Chapter 56 You Can’t Be Angry~

“Daidai, take your time. Second Brother’s here to stand up for you!” Xue Furong’s gaze toward Xie Yan was already growing sharp.
Xie Yan’s character was spotless, true—but his little sister wasn’t lacking either. That pretty little face and her pure smile had already made many boys fall for her.

Her mother had said that when Daidai was in a good mood, all the village boys tried to butter her up. During the busy season, they even scrambled to help her with the chores.
But then, someone started spreading rumors behind her back, calling her spoiled and arrogant. Her reputation in the village slowly soured.
The Xue family couldn’t explain everything away, and things got more complicated the more they tried. In the end, they could only try their best to protect Daidai and remind her not to take those foolish words to heart.

Later, when a male educated youth returned to the city, Daidai had fallen ill from heartbreak.
When Xue Furong got that letter, he’d felt like his chest was being squeezed. He wanted nothing more than to rush home, but as a soldier, he had his duty.
So he gave her material support—but deep down, he knew he’d failed as a brother.

If this time Xie Yan had truly done something wrong, he’d cut off the friendship with no hesitation.

Feeling the intense look from his friend, Xie Yan awkwardly scratched his crew cut with his long fingers, then clenched his fists.
“Well, I guess this really is my fault.”
Even though he didn’t know what exactly he’d done wrong—admitting fault was always a safe bet.

He pulled out a clean towel and gently wiped away Daidai’s tears. Each teardrop hit his heart like a hammer.
So—what had he actually done wrong? He needed to “die” knowing.

Xue Furong patted his sister’s back. She must’ve been so wronged.
“Second Brother’s late. I’m sorry.”

Xue Qingdai bit her lip and said in a soft, pouty voice,
“Second Brother, Xie Yan ruined my clothes when he washed them. I really liked them.”
“He’s so clumsy—and stitched them back so ugly.”

Xue Furong: “…That’s really serious!”
To be fair, her clothes were precious.
But for Xie Yan, who hadn’t even married his sister yet, to be washing her clothes—that alone was rare. No unmarried man would do that. Xie Yan really was a bit foolish.

Xie Yan’s face was a little flushed, and he undid one button at the collar.
“Second Brother, that’s my mistake. I’ll be extra careful next time I wash Daidai’s clothes.”

Xue Furong gently touched his sister’s smooth cheek. Her complexion looked much better—her lips were rosy.
He remembered how weak and pale she used to be, and his nose stung with emotion.
Xie Yan had taken very good care of her. There was no denying that.

Why did she look even prettier than before?

“Daidai, you’ve gotten prettier—let me see.”
Xue Furong sighed in relief. Complimenting a girl’s looks was always the right move.

He turned to Xie Yan, pleased. “Good brother-in-law. Just keep doing what Daidai says.”

Xue Qingdai huffed—men really didn’t understand how heartbreaking it was to lose a favorite piece of clothing.
“Yes, Second Brother!”

Xie Yan’s heart surged with emotion. That “brother-in-law” was real recognition.

Xue Furong picked up the little puppy. “Daidai, this your dog?”
“Mhm! Second Brother, he’s really smart.”
“Yanyan, wish your uncle an early New Year.”

Yanyan wore a bright red-and-green patchwork outfit and raised a paw, tongue wagging.

Xue Furong: “Ahem, yeah… really smart.”

This was absurd. Xie Yan actually played along with her. It was like cutting open your own butt with a knife—completely eye-opening.
This dog was seriously next-level. Could lick better than a person. The name, though—was still weird.

Xie Yan put Yanyan back in his little dog house—he couldn’t afford to lose face in front of his long-time buddy.

Then he went back to helping Xue Qingdai write raffle tickets for the prizes:
Third Prize: “Thank You” Participation Prize
Second Prize: Handmade Soap
First Prize: One Free Item

He carefully wrote with a fountain pen in bold, structured navy ink just as Daidai asked.

Xue Furong helped wrap the lip balms and bonus items in kraft paper, sealing them with a red clay stamp that read “Meidai Cosmetics.”

“Daidai, did Third Brother get you a company seal?” he asked, tying the packaging twine with practiced speed.

“Yep! He has connections—someone in the Finance Bureau helped expedite it. Isn’t it a nice name?”

Xue Furong was still wondering how Third Brother had those connections with the Finance Bureau.
“It sounds great~” Xie Yan said, handing over the finished raffle tickets.

Xue Furong stared at Xie Yan with a strange glint. “Daidai sure picked a good name.”
The two were singing in harmony—were they going to leave him out of this?

Outside, people were already waiting. Lin Granny had come early to line up.

“Xiao Xue, don’t worry. I already spread the word. Everyone’s out back lining up.”

Xue Qingdai only put out 36 tubes. Selling too many would draw attention.
Each was priced at one yuan—a fortune in this era. A bottle of snow cream only cost 0.8 yuan, and hers wasn’t even for the face.

To housewives who managed every penny, this cost more than meat.
But since she had explained the difficulty of making it, and people had good experiences with it, they were willing to pay.

“Can’t you make it a bit cheaper? How about 2 yuan for 3? I’ll buy more.”

Xue Qingdai smiled warmly.
“Sis, no rush. This is already at cost—losing money just to build trust. I rejected two batches of beeswax because they weren’t perfect. Look at this clear pink hue—you won’t find it elsewhere.”

“And there’s a little raffle too. If you win first prize, this tube is free.”

“Well, alright then.”

A lot of people who hesitated at first decided to take the plunge and buy a tube.
She sold out within two hours. The latecomers even bought her leftover coconut oil soaps.
She priced the soap at 0.5 yuan each—and they sold well too.

She stored her side hustle earnings in a biscuit tin: mostly small bills and coins—totaling 45.5 yuan.
She almost wanted to sleep hugging that box.

She still had the nearly 3,600 yuan in pocket money Third Brother had given her before.
And 300 yuan more from her parents and eldest brother. She couldn’t even spend it all.
Money was incredibly valuable now. Without buying clothes or shoes, she could live on less than a yuan a day.

Money meant security. She kissed her little golden piggy bank.

Xie Yan asked, “Why so happy?”

“Of course I am! My customers are the best.”
“And Xie Yan, if it weren’t for your help, I might’ve panicked.”

She’d even developed a habit of praising him once a day. If she didn’t, she got itchy.
She put Xie Yan’s hand to her cheek. She remembered how much he loved touching her face.

“Daidai, why don’t you want me to visit your home? Can you tell me?”

Xie Yan took advantage of her good mood to ask—if there was something wrong, he’d fix it. But if she didn’t let him go to the Xue family’s home, how could they even get married?

“I’ll tell you—but you can’t get mad~”
She still remembered how scary his cold face could be.

Xie Yan immediately regretted asking.
This couldn’t be good news.
But with her, he was helpless.