Gu’er followed Li Hua into the main house. She knew soone was waiting for her in the central room—or to be more precise, they were waiting for the money in her hands.
"So you finally decided to co back. If you didn’t want to, you could have just dropped dead outside for all I care!"
The mont Gu’er stepped inside, she was t with Zhou Mazi’s cursing.
She knew Zhou Mazi was angry she was back late. But Gu’er didn’t care. ’If I could leave right now, if my adoptive mother wasn’t still here, did he really think I’d want to co back to this house?’
"The girl is back now, isn’t she? She’s been working all day. Let her sit down and catch her breath."
Li Hua tried to placate him from the side. It wasn’t that she had grown bold; she just felt for Gu’er. Besides, Zhou Mazi’s temper had improved considerably ever since Gu’er started bringing money ho. At least he hadn’t laid a finger on the won of the house lately.
"Hmph! I’m just afraid she’s getting too big for her britches, getting wild ideas and forgetting her own na."
Zhou Mazi snorted. It was his way of warning Zhou Gu’er.
Gu’er wanted to retort that she really didn’t know what her surna was, but it certainly wasn’t Zhou.
But Gu’er held her tongue, a wave of sadness washing over her. In her past life, she had died without ever knowing who her biological parents were. Her maternal grandmother had found her. Perhaps she had gotten lost, or perhaps her family had abandoned her. She was too young at the ti; she only knew her na was Gu’er, with no idea of her surna. So while her given na, Gu’er, remained the sa, her surna had changed.
Li Hua opened her mouth but said nothing more. She didn’t want to anger her husband; it would only make life harder for the won.
"What are you standing there gawking for? Waiting for to give you a dressing-down? The money! Did you bring the money back for or not?"
Zhou Mazi cut right to the chase, demanding the money. After all, why else would he be waiting up instead of sleeping? If it weren’t for the money, he would have had Li Hua lock the main gate long ago; he wouldn’t have cared if Gu’er dropped dead outside.
Gu’er took out the handkerchief and handed it to Zhou Mazi.
"I worked for two days, and Aunt Wang gave fifty cents. She gave twenty cents for the green onions. That’s seventy-two cents in total. The extra two cents is lucky money from their family."
Gu’er stated the amount.
"Hmph. Only two cents for lucky money. They’re not a very generous family, are they? Still, getting sothing is better than nothing. I’ll give you this, you didn’t try to fool ."
Zhou Mazi took the money, grumbling about how stingy Aunt Wang’s family was. He didn’t suspect Gu’er. Since she had even handed over the two cents of lucky money, she definitely wouldn’t hide any. He was sure his eldest daughter didn’t have the guts.
Over on the side, Zhou Feng’er’s eyes darted about. She refused to believe that Zhou Gu’er hadn’t hidden a single cent. She had secretly searched Gu’er’s bed and rummaged through the room but had co up empty. Even so, she was convinced Gu’er had stashed so money away. She just lacked proof.
’Dad barely even scolds Zhou Gu’er anymore, let alone hits her. Seeing Zhou Gu’er living so comfortably... how can I stand for it?’
’But then again, the wild vegetables aren’t selling anymore. Zhou Gu’er can’t earn money now.’ A thrill of excitent went through her. ’If Zhou Gu’er loses her way of making money and can’t give Dad anything, he’ll go back to treating her like he used to, right?’
"Eldest Sister, why are you back so late? Did you do extra work at their place? If you did extra work, they should have paid you extra, right? And if they did, you have to give it to Dad. It’s not easy for him to support our big family. You can’t just secretly hide the money."
Zhou Feng’er decided to say it after so thought. She was sure sothing must have happened for Zhou Gu’er to be back so late, though she didn’t know what. She felt this was the right thing to say. True or not, it would definitely make their father suspicious, and then Zhou Gu’er would be in for it.
Zhou Gu’er knew instantly that Zhou Feng’er was trying to stir up trouble, but she had a ready excuse and wasn’t afraid.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhou Feng’er said this, Zhou Mazi’s eyes widened in a glare.
"Did they give you extra money? I knew it! An outsider you raise will never be your own. All the food I’ve fed you over the years has gone to the dogs! If you dare to hide money from , I’ll break your legs and make you crawl and beg for a living!"
Regardless of whether his second daughter was right or not, Zhou Mazi imdiately started cursing Gu’er.
Gu’er had long grown cold to this family, so while the words didn’t make her sad, they still left a bitter feeling.
"Dad, I ca back as soon as I finished my work. I didn’t do extra for them, and they didn’t give extra money. I don’t have a single cent on . If you don’t believe , you can have Feng’er search ."
Gu’er’s voice held a trace of grievance.
"You know what Gu’er is like. She would never hide money."
Li Hua hurriedly defended her daughter.
"Hmph! You’d better hope I don’t find out. So why were you back so late?"
Zhou Mazi snorted. He believed that even if you gave Zhou Gu’er a hundred tis the courage, she still wouldn’t dare hide money behind his back. He was just flexing his authority.
"After I got back, I went to Brother Jia Ming’s house."
Gu’er had already prepared her story. It wasn’t like nobody had seen her go to the Sun Family’s ho, but she wasn’t afraid because her reason was solid.
"Sun Jiaming? What were you doing at his house? You’re not trying to pull one over on , are you? If you dare lie to , I’ll deal with you."
Zhou Mazi was suspicious and confused.
"It was Jia Ming who walked Gu’er ho just now. I even spoke with him! Gu’er isn’t lying. Gu’er, hurry and tell your father."
Zhou Feng’er’s heart tightened. ’I never would have thought Zhou Gu’er went to the Sun Family’s house! Didn’t Zhou i say her dad was going to town to talk to Aunt Sun about setting her up with Sun Jiaming? Why hasn’t there been any news yet? What was Zhou Gu’er doing at the Sun Family’s house?’
Zhou Duo’er was also confused, but she just sat on the kang without saying a word.
Zhou Cai, however, was already lying down. He had been running wild with others all day and was exhausted. He had fallen asleep not long after dinner and was now sleeping soundly, completely unaware of what was happening.
"A couple of days ago, I ran into Brother Jia Ming when I was up on the mountain. He said he’s been too busy to go to town lately and asked if I could bring back a box of sponge cakes and so canned food for him when I had the chance. Grandma Sun was out of them. Since I can’t sell vegetables anymore, I figured I wouldn’t be going to town anyti soon, so I helped Brother Jia Ming bring them back and delivered them today. They gave us so many green onions, so when he asked for a small favor, I couldn’t really say no. When I got there, Grandma Sun insisted I stay for dinner, and it would have been rude to leave. So I ate there, and then Brother Jia Ming walked ho."
Gu’er explained the situation. Aside from the fact that she had bought the items herself, she wasn’t lying about the rest. She knew that a story that was eight parts truth and two parts falsehood was always the most convincing.
"It’s only right to help soone out by bringing them sothing. How is your Grandma Sun’s health? She’s such a charitable person. It’s a pity... good people don’t always get what they deserve."
Li Hua sighed. She had a very good impression of Grandma Sun. Back when Grandma Sun was in good health, she was always smiling whenever she t soone. It had been several years since Li Hua had seen her.
"Grandma Sun seems to be in good spirits."
Gu’er agreed with her adoptive mother. She also thought Grandma Sun was a very kind person.
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