That night, Father Su lay on the bed still feeling angry. He said to Mother Su, “Just look at those two kids. Their guts are way too big. They even started doing business. I don’t know who they learned it from.”
Mother Su was already sleepy. Hearing him speak, she muttered, “Then just talk to them properly. Don’t always scold them.”
Father Su retorted, “If I don’t control them now, they’ll end up flying straight to heaven. Take that county house for example. Back then, we bought it so the two of them would have a place to stay while studying. Who would’ve thought they’d use it to store goods and do business?”
Father Su talked for a long time without getting any response. When he turned his head, he found Mother Su already sleeping soundly. He instantly lost the desire to continue complaining, rolled over, and also fell asleep.
The next morning, Su Wan was sleeping soundly in bed. She dreamed that Han Rui was riding toward her on a bicycle. Just as she opened her mouth to call him—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone started knocking on the door beside her ear, waking her up.
Outside the door, Su Lei had already been knocking for quite a while. Seeing there was still no movement, he shouted:
“Su Wan, what time is it already? Hurry up and get out of bed!”
Still half asleep, Su Wan squinted her eyes and replied lazily, “I know, I’m getting up right now.”
Even though she said that, she showed no sign of moving and simply rolled over, burying her face into the blanket.
Knowing Su Wan’s habits very well, Su Lei sneered after hearing her answer.
“As if I don’t know you. You only say you’re getting up, but you’re definitely still lying there right now. Hurry! If you don’t get up, you won’t get breakfast.”
Only after hearing that did Su Wan finally struggle out of bed.
At the educated youth compound, Liu Rongrong had already gotten up early and finished tidying herself.
After Shen Aihong woke up and saw Liu Rongrong in the courtyard, she asked curiously, “Liu Rongrong, why are you up so early today?”
Liu Rongrong smiled softly and replied, “Mm, I asked for leave this morning. I’m going to the commune to mail a letter.”
Today was Shen Aihong’s turn to make breakfast, so after hearing that, she asked, “Then are you eating breakfast or not?”
“No need. Don’t make mine. I’m leaving now.”
Shen Aihong nodded. “Alright.”
Liu Rongrong was so eager to go to the commune not only because she wanted to mail a letter, but more importantly because she wanted to pick up money.
As she walked along the road, she thought to herself that in the novel, she had only briefly mentioned that on the way back from mailing a letter at the commune, she found a package filled with money.
The location shouldn’t be wrong. There was only one road to the commune. The only uncertainty was the timing.
But that didn’t matter. With her luck, there was no way she would miss it.
Meanwhile, Su Wan sat on the back seat of the bicycle and spotted Liu Rongrong walking ahead.
Bicycles were much faster than walking, so they quickly overtook her.
“What’s the female lead doing? I don’t think the book mentioned it,” Su Wan muttered.
Su Lei thought she was talking to him, so he replied, “What are you saying? Speak louder, I couldn’t hear you.”
“Nothing. I was just thinking about what to buy later.”
Su Wan thought to herself that the novel couldn’t possibly describe everything in detail. Some unimportant plot points would naturally be skipped. Besides, the female lead was no longer the original female lead, so she couldn’t keep focusing all her attention on Liu Rongrong every time she saw her.
After figuring that out, Su Wan tossed Liu Rongrong to the back of her mind.
In this era, even bicycles were uncommon, let alone cars. So, Su Lei rode smoothly all the way into the county town without obstruction.
Following Su Wan’s directions, he twisted and turned through several alleys before stopping in front of a courtyard house.
Su Wan stepped forward and knocked on the door. Someone inside asked, “Who is it?”
Su Wan replied, “It’s me. My mother asked me to bring something to my aunt.”
After hearing her response, footsteps sounded from inside the courtyard. A woman in her twenties opened the door with a smile.
“Come in quickly.”
Su Wan walked in, with Su Lei pushing the bicycle behind her.
A man in his twenties came out from the house. When he saw Su Wan, he smiled and said, “What a rare guest. So, what good stuff did you bring this time?”
The man’s name was Gangzi. He was one of Boss Wu’s subordinates in charge of a small area. After Boss Wu gave instructions, Gangzi had taken pretty good care of Su Wan.
Su Wan and Su Lei followed him into the room and sat down.
Su Lei took out the package containing the ginseng, and Su Wan said, “Didn’t Brother Wu say he was looking for wild mountain ginseng? So I brought some over.”
Gangzi’s eyes lit up. After Su Lei carefully unwrapped it, Gangzi examined it closely, and his eyes brightened even more.
“It looks over eighty years old.”
Su Lei nodded. “That’s right. Just collected from a mountain village in the northeast.”
Gangzi was obviously very satisfied with the quality of the ginseng. He had bought a few roots before, but none looked as good as this one.
Since they all knew each other well, he spoke directly.
“We’re all familiar people here, so let’s not beat around the bush. How much are you asking?”
Su Wan smiled.
“We bought it for 1,000 yuan. How about 1,800?”
Hearing that, Gangzi made a troubled expression.
“1,800 is too high. I only paid 800 for a fifty-year-old one before. 1,600. That’s my highest offer, and that’s only because we’re old acquaintances.”
Su Wan said understandingly, “Fine, 1,600 then. This is genuine wild ginseng dug out from the old forests in the northeast. It’s something you can only encounter by luck. Honestly, selling it for 1,600 means I’m taking a loss. If we hadn’t known each other for so long, I wouldn’t bear to sell it.”
Gangzi helplessly replied after hearing her say that with a completely straight face:
“My dear auntie, you’re still claiming a loss at 1,600? I think I’m the one losing money here.”
Su Wan remained unmoved by his words. There was no way they would lose money on this deal. Either the ginseng would be resold for profit, or it would be used to build connections. In any case, they definitely wouldn’t lose out.
After they finalized the deal, the woman went into the room, counted the money, and handed it to Su Wan.
Su Wan put it into the cloth bag and passed it to Su Lei.
Seeing them pack it away immediately, Gangzi joked:
“You’re not even counting it? Once you walk out that door, if money’s missing, I won’t admit anything.”
Su Wan smiled at him.
“I trust you, so there’s no need to count it. It definitely won’t be wrong.”
After watching them ride away on the bicycle, Gangzi returned inside, took the ginseng, and delivered it to Boss Wu.
On the road, Su Lei rode the bicycle while saying:
“Not bad, Su Wan. You made 800 yuan just by reselling it once.”
Su Wan proudly lifted her chin.
“Of course. Who am I? I’m Su Lei’s younger sister. How could I not be impressive?”
Hearing that, Su Lei burst out laughing.
“You really do have a sharp tongue.”
Then he became serious again.
“Alright, enough joking. We can’t just carry this money around, but depositing it directly into the bank all at once would attract too much attention.”
Su Wan replied, “Then we’ll split it into two parts. 800 each. I’ll go deposit mine at the county bank first, and after a few days, you can deposit yours.”
Su Lei thought the arrangement sounded good and nodded.
“Okay.”
He turned the bicycle and headed toward the bank.
Holding the 800 yuan, Su Wan entered the bank.
A worker saw her and said, “Hello, comrade. What business would you like to handle?”
The employee spoke with a stiff expression.
“I’d like to deposit money,” Su Wan said while handing over the cloth bag of cash.
When the worker heard she was depositing money, her expression immediately softened and became much friendlier.
After opening the bag and seeing such a large amount of money, the worker looked at Su Wan suspiciously.
Su Wan immediately forced a bitter smile, tears gathering in her eyes as she choked up emotionally.
“My poor younger brother… He was seriously injured during a mission and had no choice but to leave the military. From now on, he can only rely on this 800-yuan compensation payment to survive.”
After hearing that explanation, the worker withdrew her suspicious gaze and suddenly understood.
So, it was military compensation money. No wonder there was so much.
The worker comforted her:
“800 yuan isn’t a small amount. You could buy your brother a job with that, so there’s no need to worry.”
Su Wan wiped away her tears as if comforted and nodded.
“You’re right. I’ll ask around once I get back.”
When Su Wan came out, Su Lei asked, “They didn’t suspect anything, right?”
Su Wan waved her hand dismissively.
“It’s fine. I just made up a random excuse.”
Then she climbed onto the back seat again.
After making sure Su Wan was seated properly, Su Lei pedaled the bicycle and sped away.