Chapter 15: This Child Will Never Be Kept

The old saying goes, “Sour boys, spicy girls.” Seeing the bright red chili oil on the cold noodles, Qin Gang’s face darkened. When he pursued Gu Yunchi, it was not only because of her beauty, but also because Gu Yunchi, along with her siblings Gu Yunze, Gu Yunyang, and Gu Yuncan, were all twins. He’d expected Gu Yunchi to have twins as well, but she had given birth to two daughters, nearly extinguishing his hopes of a male heir.

If the woman were to have another girl, he would absolutely not keep the child.

“Tell me, is what she said true or not?”

“What nonsense! Go home.”

The woman refused to go home, insisting on an answer. Driven to desperation, Qin Gang forgot about settling the score with Jiang Yiyi, carried the woman home, pushed his motorcycle inside, and slammed the door shut.

The alley fell silent.

Dozens of people had gathered to watch the drama. It was the perfect time to sell cold noodles. Jiang Yiyi quickly prepared a serving, “Delicious cold noodles! Sample before you buy!”

Her call woke the onlookers. Qin Gang and the woman had lived there for six months, and everyone assumed they were a couple. The truth, however, was far less respectable. While their relationship was now out in the open, the woman had always been arrogant and looked down on the alley’s residents. No one felt sympathy for her; instead, everyone was eager for gossip.

“Really free samples?”

“Of course! I’ve been selling cold noodles for years. You can ask around at the county factories or the state-run restaurant—I just delivered a batch there.”

The state-run restaurant also sold her noodles. The crowd momentarily forgot the gossip and scrambled for a taste.

“How much?”

“Three cents.”

“I’ll take one! Me too!”

In a flash, she sold over twenty servings. While she worked, people inquired about Qin Gang, and Jiang Yiyi told them everything she knew. She’d already offended him, so a few more words wouldn’t hurt.

After the last customer, Jiang Yiyi rode her tricycle away. At the alley entrance, a woman emerged from a house on the right, clutching a few coins. “Could…could I buy the leftovers?”

Jiang Yiyi was about to refuse when a little girl, three or four years old, wearing an oversized bellyband and barefoot, appeared, her eyes fixed on the enamel bowl of cold noodles.

Jiang Yiyi’s heart softened. She stopped the tricycle, scooped the top layer of noodles, gestured for the woman to come closer, and poured the rest into the woman’s bowl.

“Too much, too much!”

The woman was flustered; she only had five cents.

“I’d throw this away anyway, so don’t worry about the money.”

“That’s not right.”

The woman insisted on paying. She was poor, but she didn’t want to take advantage of anyone.

“If you keep arguing, I won’t give it to you.”

Jiang Yiyi pretended to be stern.

“Thank you, thank you.”

The woman’s eyes welled up, repeatedly thanking her.

“Take it home and feed your child.”

The woman thanked her again, took the noodles inside, and quickly closed the door. “Ya Ya, go eat with your brother.”

Jiang Yiyi watched the closed door thoughtfully.

“Cold noodle lady, wait!”

Someone ran up with an enamel bowl. She had bought a serving earlier, but her husband had eaten it all. Wanting her three children to have some, she rushed back out to buy another.

“Big sister, I saw that family’s child only wearing a bellyband. Are they very poor?”

“That family…”

The woman lowered her voice, “They’re so poor they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. It’s a hard life. She has two children—an older son who’s frail and often sick, requiring a lot of money. But when her husband was alive, he was a soldier, with a monthly allowance. His parents looked after the children, and she could work. Life was decent. But two years ago, her husband died, and her in-laws took all the compensation money, kicking her and her children out. Her family wouldn’t take them in, so she couldn’t work to support her children and had to take odd jobs.”

“This house belongs to a relative who lets them stay for free out of pity. People in this alley feel sorry for her and help when they can, but no one is rich, so the help is limited.”

Jiang Yiyi nodded.

After the woman left, Jiang Yiyi knocked on the door. It opened quickly. Seeing her, the woman’s face showed panic, fearing Jiang Yiyi would regret giving her so much.

“I’ve been selling cold noodles for a while now. On a good day, I sell over a hundred servings; on a slow day, it’s still dozens. If you want to sell them, I can supply you. You pay after you sell them.”

The woman was stunned, seemingly understanding and not understanding at the same time.

“I’ll sell them at the textile factory gate. If you’re free, you can come with me to have a look.”

“I’m free, I’m free.”

The woman told her children, locked the door, and followed Jiang Yiyi to the textile factory gate.

When the workers left, they flocked to Jiang Yiyi’s stall.

“Why weren’t you here yesterday? I waited until 12:30.”

“I was selling at the ironworks yesterday.”

“The ironworks don’t have as many people as our factory. Don’t go there anymore.”

Yesterday’s noodles were delicious; the whole family couldn’t get enough. At only three cents a serving, even if they ate them every day, it would only cost nine cents a month. With four people working, their monthly wages totaled over a hundred yuan; nine cents was nothing.

Jiang Yiyi smiled without saying anything.

The woman watched Jiang Yiyi’s non-stop work, wanting to help but not knowing how. But a spark ignited in her eyes. Even if one serving earned one cent, selling dozens a day would earn her several cents.

After half an hour, the crowd thinned. The woman was about to speak when a man on a bicycle arrived, wearing an apron and sweating profusely. He stopped at the stall. “I’m from the state-run restaurant. Manager Huang sent me to buy thirty servings of cold noodles.”

Jiang Yiyi counted out thirty servings. The man paid and rushed off.

“I want to sell.”

The woman said eagerly.

The answer was exactly as Jiang Yiyi expected.

“I’ll give you 2.5 cents per serving; you sell them for three cents. Don’t lower the price. You can gather some bricks to make a stall. I’ll deliver them at 10 am every day, and you’ll pay the next day.”

This price was beyond the woman’s expectations. She nodded frantically. Each serving earned five cents. She had counted earlier; Jiang Yiyi had sold over a hundred servings, meaning she could earn several yuan a day.

“See you tomorrow at 10.”

The woman nodded again, watched Jiang Yiyi leave, and ran home excitedly.

Jiang Yiyi went to County No. 1 Middle School. After Jiang Jinzhong finished eating and went to school, she hawked the remaining noodles, bought two watermelons, five pounds of meat, and twenty pounds of flour, returning home around the same time as yesterday.