"Don't worry, I'll pay this back before the eighth of next month." Liu Qingsong promised.
As for where that confidence came from, it was obviously because he was a reborn person.
But Liu Lijuan didn't know this secret!
She grew anxious at once. "Qingsong, our family can barely afford to eat right now. Where would we get the money to pay back Auntie Wang? Could you stop talking nonsense and bragging?"
"That's right. If you can't pay it back, I won't force you. After all, we're neighbors." Auntie Wang knew Liu Lijuan wouldn't lie, so she paused before adding this.
"No! I can pay it back." Liu Qingsong looked at Auntie Wang earnestly. "I'll return the fifteen yuan to you, principal and interest included."
"You said it yourself." Auntie Wang reminded him.
"I said it." Liu Qingsong confirmed.
If he were a Reborn Person and still couldn't come up with this little bit of money, would he deserve the title?
"Then I won't disturb you two siblings while you make breakfast." Seeing that Liu Lijuan seemed ready to lose her temper at Liu Qingsong, Auntie Wang turned and left the kitchen.
But after Auntie Wang left, Liu Lijuan didn't scold Liu Qingsong. Instead, she broke down and cried, "Qingsong, I know you care about face, but do you know? Our family has only four yuan, eight jiao, and three fen left."
"This money was meant to cover your two younger brothers' school fees, but you decided to pay Auntie Wang first. What are your two brothers supposed to do?"
"And what about the Gift Money for Eldest Uncle's sixtieth birthday celebration? Where am I supposed to find that?"
"I... I..." Liu Qingsong wanted to explain what he had in mind, but when he saw his second elder sister's broken, despairing expression, the words stuck in his throat.
It was only then that he realized.
He finally understood how much pressure his second elder sister had been carrying.
In order to hold this family together.
To make his second elder sister feel a little better, and so she wouldn't wear herself out worrying over a mere ten-odd yuan, he went and opened the bamboo cupboard, rummaging through the very bottom of it.
"Third Brother, what are you doing?" little sister asked, curious, coming over to look.
Liu Lijuan also stopped crying.
Liu Qingsong didn't answer. Instead he kept digging through the bottom of the cupboard until he found a wad of ragged cloth. Only then did he let out a breath, pulling it out and handing it to Liu Lijuan. "Second sister, this is money mom hid in the cupboard. Take it."
"You... how did you know?" Liu Lijuan stared at Liu Qingsong, stunned.
little sister blinked too.
She rummaged through the kitchen for food every single day.
How... how had she never found money hidden in there!
"Mom told me. She said to take it out when the family needed it most," Liu Qingsong replied softly.
That wasn't true.
He'd found the money based on his memories from before rebirth.
Before rebirth, he hadn't taken this money out until after their parents returned from Reform Through Labor.
By then it was 1985, and the twenty-odd yuan hidden in the cupboard had lost so much value that it could barely buy anything.
But now was different. Now it was 1978.
Twenty-odd yuan could go a long way!
Though it wouldn't be enough to pay off the family's entire External Debt.
It couldn't clear the family's External Debt, but it was enough to solve the immediate crisis: repay Auntie Wang and cover the Gift Money for the Banquet at Eldest Uncle's House.
Liu Lijuan didn't doubt Liu Qingsong's words at all, since she trusted her brother completely. Seeing no one else around the kitchen, she quickly unwrapped the ragged cloth.
Inside the ragged cloth was another layer of ragged cloth.
Except this one was dark black in color.
She unwrapped the second layer, revealing the twenty-odd yuan inside.
None of the twenty-odd yuan was in large-denomination bills. They were all one-fen, Two-Fen Coin, and Five-Fen Coin notes; the largest was a Fifty-Fen Coin.
The notes had yellowed with age, and some were badly creased. With his keen sense of smell, Liu Qingsong could even detect the scent of sweat on them.
In other words, this twenty-odd yuan was what their parents had scrimped and saved over time, fen by fen.
Looking at the smelly money in the middle of the cloth, Liu Lijuan's composure suddenly shattered, and she burst into sobs.
Liu Qingsong felt a pang in his chest too. Moved by the sight before him, he couldn't help but feel tears welling up in his eyes as well.
The reason for this was that he knew all too well how hard it had been for their parents to save up this money.
Seeing little sister huddled at his feet, her lips pursed as if she might cry, he wiped the tears from his face and said, "Second sister, stop crying. Count the money, then put it away safely."
"Mm, mm!" Liu Lijuan nodded. "I'll pay back the fifteen yuan I owe second aunt soon. Her family has it hard too."
"Don't. Wait until next month to pay it back," Liu Qingsong reminded her. "If you pay it back now, what will we do when other relatives come knocking?"
"That's..." Liu Lijuan froze.
If other relatives came looking for repayment.
Then the little money she had in hand wouldn't be enough.
If it became a scene, as it had when Liu Delei hauled away valuables or grain from the house last time, they would be in real trouble.
"Just put the money away safely for now! I can earn money now even without going to school, so the family's External Debt will definitely be paid off soon. Second sister, don't worry about it." Liu Qingsong, hearing footsteps approaching from outside, quickly reminded her.
"Okay! Okay!" Liu Lijuan did as he said.
She had barely put the money away when a woman's voice called from outside:
When a woman's voice called out from outside, "Lijuan, haven't you had breakfast yet? Hurry up, the team leader's already urging everyone. We're reporting for work today to repair the Reservoir Dam."
"Is my brother going too?" Liu Lijuan asked.
If he went, he wouldn't have to sit idle at home, and at least he would have lunch.
"The team leader didn't call for him." the woman replied.
"Why not? Do they think he's too young?" Liu Lijuan looked angry.
The production team kept leaving her brother out of report for work, whether deliberately or not. Did they think her family was easy to push around?
"How would I know that? Hurry up and come with us, the team leader and the accountant are about to take roll!" the woman urged.
"Oh, I'm coming! I'm coming!" Liu Lijuan hesitated, then hoisted the hoe onto her shoulder and rushed out of the kitchen.
"Wait... second sister, you still haven't had breakfast!" Liu Qingsong called out when he saw this.
Liu Lijuan didn't answer. Instead she joined up with a few other women on the winding mountain path, then vanished into the thick fog.
Liu Qingsong watched her leave, troubled, then lifted the pot lid.
He was going to bring his second elder sister some of the steamed Sweet Potatoes.
But the very next second, he froze completely, utterly dumbfounded.
The large iron pot held only two small Sweet Potatoes; his two younger brothers had taken the rest to school. If he gave one to his second elder sister, either he or little sister would go hungry.
No, that wasn't right.
Even if he gave both to little sister,
She would still go hungry.
Two small Sweet Potatoes weren't enough to fill her up.
Only then did Liu Qingsong understand why his second elder sister had skipped breakfast: the family had no surplus grain left.
Liu Qingsong felt deeply troubled.
Having been reborn, he knew the family was poor.
But he hadn't expected the family to be so poor that they couldn't even afford Sweet Potatoes.
……