Chapter 23: Pointing Fingers at You Today

Da Dan glanced at Er Dan, who had already run out into the courtyard, then looked at Su Qinghu, who was staring at him. His surprise was mixed with confusion.

He remembered that on the day they came back, when they were still at the hospital, Su Qinghu had held their hands and later patted their heads. But… there hadn’t been anything particularly special about it. So why did Er Dan like her so much? He even got embarrassed and annoyed when stopped.

“Go play,” Su Qinghu said, seeing that he seemed to be launching into a mental brainstorm—one that was tangling his mind into a ball of yarn, his gaze drifting. She smiled and waved her hand. “You can take a dime from the change box in the living room.”

Hearing her tone, Da Dan hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself, then wanting to again, and finally couldn’t help it. “Do you even know how to run a household?”

How could anyone spoil kids like this?

Just handing out money because she said so, and not just a little—a whole dime! A dime! That could buy a whole jin of old rice!

Su Qinghu, a grown woman—grown for many years now, with a car, a house, and a decent amount of savings—was suddenly questioned by a child, full of righteous indignation, about whether she knew how to manage a household. The shock she felt was understandable!

Her hand jerked in surprise, and with a ripping sound, the already low-quality exercise book she was holding was torn with a long gash.

She looked down at the drawing, relieved to see she hadn’t damaged the finished part, then looked up at Da Dan, her eyes narrowing. “What did you say?”

Her eyes were slightly long, the corners tilting up. When she narrowed them like this, she didn’t look fierce—instead, a gentle, spring-like warmth seemed to spread.

But to Da Dan, this just looked naïve and clueless.

“I said, do you even know how to run a household? At school, do you pay attention to anything besides studying? Do you know what an ordinary person’s monthly salary is? Do you know how much you can buy with a dime?”

The more Da Dan spoke, the angrier he got. “Do you really have to learn from those people who don’t know how to manage money? What if we have food today but nothing for the next meal?”

Su Qinghu: “…”

Sorry, in her past life, she’d only ever lived alone. Now, with a whole family to support, this was her first time experiencing it. As for prices, in her previous life, when she went to the supermarket, she just took whatever she wanted, never caring about the price per item.

As for her current self, she’d just graduated from university—managing a household was still a knowledge blind spot. Other than studying, she’d never paid attention to prices. And as for the average person’s monthly salary, she hadn’t even started working yet—how was she supposed to answer that?

The only thing she could answer was what a dime could buy.

“A dime can buy a notebook,” Su Qinghu replied innocently. “Or pay for a doctor’s registration.”

Da Dan: “…”

Was that what he meant? He just wanted to tell her that money should be spent wisely, only on what’s necessary—don’t spend what you shouldn’t, don’t give what you shouldn’t.

Su Qinghu saw his little chest heaving with anger and laughed. “What, are you afraid I’ll let you go hungry?”

“If you spend all the money and we have nothing for the next meal, won’t we go hungry?” Da Dan retorted, sticking his neck out. “Think about it—from yesterday until now, how much money have you given us?”

Su Qinghu: “…You can’t just count me, right?”

Chen Lie gave them money too, didn’t he?

“We’re just counting you,” Da Dan frowned. “Dad’s only home for a few days. In the future, you’ll be the one managing the money. If you’re in charge, then all the household matters depend on you. If you spend money without restraint, and Dad’s salary doesn’t arrive on time, what will we do?”

The child was genuinely worried, especially seeing Su Qinghu’s unconcerned attitude—he was about to cry from frustration.

The last one was stingy—so stingy they couldn’t eat their fill, but at least they knew there was emergency money, so they weren’t too anxious.

But this one—she wasn’t stingy, but she spent money so freely! What if they needed money urgently in the future…

“How did your little brain grow like this?” Su Qinghu wondered. His logic was pretty good, he spoke clearly, but he always assumed the worst.

Da Dan couldn’t take it anymore and shouted at her, “Can’t you be a bit more responsible?”

“Alright, alright, it’s just a dime! Look how worked up you are,” Su Qinghu said, amused. “Haven’t you ever thought, instead of me scrimping and saving, hoarding a little nest egg for myself, maybe it’s better to just let you eat and spend it all now?”

Da Dan: “I—I can’t talk sense into you! You’re too dumb!”

He practically roared this, not making Su Qinghu angry, but instead making himself tear up.

When he stormed out of the bedroom, his tears were on the verge of falling.

Su Qinghu: “…”

In her mind, it was like ten thousand wild horses thundered past, kicking up clouds of dust.

What was wrong with these two brothers? The moment things went badly, they just ran off!

She tapped her chin with her pen for a while, then lowered her head to keep working, occasionally jotting down a few more lines.

===

Da Dan dashed out into the courtyard and almost tripped over Er Dan, who was squatting by the gate.

The brothers exchanged a glance, and Da Dan spoke first. “I’m going to find Grandpa, Grandma, and Dad. Are you coming?”

“Why should I?” Er Dan stood up. Under his oversized clothes was a scrawny body, but at least now he had a belt made from a rough strip of cloth, so he didn’t have to keep hitching up his pants. “Dad didn’t say he was taking us when he left.”

They both recognized the sound of that car horn by now—didn’t even need to look to know who it was.

Er Dan pointed at Da Dan’s eyes. “Bro, what’s wrong? Are you crying? Did she hit you?”

After asking, Er Dan imagined what Su Qinghu would look like hitting someone, and couldn’t help but snicker.

The new mom seemed to look good doing anything…

“Stop with the nonsense. Just tell me—are you coming or not? If you’re not, I’ll go by myself!”

With Da Dan saying that, how could Er Dan refuse?

“Did you take any change? Did you tell Mom?”

He followed his brother out, muttering, “Bro, you’ve been acting weird these past few days. Didn’t you like her? Why are you mad at her?”

Er Dan didn’t get it. He looked at Da Dan expectantly, but Da Dan didn’t even glance at him, just focused on leading him to the bus stop.

Er Dan, not even 1.2 meters tall, rode for free. Da Dan paid the fare right away, then pulled his brother to a seat.

Meanwhile, Chen Lie was nearly at his parents’ house.

Father and Mother Chen were already waiting outside. When they saw him, they quickly waved him over.

“Chen Lie, what’s going on?” Mother Chen started as soon as he got close. “Why did you suddenly get divorced, and then remarried?”

She trusted her son’s character and judgment—there was no way he’d cheat during marriage. But others didn’t know that, and they needed to get the facts straight so they could respond if anything happened.

“Don’t worry, let’s go inside and talk,” Chen Lie said. “Is standing at the gate really comfortable?” Father Chen patted her shoulder and called their son inside."