Chapter 54: Chu Zhi’s Secret (Bonus Chapter 3 for Going Live)

It was Chu Zhi.

The unpleasant words kept coming: “Chu Xuan, you’re just a cheap little brat! Pig brain, idiot…”

Before the family split, Chu Zhi used to curse at her like this all the time, and back then, Chu Xuan never fought back.

Hearing these insults, Mu Chenze’s first instinct was to step in and teach Chu Zhi a lesson for Chu Xuan.

He was just about to turn around when Chu Xuan’s voice rang out, “I can handle Chu Zhi all by myself! Today, everyone gets to watch the show of the fat one dealing with the skinny one!”

This was her way of telling Mu Chenze that she could handle it alone and he shouldn’t interfere.

In the end, Mu Chenze chose to respect her wishes. First, he misunderstood and thought Chu Xuan didn’t want Chu Zhi to see the two of them together; second, with Chu Xuan’s build, beating Chu Zhi shouldn’t be a problem.

He kept walking forward, turning into an alley, and secretly glanced back at Chu Xuan’s position.

Actually, the reason Chu Xuan told Mu Chenze to keep walking was because she didn’t want him to get on Chu Zhi’s bad side because of her.

After all, the mastermind behind everything still hadn’t been found.

She didn’t want Mu Chenze to become a target for malicious revenge.

As for her and Chu Zhi, their feud was old news—she wasn’t afraid of any payback.

With someone like Chu Zhi, Chu Xuan couldn’t be bothered to waste words. She’d just show him what she was made of.

Before Chu Zhi could react, Chu Xuan grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.

Chu Zhi kicked wildly, trying to scratch at Chu Xuan’s face, but she slapped his hand away.

The next moment, his body was airborne, and he was so scared he squeezed his eyes shut.

Just when he thought Chu Xuan was going to slam him to the ground and break his bones, he felt himself get stuck on something.

He opened his eyes to find that Chu Xuan had thrown him into a tree, wedged between two branches.

He was afraid of heights.

“Chu Xuan, I’m going to report you!”

Chu Xuan knew exactly what kind of person he was.

She looked utterly unconcerned. “Go ahead! I didn’t hit you, and I didn’t curse at you. But you? You called me fat, a country bumpkin, a cheap brat, pig brain, idiot…”

The branches shook as Chu Zhi trembled, too scared to move, but his mouth didn’t stop. “You threw me into a tree! If anything happens to me, I’m going to blame it all on your family!”

“Go ahead! If that happens, I’ll break your arms and legs and take care of you for the rest of your life! Let’s see if you’ll ever get married or have kids then!”

“You—”

“You what? Back then, I let you and Feng Chunhua bully me because I thought you were family. Now that I know you’re not, there’s no reason to put up with you! This is just a little lesson. If you dare mess with me again, don’t blame me for ruining your chances of ever getting married or having kids!”

As she spoke, Chu Xuan leaned in close and whispered so no one else could hear, “And another thing—you can report me if you want, but I can’t guarantee I won’t tell everyone about your little… problem. If that gets out, do you think you’ll still be able to find a wife?”

Chu Xuan didn’t plan to beat up Chu Zhi in public. If she ever wanted to, she could just wait until he was walking home at night, throw a sack over his head, and give him a beating—she’d done it before.

Chu Zhi finally gave up struggling and started yelling for help.

The onlookers had all heard Chu Zhi cursing, and everyone said he deserved what he got.

No one was willing to help him down.

Chu Xuan ignored him and went to wait for the bus.

Chu Zhi stayed up in the tree, shivering the whole time.

It wasn’t until a security officer passed by and got him down that he was finally rescued.

But he didn’t dare complain to anyone about Chu Xuan, because he really did have a certain… problem. If Xiao Li ever found out, she’d never marry him.

He slunk away like a turtle hiding in its shell.

Only then did Chu Xuan wave to Mu Chenze in the alley, signaling that it was safe to come out.

Mu Chenze walked over to Chu Xuan, half-smiling. “So, what’s his problem? I can read lips, you know. Don’t try to hide it from me.”

Chu Xuan whispered back, “Have you ever seen a guy in his twenties or thirties who still wets the bed at night? That’s Chu Zhi! But you have to keep this a secret, or I won’t have anything to threaten him with in the future.”

Mu Chenze tried his best not to laugh. He really hadn’t expected Chu Zhi, at his age, to still…

Before long, the bus arrived.

The two of them got on with their things.

Twenty minutes later, they got off in town.

Each of them carried twenty shirts, agreeing to sell them separately. Whoever sold out first could head back to the village, and if they couldn’t sell them all, they’d just try again tomorrow.

Mu Chenze headed straight for the market, while Chu Xuan went to Uncle Dragon’s shop.

Inside, only Uncle Dragon was there, lounging in a chair, sipping tea and listening to the radio. Business was slow, but he didn’t mind.

His shop was mainly for clients from out of town. All kinds of jade pieces and ornaments were sold to customers from other cities and provinces.

He never had to worry about making money.

As soon as he saw Chu Xuan, he got up from his chair.

“Xiao Xuan, you’re here! Need my help with something?”

“I do, actually. Uncle Dragon, take a look at these shirts.”

By seniority, Chu Xuan really did have to call him Uncle.

She took several shirts out of her sack.

Uncle Dragon glanced at them and smiled. “Nice style. Should be able to sell for twelve or thirteen yuan each. You’re not thinking of putting them on consignment in my shop, are you? As you can see, I don’t get many walk-in customers. I get about ten orders a month, which is enough to support me and my guys. But shirts? They won’t sell here.”

Chu Xuan grinned. “I’m not leaving them here. I remember you have a cousin who works at the sock factory in town. Could you ask her if any of her coworkers want to buy some? My base price is ten yuan each—anything above that, she can keep as commission.”

“No problem, I’ll call her at the factory right now.”

Soon, Uncle Dragon got in touch with his cousin, Liu Ning.

Liu Ning was very interested and immediately took time off to come take a look.

Half an hour later, Chu Xuan met Liu Ning.

Before coming, Liu Ning had already quietly asked her female coworkers.

Over twenty of them wanted to buy.

After seeing the shirts, they decided to take them all on the spot, but payment would have to wait until Liu Ning sold the shirts and collected the money.

Chu Xuan agreed readily. She’d dealt with Liu Ning in her previous life and knew she was honest and trustworthy.

Before leaving, Chu Xuan took a piece of pork out of her sack and handed it to Uncle Dragon. “Uncle Dragon, this is for you and Auntie Liu.”

Not giving them a chance to refuse, she ran out of the shop.

Having given away the pork, she needed to buy more.

So she headed to the town market, planning to check on how Mu Chenze was doing with his shirt sales.

At the pork stall, she happened to catch the last piece of pork belly—one jin and one liang—which she bought.

She carried the meat with a string and looked over at Mu Chenze’s stall.

He was surrounded by six girls, smiling as he quoted prices and telling them how beautiful and pretty they’d look in the new shirts, calling them fairies and princesses—he used every flattering word he could think of.

In the end, the six girls were talked into buying two shirts each, at 25 yuan for two.

Just like that, he sold twelve shirts.

After the girls left, Chu Xuan walked over and gave Mu Chenze a thumbs up, looking impressed. “You’re amazing! Wearing your shirts turns people into goddesses! I always thought you didn’t know how to sweet-talk people!”

Mu Chenze looked a little embarrassed at being caught, but he couldn’t help but retort, “When you lose weight, I’ll call you a goddess too!”

He never missed a chance to encourage Chu Xuan to lose weight.

Chu Xuan was full of confidence. “There will come a day when I slim down!”

Just then, a female customer walked over, gave Chu Xuan a shove, and said bluntly, “Fatty, move aside! There’s no way you can fit into these shirts! Don’t get in the way while I’m shopping!”

Thanks for your support, everyone! In addition to the usual two chapters, I’ve added three bonus chapters for going live. Come praise me! Updates will continue at midnight every day."