RGL – Chapter 27

Although the shop was still an unfinished shell, it wasn’t small. Plus, their family was in the grain and rice business, so there was no need for decoration. Once the rental was settled, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang began setting up shelves and moving their stock into the store. Worried that they wouldn’t have enough goods, Su Changrong made another trip to the countryside to bring in a wider variety of products. Now that they were running a proper store, he wasn’t concerned about having too much inventory. With a warehouse at home and a spacious shop, he increased the stock even more. Out in public, people now greeted him as “Boss Su.”

Sun Hai also made time to accompany Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang on a supply run. In addition to snacks and treats for kids, they brought in essentials like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Regulations weren’t as strict now as they used to be; even private citizens could buy and sell such items in bulk. Sun Hai, with his sharp communication skills and solid education, could talk business fluently. It didn’t take long for him to build relationships with the suppliers and even secure better prices.

As they loaded the goods onto a cart, Su Changrong sighed with gratitude. “Xiao Hai, we really owe you this time. Without you, your sister and I wouldn’t have known where to even start. You educated folks really do have skills.”

Sun Hai laughed, “You and my sister are the capable ones. Look how far you’ve come in such a short time—settling down in the city and opening a shop. A lot of city folks can’t even say the same. Brother-in-law, I really believe you and my sister are going places.”

“Ay, let’s hope your words bring luck,” Su Changrong said with a smile. “Honestly, all your sister and I want is for Minzi to have a better life, and to own a place of our own in the city. We don’t dare dream of anything more. Right now, we haven’t even transferred our household registration. It’s hard for Minzi to even go to school. Buying a house in the future will be even tougher. We can only take things one step at a time.”

Talking about these challenges made Su Changrong sigh. Life was indeed better than before, but compared to real city dwellers, there were still many difficulties.

Household registration was a big issue—without it, everything became inconvenient.

Sun Hai agreed, “Yeah, it’s definitely a problem. We don’t really have any connections either. If we did, getting the household registration transferred wouldn’t be so hard. Our county town isn’t as strict as the provincial capital, so it should be doable.”

Speaking of connections, the only person who came to Su Changrong’s mind was his brother, Su Changgui.

Su Changgui was a primary school teacher, and over the years, he must’ve made plenty of contacts. Even if he couldn’t help, his wife’s family surely had some pull. In the past, Su Changrong wouldn’t have hesitated to go to his brother. But now, he was holding onto a grudge and couldn’t bring himself to ask. Thinking of his sister-in-law’s personality, he quickly dismissed the idea altogether.

Once the shelves were stocked, Su Changrong hired a carpenter to build a proper-looking counter. He left the counter work and handling money to Sun Qiufang, while he took charge of sourcing goods and moving things around.

“Boss lady, you better watch over our business well,” Su Changrong said to Sun Qiufang as she wiped down the counter.

She blushed and shot him a look. “Look at you, acting all smug.”

Sun Hai, standing nearby, chuckled at the sight. After all the hardships they’d been through, he’d never imagined they’d be living like this. He believed he could also build a better future for himself through hard work.

After school, Su Min came straight to the shop. Although it hadn’t officially opened, she could still help prepare things.

Seeing how everything was almost ready, she was filled with excitement.

“Mom, Dad, when are we opening? Have you picked a date?”

“We need to pick a date?” Su Changrong asked, genuinely surprised. He thought it was like before—just restock and start selling anytime.

“Of course we do! We need to choose an auspicious day. Even if we don’t invite an opera troupe or anything, we should at least set off firecrackers and hand out candy to let the neighbors know we’re opening a general store. That way, more people will come buy stuff.” Su Min remembered seeing store openings with lion dances and festive crowds. The grand opening day always drew a lot of attention. Since they were running a general store, what mattered was long-term business, not flashy one-time events. But handing out candy was essential—otherwise, no one would even know the shop was there.

Neither Su Changrong nor Sun Qiufang knew anything about this, but Su Min’s words made sense. Back in the village, people handed out sweets just to announce the birth of a baby. Opening a shop was like adding a new “family member,” wasn’t it?

Sun Qiufang laughed, “Alright, I’ll go weigh out a few jin of candy later and check the almanac to find a good day. Let’s have a proper celebration.”

The more she thought about it, the more she felt opening the shop was the right move. Even aside from making money, just standing behind the counter gave her confidence. This was what doing business was supposed to feel like.

That night, the whole family looked through the almanac and found that two days later was an auspicious day for moving and starting new ventures.

With the shop opening soon, Su Min was in a great mood. Even her attitude toward Xue Mian softened.

“Xiao Hei, why are you so cheerful these days? Smiling nonstop.”

After school, Su Min had just packed up when Xue Mian yanked her hair.

She glared at his pale little face. “Xiao Bai, if you pull my hair again, I’m going to shave your head.”

“Who are you calling Xiao Bai?” Xue Mian frowned and leaned in, his delicate, boyish face making Su Min want to pinch his cheeks. If she were her age from her previous life, she definitely would’ve. This kid might be a little annoying, but when he wasn’t talking, he was actually kind of cute.

She grinned and looked at him mockingly, “Didn’t you say you like calling people by their skin color? You’re so pale—I have to call you Xiao Bai. Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai.”

“Stop it!” Xue Mian immediately flared up. If special effects were possible, his hair would be standing on end.

Su Min straightened her face. “Then stop calling me Xiao Hei. Don’t you know that’s really rude?”

Xue Mian scratched his head, his brows wrinkling like a little old man. “Then what should I call you? Your name is so corny, I can’t bring myself to say it.” Then he tried a few times, “Su Min, Su Min… ugh, what a lame name.”

“You can just call me ‘Classmate Su,’” she said, stuffing her things into her bag quickly. “Just stop calling me random names. Or I’ll tell the whole class your nickname is Xiao Bai.”

“Okay, okay, I give up,” Xue Mian surrendered, throwing up his hands in mock defeat.

Seeing his childish antics, Su Min couldn’t stay mad. She smiled and nodded. “Alright, you better keep your word.”

And with that, she grabbed her bag and dashed off, not waiting for him.

Just as she reached the gate, someone stepped out from the side—it was Su Wenwen, dressed in a long-sleeved red dress with a flower in her hair, ponytail swinging behind her.

Su Min froze for a second, then immediately tried to walk around her. But Su Wenwen stepped in front of her, clearly blocking her path.

Su Min was instantly furious. She had tried not to fuss with a little kid, but that didn’t mean she had no temper. Su Wenwen was clearly pushing her luck!

She frowned and glared at Su Wenwen. “What exactly do you want? Didn’t we agree to treat each other like strangers? What’s this supposed to be—blocking the way like some mad dog?”

“Who are you calling a dog?!”

“Whoever’s blocking the way is who I’m calling one.”

“You—” Su Wenwen pouted angrily, about to curse back, but then seemed to think of something. She looked at Su Min with disdain. “Only people with no manners curse at others. I’m not stooping to your level. I’m not here to block you today—I just wanted to tell you to stay away from Xue Mian. A country bumpkin like you shouldn’t think about hanging out with him.”

“…?” Su Min narrowed her eyes at Su Wenwen. If she wasn’t mistaken, Su Wenwen was trying to forbid her from talking to Xue Mian. “Why should I listen to you? We’re strangers—you have no right to tell me what to do.”

Enough was enough. What was that third aunt of hers teaching this kid? So arrogant and overbearing at such a young age—who knows what kind of person she’d grow into? In her past life, she hadn’t had much contact with Su Wenwen, but she had heard a few unpleasant rumors.

“Su Min, I’m telling you—Xue Mian is my friend. He’s not allowed to be friends with you. From now on, you’re not allowed to talk to him!”

Su Wenwen spat the words like a threat.

Su Min had no intention of wasting time with her. She gave a snort and turned to leave. She’d have to be stupid to get into a fight over something like this with Su Wenwen.

Seeing Su Min walk away like that, Su Wenwen stomped her foot in frustration.

Su Min didn’t take her words to heart, but Su Wenwen truly bore a grudge. She started spreading nasty rumors behind Su Min’s back—telling everyone that Su Min’s family scavenged scraps for a living, and that her school fees were paid with money from collecting junk.

At this age, middle schoolers didn’t have the best judgment. Within a day, everyone in class knew about Su Min’s background, and she—already not well-liked—was ostracized even more.

“Xiao Min, don’t mind what they say.”

Xue Mian rushed over to comfort her after seeing everyone badmouthing her.

Su Min was focused on her workbook. When she heard his words, she looked up and saw genuine concern on that clean, handsome face of his.

She hadn’t planned on talking to anyone, but seeing how sincere he looked, she didn’t have the heart to brush him off. “Don’t call me Xiao Min. Technically, I’m older than you.”

“Ugh, I’ve thought it over again and again—your name is just way too plain. ‘Xiao Min’ is the only one that barely sounds okay, so cut me some slack.” Xue Mian looked a bit annoyed, then furrowed his brow and said, “I’m just trying to show I care.”

Su Min pursed her lips and decided to let it go. “I’m fine. Let them say what they want—it’s got nothing to do with me. Don’t we have a test coming up soon? I’m busy reviewing.”

“It’s just a test, what’s the rush?” Xue Mian flipped through her textbook. “This book’s no good. I’ll bring you some better ones.”

“No need, these are enough.” She didn’t want to take things from others for no reason. There’s no such thing as a free lunch—some things just weren’t meant to be accepted casually.

After several days of preparation, the Rongfang Convenience Store finally opened for business. It just happened to be a Saturday, so both Su Min and Sun Hai were home to help out.

Sun Qiufang had already prepared candies. After the firecrackers were set off, passersby came by to check out the commotion. As people gathered, Sun Qiufang handed out sweets to everyone. Su Min also carried a candy bag, going around to nearby neighbors to hand them sweets and promote their new store.

In addition to candy, she handed out some snacks from home to help advertise their products. Although it cost a little money, early-stage marketing investment was essential.

Sure enough, the store officially opened in the morning, and by noon customers had started coming in. Some bought rice or flour, others bought sweet potatoes, and many kids came by for snacks.

“Our business isn’t bad at all. First day and we already have this many customers—definitely a good start.”

After seeing off a customer, Sun Qiufang’s smile didn’t fade.

Su Min was carefully organizing the stock. “Mom, in a little while, we can set up a small stand out front to sell more stuff. If we get more suppliers—like for fruit or other things—we can sell that too. Since we’ve already rented the shop, might as well make the most of it.”

Su Changrong wiped the sweat from his brow and came out. “Your mom and I were thinking the same. Since we’ve already opened the store, we’ve got to make it thrive—no way it should be worse than running a street stall.”

Su Min remembered seeing people run convenience stores that also sold breakfast outside the shop. That was a good money-maker. “Mom, if you’re not too busy, we could sell breakfast in the mornings. It’d be hard work, but it’s profitable.”

Hearing that, Sun Qiufang immediately perked up. “Hard work doesn’t matter, as long as it earns money. I know how to make all kinds of buns and steamed bread. I think it’s a great idea. Once the store’s business stabilizes, I’ll set up a stall out front and start selling breakfast too. I don’t believe it—selling all these things, not a single one will make money?”

Then she looked at Sun Hai. “Hai, how’s your business going? Want to open a store too? If you don’t have enough money, you can borrow from me and your brother-in-law to get started.”

Sun Hai laughed. “No need. I’m still figuring things out. I won’t open a store just yet. My current business is going well—I make ten or twenty yuan a day. That’s a few hundred a month. I’ll save up for a couple of years, and once I have money and connections, I’ll figure out what kind of store to open.”

“That income’s not bad—several hundred a month, that’s more than some people make in a whole year,” Sun Qiufang said with emotion. “We used to envy those with government jobs, but now I think it’s better to work for yourself. As long as we’re willing to work hard, the money will come into our own pockets.”

Su Changrong laughed. “And we have Minzi to thank for all this. If it weren’t for her, we’d still be back in the village farming.” He thought back—if they hadn’t listened to their daughter and come to the city, they’d still be living in a rundown shack, working the fields. Who knows what life would be like? Probably still arguing every day with his parents and brothers—just thinking about it made him feel miserable.

Sun Qiufang said, “As long as you understand how good our daughter is, that’s enough. Everything we have in the future will belong to her. It’s got nothing to do with anyone else.” She wanted to make that clear with Su Changrong now. All their earnings in the future were for their daughter—those so-called Su family ‘heirs’ could forget it.

After living together for many years, Su Changrong naturally understood what Sun Qiufang meant. He quickly said, “I never said I’d give it to anyone else. Of course it’s for Minzi. We only have this one child. Who else would we give it to?”

Hearing this, Sun Qiufang’s face finally showed a satisfied smile. She stroked her daughter’s hair. “Minzi, you have to study hard.”

Su Min smiled with her lips pressed together.

She truly was studying hard now. During class, she didn’t miss a single word, committing everything to memory. Whenever she didn’t understand something, she asked questions without hesitation. Her classmates had started calling her the “Question Queen” behind her back. But there was no helping it—though her memory and comprehension were better than average, she was still far behind those so-called geniuses. She didn’t have any special learning techniques—only more effort than others.

Thinking of this, she thought of Xue Mian.

She really didn’t understand how that kid studied. He never seemed to pay attention in class and spent his breaks running wild—more playful than even the most mischievous boys. Yet whenever it came to homework or answering questions, he always knew the answers. And when he solved problems on the blackboard, his methods were completely different from the teacher’s.

It was Su Min’s first time encountering a genius like that—it nearly dazzled her.

With such a strong competitor, Su Min was even more determined. After school, she went straight to the shop to do her homework and study until the shop closed. After going home, she would continue studying under the lamplight.

Especially after her family started selling breakfast, with Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning to prepare, Su Min simply got up with them to study.

Her family’s income kept growing, and Su Min’s grades improved steadily.

In the first unit test, Su Min ranked second in her class. Unsurprisingly, the first place went to Xue Mian.

Although she wasn’t number one, Su Min was still overjoyed.

When she brought the test paper home, Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong were thrilled and immediately suggested going out to celebrate.

Liao Zhaodi also did well this time—she ranked sixth in the class. Hearing that Sun Qiufang’s family was going out to celebrate, Zhu Qiang suggested the two families dine together at a restaurant.

Su Min didn’t know if the county town was just too small, or if her fate with Su Wenwen was just too deep—but even coming out for a meal, she still bumped into Su Changgui’s whole family.

Su Changgui seemed to be in high spirits. When he saw Su Changrong, he took Gao Hong and Su Wenwen over to say hello. However, Su Wenwen’s face turned sour as soon as she saw Su Min.

“Big brother, you’re out too today?”

Su Changrong smiled. “Brought the kid out to eat. She just finished a test and did pretty well, so we’re celebrating.”

As soon as Su Changgui heard it was about a test, he perked up. “That’s right—Minzi’s in seventh grade too, so it was the same test.” He looked at Su Min and smiled. “Since you used to study in a town school, doing okay is already impressive. Just keep working hard. Our Wenwen did pretty well this time too—maybe you two can learn from each other.”

Hearing that, Su Wenwen’s face instantly darkened, and she tugged at Su Changgui, wanting to leave.

Su Changrong asked, “How did Wenwen do?” His brother seemed really happy—could it be she placed first?

Su Changgui, unwilling to leave now, smiled and said, “Pretty good—ninth in her class. Her class is full of smart kids, so top ten is already impressive. I’m planning to get her some tutoring so she can aim for top three next time.”

Hearing that it was ninth place, Su Changrong’s expression shifted slightly.

“What about Minzi?” Su Changgui asked.

Su Changrong hesitated for a moment. “Second.”

“How many?” Su Changgui thought he misheard.

“Second in the whole class,” Su Changrong repeated.

“…” Su Changgui was speechless.

Gao Hong’s face flushed red as she pulled the still-stunned Su Changgui into their reserved room. Su Wenwen followed behind, glaring fiercely at Su Min.

Su Min just curled her lips in boredom.

“Didn’t you see your brother’s face just now? He looked awful. What, our Minzi did well, and he’s unhappy about it?” Sun Qiufang grumbled once they were seated.

She couldn’t help complaining about how Su Changgui always tried to show off his daughter, using it as a chance to put Minzi down. Now that Minzi outperformed his daughter, he lost face instantly. What kind of teacher acted like that?

Su Changrong still felt a little embarrassed. While he was proud of his daughter’s achievements, he had to admit that the earlier situation was a bit awkward.

“Forget it, let’s eat and stop talking about it,” he said.

Sun Qiufang snorted. “Why shouldn’t I say something? It’s not like I said anything bad about his kid. I’m just proud of mine—she brought honor to our family.”

She poured tea for Su Min. “Keep it up, girl. Maintain your performance so no one can laugh at you.”

Then she turned to Liao Zhaodi. “You too, Zhaodi—aim for an even better score next time.”

“Thanks, Auntie.” Zhaodi smiled shyly.

Meanwhile, the whole Changgui family had lost their appetite.

They had thought Wenwen’s top-ten finish was something to brag about, and had been telling everyone about it. But running into his older brother’s family now had thoroughly embarrassed him.

Setting down his chopsticks, Su Changgui looked at Wenwen, who was eating with her head down, and asked, “Wenwen, how could you score lower than Minzi? You even had tutoring over the summer. You’ve already covered more than half the seventh-grade curriculum. Minzi was just studying in a rural school.”

Wenwen, already upset, began to cry at those words.

Gao Hong, seeing her daughter cry, immediately felt distressed and smacked Su Changgui. “Why are you scolding her? It’s just second place! Didn’t she already study half the seventh grade before? What’s the big deal? If Wenwen had gone through that material already, she could have gotten first place too.” She firmly believed her daughter was not worse than that country bumpkin.

With her mom backing her up, Su Wenwen gained confidence again. “Yeah, Dad—Su Min’s deskmate is the top student in our class. Maybe she just copied their answers. Otherwise, how could she happen to get second?”

“Really?” Su Changgui looked at her suspiciously.

“It’s true, Dad! How could I be worse than her? She must’ve cheated. If people find out, she’ll be the one embarrassed.”

“So that’s how it is.” Su Changgui also thought it was plausible. His older brother and sister-in-law weren’t educated people, so it didn’t make sense for their kid to do so well. And rural education was what it was—how could she suddenly perform like that?

He nodded. “Alright, let’s not bring this up anymore. And don’t go around telling others. She’s still our relative—we don’t want to make things too ugly.”

Gao Hong sneered, “Why are you worried about saving face for them? They didn’t care about saving yours—announcing that score in front of everyone without any regard.”

Thinking back to the scene just now, Su Changgui felt a bit resentful too. If his brother had spared his feelings a little, he wouldn’t have said it so directly. Just be vague—why go out of your way to show off?

Su Wenwen had only wanted to find an excuse to avoid being scolded, but now that she said it out loud, it started to sound reasonable even to her. Xue Mian sat next to Su Min—it must have been his answers she copied to get that score.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

A score earned by cheating—what was there to be proud of?

“Su Min, come to the office for a moment.” Su Min was buried in her homework when she heard Teacher Wu call her name. She glanced at Wu Yong, then stood up and followed him to the office.

The rest of the class had already started buzzing. Some who had caught wind of the rumors began spreading them. Those who hadn’t heard came over to ask Su Wenwen, “Wenwen, did she really cheat on the test? I knew it—someone who picks up scraps couldn’t possibly afford tutoring or win a teacher’s favor. How could she possibly do so well? She must’ve copied. Let’s see how she can even show her face now.”

Su Wenwen lifted her chin proudly and said, “Let’s not worry about it. The teacher will deal with it.”

In the office, Wu Yong hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

“A classmate reported that you cheated on the exam, that your answers were copied from Xue Mian. Is that true?”

Hearing this, Su Min felt a weight in her chest. She looked up at Wu Yong and said, “I didn’t copy from anyone. I answered all the questions myself.”

“Do you have any proof?” Wu Yong looked at her doubtfully.

Su Min frowned and looked straight at him. “Then do you have any proof, Teacher? Are you going to convict me just because someone said I cheated?” She had really underestimated how scheming kids could be. Their petty games weren’t much different from adults—only the stakes were different.

Wu Yong was momentarily speechless, feeling a bit embarrassed. It was the first time a student had ever talked back to him like this, and it bruised his ego a little. But she wasn’t wrong—without evidence, he couldn’t just say she cheated.

After thinking a moment, he tried to reason with her. “Su Min, please take this seriously. Now that this rumor is out, the whole class might believe it. You need to prove you didn’t cheat to clear it up.”

Su Min lowered her head, thinking. She didn’t care too much about reputation or friends, but being whispered about every day was still annoying. More importantly, she didn’t want to let those with bad intentions get their way. Even if they were just kids, that wasn’t an excuse.

“Teacher, I’m willing to take a test to prove I didn’t cheat.”

Wu Yong nodded. “Alright. You can go back to class for now—I’ll arrange something.”

When Su Min returned, the classroom was even noisier than before.

Xue Mian lay on his desk, napping like he couldn’t care less about what was going on. When Su Min sat down, he glanced over. “Teacher didn’t say much, right? Want me to go speak up for you?”

“No need,” Su Min said, burying her head in her book again.

Xue Mian studied her expression. She didn’t look even a little upset or wronged, and that surprised him. When he first heard the rumors and saw her called out, he’d figured she’d come back crying. But no—nothing.

Still, he didn’t dare mess with her. This girl had a fiery temper—not someone to provoke.

Even so, he smiled cheekily and tugged on one of her braids. “If anyone’s giving you trouble, let me know. I’ll take care of it.”

Then he pulled out two books from his bag. “Here. I told you I’d give them to you.”

Su Min looked surprised. “Didn’t I say I didn’t want them?”

“I don’t need them anymore—I already finished reading them. You take your time with them.”

“You read books?” Su Min’s eyes went wide like she was seeing an alien.

Xue Mian raised an eyebrow. “Of course. How else do you think I get good grades?”

Su Min flipped through the books—sure enough, there were notes scribbled throughout.

Wow. No wonder he did so well despite zoning out in class. He wasn’t slacking off—he was studying on his own at home.

Seeing her eyes sparkling as she looked at him made Xue Mian suddenly a little shy. “I’ve already finished the whole junior high curriculum. That’s why I don’t really need to pay attention in class anymore.”

In the middle of the third row, Su Wenwen watched them chatting and angrily clawed at her textbook. “Let’s see how long she can stay smug.”

When class started, Wu Yong walked in holding a textbook. As the class teacher, he commanded a lot of respect.

He placed the book on the podium and said to the class, “Everyone’s heard a rather unpleasant rumor. I want to make it clear that I believe Su Min earned her grades honestly. So today, I’ve prepared a few problems—similar in difficulty to the bonus questions from our exam. Su Min will complete them alone. Once she’s done, I’ll share the results.”

He looked at Su Min. “Su Min, go to my office and solve these problems. Bring them back when you’re done.”

Su Min didn’t say a word. She simply got up, took the test sheet, and walked out.

After she left, Wu Yong addressed the class again. “If Su Min proves her innocence today, I expect some of you to apologize. Jealousy isn’t scary—it’s the intent to harm that’s truly dangerous. I won’t name names, but you know who you are. Go find Su Min afterward and apologize.”

After his words, Su Wenwen and her group of close friends all looked uncomfortable, heads down, not daring to meet his eyes.

Someone nearby tugged on Su Wenwen’s sleeve. “Wenwen, what do we do now?”

Su Wenwen said, “What are you scared of? She definitely copied. There’s no way she can solve those problems.”

Before a full class period had passed, Su Min returned with her finished answers. Wu Yong graded them in front of everyone.

Out of six questions, she missed one due to a substitution error. The other five—bonus-level difficulty—were all correct.

“These questions—even just one or two—are difficult for most of you. Su Min solved five correctly and in less than one class period. Does anyone still believe she cheated?”

“No,” the class answered, except for Su Wenwen and her group.

Wu Yong glanced toward their side of the room. “After class, you owe Su Min an apology. And I owe you one too, Su Min. I called you to the office without fully understanding the situation, which led your classmates to suspect you. That was my mistake.”

Su Min was stunned that Mr. Wu would publicly apologize to a student. She looked at him in surprise and saw the sincerity in his eyes. She shook her head instinctively. “It’s okay, teacher.”

Wu Yong smiled. “Good. Keep studying hard, and aim for even better results next time.”

The class’s emotions had swung wildly in just one period. First Su Min was called out and suspected of cheating, then she proved herself, and now the teacher was openly apologizing to her. It was a slap in the face for the rumor-mongers.

As for who started the rumor—everyone already knew.

After this incident, Su Min’s classmates began to see her in a better light. At the end of the day, several even greeted her as they left.

A top student who didn’t throw tantrums even when falsely accused—even if she collected scrap metal—it didn’t matter anymore.

Word spread quickly between classes. By that afternoon, many students had already heard about what happened in Class Three.

After school, Liao Zhaodi brought it up too, her face full of anger. “Minzi, those people went too far! If they talk bad about you again, you better tell the teacher.”

Su Min smiled. “It’s fine now. We should be preparing for the next test. Studying well and doing well—that’s how we prove ourselves. Let them say what they want, as long as it doesn’t get in our way.”

Sun Hai balanced the carrying pole on his shoulders and said, “It’s good that Minzi can take things so calmly. We study for our own sake—whatever others say or do, that’s their business. Never let other people’s opinions affect your attitude toward learning. If you don’t study well because of them, you’ll only be letting yourself down in the end.”

He once had a classmate who was wrongly accused by a teacher. As a result, he lost all motivation to study. His grades had been pretty good, but after that incident, he just couldn’t bring himself to continue.

Su Min nodded. Having lived through one life and collected so many regrets, she wasn’t going to do anything in this one that would let herself down.

The weather was gradually cooling, and Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang started selling roasted chestnuts and peanuts again. But instead of roasting them fresh on-site, they prepared them in advance and weighed them out when customers came. After a few restocking trips, Su Changrong also made new contacts through the sales department, bringing in other products. The shelves at home were growing increasingly well-stocked.

People in the neighborhood all knew that the Rongfang Convenience Store had just about everything. Whenever something was missing at home or kids wanted a snack, they’d come there to buy it.

Business was getting better and better. Compared to when they were just running a stall, they were earning over 500 yuan more each month.

After a few months, they’d already recouped their initial investment for the store and were turning a decent profit. Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang were starting to think that, if things kept going like this, they’d have enough money to buy a house next year or the year after.

They’d asked around and learned that a house could be bought for around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. The key issue was getting a city household registration. The couple were quietly wondering how to transfer their household registration into the city—getting out of a rural registration and into an urban one was no easy task.

Meanwhile, over in Sujia Village at the Su family’s house, they were preparing for a housewarming banquet.

Even though things had gotten tense during the New Year, a housewarming was a big deal. Grandpa Su and Grandma Su were planning to have their second son invite the third son’s family to come back for the celebration. If they happened to run into the eldest son too, they’d ask him to come back for a drink as well. After all, they were still family.