Chapter 97

Ye Qingshui was counting banknotes on the bedside. Setting up a breakfast stall in the county town for a month only earned her around thirty yuan.

Don’t underestimate a simple breakfast stall; if policies were relaxed and people were allowed to set up stalls properly, earning a thousand-plus yuan monthly and becoming a “ten-thousand-yuan household” would be absolutely possible.

In the 1980s and 90s, there was a joke that those who made cannons were inferior to those who sold tea eggs, showing how profitable these small businesses could be.

During the first three months of her pregnancy, Ye Qingshui did not have the energy to do business. She was very uncomfortable.

After Ye Qingshui left Hongqi County, she left the recipe for her preserved eggs to Qian Xiangdong. Qian Xiangdong didn’t want to take advantage of her for free and gave Ye Qingshui a one-time payment of three hundred yuan to buy out the preserved egg business.

Now, Ye Qingshui looked at her gradually swelling wallet and felt energetic all over.

Not only had her morning sickness lessened, but she also enjoyed eating and sleeping much more.

Xie Tingyu finished washing up and sat on the bed, watching his wife. He saw her happily counting the banknotes like a fox who had stolen a bite of meat. He stared at her rosy lips and couldn’t resist kissing her.

“Are you that happy?” Xie Tingyu asked.

Ye Qingshui glanced at her husband. She pursed her lips, the corners of her mouth looking almost slick with oil.

“You wouldn’t understand. This is called enjoying the sweet fruits of labor.”

Her smug look seemed to say: Someone like you, who relies on his grandma for pocket money, wouldn’t understand.

Xie Tingyu touched his nose sheepishly and smiled.

…

Zhou Dongmei heard from Xu Maofang that Ye Qingshui was making and selling preserved sausages to people in the military compound.

Even though Zhou Dongmei had already left the Xie family, hearing this still made her feel embarrassed.

“Can’t she just settle down and take care of her pregnancy properly?”

When Xu Maofang mentioned this, a hint of disdain also involuntarily leaked into her eyes.

“You know she’s from the countryside, she’s short-sighted. How would she know the importance of reputation?”

Getting herself mixed up like some peddler from the village—did the Xie family still need their dignity?

When Xu Maofang ran into old acquaintances in the compound, they would greet her with: “Is your Qingshui still making preserved sausages?”

That tone made Xu Maofang blush, making her want to crawl into a hole in the ground.

To avoid such embarrassing situations, Xu Maofang had completely given up her habit of taking walks in the compound after dinner.

But she herself never considered that labor should not be divided into noble and lowly. Back in the day, her own mother had also supported her and the family with her sewing skills!

Zhou Dongmei said, “I pity my brother. A good Peking University student married a wife like this.”

Thinking that he had to spend his life with a woman like Ye Qingshui was just too horrifying. The entire family’s class status was being dragged down by her. Zhou Dongmei felt an inexplicable resistance at the thought of having to placate a person like this later.

Not to mention whether doing business in the compound counted as “speculation and profiteering,” how short on money must Ye Qingshui be to put herself out there to work for others for just one or two yuan?

At this moment, both Xu Maofang and Zhou Dongmei thought of Li Aijun, who also married a country wife in the compound.

Their life was a chaotic mess, a living hell.

While Zhou Dongmei and her mother, Xu Maofang, felt embarrassed for Xie Tingyu, did Xie Tingyu feel embarrassed?

Xie Tingyu did feel embarrassed.

On the day he started school, Ye Qingshui gave him fifty yuan.

“A man should have some money on him.”

She thought for a moment and said, “Although the cafeteria is cheap, you eat a lot, so eat more. Don’t just think about saving money.”

Xie Tingyu gripped the five wrinkled ten-yuan notes, feeling warm in his heart, both ashamed and touched.

He said, “Shui’er is so good to me.”

He deeply blamed himself. After living all these years, he still had to rely on his wife to earn money and support the family.

However, Xie Tingyu didn’t consider that he had also given all the money he had to his wife. He still owned a house he inherited from his mother, the rent of which brought in a hundred yuan every month.

Ye Qingshui didn’t pay much attention to the rent; money quickly disappears.

She wanted to save enough money before the opportunity arose so she could do some large-scale business later. The current scattered, small-time businesses, though profitable, were still far from the scale Ye Qingshui desired.

After buying meat once at the supply and marketing cooperative, Ye Qingshui never went to queue for meat there again.

As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush. When Ye Qingshui first bought meat back to make preserved sausages, it was like uncorking a bottle of fine wine, letting the aroma reach everyone in the compound.

When they finished the preserved sausages they bought, they would naturally come back for more.

When they came back to the Xie family to buy again?

Sorry, Ye Qingshui wasn’t selling preserved sausages anymore.

Ye Qingshui pursed her lips and apologetically told the guests who came to buy sausages:

“This preserved meat and sausages were originally for our own family consumption. Giving them to you once or twice is fine, but I can’t have you coming to me every time you finish them, can I? What would that make me? Doing this would be considered speculation and profiteering…”

“Who says you’re engaged in speculation and profiteering?”

The guests in the compound who loved the sausages felt an emptiness in their hearts. They had just tasted the flavor, and now she was getting out of the business?

When Xu Wei heard that Ye Qingshui wasn’t making sausages anymore, it felt like a bolt from the blue.

His wife loved them. Although she didn’t eat much, she liked to have some every now and then.

With the sudden stop in sales, Xu Wei didn’t know how to explain it to his wife when he got home.

An idea suddenly sparked in his mind. He bought two catties of fresh meat from the military cafeteria and brought it to the Xie family.

“I’ll give you the meat and ask you to help me make the sausages. That wouldn’t count as speculation and profiteering, right?”

Ye Qingshui smilingly accepted the two catties of pork.

Looking at Ye Qingshui’s smiling face, he suddenly felt her smile was extremely similar to Xie Tingyu’s.

Ye Qingshui was no longer selling preserved sausages; she was charging a processing fee for her skill.

Given the sensitive nature of the era, Ye Qingshui couldn’t go against the trend. Setting up small stalls and selling breakfast in the county town, if you were clever, no one would bother you. But with so many eyes watching in the compound, Ye Qingshui, no matter how bold, wouldn’t dare to commit a crime in the face of authority.

The first time she sold sausages, the boundary was still vague.

Ye Qingshui hadn’t set a price for the sausages at all, so they couldn’t be counted as goods. The customers who came to ask for sausages were acquaintances who had eaten at her house. They were too polite to take advantage of her, so they left money and coupons of their own accord. No one could accuse her of speculation and profiteering.

If Ye Qingshui charged neighbors a small fee for helping them make sausages, would that be considered speculation and profiteering?

Sorry, the first people who should be arrested would be the tailors. There were tailor shops everywhere in the streets and alleys, and tailors also made a living from their skills. Everyone was earning a living through their skills; why should there be a hierarchy of noble and lowly?

*

The Xie family’s daughter-in-law had a special skill in making preserved sausages. If you wanted to eat them, you just had to bring some pork to her, and you could get her sausages.

You also had to pay a small processing fee, as she wasn’t doing the work for free.

This news delighted some family members in the compound who were originally distant from the Xie family.

Charging a processing fee was great!

Everyone said Ye Qingshui’s sausages were delicious, but many families had no close relationship with the Xie family, so they felt awkward visiting and couldn’t easily get the sausages.

Now that Ye Qingshui was willing to charge a processing fee, her customers were no longer limited to the Xie family’s relatives and friends. People carrying pork and requesting her to make sausages at the Xie house were constant.

Xu Maofang watched, feeling a splitting headache.

Her long-suppressed emotions finally erupted like an overinflated balloon.

Looking at Ye Qingshui, who was bent over washing pork in the kitchen, Xu Maofang said scornfully, “His father and grandfather are respected leaders in this compound. You are the daughter-in-law of the Xie family. What do you think you look like doing this?”

Ye Qingshui finished washing the pork. She looked down at herself.

Ye Qingshui was quite self-aware, afraid of disturbing the family’s normal routine.

A lot of guests came to ask Ye Qingshui to make sausages, but Ye Qingshui only made a maximum of ten catties a day. After finishing, she always made sure the kitchen was clean to avoid causing trouble for Aunt Wu.

Though, among the family members, there was probably only Xu Maofang.

After all, Xie Jun was extremely busy with work and often not home. The eldest brother was in a fully enclosed military academy, and Xie Tingyu only came home after school. The grandparents had their own house and did not live with the Xie family.

Xie Tingyu certainly wouldn’t find his wife troublesome; instead, he would roll up his sleeves and help her work.

Xu Maofang continued, “Throw away everything you brought from the countryside as soon as possible. Don’t bring all sorts of nasty things into the Xie family. Your task now is to take good care of your pregnancy and give Tingyu a healthy baby boy soon.”

This comment was truly hurtful.

If Ye Qingshui were the same insecure country girl from her past life, hearing this would probably make her cry.

But the current Ye Qingshui? Sorry, her skin was quite thick.

Eat from the bowl, curse the cook. Last year, Xu Maofang complained that the local produce was too common to show off, but she was the one who ate the most of it in the end.

Ye Qingshui was earning money by making sausages and often cooked delicious food, which Xie Tingyu took to school for a snack.

Yet, Xu Maofang didn’t eat any less, did she?

Ye Qingshui looked up, about to speak to make Xu Maofang see reason.

Unexpectedly, she saw Xie Tingyu standing quietly by the door. His long shadow stretched across the floor, and she didn’t know how long he had been listening.

He said faintly, “Thank you for your concern, Aunt Fang. Shui Ya and I will be moving out soon so as not to bother you.”

Seeing the instantaneous distortion of Xu Maofang’s expression, Ye Qingshui really wanted to applaud her husband.

Her man was truly something. When he didn’t speak, he was silent, but when he did, he thrust a knife straight into the heart.

It was only natural for Xie Tingyu to live in the Xie family’s home. Even if they moved out, everyone would beg them to return, yet some people couldn’t move back no matter what they tried.

He was the son of the Xie family, and Ye Qingshui was pregnant. If the stepmother forced the young couple to move out, unless Xu Maofang was shameless, she would have to personally beg them to come back, even on her knees.

Xu Maofang’s heart felt like it was being fried in oil, a painful sensation.

It took her a while to recover. She forced a smile and said:

“I genuinely wish the best for Shui Ya, and I don’t want her to be so tired. She’s almost five months pregnant and still doing this work. It wouldn’t look good if word got out, would it?

“Wait until your father comes back, and let him judge. I pour my heart out for your well-being, but you two, one after another, want to move out. Are you trying to kill me…”

Ye Qingshui was about to speak, but Xie Tingyu said nothing and pulled her back into their room.

What was Xie Tingyu feeling at this moment?

He organized both of their clothes, folded them, and put them into a suitcase.

Ye Qingshui immediately pounced on the suitcase. “Yu Ge, what are you doing?”

Xie Tingyu looked at his wife, stroked her head, and said, “As long as I’m around, I will never let you suffer any injustice. We’ll move out, and you can do whatever you want…”

Looking at her husband’s serious expression, Ye Qingshui realized he truly intended to move out. He wasn’t just trying to anger his stepmother?

He said… she could do whatever she wanted?

Xie Tingyu had matured…

Two years ago, when they were first married, Ye Qingshui was caught selling goods in the black market by Xie Tingyu. His expression then was as if his father had died. He wanted to lock her at home and re-educate her a hundred times.

Now, Ye Qingshui had no doubt that if she committed murder and arson, he would be there to help bury the evidence right afterward.

Ye Qingshui asked him if he really wanted to move out. “Not coming back ever?”

She was unwilling to move. The business in the compound had just started to flourish, and it was convenient for Ye Qingshui to earn money. The compound’s security was excellent, with strict guard control over entry and exit. A thief or hooligan would have to be insane to dare to cause trouble in such a place.

Ye Qingshui didn’t want to move from such a safe environment. If anyone should move, it should be Xu Maofang.

However, Ye Qingshui thought for a moment. Moving out for a couple of days at this critical juncture might also make Xu Maofang see the light.

So, Ye Qingshui also began to pack her clothes.

Xie Tingyu nodded hesitantly.

In the past, Xie Tingyu had many ways to deal with his stepmother. He hadn’t bothered before because he was lazy, but now his wife was pregnant, and he wasn’t home during the day. How could Xie Tingyu be at ease?

He said, “I only care about you and the baby.”

Xie Tingyu did not want to see any situation where he might damage the jade while trying to catch the mouse. His intention was genuinely to move out.

Ye Qingshui reassured him, “I will be careful, Yu Ge, don’t worry.”

Xu Maofang was so skilled at talking. Given her husband’s temperament and her father-in-law’s favoritism, he probably suffered a lot at Xu Maofang’s hands when he was little. Otherwise, why would it be Grandma Xie who took him in and raised him to adulthood?

Ye Qingshui’s hand was clasped in her husband’s palm. She scratched his palm with her thumb.

Xie Tingyu kissed her.

That evening, the young couple moved out.

The first person to discover this was a regular customer who came to ask Ye Qingshui to make sausages early in the morning. Zhang Hongying was a military wife from the countryside, and she particularly loved Ye Qingshui’s sausages.

Her voice was especially loud: “Is Qingshui home? Why hasn’t anyone answered after calling for so long?”

Xu Maofang’s face was as long as a coffin. She said, “She’s not home.”

Zhang Hongying ran around the Xie house, looking everywhere, and found that the person really wasn’t there. She looked careless but was observant. All the tools Ye Qingshui usually used for sausage making were gone. Even the half-finished little clothes she was knitting had disappeared.

“She hasn’t moved away, has she?”

Zhang Hongying was puzzled but didn’t mention it. She went to ask at the Xie house for the next two days, and Xu Maofang’s answer was the same.

The news spread that the Xie family’s stepmother had driven out her stepson and his pregnant wife.

When Xu Maofang heard this, she was furious.

She had already run to her stepson’s place several times, being snubbed every time. She was short of kneeling down and begging them to come home. Yet, the couple showed no reaction. Xu Maofang sneered, Keep up your pretense. If you cool Xie Jun’s heart, don’t bother coming back.

However, she hadn’t considered that Ye Qingshui had built up quite a rapport with people in the compound by making sausages for them.

The idle women gathering together could drown Xu Maofang in their gossipy rumors.

As for… Xu Maofang thinking that making sausages was shameful?

If the customers who bought sausages from Ye Qingshui knew about Xu Maofang’s thoughts, they would probably spit in her face.

It wasn’t Ye Qingshui humbly earning money; it was clearly them begging Ye Qingshui to take their money. The situation was completely inverted, wasn’t it?

The Xie family’s daughter-in-law was like someone who had cast a spell on people. The food she made had people constantly distracted and unable to focus on their meals. She didn’t just make sausages; she also made braised meat, soy-sauce duck, braised pork, steamed cakes, celebratory peach-shaped buns, flaky pastries, cakes…

Relying on this superb skill, Ye Qingshui had accumulated many fanatical supporters.

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