WBSGVS Chapter 67 V2

At this point, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He turned to He Dan and shouted, “You better hurry up and say it! If anything happens to Pi Dan, I’ll kill you!”

If Du Qingli dared to smash the main hall, what wouldn’t she dare if pushed hard enough?!

He Dan’s heart tightened; she didn’t dare to gamble anymore. She resigned herself and said, “I’ll say it! I didn’t give you the betrothal money! I’ll go get it now, so let go of Pi Dan!”

Seeing his wife admit it, Du Qing hurriedly added, “Right, right, I’ll go get it now! Du Qingli, let him go! Pi Dan is your cousin; you can’t be this cold-blooded!”

Qingli blinked, put away the fruit knife, handed the candy she had in her pocket to Pi Dan, and pushed him forward. With a hint of mockery in her indifferent tone, she said, “My dad is still your elder brother.”

Pi Dan staggered a couple of steps, clutching the candy in his hand, sniffling and not daring to move.

He Dan didn’t rush to grab the money; instead, she quickly ran over to embrace her son, who had just been released and burst into tears from lingering fear.

Du Qing was a step behind, watching the mother and son, who had just been scared, gradually calm down from their fear. Then he heard Qingli’s words, staring blankly for several seconds, feeling heat rise to his face, unable to stop himself from looking at his niece.

She had already walked away confidently, her steps light, as if she was not bothered at all by the matter.

But Du Qing’s expression was very complicated.

He felt as if he were possessed by this money that didn’t even belong to him, forgetting everything. Clearly, Du Qingli was the most cherished child of his eldest brother, yet he was focused only on getting the money, believing she shouldn’t take his brother’s money simply because she was a girl.

But if she shouldn’t take it, then who should?

If his elder brother found out, he would surely be furious, regretting having cared for this younger brother all these years.

“Wah! Du Qingli, you wretch!” After a surge of tension, He Dan was once again filled with resentment towards Qingli and couldn’t help but curse under her breath.

Du Qing wiped his face and, hearing her words felt somewhat uncomfortable. Wasn’t He Dan’s behavior just like what he had done before?

Suddenly realizing this, he felt extremely embarrassed and said sternly, “Shut up! If you hadn’t insisted on taking her betrothal money, would it have come to this?”

He Dan’s face paled, and when she looked up to see Du Qing’s expression, she sneered, “Oh, now you remember she’s your niece? Still, blaming me? I’m just doing this for the family, right? If you weren’t useless and couldn’t earn money, would I have to do this?!”

Du Qing glared at her, but He Dan wasn’t afraid. The Du family hadn’t discovered the issue of hitting wives yet; she was enraged now and didn’t care about that anymore.

The two glared at each other for a long time, but it was still Du Qing, with a difficult expression, who ultimately retreated, leaving in anger.

He Dan let out a scornful laugh, wiped her tears, and looked at her son, whom she was holding tightly. She raised her hand and smacked his bottom, scolding, “From now on, don’t call her sister! She’s not your sister! If I see you tricked by her with candy again, I might as well kill you myself!”

“Wah—” Pi Dan immediately cried even harder.

He Dan felt no softness in her heart and struck him two more times, her blows heavy. Pi Dan’s bottom turned bright red, reflecting her deep-seated resentment.

Just a moment ago, Du Qing had mentioned her actions.

But wasn’t she doing all this because they were poor?

If her husband could earn money like his older brother, would she have to resort to such disgraceful acts?

With two sons, the oldest had a weak temperament. It would probably be difficult for him to find a good wife in the future, and he would need a lot of money for that. The two old ones weren’t easy to deal with either, and the money would likely end up in their coffins. The youngest was still small and needed to be raised for several more years. What could she do?!

The only thing she hadn’t expected was that Du Qingli would be such a lunatic.

She might not have intended to hurt her son, but with the knife moving back and forth against his neck, He Dan’s heart trembled, and she didn’t dare to gamble on it.

Thinking of this, she also began to cry.

The Xiang family silently observed, their expressions complex as they watched the scene unfold. Just moments ago, they thought that Du Qingli looked so terrifying that if pushed any further, she might really resort to violence. They didn’t dare to intervene at all.

Now, seeing the situation clarified, they felt some sympathy for her.

A girl without parents, with her aunt secretly taking her betrothal money. If she hadn’t been a bit tough, with no one to vouch for her, she would have truly been like a mute eating bitter gall.

The sounds of crying from next door continued, and Qingli could hear everything clearly from a distance.

There were even times when He Dan scolded with a crying tone, and after a while, it seemed Du Chuan and Zhang Shuangshuang had also returned, their voices adding to the commotion.

Then, Zhang Shuangshuang started cursing at Qingli from the doorway. Though she didn’t name anyone specifically, the insinuations were clear enough for everyone to understand.

They didn’t dare to approach, as Du Qingli’s resistance had already proven that she was not a child willing to stand there and take a beating.

If this turned into a real commotion, everyone in the village would come to watch the spectacle, likely curious about why their second daughter-in-law was so greedy over her niece’s betrothal money. So they only dared to hurl insults from a distance.

Such cursing didn’t bother Qingli at all.

She didn’t like asking others for help and preferred exchanging benefits. The reputation held little meaning for her.

The original owner’s wishes had mostly been fulfilled; the money that belonged to her was about to be returned, and she didn’t need the kind of grandparents or uncles and aunts who treated her this way.

In the future, she would live a prosperous life and let them watch from a distance.

The first step in living well was money, and fortunately, now that the economy was opening up, she could finally make her moves.

The next morning, Qingli woke up early, lit the kerosene lamp, and began making egg cakes. She lined a vegetable basket with a high-temperature sterilized cloth, cut the egg cakes into small pieces, and arranged them neatly before heading to town.

It was her first time making them, just one basket full, with each piece about the size of a palm, priced at three cents each.

This was the price she set.

Egg cakes were making their debut in the town, and Qingli specifically prepared one piece cut into small bites for tasting. She didn’t look for a specific spot; she could just set up anywhere with a little space to start selling.

As soon as she opened the cloth, a sweet aroma wafted out, attracting a child passing by.

The middle-aged woman pulled along by the child was also compelled to come over, looking surprised at what was in her basket. “What is this? How does it work?”

“This is an egg cake, five cents a piece. You can try a sample first,” Qingli replied with a smile, giving a small piece to the eagerly watching child and offering another piece to the woman.

The child took the piece and devoured it in one bite, eyes sparkling. He immediately tugged at the middle-aged woman, excitedly saying, “Grandma, this is so delicious! I want more!”

Seeing her grandson enjoy it so much, the middle-aged woman’s expression softened further. As she tasted the egg cake, she asked, “Can you make it a bit cheaper?”

Qingli politely declined with a smile. “This is made with eggs, sugar, and flour, so the cost is not small. If I make it any cheaper, I’ll be at a loss.”

The middle-aged woman was used to cooking and could taste the quality, so after a brief hesitation, knowing it was worth the price, she decisively pulled out her money. “Alright, I’ll take two pieces.”

Qingli handed over two pieces, and at that moment, there were no plastic bags; they either used oil paper or just carried their baskets. The middle-aged woman simply took the cakes in her hands.

The transaction wrapped up quickly, and her first sale was a success.

As she began selling, the second and third customers soon arrived. The sample egg cakes were quickly finished, and the sales were going well.

Qingli was about to pack up when a woman approached, asking, “Didn’t you say there were samples? Why are they all gone?”

“Sorry, there’s only one piece left that can’t be sampled. Would you like to buy it?” Qingli asked.

The woman hesitated. She was reluctant to spend five cents without having tasted it, so she shook her head and turned to leave.

Qingli didn’t push; she could enjoy the last piece on her way home. She brushed off the dust from her clothes, stretched, and was just about to leave when she noticed a small boy at the edge of the road, who had just bought the second-to-last egg cake, fumbling with it. He dropped a small piece on the ground.

The adult accompanying him quickly said, “If it drops, just forget it; it’s all dirty.”

That little piece of cake fell onto the muddy ground and rolled a bit, making it completely inedible.

As soon as the two walked away, a dirty, very thin little girl with large, somewhat scary eyes rushed over and quickly stuffed the small piece of egg cake into her mouth, her round eyes brightening.

This made Qingli sense a hint of happiness.

Was she a homeless child?

In this era, begging and being homeless was much harder than in later generations. Most families were too busy to care for themselves; how could they afford to help others?

Qingli glanced at the last egg cake in her basket and walked over to the girl.

But as she got closer, the girl seemed frightened and quickly backed away, looking at her warily, like a small animal that had been hurt, not daring to approach humans easily.

Qingli smiled, not planning to close the distance. She placed the egg cake on a stone. “This is for you.”

After saying that, she turned to leave.

Behind her, she heard some movement and looked back to see the girl had taken the egg cake and was gulping it down. However, because it was a bit dry, she started to choke and rolled her eyes back. After a moment, she slowed down and continued eating.

“Why did you give her something?” said a middle-aged woman selling clothes. She lowered her voice and warned, “Don’t be fooled by her appearance; that little girl is known in the town as a jinx. Not only does she have no family, but the people who take her in always die within six months. It’s happened more than once; now no one dares to get close.”

Qingli smiled and turned back, her voice soft. “If you keep talking like that, I’ll report you for spreading superstitions.”

The woman’s expression changed, and she shot her a glare before quickly turning away to continue calling out for her clothes.