Chapter 13

On the sixth day of the sixth month, Zhang Hongying deliberately took a day off in advance from Master Wang, saying she was going to buy wonton wrappers to make wontons.

According to local custom, the sixth day of the sixth month is the day to eat wontons.

For children, eating wontons was secondary — the real joy was that after this day, they were finally allowed to swim in the water.

Summers in this area were unbearably hot and stifling, with barely any wind. Temperatures could rise to thirty-eight or thirty-nine degrees Celsius. Being able to soak in the water was the greatest relief.

No one really knew where the rule came from, but children were only allowed in the water between the sixth of the sixth month and the start of autumn.

Boys could swim throughout their childhood, but once girls started developing, they were too embarrassed to swim. Wet clothes clinging to the body were simply too revealing.

In Jiangnan, the water towns are full of bridges.

From Qing Town to Bai Town, the distance was only seven or eight kilometers, but one had to cross eighteen bridges.

Zhang Hongying, in order to keep up the appearance of poverty in front of Li Xiaofang — and also to save money for a house — had never bought a bicycle.

When she woke up, it was still early. Zhang Xiaoshu and Li Xiaofang were still in the fields weeding.

Zhang Hongying hurried out. Her money was kept at the credit union, and the passbook was a small handwritten card, which she usually kept at the tailor shop. Just last night, she had brought it home, tucked inside a notebook.

Li Xiaofang couldn’t read, and Zhang Xiaoshu only recognized his own name. Zhang Hongxing was staying at their aunt’s house and hadn’t returned — so for the moment, the passbook was safe.

But only for the moment.

Zhang Hongying had also taken the household registration book. She considered whether to withdraw the money first and then head to Bai Town to buy the house.

But after thinking it through, she realized there were too many thieves nowadays — if the money got stolen, she would have no one to turn to for help.

Besides, who would believe a kid carrying over a thousand yuan was only out to buy wonton wrappers?

In the end, she left empty-handed, carrying just a cloth bag to buy wonton wrappers. Inside the bag, though, were her household registration book and passbook.

When she reached the market in Bai Town, sure enough, a commotion was going on.

“You cripple, move out tomorrow! The old man’s dead. We’re taking back the house.”

Turns out the old tailor still had a disabled apprentice, who was still running the shop.

The cripple pleaded, “Please, let me keep renting this shop. I’ll pay good rent.
I’m crippled — there’s really no other work I can do.”

“We don’t want your rent! Collecting monthly payments is a pain. And the three of us brothers — who wants to keep splitting the rent every month?”

“How about this — don’t sell the house. You three draw lots, whoever wins gets the house, and they can keep renting it to me.”

“You’ve got some nerve. Our family business — and you think you get a say?”

But his words had hit a nerve. If one of them got the house outright, who wouldn’t be pleased?

So the three of them started arguing over the valuation.

At that time, houses like this cost around 800 to 1,000 yuan.

If they priced it at 800, all three wanted it. But no one wanted to draw lots — what if someone else got lucky and took it?

At 1,000, none of them wanted it.

The house was old, made of wood, probably over a hundred years old. It was tiny — basically useless.

Sure enough, they began advertising it for sale.

In her past life, Zhang Hongying had thought they were just fighting in the heat of the moment and threatening to sell it. But listening now, it seemed more like the argument was staged — just to draw attention and sell the house.

After all, without real estate agents, selling a house took effort. Some homes sat unsold for years.

The three brothers had already moved to other cities and didn’t want to waste time on an old little shop. A bit over a thousand yuan, split three ways — that was several months’ salary.

The sixth of the sixth month was a market day — crowds of people came.

Locals loved drama and gossip. With this fight, by evening everyone from two neighboring towns would have heard: the old tailor had died, and his shop was up for sale.

Even if the house didn’t sell that day, in a couple of days, someone would come knocking.

Zhang Hongying watched with great interest. In her past life, she watched for the drama. This time, she was reading between the lines.

People were everywhere. She was afraid if she revealed herself now, someone familiar would recognize her — and all her careful planning would go to waste.

So after watching enough, she went into the market to shop.

During holidays, wonton wrappers were a hot item.

She got there just as one batch had sold out and another was being prepared. She joined the queue.

Everyone was chatty — they started discussing how much the tailor shop was worth.

The general consensus: 800 yuan was cheap, but 1,000 was too much.

They said that kind of money could get you land in a village to build a big house — now that was worth it. Town houses like this, eaten by termites and crawling with ants, were unfit to live in.

People still preferred factory jobs — stable and worry-free. Only a few craftsmen or market vendors had any kind of business. There wasn’t much of a real commercial scene yet.

Only Zhang Hongying knew the real potential of that shop… so maybe, if she bargained, she could get it for under 1,200 yuan.

But — the longer she waited, the more risk there was. She couldn’t afford that gamble.

Zhang Hongying left the line, saying she’d go buy some meat for the filling.

Sure enough, by the time she slowly bought the meat and wrappers, the early shoppers had all gone home.

When she returned to the tailor shop, it was quiet again. The three brothers and the cripple were sitting together, smoking.

No longer shouting, they looked a little worried.

It seemed they still hadn’t resolved who would take the house.

Zhang Hongying walked up and asked, “Will you sell the house for 900 yuan?”

The oldest brother looked up in surprise, saw a little girl, and waved her off. “Go on, kid, don’t meddle in grown-up stuff.”

Zhang Hongying remained calm. “My mom sent me to buy a shop. She wants to start a little business.”

That sounded plausible. But the eldest brother still asked, “Where are your parents?”

“I brought the passbook,” she said. “Let’s do the deal first. If I go home to ask my mom, and come back to find the place sold — then what?”

There was only one market in Bai Town. Her concern made sense.

The brothers exchanged looks. They were tempted.

The cripple, though, seemed anxious. “What kind of shop are you opening?” he asked.

“I’m in the same trade as you,” Zhang Hongying said. “But I haven’t finished my apprenticeship yet.

Until I’m ready, you can keep renting this place.

Even after I finish, there’s more work than one person can handle. We can share the shop and split the business.”

The cripple brightened up.

With that, the five of them reached an agreement. The three brothers took Zhang Hongying on their bicycle to withdraw the money, then personally completed the house transfer.

At that time, transferring property was simple. Zhang Hongying saved 300 yuan and gained a shop with endless future potential. When she got home, a smile was still on her face.