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It was already dark.
The village roads were nearly deserted.
In ancient times, there wasn’t much entertainment, so rural folk usually rose with the sun and rested at sunset.
Su Qingqing carried two burlap sacks and headed toward Auntie Wang’s house.
Su Zijin had been watching the sun go down and still hadn’t seen his sister return.
He had asked Auntie Wang countless times, “When will my sister be back?” And each time, she replied, “She’ll be back soon.”
Eventually, Su Zijin stopped asking and just sat by her doorstep, quietly waiting.
The longer his sister didn’t come, the more scared he felt inside.
When Su Qingqing arrived at the door, the first thing she saw was her little brother resting his cheeks in his hands, staring intently at the road home.
“Zijin, I’m back,” she called softly. Just thinking that her brother would be waiting for her like this every day made her heart feel warm.
The moment Su Zijin heard her voice, his eyes turned red with emotion.
Without caring about anything else, he ran straight into her arms and buried his face in her chest.
“I thought you didn’t want me anymore,” he mumbled hoarsely, trying hard not to cry.
Su Qingqing put down the sacks and crouched to hug him tightly. One hand stroked his hair as she gently soothed him, “How could I ever not want you? You’re the person I care about most in this world. You’re my favorite person.”
Auntie Wang, hearing the commotion, came outside and saw the siblings embracing. Her heart finally eased—she had been worried Su Qingqing would leave her brother behind and never return.
“Don’t just stand there at the door. You haven’t eaten yet, right? Come in and eat first before heading home,” she said gruffly, then turned and walked back inside without waiting for a reply.
Su Qingqing looked at her brother’s small head still buried in her chest and gently lifted it. “Zijin, did you have lunch today?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “I ate here at Auntie Wang’s. But I haven’t had dinner yet.”
Just as he said it, his stomach let out a loud growl.
His face turned red as he lowered his head in embarrassment.
Su Qingqing smiled and took his hand, leading him inside. It was too late to cook at home, so they might as well eat here.
When they reached the kitchen, the Wang family was already waiting for them.
Seeing the pair enter, Auntie Wang visibly relaxed. She had been worried they might refuse her offer to eat.
“What took you so long? I told you dinner was ready. Why were you still dawdling outside?” she scolded with mild annoyance.
Uncle Wang gave his wife a sharp look. “They’re here now, just eat. No need to nag.”
Their daughter-in-law, Yang Li, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Su girl, come sit and eat with your brother. The food’s been ready—we were just waiting for you!”
Auntie Wang shot her a glare. “Why are you running your mouth? Just eat!”
The rest of the Wang family remained silent.
Su Qingqing and her brother sat down and quietly ate dinner.
Before leaving, Su Qingqing took out three pork ribs, two jin each of fatty and lean meat, and scooped out bowls of rice, flour, and cornmeal—giving them all to Auntie Wang.
Seeing her suddenly pull out so much food and hand it over, Auntie Wang was stunned.
Yang Li tugged at her sleeve, bringing her back to her senses. But she still frowned and said suspiciously, “Where’d you get all this? Don’t tell me you did something bad to get it?”
Su Qingqing knew Auntie Wang wasn’t scolding her—just genuinely worried. Ever since she started believing Su Qingqing had really changed, she’d stopped being cold to her.
Thank goodness her reputation had at least been half-cleared.
Now was the perfect time to clean up the other half.
She hurriedly explained, “Don’t worry, Auntie Wang. I didn’t do anything wrong. I know I made mistakes in the past, but I really want to turn over a new leaf. I got this money from hunting and trading in town.
These are for you as a thank-you—for saving me under the tree that day and for watching over Zijin today.
So please accept them, otherwise I’ll feel bad asking for your help again.”
Seeing her speak so sincerely, and with Yang Li helping persuade her, Auntie Wang finally accepted the food. Her attitude softened, and her eyes held a touch of approval.
Looks like this girl really has changed.
Still, seeing Su Qingqing spend money so freely, she couldn’t help but lecture her:
“Now that you’ve moved out from the Su house, you need to learn how to live frugally. You can’t go throwing money around like today.”
Su Qingqing stood beside her obediently and nodded, “Yes, ma’am.” If she wanted to clear her name, she had to act like a model child.
Seeing his sister behave so well, Su Zijin also stood quietly by her side.
Auntie Wang waved her hand, “Alright then, take your brother and head home. You have to take good care of him. Your father asked your Uncle Wang to look after you both before he left. If you need anything, just let us know.”
Su Qingqing nodded. “Okay.”
So their cheap father really had asked Uncle Wang to watch over them before leaving… Maybe she could learn more about her parents from him.
Otherwise, searching aimlessly would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
But that was for later. For now, priority number one was getting rich.
—
Just as Su Qingqing was hoisting the sacks, Auntie Wang suddenly cried out in shock.
The whole Wang family came running from the house.
“What’s wrong?” Uncle Wang asked.
“Mom, what happened?” Wang Dazhu and Yang Li echoed.
“I don’t know!” said little five-year-old Wang Tiedan with a babyish voice.
Yang Li gave her son a gentle smack on the back.
Auntie Wang pointed at Su Qingqing, stunned. “Good heavens! How is she carrying those huge sacks like they’re nothing?”
Su Qingqing figured she’d be doing a lot more surprising things in the future, so she might as well get the explanation out now.
“Um… a few days ago, I was hiding under the parasol tree from the rain and got struck by lightning. You and Uncle Wang were the ones who carried me home. Ever since then, I’ve had a lot more strength.”
The whole Wang family: …Is that really how it works?
Su Qingqing blinked innocently. “Not only did the lightning wake me up and make me realize my past mistakes, it also gave me divine strength!”
The Wang family: …So what kind of magical lightning was that?
—
After Su Qingqing’s explanation, the whole Wang family truly believed she had changed.
Having achieved her “cleansing” goal, she quickly hoisted the sacks again and led her brother out the door.
By the time they returned to their new home on the east end of the village, the moon was high and the sky was full of stars.
Tomorrow would be a sunny day—also the day she planned to settle the score with the Su family.