelly bags, Gucci belts and ties, and so on.

Seeing these things, Zhong Xiao could not help but recall her previous life. When she suffered in the countryside, Yang Yuehe constantly provoked her by sending photos filled with these very luxury goods. So, it turned out they had already acquired them at this early stage.

Zhong Xiao let out a cold laugh. Take them, take them all!

Most of the remaining crates contained more jewelry and cash, along with some foreign liquors—though Zhong Xiao was no connoisseur and could not identify them, she swept them into her space all the same.

Having emptied the entire basement, Zhong Xiao surveyed the room. Only the small bed remained. She carefully examined it—the bed and its surroundings revealed no hidden switches, and the basement was a square space of cement walls, with only the original staircase as an exit.

But… something was wrong.

Frowning, Zhong Xiao walked out of the basement, turning over in her mind what she might have missed.

If she remembered correctly, in her previous life, when they left, they took quite a bit of gold with them. After arriving in Hong Kong, they used that gold to establish connections and secure their footing. Moreover, she knew her grandfather was a gold enthusiast and had started accumulating gold bars when she was very young—all of it stored in the Zhong family compound.

Previously, Du Huacheng had told her he had kept her grandfather's gold well hidden and safe; even if others came to investigate, they would not find it. Where, then, had he hidden it?

Zhong Xiao stepped out of the warehouse and looked around the Zhong family estate. There was nothing of note in the main building—the second floor housed her and Du Ying'er’s bedrooms, the third floor was Du Huacheng and Yang Yuehe’s room, and each room was straightforward and easily seen through.

The floor space of the main building was not large, and the floors were not thick enough to conceal a hidden room or underground space. The basement beneath the warehouse extended under the main house. So where else could the gold be hidden?

Zhong Xiao was certain that at this point in time, Du Huacheng had not yet begun transferring assets.

She remembered that in her previous life, before she agreed to go to the countryside, Du Huacheng had given her many certificates, telling her he had mortgaged all the Zhong family assets and that once the worst was over, she could use those certificates to redeem everything.

He had said, "Xiao Xiao, after all, you are the true heir of the Zhong family. I would never covet what belongs to you. As long as we survive that period, our family will reunite, and all these things will be yours. Keep them safe!"

Yet, it seemed others had gotten wind of this, believing that all the family’s assets were in her hands. They tracked, interrogated, and tormented her, forcing her to hand over the certificates.

After enduring unbearable torture, she handed them over, hoping to buy her survival with her wealth. But after the certificates were taken, just as she thought she would finally have some peace, her tormentors stormed back in, kicking her to the ground.

“Evil capitalist! How dare you try to deceive us! These things are all fake! The stamps are forged! Did you really think we’re a bunch of ignorant fools?”

After that, her suffering grew even more unspeakable.

But Zhong Xiao did not know. She truly did not know where the family’s assets had gone.

It was only after receiving Yang Yuehe’s letter that she realized just how thoroughly her father had deceived her.

Forcing herself to calm down, Zhong Xiao told herself she would definitely find where Du Huacheng had hidden the gold.

She gazed at the four-story-tall Buddha statue in the courtyard, closed her eyes, and prayed for guidance to find the gold.

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her forehead. She opened her eyes with a start, realizing that something had hit her—it was lime dust.

She looked up and saw that a corner high on the Buddha statue was damaged. Just as she was about to look away, her gaze froze.

In the sunlight, a faint, almost imperceptible golden gleam shimmered from the damaged spot.

Zhong Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be—