TSWPF – Chapter 57 Danger

Day by day, time flew by, and before they knew it, the New Year was almost upon them. Li Qingling delivered a batch of rabbits to Fumanlou. The moment the shopkeeper saw her, his eyes practically welled up with tears of joy—she was like his savior reborn.

He had waited so long for this batch of rabbits—it had not been easy!

After paying for the rabbits, the shopkeeper pulled out an additional silver note worth three hundred taels and handed it to Li Qingling. “Miss Xiaoling, this is your first share of profit from the egg pancakes—three hundred taels. Please count it.”

Fumanlou had developed several new flavors based on the original egg pancake recipe, and sales had been consistently good ever since.

Otherwise, Li Qingling wouldn’t have earned such a large sum.

This truly came as a huge surprise. She forced herself to stay calm, though her heart was racing with excitement. She accepted the three hundred taels of silver, didn’t even bother to count it, and tucked it straight into her chest pocket.

“Thank you, Shopkeeper Uncle.”

For most farming families, three hundred taels was a fortune they might never see in a lifetime.

But to Li Qingling, this was still far from enough. With the children needing schooling—an expense that burned money fast—she knew she had to work even harder to earn more.

The shopkeeper chuckled and waved off her thanks. In his eyes, Li Qingling was Fumanlou’s money tree—he practically wanted to build her a shrine.

After chatting with him a bit longer, Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou finally left the restaurant.

The moment they stepped outside, Li Qingling’s calm mask slipped, and a hint of joy appeared on her face. It was the first time she had ever held so much money—how could she not be excited?

She tugged at Liu Zhimou’s sleeve with a smile. “Brother Zhimou, let’s go deposit this money first, okay?”

With such a large sum on her, she felt nervous. If a thief stole it, she’d have nowhere to cry about it. Better to store it safely.

“Alright.” Liu Zhimou nodded. Seeing how crowded the street was, he reached out and took her hand, leading her toward the money exchange shop.

After depositing the three hundred taels, Li Qingling finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

“All done! Now we can go buy New Year’s goods,” she said cheerfully. “This time, we’ll buy a lot more.”

It was the New Year—she didn’t want to let the children at home feel wronged. She planned to buy them new clothes and plenty of treats to welcome the village kids who might visit during the festivities.

Seeing how happy she was, Liu Zhimou didn’t object. Their household was doing better now, and he too wanted everyone to enjoy a joyful New Year.

He followed behind her, carrying whatever she bought—completely resigned to his role as the pack mule.

It was Li Qingling’s first time shopping so freely. If Liu Zhimou hadn’t stopped her, she might never have stopped at all.

“Sorry, I think I got a little carried away,” she said sheepishly, scratching her head. Women and shopping—what a dangerous combination! “Did we get everything? Are we missing anything?”

“That’s everything.”

He was slightly shocked. So this was her true shopping potential—it was terrifying!

“Alright, wait here. I’ll get an ox cart so we can haul everything home.”

Before Liu Zhimou could respond, Li Qingling darted off like the wind.

There was no way the two of them could carry all this back without a cart.

Liu Zhimou just shook his head with a helpless smile and waited where he was.

About fifteen minutes later, Li Qingling returned with an ox cart. They loaded everything up and started heading home.

Many villagers had also come to town for New Year shopping that day. When they saw Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou riding an ox cart piled high with goods, their eyes widened with envy and jealousy.

Not long ago, they had pitied the two siblings for losing their parents and assumed they’d live miserable lives. Who would’ve thought—they were now doing better than anyone else?

“Hey, Chunhua, why don’t you call your granddaughter over to give you a lift?” someone teased when they saw Madam Liu walking briskly with her head down.

Madam Liu looked up at the woman and snorted coldly. “It’s too crowded. I’m afraid I’d fall off.”

Of course, she would never admit that she didn’t dare call out to Li Qingling, afraid the girl wouldn’t let her ride. That would’ve been humiliating.

Better to stay silent and keep her pride.

The woman smirked knowingly. Everyone in the village knew Madam Liu and Li Qingling didn’t get along. Still, she didn’t expose her and asked with a smile, “Xiaoling bought a whole cartload of New Year goods—there should be something for you too, right?”

If Madam Liu hadn’t been so petty, she could have been enjoying Li Qingling’s blessings by now.

But some people bring their suffering upon themselves—they don’t deserve pity.

“Of course there will be! I’m her real grandmother. What kind of person wouldn’t prepare something for her elders during New Year?” Madam Liu raised her chin arrogantly.

Even if her relationship with Li Qingling wasn’t good, she still had to act like it was—otherwise, people would gossip.

The onlookers started praising her, “Chunhua, you’re really blessed to have such a good granddaughter.”

Madam Liu snorted proudly and didn’t reply, though she looked quite smug.

The villagers all secretly laughed at her, but no one said anything out loud.

Meanwhile, Li Qingling knew nothing of this. She and Liu Zhimou arrived home and called Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan out to help move the goods.

When the two boys saw all the New Year’s goods, their faces lit up in delight, grinning ear to ear as they carried things inside.

After everything was brought in, Li Qingling lined the children up and handed out their new clothes—two sets each.

“Try them on, see if they fit.”

“Both of these are for me?” Li Qingfeng’s eyes widened in disbelief. His eyes reddened slightly.

When his parents were still alive, he hadn’t even gotten new clothes for New Year—he’d only watch enviously as Li Qingfu wore his. Now, suddenly receiving two new outfits felt unreal.

Seeing the emotion in his eyes, Li Qingling’s heart softened. She smiled gently. “Yes, both are yours. Try them on. If they don’t fit, we’ll alter them.”

Just two sets of clothes could make her brother so happy—it filled her heart with both warmth and sorrow.

Li Qingfeng nodded vigorously and ran into the room clutching the clothes. Liu Zhiyan followed behind, grinning.

Little Liu Zhirou clutched her own clothes with her short arms and toddled toward the room too, but Li Qingling scooped her up, kissed her cheek, and said, “Let big sister help you change.”

Zhirou didn’t mind—new clothes were new clothes!

Soon, the three children came out dressed in their new outfits. They looked at one another, giggled, and spun around happily.

For children, New Year’s was the most exciting time—new clothes, meat to eat, and red envelopes to collect!

Li Qingfeng touched his new sleeve carefully and asked, “Sis, Brother Zhimou, how come you two don’t have new clothes?”

“We do! We’ll wear them on New Year’s Day,” Li Qingling smiled. “Now try on your other sets for Brother Zhimou to see. I’ll go cook for everyone.”

She exchanged a look and a smile with Liu Zhimou before heading into the kitchen.

On New Year’s Eve, Li Qingling carried two jin of pork and a few packets of pastries to the old Li household. The gate was open, so she walked right in and found Old Man Li sitting in the courtyard smoking his pipe.

“Grandpa,” she greeted with a smile, handing over the goods. “These are for you and Grandma for New Year.”

Old Man Li’s expression flickered with complex emotions. He nodded slightly and accepted the gifts.

“My family’s waiting for me to cook, so I’ll head back,” she said quickly, turning to leave before he could reply.

Old Man Li watched her back and opened his mouth as if to speak—but said nothing.

Just then, Madam Liu came out of the kitchen. “I thought I heard Li Qingling’s voice. Was she here?”

“Mm. She brought us New Year’s goods.”

At the mention of gifts, Madam Liu hurried over and grabbed the bundle. “What did she bring?”

She peeked inside and saw a pig’s head and several packets of pastries. Immediately, her face twisted with dissatisfaction. “She bought a whole cart of New Year goods and brought us just this? So stingy! Clearly, she wasn’t sincere.”

Old Man Li gave her a frosty look. “If you’re not satisfied, take it back to her!”

He wasn’t a fool—those pastries were expensive. This woman was just greedy.

Given their strained relationship with Li Qingling, it was already generous of her to bring anything at all. The fact that she did showed she still cared about him as her grandfather.

He was genuinely pleased with how thoughtful she had become.

Madam Liu was left speechless. Huffing, she took the goods back to her room—no way was she giving them back once they were in her hands.

Li Qingling didn’t care what happened over there. She was busy cooking at home. After discussing it with Liu Zhimou, they decided that since there were no adults in the family, the few of them would share the New Year’s Eve dinner together.

After eating, everyone would return to their own rooms to keep watch through the night.

That night, Li Qingling cooked the feast herself, and the children were overjoyed, giggling as they ate.

After dinner, she took her siblings home.

At midnight, it began to snow.

Li Qingling ran to the window in excitement. “Xiaofeng! Come look—it’s snowing!”

It hadn’t snowed in a long time, and the villagers had started to worry. Now, on New Year’s Eve, the heavens finally delivered—everyone would be relieved.

Li Qingfeng ran over to look. Sure enough, snow was falling thick and fast.

He wanted to rush outside, but Li Qingling stopped him, afraid he’d catch a cold.

So he just watched from the window, fascinated.

By the time it was midnight, Li Qingfeng grew sleepy, and Li Qingling sent him to bed.

He tried to stay up but couldn’t hold out and soon fell asleep.

Then only Li Qingling remained awake, keeping the vigil alone.

As the night deepened, drowsiness crept in. She was just about to stand and walk around to shake it off—

When suddenly, a strange noise came from the roof.

Her heart jolted in alarm.

Without thinking, she rushed toward the bedroom.