WBSGVS Chapter 70

Du Family Village

Early in the morning, the villagers heading to work switched to a new location, this time closer to the roadside.

He Dan bent over to plant rice seedlings, straightening up slowly when she got too tired.

It was only around eight in the morning, but the sun had already risen. To avoid the heat, they had started working around six, and by this time, they were already drenched in sweat, their backs aching.

Suddenly, a figure riding a bicycle caught the attention of a few people who had risen to rest. After watching for a moment, a middle-aged woman suddenly yelled across the field, “He Dan, is that your niece over there?”

He Dan instinctively turned her head and saw a beautiful bicycle glimmering in the sunlight, with a girl on it whose long hair flowed in the wind, strikingly beautiful.

How had she never noticed before how good-looking Du Qingli was?

Could it be that with money, she had transformed into one of those city kids?

He Dan’s face, which had still held some semblance of a smile, suddenly fell, a sharp pang of jealousy hitting her. She replied curtly, “What’s it to me?”

“Well, I was just asking. Is that bicycle your niece’s or someone else’s?” The middle-aged woman smiled, “My daughter wants to buy something in town, but it’s too far, and the other bikes are too big for her since they’re ridden by men. If it’s your niece’s, could we borrow it for a bit?”

He Dan scowled, “I don’t know, go ask her yourself!”

She muttered under her breath, certain that the bicycle was most likely hers—she must have bought it for six hundred bucks!

She was something!

While He Dan felt a wave of bitterness and envy, she also didn’t want to associate with Du Qingli after what had happened before. Since Du Qingli had money and was still quibbling over trivial amounts, if she ran out of money and starved later, it was no concern of hers.

The middle-aged woman, rebuffed, pouted in disappointment, just as she was about to get back to work.

Suddenly, Aunt Xiu Hong from two fields away chimed in, “Hey, she bought that bike a few days ago! She rides it back here every day with bags and bundles.”

“Wow! She bought it herself?!”

“Must be rich!”

“Yeah, I went to see it before; a bicycle costs over one hundred twenty bucks! And that’s with a receipt—without one…”

Everyone expressed their envy, though the figure on the bicycle had long disappeared down the road, with some still stretching their necks as if they could still see her.

As they watched, someone sourly remarked, “Sure enough, one person eats well and the whole family isn’t hungry—how nice to waste money on her dad’s pension.”

He Dan wanted to nod in agreement but held back, knowing better than to speak up in front of others.

But Aunt Xiu Hong had no such reservations and retorted, “Come on, why do you care how she spends her money? It’s not your money!”

The person who had been criticized smiled awkwardly.

The lively discussion faded back into silence.

He Dan’s expression darkened even more, feeling that Aunt Xiu Hong’s comment was directed at her, yet she said nothing.

They waited until eight-thirty when everyone returned home for breakfast, intending to come back to work after eating.

This way, they could rest for a couple of extra hours during the hottest part of the day.

He Dan returned home, and quickly prepared a meal, and the men, who had come back a bit later, joined her. While eating, she couldn’t help but say softly, “That girl bought a bicycle and goes to town every day; I wonder what she’s up to?”

Du Chuan’s expression changed: “A bicycle? What the heck! She spent money on a bicycle!”

Zhang Shuangshuang added, “That girl keeps running to town? What is she doing there? Does she know someone there? Or is she looking for a partner?”

He Dan held her breath, feeling a bit relieved to hear them talk, and frowned, “How would I know? That girl is so self-absorbed.”

Du Chuan looked unhappy and was about to reprimand her when Du Qing chimed in, “Forget it, this has nothing to do with us. We’ve given her money; do we have to control how she spends it?”

Upon hearing this, He Dan pinched her husband.

But Du Qing merely shook her off and walked to the side. He Dan was frustrated, unable to do anything. Du Chuan’s face grew tense, and Zhang Shuangshuang, sharing the same thought, said unhappily, “But she can’t just waste money! If it were me, I’d rather keep the money here and give her some each month. When she gets married, she shouldn’t take it all with her, lest she gets swindled by her in-laws.”

“Right!” Du Chuan nodded in agreement.

With support, Zhang Shuangshuang became even more animated, but considering what had happened before, she was somewhat afraid of this granddaughter and didn’t dare to confront her directly, only muttering under her breath, “The eldest raised her like this, spoiled and unable to endure hardship. Even if she goes to town, she doesn’t need to buy a bicycle—it costs one or two hundred bucks. Sigh…”

“If you hadn’t spoiled her so much in the beginning, look at whose daughter is as headstrong as she is! She even smashed a bowl!” Du Chuan said angrily.

He had rarely interacted with this granddaughter before, as his wife had been more involved. He hadn’t expected her to be so difficult to deal with, and now that she had taken away a large portion of their money, he felt very frustrated.

What use could a girl like that possibly be in the future?

Zhang Shuangshuang pressed her lips together, immediately stopping her complaints. She had previously coddled the girl hoping it would lead to her son marrying a good wife and treating them better. Was that so wrong?

Early in the morning, the Du family finished eating and went off to work. No one did anything about Du Qingli buying a bicycle.

By the afternoon, however, Du Chuan’s niece, who had married into the city, came back for a visit. She didn’t stay long, quickly riding her bicycle back and grabbing a bunch of vegetables before hurrying off. But what she said left Du Chuan and the others fuming.

Even Du Qing felt angry but, due to past events, was too embarrassed to say anything and kept his opinions to himself.

Du Chuan couldn’t sit still; once the girl left, he immediately took his wife next door.

Qingli was busy feeding the chickens.

She had built a sizable fenced area where the little chicks were pecking at vegetable leaves and the powdered eggshells Qingli had ground up, happily scratching around.

Hearing someone knock on the door, she tossed the vegetable leaves into the chicken coop, watched them rush over, smiled, and ran to open the door.

When the gate opened, Du Chuan and Zhang Shuangshuang appeared. Qingli’s smile vanished, and she greeted them coolly, “Grandpa, Grandma, what brings you here?”

Du Chuan maintained a stern look as he glanced at the bicycle parked in the yard, his face growing even darker. “I heard you bought a bicycle. What do you plan to do with it?”

Qingli replied, “I bought it to ride.”

Du Chuan was taken aback. Seeing his granddaughter’s lack of fear and her directness, he dropped any pretense and said in a low voice, “Your uncle saw you selling things in town this morning. Are you trying to be a street vendor like those riffraff?”

Qingli answered confidently, “Yes.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Du Chuan shouted angrily. “You have money, so why do you want to be a street vendor? Don’t you know how embarrassing that is? I’ve been sensing people pointing fingers at our family lately. It’s probably because they found out you’re doing something like this!”

Zhang Shuangshuang spoke in a much softer tone: “A Li, you’re still young and don’t understand. Street vendors are usually people without proper jobs. No one respects them; why do you need to go down that path?”

Qing Li watched them with a cold gaze as they put on their performance. Once they finished, she stretched out her hand and smiled, saying, “Okay, if you don’t want me to go, then Grandpa, just give me a dollar every day.”

Du Chuan was even angrier at this: “You’ve already taken six hundred dollars; now you want money too!”

Qing Li feigned surprise, “If you won’t let me sell things, how can I make a dollar a day? Will you cover that income for me?”

“You—” Du Chuan was about to scold her, but then it suddenly clicked in his mind, and he looked bewildered: “You earn a dollar a day?”

Zhang Shuangshuang shuddered as well, her eyes wide with disbelief: “A dollar? Don’t make such big claims!”

Qing Li sneered, “Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean others can’t. The government is even encouraging individual businesses now. The money I make isn’t ill-gotten; I earn it through hard work. If you don’t want me to be an individual business owner, that’s fine—just give me money, and I won’t go. But don’t say all that nonsense; I don’t care.”

Du Chuan’s expression changed. He wanted to say that being an individual business owner was disgraceful, but seeing his granddaughter extending her hand for money, he lost his confidence.

A dollar a day was a lot!

They couldn’t earn that much even after a lifetime of work!

Zhang Shuangshuang didn’t dare to speak either. The only way she made money was through farming, and at the end of each year, the collective would settle up, providing food and money—usually only a few dozen dollars for a family of four, maybe a little over a hundred for wealthier families.

For a little girl to earn that much was beyond her imagination.

Both of them stared at Qing Li, wanting to say something but unable to. Qing Li fearlessly glared back, purposely taunting them: “To be honest, I don’t want to do this; it’s too tiring. Grandpa and Grandma, will you give me the money or not?” When they didn’t respond and looked unhappy, she laughed and said, “It wouldn’t be that you can’t afford it, right? After all, you’re the ones who tried to skim off my dad’s money.”

“Hmph!” Du Chuan forced himself to maintain his composure and snorted coldly, “Just think what you want; you’ll be the one embarrassed in the end.”

After saying that, he turned and left in a hurry.

Zhang Shuangshuang quickly followed behind him.

When they got back home, He Dan immediately came out of the kitchen and asked, “Dad, what happened?”

Du Chuan shot her a glance, his face flushed with anger, but he didn’t say anything and went straight to his room.

He Dan was left looking bewildered, glancing at her mother-in-law.

Zhang Shuangshuang gave an awkward smile and whispered, “A Li is embarrassed to be an individual business owner, but she can earn a dollar a day! We can’t even compare to a little girl…”

He Dan inhaled sharply, her face turning hot from shock as she whispered, “Is that true?”

Zhang Shuangshuang hesitated and shook her head: “I don’t know; that’s just what she said.”

Whether it was true or not, no one could tell. But if Du Qing Li was saying it, even if she was exaggerating and only made fifty cents a day, that would still be far better than farming!

She could leave in the morning and come back home, spending the rest of the time playing!

He Dan’s heart, which had been racing with excitement, cooled slightly but continued to pound in her chest, restless.

What did she lack? It was just money, right?!

Her husband didn’t have any, which led her to make that disgraceful move for her niece’s bride price. But if Du Qing Li could earn a dollar a day as she claimed, how wonderful would that be?

She looked at Du Qing, eager to discuss the idea of starting an individual business. She wasn’t afraid of embarrassment; she just wanted to make money!

But before she could speak up, her husband, who had been married to her for many years, read her thoughts at a glance and said in a deep voice, “I’m not doing that. Being an individual business owner is so shameful. Besides, do you even know how to make money? I’m not doing it!”

He Dan stomped her feet in frustration, watching as her husband quickly turned away. Unable to hold back, she muttered, “Useless!”

However, Du Qing’s retreat only strengthened He Dan’s desire to start an individual business.

If a little girl could earn that much, she, having lived ten more years than Du Qing Li, could surely earn even more!

After watching Du Chuan and Zhang Shuangshuang leave in a fluster, Qing Li smiled.

Based on what the original owner and Qing Li knew about the Du family, Du Chuan was too concerned about appearances to want to become an individual business owner; at least not right now.

Du Qing probably wouldn’t want to either, but He Dan would surely hate to miss out on such a huge profit.

However, from the original owner’s memories, that aunt wasn’t a person with a vision—she was small-minded, unskilled, and rather naive. Even though the ’80s were ripe with opportunities, not everyone who ventured into business would succeed; many suffered losses.

Next, she just had to wait for the Du family to mess up.

After all, bullying others would come with a cost, wouldn’t it?

Qing Li lazily stretched, and a little puppy eagerly ran over to her and tugged at her pant leg with its mouth.

Feeling in a good mood, Qing Li squatted down to play with it for a bit before pushing it away, washing her hands, and closing the kitchen door to get to work.

After such a long time, the egg cake should have about ready, and it was time to switch to a new product.

With the Dragon Boat Festival coming up in a month, mung bean cake would be very appropriate.

Soft and sweet mung bean cakes were sold in boxes, and the price could be a bit higher.

Sure enough, when the mung bean cakes appeared the next day, they were a big hit.

Qing Li didn’t linger in one place when buying things. Most of the time, she stayed at the original spot, and after completing part of her business there, she rode her bike to busier areas to stay for a while.

Usually, she could sell out in three streets.

Since she started selling mung bean cakes, she could sell out in just two streets, and business was thriving again.

However, each time, Qing Li left behind an egg cake or a few pieces of mung bean cake to give to that girl with the small pear-shaped dimple if she ran into her. If not, she would just eat it herself.

Most of the time, she did run into her.

Just like now, when Qing Li was on her way back after selling her goods.

But…

She looked at the girl cornered by two kids. The two kids had their backs to Qing Li, and the taller girl shouted fiercely, “You still say you didn’t steal my brother’s food? The egg cakes are so expensive; how can you afford them?”

“Look, you still have egg cake in your mouth!” the other kid yelled. “Don’t think we can’t see you!”

The girl took a step forward, poking the stick against the little girl, threatening, “You better pay me back!”

The girl being cornered only curled up, covering her head with her hands and not daring to look up.

Qing Li’s expression changed slightly as she quickly dismounted her bike, parked it, and rushed over, grabbing the two kids by their collars and throwing them aside, letting them fall to the ground. She coldly scolded, “What are you doing?!”

After throwing them, Qing Li realized she recognized the two kids—Dabao and Erbao from the Xiang family.

It had been almost half a month since she last saw them, and the two children looked much cleaner than before. Their clothes were tidy, and their faces seemed a bit paler.

Yet their eyes hadn’t changed at all, still filled with a fierce, sharp defiance, much more intimidating than ordinary kids.

Dabao and Erbao were stunned for a moment by the fall. Just as they were getting up, they heard her scold them, and when they focused on her, their eyes blazed with anger, recognizing her: “It’s you!”

Erbao was the first to get up and ran off to the side, shouting, “Dad, that old stepmother is back to hit us!”