Chapter 15

“No need, I’ll go by myself. You do your thing.”

Gu Nian wanted to wander around by herself and see if she could find the black market. She needed to work hard to make money.

Jiang Huaijing thought to himself, Oh no, my wife is really angry this time, and it’s the kind that can’t be coaxed.

—-

The next day at eight o’clock, Gu Nian carried her basket and went to the bus stop. Everyone on the bus greeted her.

Gu Nian greeted them back one by one. The trip to the city went smoothly, and after two hours of walking around, she successfully figured out the layout of the city and found the black market.

She quickly disguised herself and spent 20 cents to enter the black market, where she put ten pounds of white rice and ten pounds of regular rice into her basket.

But her goal this time wasn’t to sell grain—it was to catch the attention of the black market boss.

After waiting for an hour without anyone approaching her, Gu Nian decided to sell her goods and head home.

Just as she was about to leave, someone stopped her at the door and whispered in her ear.

“Auntie, our boss wants to see you.”

“Alright.”

Following the underling, she successfully met the black market boss, a middle-aged man who got straight to the point as soon as they met.

“Auntie, we’ll take all the goods you have.”

“I have plenty of goods. You name your price first.”

“One yuan and fifty cents for white flour, one yuan and thirty cents for rice. How about that?”

The black market boss was sincere, and the price was fair. Since she planned to do more business in the future, she decided to sell 10,000 pounds this time.

“Half an hour later, meet me on the small road outside the city.”

“Alright.”

The black market boss knew the deal was set. The transaction went smoothly, and Gu Nian walked away with 28,000 yuan in cash.

After reverting to her normal self, she realized it was already noon. She decided to go to the state-owned restaurant in the city for a meal.

She ordered braised pork ribs, dumplings, a bowl of braised pork, and five meat buns. Whatever she couldn’t finish, she would take home for Jiang Huaijing.

While eating, she overheard a conversation at the next table. She turned to look and saw Li Pandi sitting across from an older woman.

“Mom, why did you come suddenly? Why didn’t you tell me in advance? What if Chuanzhi finds out?”

“Oh, he won’t find out. Pandi, I really need your help this time. Your younger brother is getting married, and the bride’s family is asking for a 500-yuan dowry, plus the ‘three turns and one sound’ gift set.”

“You know your father and I can’t afford that much. Why don’t you cover it for your brother? He’s your family—you can’t just ignore us.”

Li Pandi had thought her mother wanted to discuss something else, but every time, it was about money. Without exception.

“Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to give the money, but I don’t have it. I already gave you all of Chuanzhi’s stipend. I really have nothing left.”

Hearing this, the old woman became unhappy. To her, Li Pandi was just a money tree—useless if she had no money.

“Pandi, are you really going to abandon your family just because you’re living a good life now? Don’t forget, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been able to take your sister’s place and marry Chuanzhi!”

“Pandi, I did it because I care about you. I knew you liked Chuanzhi, so I let you marry him. But if you don’t give me the money, I can’t guarantee your sister won’t come looking for you.”

Li Pandi knew that if the truth came out, she would have to leave Chuanzhi. She had no choice but to agree.

“Mom, I’ll think about the money.”

“That’s my girl. I knew I made the right choice picking you.”

The reason her mother chose Li Pandi to marry Liu Chuanzhi was simple—she was easy to manipulate.

“Mom, you must keep an eye on my sister. If she shows up, we’re all doomed.”

“Don’t worry, your father has already arranged a marriage for her in the far northwest. She’ll be gone soon, and no one will ever know you’re not the real Li Pandi.”

“Good.”

Li Pandi smiled in relief. Since her sister had tried to take her man, she had no choice but to act.

Listening to this, Gu Nian suddenly understood—Li Pandi hadn’t changed after marriage. The truth was, she wasn’t Li Pandi at all.

After finishing her meal, Gu Nian planned to visit the department store to buy clothes for Jiang Huaijing.

Before she even entered, she saw a crowd gathered at the entrance. Walking closer, she saw someone lying on the ground, pale-faced.

In her previous life, Gu Nian had learned first aid. Since no doctors were around, she couldn’t ignore it and stepped forward to help.

A while later, the person regained consciousness. Upon realizing that Gu Nian had saved him, he expressed his gratitude.

“Comrade, thank you for saving me. May I ask your name? Where do you live? I’d like to properly thank you.”

“No need for thanks. My name is Gu Nian. I have things to do, so I’ll be on my way.”

After buying what she needed, Gu Nian took the bus home. During dinner, she told Jiang Huaijing about what she had overheard.

“What? The person pretending to be Li Pandi is actually her younger sister, Li Zhaodi?”

“Yes, I heard it with my own ears.”

“This is clearly marriage fraud! Don’t worry, I’ll tell Liu Chuanzhi and report this to the authorities.”

“Be quick, or the real Li Pandi will be married off to the northwest soon.”

Meanwhile, Liu Chuanzhi returned home that day to find his three-year-old child covered in bruises. The child had been abused to the point of being unrecognizable.

Liu Chuanzhi couldn’t take it anymore. He had endured Li Pandi’s behavior towards him, but he couldn’t tolerate her abusing his daughter. He immediately filed for divorce.

Unaware of this, Li Pandi came home and said to Liu Chuanzhi:

“Give me 500 yuan. My brother is getting married.”

“Li Pandi, let’s get a divorce. I’ve already submitted the papers, and they’ll be approved soon. Go back to where you came from.”

Liu Chuanzhi was deeply hurt. He couldn’t understand how someone could change so much.

“What? Liu Chuanzhi, you want a divorce? I don’t agree! I won’t agree! I won’t take the money anymore!”

This time, it was different. Liu Chuanzhi had made up his mind. Li Pandi panicked.

“Chuanzhi, can we not divorce?”

“No. I’ll take the child and stay at my dorm for now. Take care of yourself.”

Liu Chuanzhi left. Li Pandi was at a loss. She couldn’t let this marriage fail.

She had even betrayed her own sister for it—she wouldn’t let anyone take it away from her.

—-

The next day, Jiang Huaijing found Liu Chuanzhi and told him everything Gu Nian had heard.

Liu Chuanzhi finally understood—this explained why Li Pandi had changed.

“Huaijing, I just want to know—where is the real Li Pandi? Can you help me?”