Chen Lan felt utterly helpless. If they didn't believe her, she couldn't possibly act!
Chen Lan pondered, unwilling to give up. She said, "Comrade, whether you believe me or not, this place is a bit too eerie. It's summer now, but the child is too young. It's not suitable to stay here. How about this? You consider it, and I'll come back tonight. If you're willing to move somewhere else to hide, I can help."
After speaking, Chen Lan took out a bag of cornmeal steamed buns from her cloth bag and placed two water-filled military canteens on the ground next to the young woman holding the baby.
Then, Chen Lan grabbed a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket and stuffed them into the child's pocket.
Without another word, she turned to leave. She walked a few steps, then seemed to remember something. She turned back, took an old-fashioned flashlight from her cloth bag, and placed it on the ground.
Only then did she stride away from the haunted house without looking back.
On her way back, Chen Lan thought to herself, this matter today is quite serious. She had to go home and discuss it with the children and Xu Mingxuan. She needed to get their opinions. After all, Xu Mingxuan was a former soldier, an excellent scout. He should have ways to hide a few people in this big city without being discovered.
Chen Lan took a turn on her bike and decided to go to the nearby department store. She planned to buy a change of clothes for the teacher's family. They had been driven out by the Revolutionary Committee and couldn't go home. They probably hadn't had time to bring anything. On such a hot day! Alas! Chen Lan sighed again at the thought.
Chen Lan walked into the department store and headed straight for the clothing counter. After buying a lot, Chen Lan realized she had very few cloth coupons left, and her meat coupons were also almost used up.
Xu Mingxuan's job required frequent business trips, so they used up coupons quickly. Chen Lan thought she would have to find Brother Hu to exchange for some more coupons.
Chen Lan took all her purchases and habitually walked to the food counter. She noticed that the glass display case had quite a few Harbin-style Russian red sausages. Chen Lan hadn't seen so many when she came to buy things a few days ago. They must have arrived in the last couple of days.
There were many children at home, all in their growing stage. Now they lived in the city, and they couldn't just eat whatever they wanted like when they lived in the mountains. So Chen Lan didn't dare to cook meat for the children too often at home. She was afraid of being reported if they ate meat too frequently.
So, the Harbin red sausage would have to suffice to satisfy the children's cravings. Harbin red sausage had a mixed smoky aroma of pepper and garlic, with tender and delicious meat, and a unique taste.
The triplets especially liked to put a few slices in their steamed buns for breakfast, while Jiahui and her sisters liked to stir-fry sliced red sausage with chili peppers.
The other boys didn't care how it was prepared; they loved it no matter what. As long as it was meat.
Thinking of this, Chen Lan used her mind to sort through all the coupons and ration tickets in her system warehouse. Then she took out money and tickets from her pocket. Chen Lan saw that the red sausage was newly stocked in the department store and was quite fresh. She decided to buy a few more to take home.
Since the new stock had just arrived and hadn't sold much yet, when Chen Lan said she wanted to buy thirty, the saleswoman only looked at her with a bit of surprise and said nothing. Chen Lan, of course, bought them at a high price this time!
That evening, during dinner, Chen Lan told everyone about what she had encountered in the alley today.
The children and her mother were filled with righteous indignation, denouncing the Revolutionary Committee members for being heartless and selfish.
Xu Mingxuan listened to Chen Lan's account and remained silent for a long time. After a while, he asked, "Lan'er, what are you thinking? What do you plan to do?"
After all, they had been married for many years, and Xu Mingxuan understood Chen Lan best. Hearing him ask, Chen Lan shared her thoughts.
So Chen Lan said, "Mother, Brother Mingxuan, I don't know if their family really has any treasures. Whether they do or not, I'm not interested. I just pity the little child. So I want to hide their whole family temporarily, to help them evade the Revolutionary Committee. This way, the Revolutionary Committee won't be able to threaten the teacher with the child!"
Her mother nodded repeatedly after hearing Chen Lan speak. Her mother had a Bodhisattva-like heart her entire life. Although she hadn't suffered much, she could deeply understand the hardships of others. Therefore, she strongly agreed with Chen Lan's plan.
Jiahui also rubbed her hands together, looking eager. She asked, "Mother, you just give the orders. How do you want us to do it?"
Chen Lan looked at Xu Mingxuan, her mother, and then at the children, and said, "After I hide that family, I plan to scout the home of that Revolutionary Committee director. I suspect that they've been frantically raiding other people's homes for good things, and have probably taken them all back for themselves."
Xu Mingxuan chuckled when he heard Chen Lan's words, which left Chen Lan and everyone else bewildered!
Xu Mingxuan coughed lightly and said, "Lan'er, do you think they're stupid? If they're taking good things from other people's homes, it's all illicit. How could they keep it in their own house? Aren't they afraid of being reported? You know there are many factions within the Revolutionary Committee! They fight each other to the death every day!"
Chen Lan replied with a smile, "Brother Mingxuan, of course, I know he won't keep good things in his own house. But we can use the method of 'beating the grass to startle the snake' to force him to act! Once he makes a move, he'll inevitably reveal himself. As long as I find out where he's hiding the goods, I can make him waste all his efforts."
Her mother and the children also said this method was good. Chen Lan felt like laughing. No matter what Chen Lan did, her mother was always the first to voice her support!
Xu Mingxuan also asked with a smile, "Lan'er, tell me, what exactly are we going to do?"
Chen Lan thought for a moment and said, "Today is the twenty-first day of the lunar calendar. There will be no moon in the first half of the night. Let's go to the Revolutionary Committee director's house first and set off some Jianghu sleeping powder. Once we incapacitate them all, we'll take all the valuables from his house. We'll be like valiant heroes of the martial world and rob the rich to help the poor. What do you think?"
As soon as Chen Lan finished speaking, Jiahui was the first to raise her hand in agreement. She shouted, "Mother, this plan is great. Count me in."
Her mother smiled and said, "Lan'er, you're almost a grandmother, aren't you afraid of corrupting the children!"