Chapter 74: Don’t Be So Serious

The surprise was definitely surprising enough, and the unexpectedness was unexpected enough too.

The first part refers to Erdan, who was so excited by the surprise that he was practically buzzing—and this state lasted all the way until school ended on Saturday.

Dadan, on the other hand, was so caught off guard that he ended up giving Su Qinghu the cold shoulder. Aside from necessary communication, he barely spoke to her.

Su Qinghu wasn’t fazed at all. To be precise, she didn’t even realize Dadan was giving her the cold shoulder. These past few days, besides leading the two of them in evening craft sessions, she also had to cram in some foreign language tutoring. Her mouth was so busy “yapping” it was about to get chapped—how could she possibly have the energy to notice anything else?

“Come on, hurry up, bro!” Erdan clutched his crossbody schoolbag and dashed home. “We’ve got a mission today!”

Hearing this, Dadan quickened his pace, still wearing a stern expression.

Once home, they opened the door, tossed down their schoolbags, and immediately started moving the flower arrangement baskets they’d made earlier into the tricycle.

“Bro, you take care of the last two,” Erdan said, then dashed into the living room, dumped out his schoolbag onto the table, grabbed the now-empty bag, and ran out to the yard.

After finishing up, Dadan went to the kitchen, filled a jug with cool boiled water, and waited in the yard. Seeing Erdan holding just the bag’s shell, he frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Huh?” Erdan blinked, looked down at his bag, then at his brother. “To collect the money, obviously.”

Dadan pressed his lips together, his little brows still tightly knit.

Erdan’s eyes widened. “Bro, you can’t be that clueless, right? Our pants pockets can’t hold that much money!”

Dadan turned to lock the living room door, then walked over to the tricycle, still wearing his stern little face. “Are you ready? Can we go now?”

Erdan grinned. “Let’s go, let’s go! Today I’m gonna make a fortune!”

After their new mom said she’d take them swimming over the weekend, she’d taken them out early the next morning to the countryside to dig and scavenge for things. Then, in the evenings, she’d have them make crafts and even set up a plan for how to split the money.

Before leaving for work today, she told them to bring their stuff to the newspaper office after school and wait for her. As soon as she got off work, she’d take them to set up a stall and make some money.

Dadan pedaled the tricycle in silence, while Erdan sat on the edge, happily daydreaming about the future. “Once I have money, I’ll—”

“Alright, save it until you actually sell something,” Dadan really wanted to give Erdan a smack to snap him out of his daydreams.

The so-called crafts were just little baskets woven from bamboo or rattan, filled with mossy stones or small tree roots, and a few twigs with pomegranate flowers glued on, or some long, thin grass.

The simplest ones were just baskets lined with three centimeters of flower petals or cotton, with some quirky little trinkets Su Qinghu had picked up these days placed on top.

Are they worth anything?

Dadan didn’t think so!

The kicker was, last night when they were discussing prices, Su Qinghu had actually decided the minimum price would be five yuan!

Five yuan!

Wouldn’t three jin of pork be a better buy for that money?

No matter how impossible he thought it was to sell them, he still had to bring the stuff and wait for her.

The tricycle tires had been pumped up that morning, and aside from Erdan, there wasn’t much weight on the bike, so nine-year-old Dadan had no trouble pedaling.

When they got to the newspaper office, Dadan looked around, found the meeting spot Su Qinghu had mentioned, and steered the tricycle over with a push of his foot.

“Bro, what time is it?” Erdan swung his legs, his little face flushed with excitement and his eyes full of fighting spirit. “I’m so impatient!”

The earlier they got there, the more time they’d have to hawk their wares. More time hawking meant maybe selling one more basket, and one more basket meant at least five more yuan~~~

“These things might not sell—” Dadan frowned, his young face serious. “If they don’t sell, you better not start crying!”

Erdan’s eyes widened and he stopped swinging his legs. “How could they not sell? These are crafts! I think they’re cute and pretty!”

“And,” Erdan jumped off the tricycle, “I even learned all the phrases to talk to foreigners!”

Nothing was a problem. With his clever little brain, how could he not sell anything?

“Bro, we haven’t even started selling yet, don’t jinx us!” Erdan couldn’t stand hearing the words “not sell.” “Didn’t Mom say? Whoever sells something gets to keep the money. Aren’t you thinking about how to sell them?”

Even at the lowest price, selling two would be ten yuan! A whole big bill!

Dadan opened his mouth, but still said what Erdan didn’t want to hear. “That’s just a trick.”

“What’s a trick?” Erdan jumped in front of his brother, puffing out his chest and pouting, a little annoyed. “She wouldn’t lie! Whoever sells something gets the money!”

“I mean,” Dadan glanced at the newspaper office exit, saw people coming out—must be quitting time—then leaned in and whispered, “the stuff itself is a trick.”

All of it was made from things that cost nothing.

Even the baskets, if they cost money, were only a few mao...

“That’s not true!” Erdan retorted. “There’s an old man in the park, the one with those long eyebrows—they have stuff made from straw at home, and he treasures it!”

Dadan: “That’s the work of a famous master. Ours isn’t the same.”

“How’s it not the same? Their straw stuff is a treasure, but our bamboo and rattan baskets aren’t?” Erdan was indignant. “We made them look nice too! The baskets are pretty, and the stuff inside is pretty!”

“Tree roots are pretty? Mossy stones are pretty?” Dadan asked calmly.

Erdan was stumped, and suddenly recalled the scene of them digging up tree roots and picking wildflowers in the countryside.

But to admit these things were worthless, that they were a trick—he just couldn’t accept it. So he stiffened his neck and insisted, “I don’t care. If other people’s tree roots and mossy stones can sell, so can ours!”

“Whether they can or not, it’s too early to say,” Su Qinghu came over, smiling with her bag in hand. “Let’s just go try setting up a stall and see for ourselves.”

“No need to assume it won’t work. Today’s just for practice, getting some experience. Whether we sell anything isn’t important.” She shoved her bag into Dadan’s arms, rolled up her sleeves, hopped onto the tricycle, and turned to the two stunned kids. “What’s wrong? Get on!”

“Mom, that’s not what you said this morning!” Erdan protested in disbelief as he climbed onto the tricycle.

Dadan: “So you’re not sure we can sell this stuff either?”

In this blazing heat, was she just taking them out for fun?!

“What’s so surprising about that?”

Seeing them both get on, Su Qinghu gave a strong push with her foot and the tricycle shot forward. “Don’t be so serious~~~”"