Chapter 4

In the five-room house of the Jiang family, the only two people living together were the two elders. Besides a red lacquered bed, there were two wardrobes and a locked desk.

Earlier, while they were talking outside, Jiang Nannan overheard their conversation from inside the room.

The son of the Cheng family was in the army.

If her little aunt could marry into the Cheng family, then why couldn’t she?

The little aunt’s connection to the Cheng family was simply because she and Third Uncle were siblings. So, as Third Uncle’s niece, wouldn’t her relationship also be reasonable?

Her face felt warm with a flush.

Deep down, she knew this reasoning was weak.

Especially since Grandma had already discussed this marriage proposal with Jiang Shuangshuang, who, as her cousin, was the most qualified.

Out of the four family members who met the rural relocation requirements, everyone except her had parents who considered their futures and made plans. She was the only one completely abandoned.

If she didn’t start looking out for herself, she would truly be sent to the countryside.

Her body tensed and trembled slightly.

Still, she walked toward the desk.

She had often helped Grandma tidy up the house before and knew the habit of hiding important things locked away in the cabinet.

However, once she noticed that the lock was old and somewhat loose; by pressing inward, it could be opened without a key.

Jiang Nannan’s hands trembled as she tried.

With a faint “click,” she felt both joy and nervousness. She glanced outside to make sure no one was around before quickly opening the drawer.

She wanted to find letters between Grandma and the Cheng family.

She hoped to find the address of the Cheng family or, even better, contact information for the Cheng son.

Jiang Shuangshuang would not have this marriage proposal, and Third Aunt would find other ways for her.

Then why couldn’t she secretly intercept this marriage?

Even if discovered later… as long as she firmly held onto the Cheng son, the marriage wouldn’t change… right? Right?

Jiang Nannan knew her actions were despicable and kept wondering if she should stop.

But her hands moved faster than her mind.

Rummaging through the cabinet, she soon found the letters. The addresses on the envelopes were clear, and she memorized them quickly.

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind. Jiang Nannan’s face paled with anxiety. She feigned calm and turned around, quietly closing the drawer she had slightly opened.

“I-I’m helping Grandma organize the clothes in the cabinet. Some need mending…”

“I need to talk to you tomorrow. Don’t run off and be nowhere to find,” Jiang Qing interrupted, not in the mood for her excuses.

But after speaking, she felt her tone was a bit harsh, so she cleared her throat and added, “I think your pancakes are really tasty. Teach me tomorrow.”

Clearly, she wanted to build a good relationship with Jiang Nannan.

Because in the previous life, among the Jiang family children, the most successful was the niece around her age.

No one would have guessed.

Now, the most pitiful in the family was her.

Endless chores every day, and she ate the smallest rations.

Second Brother and his wife ignored her, with no plans to help, already determined to send her to the countryside.

Yet before her rural relocation was finalized, Jiang Nannan quietly brought home a crippled man.

The crippled man’s family was extremely poor, with two elderly people to care for, relying on him sweeping streets to survive.

But after marrying him, Jiang Nannan naturally wouldn’t have to be sent to the countryside.

Second Brother and his wife were unwilling.

No bride price was given, and they lost a daughter for nothing.

Given the son-in-law’s family background, there was no hope of gaining any benefits back home; they might even have to support them.

Angrily, they beat and scolded the young couple and kicked them out.

They even threatened to sever ties.

But in truth, Jiang Nannan’s life was not so difficult.

She was good at planning for herself. The family was old or disabled, with two young children born later; it looked quite hard from the outside. So when the neighborhood committee distributed handicraft jobs, her family was given priority.

By the early 1980s, the couple pushed a cart selling pancakes on the street.

At that time, such small businesses were considered shameful.

Second Sister-in-law was so angry she told everyone the daughter never existed and was dead.

But who would have thought that Jiang Nannan was the first among their children to buy a small apartment?

It was a seven-story building in the south of the city; even the smallest unit cost over a thousand yuan.

Jiang Nannan and her husband paid without hesitation and bought a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment.

And that wasn’t all.

They not only supported their children’s education with the pancake stall but also bought houses and cars for them. She was very envious watching this.

Certainly, it wasn’t as wealthy as the richest families.

But Jiang Nannan’s life was so close to hers, especially since she used to be inferior in every way, yet lived better and better. How could she not feel jealous?

But now she no longer envied.

No matter how well Jiang Nannan developed in the future, how could she compare to her own rebirth?

She simply didn’t care about those trivial gains.

Yet Jiang Qing truly wanted to foster a good relationship with Jiang Nannan.

She admired how Jiang Nannan always found a way out of adversity.

Especially since her pancakes were indeed delicious.

The future richest man, without waiting for Jiang Shuangshuang’s consent, later married a woman to take care of the elderly and children at home.

They said she was especially caring and cooked well.

She took excellent care of the household.

But that was her weakness.

Pampered by her parents, she had rarely cooked or done chores growing up. Even after marrying in her previous life, when hardships were many, she barely cooked or experimented with food.

Jiang Qing felt it necessary to learn some culinary skills.

If she could win over those two children, who would dare to refuse the future richest man?

To make Jiang Nannan teach well, she kept praising, “Your pancakes are especially crispy, with just the right saltiness. It would be perfect if they had a layer of meat sauce inside.”

Meat sauce?

Impossible.

Even though her parents pampered her, it was hard to get a mouthful of meat at home now.

On the way back, Jiang Shuangshuang sniffed the aroma of sauce pancakes wafting from the state-run restaurant and felt her legs weakening.

Hot from the pan, the golden and crispy crust gave off a tempting fragrance.

Could anyone resist?

“Want some?”

Jiang Shuangshuang immediately nodded, looking at her eagerly.

The old lady was always stingy, strictly rationing food. After a bowl of corn porridge and some side dishes, it was barely half full.

Xu Yingxia pretended not to notice the longing in her eyes. “Don’t you have some secret savings?”

Jiang Shuangshuang was righteous and bold, “It’s called secret savings, so I have to be careful how I spend it.”

Xu Yingxia scoffed, “So you’re careful with your secret money but spend your mother’s money freely?”

Her expression softened. “Why don’t you tell me how much secret savings you’ve actually saved recently?”

Jiang Shuangshuang raised her eyebrows. “Suddenly, sauce pancakes don’t seem so delicious. We still have half a bun at home. Let’s go home and nibble on that.”

She strode ahead.

Xu Yingxia followed. “Really not telling? Mom saved a meat ration ticket and said she’d take you to eat braised pork tomorrow. Did she save three tickets or two? Girl, I don’t want your money, so why are you hiding it so tightly?”

Jiang Shuangshuang smiled without answering.

She simply wouldn’t say.

Because if she did, it would surely shock her.

It was a coincidence.

After receiving her diploma, the original self stayed home idle every day, occasionally taking on paper box pasting jobs, but mostly doing nothing.

After Jiang Shuangshuang took over, she couldn’t sit still doing box pasting. After a day, her fingers were stiff, earning only a few cents. It was better to follow some kids to pick up coal slag.

Although earning less, at least she could walk around and not sit until her backside hurt.

After several attempts, one day near the railway tracks, she suddenly saw a group of men wearing police hats chasing a middle-aged man.

The man ran incredibly fast.

Just as he was about to climb over a wall and disappear into the maze of alleys.

Jiang Shuangshuang, with a good-hearted nature, gave him a swift kick just as he was climbing the wall. The kick knocked out half a tooth, and the police behind successfully caught him.

She thought it was over.

But two days later, the neighborhood committee’s elder sister personally came to praise her for the good deed and told her to go to the police station to receive a reward.

No big deal, but with a bonus, she would definitely go without hesitation.

Rewards for helping the police were rare, especially since her contribution was just a kick.

She finally received two yuan, five industrial coupons, and a handwritten, stamped certificate.

But for Jiang Shuangshuang, this was a big opportunity!

In the 1970s, making money and getting coupons was really hard.

Though she had traveled through time, she hadn’t completely received a golden touch from heaven.

Before this, she seemed unable to support herself except by relying on her family.

The city wasn’t like the mountain villages where one could live off the land or sea. Even if she wanted to gather wild goods, she needed a proper reason and an introduction letter.

It was a time when traveling far was difficult and opportunities scarce.

But after that incident, she really found a way to make money.

She avoided dealing in smuggled goods but cultivated a good relationship with the police.

Helping the police meant rewards.

So if she caught petty thieves and turned them in, could she also get rewards?

Not entirely sure, but Jiang Shuangshuang had plenty of time. While picking coal slag, she started watching the crowd and indeed found some.

Catching thieves and stolen goods was easy.

Then she took them to the police station.

The veteran officers praised her repeatedly. When she lingered, unsure if there was an official policy or if the vets were just being generous, she left with an extra yuan and some coupons.

She didn’t know if such a system existed before.

But now it certainly did. The police had quotas and welcomed enthusiastic citizens bringing in offenders.

Of course, this couldn’t be spread around.

Not everyone had the ability to deal with habitual criminals.

Jiang Shuangshuang was currently the only enthusiastic citizen like this.

Over the past six months, she had quietly saved nearly twenty yuan in secret money and a pile of coupons, not counting the times she gave in to her cravings.

Seeing her mother still wanting to probe, Jiang Shuangshuang changed the subject, “Xiaozhou has a day off tomorrow. I’ll take him coal slag picking.”

“Go ahead,” Xu Yingxia knew she wouldn’t get more information and reluctantly reminded her, “Be careful.”

She knew what her daughter was up to.

At first, she was worried, but later realized her daughter’s mind was as clear as a mirror.

She avoided danger, knives, and groups of accomplices.

Even the police praised her for being steady and knowing what to do and what not to do.

And this wasn’t a bad thing.

Leaving aside the rewards, at least her reputation was good. Especially since the girl had been restless lately. If she earned a good name, who would dare propose marriage?

Take Old Jiang, for example. If he hadn’t left behind a brave reputation, she and the children wouldn’t have lived so smoothly these years.

Besides, for a girl, how easy was it to encounter thieves? Even passing them face to face, she might not recognize them.

Once or twice a month, maybe.

One or two times…

Exactly, Xu Yingxia thought it was only once or twice.

But she didn’t know the number of petty thieves had greatly decreased nearby because their circle spread rumors about a certain pest who loved to kick out teeth, causing many of their kind to suffer and avoid the area whenever possible.