??29: Chapter 19 Unexpected Gains
29: Chapter 19 Unexpected Gains
Gu Yanzhi rummaged through the items, placing what she deed useful onto a handcart.
The large stack of newspapers took up too much space and remained piled up in their original spot, whether to take them or not would be decided after assessing the final collection of supplies.
“Xiao Song, Xiao Gu,”
“Hey, Sister Li, just a mont, we’ll be right there,”
Sister Li’s voice echoed from another office.
The office building wasn’t large; even the two farthest rooms were no more than a dozen ters apart.
After setting down what they were holding, Gu Yanzhi and the other two headed to the room where Sister Li was.
Sister Li and Xiao Lin, both on their own, had ford a team and were in what happened to be the property managent’s executive office.
Inside, the desks, chairs, filing cabinets, and bookshelves were indeed made of solid wood, all now gathered together by Xiao Lin.
Several cans of tea, coffee, and so chocolate biscuits—snacks to stave off hunger—as well as other items they had found and deed worth taking, were still on the desk.
Sister Li had neatly stacked the books she took down from the shelves to one side, evidently planning to decide later whether to take them with her or not.
At the mont, Sister Li and Xiao Lin were examining a safe, and Sister Li had called Gu Yanzhi over for this very reason.
There were only two axes among them: one belonged to Gu Yanzhi and the other to Uncle Zhuang.
It didn’t matter whom Sister Li called over in the small building, but she chose Gu Yanzhi, who was closer.
“Xiao Gu, give
the axe, and I’ll split this open,”
“Let
do it,” Gu Yanzhi handed over the axe, but Xiao Lin snatched it first and brought it down hard on the safe.
“Bang,”
“Bang,”
Two swings of the axe, both askew, ended up hitting the wooden floor next to the safe, creating a hole in it.
Xiao Lin’s ears turned red with embarrassnt.
“Let
do it,” boasted Sister Li, “Don’t be fooled by my frail appearance.
I used to work on construction sites when I was young.
I’ve done all sorts of jobs and have a lot of strength.” She laughed heartily, patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder, took the axe from him, and said.
Xiao Lin blushed even more.
Indeed, Sister Li was skillful; she split open the safe with one swift motion.
Being careful not to damage the contents, she aid for the side of the safe and, with impressive precision, ensured that everything inside was unhard.
After making a crack in the safe, the rest was simple.
Two more swings at the opening, and the safe was fully breached.
“Woc!” As the safe opened, a cascade of jewelry and gold spilled out, stunning everyone.
“What’s going on?”
“Wow!”
“My goodness!”
Gao Zhi and his wife, passing by, peeked in after hearing the commotion and were equally shocked upon seeing the jewelry and gold scattered on the floor.
Gao Zhi, hailing from Sichuan, couldn’t help but let slip so of his local dialect in surprise.
Upon closer inspection, the jewelry and gold were all valuable.
Looking even closer, the safe, apart from the jewelry, was empty.
The property managent’s safe contained jewelry instead of contracts or seals, suggesting to Gu Yanzhi that the property leader wasn’t exactly clean.
After the initial shock, everyone quickly gathered their wits and collected the scattered jewelry.
“I’ll go call the others.
Let’s just divide it up,” Gu Yanzhi suggested, and nobody voiced an objection; all nodded in agreent.
There was a considerable amount of jewelry.
To avoid long nights full of dreams and mutual suspicion, dividing it up imdiately was best.
The trust they had painstakingly built within their community couldn’t be ruined by the uncertain small benefits these items might hold.
“Why don’t you divide it, Xiao Gu?
You’re probably the most knowledgeable among us,” Uncle Zhang proposed when everyone was discussing how to distribute the items.
Most people there had climbed up from the lower echelons to achieve modest or mid-level wealth, lacking deep foundations and exposure to many things.
They were unfamiliar with the items, gold aside, unable to discern their quality.
Gu Yanzhi and her companions, in contrast, were evidently children raised in affluent families, and lacking in such small possessions, they wouldn’t act selfishly.
“How about this?
I usually enjoy collecting such things, so I can roughly estimate the price for everything except the gold and convert it into gold for everyone.
I’m not a professional, so my estimate might not be entirely accurate.
Besides, jewelry has a higher potential for appreciation.
To avoid any discrepancies, my family will opt out of this distribution,”
Gu Yanzhi considered for a mont.
The jewelry and accessories could be used to upgrade her space; in the apocalypse, jewelry was even harder to find than gold.
It might be better to trade for it now.
Everyone agreed with Gu Yanzhi’s proposal.
They feared being cheated in dealings with the jewelry they didn’t understand, preferring to directly exchange it for gold, which was simpler.
However, none agreed with Gu Yanzhi’s suggestion to exclude her family from the distribution.
By accepting her kindness, they would appear thoughtless.
Moreover, the potential for appreciation typically applies in peaceful tis.
In an apocalyptic environnt, who could accurately predict whether values would rise or fall?
They saw Gu Yanzhi’s proposal as taking on a significant risk.
In the common perception, gold was the most valuable and easiest item to trade during tumultuous tis.
After so back and forth, Gu Yanzhi finally agreed to accept 70% of her family’s fair share, giving the remaining 30% to the others as her subsidy.
The gold was to be divided equally among those present.
However, Gu Yanzhi suggested each family pick one piece of jewelry to keep for collection and rembrance, clearly having noticed the longing in the eyes of the girls present.
The leader of the property managent might have been quite corrupt, but he had good taste.
The jewelry he had collected was exquisite, and the girls present found it hard to resist.
Especially Zhang Qian, Yin ng, and Liu Sisi, the three young girls, had initially thought of asking Sister Yan Zhi or Sister Gu privately for a piece of jewelry to keep after the division.
They hadn’t expected Sister Yan Zhi/Sister Gu to have noticed their desire and brought it up spontaneously, moving them deeply.
It must be said that even Sister Li, who had seen much of the world, was tempted by Gu Yanzhi’s suggestion.
She had worked hard over the years to rise from the bottom, finally owning a small company.
All her money had gone into a house that had been previously flooded, and she couldn’t afford jewelry that might cost several hundred thousand or even a million per piece.
With a total of 20 pieces of jewelry and 3 jin (approximately 1.8 kilograms) of gold, after each family had taken one piece, Gu Yanzhi still owed about 15 jin (approximately 9 kilograms) of gold to everyone.
Gu Yanzhi made up an excuse, saying that before the torrential rain, she intended to donate a golden Buddha statue to Pudu Temple and had taken quite a bit of gold ho, which could now be distributed to everyone.
Gu Yanzhi’s action made her family seem even more mysterious in everyone’s eyes.
Her efficient killing had already led to much speculation and wonder about her background and capabilities.
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