Chapter 643

"Alright, bro, if anything comes up I'll call you right away—it's been almost five minutes, let's hang up!"

Little sister Li Ying hung up her call with Li Ye right on schedule and let out a long sigh.

After arriving in Hong Kong, Li Ying realized how insanely expensive everything was—just a simple meal cost over ten bucks; how much would a long-distance call cost? Back on the mainland, a bowl of noodles was just a few Old Jiao, and long-distance calls were several yuan!

Even though they were staying at Jin Peng's place, they couldn't possibly make him pay for their phone bills, could they?

To be honest, Li Ying wasn't a stingy kid—but she'd come to Hong Kong with over eight thousand yuan, thinking she was rich! But after calculating medical fees, treatment costs, and other expenses, that eight thousand seemed barely enough.

"What were you just babbling about with our brother?"

"Huh?"

Li Ying was carefully tallying up her expenses when she suddenly heard her older sister Li Juan scolding her sharply.

Li Juan snapped: "What were you saying to our brother just now about 'hollowing out'? Is that something you should even say? Aren't you ashamed?"

"Ashamed?"

Li Ying blinked her eyes rapidly, then laughed: "Ashamed? Who's ashamed? Xia Xia Yue and Cui Aiguo are ashamed. Tong Li Mingyue is ashamed!"

"You still won't admit it! You still won't admit it, Mom, look at Xiao Ying!"

Li Juan dragged Han Han Chunmei over and started berating her: "Xiao Juan is only fifteen, and she's talking to our brother about 'hollowing out'? Are those filthy things old women say things he should hear? What will our brother think? What will our sister-in-law think?"

Li Juan was furious, her hands reaching several times to grab her sister's collar, but she bit her lip and tried reasoning instead.

Since starting university, Li Juan had stopped using physical force on her sister, preferring to appeal to reason and virtue—back then, she'd have already hit her.

But Li Ying sneered: "How ridiculous—you completely miss the point. When our brother hears these words, he won't find them filthy—he'll find them satisfying."

"."

Li Juan froze, as if she'd finally grasped the "real point."

And Li Ying launched into her "explanation" mode: "You're a college student—you've definitely memorized the lines 'When the imperial army recovers the Central Plains, don't forget to tell your father during the family sacrifice,' right?"

When a great grievance is avenged, even the dead in their coffins want to hear it, to feel some relief.

Now that our brother's enemies are suffering, shouldn't we tell him right away? Don't you remember how he was falsely labeled Huang Huang Shiren back in school?"

"Of course I remember—we even planned to ambush Xia Xia Yue! If our brother hadn't moved to the Second Grain Store and Grandpa hadn't forbidden us from harassing Xia Xia Yue—because it would've ruined our brother's college entrance exam—I'd have smashed her head with two bags!"

"Don't rush—the road is long," little sister Li Ying said coldly. "Before, we had to call her 'Auntie,' so we couldn't touch her. Now she's just Tong Li Mingyue—what's two big bumps on her head?"

"Right, we'll plan this carefully. She's said plenty of bad things about Mom over the years—called her a bad omen for the family. I'll make her understand what 'bad omen' really means."

"."

Han Han Chunmei stood by, stunned.

All these years, she'd lived in constant caution—she never imagined her two daughters had been this bold, and now it seemed they'd become even bolder.

"What are you two planning? Can't you leave the house alone? If you dare cause trouble, I'll beat your asses raw!"

Han Han Chunmei raised her palm, putting on a fierce expression to intimidate her two daughters.

It wasn't that Han Han Chunmei was cowardly—back in the 1980s, a divorced woman with two kids had to bow three steps lower than others, swallowing every insult, how could she dare argue back or seek revenge?

"Oh oh oh, don't worry, Mom—we won't cause trouble, we're just venting with our mouths—we'd never swing a stick at someone's head!"

Li Ying reacted instantly, grinning and soothing her mother—Han Han Chunmei was easy to pacify.

But this time Han Han Chunmei said sternly: "Your sister wouldn't do it, but you? Your nerve keeps growing. I knew you hid money, but I never thought you'd hoard so much."

Sister Li Juan immediately turned on her sister: "Yeah, eight thousand yuan—you actually dared to hide that much? Do you even have any respect for Mom?"

This trip to Hong Kong almost didn't happen—Li Kaibian had given Han Han Chunmei two thousand yuan, plus her own savings, and he thought that was enough for a short visit.

But Li Kaibian didn't know Han Han Chunmei needed a hospital! Hong Kong's medical fees were outrageous—inland, giving birth cost a few dozen yuan; here, an X-ray cost ten times that. How could the poor afford hospitals?

Han Han Chunmei couldn't bring herself to say it outright—what if she got pregnant again? Wouldn't she still have to abort? All that false hope.

So little daughter Li Ying had no choice but to reveal her eight thousand yuan—otherwise Han Han Chunmei wouldn't have dared come.

Han Han Chunmei was stunned—in just one year, Li Ying, only using weekends and holidays, had secretly saved over eight thousand!

Although Han Han Chunmei didn't demand Li Ying hand over the money, she no longer believed Li Ying was timid.

If she was timid, no one in the world was brave.

"If I didn't hide money, what would you spend?"

Li Ying, scolded by her mother and sister, jumped three feet in the air like a peasant at a "remembering bitterness and tasting sweetness" meeting: "Yes, I hid money—but didn't I hide it for you? If not for me, would you even be here in Hong Kong? You complain about this, complain about that—should I buy you tickets and send you back right now? Especially you, sister—"

Li Ying pointed at her sister Li Juan: "Are you expecting our brother to pay for your dowry? When Mom can't afford it, won't you be ashamed? How else could I manage?"

"You're thinking I earned money and shouldn't hide it, right? With your big mouths blabbing everywhere, everyone will find out how profitable selling clothes is—then what's left for me to earn?"

"You're trying to say that even if I make money, I don't need to hide it? With your big mouths blabbing everywhere, everyone finds out how profitable selling clothes is—then what's left for me to earn?"

Sister Li Juan and Mother Han Han Chunmei were stunned by Li Ying's full-force presence—this little girl spoke with perfect logic and unshakable conviction.

Funny—when you have money, you speak with authority.

Complain more? I'll buy you a ticket and send you back.

Li Juan felt deeply ashamed, lowering her head and sincerely saying: "Xiao Ying, don't worry about the dowry—half of Mom's expenses here, I'll cover. I'll find a way to earn money and pay you back."

This was the first time Li Juan, the elder sister, had ever bowed to her younger sister.

As the eldest, she'd let her little sister become the pillar of the family—how could that be? She must feel shame and then rise up.

But Li Ying impatiently said: "Just focus on your studies! If I'm counting on you to earn money, what's the point of me? Don't keep thinking about this and that—"

"Earning money is important, but not the most important—I might not even get into Beijing University! Mom still needs you to hold up the family name."

"Making money is important, but it's not the most important—I might not even pass the entrance exam for Beijing University! Mom still depends on you to hold up the family."

Li Juan was truly baffled—she couldn't understand how the youngest child in the family had become so responsible.

But Han Han Chunmei asked Li Ying in surprise: "Xiao Ying, you're also going to take the Beijing University exam?"

Han Han Chunmei knew Li Ying's grades had skyrocketed this year—but she'd always assumed Li Ying studied only to earn money, never realizing she wanted to get into Beijing University too.

Li Ying blinked her eyes rapidly again and grinned: "Not necessarily. From my analysis, Beijing University is getting harder every year—I'll take whatever school I can get."

Han Han Chunmei stood there, mouth agape for a long time, then excitedly said: "Xiao Ying, if you get into university—even a junior college—I'll set off ten thousand firecrackers at our door so everyone sees: a daughter is no worse than a son!"

"Exactly," Li Juan nodded. "Only after getting into Beijing University did I realize how lucky I was."

"Xiao Ying, don't stress—your ability to earn money means which university you go to doesn't matter."

Li Juan spoke the truth.

Now, whenever she thought of Li Ying's eight thousand yuan, she felt powerless.

Even after graduation and job assignment, her salary would be only a thousand yuan a year—no wonder everyone was talking about "going into business." Some teachers even worked night shifts selling goods in parks.

But Li Ying shook her head seriously: "You're wrong—if good universities didn't matter, why did our brother aim for Beijing University?"

"Why did Liu's wife come to Hong Kong to have her second child? To give her kid a better chance at a good university. Focus on your studies—later, you become an official, I'll earn money—we need each other."

"Why did Aunt Liu come to Hong Kong to have her second child? Isn't it so the kid can get into a better university here? Study hard—you'll become an official someday, and I'll earn the money. We can't do without each other."

Han Han Chunmei and Li Juan fell silent.

After a long pause, Li Juan solemnly apologized to her sister: "I'm sorry, Xiao Ying—I misunderstood you before. You see further than I do."

"Of course," Li Ying grinned proudly. "As for studying, I'm definitely not as good as our brother, maybe not even as good as you—but when it comes to vision and calculation, I'm only slightly worse than him. You both fall far behind me."

"Of course," Li Ying said proudly, smiling. "If it's about studying, I'm definitely not as good as our brother, maybe not even as good as you—but when it comes to vision and calculation, I'm only a tiny bit worse than our brother. None of you compare to me."

Li Ying was basking in her triumph when someone knocked on the door.

The three women opened the door to find Jin Peng's wife, Liu Liu Qiaorong.

Although Liu Liu Qiaorong had given birth to a son, after hearing An Xiaolian's account of Hong Kong, she'd decisively come over for her second child—without her giving Han Han Chunmei courage, no amount of coaxing from Li Ying would've worked.

After entering, Liu Liu Qiaorong pulled out a thick stack of golden Hong Kong dollars and smiled as she handed them to Han Han Chunmei.

"Auntie, these are from Li Ye—he asked me to bring them to you. Count them—exactly one hundred bills."

"Auntie, this is what Li Ye asked me to bring you. Count it—it's exactly one hundred bills."

Han Han Chunmei quickly waved her hands: "No, no—we brought our own money. How could we take more from Xiao Ye? Really, we can't."

"Auntie, you're being too formal."

Liu Liu Qiaorong laughed as she pressed the bills into Han Han Chunmei's hands: "Li Ye said—in Hong Kong, money solves everything."

"You don't have to spend it, but you absolutely can't be without it. We're strangers here—never let yourself be short on cash."

"This… this isn't right. Xiao Ye is married—his money is his family's. If I spend it, people will point fingers at my back."

Han Han Chunmei still hesitated—she was a stepmother; if Wen Wen Leyu found out Li Ye had given her money, and the young couple quarreled, her guilt would be great.

But Liu Liu Qiaorong had come on Li Ye's orders—she couldn't take the money back. In the end, she left it.

After Liu Liu Qiaorong left, Li Juan and Han Han Chunmei counted the stack—exactly one hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars.

The two women, who had been desperately tight on cash, instantly felt at ease.

But little sister Li Ying frowned, troubled.

She didn't speak to her sister or mother, but internally wrestled: "Did my brother find out why we came to Hong Kong? What does he think about it?"

"Sigh—I can't figure him out. When it comes to calculation, I'm nowhere near his level."

"Sigh, I can't figure him out! When it comes to calculation, I'm far, far behind him!"

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