Chapter 47

Wang Mengmei advised Jian Li not to speak recklessly.

“Don’t talk about things like how you did on your exams or how many points you can get. These things are off-limits.”

Jian Li rolled her eyes: “Ms. Wang Mengmei, your daughter isn’t that foolish.”

She knew that in her mother’s eyes, she now wore the label of “blunt and outspoken,” but she wasn’t someone who argued with everyone. She wasn’t stupid—she knew that Qian Ping’s mentality was unstable, so she wouldn’t intentionally provoke her.

Wang Mengmei skeptically glanced at her daughter before starting to arrange the details for the college entrance exams.

First, she sent Jian Feng to stay at the shop.

Since the beginning of spring, she had set up two foldable beds in the restaurant. On less busy afternoons, she and the employees could take a short rest.

“Xiao Li, you sleep with me tonight, don’t disturb your sister.”

After arranging things for the two at home, Wang Mengmei started checking Qian Ping’s school bag and entrance exam admission ticket.

The next morning, she served fried dough sticks and eggs, placing one red-shelled egg in front of Qian Ping.

“Hurry and eat, after you’re done, I’ll take you to the exam.”

Perhaps because there was a high school senior in the house, Wang Mengmei started paying attention to other high school seniors in the neighborhood. She had heard that it’s good luck to eat a red egg on exam day, and parents had been buying up all the red eggs in the market. Wang Mengmei had also managed to get a few.

She planned to cook one every morning for the next couple of days for her niece, believing that eating it would bring good fortune, regardless of whether it was scientifically true.

Qian Ping obediently ate the red egg. When Wang Mengmei saw her off, she noticed Jian Li seemed eager to say something.

“Aunt, I need to grab something.”

After leaving the house, Qian Ping turned back, patted Jian Li on the head, then said nothing and left.

Jian Li: ???

Why was her sister acting like that, patting her head like she was a little dog?

Unbeknownst to her, once outside, Qian Ping breathed a sigh of relief.

With her little cousin’s good luck charm, she felt her own fortune had improved.

It might be superstitious, but she always believed Jian Li was her lucky star.

If it weren’t for Jian Li taking her to run errands last year, she didn’t dare imagine what she would be like now.

“Let’s go, Aunt.”

Qian Ping put her schoolbag on her back. This time, as she headed to the battlefield, she no longer felt the anxiety she once had.

—-

The two days of the college entrance exam passed just like any other day. After the exam ended, on the weekend, Wang Mengmei closed the shop, and Jian Feng took a special leave.

The three of them went back to Wangjia Village, partly to help Qian Ping bring her luggage back, and partly to celebrate Zhao Chunlan’s birthday.

In the months after the New Year, Wang Mengmei’s business had been booming. The couple now earned around three to four thousand a month after expenses. In less than a year, Wang Mengmei had already saved up ten thousand yuan.

They stared at the final amount in their savings book for a long time.

Ten thousand yuan. They never even dared to dream of this amount before, but now it was sitting in their account.

With the money, Wang Mengmei’s trip back to her hometown this year was much grander.

She bought Zhao Chunlan a new outfit and brought two boxes of health supplements, which were heavily advertised on TV. Wang Mengmei wore a new dress she had picked out with Jian Li—a light beige long dress with a small stand-up collar. Instead of a belt, she used a long, thin scarf as a waistband.

Jian Li had also chosen a black leather saddlebag for her. When Wang Mengmei wore this outfit, every woman in the courtyard was asking where she got it.

Wang Mengmei was feeling great, then began her “humble bragging.”

“Jian Li picked it out, it’s from Xiuyun Street.”

“The color’s a bit bold. I said I couldn’t wear it, but this girl insisted I buy it.”

“The belt? Oh, I matched it myself.”

—-

Wang Mengmei held her husband’s arm with one hand and pulled her daughter along with the other, feeling full of vigor.

Jian Li didn’t expose her mother’s little vanity and walked beside her, acting as the good luck charm.

Jian Feng carried a large bag of things that Qian Ping couldn’t bring back earlier. This time, Wang Mengmei didn’t take the bus but hired a private car.

The private car was twenty yuan more expensive than the bus, and Wang Mengmei winced when paying, but she didn’t hesitate.

Since she had a lot of things to carry, the bus might have wrinkled her new clothes upon arrival.

So, she gritted her teeth and spent the extra money for comfort.

The car soon arrived at Wangjia Village, dropping the family of three off at their destination.

The village road was bumpy, but fortunately, the car could take them directly to the door. Wang Mengmei sat in the car, marveling at how nice it was to have a car.

“I wish we could buy one ourselves sometime.”

After speaking, she felt a bit greedy. Just a few days ago, they had earned ten thousand yuan, and they hadn’t even saved enough for a house yet, yet here she was thinking about a car.

Jian Feng, with a calm expression, said, “It’s not impossible.”

He hadn’t told his wife, but after reading magazines for half a year and spending long hours delivering goods, he had begun to develop a secret ambition that was difficult to share with anyone.

This ambition had grown from a tiny spark to a burning flame, making him tremble with excitement.

“If we keep working hard, we might be able to buy one sometime.”

Jian Li also supported him from the side: “Yeah, Mom, you should get a driver’s license. When we buy a car, you can take me around everywhere.”

Wang Mengmei let out a “Ha” with an expression of helplessness on her face, which clearly conveyed her meaning.

This father and daughter, one more daring than the other.

The car stopped in front of Wang Yuedong’s house, and as Wang Mengmei got out, she immediately noticed that the whole family had gathered, with only her family missing.

She took out what she brought with her. The health supplements were nothing special, but Zhao Chunlan didn’t care whether they actually worked or not. As long as she knew they were expensive, she would be pleased.

When she took out the clothes, Zhao Chunlan couldn’t stop admiring them.

The clothes Wang Mengmei bought were from a stall on the first floor of a department store. Over the past few years, some silk factories in the South had gone out of business. The ones with connections bought up the goods and sent them to northern department stores. With high rents for shops, they just rented temporary stalls and sold the goods under the name of “factory promotions,” but the prices weren’t cheap.

The print was simple, but when held in the hand, it felt light, smooth, and cool.

Wang Mengmei’s mother, Wang Menglan, was knowledgeable and immediately said it was high-quality material: “Last year, the daughter of a householder in the South gave me a handkerchief after building a house. It was something like this.”

As soon as she mentioned the price, Zhao Chunlan’s smile widened, unable to hide her joy.

“Xiao Mei is so filial, even with all her busyness, she still remembers me.”

Jian Li curled her lips. This was the art of conversation her grandmother had mastered.

When her mother wasn’t busy, she would return home four or five times a year. Every time she came back, her grandmother was never satisfied and always complained that her mother didn’t think of her, leaving her behind.

This year, her mother had come back fewer times, but Zhao Chunlan still praised her for being filial.

Clearly, the measure of filial piety wasn’t about how often one returned home, but whether the money was sent on time.

“Sis, let’s go pick some melons!”

Jian Li’s thoughts were interrupted by Wang Shuai, who had already forgotten about being scolded during the New Year and, seeing Jian Li, was eager to drag her to have fun.

Someone in the village had planted melons on the slopes. At this time, they weren’t fully ripe, and it took a while to find one that was ready to eat.

Wang Shuai led Jian Li and, after asking the person watching the melons, finally dared to pick one.

Jian Li was satisfied. She had thought Wang Shuai would lead her to steal some melons.

This wasn’t without precedent. In the past life, Wang Shuai had always done things like that. Whether it was pomegranate trees or grape vines in the village, this kid would steal them. If anyone had a rabbit, he would steal it. As for eggs, Wang Shuai didn’t even consider it stealing. If he wanted some, he would just grab them.

One year, when he came back to celebrate Zhao Chunlan’s birthday, Wang Shuai brought a fish to have his aunt, Sun Cuifang, cook it. While the family was eating, the person who owned the fishpond came knocking, saying Wang Shuai had stolen their fish.

When the complaint was made, the fish was still steaming on the dining table.

Then, Wang Yuedong, her uncle, flipped the table and beat the man, breaking two broomsticks.

Thinking back to her past life, Jian Li greatly admired Wang Shuai’s practice of spending money to buy melons.

Wang Shuai made a face, like he was constipated.

After picking out a melon, the person watching the melons weighed it.

“Three mao four, I’ll charge you three mao.”

This was the first batch of melons, so of course, it was more expensive. Jian Li didn’t think much of it, but Wang Shuai was clearly in pain.

The three mao was given with such reluctance, his eyes full of regret, almost as if he were parting with a lover.

The melon vendor took the money and deliberately teased him.

“Shuai Zi, I’m not asking for your money. It’s not about me. It’s about what you’ll tell your sister when she arrives.”

Wang Shuai: …

Jian Li, curious, asked, “What do you mean?”

The melon vendor, full of excitement, clearly had shared this story with many people before, and he told it fluently.

“You don’t know? This kid came here before to steal melons. The melons weren’t ripe yet, but not only did he steal them, he stepped on my melon vines. I was so angry. Later, I went to his sister, and she gave him a good beating.”

“Good grief, you should’ve seen it. Shuai Zi screamed like crazy after his sister hit him.”

“Even after she was done, she wasn’t satisfied. She said that if she ever caught him stealing melons again, she’d tie him up in my melon field.”

The melon vendor had a look of glee, clearly enjoying the story.

“After the beating, Yun Yun kept asking me if Shuai Zi had stolen melons, and whether he had paid for the melons.”

Jian Li, slightly dazed, asked, “You mean Wang Yun Yun?”

“Yeah, Shuai Zi’s sister, the one who always seems gentle and quiet. Tsk tsk, you should’ve seen it. Shuai Zi was beaten badly. Hey, Shuai Zi, did your sister hit you again later?”

Wang Shuai, looking like he had lost all hope, replied softly, “No…”

“Ha ha ha ha, next time, don’t do stuff like this!”

—-

In the laughter of the melon vendor, Wang Shuai seemed to fall apart.

Jian Li’s loud laughter only made him feel even more broken.

“Ha ha ha ha, you deserved it!”

Had she known that solving the issues between her uncle and Wang Shuai in the previous life only required a rampaging Wang Yun Yun, she wouldn’t have bothered at all!

Wang Shuai had an expression of utter despair, his heart already crying tears like wide noodles falling down.

The beating he had endured this past six months had all been from his sister.

Wang Yunyun’s hits, though seemingly lighter than his father’s, were by no means light!

Because no one could persuade Wang Yunyun!

She could beat him until she was tired and then take a break before continuing. No one could stop her.

Usually, when his father beat him, his grandmother or mother would intervene, and his father would stop.

But when his sister hit him, she would only stop once he admitted, “I was wrong, I was wrong,” and then after the beating, he’d have to write a self-criticism!

Wang Shuai tried asking his mother for help, but Sun Cuifang said she couldn’t do anything.

“Your sister said it’s all for your own good.”

Sun Cuifang had of course tried to persuade her daughter, but Wang Yunyun could easily shut her down with just a few words.

“Are you planning to send him to jail, and then bring him food?”

“If you want me to stop caring, then from now on, I won’t care anymore. It’s as if I don’t have this brother.”

“We’re all the same when it comes to children. As his sister, why can’t I discipline him?”

When her husband hit their son, Sun Cuifang could get angry. But when her daughter hit their son, she was afraid of making her daughter angry by saying something too harsh.

Wang Yunyun was especially considerate: “If you’re so concerned about him, next time I hit him, you can leave. If you don’t see it, you won’t feel sorry for him.”

Sun Cuifang: …