"Aunt Wang, then who are you...?" Wen Qing asked, puzzled.

"I...I went to the wrong door." Aunt Wang said with a thick skin and a forced smile, "I didn't expect to run into Wen Qing here."

Wen Qing didn't speak, but looked Aunt Wang up and down.

Aunt Wang suddenly felt guilty and slapped her thigh: "Oh dear, how could I forget? The needle seller is on the east side. Oh dear, I have to hurry and buy some, otherwise I'll be late for paying the grain tax." Aunt Wang looked at Wen Wenqing: "Wenqing, you're busy, you're busy, I'm leaving now."

Before Wen Qing could say anything, Aunt Wang disappeared in a flash.

Wen Qing seemed to be deep in thought.

Aunt Xiao looked outside and asked, "Wen Qing, who is this? He doesn't seem to have come to the wrong house."

Wen Qing snapped out of her daze and smiled, "My neighbor in the village, Aunt Wang, is a bit absent-minded sometimes."

Wen Qing glossed over the matter with a single sentence.

Aunt Xiao didn't ask any more questions.

Then the two men greeted the tall woman and the short woman. The embroidered shoes with woven soles that had already been sold were made by Wen Qing in a rush. There was only one pair in size 38, but the short woman wanted size 37, so Wen Qing needed to make them again.

There were ready-made shoe soles and flowers at home, except the flowers on the shoe uppers weren't peonies. The short woman not only didn't mind, but insisted on stuffing six yuan into Wen Qing's hand.

Wen Qing had no choice but to accept it, and Aunt Xiao wrote a receipt, promising to pick up the shoes two days later.

The tall woman and the short woman left Aunt Xiao's tailor shop with smiles.

As soon as the two left, Wen Qing took out six mao (0.6 yuan) from his pocket and gave it to Aunt Xiao.

Aunt Xiao asked, "What are you doing?"

Wen Qing said, "Aunt Xiao, our agreement is that I'll give you a 30-cent commission for every pair of shoes I sell."

Aunt Xiao immediately smiled. She had just looked at the pair of embroidered shoes with seam soles. The style, the needlework, and the fabric were all excellent and extremely time-consuming and laborious. It was a wonder that Wen Qing could make them. Now it seemed that selling them for six yuan was not too much at all.

"You're such an honest child." Aunt Xiao took the six cents, feeling quite pleased with herself. She earned six cents without lifting a finger; who wouldn't be happy? Besides, Wen Qing selling shoes didn't stop her from selling clothes and fabrics at all, so she was even happier.

"It's Aunt Xiao who's willing to help," Wen Qing said with a smile.

"It can talk." Aunt Xiao smiled and put the six cents into her pocket.

Then Wen Qing began her day's work.

Drawing dots, drawing lines, cutting, sewing, comparing, and so on—except for lunchtime, the sewing machine kept going non-stop.

Both she and Aunt Xiao were quick and efficient. The list of names in the notebook, which had been filled with entries, was dwindling. Of course, today, there was a steady stream of people coming to have their clothes made, and Aunt Xiao was the one who served most of them.

At 2:30 p.m., it was time for Wen Qing to get off work.

"Aunt Xiao, can you sell me six feet of this dark blue cotton cloth?" Wen Qing said.

"Sure, why did you buy this dark blue cotton fabric?"

"Make a pair of big shorts for my two younger brothers." Just think, Wen Liang and Wen Peng only had one pair of pants, which were patched. They wore them during the day, washed them at night, and wore them again the next morning. On rainy days, they would wear the wet ones.

“You really love your brother. Okay, I’ll give you seven and a half feet, you just need to pay me for six feet.” Aunt Xiao said with a smile.

“That won’t do. I’ll at least pay you for seven feet of clothing,” Wen Qing insisted.

Aunt Xiao grew to like Wen Qing even more.

Wen Qing carried the cloth bag out of Aunt Xiao's tailor shop and went to the market instead of going directly to the dirt road.

I bought two pairs of white leather-soled shoes for eight cents, intending to use them to make shoes at home.

I bought a large sheet of white paper for five cents. It was four feet long and four feet wide. I went home, cut it up, bound it into a large book, and kept it to draw patterns for clothes and shoes. I could then buy fabric, make them, and sell them.

I spent another 35 cents to buy various needles, thread, small boxes, and four or five thimbles.

Carrying the bulging cloth bag, she was excited, extremely excited.

If exchanging a floral print dress for ten dollars in your past life was due to your own efforts in that life.

So, the twelve yuan she sold for these embroidered shoes was the money she earned with her own hands since her rebirth.

Twelve yuan,

Twelve yuan.

She earned twelve dollars and secretly smiled. At that moment, she was walking on the dirt road. If it weren't for the passersby delivering grain to the government, she would have burst out laughing.

She was in a good mood throughout the journey.

When I got to the village entrance, I saw many neighbors lying on mats under the shade of trees, chatting and enjoying the cool air, but I didn't see Aunt Wang.

Wen Qing turned her head and looked towards Aunt Wang's doorway, where Aunt Wang and her husband were sifting wheat.

Her husband scolded, "Who told you to put sand in the wheat? Do you think the people at the grain depot are idiots?"

Aunt Wang muttered, "I just wanted to pay two fewer jin of grain as tax, but who knew they'd find out!"

"..."

It turns out that Aunt Wang mixed sand into the grain, which was discovered by the grain station staff, who then ordered it to be taken back and cleaned up.

Wen Qing didn't offer any opinion, but greeted her neighbors under the shade of the tree.

"Hey, Wen Qing, Wen Qing, don't go, don't go!" the neighbor called out to Wen Qing.

Wen Qing stopped and asked, "Aunt Xu, what's wrong?"

"I heard you just made twelve yuan in such a short time!" Aunt Xu whispered.

Although it was spoken quietly, other neighbors had already gathered around.

"Yeah, what are you doing now? How come you're making so much money?"

"I heard it's a shoe store, right?"

"What kind of shoes are so expensive?"

"Did you make this yourself? My daughter is two years younger than you, and her handiwork is just as good as yours. Why don't you help her out? After all, you're from the same village."

"..."

The neighbors chattered amongst themselves, as if they weren't the ones who had vilified Wen Qing so harshly.

Wen Qing's face remained expressionless as she turned to glance at Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang was craning her neck to look this way, but when she saw Wen Qing looking at her, she quickly shrank back.

Wen Qing turned around and said with a smile, "I didn't make twelve yuan." After deducting costs and Aunt Xiao's commission, there really wasn't twelve yuan.

The neighbors didn't think much of it.

Aunt Xu laughed and said, "Wen Qing, why are you admitting it? You made money, but we don't want it from you."

"That's right."

"I just wanted to ask you."

"..."

Wen Qing remained calm and composed, saying, "I didn't earn twelve yuan. You can go to Aunt Xiao's tailor shop and ask Aunt Xiao. I'm working for her now."

"work to earn a living?"

"The twelve yuan you earned, did it come from Aunt Xiao's tailor shop?"

"Oh, I see."

"I knew it." Compared to Wen Qing earning twelve yuan in a short time, they really believed that Wen Qing was just going to work.

"How much is the monthly wage?" Aunt Xu asked again.

"Ten yuan," Wen Qing answered honestly.

Does it include food and lodging?

"I don't care," Wen Qing said.

Ten yuan...

Aunt Xu pursed her lips, and the other neighbors followed suit.

"Wen Qing!" Just then, Yao Shiling from the village called out, "Why aren't you back yet?"

"Okay, I'll go back now." Wen Qing replied, said something to the neighbors, and walked towards Yao Shiling.

Aunt Xu still pouted: "Only ten yuan a month, sixty yuan for half a year."

"Why not cut grass to feed the cows and sheep?"

"That's right, city dwellers earn thirty yuan a month now."

"It's only ten yuan, with no food or lodging provided. You have to eat at your own home every day. I heard that workers have to watch their boss's mood. If the boss is unhappy, they'll beat or scold them and deduct their wages."

"That's right. If you break something, you have to pay for it. Ten yuan isn't worth it."

"I knew it! Wen Qing has no chance of earning twelve yuan in a short time."

"..."

Wen Qing had already followed Yao Shiling into the courtyard.

Yao Shiling turned her head and asked, "When Aunt Wang comes back, she'll tell you that you'll earn twelve yuan in a little while. Make sure to explain it clearly so that no one gets jealous and starts a fight."

"What do you mean, 'make it clear'?" Wen Qing asked.

“Tell me you didn’t earn that much.”

Wen Qing smiled, took out 11.56 yuan from his pocket, handed 10 yuan to Yao Shiling, and said, "I've earned this much."

Yao Shiling was stunned: "Where did this come from?"

“Earned it.”

"How did you earn it?" Yao Shiling was completely incredulous: "Wen Qing, you didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

Wen Qing smiled helplessly. She had too many embarrassing pasts, and even making money made her mother question her: "No, Mom, I really sell shoes. If you don't believe me, go ask Aunt Xiao tomorrow."

Yao Shiling was half-believing and half-doubting, then glanced outside the courtyard again, pulled Wen Qing into the main room, closed the door, and held Wen Qing's hand: "Wen Qing, tell your mother the truth, where did this ten yuan come from? If it's ill-gotten, we'll return it. Don't do what your second uncle did before he went to jail."

Wen Qing was so angry at Yao Shiling that he laughed. Helpless, he had no choice but to take out the note from his bag and show it to Yao Shiling.

Yao Shiling was literate. Looking at the receipt, she asked incredulously, "Six yuan for a pair of shoes?"

Wen Qing nodded: "Yes, this pair was pre-ordered by a customer, and the money has already been paid, so a receipt was issued. The embroidered shoes I sold this afternoon were shoes with soles that I had made and embroidered before. A couple of days ago, I made them into cloth shoes and put them at Aunt Xiao's place to sell. I said six yuan, and the customer bought them without even haggling."

"That guest is really rich." Yao Shiling was overjoyed, but at the same time she became worried: "What if Aunt Wang sees this? They'll get jealous and start causing trouble."

"Mom, don't worry. If they really want to cause trouble, are we afraid of them? Liangliang and Pengpeng are both grown up. Besides, I've already told them that I work for someone else and don't earn that much money."

"That's good. Starting tomorrow, you'll take the main road from the east end of the village, and don't let them see you."

Wen Qing smiled and agreed, "Okay, Mom, take this ten yuan. Keep it to buy some vegetables and meat for the family. Liangliang and Pengpeng are both growing."

"You should keep it yourself," Yao Shiling declined. "You're not young anymore. Keep it and save it for your dowry later."

dowry?

The two words touched a nerve with the mother and daughter, and Yao Shiling took out two dark yellow five-yuan sheets of paper.

Wen Qing was silent for a while before saying, "Mom, I met Ji Yanjun's sister, Ji Ningzhi, and his classmate, Zhang Fangfang, today."

Yao Shiling looked up at her.

Wen Qing added, "I told Ji Ningzhi to pass on a message to her brother that the marriage is off. I don't think their family will come to propose anymore. Once I finish making the few clothes and shoes I have, I'll go and explain things to the Ji family."

The marriage is off.

Yao Shiling stared at Wen Qing in astonishment. Was this still Wen Qing? How did she come to this conclusion? Was she still the same Wen Qing who chased after Ji Yanjun every day?

"Mom! Big sister! I'm out of school!" Wen Peng's voice came from outside the door.

"Mom, Pengpeng is home from school. Should I go see him and pick up the chalk scraps for me?" Wen Qing opened the door and went out.

Yao Shiling was a little taken aback.

"Big sister, you're really home." Wen Peng was dark-skinned and thin, covered in sweat. He greeted Wen Qing with a big smile. Ever since Wen Qing cooked two meals of braised cabbage and pork and gave him a pencil, he had been completely "bribed" by Wen Qing.

"Why did you get out of school so early today?" Wen Qing asked.

"The Chinese teacher said that his family is going to plant beans, so school is letting out early today."

Wen Qing felt ashamed.

Wen Peng pulled out a small handful of chalk stubs from his worn-out pants pocket—red, green, white, and yellow ones, all tiny bits: "Big sister, I also picked up chalk stubs from other classes."

Wen Qing's heart was instantly filled with joy, and the sense of loss she had felt when she said "the marriage is off" vanished.

She took the piece of chalk and patted Wen Peng's head: "Thank you, Peng Peng."