Chapter 17: Changing One's Tune
Ying Sisi was no stranger to doing business. Back when she lived in the village, she often searched for local specialties, such as morels and wild honey. After a month of hard work, she managed to find quite a bit, but it was never worth much, and her income barely covered her daily expenses.
Now it was different.
Even ordinary red paper could be turned into money.
She felt she had made the right decision coming to the city.
Wealth was just around the corner.
As she accepted the money, she couldn't help but smile brightly. “Thank you for your patronage.”
With a good start, the subsequent sales went even smoother. In less than two hours, most of the window decorations were sold.
The income exceeded her expectations.
A full eighty cents.
With a week left until the New Year, by the twenty-eighth, these would likely sell out.
Aside from the time she had set aside for preparation, she could still sell for two more days.
With plenty of stock, if business continued to go well, she should be able to earn five yuan.
Life was looking promising!
She decided to give the remaining window decorations to the young man who was watching the gate.
The young man had initially wanted to charge her a stall fee, but now he felt too shy to bring it up.
He let her leave.
Ying Sisi had been out for most of the day and was already frozen through.
She jogged toward the Qin family’s direction.
As she passed by the general store, she stopped, turned around, and went inside.
After browsing for a bit, she used her earnings of eighty cents to buy a set of baby clothes, which she then took to the Qin family.
As she approached the entrance of the alley where the Qin family lived, she saw the neighbor lady who had lent her coal, holding a bucket and chatting with another neighbor.
“Qin's little daughter-in-law, here to see Yanci again?” The neighbor lady, Mrs. Qian, teased with a smile.
Ying Sisi shyly smiled back. “Hello, Mrs. Qian. I got my marriage license with Aci today; we're officially a couple now.”
Implying that she couldn't be said to be running to a man's house without being married.
Mrs. Qian said, “I know; your mother-in-law told me early this morning.”
Ying Sisi grinned foolishly. “Is that so? I have something to do, so I'll leave you to your chat.” She walked away.
Mrs. Qian laughed and said, “This little girl is really pretty and quite endearing.”
“Even if she is pretty and endearing, when a man goes crazy, she'll still get beaten.”
Mrs. Qian sighed, having reminded her yesterday, but the girl hadn't taken it to heart. She was clutching at straws, saying, “After all these years, I haven’t heard his family mention his situation. He could have gotten better, you know.”
“If he really got better, how could he deserve this girl?”
“.”
Ying Sisi stood at the door and called, “Aci.”
The next moment, Qin Yanci walked out of the side room, followed by Qin’s father.
Ying Sisi smiled and greeted, “Hello, Uncle.”
“Still calling me Uncle, huh?”
Ying Sisi felt too shy to respond.
Qin's father smiled. “Come on in.”
“Okay.”
Qin Yanci pointed at the bag in Ying Sisi’s hand. “What did you bring?”
“Clothes for the little niece.” After realizing Lu Yuechun’s true nature, Ying Sisi’s impression of her had significantly decreased. However, she felt she should still maintain her manners. Unable to afford expensive nutritional products, inexpensive baby items were just right.
It expressed her goodwill and could also earn her some favor.
Qin’s father laughed. “We're family; there’s no need to be so polite. How has your father been lately?”
“Pretty good.”
Once inside the house, Ying Sisi first went to the bedroom to see Lu Yuechun. After giving her the gift and chatting for a bit, she returned to the living room.
Qin’s father was urging Qin Yanci to settle down and work.
But Qin Yanci was determined to go to university and would not change his mind.
In the end, Qin’s father had no choice but to look to Ying Sisi for help. “Sisi, can you say something to Yanci?”
Ying Sisi supported Qin Yanci but didn’t want to offend Qin's father. She finally changed her tone. “Dad, you know I haven't studied much and have a limited perspective. Aci has worked hard on the northwest farm for ten years; he knows what he wants. As his wife, I can't really help much; how can I casually interfere with his decisions?”
Mentioning the farm made Qin's father feel guilty.
And with the way she called him “Dad,” there was no further argument he could make.
He could only sigh, “I'm just afraid he'll regret it later.”
(End of Chapter)
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