RYEY – Chapter 99 Erlizi is Terrifying

“Li Huan, this time just send over a set of bedding, cotton clothes, and some food. I’ve also written a letter and put it in the pocket of the cotton clothes.”

“Mm, you rest for a while. I’ll go find Skinny Monkey and have him bring some national grain coupons and such.”

“All right. Also, go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy a few burlap sacks. These clothes need to be packed in burlap to be mailed.”

Li Huan nodded and left. Three hours later, he returned with Skinny Monkey and Qiu Min. When Qiu Min saw Cheng Qiao lying on the hospital bed, she immediately started fussing over her.

“I’m fine. The doctor said my pregnancy is unstable, so I need to rest more in bed.”

“Mm, I understand. The cooperative happened to have malted milk and canned fruits, so I bought some. You should eat a little every day to improve your nutrition.”

“Got it, Qiu Min, thank you. When are you and Skinny Monkey getting married?”

“Cheng Qiao, have you turned bad?”

Qiu Min blushed. Skinny Monkey quickly pulled a large stack of money and coupons from a cloth bag and handed them to Li Huan. Without counting, Li Huan passed them to Cheng Qiao.

Skinny Monkey smiled. In his eyes, the normally powerful Brother Huan was like a little lamb in front of his wife, obedient and gentle. He thought to himself that he should learn from Brother Huan—treating his own wife well was essential.

Qiu Min lifted her head, feeling a connection. The two exchanged glances across the room, both blushing. Qiu Min turned and sat on the edge of Cheng Qiao’s bed, explaining: “Cheng Qiao, the items you provided sold very well. We made over five thousand yuan in total. It was the first time in my life I had handled so much money. I was so scared I couldn’t sleep at night. In the end, I had to give the money to Skinny Monkey to feel at ease.”

Cheng Qiao smiled. She had placed nearly 2,000 jin of rice and flour in the house, over 200 jin of pork and lamb, as well as sausages, eggs, milk powder, brown sugar, white sugar, and other items.

She had also prepared dozens of sets of bedding and cotton clothing, along with towels, soap, and other daily necessities. Indeed, the numbers added up.

“Brother Huan, the New Year is just over a month away. Should we do this once more before the holiday?”

Li Huan nodded. With his wife pregnant and his father-in-law sent off to Gansu for hardship labor, money and coupons were essential—they had to do it.

“Skinny Monkey, check what the market is most lacking and in what quantity. This time, we’ll make it a big batch.”

“All right, I’ll go right away.”

“Wait. After deducting the principal, we earned a net profit of about a thousand yuan. As agreed, you take 20%. Wife, give Skinny Monkey 200 yuan.”

Li Huan calculated according to past business experience. The cost of these items would have been at least 4,000 yuan, so the net profit was already determined.

“Thank you, Brother Huan. Next time, the principal should be at least this much, right?”

Skinny Monkey made an “8” shape with his thumb and index finger to indicate agreement. Li Huan nodded. Although it was a no-capital trade, he still believed there was no such thing as a free lunch and needed to be prepared.

Skinny Monkey shrank his neck, imagining a bright future for them and getting closer to marrying Qiu Min.

Cheng Qiao handed 200 yuan to Skinny Monkey. He shook his hand, pointing to Qiu Min, signaling that Cheng Qiao should give it to her. Qiu Min’s face turned even redder.

Last time, she had earned some money, combined with Skinny Monkey’s savings, they had already repaid the 500 yuan owed for work-related expenses. Now, with another 200 yuan, they could soon buy a small house and get married.

“Skinny Monkey, how much did those coupons cost?”

“The market is tight, and you wanted nationwide coupons, so it cost 420 yuan. The money’s already deducted. You should count it yourself.”

Skinny Monkey pointed at the stack of money in Cheng Qiao’s hands, looking a little frustrated. He loved counting money, but Brother Huan didn’t, and Cheng Qiao seemed uninterested as well. Qiu Min snatched the money and began counting it for them.

In total, they sold 5,043 yuan worth of goods. After deducting Skinny Monkey’s 200 yuan and 420 yuan for coupons, 4,420 yuan remained. Cheng Qiao also gave Li Huan 200 yuan.

Li Huan was surprised. This time, he hadn’t even exerted effort, yet there was money. Skinny Monkey smiled. Brother Huan had finally reached the level of someone he could share profits with.

Seeing Skinny Monkey smile, Li Huan understood Cheng Qiao’s intention. He had said before that his wife ran the household, so it was right for her to give him money.

He accepted it readily. Then Cheng Qiao packed the remaining money and Li Huan’s exchanged coupons in newspaper, placing them in the middle of a cotton jacket and tying it tightly with string.

Li Huan immediately went to help. He couldn’t bear to let his wife strain herself.

“Brother Huan, what are you doing?”

“Sending the principal back to the original owner.”

Skinny Monkey nodded vaguely in understanding. So all these items weren’t from Brother Huan—they were from Cheng Qiao’s family. Since Brother Huan didn’t want to elaborate, he wouldn’t ask.

“Wife, all done? I’ll go to the post office now. If I wait too long, it will be closing time.”

Cheng Qiao nodded. Li Huan took Skinny Monkey along to volunteer at the post office, and Qiu Min stayed in the hospital, also chatting with Cheng Qiao.

Seeing everyone leave, Cheng Qiao took a sweater from a package and said to Qiu Min with a smile: “Qiu Min, I want to unravel this sweater and knit one for Li Huan.”

“Can you?”

“Yes, a little.”

“You’re amazing! Next time the cooperative has yarn, I’ll buy some, and you can teach me to knit.”

“All right. Let’s unravel it first, you can roll it up for me.”

One unraveled while the other rolled. Before long, the sweater was completely undone. It still needed washing, but it wasn’t convenient in the hospital, so Cheng Qiao decided to do it at home.

When Li Huan and Skinny Monkey returned to the ward, Chen Weidang looked somewhat awkwardly at Cheng Qiao and Qiu Min. He had come to act as a negotiator—a real headache, the father of Miao Qing was truly difficult to deal with.

“Erlizi—no, Li Huan, you’re back.”

“Village Head, why are you here?”

“Your mother came to see me. She said Miao Qing knocked down Cheng Qiao, causing her daughter-in-law to be hospitalized. So she went to Miao Qing’s house to demand compensation for medical and nutritional expenses, totaling 20 yuan.”

Li Huan was stunned. His honest mother had apparently learned to demand compensation—what a big step forward! He would have to praise her properly at home.

“Fenqiu refused, saying at most he would give 0.5 yuan. They argued, and then Fenqiu pushed your mother. That’s why she came to me.”

Li Huan’s expression darkened. His eyes glared at Chen Weidang, who shrank back, realizing that Li Huan had truly changed.

Thinking of the corpse photo he had seen at the police station, a cold sweat broke out on his back. A terrifying thought arose—perhaps this person had been deliberately killed by a scoundrel.