Cheng Ying stepped forward. "Grandma, how was it? Did it hurt at all?"

Chi Yong also approached. "No other problems, right?" This was directed at the dentist.

The old woman's face was conflicted. While she was happy that she could have all her teeth fixed, thinking about the cost made her anxious, and the procedure itself was uncomfortable. "How much will this cost? If we wait for some itinerant dentist to go from village to village, two ears of corn can get one tooth done."

Chi Yong's face darkened slightly.

Cheng Ying's mouth twitched a little.

But she certainly wouldn't take the blame alongside Chi Yong. "Grandma, really, but here you have to pay first before they fit the teeth. What if they don't give the money back?"

Chi Yong looked at his daughter, wondering why she was being so cunning, clearly trying to shift the responsibility.

The old woman turned and looked at Chi Yong. "How much is it? I already spent the money I gave you to take Yingzi to the doctor!"

Her tone was decidedly unhappy. That was over ten yuan! The old woman regretted it now. She should have gone to register alongside this boy.

The old woman had no idea how much registration cost. That’s why she gave Chi Yong over ten yuan when he went to register.

Chi Yong replied, "No, there's still some left, not much, and really, when you calculate it, it's much more cost-effective than two ears of corn for one tooth."

He wasn't entirely lying; the current hospital fees were quite reasonable, essentially without much profit motive.

The old woman sighed in relief. "It's fine then, let's go. I don't feel like coming to this place again."

The experience of getting dentures left the old woman with lingering fear.

She took the kettle from Cheng Ying’s hand, poured some water, and rinsed her mouth.

Truthfully, the old woman was quite unrefined; she spat the mouthwash onto the ground.

Cheng Ying’s heart sank at that moment; she couldn't begin to describe her feelings.

The old woman was treating this place like her own yard.

Cheng Ying looked down at the cement slab beneath her feet, momentarily forgetting her internal struggle over her stepfather—such a dignified figure—now haggling over money like a commoner over corn cobs.

She snatched the kettle directly from the old woman’s hand and tossed it into her stepfather’s arms as if it were a hand grenade.

Then, she grabbed the old woman and bolted away in a flash.

Cheng Ying didn't fear being caught and embarrassed, but she worried that if the old woman was pointed at and criticized, it would hurt her feelings later.

The old woman couldn't read the signs prohibiting spitting anywhere.

Chi Yong hadn't even recovered from the old woman's action when he was struck again by his daughter’s behavior.

This was too much to bear. He calmly surveyed his surroundings. Luckily, there weren't many people around.

Chi Yong walked away at an unhurried pace.

As Cheng Ying had suggested, Chi Yong wasn't free of guilt, but their family hadn't even secured enough food and warm clothes yet; he genuinely hated parting with money for a fine.

There are prerequisite conditions that allow people to do many things; otherwise, it’s called foolishness.

Since they weren't caught, it was best to leave. He could only be described as someone who knew how to adapt.

However, Chi Yong was troubled. This was his daughter’s first time in the capital, so how did she become so shrewd?

As Chi Yong walked out, an old person and a young one were waiting by the main gate.

It seemed his daughter hadn't explained to the old woman why they rushed out, because the old woman clearly didn't seem embarrassed.

Chi Yong thought his girl was filial, but her filial piety bordered on irrationality. "Ma, let's go find the team leader and the others in the county seat."

The newly fitted teeth made the old woman slightly uncomfortable, and she wasn't keen to speak. "Mm."

Chi Yong took the lead, guiding the two towards the county town, glancing sideways at his daughter.

But Cheng Ying completely ignored her stepfather, naturally following the old woman away, as if the actions just performed had nothing to do with her. Chi Yong could only think that kids nowadays were truly something else.

Yet, Chi Yong wasn't the type to bother arguing with a young girl over trifles.

As Cheng Ying passed the cinema, she deliberately pulled the old woman over to look at the large posters featuring beautiful young women, which the grandmother adored.

Seeing that the sun was still high, Chi Yong said nothing and merely accompanied the mother and daughter.

Cheng Ying noticed that few people were queuing for tickets. She asked the old woman to wait for her, saying she was going over there to look around.

Then she turned and headed for the ticket booth. The person selling tickets seemed much kinder than the staff at the post office.

Cheng Ying showed her small face at the ticket window. A woman inside, who looked to be in her forties, greeted her. "Little girl, buying a movie ticket?"

Cheng Ying replied, "Auntie, I’m not buying a ticket. I just think that poster is pretty. Could you give me one, Auntie?"

The ticket-selling auntie was quite amiable. "Little girl, those are for promotion; I can't just give them away casually."

Cheng Ying pressed, "Auntie, could you give me an old one, even an expired one? Our home is far away, and Grandma really wants to see this."

To refuse such a little girl who was so filial and kept calling her 'Auntie' was genuinely difficult. "Wait a moment, let me see if I have any left."

Cheng Ying waited at the ticket window, which only allowed one hand to reach through. "Thank you, Auntie."

A moment later, a roll of posters was extended from the window—it looked like more than just one sheet. "Little girl, take them. They aren't all new, but they are preserved quite well."

Cheng Ying took the roll. "Thank you, Auntie, thank you, Auntie."

She gave the woman a big, beaming smile before leaving. Looking at what she held, she was overjoyed.

The old woman asked, "Yingzi, what is that?"

Cheng Ying explained, "Auntie asked me to help throw away some things. I saw these were nice, asked if they really didn't want them, and we can take them home to paste up, Grandma."

The old woman brightened. "Just like this! That’s wonderful, that’s wonderful!"

Chi Yong watched his shrewd daughter. Those items could be sold for scrap metal; they weren't something to be thrown away casually.

Still, he took the roll of posters and helped the old woman and the girl carry them. The three walked forward.

Cheng Ying took the old woman to the department store, but it was a fruitless trip. The three left without spending a single penny.

The old woman found everything too expensive and couldn't bear to buy anything.

Cheng Ying’s standards were too high; in her eyes, these things weren't worth a second look, so she bought nothing.

Chi Yong, for his part, wouldn't dare show any money even if he had it.

Cheng Ying was certain that Chi Yong had over a hundred yuan, and that he must still have money hidden away. Her stepfather was not someone who wouldn't keep some reserve funds.

As expected, after leaving the department store, Chi Yong suddenly said, "Yingzi, you two wait here for a moment. Uncle needs to use the restroom."

The old woman didn't say anything; it wasn't an easy topic to comment on. People who eat five grains must eventually go through the cycle of five returns.

Cheng Ying asked, "Grandma, do you need to go to the restroom?"

The old woman replied, "When we were at the hospital, a young lady in a white coat took me."

Cheng Ying waited with her grandmother for her stepfather. She guessed he was either buying something for Chi Wu or his own mother. Considering he remembered to pay for Grandma’s teeth, Cheng Ying decided not to pick a fight with him over this.

Cheng Ying glanced at her grandmother’s padded jacket; it was stuffed with various ration coupons inside.

But here, Cheng Ying had nothing to buy; the coupons couldn't be spent.

Cheng Ying asked, "Grandma, is our home missing anything?"

The old woman said, "We don't lack anything. It's too expensive here. Back in the village, we can get anything without spending so much money."

Cheng Ying realized that despite the old woman carrying so much money and coupons, she didn't intend to buy anything.

The stepfather came out shortly after. Cheng Ying scanned him quickly; she couldn't see where he was hiding anything, suggesting the purchases weren't large items.

The three walked towards the county seat, and from far off, they could see the mule cart from their village.

The driver, Old Sun, was lying on the cart, asleep.

Cheng Ying commented, "There are quite a few mule carts in the county town."

Chi Yong finally heard a comment that sounded more like a young girl. "These are all from the townships or the villages."

This served to clear up Cheng Ying's confusion.

Cheng Ying glanced at Chi Yong. Did she really not know this?

The old woman agreed, "Indeed, there are many. When I go to the township market, I only see this many mule carts."

Cheng Ying tilted her head up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky. This indicated that perhaps one or two mule carts per village was the norm—it was poverty.

Compared to later times, when adults always held their children's hands tightly on the streets, fearing a cart would suddenly speed out and cause a regrettable incident, the gap was too vast.

Old Man Sun called out to the three when he saw them. "Yongzi, you're back. Is Yingzi alright?"

Chi Yong tucked the roll of posters into the straw padding. "She's fine. Everything was checked; the child is healthy. Thanks for worrying about us."

Old Man Sun said sincerely, "That’s good, that’s very good. Illness is the worst thing. As long as the child is well, the good days ahead will surely come."

Chi Yong nodded in agreement. The old woman was the happiest; despite things seeming fine these last few days, her granddaughter’s health had been a constant worry. Now that the check-up was done, she was relieved, and her mood was entirely different from when they arrived.

The old woman asked, "Brother Sun, hasn't the team leader come out yet? Isn't he attending a meeting organized by the higher-ups?"

Cheng Ying thought silently: it would be a stretch for a village head or township head to have a meeting with her; what could the county magistrate possibly say to her? The old woman didn't understand this well.

Old Man Sun looked around. "Old sister-in-law, the team leader went to gather information. The broadcast already said they are going to divide land to individual households. It seems to be true. Everyone here is talking about this matter. From now on, each of us will have a piece of land. Just thinking about it gives us hope."

Cheng Ying wasn't unfamiliar with this; after all, they knew the policy, they just didn't know when it would reach their village.

The old woman exclaimed, "Having our own land in the future? Wouldn't that make us like landlords? Our Old Cheng family was labeled 'eight-times poor peasants'! Can we even qualify?"

Stepfather Chi Yong stared blankly at the old woman. She had suddenly remembered his status, which she used to look down upon.

Cheng Ying glanced at her stepfather, guessing his heart must be a mess of conflicting emotions. The old woman had used that very status to scold him before. She could truly understand Chi Yong’s feelings at this moment. Hahaha. She chuckled inwardly.

Sun Head reassured her, "How could that be the same? This is policy, Old sister-in-law. Just wait to enjoy the good life."

Cheng Ying advised, "Grandma, we just follow the team leader; we definitely won't go wrong."

The old woman slapped her thigh. "Our Yingzi has foresight! Following the policy, we won't make any mistakes."

Cheng Ying felt that her old grandmother had a higher level of political awareness. What she said—following the policy—was on an entirely different level than Cheng Ying’s suggestion of just following the team leader.

Chi Yong looked at the old woman and the young girl and felt that their family life would be lively from now on; none of them were easy to handle, except for his wife.

The old woman pointed. "Brother Sun, that little shop outside looks very crowded. What are they doing in there?"

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