Chapter 17

Upon a closer look, it turned out to be someone she could not recognize, holding a torch and pacing back and forth at the entrance of the village. It was a small figure…

As the figure came nearer, that little person actually raised the torch and ran toward her. It was Zhiyuan!

“Zhiyuan! What are you doing here?” she hurried to meet him.

“It’s already dark, and you’re still not back…”

Zhiyuan held the torch high, lighting the path in front of her. Only then did Lin Qingping recall the lie she had once told this child: that she was afraid of the dark… Suddenly, she felt as if some place in her heart had also been illuminated by the torch—bright and warm…

Some people, truly, even the smallest kindness you show them, they can shine on you like the sun.

“Thank you, Zhiyuan. Let’s go home.” She took the torch from Zhiyuan’s hand, held his hand, and, leading her Second Sister, walk to their home…

Father-in-law and Mother-in-law, seeing her return with her younger sister, simply assumed a relative had come to stay for a while.

This was common in the countryside, so they said nothing. They reheated the food that had been set aside for Lin Qingping and even stir-fried two additional eggs for them to eat.

By the time everything was finally settled that night, Lin Qingping saw that her younger sister had already fallen asleep. She carefully put away the signed document stamped by her mother, then sat down to write a letter to Gu Juncheng, explaining what had happened that day.

She wrote the salutation neatly and properly: Juncheng.

Looking at those two characters on the letter paper, she felt a sense of both familiarity and strangeness. It seemed she had never written his name before…

After pausing for a moment, she began to write the rest, not a single lie. She explained clearly in the letter how she had spent 500 yuan, and added that due to the urgency of the matter, she had not consulted him beforehand about such a large sum.

At the end of the letter, she added one final reminder: Be sure to stay safe.

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The next day, she took the completed letter to the production brigade and asked the Party Branch Secretary to send it. The secretary saw that the letter was addressed to a Military Unit and readily agreed to send it.

She had originally thought it would take a long time to receive his reply, but unexpectedly, just a few days later, young Wang from the production brigade came running over to tell her to pick up the phone. Chengzi was calling from the Military Unit.  

She dashed out quickly, heart racing, not knowing why he had called. Was he going to blame her? After all, 500 yuan was a significant portion of the money he had given her.  

There was only one telephone in the entire village, located at the production brigade, and the signal was extremely poor. She said “hello” repeatedly before his voice finally came through.  

“Hello.” A low, steady voice.  

“Juncheng!” she called out anxiously, her voice crisp and clear.  

“Don’t worry, I got your letter.” he said swiftly. “Don’t feel pressured. The money was given to you to spend. You take care of it as you see fit. Let Second Sister settle in at home peacefully, don’t feel any burden. I’ll write to Father and Mother and explain everything clearly.”  

He spoke quickly, but every word was distinct and forceful, as though he were speaking right next to her, close to her ear.  

“Alright… okay…”  

Suddenly, her eyes grew hot.  

She had guessed he would say something like that—he was such a good person. But hearing him say it in his own voice still moved her in a way that felt different.  

After he finished explaining, he seemed ready to hang up. Lin Qingping quickly said: “Juncheng, can I come visit you at the Military Unit? I want to make a home visit!”  

“What are you coming for? Don’t come—”  

The signal began to break up.  

“Is… is it not allowed?” she asked, uncertain.  

“No, you—”  

Lin Qingping paced around the production brigade office with the telephone in her arms, trying to recover the signal, but couldn’t. In the end, the call disconnected, leaving only the beeping sound of the line.  

Lin Qingping hung up the phone helplessly, feeling somewhat deflated, and returned home.  

Upon returning, she discovered that they had guests.  

Or rather, not exactly guests—it was her elder sister-in-law, Gu Juncheng’s sister, Gu Youlian.

Gu Juncheng was the second child in his family. He had an elder sister who had married into a neighboring village and had a daughter.  

In her previous life, Lin Qingping had paid little attention to the members of the Gu family. She had never even addressed her sister-in-law as “Big Sister.” After Gu Juncheng’s death, she had left the Gu family entirely and knew little of her sister-in-law’s fate thereafter.  

At that moment, Gu Youlian was circling around with her daughter Xiao Mai, examining the new clothes of Lin Qingping’s Second Sister, talking so animatedly that her spit flew.  

“Your sister definitely bought this from the department store. The things they sell there are so expensive. Let me tell you, my husband can get the exact same things at factory price—dirt cheap. Look at me, then look at what Xiao Mai is wearing. All of it was bought by him. Costs at least half as much!”  

As Lin Qingping listened, a light flashed in her mind.  

“Big Sister, what’s this about factory price?” she quickly asked.  

When Gu Youlian saw her return, she immediately grabbed her and asked: “You bought this from the department store, didn’t you? I compared them! It’s the exact same stuff—just a big price difference. Look at this one of mine, only the color’s different.”  

Her face was full of pride in her husband’s abilities.  

“Big Sister, I want to go take a look. Could you and Brother-in-law take me there?”  

The previously listless Lin Qingping suddenly became energized.  

Of course Gu Youlian was happy to agree—was this not the perfect opportunity to show off her husband’s capabilities?  

One had been anxious to help, the other eager to boast, so the two of them quickly decided they would go the next day to find this factory-priced clothing.  

When her Sister-in-law left, Lin Qingping even stuffed a big handful of candies into her niece Xiao Mai’s hands.  

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Early the next morning, as agreed, Lin Qingping set off with Second Sister to meet up with her elder sister-in-law and brother-in-law.  

Du Gen was tall and lanky, with very fair skin—indeed not someone suited for farm work. It was said his ancestors had been traveling merchants, so perhaps he had inherited the genes. He loved roaming the streets and wandering about. There was hardly a place within a ten-mile radius that he had not set foot in.

“It’s a clothing factory in another county.” Du Gen explained. “The warehouse is packed full of clothes. I can take you there to have a look, but it’s quite far. Are you sure you’re up for it?”  

“Let’s go—better to leave early and come back early!” Lin Qingping was already a little impatient.  

“Alright!” Du Gen agreed readily.  

It was far. They had set out early in the morning and only arrived in the afternoon.  

However, Lin Qingping had overestimated Du Gen’s abilities. Du Gen only happened to know the warehouse manager at the factory. To buy such a large quantity of goods directly from the warehouse required permission from someone higher up in the clothing factory.  

He said a whole basketful of good things before the warehouse manager finally agreed to take them to see the Sales Section Chief.  

The Sales Section Chief had never encountered something like this before.  

“Our clothes are only supplied to department stores and shopping malls. We don’t sell to individuals.”  

Who would buy a single piece of clothing from a factory instead of going to the mall? His response was an outright rejection.  

“What if I want to buy a hundred pieces—or even more?” Lin Qingping’s voice rang out with force.  

Her words startled both Gu Youlian and her husband, as well as Second Sister.  

Gu Youlian was already tugging desperately at the hem of her clothes, trying to stop her.  

The Sales Section Chief nearly mistook her for a con artist.  

“Chief.” Lin Qingping said directly: “we’re ready to pay cash on the spot and take the goods today. Where would I even get the chance to scam you?”  

She immediately pulled out a thick stack of ten-yuan notes and laid them out—solid, real money.  

“I want to buy autumn and winter clothing.”  

The Sales Section Chief hesitated for a long while before finally agreeing and led them to the warehouse.  

“Everything inside here is for autumn and winter. Take a look at the styles you want. Once you’ve made your selection, let me know.”  

There were no sample displays—they had to go inside the warehouse and choose from the actual stock.  

Who does business like this?  

But Lin Qingping didn’t complain. She plunged straight into the warehouse.