WBSGVS Chapter 68 V1

On the way back, Qingli counted the money she had earned.

It was all small change, just bits and pieces, adding up to a little over a dollar—this was the result of all her hard work that morning!

Qingli sighed deeply; making money was so difficult!

After walking for another two hours, her mood darkened further. It wasn’t just hard to make money; walking was also tough. She needed to buy a bicycle; otherwise, how would she manage?

But bicycles required tickets, and she didn’t have one.

Suddenly, Qingli slapped her forehead.

She almost forgot.

Although the economy was opening up, not everything was freely available. The black market still existed, and for things that were inconvenient to sell directly, like bicycles, there should be options available on the black market.

With that in mind, Qingli went back to her usual work.

The next morning, Qingli returned to the same spot as yesterday, this time with even more egg cakes. As soon as she arrived, a crowd gathered to buy them.

“Hey, little girl, your egg cakes are delicious—soft and sweet. The kids love them!”

“Yeah, I arrived too late yesterday and couldn’t buy any. My grandson cried for half an hour because of it. Luckily, our neighbor bought two and shared one with us.” Another woman chimed in with a laugh, “Little girl, I’ll take three.”

“Sure!” Qingli smiled and nodded, handing over the egg cakes.

Before long, she had sold nearly all the cakes, with just one left.

Two more customers approached to ask, but Qingli told them, “Sorry, I’ve sold out.”

The customer expressed regret, saying, “Will you be back tomorrow?”

Qingli replied, “If it doesn’t rain in the morning, I’ll come. If it rains, I won’t.”

“Alright then.” The customer noted this down and left, disappointed.

Once the customers departed, Qingli took the last egg cake and placed it back where she had set up yesterday. The little girl was still sitting across the street; this time she didn’t shy away.

As Qingli set down the egg cake, the girl timidly said, “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me; it didn’t sell.” Qingli smiled at her.

The girl smiled back, her face dirty but beautiful when she smiled, with cute dimples on either side of her lips. She was just a bit too thin.

Seeing the girl’s smile lifted Qingli’s spirits even more. Watching her eat the egg cake, Qingli decided to explore in another direction. While selling, she had casually asked where the black market was located, so now she would head directly there.

When she arrived, it was quite different from what she had imagined. Instead of the bustling activity she expected, there were just a few older men smoking pipes and playing chess, with people gathered around watching.

After standing there for a moment, an elderly man approached her and asked, “What brings you here, little girl?”

“I want to buy a bicycle; I came to see if there are any available,” Qingli replied.

The old man’s eyes lit up, but he still asked cautiously, “Really? Bicycles aren’t cheap. If you don’t have a ticket, they’ll cost even more.”

Qingli nodded vigorously. “I know, but I have to buy one.”

“Alright, follow me,” the old man said, nodding and bending his back as he led the way.

Qingli followed him down an alley, and after a turn, they arrived at a courtyard.

The old man asked what kind of bicycle she was looking for, then brought out a ladies’ bicycle without the crossbar, which looked quite new and was just the right size. “This is a flat price: one hundred and eighty.”

Qingli assessed the bicycle, counted out the money, and handed it over. “Here you go.”

The old man grinned, checked the money, and, once confirmed, handed over the bicycle. In just ten minutes, Qingli was pushing the bike out.

Having a bicycle made everything much more convenient.

Qingli didn’t rush home; she rode around the town, looking for new opportunities. She stumbled upon a shop selling red dates and raisins, and she immediately stopped to buy some.

On the third day, she introduced upgraded versions of her egg cakes—red date egg cakes and raisin egg cakes.

These were priced higher than the regular egg cakes, but because they used more ingredients, they sold well.

As usual, Qingli set aside one for the little girl sitting across the street, who smiled back shyly and said a small thank you.

They didn’t exchange many words, as if they weren’t familiar with each other.

But each time Qingli sold something, the little girl would sit across and watch her.

Qingli’s days were fulfilling and interesting, but the Xiang family wasn’t doing quite as well.

Now that they had retrieved the dowry money, Zhang Cui collected it, and the three children were still being cared for by them. The oldest daughter-in-law still complained about unresolved issues, but the mother-in-law had given her an extra couple of dollars as a benefit, which calmed her down a bit.

However, the three children were particularly unruly. Though it was common for kids to fight, especially between the two girls and the oldest boy from the Xiang family, it was frustrating since they were eating and drinking at their home without any consideration.

Every time, the oldest boy bullied the two girls until they cried, which upset the older family. They had been hinting, “Mom, do you think the second child knows that Du Qingli doesn’t want to be his wife?”

Zhang Cui’s eyelids twitched, and she didn’t dare to speak. She didn’t have the nerve to bring it up with the second child.

Du Qingli was too hot-tempered; while the kids were indeed in the wrong, it wasn’t serious enough to warrant breaking off completely. She even regretted adhering to tradition; had she known, she would have just gotten the marriage certificate directly.

Under the older family’s repeated pressure, Zhang Cui had no choice but to say, “I’ll call the production team to reach the second child in a bit.”

The older family urged her, “You should hurry; while you’re at it, ask the second child if he wants to find someone else. Otherwise, with these three kids growing up without a mother to teach them, they’re bound to go astray.”

She already had a rough idea of the situation from what Zhang Cui had told her and guessed that Zhang Cui had left out many details. Otherwise, there was no way a good girl would get so upset as to return to her parents’ home. It was fortunate that the kids were still young and could be corrected.

But Zhang Cui’s temperament was too lenient, especially toward her own family; it was unlikely she would be able to discipline them effectively, especially since the kids seemed to walk all over her.

Hearing this, Zhang Cui felt a pang of anxiety. Pressured, she didn’t dare to delay any longer and headed to the production team to borrow a phone.

Soon, Xiang Lifeng was notified to come and take the call.

When Zhang Cui heard her son’s voice, she hurriedly called out, “Second child!”

“Hey!” Xiang Lifeng replied, thinking Zhang Cui would continue speaking. After a moment of silence, however, he began to worry, “Mom? Is something wrong at home?”

“No!” Zhang Cui quickly reassured him, but then hesitated before saying, “Second child, your wife has returned to her parents’ home.”

“What do you mean?” Xiang Lifeng asked, confused.

Zhang Cui gritted her teeth and explained, “It’s my fault; I spoiled the kids. They probably listened to those gossipy women in the village, thinking stepmothers were bad. The other day, I treated them well, and they even scared her by catching dead mice, snakes, and crabs. Your wife got mad and punished them, saying she wouldn’t marry anymore…”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, broken only by Xiang Lifeng’s slightly heavy breathing.

Zhang Cui sighed, “The kids are still with me, but Daba always fights with Daya and Erya. The oldest daughter-in-law is done with it; should we look for another wife for you?”

Xiang Lifeng tightened his grip on the phone, feeling a tangle of emotions. He didn’t want to agree to Zhang Cui’s suggestion, his thoughts still stuck on Du Qingli not wanting to be his wife.

He had delayed marrying Du Qingli for three years because he had high standards.

To be fair, Xiang Lifeng himself was quite well-off for that period. In the 70s and 80s, marrying a worker or a soldier was all the rage. He was tall and well-built, which gave him an advantage over the many farmers around.

Still, he wasn’t willing to just marry anyone.

Besides, he knew a little about Du Qingli; she was a child raised in a pampered environment. Her father was a good man, so a daughter raised by him wouldn’t likely have many bad intentions.

She was the right choice.