I Got Rich in Period Fiction-Chapter 90 Paper Tiger

Qiao Qingyu glanced at He Xuerong, who was standing on the black soil, and thought that this little girl’s claim to misfortune was indeed true; she was truly unfortunate to have such parents, let alone such a grandmother and aunt.

On the day He Xuerong arrived, when Qiao Qingyu was dressing her in the morning, she noticed bruises on the girl’s arms.

And there was a faint smell of medicine, which made it evident that He Xiuyu had already treated her wounds. He Xiuyu didn’t mention it, and she naturally wouldn’t either, trusting that He Xiuyu would handle it appropriately, but it was truly unfair to the child.

But if one were to speak of luck, this child was indeed fortunate because she had an uncle who doted on her.

After a brief silence, He Xiuyu prepared to take He Xuerong to brush her teeth, wash her feet, and go to bed.

Unexpectedly, He Xuerong had somehow stealthily grabbed onto Qiao Qingyu’s clothes.

Qiao Qingyu looked down, and sometimes a child’s inexplicable dependence on you can instill a strong sense of responsibility in a person, and even the coldest heart can gradually warm up, especially for a paper tiger like Qiao Qingyu.

Thus, He Xuerong ended up sleeping next to Qiao Qingyu.

The little girl lay with her eyes closed, quiet, and it was unclear whether she had fallen asleep, but Qiao Qingyu, after a busy day, was also tired and soon drifted into dreamland.

Meanwhile, in the west room, once the electric light in the east room was turned off, He Xiuyu began packing up the items in his house. He bundled the books stack by stack, making it convenient for moving house the next morning.

So in the midst of his busyness, He Xiuyu naturally did not hear in the night, illuminated only by a sliver of moonlight, in the east room, He Xuerong turned her head to look at the peacefully sleeping Qiao Qingyu.

Her mouth, closed for over a year, gradually opened.

And she uttered two barely audible words.

"Mom... Mom..."

The moon rose to its zenith, and the vast lands of the Northwest were no longer cold, even the night breeze became warm.

In the distance, animals could occasionally be seen running across the fields.

Even from afar, one could hear the chirping of insects.

The early summer of the Northwest arrived later than usual, but it had finally come.

However, more than half of the lights were on in the base family housing area.

Most of these families had children, and some had elderly relatives, which meant there were a lot of belongings to sort through.

And they were moving to new homes. Although they were still bungalows, each household had their own toilet, unlike the communal ones they were currently using. Moreover, running water was being installed in every home.

Even in Yushu County, only some of the residential buildings had running water.

The rest were simply stacked up bungalows, where fetching water required going to a communal water room and using a communal restroom.

The temporary family quarters had water pipes connected, but it was supplied from a well at the head of the village with limited availability, which was naturally inconvenient. However, the new family housing area had resolved all these issues, and everyone was happy about it, including the children who were very excited. It was said that the lighting in the new homes would be brighter than it was currently and that there would be no more frequent power outages.

At this moment, Sister-in-law Li had already organized all of their belongings. She was brushing her teeth, while Mr. Li was washing his son’s feet next to her.

As he washed his son’s feet, he spoke to his wife, who was brushing her teeth beside him, "Xiao Qin, did you send the money to our home village this month?"

Sister-in-law Li was brushing her teeth and it was inconvenient to talk, but she nodded her head.

Zhou Xiaoqin felt relief at Li Zhiqiang handling matters because she was confident in him. He said with some guilt, "When the year ends, we’ll just give mom and dad eight yuan a month."

Zhou Xiaoqin heaved a long sigh of relief. She had been waiting for her husband to say those words.

After finishing brushing her teeth, Zhou Xiaoqin walked over with a beaming smile.

"You can rest assured about this matter. I won’t miss out on a single fen of the money that should be mailed. But we really do need to start saving up now. Xiao Hu is growing day by day; he’ll need to go to school in a couple of years. Plus, living on the base, how can we not do the normal social interactions? I can’t just keep accepting things from people without giving anything in return, right?"

Li Zhiqiang nodded hastily, "Xiao Qin, I know these past few years have been hard on you. I’ll work hard to earn a raise, so that you and our daughter can have a better life."

Zhou Xiaoqin was moved, yet she was also aware that she no longer had much hope for the promises Li Zhiqiang made. If it had been before, she would have certainly been hopeful. Oh, if the salary increased by ten yuan a month, that would be 120 yuan a year—so much money! She would definitely save it.

Such thoughts would surely make her plan everything clearly for the future, but at this moment, Zhou Xiaoqin wasn’t as touched because she had money in her possession. Although she hadn’t saved it, she still had over 200 yuan.

Additionally, there were 300 yuan at Qiao Qingyu’s place. She wouldn’t say she didn’t want the money because that really would hurt both their feelings. Qiao Qingyu wasn’t that kind of person. She either had an urgent need for the money, or she was worried that Zhou Xiaoqin wouldn’t be able to keep it safe from her husband taking it to give to his folks back home. Hence, Qiao was holding onto it for her.

Zhou Xiaoqin, a smart woman, was inclined to believe the latter.

She was very grateful to Qiao Qingyu; she really saw her as a younger sister.

Her own parents had passed away early, and she had grown up in her uncle’s house.

Her uncle and aunt weren’t kind to her; they had given her parents’ jobs to their own relatives.

Even though she lived in the county, she had to leave school before finishing middle school to cook for them at home.

Her male and female cousins had all gotten married, yet her uncle and aunt still wouldn’t let her marry, treating her like a maid.

Later, by chance, she met Li Zhiqiang.

Even though he was from the countryside, he was hardworking and ambitious, and had even studied in high school.

Li Zhiqiang was smitten with her at first sight. Although her uncle and aunt didn’t object to her marrying him—since compared to her cousins, her match was the least favorable since Li was still a farmer, and the family was poor—they still demanded a dowry of 500 yuan, claiming it was hard to raise her. But they truly had no conscience. After her parents died, their house and savings all went to her uncle and aunt. Since her parents had died in the line of duty, she got two job vacancies, which they also took.

And yet, as the only daughter of her parents, she received nothing.

Furthermore, over all these years, she worked herself to the bone in her uncle and aunt’s home—though not quite as a cow or horse, it was pretty much the same.

She resented them in her heart and decided to put her dignity on the line to approach the factory leaders.

After that, she had no way out. If Li Zhiqiang didn’t marry her, then her uncle and aunt would throw her out.

But she wasn’t afraid; she had confidence in Li Zhiqiang.

In the end, the factory leaders severely reprimanded her uncle and aunt. But even so, her aunt still insisted the Li family cough up fifty yuan.

Fifty yuan in 1972 was the entire year’s work points for a family of eight in the countryside.

So, back when she was in the countryside, she treated her in-laws and siblings-in-law very well. Later when Li Zhiqiang got into university, she was brought to Beijing by her husband. There, she found a temporary job, looking after Xiao Hu while supporting her husband with his studies...