Chapter 27

If this had been said in the past, not just Li Cuihua—even Zheng Aifang would have refused.

Because back then, they couldn’t imagine how much money could be made outside. After all, having a stable job in a factory was considered as precious as gold.

But now, after witnessing Su Wan’s ability to earn money, both mothers were willing to give it a try.

Even if they weren’t lucky enough to earn that much, there was no shortage of food at home. And if they did manage to make money, those bachelors in the family might finally be able to get married.

Zheng Aifang hesitated a little and asked, “Then what about the farmland at home?”

“If we can’t manage all of it, we can rent some out. Right now, my second brother is working with me in clothing wholesale. If we eventually open a store, we’ll have to split things up. As the saying goes, ‘clear accounts keep brothers friendly.’ Once the business gets bigger, we must handle money matters clearly.”

Su Wan said this as a way of preparing them in advance.

“This…”
Li Cuihua and Zheng Aifang both looked at her. It was Zheng Aifang who finally spoke first, “Wanwan, we’re all family. Is that really necessary?”

“Mom, Mother-in-law, it’s because we’re family that we need to make things clear. My brothers will eventually get married, and while they’re family, their wives won’t be. So we have to draw some lines, otherwise things could get tense between siblings in the future.”

Su Wan was serious. Both women were experienced—they knew that even the best relationships between sisters-in-law could develop tension, so what she said was true.

Zheng Aifang could only nod. “Then we’ll do it your way. For now, the money your second brother earns working with you will be counted as belonging to all three brothers. Once things settle down and your other two brothers come, we’ll talk again.”

“Yes, your eldest brother probably won’t come in the first half of the year. We still have farmland to tend.”

Their family had a few plots of land—they still needed to be worked.

Su Wan nodded, then said to the two mothers, “Mom, Mother-in-law, this year is just a trial run. We’ll wait until things are more stable before calling the others over, so no need to worry yet. But I also have something else to tell you.”

She pulled out 1,000 yuan from the money she had and pushed it toward each of them.

“Wanwan, you…”
Zheng Aifang opened her mouth to say something but held back.

“Now that the country is opening up, we can start raising ducks at home. Ducks grow fast, and the selling price is decent—it’s more than enough to support the household. You can let them forage in the river in the village for fish and shrimp, and catch some worms for feed.”

“Raise ducks?”
Zheng Aifang was really surprised. In the countryside, every household raised chickens or ducks, but they never sold them.

Su Wan nodded but reminded them, “Check out the situation in the county first. I’ll call big brother later and have him look into it.”

As for how many ducks to raise and how to raise them, she wasn’t too worried.

Her mother was very capable—whether it was farm work or livestock, she was an expert.

And Zheng Aifang would never object. She was the kind of doting mom who’d support her daughter no matter what she said.

“All the clothes are sold out—how about I take you both to Pengcheng for a short trip?”

Upon hearing that, both Zheng Aifang and Li Cuihua shook their heads.
“No need to waste money on traveling!”
“Right, Wanwan, there’s no need. We’d rather stay home with your second brother. In a few days, we’ll head back.”

“You’ve both come all this way and don’t want to go out at all?”

Su Wan genuinely wanted to take them out, but since they weren’t interested, there was nothing she could do.

Zheng Aifang patted her daughter’s hand, “I know you mean well, but let’s skip the trip. We came to check on your husband. Now that he’s okay, we feel at ease. You’ve been exhausted lately—better to rest at home a bit. Once your husband’s doing better, then you can get back to work.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave him at home alone.”

Since neither of the two moms wanted to go out, Su Wan planned to buy each of them a gold bracelet instead.

Gold was really cheap at this time, and once she had more money, she’d definitely stock up at home—it would only go up in value.

Once the two moms left the room, Su Wan turned to Chen Yuan and told him her plan.

Chen Yuan was silent for a moment before saying, “A gold bracelet is at least 30 or 40 grams, right?”

He wasn’t being stingy, but since the money wasn’t earned by him, he did feel a bit uneasy about the cost.

“After lunch, I’ll go check out the gold prices in town. Right now, gold’s still cheap. A heavier bracelet looks nicer too.”

When she mentioned the gold price was low, Chen Yuan looked at her, opened his mouth to say something—but didn’t.

“I’ll go have a look this afternoon. I’ll get one for each of them.”

Su Wan had made up her mind. Chen Yuan looked at her wrist—she only wore a watch—and said, “You should get one for yourself too.”

Buy one for herself?

Su Wan really couldn’t bear to.

The 2,000 yuan she just gave to her mom and mother-in-law—they didn’t even want to take it. They said they still had money from before and hadn’t spent what she sent earlier. Su Wan planned to secretly sew the money into their clothes before they left.

She took out 50,000 yuan in cash. The remaining 6,000 or so, plus her original capital of 3,000+, she packed into her bag.

She still had 30,000 in the bank. Including this 50,000, she had enough capital to run her wholesale clothing business.

“I’ll take the two moms out later. Second Brother can stay home with you.”

Chen Yuan agreed, and Su Wan helped him outside.

“How’s your leg feeling?”

“No issues. I’ve had worse injuries before. The head surgery incision is small—I don’t really feel anything. I should be okay after a bit more rest.”

“If you feel even a little discomfort, tell me. In a few days, we’ll get you checked again.”

She wasn’t afraid of spending money—if it meant Chen Yuan was healthy, nothing else mattered.

As soon as they got outside, Chen Yuan said, “The political commissar came by and said they’ll take me for a check-up in a few days.”

“That’s good. The ones they arrange are probably better than if we go to a hospital on our own.”

After helping Chen Yuan sit down, the sky suddenly turned gloomy—as if it was about to rain.

When Li Cuihua saw the couple come out, she quickly said, “Lunch is almost ready. Wanwan, you must be hungry. I made some soup—you should drink some first.”

Su Wan responded with a smile and noticed that they’d stewed an entire chicken for lunch.

“Wanwan, since you don’t know how to kill chickens, just let your second brother handle it. But don’t forget to feed the chickens every day…”

They’d be leaving in a few days, and Zheng Aifang couldn’t help but fuss over the little things, afraid her daughter might forget.

After lunch, since Li Cuihua and Zheng Aifang didn’t want to go out, Su Wan and Su Jianguo took the bus into the county.

She headed straight for the gold shop at the alley entrance. When she saw the sign outside reading “Special Gold Price Today: 38 Yuan per Gram”, her eyes lit up.

She was just about to walk in when suddenly, an old granny walked up and grabbed her arm.

Before Su Wan could say anything, the old lady lowered her voice and asked,
“Miss, are you looking to buy gold?”