[Prison uniforms in a hundred sets, enough to cover the body.]
[Sixty boxes of whitening powder, for a suicidal degree of skin brightening.]
[Ten jars of moisturizing cream, very effective for hydration.]
[A box of cheap jewelry, from a certain country.]
[A barrel of appetite-stimulating pills, to aid digestion and whet the appetite.]
[A small sandalwood footstool, suitable for sitting.]
[Ten pairs of roller skates.]
[A set of magical castle toy building blocks.]
[Three Longquan treasure swords made of thousand-forge steel.]
[A novel, a comic book, a movie, a TV series, and a holographic game chip.]
As the blind boxes were opened, a flood of information, as if her brain had been infected by a computer virus, popped into Ding Yun's mind. These were the items she had obtained.
To be fair, this blind box machine was as frustrating and "delightful" as ever.
What was with this pile of things, especially the prison uniforms?
A hundred sets – were they planning a Hanfu party?
These might sell in a few decades, but who in their right mind would buy prison uniforms nowadays? It was just bad luck.
The lead powder, with its dangerously high heavy metal content, was not only unsellable but also unsafe for her to use. It was destined to gather dust at home, completely useless.
Ding Yun, comparing the items against the instructions and rummaging through them, inwardly ranted while categorizing her haul. Items that could be sold were set aside, and those she could use were put into another pile.
Anything that couldn't be sold or used by her went into a third pile.
"Longquan swords from a toy blind box? This is both absurd and fittingly ridiculous. Swords are for grown-ups, aren't they? But what use do I have for them? We're not allowed to roam the martial world righting wrongs anymore!"
"Novels and comics are fine, but why give me a CD for movies and TV shows? Do I need to go out and buy a projector specifically for this?"
"The holographic game chip is even more outlandish. Where am I supposed to find something that can play a chip? Good heavens!"
It seemed that antiquity had its drawbacks, like the prison uniforms and lead powder. Too much advancement also had its downsides, like the holographic game chip. A simple "Little Tycoon" learning machine would have been more practical.
None of this was usable.
At the same time, Ding Yun felt even more lost. None of these items seemed like they could form the foundation of a future industry. She couldn't just open a peculiar novelty shop and sell whatever she got from the blind boxes.
The idea was amusing to think about, but utterly impractical.
After all, the items from her blind boxes were likely "three-no" products (no manufacturer, no origin, no quality certificate). While regulations weren't fully established yet, selling them might be possible. But in a few years, when regulations became stricter and inspections more thorough, she'd be heading straight to jail.
Considering this, the food industry seemed the most reliable. Fresh ingredients had less stringent requirements.
Being a plagiarist might also work, given that she had novel and comic blind boxes. It would be easy, provided she could overcome her own moral reservations.
However, after much deliberation, Ding Yun couldn't make up her mind. She decided to postpone the decision. Perhaps once the stolen money was recovered and her finances were more stable, it would be easier to decide.
With her internal conflict resolved, she began to sort through the newly unpacked items. The Longquan swords were difficult to sell and useless to her, so they were put away for now. The toys were set aside to be given to her daughter later. Other sellable items, like the appetite pills, were also set aside to be sold at the market the next day.
The lead powder was immediately discarded, but the boxes were kept. They would be perfect for repacking the one-liter jars of moisturizing cream.
After finishing these tasks, Ding Yun washed up and gave the toy building blocks to her daughter. However, she soon regretted it. Yuan Meng, excited by the toys, barely slept that night. She wished she had waited until the morning to give them to her.
But it was hard to take back a gift.
Besides, it was a holiday the next day, making it difficult to tell her daughter she had to go to school and needed to sleep early.
So, Ding Yun had no choice but to endure.
The next morning, yawning, she washed her face with cold water, made and ate some breakfast. She then instructed her daughter, who didn't have school that day, to stay put and not wander off. Ding Yun herself took the appetite pills, cheap jewelry, and other items to set up her stall.
Business, as usual, was good.
Even those who had come to buy rice cakes ended up buying some of her other items when they saw them.
After all, her goods were of good quality and reasonably priced.
The appetite-stimulating pills were essentially made from hawthorn and similar ingredients. Ding Yun sold them at a price comparable to hawthorn jelly, so customers treated them as such. Moreover, they tasted better than hawthorn jelly, making them a good treat for oneself or a sweet snack for children.
The plastic jewelry was even more remarkable. The craftsmanship, though decades ahead of its time, was made from cheap materials like brass, iron, rhinestones, and faux pearls. Without considering their value, they were undeniably beautiful.
Ding Yun also didn't overprice them. Most items were a few yuan, with the cheapest at one yuan and the most expensive at five or six yuan. While pricier than hair ties and clips sold in stores, their appearance was incomparable.
These pieces of jewelry were far more attractive than ordinary hair accessories. Young girls with a bit of spending money, and even older fashion-conscious women, were captivated. They would stop to pick through them carefully, haggling with Ding Yun.
Ding Yun was also accommodating.
She offered discounts for bulk purchases.
As a result, the sales were exceptionally brisk.
The entire box of cheap jewelry sold out even faster than the appetite-stimulating pills. Customers kept asking if she would restock, and more people continued to arrive, hoping to buy. When they heard the items were sold out and that she might not restock, they didn't react with the same indifference they showed when food items were unavailable. Instead, they pleaded with Ding Yun to bring more, offering to pay extra.
They wouldn't let her leave without a positive response.
Ding Yun could only promise to try her best.
She then quickly packed up her stall and headed to the police station to inquire about the situation, the interrogation results, and whether she could get her money back.
Unfortunately, the ringleader, who knew where the money was hidden, remained tight-lipped.
He refused to reveal the money's whereabouts.
Thus, Ding Yun returned, disappointed once again.
Over the next two days, Ding Yun painstakingly managed to sell the roller skates and the prison uniforms one by one. The roller skates were relatively easier to sell. Some people were aware of them, and with Ding Yun's persistent promotion and price reductions, they were eventually sold.
The prison uniforms, however, were incredibly difficult to sell.
If they had been plain white shirts, it would have been one thing. But with the character "囚" (prisoner) emblazoned on the chest, the overall aesthetic and impression were completely different.
When Ding Yun first started selling them, people had commented that they wouldn't take them even if given for free, finding them unlucky.
Initially, as predicted, onlookers were merely curious and no one was buying. They were more interested in who had come up with such an idea and which fool would actually purchase them.
Ding Yun's fabricated excuse was that she had acquired too many stage costumes. She claimed to have bought a batch at a low price, selling them at cost. She assured them that they would be worn inside other clothes, making the inscription invisible and posing no problem.
But no matter what she said, no one bought them.
Finally, out of desperation and unwilling to have the prison uniforms cluttering her home, Ding Yun slashed the prices to the absolute minimum, even lower than the cost of the fabric to make them. Only then did someone agree to buy them, and they intended to alter them before wearing.
Fortunately, the low-level blind boxes were not expensive, or she would have suffered significant losses.
After this batch of clothes was sold, Ding Yun, as usual, went to the police station to inquire about any news. This time, as soon as she entered, she sensed good news.
Xu Ping, upon seeing her, was all smiles, her expression completely different from previous encounters. If she hadn't encountered something fortunate and couldn't contain her emotions, it must mean that the matter Ding Yun had been inquiring about had yielded results, and the money had likely been recovered to some extent.
What happened next was as Ding Yun had anticipated.
Before she could even ask, Xu Ping joyfully exclaimed, "Sister Song, I was just thinking of you. Come over, come over quickly! The case has been resolved, and all your money has been recovered, not a single cent is missing. Those scoundrels were caught before they could even spend your money."
"Really? That's wonderful!"
Regardless, it was good news, so Ding Yun happily responded, then curiously inquired, "Where did they hide the money? Didn't you tell me last time that you turned their lair upside down and found nothing?"
"Sigh, to be honest, if we hadn't gotten it out of them, we would never have guessed they hid the money in their ancestral graves. The leader of their organization dug up his own ancestral grave, moved the remains of his ancestors to another spot, and then periodically hid the stolen money in the coffin. They said they were learning from the big companies in Hong Kong, like year-end profit sharing. Oh, it's fortunate they had this idea. If they had just spent whatever they stole, the money would truly be unrecoverable."
As this was not confidential information, Xu Ping naturally shared it with Ding Yun, who she felt was quite lucky. She had encountered a group of thieves who were saving money. If it had been a group that only knew how to spend, there would have been no hope of recovering the money, and she would have had to accept her misfortune.
"The money was hidden in their ancestral graves? My goodness, these people are bold, showing no fear of ghosts or spirits. They're not only cut out to be thieves, but they'd probably excel as grave robbers!"
Hearing this, Ding Yun casually remarked.
However, her unintentional comment struck a chord with the captain, Zhu Shichong, who had just arrived and was about to call Xu Ping. His mind suddenly flashed with an idea upon hearing Ding Yun mention grave robbers.
He quickly stepped forward and pressed, "Why did you think they could be grave robbers?"
"Ah?"
His sudden appearance and loud voice startled Ding Yun. "I just said it casually..."
"Captain, what's wrong? Is there something sensitive about grave robbers? Sister Song is the victim. She came with me to claim her money. She just mentioned grave robbers casually after hearing me say the money was hidden in the ancestral graves." Xu Ping quickly interjected, thinking the captain had misunderstood and only heard the word "grave robbers."
Seeing this, Zhu Shichong realized Ding Yun and Xu Ping had misunderstood. He quickly explained, "No, I'm truly sorry. I'm not questioning you. It's just that when you suddenly mentioned them being grave robbers, it reminded me of something I noticed earlier when we were searching for the money. Xu Ping, do you remember the pile of junk we found in the thief's lair? It was all scrap metal with no value, so we didn't pay much attention. But your suggestion has made me wonder, could those items have been from graves? Burial artifacts, perhaps? It's normal for them to be worn and tattered after a long time!"
"Uh... that seems quite possible. After all, if he could dig up one ancestral grave, it means he wouldn't mind digging up a second or third. But wasn't it his own ancestral grave? Does that count as grave robbing?" Xu Ping also began to realize.
"What I mean is, wasn't there an ancient tomb in our county that was robbed a while ago? We haven't found any clues. This could be a breakthrough." Zhu Shichong said, quickly expressing his thanks. He then instructed Xu Ping to continue the investigation. "Well, thank you for the inspiration. Xiao Xu, take her to complete the procedures quickly, then accompany me back to the thief's lair. I'll contact an appraisal expert. You finish things up here quickly." With that, he turned and busied himself.
Xu Ping, lost in thought, processed Ding Yun's paperwork and returned her 16,000 yuan. She then also got busy.
Although curious, Ding Yun knew it wasn't the time to pry for details. She left the police station with a sense of puzzlement. Instead of going home immediately, she first deposited 10,000 yuan of the recovered money and topped up the remaining 6,000 yuan into the Happy Blind Box machine. Reassured, she then went to a newspaper stand to look for newspapers.
She wanted to find any news related to tomb raiding. The original owner was not very literate and didn't subscribe to newspapers. Ding Yun hadn't paid attention to the news since arriving, so she needed to find out for herself. While searching, she asked the newsstand owner.
The owner thought for a moment and then found the newspaper Ding Yun wanted from a pile of old papers. He sold it to her at the original price. Old newspapers were usually sold at a discount, and unsold ones would be sold as waste paper. However, since Ding Yun was looking for it and seemed quite eager, he didn't mind charging the full price. Ding Yun, not minding the few cents difference, paid and took the newspaper, flipping through it.
Meanwhile, the newsstand owner explained, "On the first page of the social section, it was the headline that day. It said an ancient tomb from the Western or Eastern Zhou dynasty in our county was robbed. Apparently, it belonged to some king. It's said to be valuable and requires thorough investigation. It's been several days, and there's no new development."