Taotao said, “Second, we’ll split the earnings fifty-fifty. The capital is mine, but I won’t ask what exactly you do. Whatever you earn, we split it evenly.”

Cheng Zhujun suddenly became excited.

Then, Taotao continued, “Third, if you have an urgent need, you can temporarily use the shared earnings. Just make sure to keep track of it and show me the records. But no matter what, the ten yuan of capital must not be touched!”

——It hadn’t been long since Brother Nansheng had spent ten yuan on a hair tie from Cheng Zhujun, right? But it didn’t seem like the lives of Cheng Zhujun and her younger brother had improved much. So, there was a high chance that the ten yuan had been used by Cheng Zhujun for her little brother.

Now, Taotao set the rule that “no matter what, the capital must not be touched,” hoping to restrain Cheng Zhujun.

Teaching someone to fish was better than giving them a fish.

Besides, Taotao could also take a share of the profits!

Bai Lili was anxious and whispered, “Taotao, we don’t have ten yuan!”

Taotao grinned and took ten yuan out of her pocket, handing it to Cheng Zhujun.

Cheng Zhujun was both shocked and delighted!

Bai Lili’s eyes widened, and she whispered, “Taotao, where did you get that money?”

——Taotao had gotten this money from Aunt Li Cui’er.

But Taotao said, “Song Zhi gave it to me.”

Bai Lili fell silent.

Cheng Zhujun was so overwhelmed with joy that she nearly cried!

“This is great, Taotao! Thank you for giving me this opportunity… So, how do I contact you? And how do I split the earnings with you?” Cheng Zhujun asked.

Bai Taotao thought for a moment and said, “We live in the countryside, so we don’t get many chances to come to town. Let’s settle the profits every two months. If you need to find me urgently, go to the guesthouse and look for Aunt Guihua and ask her to pass a message to me.”

Cheng Zhujun clutched the money tightly, her voice excited. “Then I’ll write up an agreement for you!”

Taotao nodded. “Alright!”

After a pause, Taotao added, “It’s getting late, we need to head back now, or my mom will worry. Tomorrow evening at this time, we’ll come find you again. Then, I’ll bring the agreement so you can sign it. Oh, also, we brought some bamboo rattles and bamboo dragonflies from the countryside. Could you try selling them for us? You can set the price however you like. We’ll split it seventy-thirty, I take seventy, and you take thirty.”

Cheng Zhujun didn’t care what she sold. As long as she had something to sell and could make money, that was enough. So she nodded, “Alright, I’ll wait for you at my stall tomorrow evening!”

Taotao then left with Lili and returned to the guesthouse.

Fortunately, Tang Liren hadn’t come back yet.

The guesthouse’s dining hall had a television, and it was playing The White-Haired Girl.

——The last time Taotao had come to stay at the guesthouse with her family, they hadn’t had an introduction letter, so Aunt Guihua had secretly let them in. Because of that, her family kept a close eye on her, not allowing her to get too close to the television. She had only been able to sneak a glance from the staircase before being dragged away.

But this time, thanks to Song Zhi, she had a proper introduction letter and could officially stay at the guesthouse. So she weaved through the crowd watching TV, walked right up to the screen, and reached out to touch it.

Lili hurried over, pulling Taotao back while apologizing to the ten or so guests watching the television. “Sorry! Sorry! My little sister hasn’t seen much of the world…”

In this era, people who had an introduction letter to travel and stay in guesthouses usually weren’t of low standing. Besides, Taotao was beautiful, neatly dressed, and had an innocent and naive look.

The guests simply chuckled and didn’t say much.

Taotao and her sister sat in the dining hall, watching the television intently.

Having never experienced watching TV before, she was extremely curious. She stared at the screen without blinking, completely absorbed.

By the time the show ended and the guests started dispersing—

Song Zhi and Tang Liren were right next to them???

Taotao was pleasantly surprised. “Mom! Song Zhi, when did you get here?”

Tang Liren laughed. “We called you several times, but you didn’t respond! You were completely lost in the movie!”

Taotao looked puzzled. “What’s a movie?”

Song Zhi explained, and only then did Taotao understand. She sighed enviously, “So that’s how it is. I’ve never watched a movie before!”

Tang Liren smiled. “Don’t worry. Once we’re back home, you’ll be able to watch movies too. We just have to wait until after the autumn harvest!”

Taotao looked forward to it.

Song Zhi patted her head. “Go to bed early. It’s almost eleven already!”

He naturally took Taotao’s hand and led her upstairs.

Tang Liren frowned as she stared at Song Zhi’s hand. She wanted to stop him several times… but held back.

As Taotao walked, she asked Song Zhi about his visit to Hongxing Factory—what he did today and how long he would stay this time.

Song Zhi answered truthfully, saying that starting tomorrow, he would officially begin helping the factory repair their machinery. It would probably take about three days.

Tang Liren, following behind, added, “Taotao, we can only stay for one more day. The day after tomorrow, we have to leave. Your sister-in-law is about to give birth. If I’m not home to take care of her, I won’t feel at ease!”

Taotao nodded, then looked at Song Zhi worriedly. “When I leave with Mom and Sister, will you be scared being here alone?”

Song Zhi smiled.

——He understood that Taotao’s worries had two meanings: one, she was afraid he would feel lonely; two, she was afraid he wasn’t familiar with the area.

No one had ever cared about him like this before.

Song Zhi thought about it carefully and answered seriously, “…A little.”

Afraid of being lonely. Afraid of always being left alone.

Taotao encouraged him, “Don’t be scared! If you ever feel afraid, just look for the Public Security Bureau.”

She had seen a big red banner near the train station that read: Look for the Public Security Bureau to ensure your safety.

After a brief pause, Taotao added, “We’re all waiting for you at home.”

Song Zhi smiled. “Alright, I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

Tang Liren and Bai Lili exchanged glances—

What was going on?

Why did it feel like their exitance was quite redundant?

Back in their room, Taotao and her family settled in, but Lili immediately tattled—telling Tang Liren that Taotao had spent thirty cents to buy twelve bars of soap.

Tang Liren nearly jumped three feet high. “What? Thirty cents for twelve bars of soap??? Why didn’t you two buy more?”

Lili also told Tang Liren about the business that Taotao and Cheng Zhujun had partnered on.

Tang Liren frowned. “Taotao, where did you get the money?”

Taotao didn’t hide anything and answered directly.

Tang Liren burst into laughter, tears even flying out. “Only you could manage to squeeze money out of your aunt!”

“Well… who knows how much she’s taken from us over the years? Now that you’ve gotten ten yuan back, it’s just a drop in the bucket, but at least it’s something…”

As she spoke, Tang Liren added, “Tomorrow, I’ll go with you two to take a look. You’re still young, so be careful not to get scammed!”

Taotao yawned, washed up, and went to bed.

The next morning, Taotao pestered Song Zhi, wanting to go to the factory with him.

Song Zhi didn’t object. He just informed Tang Liren before taking Taotao with him.

It was Taotao’s first time seeing a machinery factory.

Wow…

It was filthy and chaotic!

—The spacious workshop was packed with oddly shaped, massive metal machines. The air reeked of rust and machine oil, and the constant humming and clanking of the machines were deafening.

Someone approached and greeted Song Zhi with a handshake. “Engineer Song!”

Seeing Taotao standing beside him, the man gave her a once-over and asked, “Engineer Song, this is…?”

Song Zhi kept his tone as even as possible. “My fiancée.” As he said this, his ears turned bright red!

Taotao shot him a sideways glance but said nothing.

The man looked at Taotao, his eyes filled with admiration.

Just then, someone suddenly called out to Taotao—

She turned her head and spotted a familiar face—Cheng Zhujun???

Cheng Zhujun was dressed in an oversized blue uniform that didn’t fit well, holding a shovel in her hand. When she saw Taotao, she ran over excitedly. “Taotao! What are you doing here?”

Song Zhi asked Taotao, “Do you know her?”

Taotao nodded. “I met her yesterday while shopping with Sister Li.”

By then, Cheng Zhujun had already reached them. The factory supervisor who had greeted Song Zhi instructed her, “Zhujun, show our guest around—this young lady…”

Song Zhi said, “My fiancée’s name is Bai Taotao.”

“Zhujun, make sure to take good care of Miss Bai Taotao, and bring her to the cafeteria for lunch!” After giving these instructions, the factory supervisor signaled for Song Zhi to head to the workshop.

Song Zhi pointed in a direction for Taotao. “I’ll be over there. You can find me if you need anything. This is a factory, so don’t run around or jump everywhere—watch out for nails on the ground, you could get hurt… And don’t leave the factory grounds. Come straight to lunch at noon, understood?”

Taotao absentmindedly nodded.

Song Zhi walked away.

Cheng Zhujun pointed at Song Zhi’s back and asked Taotao, “Taotao, is he your fiancé?”

“He’s my brother,” Taotao replied.

Song Zhi, who hadn’t gone far, suddenly paused mid-step and turned back to glance at Taotao.

But she was no longer paying attention to him and was instead asking Cheng Zhujun, “What are you doing here?”

Cheng Zhujun grinned. “My dad used to work here. I’m not old enough yet to officially take his position, so I just do odd jobs now and then to earn my meals. By the way, I heard the factory manager call your brother ‘Engineer Song.’ Is he an engineer?”

Taotao said, “I don’t really understand these things.”

Taotao wandered around the factory, with Cheng Zhujun accompanying her. Whenever she showed interest in something, she would explain it to her and casually pick up stray nails and loose machine parts scattered on the ground.

She heard that this factory mainly produced electric fan motors, though they also made other types of electric motors.

Taotao went over to check on Song Zhi.

—He was surrounded by about thirty workers, explaining and demonstrating something on a machine. The workers all bent over and craned their necks, watching intently.

T/N: Poor Song Zhi getting brother-zoned. Taotao, you can’t just take advantage of someone and refuse to take responsibility!!!!