Chapter 4 Foot Wiping

It was already dark when the siblings arrived home.

Yao Deyi was indeed frying meatballs. Li Chunying grumbled about the waste of oil and complained about the excessive meat, suggesting they fry some vegetarian meatballs instead. Yao Deyi ignored her; he'd only received ten yuan as a gift, how could he be so careless? Li Chunying felt resentful at the thought of only managing to squeeze five yuan out of her husband.

Yao Fangyuan stood by the stove, eating as her father scooped out meatballs.

Not to be outdone, Yao Weimin squeezed through, grabbed a handful of meatballs, and even gave half of them to Yao Fanghua.

Li Chunying filled a bowl with more than half a bowl of meatballs and handed it to Yao Weimin, asking him to take it to Grandpa Yao.

"You went to Wu Peng's house this afternoon? He's a convict, don't be foolish." Luckily, you didn't go alone, or she would have called you home long ago. "You're not allowed to bring your brother there anymore, and you should stay away from him."

Yao Fangyuan asked curiously, "Sister, you wouldn't have fallen for Brother Peng like Fangfang, would you?" She knew that Yao Fangfang's gaze towards Wu Peng was definitely not ordinary.

Li Chunying slapped Yao Fangyuan on the back, "You're so young, yet you can't keep your mouth shut, spouting nonsense. Your sister is educated, after all, how could she possibly be interested in that convict!"

Li Chunying earnestly advised, "Your aunt is greedy and always thinks Wu Peng's family must be hiding money, so she even went so far as to let Fangfang get involved with him. Don't be foolish. He's a convict; if he finds a partner like that, his relatives will laugh at him."

Yao Fangyuan's eyes flickered. "Mom, is Wu Peng's family really rich?"

"They used to have some, but that was before. His grandfather was a professor, and his parents were teachers at the education bureau. The whole family earned a good salary, especially his grandfather. I heard he used to be a rich young master; even the floor tiles in his house were inlaid with gold. Your grandfather even worked for them. But then the revolution broke out, and their house was probably ransacked. Otherwise, would Wu Peng have committed a crime for money and been arrested? Look at him now, he's not relying on collecting scraps anymore. If he had money, he could have done anything. He would have bought a proper job long ago; he wouldn't be collecting scraps." The whole family was either dead, exiled, or imprisoned. What money could they possibly have? If they did, it would have been confiscated long ago. Wu Peng's yard has been searched countless times, and several groups of people have lived there since. What could possibly be left? Li Chunying figured they definitely didn't have much money left, except for the spacious yard, which was still worth something.

Upon hearing this, Yao Fangyuan felt disappointed and deflated. A poor wretch was bad enough, but a convict who collected scraps was no match for her.

Yao Fanghua took out five yuan. "Mom, go buy some eggs tomorrow and make some pickled eggs. You make them so delicious." Ever since her mother started asking her for living expenses, Yao Fanghua had gained some insight: there's nothing money can't solve. If one yuan isn't enough, then two yuan will do. If she doesn't have more, she'll just spend a little money to make herself happy. This also helped her mother change the subject.

Li Chunying's mood improved immediately upon seeing the money, and she readily agreed. Sure enough, she changed her mind and was already thinking about how much eggs to buy and where to buy them cheaply.

"Don't make it too salty," Yao Fanghua added, not forgetting to make a request. "I'm not eating breakfast tomorrow morning, so don't wake me up."

Yao Weimin happened to return and quickly said, "I'm not eating either, and don't call me." He'd rather go hungry than not sleep in; he couldn't get up in the dead of winter. Early in the morning, nothing beats a warm bed.

Because of the fried meatballs, Yao Fanghua was very satisfied with her meal.

After dinner, Yao Weimin wanted to wash the dishes, but Li Chunying stopped him, telling him to rest aside and not get in the way.

Yao Weimin immediately protested, "Mom, don't cut off my source of income!" He then pushed past his own mother and took the bowl and all.

Li Chunying was furious. This little brat, was it wrong to feel sorry for him?

When Yao Fanghua returned to her room to tidy up, she discovered that her belongings had been rummaged through, and her expression darkened. She decided to buy a lockable cabinet the next day.

Yao Fanghua took out the newly bought washbasin and hot water bottle to pour hot water. "Mom, did you go through my things?"

"Ah, I was just thinking of helping you tidy up your things," Li Chunying stammered.

“You’re my daughter, so why can’t I help you organize your things?” Why can’t I even look around? This is her home! Li Chunying straightened her back, making herself feel justified.

"Did you take the ten yuan from my bag?"

Li Chunying frowned at Yao Fangyuan. Had this child taken her sister's money? This was unacceptable. Even if she asked for it openly, stealing money was wrong.

"You're talking nonsense! I only took a box of face cream!"

"Ha, taking without asking is theft!"

Li Chunying's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "Quickly return it to your sister!"

Yao Fangyuan's eyes reddened. "How is it stealing if I take things from my own home? Besides, I just want to use them. I'm her sister, what's wrong with letting me use them? Look at other people's older sisters, and then look at her. Does she act like an older sister? She's generous to others, but why is she so stingy with me? She's just jealous that Mom likes me, or she's just jealous that I'm prettier than her."

Yao Fanghua wanted to roll her eyes. She wanted to be generous to this younger sister, but she didn't even look at her face. How could she be generous? She was jealous of her good looks. It was laughable. "Use it if you want. It's for wiping my feet. Use it if you don't mind."

Yao Fangyuan was furious. She didn't know if what he said was true or false, but she was really disgusted. She grabbed a basin, poured in hot water, and started scrubbing.

Yao Weimin was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight.

Yao Fanghua wasn't lying to her. She rarely put anything on her face or hands, and this box of face cream was specifically for applying to her heels.

That evening, Yao Weimin finally succumbed to temptation and was dragged by Brother Zhong to play cards across the street. He knew the kid had made money today, so he wasn't going to let it go easily and was even thinking about whether to play a few big hands today.

Yao Fanghua, holding a hot water bottle, was intently repairing a watch at her desk.

Yao Fangyuan dawdled until after 10 o'clock before returning to her room. Seeing that Yao Fanghua had left the small light on, disturbing her sleep, she hesitated for a few moments but ultimately didn't say anything to avoid trouble, and went to sleep under the covers.

Yao Fanghua first disassembled the Rolex, a women's watch. After removing the dirt, the watch was practically perfect. No parts were damaged; after cleaning and applying oil, it was back to normal. The watch sparkled brilliantly under the light, truly breathtaking. She wrapped it in a soft cloth and placed it in an exquisite wooden box. A smile played on her lips.

Then she disassembled the remaining six somewhat damaged watches, picked and chose some from her own parts box.

By midnight, she had assembled three decent watches, two for men and one for women.

Yao Fanghua packed her things and went to bed, placing several watches under her pillow before finally falling asleep.

Yao Weimin then sneaked out from across the street and went back into his room. Once back on his bed, he slapped his right hand hard. "This lousy hand! I lost two yuan and fifty cents today. This lousy hand! I'm never playing again!"

He has always lost more than he has won. He dares not say when he wins, and he dares even less when he loses. To this day, Yao's parents still think that they are just playing around to pass the time, and they have no idea that they are gambling with money.

The blanket was icy cold. Yao Weimin huddled under it, finally recovering a bit. He swore an oath again before falling into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, he dreamt that night of playing cards, winning big and amassing a fortune. He couldn't help but laugh out loud. What a beautiful dream.

Li Chunying went to buy eggs early in the morning, spending a full three yuan's worth. She came back and started washing them, intending to pickle them. She originally wanted to buy two yuan's worth, but then she thought of Yao Deyi—that old man always loved to sneak a bite. In the past, before they were even pickled, he'd already taken half to eat with his drinks. What a worthless glutton! How could she have married such a person?