Chapter 63

Xie Tingyu’s words were not something Ye Qingshui could lightly dismiss, because he was not the sort of person who would say such things casually.

But why, many years later, did he still walk down that path of politics despite never having liked it? Ye Qingshui could not figure it out no matter how hard she thought, so she could only let it go.

She tidied up the sewing machine and signaled with her eyes to Xie Tingyu: “Take this back to Dongmei.”

Xie Tingyu said seriously, “There’s no need, you use it.”

Although the Xie family’s conditions were good, Xie Jun had always practiced a strict and frugal method of raising children; he rarely gave the two children pocket money. But Xie Tingyu had inherited his mother’s share of the estate, so he was well-off.

If one really calculated it, this sewing machine had in fact been bought with money Tingyu had lent his younger sister.

Ye Qingshui sneered, “I wouldn’t dare use it. The rest of this outfit can be sewn by hand. Quickly return it, or else someone will be unhappy.”

She had already stitched the important parts with the sewing machine; what remained was only finishing work. After all, sewing a Zhongshan suit completely by hand was not too difficult—it just required time and patience.

Xie Tingyu placed both hands on the young girl’s shoulders and pressed her to sit back in front of the machine. In a gentle voice he said:

“Don’t punish yourself for someone else’s mistakes. This was her fault. If you finish this outfit by hand, won’t it tire you out? I couldn’t bear that…”

“Why don’t I call Dongmei back up here and let you vent a little?”

Ye Qingshui laughed. She said, “That way you’ll offend all of your family.”

She had already prepared herself before coming. She knew what kind of people the Xie family were—she had already experienced it in her previous life. This time, she treated it as just coming to the capital to get a bicycle coupon.

She must not take other matters to heart. After the college entrance exams, she and Xie Tingyu would go their separate ways. Since she did not place herself in the position of being the Xie family’s daughter-in-law, naturally she would not be angered by such things.

A person’s value depended on the position they stood in and what they did. Other people’s few words were truly of no consequence.

Seeing that there really was no anger in the young girl’s eyes, Xie Tingyu did not know for a moment whether he should feel worried or relieved.

…

In the end, Ye Qingshui was persuaded by Xie Tingyu to use the sewing machine after all—after all, the outfit was being made for him.

She worked efficiently and finished a pair of trousers. She pressed the pant legs straight with the iron, neat and crisp. After finishing, she stretched lazily.

Xie Tingyu had already fallen asleep. In the winter afternoon, the fire in the stove filled the room with warmth, in stark contrast to the howling cold wind outside.

Ye Qingshui dug into her luggage and pulled out her wallet—firm and stiff, with five hundred yuan lying quietly inside.

She put on her cotton-padded coat, wrapped herself in scarf and hat, and braved the biting wind out the door.

Inside the house, Xie Dongmei was quietly weeping. Xu Maofang poked her forehead, hating the fact that she could not live up to expectations:

“So what if your brother scolded you a few times? You both write the same surname Xie, you’ll always be a daughter of the Xie family.”

Her eyes narrowed—this country girl really could not be underestimated, her influence on her stepson was actually quite large.

From the main hall came the sound of the door shutting with a clack .

Xie Dongmei wiped her tears, craned her neck to look out the window. She saw that rustic-looking sister-in-law of hers stride out of the house with a light step.

“Going out in this kind of weather… what is she going to do?”

A little curious, Xie Dongmei muttered, “The capital is so big, and she’s not even afraid of getting lost? Back when distant relatives from the countryside came to visit, they didn’t even know how to ride a bus. I’ll follow and see.”

With that excuse, she left the house after her.

Was her new sister-in-law hiding something from her brother and secretly going off to do it? Xie Dongmei seemed to have caught hold of some dirt on her.

…

Relying on the caution she had learned from visiting black markets, Ye Qingshui had barely walked some distance before she noticed her sister-in-law tailing her.

But Ye Qingshui did not bother with her. It had already taken her a tremendous effort and much asking around to finally locate this black market.

The scalper who brought her there rubbed his hands together, shrinking from the cold: “Girl, if you had come just one day later, the market would’ve closed.”

“Everyone’s going home for the holiday.”

Ye Qingshui tightened her scarf and looked up at the falling snow, only then realizing—New Year’s Eve was right around the corner.

She asked bluntly: “I want to buy some big-ticket items, do you have those here?”

“What kind of big-ticket items? Don’t say I’m boasting, as long as you’ve got money, you can buy any big item you want!”

Ye Qingshui asked about bicycle coupons.

Bicycle coupons were in high demand. In a factory, there might only be a few slots allocated each year. Since daughters all took pride in marrying with the “three rounds and a sound” dowry, bicycle coupons were nearly impossible to come by.

But Ye Qingshui still managed to buy one—a single bicycle coupon cost her forty yuan, and that was only after she bargained fiercely.

With the coupon in hand, it would be much easier for her to go back to the county in the countryside and buy a bicycle with it.

Ye Qingshui left the black market with a sweet feeling in her heart and headed toward the department store she had visited with Xie Tingyu earlier that day.

Buying a watch required industrial coupons. Industrial coupons were something Ye Qingshui had long been saving up, and she had more than enough. Watches bought with industrial coupons were not too expensive. At the counter, her gaze roamed—buying a better-quality watch meant it would last longer.

Ye Qingshui directly chose the Longines brand and picked out a women’s wristwatch, spending 232 yuan. Though it hurt to spend so much, she felt it was worth it since it could be used for decades.

Xie Dongmei had followed Ye Qingshui all the way to the black market, where she saw her sister-in-law take out a thick wad of bills—quite a lot.

Soon after, she watched Ye Qingshui enter the department store and head straight to the watch counter.

She saw Ye Qingshui take out even more money. In just a short while, she had spent nearly 200 yuan—almost equivalent to a worker’s entire year’s wages.

Could it be that Ye Qingshui had secretly taken her brother’s money to spend?

A calculating glint flashed in Xie Dongmei’s eyes. Theft was a serious crime in these times. Even if her brother had willingly given her the money, a sister-in-law who spent so extravagantly—there were hardly any like her in the whole courtyard.

Xie Dongmei was very satisfied with her discoveries today.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingshui happily selected the watch she wanted, a smile playing at her lips, and then prepared to properly browse the department store to see what else she could bring back.

…

At another counter in the department store—

Xie Tingyu’s mother, Wen Zhihua, was standing with tears brimming in her reddened eyes, a deep smile on her lips.

In front of her stood a young man wearing a cotton-padded jacket she had personally chosen for him. He looked tall and handsome. Though raised in the countryside, he was sensible and well-mannered. Wearing the new jacket and with a wristwatch on his arm, he already looked like a refined young man from the capital.

So alike—so very alike. If not for the faint scar at his temple, Wen Zhihua could almost believe it was Xie Tingyu standing before her.

“Juejue, Mama has been looking for you for so long.”

Xie Tingjue was silent for a long time. Only when he saw she was about to cry did he finally grunt in acknowledgment.

He touched the watch on his wrist and smiled faintly. At last, his face revealed a trace of the nervousness and simplicity expected of a country youth arriving in the capital for the first time. On his feet were still tattered shoes, full of holes, leaving his toes red from the cold.

Looking at this mother in name only, though they had not spent much time together, Xie Tingjue still could not help but speculate.

His mind recalled the image of his younger brother vomiting blood in great mouthfuls. For the sake of that life-saving kindness back then, he had borne another’s name his whole life. All he wanted in this life was to live as himself.

He said in a simple, honest voice: “I already have these, that’s enough. I heard I have a younger brother—does he have new clothes?”

“In the countryside, only the wealthier families can afford to make new clothes for the New Year. If Tingyu has new clothes, he must be very happy.”

Wen Zhihua wiped away her tears and after a moment said blankly, “No, your brother has money.”

A flash of mockery flickered in Xie Tingjue’s eyes.

Again he thought of that pitiful younger brother of his, whom he had only met once.

On his deathbed, he had said: “I really wish it had been me who got lost back then. She looked for you for so long… I only see her once a year, but this year I won’t get to see her… If she comes, please help me lie to her one more time.”

Shaking away the memories, Xie Tingjue removed the watch from his wrist and said, “This watch is too expensive. I rarely look at the time and don’t need it. I’ll go return it.”

He went to the counter to return the watch, and unexpectedly came face-to-face with a sneaky-looking Xie Dongmei.

Bumping right into her “brother,” she gave an awkward laugh: “Brother, weren’t you sleeping at home? Why did you come out to buy clothes?”

“I just saw Sister-in-law… buying a watch.”

Xie Tingjue said nothing. Seeing the evasiveness in her eyes, he understood.

He gave a nonchalant “mm” and soon disappeared into the crowd.

At that moment, Ye Qingshui, who had just bought the watch, was turning away and walking toward the sewing machine counter. The two of them brushed past each other.

Xie Tingjue gazed at the side of his sister-in-law’s face but felt no urge to greet her.

She did not know him, yet he had been entrusted to watch over her for half his life.

A trace of mockery flickered across Xie Tingjue’s face.

After strolling around the department store twice, Ye Qingshui noticed the little tail behind her was gone at last, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She pulled her thick hat lower, wrapped herself tightly in her scarf, and went to a small alley near the hospital. There she began selling off the stack of ration coupons in her pocket.

She had meat coupons, egg coupons, national grain coupons—all prepared specially for this trip to the capital. These coupons were worth little in the countryside, but in the bustling capital, reselling them meant easy profit.

This was something Qian Xiangdong had told her—his family sold eggs, and he said egg coupons were valuable to bring along.

Ye Qingshui’s egg coupons quickly drew an eager response—one could almost call it a frenzy.

As the festival approached, long lines formed outside the food stores. City residents started queuing as soon as they woke up, yet even so, most food sold out quickly.

Even nutritious foods like eggs were nowhere to be found.

Eggs in the black market had already tripled in price—and still required coupons!

Ye Qingshui’s egg coupons, however, were cheap. In the capital, eggs cost 7 cents each, but in her countryside they were only 2 cents.

So she sold one jin’s worth of egg coupons for 20 cents. Adding in the national grain coupons and all sorts of miscellaneous ones—meat, sugar, pastry, coal—Ye Qingshui finally held 250 yuan and 8 jiao in her hand, essentially earning herself a free watch.

She suppressed the smile tugging at her lips. After selling the coupons, she didn’t dare linger and quickly returned to the Xie household.

Sansukini: The twin brother appears.

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