Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire

Chapter 76: Chapter 70: Mental Illness

Lu Jiaxin asked in a low voice, “Which one is the container for the calligraphy and paintings? Let’s lift that one up first.”

Gu Wenfeng pointed to the box on the far left, then walked over and carried it down. He also kindly opened it for her to see.

After a glance, Lu Jiaxin approached and opened the revealed box. It contained nothing but neatly arranged books.

She picked up a book and carefully flipped through it with her flashlight, finding nothing but traditional characters, and even arranged in the right-to-left classical Chinese format.

Gu Wenfeng then pointed to the box on the very right and said, “This box contains various types of bottles. I don’t understand them, but they all look pretty.”

Lu Jiaxin, now aware of what the secret passage looked like, did not wish to linger and pointed to the box he had placed at his feet, “Brother Gu, let’s lift this one up first.”

“Okay.”

Lu Jiaxin also cautioned, “Porcelain breaks easily, so be careful when you lift it later.”

After speaking, she felt even more unsafe about lifting it up; the secret passage was pitch black, and if someone were to trip, a whole box of porcelain would be ruined.

Noticing her sudden silence, Gu Wenfeng reminded her, “Miss Lu, our courtyard has suddenly fallen quiet, and I’m worried that the neighbors behind us might come knocking. We should hurry and get the boxes up, and Xue Mao and I can come back later for the rest.”

Lu Jiaxin thought he was being very considerate, “We’ll follow Brother Gu’s lead.”

As soon as the carrying pole rested on her shoulder, Lu Jiaxin felt something was amiss, “Wait, Brother Gu, this weight is wrong; this shouldn’t be the calligraphy and paintings underneath.”

Gu Wenfeng hummed in agreement, “There are only five sets of calligraphy; the rest are paper, brushes, and some odd stones.”

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Odd stones? Lu Jiaxin wondered if they might be inkstones or ink sticks, but she couldn’t be sure without seeing them. It was too dark here to examine the items properly.

Though there might be ink or inkstone chunks below, the box was still light, about three or four pounds. If the box were smaller, Gu Wenfeng could have carried it on his back.

Ink is fragile, so Lu Jiaxin walked very slowly. Upon reaching the secret passage’s exit, she whispered that they should first lift the calligraphy up and then use a backpack to bring the rest up in batch.

Although it was a bit more trouble, this would surely protect the contents of the box to the greatest extent. Gu Wenfeng said, “You go up first, and I’ll wait here.”

After Lu Jiaxin climbed up, she heard someone shouting from outside, “It’s broad daylight, and you’re all shut inside. What kind of mischief are you up to?”

She recognized the voice; it was Old Lady Sun from the second courtyard. That greedy old woman never had enough; none of the neighbors could stand her.

Lu Jiaxin stuffed the calligraphy into the luggage bag, then quickly went out to Xue Mao’s side and asked, “What’s going on?”

Xue Mao shook his head, “I don’t know. The old woman from the second courtyard suddenly came knocking. I told her that you and Brother Gu were resting after lunch, saying we’d talk about it later, but she started shouting.”

Bang, bang, bang—a series of knocks were followed by Old Lady Sun’s voice shouting, “Open up, if you don’t open up, I’m calling all the neighbors over to see…”

Lu Jiaxin quickly washed her face and dried it, then shrugged off her overcoat and quickly ran her fingers through her hair before sprinting to the kitchen to grab a kitchen knife to open the door.

Old Lady Sun saw Lu Jiaxin about to fling dirty water. Before she could utter a word, she was blinded by the shining knife in her hands. The words she was about to say went back down her throat, and she forced a smile, “What, what are you going to do?”

Lu Jiaxin, holding the knife, glared at Old Lady Sun viciously and demanded, “Have the guts to repeat what you just said?”

Seeing Lu Jiaxin’s stance as if she was about to chop someone, Old Lady Sun involuntarily took a step back.

Because of Old Lady Sun’s shouting, a few onlookers had already gathered. One of them said, “Miss, let’s talk this out nicely; first, put down the knife.”

Lu Jiaxin had no intention of putting down the knife. She said to Old Lady Sun, “Why do you think I lock my door in broad daylight? It’s to guard against thieves like your two families. I didn’t realize when I first moved in. My brother went out to the market without locking the door, and the next thing you know, the axe and kitchen knife we brought with us disappeared into thin air, along with more than thirty dollars from my bag. My brother is too honest; he didn’t come after you to settle the account. If it were me, I would have called the police right away.”

Old Lady Sun was so angry she cursed, “Who are you calling a thief? We never touched your things.”

Lu Jiaxin pointed the knife at her and challenged, “If you didn’t come to steal, then why did you keep banging on our door? My brother was afraid you’d wake me up if he didn’t answer. And then you started spouting unclean and filthy words. If you don’t make your words clear, I’ll chop you up.”

Old Lady Sun shivered in fear, but soon looked up and said, “Murder brings the firing squad; touch me if you dare, and you’ll be waiting for your execution.”

Lu Jiaxin’s lips curled into a malicious smile, “I’m insane, and insane people don’t have to pay with their lives when they kill.”

Xue Mao’s eyes were about to pop out. To intimidate this old woman, she actually claimed to be insane. Sister Xin was really going all out.

Old Granny Sun saw her pale little face and bulging eyes; she really did seem off. Thinking about how they boil medicine every day, Old Granny Sun became timid and stammered, “I, I came to borrow a hammer.”

Lu Jiaxin mocked, “What’s the difference between calling it borrowing and just taking it for yourself? No, at least a thief knows their deeds can’t see the light of day—you’re brazenly robbing.”

The few spectators felt that the girl’s mouth was as sharp as her knife.

Old Lady Sun could hold her own against anyone, make a scene, curse, and even resort to threats of death and desperation. She had no equal in this area. But today, she dared not curse at Lu Jiaxin. In case she really angered the lunatic and got chopped a few times, she might not die but would surely suffer greatly and would have to pay for her own medical expenses, while the lunatic would at most be locked up.

“Then forget the lending,” Old Lady Sun said and scurried away disheartened.

Lu Jiaxin watched her run off and didn’t care what the others thought; she directly closed the door. Seeing Xue Mao hesitate to speak, she asked with a smile, “What’s up?”

“Sister, you didn’t have to talk about yourself like that.”

Lu Jiaxin felt that for people like Old Lady Sun, special methods were necessary, “She shouldn’t dare come knocking again before we leave. Xue Mao, don’t worry about the methods used, as long as the result is good.”

After a pause, she added that it had to be within the limits of the law.

As they were talking, Gu Wenfeng walked out of the room: “It’s okay to say anything here, but not when we’re back in the Forty-nine City.”

Lu Jiaxin grinned, “Thanks, Brother Gu, I’m aware of that.”

It was fortunate that Xue Mao stayed behind. If all three of them had gone down, that old woman’s persistent door knocking without an answer would have definitely aroused suspicion. Having someone so thorough by her side really saved a lot of trouble. Lu Jiaxin felt she should make an effort; who knows, Gu Wenfeng might agree to stay and work for her! Although the hope was slim, it was worth a try.