Chen Qing’s face flushed with heat.

She had a feeling the little rebel didn’t believe her.

But the show had already begun, and she had no choice but to brazen it out and keep acting!

“Since they’ve already come after me, I won’t hold back. From now on, I’m going to make a fortune—so much that they won’t be able to pressure us anymore. And I’ve already thought of a way to do it!”

“What way?”

He Yuxiang thought Chen Qing seemed utterly unreliable.

The hardships they had endured over the past six months were still vivid in his mind. He couldn’t possibly believe her just because of what she said.

But she was a damned adult—the only one in charge of the household.

Even if he didn’t believe her, he had to pretend he did.

“Do you think I bought all those clothes over the past six months just to compete with Tian Mengya in looks?”

“Why else?”

“Of course not! I was just researching what kinds of clothes are lacking in the market. Soon, I’ll start making clothes myself. Just wait and see.”

Chen Qing lifted her head proudly, her eyes shining with dazzling confidence.

It was the first time He Yuxiang had seen such an expression in her eyes, and it left him momentarily dazed.

Chen Qing stood up, patted him on the head, and returned to her room.

She also wanted to give the two little ones some time to process everything.

After all, the best stories were always a mix of truth and lies.

A few days earlier, the original host had indeed passed away. Right after getting her paycheck, she had gone to the black market to buy the latest leather shoes, hoping to outshine Tian Mengya. But she accidentally ran into the Red Armbands.

Terrified of being caught, she rushed into a random household in a panic and hid inside a cabinet, where she ended up suffocating to death.

When Chen Qing woke up in this world, it took her a while to catch her breath.

She sincerely hoped that if she had come to this world, the original host had gone to hers. Even though she was an orphan, she had money in her bank account—every cent earned through blood, sweat, and tears. If the original host, with her spendthrift ways, went to the modern era and blew all her savings, Chen Qing would be heartbroken. All that scrimping and saving, only for someone else to enjoy the fruits of her labor—the thought was unbearable!

What made it even worse was that she now had to pay off the original host’s debts!

Fuming, Chen Qing bit off a loose thread.

In the other room, the two children huddled together like abandoned younglings in a vast world.

He Yuxiang said to his younger sister, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll never let us be separated.”

His little face was serious, his tone like that of a miniature adult.

He Yuting hugged her knees, resting her head on her legs, and mumbled, “Auntie almost died.”

“She was lying.”

“It’s true.”

“It’s not. Ugh, don’t be so gullible. Let me tell you a secret—I saved some of the greens today. When you’re hungry later, I’ll sneakily stir-fry them for you while she’s at work.”

He had also hidden some meat a couple of days earlier—all for his sister to eat.

“I need to go fetch water now.”

The compound had running water taps, but for households like theirs, water had to be collected from the row of taps at the end of the alley.

He Yuting wriggled her way to the edge of the bed. “I’ll go too.”

“Okay.”

The household needed water for drinking, cooking, washing dishes, bathing, and laundry. Every day, a significant amount of time was spent fetching water.

The timing for fetching water was also hierarchical—the more influential households got to go first. Originally, their family could fetch water in the evening, but now that only Chen Qing worked at the machinery factory, they were relegated to the latest time slot: 6:00 to 6:30 PM.

By then, the sky was already fading into darkness.

The two of them headed out, each carrying two buckets.

As soon as the first bucket was filled, the next one was immediately placed under the tap. The siblings would then carry the filled buckets home, stand on a stool to pour the water into the storage jar, and hurry back—just in time for the second bucket to be full. This way, they didn’t have to waste time waiting for the water to fill.

He Yuxiang was stronger than He Yuting, but even he couldn’t carry two full buckets at once. The only way was to move quickly, making as many trips as possible to fetch more water.

Auntie Yu at the end of the alley felt sorry for them, but while she could help occasionally, no one was willing to assist them long-term.

“Xiao Yu, why is your chin painted with purple medicine? Did your aunt hit you?”

“No, I fell,” He Yuting replied without turning her head, hoisting the wooden bucket handle onto her shoulder to make it easier to carry.

She kept a straight face as she walked home.

As expected, critical remarks about her aunt followed behind her, but today was a bit unusual—some were gossiping about Yang Xiujin and Li Hehua.

“Do you think they’re really together?”

“Hard to say. If it weren’t true, would that short stump be so angry?”

“Honestly, Yang Xiujin is good-looking and gentle—it’s normal to like him. Why does that short stump have to compete with him?”

“Exactly! But did you see Shorty Tiger today? Covered in filth—disgusting.”

“I live in the same compound as them, and I don’t even want to go home now. Those two spoil their child rotten and never bother to discipline them. Letting the kid run wild everywhere!”

…

They pontificated like self-righteous arbiters, passing judgment on everyone they encountered.

He Yuxiang usually tuned them out.

But today, he listened.

Back when his father died unexpectedly, that women had “comforted” his mother by saying she was a “husband-killer”!

It made his mother cry for days.

Now, it was her turn to taste the bitterness of gossip and rumors!

The siblings huffed and puffed, filling the large water jar to the brim. They made four more trips to fetch enough water for the day, then poured the water for bathing into the pot to heat.

He Yuxiang stuffed dry, flammable straw into the stove first. Once the fire caught, he added small, easily burned twigs. After stuffing in a few more handfuls of straw, the kindling quickly ignited. Once the fire was steady, he added larger pieces of dry wood.

Once that was done, the fire needed no further tending.

But He Yuxiang checked their firewood supply and saw it was running low.

The nearest mountain was ten kilometers away—too far for a practical trip. Most families made arrangements with villagers to trade for firewood, having it delivered regularly, or they used coal briquettes.

The last time their firewood ran out, his aunt had ordered him to go chop wood. He and his sister had worked from dawn till dusk for over half a month, only stopping when it rained for a week straight.

Now the firewood was almost gone again. How would she handle it this time?

He Yuxiang was worried.

“Brother, look—one cent. I just sold the empty toothpaste tube to the grandpa at the recycling station.”

At that time, toothpaste tubes were made of a kind of metal—tin, to be precise—so an empty tube could be exchanged for one cent.

He Yuxiang pocketed the money.

When he’d gone grocery shopping earlier, he’d actually spent only forty cents and hidden the remaining ten cents. With this additional cent, his total savings now amounted to thirty-six cents!

“We now have thirty-six cents, but we can’t spend it recklessly, understand?”

“Mhmm.”

He Yuting knew.

This money was for emergencies.

He Yuxiang asked his sister to watch the fire while he went to hide the money.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her—it was just that she blushed too easily when lying.

And since his aunt often asked about money, he had to be the one to hide it.

Just after he’d hidden the money, he heard his aunt’s voice: “Where’s the toothpaste?”