Chapter 9: Gu Qiangwei – How Do You Plan to Divide the Compensation Money?

After finishing her meal, Gu Qiangwei didn’t bring up the topic of the compensation money. The old couple wiped the grease from their mouths and sat back down, putting on a sorrowful expression again.

Wang Shufen clutched the box in her arms and mumbled to herself.

Seeing them like that, Gu Qiangwei didn’t say a word. She turned around and went straight to her room.

Once inside, she entered her space. Although there was nothing inside it, she still felt most at ease being there.

She stayed in the space for a while. When she came back out, she heard angry muttering from outside.

Feeling something wasn’t right, she went to the door and heard Wang Shufen crying.

“Old man, tell me—why couldn’t it have been the eldest son who died?”

“How could it have been the second son…”

“Aiya,” Wang Shufen slapped her thigh, “The reason the eldest survived must be because he didn’t take proper care of the second one!”

Zhao Minghua, eyes red, shouted angrily, “When he gets back, I’ll question him properly—why didn’t he protect his brother?”

Listening to the old couple’s words from outside, Gu Qiangwei could only shake her head in exasperation.

They didn’t even know yet that the one who died was Lu Qingming. That’s why they dared to say such things.

In her previous life, when they found out it was the eldest son who died, the old couple recovered from their grief very quickly.

They might have even felt relieved that it was the eldest who died—after all, he brought them 500 yuan in compensation.

In her past life, she didn’t move anything from the house and didn’t care about the compensation money. After it happened, she shouldered the responsibility without hesitation.

She never married for the rest of her life.

But this time around, she absolutely wouldn’t let them live comfortably.

The old couple kept cursing for a while before finally quieting down. Only then did Gu Qiangwei lie down on the bed.

This whole family was just pretending to be grieving.

Later that night, the couple started discussing their future.

“What are we going to do now?”

“Zhoushan is gone, and only Qingming is left. That child’s been useless since he was young. He always seemed slow. Who knows if he’ll ever make something of himself.”

“If he stays a regular soldier all his life, then we’re doomed!”

“Not only that, Zhoushan had just gotten married. They hadn’t even consummated the marriage. We might not even have a grandson!”

Although Wang Shufen was deeply saddened, she still felt they had to consider practical matters.

Their family had really fallen on hard times lately.

Everything in the house had been stolen, and now their most beloved younger son was dead.

They’d always thought their younger son was smart and clever—hence the favoritism.

The eldest seemed stupid and dull. Sure, he was honest, but what good was that?

Being honest meant he wouldn’t be able to climb the ranks. If he couldn’t rise, there was no hope of success, and that meant no good life for them.

The more they talked about it, the more unbearable it became.

Eventually, both of them felt—it really should have been the eldest who died. Why did it have to be their younger son?

Why?

The younger one had already married and had a wife. The older one had nothing. Why couldn’t he have died instead?

The more they thought about it, the angrier they got.

Meanwhile, Gu Qiangwei fell asleep soon after lying down. She had plans to meet Su Qingshuang the next day.

The next morning, seeing the old couple still asleep, she didn’t bother making breakfast and simply left the house.

She went to the spot where she had agreed to meet Su Qingshuang.

“I’m here!” Su Qingshuang stood at the entrance of Longting Street. A few days ago, she had scoped out several shop locations here and wanted Gu Qiangwei’s help to finalize a choice.

There were a few candidates. The goal today was to pick one and lock it in.

Gu Qiangwei smiled and walked over. The two had grown closer.

Su Qingshuang handed her a steamed bun and an egg. “Let’s eat something simple for now. Once we settle the store, I’ll treat you to something good.”

Gu Qiangwei nodded.

They walked further into Longting Street while eating. Su Qingshuang pointed to two storefronts. “This one I like is here. There’s another one further back, but it feels a little remote.”

Gu Qiangwei examined both stores. They were on opposite sides of the street, near the entrance. A few other shops were nearby—a hair salon, a diner, and a breakfast stall.

If they opened a clothing store here, it might feel a bit out of place.

“Let’s go check out the one further inside.”

That was the store they had opened in their previous life.

As soon as she spoke, Su Qingshuang led the way.

“This area is better. Even though it’s at the end of the street, it’s surrounded by fashion stores, a beauty salon, a shoe shop, and a bag store.”

Su Qingshuang and Gu Qiangwei walked over to the same location where they had set up shop in their previous life. A sense of nostalgia welled up in Gu Qiangwei’s heart.

Some things truly did come full circle.

Repeating again and again.

“This store’s not bad. The other two are surrounded by food places. A clothing store wouldn’t fit.”

“With so many beauty salons nearby, people will want to walk around and shop after getting their treatments. This street might become a fashion and beauty hub in the future!”

Gu Qiangwei said this because in her past life, the street had become exactly that.

Eventually, a big shopping mall opened up at the front end of the street.

Right now, they were at the far end, but once the mall was built, they’d be right next to it—an ideal location.

Later on, the two of them even opened branches inside that very mall. Their business had become quite successful.

If Su Qingshuang hadn’t gotten into trouble during a sourcing trip, they might have built a fashion empire together.

Since they didn’t fulfill that dream in their past lives, they would this time.

They would make the business big and strong.

“You’re right,” Su Qingshuang agreed. “I thought that location was okay at first, but it’s all just food shops.”

She stood at the doorway, thinking for a few minutes. “If you think this one’s good, then let’s go with it. The rent isn’t much different anyway.”

With that, they asked around and found the landlord behind the store.

He was a middle-aged man, preparing to head out for work. When he heard they wanted to rent the shop, he offered a fair price.

“Once I rent this place out, we won’t be living here anymore. I’ll only come by to collect the rent. The place will be all yours.”

“I’m a teacher. This store was left by my wife’s family. Renting it out just gives us some extra money for the kids.”

He looked very refined—carrying a briefcase and books, with black-rimmed glasses.

He was telling the truth.

The price was very reasonable. Gu Qiangwei and Su Qingshuang exchanged a look. Since they planned to rent long-term, they haggled a little more.

Because the landlord had to get to work, they agreed to handle the paperwork during lunch. He handed them the keys.

When they opened the shop door, they were met with dust and mess.

The landlord had mentioned that it used to be a beauty salon, but the business failed, so it had been left untouched.

They exchanged a look. Su Qingshuang stepped out and came back with some cleaning supplies. They got to work.

They swept, dusted, cleaned cobwebs, and wiped down the walls.

The place had floor tiles from the previous salon, and marks on the walls. Su Qingshuang thought about hiring someone to repaint.

“No need—we can do it ourselves!”

“Let’s head to the market and buy supplies. I know how to do it.” In their past life, they had opened more than one shop. They did most of the light renovations themselves.

So Gu Qiangwei had learned how to paint walls.

“Wow!” Su Qingshuang’s eyes sparkled. “You’re amazing! I need to learn from you. We’re going to open lots and lots of stores together!”

“Are we going to paint the walls in all of them ourselves?”

Gu Qiangwei raised an eyebrow. Su Qingshuang froze for a moment—then both of them burst into laughter.

“When we make big money, we’ll hire lots and lots of people!”

“People to paint, people to clean. How does that sound?”

Gu Qiangwei couldn’t hold back her laughter, seeing Su Qingshuang’s playful expression.

After a round of laughter, they finished cleaning and went to the market to buy materials.

They planned to start painting at noon, but first, it was time for lunch.

While eating, they talked about the renovation.

Drawing from her previous life, Gu Qiangwei briefly described the style she had in mind.

As she spoke, Su Qingshuang listened intently and even handed her a pen and paper.

Gu Qiangwei combined elements she’d seen from different clothing shops and sketched out the simplest design.

She drew up a floor plan.

Looking at the design, Su Qingshuang immediately clapped. “You could be a designer! It looks amazing! If we decorate the store like this, I know our business will boom!”

Gu Qiangwei was momentarily dazed.

Su Qingshuang had always been like this in her past life—no matter what she did, she’d cheer her on from behind, fully supportive.

Even if she were going to fight someone, Su Qingshuang would hand her a brick.

And she was the same in this life.

They were destined to be friends.

This life, she would protect her well—she wouldn’t let Su Qingshuang die with regrets like before.

They would build a grand fashion empire together. She would make sure Su Qingshuang, the fashion designer, would shine brightly.

“It’s nothing. I just thought this was the most suitable style. Plus, our budget is tight—simple is best.”

After hearing that, Su Qingshuang said, “Then let’s custom-make a cabinet, build a few shelves, and do the rest ourselves. That work for you?”

This was their first shop. They would pour their hearts and souls into it.

They discussed plans over their meal—it was a very joyful lunch.

They didn’t fight about who paid—this meal was Su Qingshuang’s treat, and the next would be Gu Qiangwei’s. They were used to it.

After a long, productive day, Gu Qiangwei returned home in the evening, tired.

As soon as she stepped in, she saw Zhao Minghua and Wang Shufen having dinner—there was even stir-fried meat on the table.

Seeing her come in, both of them looked uncomfortable.

Earlier that day, they had talked it over—since their son had died, there was no turning back. They had to use the compensation money to replace some of the stolen furniture.

The only reason they bought meat was that their stomachs couldn’t bear it anymore. They hadn’t had anything oily in ages.

But just as they were about to enjoy their meal, Gu Qiangwei came home.

Their expressions were awkward.

Not wanting to waste time, Gu Qiangwei pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Mom, since you two seem to have recovered a bit, I’d like to ask—what’s your plan for dividing the compensation money?”