Chapter 52: I Want to Swear Brotherhood With My Mom

Er Dan was stunned too. He stared at Su Qinghu, his eyes wide as saucers, and suddenly clutched his chest—his heart was pounding like a rabbit kicking its legs, making him feel all flustered!

She really agreed?

Weren’t we supposed to bargain? Now it’s just settled, no bargaining at all?

Right now, Su Qinghu was facing Da Dan’s wrath head-on, so she didn’t have time to look at Er Dan.

She knew exactly how much five yuan was worth, and how much it could buy—hadn’t she just browsed the department store yesterday?

She had at least some common sense about the purchasing power in this era.

Once Da Dan finished his loud complaints, Su Qinghu just spread her hands. “What are you saying? You think this little bit of money could make me lose my mind?”

Look down on me, will you!

“A little bit of money? You call this a little bit of money?!” Da Dan gritted his teeth, his little face stern. “This isn’t a little bit of money! Even the best student at our school doesn’t get this much pocket money!”

Er Dan mumbled, glancing at Da Dan, “Just because some kids get more, doesn’t mean they go around telling you about it…”

“You shut up!” Da Dan snapped, lashing out indiscriminately. “What do you need so much money for? You have enough to eat and drink, it’s not like you’re lacking anything. Are you planning to bury the money in the ground and wait for it to sprout, grow, blossom, and bear fruit?”

Da Dan was furious. He never expected his little brother to be so wasteful!

Er Dan shut his mouth and quietly edged closer to Su Qinghu.

His big brother was scary when he got mad, but with his eyes all red—was he about to cry?

He tugged at Su Qinghu, hoping she’d watch her words and not upset his brother any further.

Of course Su Qinghu noticed.

She got nervous. “Hey, don’t cry!”

She absolutely hadn’t meant to bully a kid!

Tears started welling up in Da Dan’s eyes.

Su Qinghu was at a loss. “It’s not that big a deal, really, it’s just five yuan…”

But her attempt at comfort only made Da Dan’s tears fall in a rush. “I… I told my dad you were good enough for him, but today you just spent money recklessly again, and you were so fierce about it too. I… you… you’re not good enough for my dad anymore!”

Su Qinghu wanted to laugh at first, but then she just felt speechless. What kind of nonsense was this? Good enough, not good enough—what was that supposed to mean!

Chen Lie: “…”

Chen Lie stepped inside just in time to hear, “You’re not good enough for my dad anymore,” and froze on the spot. Sensing Su Qinghu’s gaze, he forced himself to look over.

Su Qinghu gave Chen Lie a once-over from head to toe, then turned to Da Dan, who was trying hard to stop sobbing and steady his emotions now that Chen Lie had come in. “You’re right,” she said.

She meant it sincerely.

Da Dan choked on a sob, staring at Su Qinghu, completely dumbfounded. When he finally processed what she’d said, he let out a sudden hiccup.

Chen Lie felt awkward all over, his fingers twitching at his sides. Meeting Su Qinghu’s appreciative look, he hesitated, then finally said, “You’re not lacking.”

“Huh?” Su Qinghu pouted, her voice low. “So in your eyes, I’m just ‘not lacking’ and that’s it?”

Chen Lie: “…”

He studied Su Qinghu’s expression and little gestures, trying to figure out if she was teasing him again, but he couldn’t tell for sure.

After a moment, he said, “You’re outstanding.”

Su Qinghu immediately latched onto his words, beaming. “Oh? Then what’s so outstanding about me?”

All traces of disappointment vanished—she was positively glowing now. In Chen Lie’s eyes, she looked vibrant, even a little overexcited.

So, she really was teasing him just now, wasn’t she?

Chen Lie fell silent.

Su Qinghu pressed on, “Hey, Comrade Chen Lie, come on, tell me! I don’t even know what’s so great about me. If someone asks me what my strengths are, I need to have an answer, right?”

Da Dan really wanted to jump in and say, “Your strengths are spending money, being shameless, and not taking things seriously!”

But he was still reeling from his dad’s “You’re outstanding,” so his mouth wouldn’t open and his legs wouldn’t move.

Chen Lie glanced at her. “I think you know better than I do.”

Huh? Su Qinghu raised an eyebrow, delighted—this man was starting to fight back.

That was a clever answer.

She figured “thick-skinned” was definitely one of her strengths. With his answer, she immediately slotted “thick-skinned” into her list of virtues.

“Alright, you all have work and school soon. Let’s wrap this up and deal with the matter at hand,” Chen Lie said, turning away from Su Qinghu.

Every time he faced Su Qinghu, he felt like he couldn’t keep his emotions in check.

And these two kids, too—

Chen Lie shook his head helplessly. Just as he was about to speak, Su Qinghu called out to the kids, “Come on, let’s stand in a row so your dad can take charge.”

Chen Lie almost choked, but managed to keep a straight face.

Fine, fine, at least she knows how to do things properly.

Er Dan quickly responded, standing next to Su Qinghu. Seeing his brother still frozen, he stepped forward and pulled Da Dan over.

Da Dan was already numb from Su Qinghu’s antics. He stood in line with them, face expressionless, staring at Chen Lie.

“Ready?” Chen Lie asked Su Qinghu, the self-appointed organizer.

Su Qinghu replied crisply, “Yep, ready. Go ahead.”

Chen Lie: “…”

Chen Lie looked at Da Dan. “You go first.”

Da Dan didn’t want to talk anymore. Just now, when things were so serious, his dad had said Su Qinghu was outstanding. What was the point of saying anything now?

He stayed silent. Chen Lie just waited—no impatience, no sternness, just a quiet pressure that said, “If you don’t speak, we’ll just stand here all day.”

As the sunlight grew brighter, Da Dan got anxious. He’d already missed several days of school to help take care of Su Qinghu. The teacher had said there’d be a quiz today, and the top student would get two softcover notebooks. He didn’t want to miss it!

“She said she’d give Er Dan and me pocket money, and let us decide how much. I didn’t want any, but Er Dan did. We talked it over and decided to ask. I figured Er Dan would ask for fifty cents, and then she’d bargain down to ten cents or five,” Da Dan said, glancing at Er Dan, who was scratching his head and grinning.

Chen Lie said nothing, so Da Dan continued.

“But Er Dan asked for five yuan, and she didn’t even try to bargain—just agreed right away! Didn’t even ask! Didn’t even consider our family’s situation!”

Su Qinghu rubbed her nose.

Since she hadn’t been called out yet, she decided to keep quiet.

Chen Lie nodded. “Anything else?”

Da Dan shook his head.

Chen Lie turned to Er Dan. “Your turn.”

“I… I don’t have much to say. I really did ask for five yuan in pocket money,” Er Dan scratched his head. “I just didn’t expect Mom to be so nice, agreeing without even bargaining.”

He looked at Chen Lie. “Dad, if you think Mom was wrong, then I was wrong too. If you’re going to punish someone, punish us both.”

Chen Lie couldn’t help but laugh. “So you know what loyalty is, huh?”

“Of course!” Er Dan patted his chest. “All those stories I’ve heard weren’t for nothing. Like the Oath of the Peach Garden, sworn brothers, friends who’d die for each other—they all say you have to be loyal and stick together through thick and thin!”

Chen Lie: “You know all those idioms?”

“Of course! If Mom wasn’t my mom, I’d want to swear brotherhood with her!” Er Dan looked at Su Qinghu, his eyes full of pure admiration."