Chapter 21 Make Money, Make Money

Although this meal was made by that bastard, she didn’t find it hard to swallow at all—on the contrary, she thought it tasted surprisingly good. After all, she was now Song Fu’s third aunt, so she just treated it as her nephew being filial to his elder. That feeling was damn satisfying.

Song Fu didn’t want to spare Wang Huimin even a single glance. After eating, he left to take Song Xiaolong and Song Xiaoxue to school. In this era, schools usually scheduled summer vacation to coincide with the busy farming season—so the adults could return home to harvest crops, and the kids could help out with some chores. That’s why classes were still in session. Wang Hushu’s high school was in the county town, and since people in town didn’t farm, her summer vacation started earlier, which was why she came home sooner.

Song Jianjun, still worried about Wang Huimin’s condition, went and fetched the village’s only barefoot doctor, Li Zhi. The old man was in his sixties—Wang Huimin’s generation still had to call him Grandpa Li. When Li Zhi came over with his medicine box alongside Song Jianjun, he had already heard about what had happened to Wang Huimin. But such matters were hard for outsiders to comment on. He gave her a check-up—not that there was any real equipment, just used a stethoscope to check for any internal abnormalities or injuries.

Luckily, Wang Huimin had only taken the blow from that brick; her nose bled, but there were no internal injuries—though she still needed to rest for a bit. Li Zhi prescribed some medicine for external injuries and said she shouldn’t do any heavy labor for the time being. Normal activity wouldn’t be a problem. That was it. The consultation and medicine together cost three yuan. Song Jianjun paid for both and saw Li Zhi out.

When Song Jianjun had pulled out money earlier, Wang Huimin noticed he didn’t have much left. Although she had managed to take back over a thousand yuan—and even managed to turn a profit—she couldn’t use that money just yet. It would definitely raise suspicion. Things at home weren’t looking great either, and it seemed like she needed to come up with a way to make money fast.

When Song Jianjun came back after seeing Li Zhi off, he saw Wang Huimin sitting on the kang bed, seemingly deep in thought. He poured out a few of the red pills from the bottle and brought her a cup of water.

“Xiao Min, you don’t need to overthink it. Since you’re out of that family now, no one will bully you again,” he said. “Take your medicine and focus on recovering over the next few days. Don’t worry about doing anything around the house.”

Wang Huimin looked up at him. His rugged face showed a quiet concern as he looked at her. She gave a slight smile, took the pills, and swallowed them with the water. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be stuck in that hellhole… maybe even dead.”

Song Jianjun felt deeply sympathetic for this poor girl. But judging by how furious Tian Yongmei was today, the story about the stolen money didn’t seem fake. He wasn’t entirely sure—could Wang Huimin really have had something to do with it?

Stealing money was obviously wrong, but considering the kind of mother Tian Yongmei was, he felt that even if the girl had taken it, it would be understandable. If she just wanted to secretly return the money and escape that family, he could pretend not to know anything.

His mind was full of thoughts as he asked her tentatively, “Xiao Min… from your mother’s reaction, it really seems like the money is missing. About that money…”

Before he could finish, Wang Huimin looked at him calmly and asked, “You think I stole it too?”

Song Jianjun quickly shook his head. “No, no. Without evidence, no one can accuse you. I just think from your mother’s attitude, this thing might get big.”

“No matter how the money went missing, the village committee will probably get involved. I just want you to be mentally prepared.”

“But don’t worry too much. If they don’t have proof, they won’t dare do anything to you. I’ll protect you.”

Wang Huimin smiled at him. “You’re right, I’m not worried. They can’t find the money on me, and without evidence, no one can touch me. We’ll just let them stir up trouble on their own.”

“What’s more important now is how we’re going to live. You probably want to prepare some bride price for Zhang Chunyan, right? Do you still have any money left?”

That question made Song Jianjun fall silent. He had spent quite a bit recently. Fixing up the house over the next few days would also cost money. Even if he wanted to save, some expenses were unavoidable. Truthfully, he didn’t have much money left.

He was surprised the young girl saw through it—she knew he wasn’t the kind of man who would take advantage of a situation or accept a woman without proper respect.

He had some old comrades from the army who were doing well, but they hadn’t stayed in touch after retiring. Even contacting them now would be hard, and he couldn’t bring himself to ask for help. His only option might be to borrow a little from some relatives or see if his second brother, who lived in the county town, could help out—even if it meant paying interest. As long as he was willing to work, he believed he could earn it back.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Wang Huimin guessed he was struggling with the money issue. She pressed further, “So how much were you planning to give Zhang Chunyan for the bride price?”

This time, Song Jianjun answered, “Even if I can’t scrape together too much, I should at least offer two hundred yuan, and make a couple of new outfits.”

“After all, it’s not right to offer too little when marrying someone’s daughter.”

Back then, a typical bride price was around 300 yuan. The highest might reach four or five hundred—but that was only if the bride was known as one of the top girls in the nearby villages. For most families, two hundred was enough to cover everything.

If there were extras like the “three turns and one sound” (a popular wedding gift set), those would be added separately, but not excessively. Like how the Wang family tried to sell off Wang Huimin for over a thousand yuan—that was pretty much human trafficking.

Wang Huimin’s eyes shifted slightly, and an idea formed in her mind. She said to Song Jianjun, “You don’t need to worry too much about the money. Maybe I can help.”

He looked at her in surprise. A few hundred yuan wasn’t a small sum. He didn’t even have enough himself—how could a young girl like her possibly help?

Wang Huimin smiled and said, “Even though my parents treat me badly, my maternal grandma is good to me. She said when I get married, she’ll give me 200 yuan as a dowry.”

“When there’s time, we can go to my grandma’s and get the money. That’ll take care of the bride price for the Zhang family.”

Hearing that, Song Jianjun immediately refused. “No. That’s your dowry money—it belongs to you.”

“Even if we don’t have a cent, I won’t use that money to pay Zhang’s bride price.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to get the money. You keep that for yourself.”

Wang Huimin smiled gently. “Money’s money. We’re already husband and wife. Why bother with such distinctions?”

“Don’t forget—I still owe you a thousand yuan. With things tight right now, let’s get through this together first.”

When Wang Huimin mentioned the marriage, Song Jianjun’s expression shifted slightly.

“Xiao Min… there’s no one else at home right now, so I’ll just be honest. We both know how this marriage came about. I just wanted to help you.”

“But we only got married in name. We’re not truly husband and wife. You’re a good girl—you deserve someone better. I never intended to hold you back. One day, when things…”