"Have a seat," Wen Qing said.

Yao Shiling picked up a stool and placed it next to Aunt Wang's legs: "Aunt Wang, don't be shy, sit down and talk."

Aunt Wang lingered outside the fenced yard for a long time, imagining that Wen Qing and Yao Shiling would not open the gate for her, or would treat her harshly, or even that Wen Qing would pull out a sickle and stab her directly. She never imagined that Wen Qing and Yao Shiling would treat her politely.

Immediately, Aunt Wang's face turned bright red. Comparing how her relatives and friends treated her, Wen Qing and Yao Shiling were practically her own mothers.

“Sit down and let’s talk,” Yao Shiling said.

Aunt Wang nodded and sat down, but she was so excited that she sat on the edge of the stool and fell to the ground, knocking it over.

"Aunt Wang, Aunt Wang!" Wen Qing and Yao Shiling quickly went to pull Aunt Wang off the ground.

Suddenly, Aunt Wang burst into tears.

This startled Wen Qing and Yao Shiling.

Meanwhile, outside the fence, several nosy neighbors were crouching down to eavesdrop. When they heard Aunt Wang start yelling, they all said, "Is she going to cause trouble again?"

"Is Aunt Wang going to Wen Qing's house to start yelling at her?"

"It looks like it."

"Aunt Wang is going to start splashing again."

The whispers among the group had barely ended when they heard Aunt Wang crying from inside Wen Qing's room, "Sister-in-law Wen, Wen Qing, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I was wrong, I was wrong..."

The neighbor was taken aback. Aunt Wang was notorious for being a scoundrel; there was no limit to how shameless she could be. A couple of years ago, she borrowed ten jin of flour from Sister Zhou and still hadn't returned it. Sister Zhou had previously said she was out of flour and wanted to pay it back. Aunt Wang not only denied it but also accused Sister Zhou of trying to extort her. And then there was the recent incident with the burned straw stack. Aunt Wang was completely unfazed; she simply refused to pay compensation, since she had nothing to offer anyway. She even claimed it was a natural disaster—yes, she called it a "natural disaster" caused by a strong wind—and that she was the most severely affected. She even asked the village chief to write an application and report to the government, hoping for some government support.

This shameless person actually cried and apologized to Wen Qing and Yao Shiling. It's like money is falling from the sky; this is the first time in my life I've experienced this.

Yao Shiling was also struck by Aunt Wang's unusual behavior.

Wen Qing remained calm; this was exactly the effect she wanted. A villain like Aunt Wang, the more wicked she was, the more vulnerable she had, and a single poke would hit her.

"Aunt Wang, what are you doing? Get up, get up!" Yao Shiling grabbed Aunt Wang's arm and pulled her onto the stool.

Aunt Wang held Yao Shiling and Wen Qing's hands tightly: "Sister-in-law Wen, Wen Qing, I was wrong. I was wrong that day. I shouldn't have wronged you. It was our Erhuzi who burned your haystack. I will make it up to you in the future."

Aunt Wang was crying her eyes out; she was very sad.

Wen Qing said, "Okay, okay, sit down first, and we'll talk properly."

"Wen Qing, Wen Qing." Aunt Wang gripped Wen Qing's wrist tightly. "Wen Qing, Wen Qing, I know you're successful now, capable, and you're the one who calls the shots in this house. My two acres of land are almost abandoned. I can't buy corn seeds or sweet potato vines, and I can't borrow any. I'm really desperate. Wen Qing, please lend me your corn seeds and sweet potato vines..."

Before Aunt Wang could finish crying, Wen Qing immediately chimed in, "Okay, Aunt Wang, get up."

Yao Shiling was taken aback. Wen Qing agreed so easily? Didn't Wen Qing initially make it clear that she wouldn't care about Aunt Wang? What's going on now?

Aunt Wang was stunned for a moment, then quickly wiped away her tears, stood up, and tightly grasped Wen Qing's hand, her eyes filled with gratitude: "Wen Qing..."

Wen Qing didn't say much, but turned to Yao Shiling: "Mom, let's open the cellar now and get the sweet potato vines."

The series of events made Yao Shiling prioritize Wen Qing's wishes, so she readily agreed to whatever her daughter said.

Wen Qing and Yao Shiling ignored Aunt Wang, put the kerosene lamp in the lampshade, carried the lamp, and walked towards the cellar by the wall under the umbrella.

Aunt Wang didn't even have time to open her umbrella before she ran to the edge of the cellar.

The cellars in Shuiwan Village are simply large pits dug on the spot, with wooden frames built on top, and then straw mixed with soil, corn stalks, etc., placed on top of the wooden frames. They are warm in winter and cool in summer and are specially used to store sweet potato vines, sweet potatoes, Chinese cabbage, potatoes, and the like.

Yao Shiling lifted the mud and straw covering the round wooden door of the cellar, then moved the door away.

Wen Qing handed the umbrella to Yao Shiling and said, "Mom, you hold the umbrella while I go down to get the sweet potato vines."

“Be careful, there’s a bamboo basket in the cellar, just take it out,” Yao Shiling said.

"Okay," Wen Qing replied.

Before Wen Qing could hand the umbrella to Yao Shiling, Aunt Wang came over and said, "Sister-in-law Wen, no, no, no, don't let Wen Qing go down. This is all muddy. Wen Qing is clean. I'll go down, I'll go down."

“How could I let you go down?” Yao Shiling said.

"It's alright, it's alright," Aunt Wang said, and quickly went down into the cellar. In her haste, she fell into the cellar. The soil in the cellar was soft, so she was not hurt after the fall.

Yao Shiling held up an umbrella and stood in front of the cellar, extending the lamp into the cellar so that Aunt Wang could observe the situation.

"Did you find the bamboo basket?" Yao Shiling asked.

"Found it, found it!" Aunt Wang was overjoyed. With the help of Wen Qing and Yao Shiling, she climbed out of the cellar. Before Wen Qing and Yao Shiling could do anything, she put down the bamboo basket and turned around to tidy up the wooden door, straw, and everything else in the cellar.

Yao Shiling went to the west room to get some corncobs.

Wen Peng and Wen Liang were woken up by Yao Shiling. Wen Peng asked what happened and found out that Yao Shiling had given corn cobs to Aunt Wang.

Wen Qing scrambled off the bed, snatched a bundle of corn cobs from Yao Shiling's hands, and said, "No way!"

"You silly child, Aunt Wang is waiting outside in the rain. Bring it to me." Yao Shiling scolded softly.

"I won't give it to you!" Wen Peng hugged her tightly.

Wen Liang didn't help Yao Shiling either.

“Wenpeng, stop fooling around. Your older sister said she was going to give it to me. Bring it over here,” Yao Shiling said.

"Why did my older sister give her corn? She burned all of our wheat straw," Wen Peng said unhappily.

“Your older sister thinks more than you do. Go to sleep first, and ask your older sister again tomorrow if you have any questions.” With that, Yao Shiling took the corn from Wen Peng’s hands and carried it out of the west room.

When Aunt Wang saw the large, fluffy corn cobs, she almost burst into tears again.

"Aunt Wang, please take it," Wen Qing said.

Aunt Wang took the corn cobs and then carried a bamboo basket of sweet potato vines, her hands trembling with excitement: "Sister-in-law Wen, Wen Qing thanks you so much. I will remember you for the rest of my life. If you ever need anything, just come to me. I will do anything to repay your life-saving grace."

Yao Shiling said, "Look at what you're saying. It's just a few ears of corn and a few clumps of sweet potato vines. Stop talking and go back. Don't catch a cold."

"Okay, okay," Aunt Wang replied repeatedly, carrying and lifting the animals nimbly out of the Wen family's courtyard.

Wen Qing went to close the courtyard gate and had just entered the main room when Wen Peng, wearing shorts, said with a displeased look, "Big sister, why did you give our corn cobs to Aunt Wang!"

“Aunt Wang’s family doesn’t grow corn, so they do.” Wen Qing said.

"What does it have to do with our family if she doesn't have corn!" Wen Peng snorted angrily, turned around and went into the west room. After climbing onto the bed, his little body slammed onto the bed with a loud "bang".

Yao Shiling looked at Wen Qing and said, "He's just a kid, don't pay him any attention!"

"I'll go and try to appease them," Wen Qing said with a smile.

As soon as Wen Qing entered the west room, Wen Liang covered himself with the quilt, while Wen Peng turned his back to Wen Qing.

Wen Qing smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, saying, "Pengpeng, I'm going to school in the city next month."

Wen Peng: "I know."

Wen Qing simply said, "There's a saying, 'Help in an emergency, but don't support a life of poverty.' Giving Aunt Wang corn at this time is to let them know how grateful they are. Just watch, from now on, Aunt Wang's family will be the best and most sincere to our family. Isn't this what the comic books say, 'No fight, no friendship'?"

Wen Qing's few words not only made Wen Peng turn around, but also convinced Wen Liang. Wen Peng stared at Wen Qing with his dark eyes: "Will they repay the kindness?"

"Yes," Wen Qing said firmly.

Wen Peng was relieved and then asked, "Big sister, do you read comic books too?"

"Of course I read them." Wen Qing then remembered that this era was the heyday of comic books, and Wen Qing recalled that one yuan could buy a book with four hundred pages.

However, Shuiwan Village is relatively underdeveloped, and there are not many comic books. Wen Liang and Wen Peng probably borrowed them from their classmates. With this in mind, Wen Qing decided to buy more books for Wen Liang and Wen Peng when they went to school in the city.

"Big sister, what are you watching?"

Wen Qing thought for a moment and replied, "Journey to the West, Sanmao the Vagabond, Railway Guerrilla, and Water Margin."

Upon hearing this, Wen Liang became interested as well. Although Wen Qing didn't have a good image in his mind, she had scored one of the highest marks in her junior high school graduation exam. She could have gone directly to a vocational school, but she insisted on going to high school, saying that university was the right path. In any case, Wen Qing was knowledgeable.

“Big sister, tell me about ‘Sanmao the Vagabond,’ I’ve never heard of it,” Wen Peng said.

“Okay.” Wen Qing readily agreed, then moved a stool and sat on the edge of Wen Peng’s bed, telling Wen Peng the story of “Sanmao the Vagabond”, while Wen Liang listened from the side.

Upon hearing this, Yao Shiling felt a warm smile spread across her face.

Just then, Aunt Wang returned to the yard carrying corn cobs and sweet potato vines, and called out, "Tiger's dad!"

Wang Da was worried at home. Even his relatives and friends wouldn't lend him rice seeds and sweet potato seeds. They were targeting the Wen family in every way. Would the Wen family lend them any? They shouldn't fight, right? When he heard Aunt Wang call out, Wang Da rushed out the door and froze when he saw her.

Aunt Wang was carrying corn cobs and a bamboo basket filled with sweet potato vines.

"Tiger's dad!" Aunt Wang exclaimed with a beaming smile, "We got it!"

Wang Da asked incredulously, "Wen Qing lent it to you?"

"Um!"

"How could she agree to this?" Wang Da asked.

“Tiger’s dad, let me tell you, there are really few people in our village as kind as Yao Shiling and Wen Qing. They both have such pleasant voices, especially Yao Shiling, who always speaks softly. I don’t know who spread those rumors before, but all these years later, Yao Shiling has always been honest and upright. I think they just took advantage of her because she’s a refugee from famine! From now on, I will never be with them again. Now I know that Yao Shiling is a good person, a girl with a strong sense of justice!”

Wang Da was surprised by Aunt Wang's sudden change, but when no one else was willing to lend them corn and sweet potato seeds, the Wen family generously lent them the seeds, which showed Yao Shiling and Wen Qing's generosity, and Wang Da was grateful.

Aunt Wang continued praising Yao Shiling and Wen Qing, saying fiercely, "If anyone dares to speak ill of Yao Shiling and Wen Qing again, I'll tear their mouths off!"

Wang Da did not stop him. He took the corn cob and immediately rubbed off the kernels, preparing to plant it as soon as the weather cleared up, so as not to delay the harvest and have nothing to eat if he couldn't harvest any grain.

While Wang Da and Aunt Wang were husking corn cobs, the news that Aunt Wang had borrowed corn and sweet potato seeds from Wen Qing's family spread throughout the village in the blink of an eye.

Today, Wen Qing's family really stole the show, a kind of stature that everyone else could only dream of. Originally, they were jealous, but seeing that everyone around them was just as poor as they were, that "jealousy" turned into envy because they "couldn't match" them.

"I never expected Wen Qing to be so capable. She actually managed to help someone earn ten thousand yuan! Even someone as domineering as Aunt Wang almost knelt down and begged Wen Qing for forgiveness tonight."

"Wen Qing wasn't bad before, but she had a bad temper, spoke rudely and was prone to violence. She learned all of that from her second uncle."

"When did Wen Qing start working with her second uncle?"

"When she was just learning to walk, maybe three or four years old? I don't quite remember, but her second uncle had only been out of prison for a few years then. He doted on Wenqing so much, carrying her everywhere he went, spoiling her rotten. It's also because Wenqing was pretty from a young age, delicate and beautiful like a porcelain doll. Her second uncle wasn't exactly a philanthropist, but he was quite good at making money, though he didn't know how to save. He bought Wenqing whatever she wanted and wouldn't let her be gentle. He would always say, 'Who says girls have to be gentle? My Qingqing is just fine.' That's how it is!" Speaking of which, Wenqing didn't suffer much with her second uncle. She wasn't hungry or tired, and she was fair-skinned and clean-cut. Her second uncle always found a way to make money. Her tuition from elementary school onwards was all paid by her second uncle.

"Yes, if her second uncle hadn't died, she would be enjoying her life now."

"That's right, Wen Qing can already help people earn tens of thousands of yuan now, and he'll earn even more in the future." Everyone was surprised when someone said that. Earn even more in the future? That's a lot! No one could imagine it, and they felt that Wen Qing was shining with golden light.

The next morning, the sky cleared up.

Wen Qing carried a cloth bag and wore rubber shoes, trudging along the road from the east end of the village to the county town. When the neighbors saw her again, they were very polite.

Wen Qing smiled at them as usual.

At the same time, their tone changed from "Wen Qing went to the county town again, how indecent!" to "Wen Qing made money in the county town again!"

Wen Qing listened casually as usual. Then they got on the dirt road and continued walking along the bumpy road until they arrived at Aunt Xiao's tailor shop in the county town to change their shoes.

"Sister Wen Qing."

As soon as Wen Qing came out of the backyard after changing into cloth shoes, Bao Hong greeted her with a smile.

"Where is Aunt Xiao?" Wen Qing asked.

"Aunt Xiao went to pick up the goods," Bao Hong said.

"Receive goods?" Wen Qing asked, puzzled. "Receive what goods?"

"These clothes were made by Tang Quan Garment Factory. Two days ago, Boss Tang delivered ten sets of short-sleeved shirts and ten sets of half-sleeved shirts, and they were all sold out yesterday. Aunt Xiao was overjoyed and specially spent three cents to call Boss Tang and ask him to send someone to deliver another thirty sets. They're selling so well!" Bao Hong said with a smile. Bao Hong has a round face and big eyes, and her eyes crinkle when she smiles. She's a very cute little girl.

Wen Qing asked with a smile, "How long has Aunt Xiao been gone?"

"I'm back." Aunt Xiao's voice suddenly broke in. Wen Qing looked up and saw Aunt Xiao carrying a large cloth bag, her face full of smiles: "Wen Qing, you were right. I really didn't expect that people would be scrambling to buy these ready-made clothes."

“People will become more and more accepting of ready-made clothing in the future,” Wen Qing said.

Aunt Xiao exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Then there's no future for us tailors?"

Wen Qing laughed: "No, tailors will always be in demand." Making clothes from fabric will become increasingly rare. When people start making clothes specifically for clothing again, that's called "custom-made." Once something is associated with "custom-made," it's always a limited edition and very expensive. However, it probably won't be popular in the next few years.

"Then I'm relieved. I still want to make a living with my skills for the rest of my life," Aunt Xiao said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Aunt Xiao, you'll definitely be able to live a comfortable life with your skills." Then Wen Qing asked, "Did you make money selling clothes?"

"We made a profit!" Aunt Xiao said without hesitation. Then she looked around and said cautiously, "We made three yuan per set of clothes. Twenty sets came in that day and sold out in one day. We made sixty yuan in one day. It was pure profit, and we didn't have to put in any effort."

Wen Qing smiled and said, "Aunt Xiao, don't worry, we'll make more and more money."

Aunt Xiao was stunned and stared straight at Wen Qing. Wen Qing was a pretty girl who always smiled, but never before had she been so confident and beautiful, like a flower blooming in spring, with a proud posture and brilliant colors. Even Aunt Xiao, a woman, thought that Wen Qing was unbelievably beautiful.

"Aunt Xiao, let me help you carry this." Bao Hong pulled the cloth bag, bringing Aunt Xiao back to her senses.

Wen Qing also stepped forward to examine the clothes. Yes, they were the two sets she had made before. Aunt Xiao had just hung the clothes up when an older woman came over and bought two sets for her daughter and niece.

Aunt Xiao happily tugged at Wen Qing's sleeve: "Wen Qing, see? See? They're selling really well."

Wen Qing smiled: "Yes, they sell very well."

Next, Wen Qing stayed in the shop for a day. With Bao Hong there, Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao were able to focus on completing the clothes they were making in their notebooks as quickly as possible.

Although she was selling clothes, there were still many people making clothes and shoes. Compared to when Aunt Xiao ran her own shop, her tailor shop was now doing more than three times better business than before, and she was earning five times more money, which gave Aunt Xiao a lot of motivation.

Wen Qing went home to make shoes, so she left work at 2:30 pm to go home.

Aunt Xiao gave all of today's earnings to Wen Qing. Apart from taking the money for the shoes, Wen Qing gave Aunt Xiao 40% of all her earnings. Aunt Xiao couldn't refuse and was deeply moved.

After receiving the money, Wen Qing told Aunt Xiao that from now on, after deducting costs, the cost of the shoes, and Bao Hong's wages, all profits would be calculated monthly on a set date, and 60% of the monthly profits would be given to Yao Shiling.

Aunt Xiao nodded hurriedly in agreement.

Wen Qing took a few pieces of cloth from the shop, calculated the cost price, and then handed them to Aunt Xiao.

Aunt Xiao: "Wen Qing, you don't need to pay for the fabric."

"That won't do. Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. That way, our store can develop better."

Aunt Xiao had no choice but to accept, feeling immense admiration for Wen Qing.

Wen Qing took a lot of fabric. She happened to have a sewing machine at home, and she wanted to make a set of clothes for Yao Shiling, Wen Liang, and Wen Peng, as well as a pair of shoes for each of them. Wen Liang's shoes were all torn, and Wen Peng only had a pair of shorts without patches, although they were actually covered with patches. Moreover, school would start next month, and in addition to designing a schoolbag for herself, Wen Qing also wanted to make schoolbags for Wen Liang and Wen Peng.

School starts next month, and Wen Qing is excited. She hasn't read many of the books she brought home yet. While there are no troubles at home and Bao Hong is at the shop, she can read more books so that she won't be completely lost after school starts.

With that in mind, Wen Qing went to the stationery store in the market and bought notebooks, fountain pens, ballpoint pens, ink, pencils, and erasers. Then she walked along the dirt road and hurried home.

When she reached the east end of the village, all the neighbors greeted her with smiles, including Aunt Wang, who was extremely enthusiastic, with a respect that she couldn't understand.

Respect? Why is that?

Wen Qing went home, puzzled.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw Yao Shiling sitting in the yard picking vegetables. Wen Peng was leaning on the bamboo basket, holding a tomato in both hands, looking at Yao Shiling longingly: "Mom, there are so many tomatoes, can I eat one?"

"Mom," Wen Qing called out.

Yao Shiling and Wen Peng looked up.

"Wen Qing is back."

"Big sister, you're back."

Wen Qing stepped forward and looked at the twenty tomatoes of various sizes in the bamboo basket, red and green. Wen Qing asked in confusion, "Where did these tomatoes come from?" Her family didn't have extra land to grow tomatoes.

"It was a gift from Aunt Wang." Yao Shiling said helplessly, "She insisted on giving it to me, and I couldn't refuse."

Holding a tomato, Wen Peng stood up and said happily, "Big sister, besides Aunt Wang coming to visit today, the village chief's wife also came to our house."

"What's the village chief's wife doing here?" Wen Qing asked.

“I’m here to introduce you to your future husband’s family. They say he’s the son of the mayor of the neighboring town,” Wen Peng said.

Yao Shiling scolded, "Wen Peng, you're so quick to talk!"

Wen Peng immediately fell silent.

The mayor's son?

Wen Qing then understood why her neighbors looked at her with "respect" when she returned from the east end of the village; it was because of this.