Chapter 127: It Makes Sense, But Something Feels Off

No money for a taxi!

Su Qinghu’s eyes went a bit blank.

What should she do?

She definitely couldn’t ask her mother-in-law for a loan!

She had thick skin, but not thick enough to borrow money from the old lady.

Who else could she ask?

She didn’t want to borrow money from the neighbors, either...

Just as Su Qinghu was about to scratch her head in frustration, she suddenly remembered her dear son, Da Dan.

That kid still had sixty cents!

Su Qinghu relaxed a little, but still hadn’t figured out how to get her son alone to borrow the money under her mother-in-law’s watchful eye.

But—

As long as there’s money, that’s enough! The rest can wait!

Su Qinghu quickly picked out the clothes she’d wear later, draped them over her arm, and left the bedroom.

Half an hour later, Su Qinghu came out feeling refreshed. She was smiling, with a few damp strands of hair stuck behind her ears and neck, looking as if she might float away.

A shower really felt like it had cleansed her soul. The lingering feeling of restlessness from the long train ride was gone, and she felt much more energetic.

Mrs. Meng looked at her and suddenly knew what birthday present to get her.

Su Qinghu went back to the bedroom, grabbed a long, diamond-patterned hair ribbon, and started tying her hair into a ponytail as she walked toward the living room.

“Da Dan, take out the preserved duck and tea from the suitcase.” They needed to bring those to the compound.

Da Dan quietly walked over to the suitcase, squatted down, and started rummaging through it.

Er Dan followed, taking whatever his brother handed him and putting it on the table.

Mrs. Meng watched, wanting to help, but held herself back.

Her son had said last time that unless something was so heavy it might hurt the kids, she shouldn’t interfere, and should let her daughter-in-law handle their education.

Su Qinghu finished tying her ponytail and called out to Mrs. Meng, “Mom, there’s a little basket in the kitchen, could you grab it for us?”

With that, she headed over to the kids, clearly planning to do things herself. Mrs. Meng nodded and went to the kitchen.

Catching a glimpse of Mrs. Meng disappearing through the living room door, Su Qinghu quickly grabbed Da Dan’s hand. “My good boy, let Mom borrow your sixty cents for an emergency. I’ll pay you back tomorrow!”

That was all the family had at the moment. Forget about taking a taxi—they’d just have to take the bus like good citizens.

Da Dan was stunned by her calling him “my good boy,” and as she shook his hand, he felt a little dizzy.

“Hurry, hurry!” Su Qinghu kept one ear out for her mother-in-law’s footsteps as she urged Da Dan, “Grandma can’t know about this. Quick, before she comes back!”

Her urgency rubbed off on Da Dan, who got nervous and fumbled in his pockets before pulling out the neatly folded sixty cents.

As soon as he took it out, he handed it to Su Qinghu, and even instinctively said, “Count it!”

“What’s there to count? No need!” Su Qinghu gave his head a playful rub and laughed. “It’s not like we’re doing business!”

Er Dan just grinned at them.

Nice, now big brother doesn’t have a cent left!

Now the whole family is truly sharing weal and woe.

Except...

He looked at Su Qinghu’s ponytail and blinked. “Mom, your hair looks really nice today!”

It was just a ponytail, but the diamond-patterned ribbon was woven in like a braid, totally different from what he usually saw.

Different meant special.

To a child, it looked really pretty and a bit novel.

Su Qinghu said, “If the hairband you bought didn’t have those comb teeth, I could’ve turned it into a ribbon like this.”

Wrap the ribbon around, and it’d be a retro, fashionable headband.

Too bad it had those comb teeth!

“I’ll get you a new birthday present—one without comb teeth?” Er Dan’s eyes sparkled. “Or maybe another ribbon like this?”

This looked way better than the hair clips he’d snatched from those aunties!

It just looked... so classy!

As he stared, Er Dan’s eyes widened. He stopped helping and darted over to Su Qinghu, grabbing her arm as she packed the suitcase, eyes full of hope. “Mom, when you get your money tomorrow, can you save fifteen yuan for me?”

Su Qinghu didn’t say yes or no, just looked at him.

Why was this kid suddenly so excited?

“If not fifteen, ten is okay!” Er Dan lowered his request, still excited. “Mom, aren’t you going to rent a place and sell clothes? Let’s make some of those headbands like you said and sell them in your shop, okay?!”

Wow, he really was a little genius. What a clever way to make money!

Su Qinghu said, “Sure, but I want a cut!”

Er Dan: “...”

He pouted. “We’re family, can’t you skip the cut? Besides, I don’t even know if they’ll sell...”

But not selling was impossible!

Er Dan thought if they really made headbands like that, not only would they all sell, they might even make a fortune.

If new mom wore one while selling clothes...

Just imagining the crowd snatching them up made Er Dan grin from ear to ear!

Su Qinghu looked at his silly smile and raised an eyebrow. “Hey, wipe your mouth, you’re drooling.”

Er Dan snapped his mouth shut, wiped his mouth (which wasn’t actually drooling), and realized he’d been teased.

He said, “Mom, can you not take a cut? I can give you a headband for free.”

Su Qinghu: “...”

“Think about it—if I sell a headband for one-fifty, two yuan at most, and give you one, that’s almost two yuan! But if you take a five-cent cut per headband, how long would it take to reach two yuan?”

Su Qinghu ignored him and packed faster. “Who told you I’d only take five cents per headband?”

Er Dan’s eyes went wide. “No way! You think five cents isn’t enough?”

Was she going to be that greedy?!

Er Dan felt his heart couldn’t take the shock!

“Is five cents a lot?” Su Qinghu closed the suitcase and stood up, looking down at him. “I could do this business myself, since it was my idea.”

Er Dan got nervous. Well... that was true...

“But I don’t want to spend time on these little things, so you can do it.” Seeing Er Dan’s enthusiasm cool a bit and him start to think, Su Qinghu smiled. “At first, weren’t you planning to have me wear the headband as a model?”

Er Dan nodded. That was exactly what he’d been thinking, but before he could say it, her talk of taking a cut had thrown him off.

“See, it was my idea, and I’d be the model. Isn’t it reasonable for me to take a bigger cut?” Su Qinghu grinned like a sly wolf.

Er Dan was stunned. It made sense, but something felt off...

Da Dan said, “But, it was Er Dan who suggested doing business with this. If he hadn’t, you wouldn’t be doing it, right?”"