Chapter 9 “Check which family in the village has a black dog.”

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Su Heng thought his little sister was just teasing him; as long as she was happy, that was enough. While pondering how to cheer her up, he readily agreed, “Alright.”

Su Wanwan recalled the story involving her second brother and Liu Caixia, then told him:

“I dreamed that Liu Caixia tried to seduce you. She deliberately pretended to trip in front of you, twisted her ankle, and couldn’t walk, so she asked you to carry her home. That’s how she ensnared you. After that, you did many foolish things and ended up dying miserably.”

“What I’m saying is, when she sets a trap for you, you must not help her. Hide where she can’t see you. She didn’t actually sprain her ankle. You absolutely cannot get entangled with this woman—she’s scheming and even brings you pastries to eat.”

“If I’m right, then you have to take the college entrance exam with me next year, and we’ll go to university together.”

Su Heng was stunned, as if these things were true. How could a dream be taken seriously? He didn’t believe it at all! Someone who hadn’t even finished elementary school taking the university entrance exam was pure fantasy.

To make his sister happy, he agreed at once: “Alright.” Smiling, he ruffled her hair; the little curly hair felt quite nice to the touch.

Su Wanwan recalled the original owner’s memories. Both brothers had always been especially kind to her, always making sure she got the best food first, and if anyone bullied her, they would fight back on her behalf.

Where else could she find such good brothers? Now she had two of them.

Since she had crossed over, she must rewrite the family’s fate. She certainly didn’t want her profile to say “illiterate.” Her second brother was a bit better than the original owner, with a middle school diploma.

“Second brother, show me your middle school textbooks,” Su Wanwan said. This was also a way to gradually reveal her abilities and subtly influence things, so that next year’s college entrance exam wouldn’t seem abrupt.

“You can get them from my room. Come on, let’s eat first.” He stood up and took her by the wrist, leading her to the kitchen.

After lunch, the Su family went to work, and Su Wanwan went to her brother’s room to find the textbooks. She had to have at least some books to make a show of studying.

Before work ended in the afternoon, Su’s father sat with the accountant as usual.

After finishing work, Ma Zhiming reported his work points: “Seven work points.”

Su’s father glanced at his disheveled appearance and smiled faintly but subtly: “Even injured, Ma Zhiqing can do three more work points than usual. Looks like you were really slacking off before. It’s good you can improve. We won’t pursue the past now, but if you keep slacking off, I’ll have to treat it accordingly.”

Hearing this, Ma Zhiming turned pale as paper. If it weren’t for Wang Biao, that troublemaker supervising him, whenever he rested, Wang Biao would immediately accuse him of shirking work. He felt bitter inside.

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After being sunburned the whole day, his face was still red and painful. His most proud feature was his handsome face; if he kept getting sunburned like this, it would become unsightly.

Standing behind him, Lin Yu looked at Ma Zhiming’s miserable state. His legs trembled as he walked, and he curled his lips in disdain, finding him utterly annoying and sissy-like.

He then looked at Deep Bro beside him, who was scanning the surroundings, seemingly unsure of what he was looking for.

Back at the youth re-education camp, Lin Yu prepared hot dishes. They didn’t have to cook today; he had bought braised pork, braised fish, and meat buns to heat up from the state-run restaurant.

Meanwhile, Xie Beishen had been searching for two days without finding anyone. It was as if the woman in the pond was a hallucination. He picked up a pencil and white paper, sat at the table, and began to draw carefully.

Soon, the paper sketched the woman’s portrait.

It was the very woman Xie Beishen had seen in the water the first time, their eyes meeting underwater. Even the gaze was so vivid it seemed the entire drawing was imbued with moisture.

It was extraordinarily captivating.

He didn’t know why, but he just ended up drawing her.

Lin Yu came in carrying the dishes and saw Deep Bro looking at the paper. Curious, he asked, “What are you looking at?”

Xie Beishen calmly put the drawing into his pocket. “Eat first.”

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Su’s father and mother, knowing their daughter needed to study middle school textbooks, fully supported her and didn’t let her go to the fields to work, so she could rest and recover.

Su’s father had his own plans: if his daughter could get a middle school diploma, he could arrange a job for her as a scorekeeper or manage the warehouse, something light so the villagers wouldn’t gossip.

He also specifically visited Principal Su in the county town’s middle school, a distant relative, offering two bottles of wine to help get an extra spot for the exam. Those who passed would receive a diploma; those who failed would not.

For Principal Su, this was a small matter. Su’s father also invited him to dine at the state-run restaurant, and the matter was settled.

Su Wanwan knew nothing about her father’s visit to Principal Su.

When Su’s father returned home, he told his daughter about it.

Su Wanwan hadn’t expected her father to be so agreeable and even arrange the exam.

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This was exactly what she needed—a perfect excuse not to go out to the fields. She worried that working in the fields might expose her; if anyone found out, it would be hard to explain. So, avoiding work day by day was best.

During these two weeks, she finally understood how hard it was to live in an era of material scarcity. Having a meal with meat was a real treat.

Moreover, Su’s mother was stingy with oil when cooking, which made her crave meat dishes even more.

She had been the little princess of the family before, getting whatever she wanted, never experiencing such hardship.

One day after lunch, Su Wanwan returned to her room and took out the money the original owner had saved: a total of 51.30 yuan and ration coupons. Most of it had been given by her eldest brother, but 80 yuan had been swindled by Ma Zhiming. This money had been saved bit by bit over more than ten years.

She had to make that scoundrel return the money.

She took out ten yuan, planning to have her second brother buy some meat when he took her to the county for the exam tomorrow. Tomorrow was also the original owner’s father’s birthday. Using the money for the family was just right. The rest would be used to buy clothes for her parents.

Holding the ten yuan, she went to her brother’s room. “Brother, here’s ten yuan. Tomorrow is Dad’s birthday. After you take me to school, buy some meat and bring it back.”

Su Heng had actually forgotten that tomorrow was their father’s birthday. He couldn’t let his sister pay. “Keep the money yourself. I still have some.”

Meat alone wasn’t enough for Dad’s birthday. He looked at his sister. “Luckily, the whole team rests for half a day in the afternoon. After a nap, I’ll take you to the pond to catch fish. For Dad’s birthday, there must be fish and meat.”

Su Wanwan smiled brightly, “Great, great!”

She was craving meat so badly she was nearly crazy; fish was also meat.

Braised fish, sauerkraut fish, boiled fish, sweet and sour fish—all her favorites. Just thinking about it made her mouth water.

With Su’s mother’s cooking skills, the fish definitely wouldn’t taste good, so she would cook the fish herself in the evening.

Meanwhile, after lunch, Xie Beishen changed clothes and looked at Lin Yu. “Check which household in the village has a black dog.”

“A black dog?” Lin Yu looked puzzled. “Deep Bro, may I ask why?”