Traveling back to 1966, starting by living in a cowshed.

Chapter 5 Warehouse Looting

The next morning, as his phone alarm rang, Lin Zhou got dressed and went to the kitchen. The marble countertop was gleaming. He grabbed a handful of rice from a bag in the cupboard, put it in an aluminum pot, added water, and turned on a low heat to simmer it. He then took two eggs from the refrigerator, poured some oil into a frying pan, and cracked the eggs into it. The golden egg mixture instantly puffed up, the edges turning a fragrant brown. He sprinkled a pinch of salt, flipped them over, and fried them for another ten seconds or so. Two fragrant fried eggs were ready.

Before long, Lin Zhou ladled a bowl of thick, sticky white porridge from the pot. With a crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside fried egg, Lin Zhou finished his breakfast in a few bites, quickly tidied up the stove and dishes, and then left the space with a thought.

Not long after I came out, I saw Zhang Jianguo heading out, hurrying towards the steel rolling mill, his face showing an undisguised urgency.

Lin Zhou's heart stirred, knowing that the time had come, so he followed silently, always keeping a distance of more than ten meters, so that he could not be discovered but could clearly see the other party's movements.

Following Zhang Jianguo all the way to the gate of the steel rolling mill, Lin Zhou went around to sit down under an old poplar tree opposite the gate. The tree had a thick trunk and lush foliage.

He leaned against the tree trunk, occasionally peeking out to observe the activity at the door. He waited from dawn until the sun gradually rose. If it weren't for the cool shade here, he didn't know how hot it would have been. When he peeked out again, he finally saw Director Li's figure.

Director Li was wearing a gray Zhongshan suit, his slicked-back hair neatly combed back. He usually went out in the factory's black car, but today he was pushing a worn-out Forever brand bicycle, and his expression was much more serious than usual.

Zhang Jianguo approached from the corner of the wall inside the gate. The two stood in the shadows of the gate, their heads very close, talking in hushed tones.

Lin Zhou was too far away to hear the specifics, but he saw Director Li nodding occasionally, while Zhang Jianguo smiled and frequently echoed his words.

A moment later, the two finished their conversation. Director Li got on his bike first and pedaled forward, with Zhang Jianguo following closely behind. The two rode along the road towards the West District.

Lin Zhou watched their retreating figures, thinking to himself, "Something's definitely fishy. Director Li, a factory leader, usually has a huge entourage when he goes out, but this time he deliberately rode a bicycle, and at this time, clearly because he didn't want anyone to notice their whereabouts."

Lin Zhou didn't dare to delay and immediately jogged to catch up. Director Li and Zhang Jianguo weren't riding very fast, probably because they were afraid of attracting attention if they rode too fast. Lin Zhou jogged all the way, occasionally using the corners of walls, trees, and utility poles at the entrances of alleys to cover his figure, just managing to keep up with their pace.

After running for about half an hour, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, he finally saw the two of them stop at the entrance of a secluded alley.

The alley is lined with small, independent courtyard houses on both sides. There are few residents here, so there are naturally few pedestrians in the alley, with only a few sparrows hopping around on the walls.

Director Li pushed the cart to the gate of a small, secluded courtyard deep in the alley, parked the cart, took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, bent down and unlocked the brass lock on the gate.

With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open. Zhang Jianguo, holding onto the sacks on the back seat of the car, struggled to push the car into the yard. Director Li looked around the door for a while, then immediately pushed the car in as well, and then gently closed the door.

Lin Zhou hid at the corner of the alley, only daring to peek out, his eyes fixed on the doorway. He didn't dare get too close, afraid of alerting the people inside, and could only wait patiently. More than half an hour later, he finally heard a slight noise coming from inside the courtyard.

The wooden door opened again, and Director Li and Zhang Jianguo came out one after the other. Zhang Jianguo's smile was even wider than before, his mouth almost reaching his ears, and his steps were much lighter.

Clearly, he had received considerable benefits from Director Li. Director Li, however, maintained his serious expression. After locking the door, he tugged hard on the brass lock, seemingly to confirm that it was secure.

After locking the door, Director Li whispered a few more words to Zhang Jianguo before parting ways. Zhang Jianguo rode his bicycle back towards the steel rolling mill, while Director Li turned his bicycle around and rode off down another road, quickly disappearing into the alleyway.

Lin Zhou entered his spatial dimension as soon as they came out, since there was nothing to hide at the alley entrance. After the two had walked away, Lin Zhou came out of his spatial dimension. He didn't chase after Director Li, but instead focused his gaze on the small, detached courtyard. He arrived at the door and looked around.

The courtyard wall wasn't high, about 1.8 meters, and some withered vines still clung to the top. Lin Zhou looked around to make sure no one was watching, then took two steps back, ran a few steps, and leaped over the wall, grabbing the top with both hands and vaulting over. He deliberately landed softly, making only a very faint thud.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves. Lin Zhou walked carefully around the courtyard, checking each of the surrounding houses one by one. The courtyard was not large, with a total of seven rooms: one wing room on each side, three main rooms in the middle, and two rear rooms.

He first walked to the door of the left-hand wing room, gently pushed the door open—it wasn't locked. Stepping inside, a dusty smell hit him; inside were several wooden crates and a burlap sack.

Lin Zhou opened a wooden box, inside which were neatly stacked more than a dozen pieces of porcelain, including blue and white porcelain bowls, famille rose vases, and several small porcelain plates. The porcelain surfaces were smooth and the patterns were clear, clearly indicating that they were not ordinary objects. He then opened a burlap sack next to him, which contained scrolls of calligraphy and paintings. Unrolling one of the scrolls, he found a landscape painting with delicate brushstrokes and a profound artistic conception.

"So many antiques and paintings!" Lin Zhou's heart tightened. Without delay, he immediately put all the porcelain and paintings into his spatial storage. Then, he went to the right-hand wing, where rice, flour, and cooking oil were stored.

These things were of better quality in Lin Zhou's space than here, so he didn't touch them. He saw a nice suitcase next to the seasoning packets, which was made of rattan and could be kept. He picked it up, looked at it, and put it into his space.

Finally, he arrived at the main room in the middle. The door to the main room was locked. Lin Zhou took out a small hammer from his spatial storage, and with a "snap," the lock opened. He pushed open the door and went inside. The furnishings inside were neater than those in the side rooms. There was an old wooden table, two chairs, and a wooden bed.

Lin Zhou looked around the room and then went to the wooden table. He opened the drawer and found only some old papers inside. There was nothing else. The chair was empty, and there were only a few broken cardboard boxes under the bed.

"Is there nothing of value here?" Lin Zhou frowned and searched again, unwilling to give up. This time, he tapped on the bed board and the walls to see if there were any hidden compartments. Isn't that how it's written in those time-travel novels?

When he knocked on a corner under the bed, the sound was different from the other places—not a solid "thump-thump," but a hollow "hollow" sound.

Lin Zhou's eyes lit up, and he immediately squatted down, feeling around for the wooden planks under the bed. Finally, he found an inconspicuous protrusion. He pressed it down hard, and with a "creak," a piece of wood sprang up, revealing a dark hole.

He took out a flashlight from the space, turned it on, and shone the light into the cave. The beam illuminated what was inside—a large mahogany box! Lin Zhou reached out and pulled the box out with great effort.

Upon opening it, he found a layer of yellow silk inside, upon which neatly arranged gold bars of varying sizes, gleaming with a golden luster. "Gold bars of all sizes!" Lin Zhou was startled. He roughly counted them and found there were hundreds. Without daring to think further, he immediately stored the small box into his spatial storage.

Afterward, he carefully restored the wooden planks under the bed to their original state, put the drawers and chairs back in their original positions, and threw the account book he had taken from the room of the Zhang brothers, Zhang Jianguo and Zhang Jiefang, under the bed. This account book was shared by the two brothers and had their names written on it.

After carefully cleaning up any traces he had left behind, Lin Zhou checked the yard one last time to make sure there were no flaws before quietly climbing over the wall and heading towards the steel rolling mill. He knew there was something even more important to do: protect the cultural relics in the steel rolling mill's warehouse.

He walked slowly and leisurely, having been in this world for several days. At first, he didn't dare to meet anyone, fearing that he had been wanted by the authorities. But it turned out he was just being presumptuous; no one paid him any attention. They probably just reported him missing, and there was no need to look for him.

When Lin Zhou returned to the vicinity of the steel rolling mill gate, the workers had already left for the day. He circled around to the outer wall where the warehouse was located, quietly climbed onto the top of the wall, and seized the opportunity after the security patrol passed by. He quickly jumped down and ran towards the warehouse area. The area was large, with rows of warehouses neatly arranged. Based on his previous tracking, he quickly found the warehouse. The warehouse door was locked with an iron lock, and there was a small window next to it with iron bars on it.

Lin Zhou walked to the window and shook the iron bars; they were very sturdy. He took out a pair of pliers from his spatial storage, gently clamped them onto the bars, and slowly applied force. With a "snap," a section of the iron bar was cut. He bent the bar to one side, just enough for him to crawl through.

Upon entering the warehouse, it was pitch black because the main door was closed and the windows were too small. Lin Zhou took out a flashlight from his spatial storage and shone it into the warehouse, where the open space in the middle was piled with things.

The most eye-catching items were piles of books and calligraphy and paintings, some packed in wooden crates and others simply stacked on the ground. However, the most numerous items were the valuable furniture pieces, such as carved mahogany wardrobes, sandalwood tables, and pearwood chairs. Although some were covered in dust, their exquisite craftsmanship was still evident.

"These are precious cultural heritages that must not be destroyed!"

Lin Zhou didn't dare to waste any time and immediately began to act. He first carefully put the books and paintings piled on the ground into his space. He specially cleared out a spacious room in his space to arrange the books and roll up the paintings. Then, he selected several sets of well-preserved and valuable furniture. These pieces were made of exquisite materials and had superb craftsmanship. They were all rare treasures.

He only took what he considered important items from the warehouse; there was still a lot he couldn't take. The space in the house was still too small, so he could only sigh helplessly. Lin Zhou quietly slipped out of the window, put the cut iron bars back in place, and then, taking advantage of the absence of anyone, silently left the steel rolling mill.