“This place is good.”
Qiao Jiuru felt a great sense of calm. Suddenly, she was no longer worried or uneasy. With this place and the pharmacy, she instantly felt confident.
After leaving the pharmacy, she immediately went to look at the other rooms, discovering that two were bedrooms, one was a large study, and then there was a kitchen, a washroom, and a tool room.
The beds and bedding in both bedrooms were complete, all in an antique style, and the items within were very valuable.
The study was the same size as the pharmacy, with tall bookshelves on three sides, filled to the brim with all sorts of books, already categorized.
From astronomy to geography, history, medicine, literature, agriculture, and even physical conditioning and martial arts, in short, it was a dazzling array.
Qiao Jiuru’s fondness for this study was second only to the pharmacy. If she hadn't been worried about Su Huaiyuan and concerned about spending too much time here, she would have wished to live there.
In the kitchen, besides the stove, buckets, water vats, bowls, chopsticks, knives, and cutting boards, there was unfortunately not a single grain of food or seasoning; it was cleaner than a face.
Although there wasn't a single grain of food, Qiao Jiuru wasn't disappointed at all. No food wasn't a problem, because she had money. Even if she had money but no ration coupons, it didn't matter; she could use money to buy high-priced grain in the black market.
The tool room contained both farm tools and general tools, even fishing tools, all complete.
Qiao Jiuru only took a quick look at this courtyard before quickly stepping out. She didn't know if she had entered in person or just her consciousness, nor did she know how to leave.
As it turned out, just as she was thinking about how to leave, her vision blurred, and the anxious and worried face of her husband came into view.
“Aru, you suddenly disappeared in front of me just now.”
Su Huaiyuan, seeing his wife suddenly reappear from who-knew-where, breathed a sigh of relief while also asking in a small voice, full of curiosity.
“I went to a very beautiful place… if I hadn't been worried about staying there for too long, I would have liked to explore it properly.”
Qiao Jiuru was also very excited to see her husband and quickly described the courtyard and the lush green mountains and waters in a low voice, still feeling a bit regretful.
“Aru, you were only in there for less than five minutes.”
However, Su Huaiyuan told her, confused, that although he had been worried to death, feeling as if time dragged on, he hadn't felt that his wife had been in there for a long time.
“Ah?!”
“Really?!”
“No way?!”
She had spent more than half an hour exploring the courtyard in that place. Even if she had just glanced at the pharmacy, it would surely take ten or twenty minutes. Then, the two bedrooms would take about ten minutes, and she spent more than ten minutes in the study. Looking through the kitchen, tool room, and washroom would also take at least ten minutes, right?!
“It’s true…”
“Huaiyuan, that’s great!”
Before Su Huaiyuan could prove that what he said was true, he heard Qiao Jiuru exclaim in surprise.
How could she not be surprised?!
If the time inside was different from reality, then she could do many things inside. It wouldn’t take up time, and it would be less likely to be discovered.
“Huaiyuan, I don’t know how I got into that place just now. I want to try again, and I also want to see if I can bring you in with me.”
When Qiao Jiuru came back just now, she noticed that the ink bracelet had disappeared from its original spot, but it was better that it disappeared; otherwise, she wouldn't know how to keep it safe.
Su Huaiyuan also wanted to see the place his wife spoke of; that place was too important for their family.
The couple held each other’s hands tightly, and Qiao Jiuru silently thought “enter” in her mind…
After a dizzying sensation, the couple opened their eyes again and found that they were no longer in that servant’s room.
“Huaiyuan, you can come in too.”
“Aru, it’s truly beautiful here.”
At this moment, the couple was truly incredibly excited, exchanging glances, tears in their eyes mixed with smiles.
Qiao Jiuru was a bit more familiar with this place than her husband, so she went ahead to tour the courtyard, introducing it while explaining her plans.
After touring the courtyard and gaining a preliminary understanding of it, the couple went outside.
“Aru, there’s so much land here, we can totally grow our own food to eat. If we really get sent down, with these lands planted with grain, we won’t have to worry about not having food.”
Su Huaiyuan, like his wife, felt a significant reduction in his worries and unease after seeing the medicines in the courtyard’s pharmacy, and many ideas and thoughts came to him.
“Yes, Huaiyuan, you’re right. Besides growing grain, we can also raise chickens, grow vegetables, and fruit trees. Oh, isn’t there a river over there?! We can also raise fish and shrimp to eat.”
Indeed, two heads are better than one; Qiao Jiuru’s thoughts were immediately inspired.
“Also, we can buy grain now and put it here, then take it out when we need it.”
“That’s right, besides grain, also daily necessities. Buy more salt, oil, seasonings, eggs, brown sugar, and durable items like biscuits and pastries.”
“Aru, I think the gold bars, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, and antiques at home can also be put in here; at least it’s safer than outside.”
“Yes, yes, yes, then let’s go get them quickly now.”
…
Having an extra person to strategize truly made a difference; in no time, the matters of stocking up on supplies and growing food were clearly arranged.
Since they had thought of it, they had to do it. Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan immediately left the space and went to another servant’s room to retrieve twenty gold bars. Afterward, they dug out gold bars, jewelry, and property deeds from inconspicuous locations in the kitchen, washroom, bedroom, and toilet of this small courtyard, directly transferring them into the ink bracelet.
Unfortunately, it was getting late, and they had to rush to the Hospital for their shift; otherwise, the couple had planned to go to other places to dig out all the treasures of the Su family and the Qiao family and put them in the ink bracelet.
An hour later, Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan rushed back to the Hospital, only to unexpectedly find their eldest son, Su Ze, there.
“Mom, Dad, where did you go?!”
Su Ze had waited and waited at home for his wife to return, but she didn’t. He couldn’t help but worry, so he rushed to the Hospital, only to find that his parents weren’t there either and he didn’t know where they had gone. He had already been there for almost an hour.
“We went to the black market.”
Before Su Huaiyuan could think of an excuse, Qiao Jiuru quickly lowered her voice and lied to her son.
Fortunately, this ward had no other patients or family members, only their family. Plus, their voices were low, so people outside, no matter how hard they listened, couldn’t hear clearly.
As soon as Su Ze heard the words “black market,” he immediately stopped asking. He knew the gravity of the situation and what kind of place it was.
“You and Xiao Wan go back. Your dad and I will stay here tonight. Xiao Wan doesn’t need to come for her shift tomorrow either; your dad got me an extra day off.”
“Right, Uncle Zhang also said that the children should be able to be discharged tomorrow, so you can come pick them up at noon.”
They sent the young couple back to rest. Anyway, this ward had three beds, one for each child, and the remaining one could be slept on by one person.