Has the Little Money-Grubber Saved Enough for a 'Wife Fund' Today? - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

That night, Long Xuan seemed preoccupied.

Shen Zaiqing had noticed that although her daughter hadn’t been exactly jubilant when she left the house, she was at least in a decent mood. Yet, she had returned with her head hanging, silent and brooding; Shen realized the situation was likely not optimistic.

It seemed the large dining table for the restaurant had been replaced a bit too early.

Shen Zaiqing tried to establish a connection with her daughter to see if there was any way she could help push things forward, but all she got in return were perfunctory “Mhms,” or even more irritating “Mhms?” inflected as a question.

Shen Zaiqing felt thoroughly frustrated.

Her other daughter was no better. A few days ago, she had come back complaining about the hardships in the mountains, begging for “Mama-style” big bone soup and brown sugar glutinous rice cakes. Today, Shen had simmered the soup all day until the fragrance filled the air, only for the girl to say she wasn’t coming home tonight.

In a fit of pique, Shen Zaiqing finished her own meal and packed up the leftovers, hiding them deep in the back of the cupboard so they wouldn’t be easily found.

Long Xi returned home with an empty stomach and immediately sniffed out an unusual atmosphere. Her mind whirred, and she shouted toward Shen Zaiqing: “Ma! I’ve been running errands for Sis all day, my stomach is stuck to my back! You have to reward me properly!”

Using her sister as a shield was a strategy Long Xi had perfected years ago—a brilliant tactic that worked every single time.

Having said her piece, she hurriedly transformed into her dragon cub form to stretch out her limbs, which had been cramped all day. She hopped and skipped to Long Xuan’s room to report the news she had scouted.

Long Xuan was wearing headphones and listening to music, so she didn’t notice her immediately.

The dragon cub bounced up to catch Long Xuan’s attention: “Sis, Sis, Sis! I’ve scouted some intel. Do you want to hear it?”

Catching a movement out of the corner of her eye, Long Xuan took off her headphones.

Long Xi, still catching her breath, continued: “I just passed the auto repair shop and ran into Sister Mumu. Her car is broken and won’t be fixed anytime soon.”

Long Xuan froze for a moment before finally saying, “Doesn’t she have to go to work tomorrow?”

Long Xi was so hungry her front was touching her back; her eyes went straight when she saw the watermelon on her sister’s desk. She sneakily grabbed a piece of watermelon from her sister’s plate, even forking away the largest slice.

In their house, only her sister received this kind of treatment: their Mommy would cut the watermelon into perfect triangles and even remove all the visible flat black seeds. Long Xi and her mother were usually left to gnaw on giant wedges.

Long Xuan saw the dragon cub’s actions but didn’t stop her; she was desperate for the rest of the story.

Long Xi’s mouth was stuffed with watermelon, her cheeks bulging. She chewed and swallowed in record time, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and then said: “I asked her if she needed help tomorrow. After all, she just returned to the country and might not be familiar with the roads, but she said she’d just call a car.”

“Sis, how can she ‘just’ call a car? Right?”

Long Xi used her eyebrows to give her sister a frantic series of meaningful looks while her mouth kept smacking, savoring the sweet aftertaste of the watermelon and wondering if she should have a few more pieces.

Such an obvious hint was something Long Xuan naturally understood. Her sister was telling her to seize this opportunity.

Like a single thread pulling the entire cloth, Long Xuan felt a sudden moment of clarity. The problem she had wrestled with all evening was finally solved. Her sister had enlightened her: Auntie Ren’s performances were always at night, and her schedule followed her work. She would sleep late during the day. Mu Yiyan had to go to work in the morning, so if Long Xuan went to pick her up early, she definitely wouldn’t run into Auntie Ren.

Long Xuan knew exactly what to do. Clutching her headphones, she said firmly, “I’ll go pick her up tomorrow.”

Long Xi went for the watermelon again, mulling over her concerns while chewing: “Sister Mumu has to be at the office by eight, which means she has to leave home by seven-thirty. If you’re going to pick her up, Sis, you’ll have to wake up at six-thirty. You…”

Long Xuan understood the unspoken meaning behind the ellipsis. Her sister was asking: Can you actually wake up?

This was, of course, very difficult. But tomorrow was a workday, so she already had a bit of a foundation. If she rested early tonight and extended her sleep time, the success rate for waking up on time tomorrow would increase.

Thus, Long Xuan told Long Xi with great confidence: “I’ll set more alarms. I can wake up.”

Long Xi was skeptical, but she had to act as though she had full confidence, giving her sister a “V for Victory” sign. She finished off her sister’s watermelon, silently pushed the plate back to its original spot, and added: “Then I’m going to eat. The dining table is completely empty; do you know where Ma hid the food?”

Long Xuan shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.

Long Xi patted her round belly, thinking that a bit of foraging would be a good way to work up an appetite before the big meal. “Then I’ll find it myself.”

Long Xuan called her back to ask about the new car, since that car would eventually serve as an “emergency asset.”

Long Xi said: “It’s fantastic! A thousand times better than my old van. I wanted to roll out my sleeping bag and sleep in the car tonight.”

In this era, everything moved fast. Once the money was paid, you could immediately inspect the car and choose a license plate. Once chosen, the printer would spit out the plate, it would be mounted, and after a few minor formalities, the new car could be driven away.

But she had been so excited that joy turned to sorrow. Being a “country bumpkin,” she had been too hyper, mismanaged the controls, and gotten into a small fender bender. It was currently back at the repair shop. It broke her heart.

Otherwise, why would she have been at the shop giving Sister Mumu advice? Of course, this part absolutely could not be known by her sister.

Long Xuan didn’t suspect a thing. She prioritized waking up early tomorrow as her top mission and had already pushed back her chair to get her pajamas. She had to wake up an hour earlier than usual tomorrow, so she had to go to sleep much earlier than usual tonight.

She felt she could start preparing right now.

Long Xi wished her sweet dreams and then scurried off to the kitchen. She sniffed here and there, even deploying her dragon whiskers to find food. But this time, Ms. Shen had hidden it too well; Long Xi checked several places and found nothing.

The dragon cub wailed in pain: “Ma! Where did you hide my soup? I’m so hungry my front is touching my back!”

Shen Zaiqing heard the clattering and knew things were going south; she couldn’t sit still anymore. She rushed in, picked up the bouncing dragon cub, chased her off to wash her hands, and then brought the items out one by one.

The food was still warm when it hit the table.

Shen Zaiqing sat down at the table, watching Long Xi eat like a wolf. “You’re at least considered a goddess at your school. Can’t you eat a bit more gracefully?”

Long Xi went straight for the savory, soft big bone with her hands. “I’m as graceful as can be outside. At home, just let me release my true nature.”

Shen Zaiqing pulled some tissues close for her and asked, “What about in the mountains? Do you eat like this there, too?”

Long Xi knew her mother was worried about her well-being in the wild. She said, “I live very sophisticatedly in the mountains. Look through those pictures I sent you. I spend over an hour every day cooking, and another hour eating.” She jiggled the fat on her face: “Look at the pudge on my face and body. I haven’t lost a single pound.”

Shen Zaiqing looked down at the dishes on the table, then pushed them all toward Long Xi. “Your sister has been distracted all night and didn’t eat much. These are all yours. Eat your fill.”

Long Xi thought to herself that her sister wasn’t “distracted”—her heart was entirely focused on Sister Yiyan.

Long Xi picked up a piece of glutinous rice cake. The sweet flavor swirled on her tongue, making her eyes curve with satisfaction. “This is all payment for my hard work. I’m going to eat it all back.”

Shen Zaiqing’s gaze softened. Watching the little dragon cub sitting on the high stool, eating while wagging her tail, she suddenly remembered that since Tietie’s return, she hadn’t checked if she was injured. These days, what young girl runs off to the wild mountains every day? You never know what you might encounter.

Shen Zaiqing looked closely and saw the wounds on Long Xi’s eyebrows. She couldn’t help but frown. “How did you get these injuries on your eyebrows?”

Long Xi freed up an oily hand and pointed: “Do you mean this side or this side?”

Shen Zaiqing grabbed her chin and pulled her face around to look. “There’s one on the other side too. Let me see.”

The flesh on the dragon cub’s face was squeezed into a bunch. Long Xi struggled to speak: “Ma, it’s fine. Small injuries. They’ll be better in a couple of days.”

Shen Zaiqing asked: “How did it happen?”

Long Xi waved her hand as if to say don’t even mention it: “I was fanned by a bald-tailed golden pheasant. I was kind enough to save it, but it repaid my kindness with enmity. I should have brought it back for you to stew.”

Shen Zaiqing blinked: “What did it look like? Do you have a picture?”

Long Xi shook her head: “The communicator was out of battery then, so I didn’t take one.”

Shen Zaiqing: “You already let the bird go, right?”

She knew her daughter well. Although the girl talked about stewing the bird, her heart was softer than anyone’s; she wouldn’t have the heart to hurt it.

Long Xi looked at the corn in her hand, wondering which angle to bite it from. She hummed in response: “Of course.”

“But maybe I’ll run into it again next time.”

For a dragon cub with strong self-healing abilities, these injuries truly were nothing. But Shen Zaiqing saw how deep the wounds were and still found them startling. She didn’t dare let Long Xi go take photos anymore. She changed her tune and said: “Sounds like it has a big temper. Next time you see it, just walk the other way.”

Long Xi nodded vigorously, agreeing with her mother’s supreme decision.

Long Xuan passed by after her shower and said to Shen Zaiqing: “Ma, I’m going to sleep early tonight. I’ll help you look at that stock of yours tomorrow.”

Shen Zaiqing checked her watch. It wasn’t even seven o’clock. It was too early. She desperately wanted to express her surprise and confusion at her daughter’s decision, but in the end, the countless “bullet comments” scrolling through her mind remained unasked. She only said one thing: “Okay. Ma will keep the TV volume low.”

After saying goodnight to her mother and sister at seven o’clock, Long Xuan returned to her room, spread out her quilt, and lay down.

The alarms were set. Before sleeping, she took a deep breath and wore a smile full of confidence.

She believed she could wake up on time tomorrow.

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