Ye Qingshui did not easily ignore what Xie Tingyu said, because he was not the kind of person who said such things casually.

But why did he still choose to go into politics after several years when he no longer wanted to go into politics? Ye Qingshui was puzzled and had to let it go.

She put the sewing machine in order and signaled Xie Tingyu with her eyes: "Take this back to Dongmei."

Xie Tingyu said seriously, "It's not necessary, you can use it."

Although the Xie family was well-off, Xie Jun adopted a frugal education approach to his children and rarely gave them pocket money. Xie Tingyu inherited his mother's fortune and was well-off.

If you count carefully, this sewing machine was bought with money Xie Tingyu lent to his sister.

Ye Qingshui mocked, "I don't dare to use it. You can sew the rest of this suit by hand. Return it quickly to avoid making people unhappy."

Ye Qingshui has already sewed the important parts with a sewing machine, and the rest just needs to be finished. After all, it is not too difficult to sew the Zhongshan suit by hand, it just takes time and patience.

Xie Tingyu placed his hands on the little girl's shoulders and pressed her to sit down in front of the sewing machine. He said softly:

"Don't punish yourself for other people's mistakes. She was wrong. If you sew this dress with your own hands, wouldn't it be very tiring? I can't bear to do that..."

"How about I call Dongmei up again so you can vent your anger?"

Ye Qingshui laughed and said, "This will offend all your family members."

Ye Qingshui had already made preparations before coming. She had experienced what the Xie family was like in her previous life. This time, she came to the capital to look for bicycle coupons.

Don't take other things to heart. After the college entrance examination, she and Xie Tingyu will go their separate ways. She doesn't put herself in the position of Xie's daughter-in-law, so naturally she won't be angry about it.

The value of a person depends on where he stands and what he does. The words of others are really insignificant.

Xie Tingyu saw that there was indeed no anger in the little girl's eyes, and for a moment he didn't know whether to be worried or relieved.

…

Ye Qingshui was finally persuaded by Xie Tingyu to use the sewing machine, since the suit was made for him anyway.

Ye Qingshui finished a pair of trousers very efficiently. She used an iron to iron the trouser legs straight, wide and neat. After finishing these things, she stretched lazily.

Xie Tingyu had fallen asleep. On that winter afternoon, the fire in the house was very warm, forming a sharp contrast with the howling cold wind outside.

Ye Qingshui took out the wallet from his luggage. It was hard and solid, with five hundred yuan lying quietly inside.

She put on her cotton coat, wrapped herself in a scarf and hat, and went out in the biting cold wind.

Xie Dongmei was crying silently in the room. Xu Maofang poked her forehead and said angrily:

"What's wrong with your brother saying a few words to you? You can't write two words of thanks with one stroke. After all, you are still the daughter of the Xie family."

Her eyes narrowed: This girl from the countryside should not be underestimated, she has a great influence on her stepson.

There was a click of a door closing in the hall.

Xie Dongmei wiped away her tears, stretched her neck and looked out the window. She saw her sister-in-law, who was dressed in rustic clothes, walking out of the house briskly.

"Going out in this weather...what is she going to do?"

Xie Dongmei was a little curious. She muttered, "The capital is so big, sister-in-law, aren't you afraid of getting lost? In the past, distant relatives from the countryside came to visit the capital and didn't even know how to take the bus. I'll go and see."

Having said that, Xie Dongmei found this excuse and went out to follow him.

What was she doing secretly without her brother's knowledge? Xie Dongmei seemed to have caught her new sister-in-law's trick.

…

Ye Qingshui was so cautious when going to the black market that she found her sister-in-law following her after walking for a while.

Ye Qingshui ignored him. She took great pains and inquired for a long time before she finally found the location of this black market.

The trader who brought her to the black market rubbed his hands and shrank back in fear: "Girl, if you had come one day later, the black market would have closed down."

"Everyone has gone back to celebrate the festival."

Ye Qingshui wrapped her scarf tightly and looked up at the falling snow. Then she suddenly realized that New Year's Eve was just around the corner.

She asked directly: "I want to buy something big, do you have it?"

"What big thing? Don't accuse me of exaggerating. As long as you have money, you can get any big thing you want!"

Ye Qingshui asked about the bicycle voucher.

Bicycle coupons are in short supply, with only a few vacancies available in a factory each year. In addition, daughters are proud to have enough money to get the "three turns and one ring" when they get married, so bicycle coupons are hard to come by.

But Ye Qingshui still bought it, spending 40 yuan on a bicycle voucher, and this was after she bargained hard.

After getting the bicycle voucher, it was much easier for Ye Qingshui to buy a bicycle with the voucher when he returned to the county in the countryside.

Ye Qingshui walked out of the black market with a sweet feeling in her heart, and she walked towards the department store where she and Xie Tingyu had visited today.

To buy a watch, you need to use industrial coupons. Ye Qingshui had saved up industrial coupons when he was young, and he had a lot of them. The watches he bought with industrial coupons were not too expensive. Ye Qingshui went to the counter and looked around. The better the watch, the better the quality and the longer it would last.

Ye Qingshui directly chose the Longines brand and picked a women's watch, spending 232 yuan. Although it was a bit painful, she thought it was a good deal as it could be used for decades.

Xie Dongmei followed Ye Qingshui to the black market. She saw Ye Qingshui took out a stack of big unity bills, which was quite a lot.

Then Xie Dongmei saw Ye Qingshui walk into the department store and go to the watch counter.

She saw that Ye Qingshui took out a lot of money again. In a short period of time, he spent nearly two hundred yuan in total, which was almost a worker's annual income.

Could it be that Ye Qingshui secretly used his brother's money to buy it?

A hint of thought flashed across Xie Dongmei's eyes. In these days, stealing is a serious crime. But even if her brother was willing to spend money on her, there were only a few wives in the entire compound who were so extravagant.

Xie Dongmei was very satisfied with today's harvest.

Ye Qingshui easily picked out the watch she wanted. With a smile on her face, she planned to take a good look around the department store and see if she could buy something to take back.

…

At a counter in a department store.

Xie Tingyu's mother, Wen Zhihua, had a big smile on her face and her eyes were red.

The young man in front of her was wearing the cotton-padded jacket she had picked out herself. He was tall and handsome. Although he grew up in the countryside, he was very sensible. After putting on the new cotton-padded jacket and a watch, he looked as handsome as a young man from the capital.

They looked very similar. If it weren't for the inconspicuous scar on his forehead, Wen Zhihua would almost think it was Xie Tingyu standing in front of her.

"Juejue, Mom has been looking for you for a long time."

Xie Tingjue was silent for a long time, and finally, seeing that she was about to cry, he hummed.

He touched the chain watch on his wrist and smiled, revealing a trace of fear and simplicity that a countryman who had just arrived in the capital should have. At this time, he was still wearing tattered shoes, and the leaky shoes made his feet red with cold.

Xie Tingjue looked at his nominal mother. Although they did not spend much time together, it did not prevent him from making speculations.

The image of his brother spitting blood appeared in his mind. In order to save him, he had used someone else's name for his whole life. In this life, Xie Tingjue just wanted to be himself.

He said honestly, "I have these, which is enough. I heard that I have a younger brother. Does he have new clothes?"

"In our countryside, only wealthy families can afford new clothes during the New Year, so Tingyu will definitely be very happy if he has new clothes."

Wen Zhihua wiped away her tears, paused for a moment and said, "No, your brother has money."

There was a flash of sarcasm in Xie Tingjue's eyes.

He thought again of his poor younger brother whom he had only met once.

On his deathbed, he said: "I really hope that it was me who got lost. She has been looking for you for a long time... I see her once a year, but I won't be able to see her this year... If she comes, help me deceive her again."

Xie Tingjue cleared his mind of memories, took off his watch, and said, "This watch is too expensive. I rarely check the time and don't need it. I'm going to return it."

Xie Tingjue walked to the counter to return the watch and unexpectedly saw Xie Dongmei acting suspiciously.

Xie Dongmei bumped into her "brother" and smiled awkwardly: "Brother, aren't you sleeping at home? Why are you out buying clothes?"

"I just saw my sister-in-law...buying a watch."

Xie Tingjue didn't say anything. He saw Xie Dongmei's evasive eyes and understood what she meant.

He hummed indifferently and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

After buying the watch, Ye Qingshui turned her back to him and walked towards the counter selling sewing machines, and the two missed each other.

Xie Tingjue stared at the profile of his brother's wife and had no interest in saying hello.

She didn't know him, but he was entrusted by others to take care of her for half her life.

A hint of teasing flashed across Xie Tingjue's face.

After Ye Qingshui walked around the mall twice, she heaved a sigh of relief when she found that the little tail behind her was no longer following her.

She pulled down her thick hat and covered herself tightly with a scarf. She came to the alley outside the hospital and began to sell the thick tickets in her pocket.

She had snack tickets, egg tickets, and national food tickets, all prepared for this trip to the capital. These tickets were not worth much in the countryside, but they were worth a lot of money when they were resold in the crowded capital.

This was what Qian Xiangdong told her, because his family sells eggs, and if he doesn't bring the egg coupons, he'll lose money.

Ye Qingshui's egg tickets quickly received a warm response, it would almost be an exaggeration to say that they were snatched up.

As the festival approaches, long queues form in front of grocery stores. City residents line up almost as soon as they open their eyes, but even so, many foods are sold out early.

There isn’t even any nutritious food like eggs.

The price of eggs on the black market has already increased by three times! You need a ticket!

Ye Qingshui's egg tickets are very cheap. Eggs in the capital cost 7 cents each, but in the countryside where Ye Qingshui lives, they only cost 2 cents.

So she sold the egg coupons for 20 cents per pound, plus the national food coupons and various miscellaneous coupons such as meat coupons, sugar coupons, snack coupons, and coal coupons. In the end, Ye Qingshui got 250.80 yuan in her hands, which was equivalent to earning a watch for free.

She suppressed the smile on her lips, and after selling the tickets she did not dare to stay for long and quickly returned to Xie's house.