Chapter 9: My Family Has Plenty of Money

Unexpectedly, even though she’d given him a way out, he wanted to move out. The landlord opened her mouth to scold, “Think you’re so clever? Want to stay, then stay. Don’t want to stay, then get out! Don’t even think about getting your rent back!”

“Don’t think things will be alright just because you two broke up! If you dare to give me any trouble, I’ll still go to your school! I want to see if you can even get into university after this gets out!”

The landlord grumbled and left.

Bai Jun collapsed to the ground again, only managing to stand up after a long while, supporting himself on the ground. The pots and pans couldn’t be sold immediately, but the rice, flour, and briquettes could be exchanged for money. He needed to eat his fill so he’d have the energy for class in the afternoon.

As he stepped out of the door, a surprised voice rang out from the neighboring doorway, “Bai Jun, what are you doing here?”

Bai Jun looked over. It was a girl of eighteen or nineteen, wearing a small floral dress, a pair of square-toed leather shoes, and a shoulder bag. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, making her look both pretty and energetic.

“You are…?”

“I’m Qin Lan.”

Qin Lan smiled.

After her rebirth, her first act was to instigate her mother to make things difficult for Gu Yunchi, forcing her and her older brother to divorce. Her second act was to find a way to contact Bai Jun.

In her previous life, Bai Jun had gone to the capital city for university and joined a research institute after graduation, becoming a pillar of the nation. If she wanted to leave the countryside, Bai Jun was the best choice.

She and Bai Jun had been classmates. Remembering his appearance, she went to the gate of County No. 1 Middle School and waited for him, following him home. Then she rented a house next door, spread the word that Jiang Yiyi was an army wife, waited for the landlord to chase her out, and then offered the house to Bai Jun, taking the opportunity to win his favor.

She had money, was pretty, young, and energetic. Bai Jun would surely be attracted to her.

She had heard everything clearly from behind the wall. The situation was better than she expected; Jiang Yiyi had actually broken up with Bai Jun. Suppressing her excitement, she went back to her room, tidied herself up in front of the mirror, and quickly walked to the front door, waiting for Bai Jun to come out.

Bai Jun didn’t remember who Qin Lan was, but seeing her clothes and appearance, he guessed her family must be wealthy. He clenched his fists. “C-could you lend me some money?”

Fearing that Qin Lan wouldn’t lend him any, he quickly added, “I’ll pay you back soon.”

With some money to tide him over, he could sell those things slowly and get more money.

Qin Lan took out five ten-yuan bills from her bag and gave them to him. “Is that enough? If not, I have more. My brother is in business; our family has a lot of money. My allowance is two hundred yuan a month.”

Bai Jun’s heart stirred, and he swallowed the words about only borrowing ten yuan.

“Thank you, I’ll pay you back as soon as possible.”

“It’s only ten yuan, no need to pay it back. By the way, I live next door. If you have any difficulties in the future, just tell me.”

…

Jiang Yiyi went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought several pieces of cloth. She also bought a bag of milk powder for Gu’s mother.

Gu’s mother didn’t have a serious illness; she had just been too sad and hadn’t been properly nourished, which is why she had been unwell.

She also bought half a pound of sugar, a box of pastries, two pound of chili powder, and various seasonings.

Seeing her spend so much money without batting an eye, several saleswomen were envious. That amount was almost two months’ worth of their wages.

Jiang Yiyi wanted to buy some frying pans but didn’t see any after looking around. She figured they probably didn’t have any and planned to look elsewhere. As she looked up, she saw several saleswomen looking at her. She had an idea and asked the closest one, “Big sister, do you have any frying pans here?”

“No.”

“Do you know where I can buy some?”

If it were someone else, the saleswoman would have rolled her eyes. Their supply and marketing cooperative didn’t have any, and other places wouldn’t either. But seeing Jiang Yiyi spend money so freely, they figured her family must be wealthy. They didn’t dare to give her the cold shoulder. “Nowhere.”

“Then do you know where I can buy a used three-wheeled bicycle?”

She lowered her voice.

She needed a three-wheeled bicycle to sell cold noodles. She wanted to buy a used one first. Although the original owner came to the county town every few days, she didn’t know where to buy one.

Then, she lowered her voice again, “I can give you two yuan as a referral fee.”

Two yuan!

The saleswoman’s eyes lit up. She said to her colleague, “I’ll be right back.”

Then she came out from behind the counter and went out.

Jiang Yiyi also went out carrying her things. She gave the saleswoman a handful of sugar. Sugar wasn’t cheap, and although they sold it every day, the saleswomen didn’t eat much of it. The saleswoman unceremoniously took the sugar and put it in her pocket. While walking, she said, “My cousin sells three-wheeled bicycles. I’ll just take you there; you can negotiate the price yourselves.”

“Thank you, Big Sister.”

The saleswoman waved her hand and led her to a former black market, into a courtyard. There were more than ten bicycles in the courtyard, some new and some old. There were only two three-wheeled bicycles, and they looked rather dilapidated.

“Cousin, she wants to buy a three-wheeled bicycle.”

The saleswoman called out to a man.

The man saw her bags and quickly came over.

Jiang Yiyi gave the saleswoman two yuan. After the saleswoman left, she asked, “Do you have any newer ones?”

“Yes, but they’re expensive.”

Few people bought three-wheeled bicycles, so he didn’t stock many. The few he had were from other places. He was afraid of being investigated, so he only put out two old ones.

“Let me see.”

The man took her to another courtyard. In the west room, there were two three-wheeled bicycles, almost brand new.

“Three hundred yuan, not a cent less.”

“I’ll take it, but I need you to make a glass cover for the top. I’ll pay for it.”

Unexpectedly, the sale went so smoothly. The man didn’t hesitate to agree.

Jiang Yiyi asked him for paper and a pen, drew a diagram and dimensions of the glass cover, gave her name and address, paid a deposit of thirty yuan, and agreed to come back in three days to pay the rest.

“I also need some frying pans, preferably aluminum ones. Does your brother know anyone who sells them?”

The man’s name was Cui Yong. He was a quick-witted person. After the opening up of private businesses, he started selling used bicycles and naturally had connections.

However, he had never heard of frying pans before, but from the literal meaning, he knew what they were. He replied, “How big? How many do you need?”

“Ten for now.”

“Wait a moment.”

Cui Yong took her back to the previous courtyard and rode a bicycle away. After more than ten minutes, he came back with a man of similar age.

“This is Brother Liu. Talk to him.”

Jiang Yiyi drew a diagram again and gave the approximate size. At this time, people didn’t have much money, so to get them to buy cold noodles, the quantity couldn’t be small, and the noodles naturally had to be larger than those in later generations.

“This isn’t difficult; I can make them in a day. Ten yuan each.”

Jiang Yiyi didn’t haggle, but she didn’t have any money on her. She said, “I’ll come to Brother Cui’s place to pick up the three-wheeled bicycle in three days, and I’ll pay you then.”

Brother Liu looked at Cui Yong, who nodded. He nodded as well. “Okay.”