Chapter 27

She secretly estimated Lu Jianye’s financial capability in her heart. Families like theirs should have no problem casually taking out three to five thousand, right?  

“Uncle, my friend’s batch of goods consists of twenty pieces in total. They’re all of the same quality. You can inspect them before paying.” Gu Qinghuan said with a smile.  

Lu Jianye frowned. Twenty pieces? That would mean a cost of four thousand yuan.  

This was not a small amount. He could afford it, but if these watches ended up unsold in his hands, it would be a complete loss.  

On the other hand, if he looked at it differently—twenty watches, each with a fifty-yuan profit, would mean a total profit of one thousand yuan.  

He knew that after years of hard work, his family had barely saved up five thousand yuan in total. The chance to make one thousand yuan in a single transaction was not something that came by every day.  

Gu Qinghuan noticed his hesitation but did not rush him. Deals like this were best made willingly by both parties.  

After pondering for a long while, Lu Jianye finally made up his mind. To hell with it—if he didn’t take the money, he’d be a fool.  

“Girl, when can the goods be delivered? I’ll go home and gather the money now.”  

“Uncle Lu, you’re decisive! I’ll go get the goods from my friend right away. At most, I’ll be back in an hour.”  

“Good!” Lu Jianye was also an impatient person. He immediately hurried home to get the money.  

Gu Qinghuan, on the other hand, returned to her space, spent two hundred yuan, and placed an order for twenty watches, packing them neatly in a cloth bag.  

There was still plenty of time. While in her space, she started thinking about how to openly bring out the things she had bought for Grandpa and the others.  

She had already given them a hundred yuan before, and now she was spending money to buy so many things again. They would surely become suspicious.  

In the future, she would inevitably have to keep giving them food and supplies.  

Sooner or later, she would have to get through this hurdle.  

Gu Qinghuan steeled her heart. She might as well lay everything out today after taking them home.  

It was better than having it hang over her head like a ticking time bomb, making her anxious all the time.  

Sooner or later, they would find out anyway.  

Thinking of this, she could already feel the storm brewing.  

She took out the cotton-padded clothes and other supplies she had prepared for Grandpa, Grandma, and her mother, planning to bring them home today.

As for the two large cotton blankets, she would look for another opportunity to deliver them later.

It was hard enough to carry everything at once, not to mention it would attract jealousy. Last time, her mother had been pushed, and the culprit hadn’t been found yet. It wasn’t good to be too flashy, especially given their sensitive identities.

Once everything was packed, it was almost time.

Gu Qinghuan returned to Lu Jianye’s office. He was already waiting inside and had even made tea for her.

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t in a hurry. She sat down and carefully took a sip of the tea.

“The tea is rich without being bitter, the fragrance smooth without being astringent, fresh and sweet, with a unique aftertaste.”

“Your taste is impeccable, my dear niece. Does this Liu’an melon seed tea suit your taste? I’ll give you two boxes when you leave.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they got down to business.

“Uncle Lu, the goods are here. You can inspect them.”

Gu Qinghuan placed the bag in front of Lu Jianye and then calmly continued sipping her tea.

Lu Jianye opened each box and carefully checked every single watch to confirm that each one was indeed a genuine product.

Once he was satisfied, he smiled sincerely. “Niece, there’s no problem. Here’s the four thousand yuan. You can count it.”

Gu Qinghuan stood up, took the money, and counted it carefully twice. After confirming that everything was in order, she put it into her bag.

“Uncle Lu, you handle things transparently.”

“Dear niece, once you step out of this door, you didn’t give me any watches, and I didn’t give you any money.” Lu Jianye whispered.

“I understand the rules. Don’t worry, Uncle Lu.” Gu Qinghuan would rather keep the matter between them a secret and never bring it up again.

“Alright, I’ll see you out. By the way, take these two boxes of Liu’an melon seed tea with you.”

Lu Jianye actually handed her the tea leaves.

Both of them were in it for the profit, and there was no real friendship between them, so Gu Qinghuan accepted it graciously.

As she passed by the counter on her way out, Gu Qinghuan noticed something that caught her interest.

Moutai liquor.

During this special period in history, Moutai liquor had changed its trademark from the Feitian brand to the Sunflower brand, using a milky white glass bottle with a red ribbon around the neck. The ribbon was embroidered with “China Guizhou Moutai Liquor.”

It was worth mentioning that the Sunflower design had two variations, with the rarer one called the “Big Leaf Sunflower.” As the name suggested, the sunflower’s leaves on the registered trademark were much larger.

Gu Qinghuan had once come across a video on Douyin, where during a domestic auction, a bottle of 1976 Big Leaf Sunflower Moutai had shocked the entire nation by being sold for a staggering five hundred thousand yuan.

This was because the Big Leaf Sunflower trademark had only been in use for a very short period, and the number of bottles still in existence was extremely limited.

Now, it was only 1975. She’d have to wait for the Big Leaf Sunflower, but other regular Moutai should not be missed.

A bottle of 1975 Moutai could easily be sold for five or six thousand yuan in the future, right?

Gu Qinghuan secretly rejoiced, having found another way to make a fortune.

The middlemen were making a huge profit on the price difference, and it felt great.

“Uncle Lu, by the way, the elders at home like Moutai. I’d like to buy some to show my respect to them. Is it possible to make an exception?” Buying Moutai required special permits.

Lu Jianye, being a manager, still had the authority to handle such requests.

“No problem. Four bottles should be enough. The limit for this month is four bottles, but if you need more, you can come back next month, and I’ll save them for you.”

Having just made a big profit off of Gu Qinghuan, Lu Jianye was naturally happy to help with such a small request.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t hesitate to agree.

“That’s great. Thank you, Uncle Lu.”

Lu Jianye asked the cashier to make the order, and then they went to pay.

Gu Qinghuan immediately rushed to pay, as the four bottles of Moutai, costing seven yuan each, would total twenty-eight yuan. She couldn’t bear to let him pay for it.

Lu Jianye saw that she wasn’t trying to take advantage of him and appreciated how capable she was. He couldn’t help but look at her with more respect.

The two of them said their goodbyes at the entrance of the grocery store.

It was getting late; it was already 4 PM.

Gu Qinghuan quickly hopped on her bike and headed toward the hospital.

Along the way, she found an opportunity to put the liquor and money into her space, then took out the items she had prepared for Grandpa and Grandma and hung them on the front of the bike.

Despite her efforts to stuff everything in, the bundle was still quite large—there were just too many things.

By the time she arrived at the hospital, Zhong Zijun and Chen Shuying had already completed the discharge formalities and were waiting for her with their things.

After bidding farewell to the roommates in the same hospital room, the three of them prepared to head back to the village.

“Mum, get on the bike. I’ll load the luggage, and I’ll first take you home and come back for Grandma afterward.”

It was an unavoidable situation. Without the luggage, she could try carrying two people, but with so much luggage and a patient, it was safer to be cautious.

The two of them didn’t expect Gu Qinghuan to have borrowed a bicycle.

“Huan Huan, when did you learn to ride a bike?” Zhong Zijun remembered when her daughter was in middle school, she had learned to ride a bike but fell and refused to touch one ever again.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t expect her to bring this up. She chuckled awkwardly, trying to cover it up: “Well, life forced me to. One has to look forward, right?”

Zhong Zijun instantly felt as if her heart had been tightly gripped. The things that her daughter had been forced to learn were not just limited to this.

An indescribable pain deeply tortured this mother.

She felt helpless for not being able to protect her daughter from the hardships of life, letting her face such a grim reality—that was the mother’s inadequacy.

Because of this brief exchange, Zhong Zijun stayed silent throughout the journey. She didn’t notice the large and small packages Gu Qinghuan had bought.

She tightly grasped her daughter’s clothes with her functional right hand, her vision blurry, just like her heart—damp and heavy.

Time passed so quickly. That little one, who once needed so much protection, was now capable of shielding her from the winds and rain.