Chapter 21: Counting Money

“You all stop arguing. Mother, I support Lu Zhao. If he wants to open a shop, let him open it. He has the capital now, it’s fine. If he fails and loses it, we can earn more. After all, we are still young. I can also go find a job and make money.”

“You’re just siding with him. If he wastes all the money, he’ll drag you into a hard life!” Chen Cuilan angrily said, lamenting that men should not be spoiled like this.

Why indulge him so much?

“I’m not afraid, Mother, and I believe Lu Zhao can make a lot of money! Don’t worry, Mother. Once we make money, we’ll definitely take care of you.” Su Yunqi said naively, still thinking that making money was easy.

Chen Cuilan felt that the two children were like young calves not afraid of tigers; she couldn’t persuade them, no matter how hard she tried. “Fine, fine, fine. You two go ahead with your plans. In any case, your father and I will give you our two acres of land. If you don’t want it now, you can wait until we’re gone and take it then.”

Chen Cuilan always spoke without any filter, mentioning death casually. Su Yunqi quickly spat a few times, playfully but seriously.

“Mother, don’t say such things again. It’s unlucky. Dad and you will live to be a hundred years old.”

Chen Cuilan scolded with a smile, but no doubt, Su Yunqi’s words had made her happy. “Silly child, what’s the point of living so long? When you’re that old, it’s not necessarily a good thing.”

She generously pulled out a crumpled stack of money from her pocket, probably ten yuan, and stuffed it into Su Yunqi’s pocket.

This was the money the old man had earned today from selling taro, after working half a day. He had sold so many taros but only earned this little. Yet, Chen Cuilan, known for being as stingy as an iron rooster, couldn’t resist Su Yunqi’s soft and sweet words and became generous.

“Take it and buy some candy. I’m going now.” Chen Cuilan said, not waiting for Su Yunqi to refuse, and hurried off.

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Originally, Third Sister-in-law Sun Meixiang had come to check how Lu Zhao’s electrical wiring installation was going. She also wanted to install wiring herself, so she planned to come over and see. Unexpectedly, she stumbled upon the scene of Chen Cuilan stuffing money into Su Yunqi’s pocket.

She was greatly shocked.

After all, she had been married for so many years and had never seen the stingy Chen Cuilan give her even two dimes.

But this time, she directly gave Su Yunqi such a thick stack of money, at least 10 or 8 yuan!

She couldn’t help but feel a mix of envy and jealousy. This pretty little daughter was always able to win people over, even her mother-in-law couldn’t resist her charm.

She felt a pang of bitterness, but when she saw Su Yunqi holding the money, looking confused with a dazed, adorable expression, and then handing the money over to Lu Zhao, she realized her feelings were misplaced.

It was clearly her mother-in-law who had forced the money on her. How could she blame Su Yunqi? Furthermore, Su Yunqi hadn’t even wanted it and had given it all to Lu Zhao.

Sun Meixiang suppressed her feelings of bitterness and stepped forward.

“Third Sister-in-law, what brings you here?”

Lu Zhao greeted her casually when he saw her approaching, while Su Yunqi, recognizing her, obediently called out: “Third Sister-in-law.”

Su Yunqi stood beside Lu Zhao, her head tilted slightly down, standing just shorter than him. Like a little bird leaning against a tree, her three parts obedientness seemed to accentuate her eight parts charm.

“I came to check on your electrical wiring. I’ve been telling your Third Brother for a while that we need to get it installed, but he refused. He’s trying to save a few cents, it’s really driving me crazy.” Sun Meixiang complained, visibly upset. Her husband was a true disciple of her mother-in-law, even picking his nose with such precision!

“Don’t worry, I just had someone come and install it today. I’ll go talk to him and tell him to go install it at your place tomorrow. We’re family, so we’ll get a discount, and it won’t cost more than a few cents. I’ll cover it for you.” Lu Zhao said generously.

Lu Zhao was very good at dealing with people, and Sun Meixiang was immediately moved. “Then it’s settled! I’ll bring some corn cakes over to you later. I make the best corn cakes, you haven’t tasted them yet, but once you do, you’ll be hooked!”

Sun Meixiang, happy, reached out and pinched Su Yunqi’s soft, smooth little face. Mmm, so smooth, quite nice!

“Alright, thank you, Third Sister-in-law.”

Su Yunqi didn’t quite understand why her Third Sister-in-law had pinched her cheek, but she obediently stood still, nodding with clear eyes and a slightly dazed expression.

Once Sun Meixiang had left, Su Yunqi finally lifted her gaze and, puzzled, asked Lu Zhao.

“Why did Third Sister-in-law pinch my face?”

“She just thinks you’re pretty. If you don’t like being touched, just avoid it. What’s with just standing there like that?” Lu Zhao tapped Su Yunqi’s little head, teasing her.

“I’m too shy to avoid it. Besides, Third Sister-in-law didn’t pinch that hard, so whatever.” Su Yunqi generously decided to let it go.

“She really is clueless.” Lu Zhao shook his head, but didn’t reprimand her. He pulled her into the room, planning to do something big with her.

As soon as Su Yunqi saw him close the door, she immediately pressed herself against the wall, shaking her head in warning.

“Lu Zhao, it’s broad daylight! You’re not allowed to do anything bad!”

“Oh? What bad thing do you think I want to do? Su Yunqi, I think it’s you who wants it, hmm? If you want it, your husband isn’t someone who would say no.” Lu Zhao curled his lips into a mischievous smile, his expression full of playful intentions.

He then stepped closer, pushing her against the wall, his whole body pressing against hers.

Poor Su Yunqi, with nowhere to retreat, could only let the man pin her to the wall.

“Lu Zhao, I can’t breathe.” She pouted, complaining with a hint of dissatisfaction, her voice soft and cute.

However, Lu Zhao gave a wicked laugh and refused to step back. Instead, he lowered his head and bit Su Yunqi’s little face.

“Admit it, you’re craving my body, and I’ll let go.”

“I don’t want to! I never thought like that!”

Su Yunqi stared at him in shock, her eyes wide open. It was clearly him, always trying to touch her, so how had it ended up with her pressed against the wall?

“You do.” Lu Zhao pressed, his gaze burning with mischief. “Tell me, do you feel comfortable at night?”

Su Yunqi was at a loss for words, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. She had only a limited vocabulary for insults and finally managed to squeeze out a retort, glaring at him with her sparkling apricot eyes.

“You! You pervert!”

“I’m not a pervert. I’m showing you affection.” Lu Zhao replied confidently, seeing the water welling up in her eyes, almost bringing her to tears. Realizing this, he quickly pulled back, stopping just in time.

“Alright, alright, I’m not teasing you anymore. I actually wanted to count the money with you, to show you how much we have. We’ll set aside some for living expenses, and the rest I’ll use for investment to open the shop.”

Lu Zhao put his arm around Su Yunqi’s shoulder and gently guided her to sit on the bed. He then pulled two bricks from beneath the bed and brought out his small treasury.

Finally, it seemed they were getting down to business. Su Yunqi rubbed her eyes, holding back the tears.

“How long do you think it will take for the shop to make money? At the beginning, the store probably won’t need two people. How about you work in the shop for now, and I’ll find a job? Then, when you start making money, we’ll see.” She said thoughtfully.

“No need, just count it. I have money. I can support you!” Lu Zhao proudly handed the box to Su Yunqi and opened it.

Inside was a thick stack of money! Along with several beautiful gold bracelets!