Chapter 40: Even the Old Lady Steals

Chapter 40: Even Stealing from an Old Lady

Li Yucai's friends had already taken all the duck products, and Li Yucai, walking at the very end, said, "My grandfather heard you were setting up a stall and wanted to come see you." His tone was still tinged with apology.

Back then, Lu Xiang had saved his grandfather's life, but they had mistaken her for someone else. The grandfather and grandson had almost betrayed Lu Xiang. Every time his grandfather recalled the incident, he was filled with deep regret.

"No need," Lu Xiang replied. Then she added, "Has Lu Zhaodi looked for you? She seems quite taken with you. She even warned me to stay away."

Lu Xiang was married, a fact both Li Yucai and Old Mr. Li were aware of. They were respectable people and wouldn’t act inappropriately. Lu Zhaodi was simply being overly anxious.

Lu Zhaodi exuded a strong sense of superiority from her rebirth. Lately, with no one playing along, Lu Xiang felt she was becoming increasingly unhinged.

Li Yucai felt nothing but disgust whenever Lu Zhaodi was mentioned. He had never met a girl he disliked so much. That day, when his friends were at his home, she made a huge scene. After she left, his friends even teased him with suggestive implications, asking how he had offended the young lady.

Li Yucai was considered a high-quality marriage prospect, but he had never encountered anyone as annoying as Lu Zhaodi. The way she looked at him always seemed as if she were staring at a heartless scoundrel, which gave Li Yucai the creeps.

Only after Li Yucai mentioned it did Lu Xiang realize that the night Lu Zhaodi ran away, she had stayed at Li Yucai's house.

Lu Xiang then told Li Yucai about Lu Zhaodi running off and how the villagers had searched for her all night. Li Yucai’s face turned pale at the thought—if the villagers found out Lu Zhaodi had stayed at his house overnight, they might force him to marry her. The very idea made his skin crawl.

"I really can't stand her," Li Yucai said, making no effort to hide his feelings.

"I can tell," Lu Xiang replied.

"I don't know what bad luck I had to run into her," Li Yucai complained to Lu Xiang for a long time. Deep down, he admired Lu Xiang’s resilience. She had been forced into a substitute marriage and schemed against by her own family, yet she managed to recover so quickly—he found her very brave.

"Thank you," he said, "I'll head back now." Although he hadn’t spent much time with Lu Xiang, he felt inclined to treat her as a friend.

"Bye," Lu Xiang said.

Li Yucai was both surprised and honored. Every time he came to apologize to Lu Xiang, her demeanor had always been somewhat distant. This time, she had actually taken the initiative to bid him farewell.

After he left, two new customers, drawn by the aroma, came over. Seeing that Lu Xiang’s duck heads were selling for twenty cents each—a very reasonable price—they bought three in one go. Compared to duck feet, duck heads were more substantial and meaty.

Seeing them buy, the people nearby started salivating and asked, "How do you eat these?" They weren’t sure how to tackle the whole thing.

The older man who had bought three duck heads said, "I'll eat one, and you can see how it's done." He then stood there and cracked open one of the duck heads along the mouth.

Everyone’s eyes lit up when they saw it—the inside was full of meat, and the aroma grew even stronger.

The older man who bought the duck heads asked, "Why are there no duck tongues?" Lu Xiang replied, "Yeah, none of them have it." She had removed all the duck tongues beforehand and marinated them separately, planning to eat them herself later. Of all the duck products, duck tongues were her favorite.

Once she started eating them, she couldn’t stop herself. Besides, the tongues from over twenty duck heads wouldn’t even fill a single plate.

The older man ate with relish, making everyone around him crave it too. One by one, they decided to buy more and try it themselves.

And just like that, all the duck heads were sold out. The last two regular customers loved to bargain. Seeing there weren't many duck feet left, they asked if they could get a discount if they bought all the remaining ones.

Lu Xiang agreed. In no time, all the duck products were sold out. Lu Xiang happily packed up her stall and went to find Fu Qinhui. Fu Qinhui and his colleagues brought their own meals, so the two of them went to a noodle stall and ordered two bowls of noodles.

Lu Xiang was starving. Although the noodles weren’t as delicious as the ones she made, they were still quite chewy.

After finishing their meal, Lu Xiang went to wait for Fu Qinhui to get off work. The female salesclerk who had argued with her that day probably couldn’t stand seeing Lu Xiang and Fu Qinhui together all the time and had resigned.

Lu Xiang felt quite pleased. The other sales staff had a good relationship with her.

Lu Xiang went with Fu Qinhui to his office. Today, she started counting the money. After deducting costs, she had made a full forty yuan. After giving shares to her three sisters-in-law, she still had twenty-eight left.

In just these past few days, Lu Xiang had already saved over fifty yuan. At this rate, she could pay off the debt for the tricycle in less than a month.

Fu Qinhui glanced at Lu Xiang, then glanced again.

Sensing this, Lu Xiang immediately looked back at him.

"What are you grinning about?" Fu Qinhui asked.

"Nothing," Lu Xiang said. She was just happy to have earned money.

Seeing how happy she was, Fu Qinhui felt relieved too.

Today, the old man had delivered duck products twice. Lu Xiang was reliable and always counted the money on the spot. The old man’s worried face also showed a bit of relief. Not only was Lu Xiang making money, but the old man was also earning three yuan a day. The duck processing plant never expected these scraps to be in demand. The small earnings went straight into their pockets.

Since Lu Xiang started selling duck products, several families had benefited from her business.

After returning today, she gave four yuan each to her three sisters-in-law and Xiao Cailian. They were overjoyed. Now, they practically wanted to enshrine Lu Xiang.

They took care of all the work, leaving her only to help with seasoning. Even the task of watching the fire was taken over by Third Sister-in-Law Fu.

Lu Xiang had only been married for a few days, but her words carried weight in the Fu family.

Lu Xiang was someone who loved to take it easy. Seeing that others were willing to help, she gladly agreed.

Xiao Cailian called Fu Qinhui aside. As a widow, there were many things she found hard to discuss directly with her married son, so she hinted subtly, "I got a cup of deer penis wine from your third uncle. Later, make sure to nourish yourself properly."

Fu Qinhui had never been a drinker: "Mom, I don’t like drinking."

Xiao Cailian raised her eyebrows and said, "This isn't about whether you like it or not. You need to hurry up, otherwise when will I get to hold my grandchild?"

Fu Qinhui immediately understood what his mother meant and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"Mom, didn't you say raising grandchildren is exhausting?" Fu Qinhui said. "Besides, my older brothers already have children. I'm in no rush."

"I love taking care of grandchildren; it's not tiring at all," Xiao Cailian said. "When I bring back the deer penis wine, you must drink it. It's good for your health."

Fu Qinhui’s face grew warm with embarrassment.

Xiao Cailian laughed at the sight: "My son, you're already married, yet you're still so bashful. Alright, alright, go keep your wife company." Newlyweds always tended to stick together.

Fu Qinhui had been about to return to his room, but after his mother’s comments, he wasn’t sure whether to go or stay.

Just then, he noticed the aunt next door running out to see what the commotion was about.

Xiao Cailian, who also loved to join in on the excitement, quickly called out to her neighbor: "What's going on?"

The neighbor vividly described: "Old Mrs. Lu’s underpants have been stolen. They were full of money, and she’s crying and wailing, saying she’s going to call the police."

Xiao Cailian’s face changed upon hearing this. In this bright world, in broad daylight, how could there be such perverts—even stealing from an old lady!