Chapter 8: Spending Money to Buy an Electric Fan

The original owner really hadn’t ended up with anything good—no wonder that when the whole family later thrived thanks to Bai Yuying’s success, their good days had nothing to do with her.

It would’ve been one thing if she had schemed against others in the beginning, but since she had stayed and even given birth to a pair of Dragon and Phoenix Twins, couldn’t she have just lived her life properly? Why did she have to stir up trouble all the time?

She just had to turn two adorable children into such a mess.

Forget it!

Maybe even the heavens couldn’t stand to watch anymore, which was why she had been brought into this book.

Of course, it might also have had something to do with the fact that this female supporting villain happened to have the same name as her, and that stirred some faint sense of injustice in her heart.

So the heavens threw her into this place.

Whatever the reason, becoming a mom without the pain and getting two adorable kids out of it—this was basically what she had always dreamed of.

She’d just treat it like playing an NPC in another place.

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Watching Xiao Bao stay by Xi Youyou’s side while Da Bao sulked outside, he knew that the little girl hadn’t heard a word just now.

That promise earlier was obviously fake.

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Xi Youyou quickly finished washing the dishes, took Xiao Bao by the hand and came out of the kitchen. She fetched some cold water, mixed it with a bit of warm water, and finally helped the two children wash their faces.

Da Bao stood to the side awkwardly, while Xiao Bao leaned her face forward.

After helping Xiao Bao wash up, Xi Youyou called out to Da Bao. Though he was a bit reluctant, he still accepted Xi Youyou’s gesture and let her wash his face and hands.

Afterward, just like last night, she dabbed on the fragrant cream again, and then played with them.

The two little ones were still treated well at home. They loved playing with all sorts of toys, and Jiang Fenglin had made them a bunch.

There were toys suitable for all ages, and he even used wood to craft the kind of building blocks that children in the future could stack.

Xi Youyou had been shocked when she saw them.

She hadn’t expected to see these kinds of blocks in this era. What’s more, every piece—whether square or long—had been sanded down meticulously.

They were polished smooth and wouldn’t hurt one’s hands.

This showed just how attentive Jiang Fenglin was toward his grandchildren.

“Let’s play a game.”

Since Xu Xiu and Jiang Fenglin had to go out for a while, Xi Youyou brought out all the building blocks. “Let’s see who can build the highest tower. How about it?”

Xiao Bao nodded cheerfully and immediately took the blocks to the side to start building.

Da Bao looked at the two of them. He didn’t want to play, but at the same time, he was looking forward to joining in—he was just being all sorts of awkward.

“Da Bao, don’t you know how to build?” Xi Youyou knew that boys tended to be more reserved, so she used a slightly different tactic.

That one sentence got Da Bao to obediently start stacking the blocks. As he did so, he pouted and muttered to himself: “I’m definitely going to win. I’m obviously the best one.”

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While things were going along pleasantly on their side, Jiang Cimo and Bai Yuying had returned to the military base.

This time, they had gone out on a mission together—Jiang Cimo carried out the operation, while Bai Yuying provided medical support behind the scenes, treating their injuries.

Both of them had to submit mission reports.

After the reports were done, Jiang Cimo said a few words to Bai Yuying, then she returned to her job at the Medical Department.

When she got back, quite a few people were happy to see her return. During a lull in the work, one of the military doctors came over and gently bumped her shoulder.

“You went out on a mission with Deputy Battalion Commander Jiang—did something develop between the two of you?”

“Hm?”

Bai Yuying frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? We just went on a mission, that’s all. What could possibly develop?”

“You two really look like a couple.”

“Yeah, and we can all tell—he’s always so cold toward everyone else, but with you, it’s different.”

“Exactly! Last time, I even saw a girl from the performing troupe confess to him, and his face turned so cold—it was terrifying, like some god of death.”

“Right? But with you, he’s not like that at all. So we were thinking, since you two went on a mission together this time, maybe something developed between you?”

At first, it was just one close colleague gossiping, but after hearing that, more people gathered around. Now it was a full-on group gossip session.

Listening to their chatter, Bai Yuying didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You’re all reading too much into it. There’s no way something romantic could develop between us. We just really hit it off when we met. We’re good friends. I see him like an older brother, so stop overthinking it!”

Her coworkers just giggled in response.

How could they not understand what was going on here?

“Alright, alright, we get it—you’re just shy.”

“Exactly. There’s no such thing as pure friendship between men and women. It’s always some kind of romantic interest.”

“I agree with that.”

“Isn’t mutual affection the foundation for a relationship?”

“If you two hit it off right away, then dating wouldn’t be so strange!”

“Yeah, yeah! You went on a mission together—it must’ve sparked something. Are you just trying to keep it from us?”

“No worries, we’re all friends here. It’s not like we’d sell you out or anything.”

“Exactly, exactly! Just give us a little inside scoop!”

The group of women continued giggling and teasing light-heartedly.

Looking at their excited, curious faces, Bai Yuying felt a bit helpless. “When I see him, I just feel this sense of familiarity—it’s not the kind of feeling you have when you like someone romantically. Even I don’t know why, but it’s just not like that between us. And more importantly—he already has a wife. And two adorable kids, too. They’re already pretty big—probably around three or four years old—and super cute.”

He has a wife?

The military doctors all widened their eyes in surprise, clearly confused.

“If he has a wife, then given his position, she should be allowed to join him here. Why didn’t she come along?”

“Yeah, and if he has kids, wouldn’t he want to bring them over too? That way they can get a proper education.”

“Exactly!”

Who didn’t enjoy gossip during downtime? It was a universal trait among women.

Every face around her was lit up with curiosity—they were dying to know why.

Bai Yuying shook her head. “Maybe it’s just inconvenient. Aside from his wife and the two kids, his parents live at home too. If his wife and kids all came with him, then if anything happened to his parents, there wouldn’t be anyone to take care of them. And raising a pair of Dragon and Phoenix Twins alone isn’t easy either. But that’s just my guess. I went home with him once to do a check-up on the family. His wife is actually really pretty, and his parents are very easy to get along with.”

After that explanation, the people present finally started to understand.

But some people were still gossiping behind her back.

They insisted that Bai Yuying must have feelings for Jiang Cimo, and it was only because she found out he already had a wife and kids that she gave up on the idea.

When Bai Yuying heard about this, she could only feel helpless.

She only had one mouth—she couldn’t go around explaining herself to everyone. If people wanted to believe it, they would. If not, then so be it.

Some even thought it was a pity that Bai Yuying had missed her chance with Jiang Cimo.

But the man was already married—there was nothing to be done about that.

Everyone had different opinions and feelings.

Bai Yuying didn’t bother with them.

As for Jiang Cimo, he submitted a leave request.

He rarely took time off, but this time, he had accumulated quite a bit of leave and could finally go home for a visit.

He had performed very well on the recent mission, and since it had dragged on for quite a while, the higher-ups, upon seeing his request, even approved two extra days—so he could spend more time at home with his parents and children.

His request was approved quickly.

In one week, he would be returning to his hometown.

Before then, he had to arrange the training schedule for the soldiers under his command and wait for the results of the interrogations involving the spies they had brought back.

In other words, he needed to wrap up the loose ends of the mission.

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Meanwhile, over the past two days, Xi Youyou had been doing quite well at home. Xiao Bao had become especially attached to her, though she still hadn’t actually called her “Mom.”

She still addressed her as “Comrade Xi Youyou.” but XI Youyou didn’t mind—in fact, she found it adorable and was quite pleased every time she called her that.

She always complimented her.

Xiao Bao would blush bright red under her praise, and Da Bao would sit nearby, mocking her for being so weak and ready to betray them so easily.

Seeing that Xi Youyou had consistently behaved well for several days, Xu Xiu finally felt completely at ease. She told Jiang Fenglin not to overthink things either, in case Xi Youyou sensed their distrust again and became unhappy.

Jiang Fenglin could only try to act as naturally as possible.

Now that the children had grown a bit closer to Xi Youyou, Xu Xiu and Jiang Fenglin began preparing for Jiang Cimo’s return home.

The two of them planned to buy some meat, cook a few special dishes, and give the house a good cleaning.

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The weather was scorching hot. As Xi Youyou sat by the children during their afternoon nap, watching sweat drip heavily onto the bed, she started to get anxious.

There seemed to be electric fans sold in this era.

Should she buy one?

The original owner didn’t seem to have much money. After thinking it over, Xi Youyou waited until the children were asleep, then went to find Xu Xiu.

Jiang Fenglin just happened to be sitting nearby as well. Lately, due to the extreme heat, they usually didn’t go out to work until the afternoon.

If they went too early and got sunburned or suffered from heatstroke, it wouldn’t be worth it.

“Mom.” Xi Youyou called out.

Xu Xiu quickly beckoned her inside.

“I have something I want to discuss with you.” Xi Youyou said politely. After all, she was about to ask them for money.

“Go ahead.” Xu Xiu replied, while occasionally sewing shoe soles to make new shoes for the children.

Without much hesitation, Xi Youyou spoke directly. “The weather’s been so hot lately, I was thinking of buying an electric fan. Could you give me some money?”

When she said this last part, she felt a little embarrassed. In her previous life, she had always relied on herself—she had never asked anyone for money before.

This kind of thing was difficult for her to even say out loud.

The reason she had to ask like this was because the Original Owner had schemed against Jiang Cimo in the past, and he had made up his mind not to give her a single cent of his salary. All his wages had always been sent home directly to his parents.

Now, if anything needed to be bought, it was inevitable that she would have to ask the old couple for money.

After all, the Original Owner used to order them around whenever she wanted something to eat.

When Xu Xiu and Jiang Fenglin heard that Xi Youyou wanted money to buy a fan, they exchanged a glance. Xu Xiu felt a bit displeased in her heart.

She had originally thought Xi Youyou had genuinely changed for the better. She hadn’t expected her to come asking for money again so soon.

If she wanted to buy a fan, it was clearly for her own use—because recently, the heat at night really had made it difficult to sleep.

So it turned out that her improved behavior had been for the sake of getting a fan.

She had been acting so well, but it had all been with a goal in mind.

Still, ever since her behavior improved, life at home had become a bit smoother.

And truthfully, the family really did need a fan.

Even though she’d likely bring the fan into her own room at night, she’d probably let the children use it during the day too. Lately, she had shown a lot more patience with the kids.

At the very least, she wasn’t mistreating them.

So if the money needed to be spent, then it had to be spent.

“Alright.” Xu Xiu said. She set aside the sole she was working on and got up to fetch the money from inside the house.

Jiang Fenglin sat there, wanting to say something, but ultimately held back, his expression complicated.

He had said it long ago—she definitely had an ulterior motive. But Xu Xiu hadn’t believed him, always insisting that their daughter-in-law could change for the better.

Well, here it was.

Forget it. After all, Xi Youyou didn’t take naps at noon, so the fan could be used while the kids were sleeping too. They could think of it as buying it for their grandsons.

Jiang Fenglin was thinking along the same lines as Xu Xiu.

It was currently 1980, the early years of the reform era. Individual businesses were now permitted, and sellers of electric fans and televisions were popping up everywhere. Xu Xiu had a general idea of the prices.

When Xu Xiu came out, she handed Xi Youyou 150 yuan.

“A fan should cost about a hundred or a hundred and twenty. If they ask for more, remember to haggle. Don’t let yourself get ripped off. With whatever’s left, you can buy whatever you want. Just get a few snacks for the kids.”

As long as Xi Youyou stayed honest and behaved properly, the old couple didn’t mind giving her a bit of money.

“Thank you, Mom.”

“I’ll come back early.” Xi Youyou said with a sweet smile. After speaking, she took the money and headed out the door.

Jiang Fenglin, sitting to the side, let out a sigh. “See? Didn’t I say she…”

“But you have to admit, the kids have been smiling more these past few days.” Xu Xiu interrupted. “She doesn’t lie around lazily like she used to. She even cooks meals for us now. Even if she’s doing it for something in return, let her be.”

The Original Owner had been so terrible that by comparison, Xi Youyou’s current behavior seemed like a blessing.

At least she wasn’t constantly throwing tantrums or creating chaos.

That was far more exhausting than just asking for money.

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Xi Youyou had no idea what the two elders were thinking. As she walked out, she felt quite happy. Since the children were napping, she could make a quick trip and return early.

The department store wasn’t far.

There was still a bicycle at home, and though she was a bit wobbly for the first few minutes, she managed to ride it out of the neighborhood and head on her way.

When she arrived at the department store, Xi Youyou strolled around leisurely.

The department stores of this era were completely different from the dazzling malls of the future she was used to. The difference was striking.

Future malls were overflowing with goods—so many that they dazzled the eyes.

But in this era, it was different. With the rise of private businesses, the department stores weren’t solely run by state-employed workers anymore.

Many private business owners had set up shop.

Xi Youyou really liked this place.

Holding 150 yuan—a veritable fortune in this time—she knew this wasn’t easy to come by. Though private businesses were on the rise, many people still didn’t dare venture into them, and some even thought it was shameful.

So, the ones who made money were always the bold ones.

After circling around for a while, she saw that most electric fans were around 120 yuan. She entered a store and haggled with the proprietress, managing to bring the price down from 125 to 115 yuan.

Xi Youyou had a sharp tongue—thanks to the lessons she’d learned in her past life when she visited her grandmother in the countryside.

Her grandmother used to take her to the market, and taught her that in places where the prices were clearly marked, haggling was useless and embarrassing.

But in open markets like these, bargaining was expected. She used to get excited negotiating even a few cents off.

Those experiences, learned from her grandmother, were proving to be incredibly useful now!