Chapter 21: No smoke without fire

Lin Qingyue pulled Lu Siyi out the door. “We just got married, and I brought back plenty of clothes from my parents’ home; we don’t need any more for now.”

She softly comforted him. Lu Siyi looked at her hand holding his, feeling uneasy.

“Qingyue, I want to give you a gift,” Lu Siyi said softly.

“Why would you give me a gift out of the blue?” Lin Qingyue blinked at him, trying to see through this man’s heart.

“Because…” Lu Siyi stammered, seeming to find it hard to say.

He hadn’t told his family about his injury beforehand, causing Lin Qingyue to worry and find him at the army base. He felt terrible about it.

Seeing his usually stern face flushed red, like a schoolboy who had done something wrong, Lin Qingyue sighed heavily. Soldiers, truly not good at expressing their emotions.

It was almost noon. She pointed to a nearby braised food shop. “Treat me to a bowl of braised dishes; consider that my gift?”

Who gives their wife a bowl of braised dishes as a gift?

Seeing Lin Qingyue’s insistence, Lu Siyi didn’t say anything.

The couple entered the shop. The owner greeted them warmly. A bowl of braised dishes cost two cents, and Lin Qingyue generously ordered two bowls.

The owner also gave them two sesame cakes.

Lin Qingyue took a bite of the sesame cake and a sip of the braised dishes. The flavor was authentic, even better than what she had tasted at specialty stores in the modern world. She couldn’t help but drink more.

“It’s really delicious,” she said happily.

The couple sat opposite each other, enjoying a simple yet warm meal.

Before leaving, she didn’t forget to take three bowls to go, for the children.

After eating, the couple walked through the entire wholesale market before heading home.

Besides the one yuan worth of braised dishes, they bought nothing else.

Lu Siyi increasingly felt that Lin Qingyue was too thrifty. He wanted to say that she didn’t need to be so frugal, but seeing her enthusiastic look, he didn’t want to spoil her mood.

The three children came home from school to find only three bowls of braised dishes on the table.

“Your father and I have already eaten. This is for you,” Lin Qingyue explained.

“Dad, Mom, did you go to the county?” Lu Yiming asked.

“Yes, to see if there are any business opportunities,” Lin Qingyue said. She felt that the children were part of the family, and they should know about or participate in family matters. She wanted to cultivate their sense of responsibility from a young age.

“What do you think? Should I set up a small stall selling braised dishes?” Lin Qingyue seriously asked for the opinion of every member of her family.

“No!” The three children answered in unison.

Judging from Lin Qingyue’s cooking skills, they could imagine how bleak her business would be if she sold braised dishes.

“Why?” Lin Qingyue was a little angry. These three seemed to have conspired to reject her.

“Processing the innards for braised dishes is tedious, and the ingredients are the owner’s secret recipe; you probably won’t get them,” Lu Siyi interjected on behalf of the three children.

“Or how about selling clothes? That clothing store we saw today seemed to be making a lot of money. A dress costs ten yuan, and the owner makes at least half the profit. If she sells one a day, we’ll have enough money for our daily vegetables,” Lin Qingyue said, propping her chin on her hands. She really wanted to find something to do.

“Mom, given your skill in making my schoolbag, you should just forget it. Don’t waste the fabric,” Lu Yicheng stuck out his tongue, bluntly criticizing her.

Lin Qingyue was discouraged. She was a manager, after all! Setting up a stall shouldn’t be a problem, right?

She would sell clothes!

She could just have someone else make them and earn the difference.

The idea of setting up a stall, like a seed, took root in Lin Qingyue’s heart, eventually growing into a towering tree.

Lu Siyi stayed home for three days. On the fourth day, early in the morning, he returned to his unit to report for duty. Lin Qingyue took out paper and pen and carefully made a plan for setting up a stall.

Thinking that she still had her dowry, which could be used as startup capital, she quickly rummaged through her belongings to find her passbook.

Bang bang bang!

Urgent knocking came from outside the door.

“Who is it?” Lin Qingyue thought someone had an urgent matter and hurried to open the door.

“Sister, long time no see,” Lin Hao stood at the door with a smirk.

Lin Qingyue was stunned, her memory of this person flooding back.

She rolled her eyes and was about to close the door, but Lin Hao quickly blocked her. “Sister, I’m your own brother. You’re shutting your own brother out?”

“You never come unless you need something!”

“Sister, I really miss you. I came to see you,” Lin Hao wore a mischievous expression, making Lin Qingyue feel disgusted.

She crossed her arms, blocking the doorway, her face cold. “Say it. How much money do you need this time?”

This brother of the original owner was a wastrel, only interested in playing around and asking for money. This time, he must be short of cash.

“Sister, talking about money between siblings is so unfeeling,” Lin Hao had already slipped into the yard.

Lin Qingyue looked at him sideways, coldly saying, “Talking about feelings with you costs money.”

Lin Hao choked, no longer pretending. “Sister, I’ve run into a bit of trouble and want to borrow some money from you. But don’t worry, I won’t take it for nothing. As soon as I have money, I’ll pay you back immediately.”

If she didn’t know what Lin Hao was like, she might have believed his lies.

Lin Hao despised his foolish sister the most. He not only swindled all her dowry money but also colluded with Tao Siyan to frame her, ruining her reputation and leading to her tragic death.

“Brother, it’s not that I won’t give you money, but I have three children to support now, and your brother-in-law’s monthly salary is so little. I really don’t have any extra money,” Lin Qingyue appealed to his emotions and reason.

“I’m also having a hard time. Do you know how expensive it is to raise children? I’m so poor I can barely make ends meet.”

“Don’t think I don’t know that when you got married, Mom and Dad gave you a lot of dowry money. That’s my money! The Lin family will eventually be passed down to me! You’re using my money, do you know that?” Lin Hao, seeing he couldn’t get any money, stopped pretending.

“Your money? That’s Mom and Dad’s money. Are you the head of the Lin family?” Lin Qingyue didn’t back down, retorting, “If I’m not the head of the family, Mom and Dad have the final say. What Mom and Dad gave me is mine!”

Lin Hao was speechless. Seeing that Lin Qingyue wouldn’t give in, he had to tell the truth.

“Sister, just help your brother this once. Just one hundred yuan.”

“What do you need the money for?” Lin Qingyue frowned.

Lin Hao scratched his head sheepishly. “I have a new girlfriend. You know, dating costs money.”

Lin Qingyue’s eyes lit up, immediately understanding the situation. This girlfriend was probably not a respectable woman in the eyes of the Lin family, but Lin Hao considered her a treasure.

“I can lend you the money, but you have to agree to one thing,” Lin Qingyue relented.