Chapter 9 Counting Money

He Wenqing was handsome and refined in his demeanor—completely different from the men Song Baozhu had seen in the countryside. In her past life, when he had become a cultured, middle-aged military officer, she had already fallen hopelessly in love with him. Now, with his youthful good looks, she was even more head-over-heels.

That was one of the key reasons she had gone to such lengths to drive Song Youyou away.

Although the childhood engagement had now been reassigned to her, and He Wenqing was officially her future husband, she still feared that he might be thinking about Song Youyou.

“You’ve all finished eating?” He Wenqing stepped slightly to the side and looked into the house, his eyes searching for someone.

Song Baozhu, starry-eyed, didn’t notice anything amiss. She coyly leaned closer to him. “Wenqing-ge~ My dad said my cooking is awful… I’m so hurt…” She pouted, hoping he would comfort her.

But after waiting quite a while, she didn’t get a response.

“Wenqing-ge?” Song Baozhu tugged at his shirt, shaking him hard. The neatly tucked white shirt came loose, finally snapping him out of his daze.

Seeing her leaning in, he instinctively stepped back and gently pushed her away with his hands.

Song Baozhu, with a deliberately soft voice, asked again, “Wenqing-ge~ You don’t think I’m bad too, do you~?”

He Wenqing was silent for a moment.

Did he dislike her? Of course he did.

The childhood engagement partner had gone from a delicate, stunningly beautiful girl to a rough country girl like Song Baozhu. How could he not mind?

But thinking of his sick father and frail mother, he had no choice.

His father had once been an official with more promise than Song Youyou’s father. But after falling ill and being forced into early retirement, the family’s prospects had crumbled. Connections vanished, and the He family declined day by day.

As the only son, it was up to him to carry the family forward.

In recent years, Song Youyou’s father had steadily risen in rank and was now a city-level official—the most powerful person He Wenqing could realistically form a connection with.

So this engagement to the Song family could not be broken.

That’s what his bedridden father had repeatedly warned him about.

“Of course not,” He Wenqing frowned slightly, brushing off her question. “Where’s your sister?”

He had been looking toward the house the whole time, trying to catch sight of that familiar figure.

Song Baozhu’s shy expression froze, quickly replaced by anger. “You’re still thinking about her?”

“No,” He Wenqing lowered his gaze, hiding his true emotions. “Didn’t she fall into the water today? You kept dragging me away and wouldn’t let me help her. I’ve felt guilty ever since, so I just wanted to ask how she’s doing. After all… she’s still family.”

“Hmph! Not anymore! The Song family already cut ties with her—she’s been kicked out!”

“What? Kicked out? Then… where would she go?!”

The moment he heard that, He Wenqing lost his composure.

Seeing his reaction, Song Baozhu was nearly fuming with rage. Her hatred toward Song Youyou only deepened.

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Unaware that she had become the center of others’ conversations, Song Youyou was… counting money.

After dinner, once Gu Xiao had finally left (reluctantly), she had a moment to herself and took out everything he had given her.

There was one property deed and two bankbooks.

The deed was for the apartment she currently lived in.

One bankbook contained his military allowance from the past few years, totaling 850 yuan.

The other was from his childhood, filled with leftover pocket money—adding up to around 2,000 yuan.

On top of that, there was roughly another 100 yuan in loose cash. Altogether, she had nearly 3,000 yuan.

“…”

Song Youyou suddenly realized she’d just latched onto a very thick golden thigh.

Even if she didn’t work and just lived like a salted fish beside him, she’d still have enough to live comfortably.

She chuckled at her own good luck, then carefully locked away the property deed and bankbooks in a drawer, leaving out only some meat tickets, fabric coupons, and cash for daily use.

Since she had already decided to live with Gu Xiao, she wouldn’t fuss over using his money.

Still, she wanted to earn her own money. Ideally, they’d split household expenses evenly in the future.

After all, their relationship wasn’t based on love. Gu Xiao was just attracted to her, and who knew how far things would go?

So she wanted to keep things financially clear. If they ever broke up, there’d be fewer entanglements—better for both of them.

With that thought, her desire to make money suddenly became urgent.

Money gave people confidence. It was the greatest source of security and backup.

But this was still the special era of the Cultural Revolution, and private commerce wasn’t allowed.

In the countryside, people earned money by farming; in the city, it came from official jobs.

Now that she was no longer part of the Song family, had no connections or funds, getting a legitimate job would be incredibly difficult.

That left her with only one viable path to earn money.