Gu Yihan once again resumed her days of attending classes and her nights of writing and revising manuscripts.
During the noon break, she ran to the school gate. “Sir, is there any mail for me?”
The gatekeeper saw Gu Yihan and said, “Yes, there are two letters for you.”
She was overjoyed and immediately followed the gatekeeper inside to retrieve her mail.
After getting the letters, Gu Yihan took two boiled eggs from her pocket and said, “For you, sir. I’ll have to trouble you again in the future.”
The gatekeeper waved his hand in refusal. “This is part of my duty. I can’t accept this.”
She left the eggs on the table and ran off, calling back as she went, “If you don’t take them, I’ll be too embarrassed to ask you to collect my mail for me anymore.”
Gu Yihan excitedly looked at the two letters. One was from the Youth Daily, containing a sample newspaper and 5 yuan. The other was from the People’s Daily, also with a sample newspaper, 2 yuan, and one Food Stamp.
Gu Yihan had mailed a total of five submissions, and she was delighted that two had been published. She wasn’t greedy, truly.
She was so moved she actually cried. She could finally earn her own money.
This era was too difficult. She had her Dimension, but she was timid and didn’t dare go to the black market. She could only be cautious, ever so cautious. Spies were rampant in this era, and she was afraid people would mistake her for one and have her killed.
Knowing she could now earn money by submitting articles, she was so excited that she lay awake all night.
The next morning, Gu Yihan first went to the State-run Restaurant and bought five large meat buns, which she put in her backpack, using the Food Stamp from the People’s Daily.
After getting on the ox cart, Gu Yihan usually kept to herself, so she didn’t notice that Liu Zhaodi’s eldest daughter, Laidi, was also on the cart.
The cart swayed along until it reached Gu Jia Village.
“Sir, what time do you set out on Monday morning if I want to take your ox cart?” Gu Yihan asked, handing him the fare for this trip.
The ox-cart driver chuckled as he took the money. “Six in the morning.”
Gu Yihan nodded happily. “Thank you, sir. I’ll take your cart again that day.”
On the way back home.
Gu Yihan was thinking about sharing her happy news with her grandmother when she was suddenly shoved hard from behind. Caught off guard, she fell.
A piercing pain shot through her palms and knees.
Gu Yihan slowly turned her head to look at the person who had pushed her and saw it was Liu Zhaodi’s eldest daughter, Laidi, her eyes filled with malice.
Gu Yihan said nothing, simply picking herself up and slowly walking toward her. “Have I offended you?”
Laidi’s eyes were gloomy as she looked at Gu Yihan. “You should die. Why do you get to live so brightly? Why do you get to go to school? You should be just like me.”
Then she looked at Gu Yihan and burst into loud laughter. “What do you think will happen when your family finds out you’re not their biological child? Will they still let you go to school, you money-losing good-for-nothing?”
Due to the height difference, Gu Yihan suddenly lifted her foot and kicked Laidi’s knee joint. As her opponent stumbled onto one knee, she swung her hand and slapped her without the slightest hesitation. The sound of the slap echoed sharply.
Laidi clutched her cheek, her voice filled with rage. “You dare hit me?”
Gu Yihan slapped her again with the back of her hand.
“Who do you think you are? I just did hit you,” Gu Yihan said, and “smack,” another slap landed.
Laidi was so intimidated by Gu Yihan’s aura that she didn’t dare speak.
She patted Laidi’s face with her palm and said mockingly, “Even if you tell the whole village I’m not my family’s biological child, who would believe you?”
Seeing Liu Zhaodi in the distance, Gu Yihan walked directly toward her.
“Is your eldest daughter sick in the head? She actually said I’m not my family’s biological child.”
Gu Yihan looked at her with profound meaning. “If I wasn’t born to my mother, then where is the child my mother did give birth to? If she spouts such nonsense in the village, people might think your family swapped my mother’s baby, don’t you think?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhaodi’s face, which had been flushed from rushing over, instantly turned deathly pale.
She yanked Laidi up and began to beat and curse her furiously. “You jinx! You ungrateful wretch! You should be married off to some old widower, you liar!”
Laidi covered her head and scurried away. “Mom, I clearly heard you say she was my sister! You also said…”
With a twisted expression, Liu Zhaodi delivered a series of “smack, smack, smack,” slapping Laidi’s face until it was swollen.
How could such a huge commotion not attract the villagers’ attention? They all watched from a short distance.
Aunt Chen, the brigade accountant’s wife, said, “Could it be true that the babies were swapped?”
Jiawang’s Wife scoffed. “That Laidi must be jealous of Hanhuan. I’ve seen her staring daggers at her several times.”
The people around them whispered, “That Hanhuan is so pretty, but she doesn’t look anything like the Zhou Jianguo family.”
Gu Yihan ignored the mother and daughter’s melodrama and went straight home.
Grandma Gu was washing vegetables. Seeing her granddaughter return, she wiped her hands on her clothes and said, “Why are you a little late today?”
Gu Yihan was not at all affected. “I was delayed on the road for a bit. Grandma, I brought you something good.”
Saying this, she pulled Grandma Gu directly into the house, took the meat buns out of her schoolbag, and handed them to her.
“Hurry and eat. I bought them at the State-run Restaurant,” Gu Yihan urged.
Holding the meat bun, Grandma Gu’s eyes glistened with tears. “Alright, Grandma will eat. The skin is thin and there’s so much meat. It’s delicious.”
“This is the first time Grandma has ever eaten a meat bun from the State-run Restaurant. It’s all thanks to my little granddaughter’s good fortune.”
“Grandma, if you like it, eat more. I bought five, and they’re all for you,” Gu Yihan said, happier watching Grandma Gu eat than if she were eating herself.
After eating one, Grandma Gu couldn’t bear to eat any more. “Where did you get the money to buy these?”
Gu Yihan deliberately lifted her chin with a proud look. “Grandma, look, this is a sample newspaper. I earned 2 yuan and a Food Stamp for submitting an article to the People’s Daily. I’ll support you from now on. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll buy it for you.”
Gu Yihan didn’t mention the 5 yuan from the Youth Daily. Nor did she mention her plans to submit articles frequently and earn more than just this small fee.
A small amount of money wouldn’t attract jealousy, but if the wealth gap in the family became too large, she didn’t dare test human nature. She didn’t want to test the last bit of family affection until it was gone.
Grandma Gu happily took the newspaper. She was illiterate, so she asked her granddaughter where the part she wrote was. Gu Yihan pointed it out to her and even read it aloud with great expression.
Grandma Gu’s hands wouldn’t let go of the newspaper. She said, “Your name is such a good one. It’s all thanks to Grandma Gu for giving you that name.”
“Grandma, don’t worry. I’ll definitely study hard. When I get a job, I’ll earn money to buy you delicious food and new clothes,” Gu Yihan promised earnestly.
Grandma Gu wasn’t thinking about the future; for now, she was completely full and satisfied with the big promises her little granddaughter had fed her.