In the old lady’s view, losing one hundred yuan was agonizing. The extent of her distress manifested in how she couldn't sleep after receiving the wages twice; she tossed and turned relentlessly. Cheng Ying didn't need to rack her brain to know what the old lady was fussing about—she was fretting over the money.

Cheng Ying lay on the kang, the old lady in the middle, and Chi Wu at the end. Of course, Chi Wu in the room slept soundly, occasionally smacking his lips and grinding his teeth. Cheng Ying said, "Grandma, that boy Chi Wu needs deworming medicine. Is he keeping you up all night?"

Hearing her granddaughter, the old lady got up, throwing a coat over herself, but didn't light a lamp. She just sat there, "Mmm, it’s not that. Getting old, I sleep less. Little girl, aren't you tired today? Why are you still awake? Did I disturb you?"

Cheng Ying pulled on her clothes and sat up, taking the old lady's arm and leaning on her shoulder. "Grandma, I'm too excited to sleep. You don't know what our mountain plot looks like now. Grandma, I’m telling you, our mountain is completely different. There’s a giant red pine up there, so thick that Chi Wu and I can barely hug it. Chi Wu saw wood like that when he went to the city; it’s worth a fortune there. It’s a pity we only have one or two sturdy ones. And Grandma, you don't know how much city people now crave pine nuts. Even though our mountain only has sparse pine trees, gathering nuts would keep me busy enough. Once Wu Zi gets them to the city, that’s all money. You don't know, but once our saplings grow up, in less than three to five years, they’ll be money. I heard city folks specifically buy pretty saplings to plant along roads or in squares for 'greening'."

Cheng Ying did her best to paint a bright future for their mountain plot to cheer up the old lady.

The old lady asked, "Yingzi, who told you all this?"

Cheng Ying thought, I foresee five thousand years and decades into the future. I know what will bring in money and what won't, and even who the future national leader will be. I just fear if I tell you, you won't believe it. Prophecy is lonely. And lonely as snow.

Cheng Ying sighed, feeling the weight of her unique awareness: "Wu Zi told me. He goes to the city more often."

She had to bestow this aura of knowledge upon Chi Wu. Cheng Ying felt helpless.

It ended up being pinned on Chi Wu. The old lady cautioned, "Yingzi, you must keep your wits about you. Don't believe everything people say; that makes you a simpleton."

Cheng Ying swallowed, realizing she'd gone from being Cheng the Simpleton to Cheng the Second Simpleton. "Grandma, the villagers coming back from the city know too. Ask them, they all say the times are good, but money from outside is getting 'fluffier.' An ice pop that used to be one cent is now two. Everyone says money won't be worth much in the future."

This sounded like experiential wisdom, and the old lady agreed, "Ay, who says otherwise?"

Cheng Ying pressed, "Grandma, what are we saving money for? Isn't it just losing value the longer we hold it? Why don't we buy a big color TV then?"

This felt like taking advantage of the situation, but in Cheng Ying’s mind, her old lady was over sixty, and medical conditions weren't great at this time. How many more years would she have to enjoy things? Shouldn't she bring the rare items to her now?

The village chief had a gramophone that made the old lady visit neighbors daily. If they had a big color TV, wouldn't the old lady watch it nonstop?

Cheng Ying’s thoughts were idyllic until the old lady lightly smacked her back. "You little girl, why are you becoming such a spendthrift? A big color TV! You're burning money. Settle down. Even if money keeps losing value, it should be kept in hand. What a shame we can't exchange it for gold to keep; that stuff is always solid currency, saving you from worrying about these two coins all the time. You’re burning up all over!"

Hearing this, Cheng Ying couldn't lift her head. Why did she feel so shallow in her grandmother's eyes?

Cheng Ying cast a resentful glance at the old lady in the dark room. Forget it, time to sleep.

But the old lady was the old lady; her casual thoughts often proved more insightful than others'. Exchanging for gold meant the money wouldn't depreciate, and the appreciation potential was huge.

Cheng Ying was lucky, but privately trading for gold was illegal in those days. As for buying it at a gold shop, forget the village or even the township—there were no gold shops in the city either. She'd probably have to travel to a much larger city to convert money to gold.

She wondered what backwater hole she was stuck in. It felt so stifling.

The old lady took Cheng Ying’s hand. "Yingzi, Grandma worries about you. If your father were here, he wouldn't bear to let a young girl roam around the mountains. Look at this hand."

There was silence after that. Because the old lady was stroking her granddaughter’s hand—smooth, soft, and utterly without calluses, not like the hand of someone who toiled. This, she thought, was Heaven's favor.

The old lady felt both happy and conflicted.

Cheng Ying understood halfway through what her grandmother was trying to say but why she stopped. "Grandma, I just like running around in the mountains; I haven't done much hard work, or my hands wouldn't look like this."

The old lady sighed. "Sleep now."

Whether the granddaughter worked or not, she knew. The amount the child ate after returning, and the fatigue covering her body, couldn't be faked.

As for the hands, the old lady didn't want to dwell on it; she couldn't figure it out.

The old lady continued, "In the future, if there’s work you want to tackle, find someone else. Don't torture yourself. Grandma sees it now: you're headstrong and won't listen to advice. It’s the money your father left you anyway; whether you spend it early or late is the same. If the dowry disappears, I’ll answer to your father myself."

Cheng Ying felt like crying listening to this. How tightly her grandmother held onto every penny, yet she was willing to use it for her to "tackle" things, purely out of love. Cheng Ying quickly said, "No need, Grandma. You keep that money. If there’s a chance, we'll buy gold, and you can count it as jewelry my father made for me. We won't put any more money into developing the mountain; we’ll just wait for it to produce income."

The old lady patted her granddaughter’s shoulder. "If our Yingzi knows what she’s doing, that’s fine. Remembering your father is good, but people alive must think more about the living. If you live well, that is the true comfort for your father."

Cheng Ying thought the old lady fundamentally believed she stayed in the mountains only because she missed her father.

Sometimes, misinterpretations and overthinking were truly exasperating. "Grandma, I’ll take you to see the mountain area another day."

The old lady exclaimed, "Oh, you troublesome child! With my bound feet, wouldn't going there be suffering?"

Cheng Ying countered, "It’s different now. Just hold onto my waist, and I can get you halfway up the mountain."

The old lady grumbled, "You keep causing trouble. Thinking about it bothers me. I’m done with you, go to sleep!"

The old lady remembered what Cheng Ying’s second grand-uncle had said; Cheng Ying had made the mountain plot look beautiful, which, to the old lady, meant she was throwing money around. That thought pained her. "Go to sleep!"

If Cheng Ying hadn't worked so hard to keep the old lady from sleeping too early—laboring so hard for whom?—she would have cuddled her tighter. "My dearest Grandma, don't feel bad about the money. In the future, your granddaughter will carry stacks of it home for you."

The old lady actually believed this; her granddaughter was clever. She was already starting to bring money home in stacks, though perhaps not through the most conventional means.

The old lady thought the granddaughter needed proper guidance. "If you dare to mess around, I'll teach you a lesson! And don't you dare touch my 'Tiger Head' again!"

Cheng Ying was mortified. Chi Wu, who had just been snoring, let out a chuckle nearby.

Cheng Ying snapped in mock anger, "It’s the middle of the night! Sleep!" and dove into the covers.

Poverty in this era was real. Having a few people in a family who shared the same surname Li was already fortunate; there was no such thing as a separate summer quilt. Cheng Ying sweated profusely under the thick quilt.

The old lady pulled Cheng Ying out from under the covers. "Oh, you useless girl, why are you smothering yourself? You’ll get heat rash! You can’t even lie still while sleeping!"

Chi Wu’s laugh was hoarse, escaping his mouth. It was clear the boy had just woken up.

The old lady lightly but firmly patted Chi Wu’s shoulder with a thin thread of anger. "Sleep!"

Chi Wu felt incredibly comforted that the old lady would pat him just like she patted Yingzi. "Grandma, I'll bring home stacks of money for you too."

Of course, this was currently a significant challenge for Chi Wu.

The old lady didn't reply, but she felt troubled. The few valuable things they owned were already being eyed by these two youngsters. The old lady stated very seriously, "Whoever touches my Tiger Head skin, I'll fight them."

Cheng Ying couldn't hold it in; both she and Chi Wu sat up laughing. It turned out the old lady was so protective of her savings.

Chi Wu promised, "Grandma, we won't, never again."

Cheng Ying chimed in, "Grandma, when we learn skills in the future, we’ll be very capable!"

The old lady felt she was losing face. "Enough. Money is a small thing, no matter how much. The key is to walk the right path, understand? The righteous path."

Cheng Ying and Chi Wu both nodded in unison. That was essential; otherwise, spending money wasn't reassuring.

We’ve been given a second chance; we never intended to embrace black and white indiscriminately. We are ordinary folks, living ordinary lives. Even if we achieve luxury, it will be low-key.

Cheng Ying understood "quietly eating meat" very well.

In the west room, Chi Yong and Yang Zhi were puzzled by the commotion and laughter coming from the east room late at night.

Chi Yong listened to the sound of his son laughing, pursed his lips, pulled his wife into his embrace, and fell asleep. In Chi Yong’s heart, regardless of how mismatched the engagement seemed or what others said, as long as Chi Wu could live a normal life, have schooling, and be loved, it was all worth it. The hardship of the Chi family over so many years was for this one child.

Under the old lady’s suppression, Chi Wu and Cheng Ying finally managed to sleep.

The next day, Cheng Ying didn't get up early. After two months of hard work, she could finally enjoy a lie-in. Cheng Ying thought that since Chi Wu was home, he should take their old lady up to see the mountain. She thought about how wicked the old society was—her grandmother’s bound feet. Cheng Ying had secretly looked; they really weren't suitable for walking. She mused about how much suffering women endured back then.

Whenever it was overcast or rainy, Cheng Ying worried the old lady might suffer from rheumatism or old leg injuries. She always prepared a large basin of hot water, steeped with several kinds of anti-inflammatory herbs, for her grandmother to soak her feet.

And knowing her grandmother disliked others seeing her feet, Cheng Ying always made sure to leave the room.