Zhang Hongyan clutched her chest, turned her head away, and adopted a "I won't listen, I won't listen" attitude.

Xia Qingqing didn't keep them in suspense any longer and went straight to her room to get the basket.

After placing the basket on the table, he lifted the lid off the basket and said, "Mom, look what this is."

Zhang Hongyan couldn't resist her curiosity and secretly glanced at it. What she saw stunned her: "This is cloth?"

Zhang Hongyan subconsciously took out the top piece of cloth from the basket, unfolded it, and touched it: "The color of this cloth is real, and the pattern is also beautiful."

But the next second she put the cloth back in the basket and looked at Xia Qingqing with a serious expression: "Where did all this cloth come from? Don't tell me you bought it, you can't afford it even if you sold it."

Xia Qingqing: Thank you. I was hurt. I'm not even as good as cloth.

"Don't worry, I neither bought nor stole this cloth. My classmate gave it to me," Xia Qingqing patiently explained the origin of the cloth.

When she first started selling fabric, she heard the girl with braided hair say she wanted to make a dress. Today, Qin Chu'an also said he wanted to make a dress for his sister.

She suddenly remembered that Zhang Hongyan was also skilled at making clothes, which she learned from Xia Qingqing's great-grandmother.

She brought back five pieces of cloth this time, saying it was a job introduced by a classmate. She was paid two yuan for making one dress, so making five would earn her ten yuan, which would allow her to legitimately increase her family's income.

Zhang Hongyan was initially delighted upon hearing her daughter's words, but then frowned after thinking for a moment: "Your classmate can wear five dresses by herself? Could she be running a business on the side?"

"No, we can't get involved in this. If we're found out, we're finished," Zhang Hongyan said, shaking her hand so hard it was almost a blur, which showed how much she resisted the idea.

Xia Qingqing didn't expect her mother to be so timid. She grabbed her hand and said, "We're just making a few dresses for people. What's illegal about that? People who don't know how to make clothes might still have clothes to wear."

These words made Zhang Hongyan's heart waver. Not all women in her village knew how to sew clothes. In such cases, they would give some grain or money to hire someone to make clothes, but at most they would only give a few cents for making a set of clothes.

"Two yuan for a dress? Isn't that a bit too much?" Zhang Hongyan voiced her thoughts, feeling uneasy about earning so much money.

"It's not much. Tailors in the city charge the same price. It's just that my classmate and I are close, so he gave me the job. He's taking special care of me," Xia Qingqing said, bringing out the reason she had prepared beforehand.

After repeatedly confirming, Zhang Hongyan finally put her worries to rest and a happy smile appeared on her face.

She can finish these dresses in a week, which means she can earn 10 yuan a week.

Good heavens, even city workers don't earn as much as she does.

——

Xia Qingqing earned a total of sixty yuan this time, which, combined with the previous twenty-odd yuan, gave her more than eighty yuan.

She kept in mind the fifty yuan thank-you fee she owed Song Ze and planned to give it to him as soon as possible.

She had personally promised to give Song Ze a thank-you fee; one cannot go back on their word.

When Gou Dan was sent by his sister to the educated youth settlement to find Song Ze, he was somewhat reluctant, even though he knew in his heart that the other party had saved his sister and they should repay him properly.

But for a little kid like Gou Dan, 50 yuan was an astronomical sum.

He Xiaohua caused her sister's injury, and the He family only compensated her sister with 20 yuan and 50 eggs.

However, he didn't say this to Xia Qingqing, so Xia Qingqing didn't know that Gou Dan, this little kid, had quite a lot on his mind.

In Xia Qingqing's view, how much He Xiaohua paid for her medical expenses and how much Song Ze gave her as a thank-you fee for saving her were two completely different things and there was no need to compare them.

Song Ze saved her life, so she would be willing to give him 500 yuan, let alone 50.

Money can be earned back, but once you lose your life, you truly have nothing left.

When Gou Dan arrived at the educated youth settlement, the other educated youth had just finished lunch and gone back to their rooms for a rest. Liang Shuang finished washing the dishes and came out to see a little boy peeking into the yard from outside the door. She wiped the water off her hands on the sides of her clothes, walked over, and asked gently:

"Little friend, what are you doing here?"

Gou Dan had a good impression of this gentle-smiling older sister. He raised his head and smiled at her, saying, "Pretty sister, I'm here to find Brother Song. Can you call him out for me?"

When Liang Shuang heard the little boy call her "pretty sister," she couldn't help but blush.

Oh dear, why does this child always speak the truth? I'm inexplicably a little happy about it.

"You wait here, I'll go call someone for you."

Qin Jiajia happened to hear Liang Shuang calling Song Ze's name outside the male educated youth's room.

As soon as Qin Jiajia left the room, she noticed the blush that hadn't faded on Liang Shuang's face and immediately misunderstood.

I'm so angry! That shameless woman Liang Shuang actually tried to seduce her Song Ze.

Qin Jiajia strode forward and shoved Liang Shuang hard: "Liang Shuang, what are you doing looking for Brother Song Ze? Didn't I already warn you not to get close to Brother Song Ze again?"

Liang Shuang was pushed and lost her balance, staggering a few steps and almost falling to the ground.

My anger flared up instantly.

She'd been putting up with Qin Jiajia for a long time; she was like a mad dog, thinking that every woman would like Song Ze.

What a joke! Song Ze isn't gold, and even if he's good-looking, he's not her type.

Just then, Song Ze came out of the room. Liang Shuang remembered that she had promised Gou Dan to help call for help, so she pointed to the door and said:

"Song Ze, there's a little boy outside who wants to talk to you."

Without waiting for Song Ze's reply, she dragged Qin Jiajia back to the room: "Ah, Liang Shuang, what are you doing?"

"You'll find out what I'm going to do in a moment," Liang Shuang sneered. If she didn't teach Qin Jiajia a lesson this time, Qin Jiajia would think she was a pushover.

This was the first time Qin Jiajia had seen Liang Shuang so angry, and she suddenly felt a sense of fear, but she refused to back down.

"Liang Shuang, let me go right now, or I won't let you get away with this."

Liang Shuang ignored her words, so she decided to see for herself who was making things difficult for whom.

Qin Jiajia panicked and shouted at Song Ze, "Brother Song Ze, save me! Liang Shuang is going to beat me to death! Ahhh!"

Song Ze ignored him and showed no intention of helping.

He walked straight out of the yard, wondering who was looking for him. As soon as he came out, he saw Gou Dan jumping around at the door.

Song Ze stepped forward and patted Gou Dan's little head: "Little Gou Dan, what do you need me for?"

Dog Egg turned his head away unhappily, dodging Song Ze's big hand, and stared with his big round eyes, saying, "My sister is looking for you, come with me."

Upon hearing that it was Xia Qingqing who was looking for him, Song Ze raised an eyebrow and followed her.