Did she come in the middle of the night just to say this?
Has Chen Qiuling gone mad?
Chen Qiuling's hand was gradually tightening around Bai Nuo's neck. Bai Nuo looked at her; Chen Qiuling's face was cold, and her eyes were full of harshness. She no longer had the gentle and charming appearance she had during the day.
Indeed, the night is the best disguise, allowing people to tear away all false masks.
This was the second time Chen Qiuling had revealed her true colors as a stepmother. Her icy hand touched Bai Nuo's neck, making Bai Nuo feel very uncomfortable. So, Bai Nuo stopped being polite to Chen Qiuling, grabbed Chen Qiuling's fingers, and pulled hard, yanking Chen Qiuling's hand off. "Don't worry, I won't fight with your son for it. You're worrying too much!"
"It won't bother your daughter either!" Bai Nuo added quietly. "Get out, or I'll shout. Do you think my dad would still like you so much if he knew what you were like before?"
Bai Dalin dislikes Jiang Wanyin simply because she is dignified and poised. And Bai Dalin likes Chen Qiuling so much because she sees him as someone to rely on.
Remembering that the old woman was still lying not far from Bai Nuo, and also considering that Bai Nuo might actually shout and attract Bai Dalin's attention, Chen Qiuling did not argue with Bai Nuo.
"Don't you understand?" Bai Nuo stared intently at Chen Qiuling, her disgust for her reaching its peak. "I said get out, or I'll call for help! One...two..."
"You'd better remember what you said!" Chen Qiuling threatened Bai Nuo again before getting up and leaving.
"Sis, are we going to sell that again today?" Early the next morning, A-Yu came running over, looking at her eagerly. "If you're going out, can you take me with you?"
He really wanted to go too; counting the money was so much fun.
"If we don't go now, we can go this afternoon." Bai Nuo got out of bed, lifted the covers, and looked at him. "You want to come out with me?"
"Mmm!"
"Be good, stay home with Grandma, okay? I'll go by myself..." Bai Nuo patted A Yu's head, pulled him over, and picked up a comb to brush his hair. The child had probably just woken up and run over to her, as his hair was still disheveled.
Bai Nuo really didn't want to take A Yu out. A Yu was still young and shouldn't have to suffer like this. Besides, he was so thin. She wanted A Yu to gain some weight. No matter how she looked at him, he didn't seem to be in good health.
"No!" A-Yu tugged at Bai Nuo's clothes, fidgeting. "I just want to go out with you, I want to help you!"
“We really aren’t going now…” Bai Nuo tied A Yu’s hair up. “You go wash your face quickly. While Grandma’s not here, I’ll take you out to get something delicious.”
Grandma goes for a walk every morning. She went out before Bai Nuo and Bai Yu got up and hasn't come back yet.
After sending A-Yu away, Bai Nuo got up to wash up, and after A-Yu finished getting ready, she took him to the old house.
"Ayu, if we see something like this in the river in the future, we must pick it up, okay?" Bai Nuo took out the bucket containing the river mussels. After a night of spitting out sand, the water in the bucket had turned yellow, and the surface of the bucket was covered with a layer of mud.
Bai Nuo squatted down and scooped a clam out of the bucket to show A Yu.
Ah Yu also squatted down, staring longingly at it, "This is delicious."
"You picked it up?"
Ayu nodded.
Back then, my sister wasn't like she is now, always a bit silly. My grandmother was old, and she didn't have many good meals. To fill her stomach, she would search everywhere for food. She would personally grill this kind of food, and it was very tender and delicious.
Of course, everything Bai Nuo gave him to eat was prepared by Bai Nuo, and A Yu didn't know that what Bai Nuo gave him to eat was the same thing that he found himself.
Bai Nuo nodded knowingly, and led A Yu to clean the river mussels. Then they used something to pry them open, and luckily, they found a pearl on the first one.
"Did you see this while you were eating?" Bai Nuo removed the pearl. "If you saw this pearl, you must pick it up. It's all money, you know?"
Ah Yu shook his head, then nodded heavily.
The two siblings opened half a bucket of river clams in the dilapidated house. Ah Yu's hands were like a money-making machine; every clam he opened yielded a pearl. Some clams had more pearls, yielding three or four, while others had only one, but every single one had some.
Bai Nuo also reaped considerable rewards.
After using half a bucket of river clams, I ended up with a small bowl of pearls. There were more pearls than river clam meat.
"What are you doing here?" Just as Bai Dalin finished tidying up this pile of things, it was time for him to go to work. Bai Dalin usually doesn't take this route, but he got up late today, so he decided to take a shortcut. As soon as he passed the door of the old house, he saw Bai Nuo tidying up.
Bai Nuo never expected Bai Dalin to come. The bowl of pearls was still at her feet; she was terrified that Bai Dalin would find it. He was a man of wide experience and might very well think it was something valuable.
"I'm preparing breakfast..." Bai Nuo moved subtly, blocking the pearl from view, before speaking.
"Don't give these things to Qiuling!" Bai Dalin glanced at it but didn't ask any further questions. Chen Qiuling had vomited again last night, which had broken his heart. "Can't you put a little more effort into your cooking? Are you happy if Qiuling gets sick from eating this? She's your mother too, and she's carrying your younger brother and sister!"
Isn't it better if she gets sick from eating something bad? It saves us the trouble of threatening her!
While complaining, Bai Nuo assured him, "I'll eat this myself, I won't give it to her!"
"Go on... I'm leaving. Take good care of your mother while you're at it." Bai Dalin nodded, quite satisfied with Bai Nuo's obedience.
Bai Nuo nodded quickly, eager for him to leave.
After receiving Bai Nuo's assurance, Bai Dalin left satisfied. Bai Nuo patted A Yu, who followed him out. Only after confirming that Bai Dalin was really far away did A Yu turn back to Bai Nuo and say, "Sister, he's really gone."
Bai Nuo hurriedly made breakfast, and then the three of them divided the work: the old lady wove the bracelets, while Bai Nuo and A Yu drilled holes in the pearls. They worked until noon before they finished stringing all the pearl bracelets together.
Bai Nuo counted fifty pearls in a bowl. Five pearls were needed for each bracelet. This time, Bai Nuo and his team made a total of ten bracelets. Each bracelet could be sold for thirty taels of silver, so ten bracelets would be worth three hundred taels of silver. Looking at the ten bracelets in front of him, Bai Nuo felt as if he could see the silver shining.
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