WBSGVS Chapter 77 V2

Song Jin did as she said, then asked, “Now what?”

Little Yu grinned, “Now you won’t hear a thing!”

Song Jin: “…”

Qingli chuckled, calling them over to help with chores. She reassured the baffled Song Jin, “Don’t worry about them. We won’t be staying here forever, anyway. They’re just passing figures in our lives.”

Song Jin admired her composure and nodded obediently. “Alright.”

With a husband, Qingli’s one-person workshop turned into a two-person operation, with Little Yu helping out by gathering firewood, making everything much more efficient. As time passed, Qingli’s earnings grew, and life became easier.

Song Jin turned out to be an excellent choice. He was diligent, always finding things to do without being overly eager about it. Much like Little Yu, he was a bit of a “penny-pincher,” opting to spend as little as possible.

But his thriftiness was mostly for himself. He didn’t even like to carry money and would occasionally borrow from Qingli or even Little Yu if Qingli wasn’t around.

With his help, Qingli was free to focus solely on making money.

The savings grew daily, and soon, the hot summer vacation had passed—Little Yu was about to start elementary school.

At six years old, she was mature beyond her years, quick to understand things, and enthusiastic about learning.

She was more excited than scared to start school, eager to see how her academic performance would turn out.

Qingli and Song Jin took Little Yu to register early, and on September 1st, they walked her to school.

The school was located in a secluded area between a few villages, with no houses for hundreds of meters around.

Walking took half an hour, and though cycling would’ve been quicker, it wasn’t convenient for a family of three.

Just as they stepped out the door, Auntie Xiu Hong from next door called out, “Oh, is the family heading out for a day trip?”

Over the past few months, Little Yu had grown familiar with Auntie Xiu Hong. Excited about her first day of school, she answered eagerly, “I’m going to school!”

“Oh, I almost forgot—today is the first day of school.” Auntie Xiu Hong smiled and admired her backpack, “Who got you that lovely bag?”

“My sister did!” Little Yu replied brightly, holding Qingli’s hand and bouncing along, too excited to walk calmly.

“Then you’d better study hard and repay your sister by going to college someday,” Auntie Xiu Hong advised.

“I will!” Little Yu nodded firmly.

“Alright, off you go.” Song Jin said with a smile.

“Go on, go on.” Auntie Xiu Hong waved them off.

The three continued walking, and along the way, they met many villagers heading out to work early that morning.

Most people they encountered had something to say to them.

From Little Yu’s pretty backpack to her new dress, to her white socks and leather shoes, everything she had was something no other child in the village owned.

Even city kids didn’t have items like these!

After they left the village, the admiring comments turned into murmurs of surprise and envy: “This girl hit the jackpot, getting adopted by Qingli, that thoughtless girl, and being raised with more pampering than a city child.”

“Qingli’s husband is clueless too, letting her waste money spoiling a child with no blood relation to them—he must be a fool.”

“Oh, come on, you know how headstrong Qingli is. Do you think she listens to him?”

“I heard Song Jin is a straightforward guy. They’re well-matched. Anyway, since Qingli makes money, the more she spends on that girl, the more she’ll spend on her kids in the future.”

“That’s true; she sure knows how to make money.”

No one meant too much harm with their comments. There was some jealousy, but everyone knew that Qingli didn’t care about the gossip or even her grandparents’ scolding. She wouldn’t pay attention to these villagers either.

So people stopped dwelling on it. At first, they’d remark that Du Qingli didn’t know how to manage money, but over time, they realized she seemed to have an endless supply.

With that topic concluded, someone brought up another: “Did you hear that Xiang Lifeng is sending both of his older kids to school too?”

“Yep, even his daughter! People are willing to invest in their kids these days.”

“Yesterday, I saw Xiang Lifeng’s eldest daughter showing off a dress from the store. She said she’d wear it for the first day of school. When did daughters become so valuable?”

“Oh, please. She has a stepmother now; of course, she’s going to make it look good. But once she has her kids, it’ll be different.”

Meanwhile, the focus of their conversation, Da Bao, was indeed proudly wearing a beautiful pink princess dress, with a backpack and neat braids her stepmother had carefully styled. She looked like a little princess as she and her brother were taken to school by her stepmother.

She basked in the admiring glances from people all along the way.

That dress was expensive—it cost over thirty yuan!

Da Bao knew it was pricey, and at the time, she’d demanded it, partly to test her stepmother. She hadn’t worn it immediately after getting it, choosing instead to save it.

She’d known she’d be starting school at the end of August, and she wanted to make her entrance in that dress.

She figured she’d be the best-looking kid at school.

Song Dongyun, her stepmother, looked a bit tired. She’d given in to impulse and bought the dress, but now Er Bao and San Bao wanted things too. Even if they weren’t as expensive as Da Bao’s dress, they still cost money.

The family’s savings had been low, to begin with, and this left them even tighter. On top of that, the last few months had exhausted her, constantly negotiating with the three kids and dealing with the chaos. In a short time, she’d gone from a slightly naive young girl to a full-fledged housewife.

Yet, she still had a soft spot for the kids. Despite Da Bao’s daily efforts to rile her up, she couldn’t help but smile when she saw her stepdaughter, chin held high like a peacock as people admired her. She said, “Alright, don’t hold your head so high. Walk properly, or you’ll trip and tear that dress.”

As soon as she said it, Da Bao stumbled over a rock.

Song Dongyun hurried forward to steady her, but Da Bao shook her hand off angrily, “Let go! Why do you care? If you weren’t making us walk, I’d be riding with Dad right now! You’re so annoying!”

Song Dongyun’s face grew solemn, and she pressed her lips together without saying anything.

Still fuming, Da Bao glared at her and then grabbed Er Bao’s hand. “Let’s go faster and leave her behind.”

“Alright!” Er Bao, usually calm but still a child, nodded eagerly.

The two of them ran ahead, leaving Song Dongyun feeling a pang of hurt. She sped up to keep up with them.

She was the one taking them to school today because Xiang Lifeng had hurt his back hunting a few days ago, and she didn’t want him to ride the bike in pain.

She had already explained everything to Da Bao and Er Bao the day before, but they seemed to have ignored her.

Despite wanting to leave her behind, the kids soon tired and the three of them arrived at the school together.

Da Bao strode in confidently. The only other kids around were first graders, aged six to eight, along with some parents. She’d expected everyone to be dazzled by her outfit.

But the first person she saw was a pretty, fair-skinned girl with dimples. She wore a dress even lovelier than Da Bao’s princess dress, paired with white socks and black leather shoes, looking both bright and adorable.

Standing beside her, Da Bao couldn’t help but notice how pale the girl was in contrast to her tanned skin.

Although she thought her dress was beautiful and expensive, she suddenly felt a pang of insecurity as she looked at the girl, withdrawing her smile and staring intently.

The girl seemed familiar.

Then, a familiar figure appeared, reaching for the girl’s hand.

Da Bao’s eyes widened, and she whispered to Er Bao, “It’s that old stepmother!”

Er Bao nodded, “Yep!”

Da Bao pursed her lips as Song Dongyun brought her over to stand in line, right next to the other group. She got an even better look.

She remembered that girl. Somehow, her young mind quickly made the connection; this was the same girl who had indirectly caused her to fall because of that nasty stepmother!

She was also the one she’d seen at the store following her.

She never expected that the girl would actually be with this woman—and dressed so nicely, looking nothing like the dirty little street kid she’d seen before.

Da Bao felt a wave of bitterness, the same jealousy she’d felt when she saw her dad with Song Dongyun. She couldn’t believe that the mean stepmother who treated her so poorly was treating this girl so well, even buying her a nice backpack.

Their backpacks were handmade by Song Dongyun and looked terrible!