The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er thought Li Zhi was adorable, but someone else was not pleased.

"Listen to her brag. Buy a popsicle? Even if you sold her, she wouldn’t be worth the price of one. She’s just tricking a fool like you."

Li Yu scoffed. She didn’t believe a word Zhou Gu’er said.

Zhou Feng’er and Zhou Duo’er, however, looked at Gu’er. They both knew Gu’er could earn money, but hadn’t she run out? ’How could she promise to buy Li Zhi a popsicle? Did she really hide some money away?’

"Eldest Sister, you’ve never even bought me and Second Sister a popsicle stick. If you’re buying one for Li Zhi, aren’t you being too biased?"

Zhou Duo’er complained to Zhou Gu’er.

Zhou Feng’er didn’t say a word, just sized up Zhou Gu’er with a peculiar look.

Zhou Gu’er said nothing, lost in her own thoughts.

A moment ago, she had casually mentioned buying Li Zhi an old-fashioned popsicle. As soon as the words were out, an idea struck her. There was nothing in the mountains to sell for money right now, but she could sell popsicles herself.

’Popsicles probably cost two cents each right now. If I buy them wholesale, they’d be about one cent. I could make money whether I sell a lot or a little in a day.’

It would be hard work, but Gu’er wasn’t afraid of hard work. The thought of earning money again excited her.

"Sister Gu’er, Sister Gu’er."

Li Zhi was still tugging on Gu’er’s arm, her eyes fixed on Gu’er with anticipation. Even though her older sister had said what she did, she wouldn’t give up hope until she heard Gu’er refuse her personally.

"Don’t worry. I’ll definitely bring you a popsicle next time I come."

Gu’er looked into Li Zhi’s eyes—dark, dewy, and pure. A single popsicle could bring her so much joy. How could she bear to disappoint the owner of those eyes?

"Really? Sister Gu’er, you’re the best!"

Li Zhi’s eyes lit up instantly, as if she had just been given the greatest thing in the world. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Eldest Sister!"

Zhou Duo’er cried out in displeasure. She was Zhou Gu’er’s real sister, wasn’t she? Why was Zhou Gu’er being so nice to Li Zhi?

"I don’t have any money right now, do I? When I earn some in the future, I can’t just show up at Grandma’s house empty-handed. Is it so wrong to buy Zhi’er a popsicle? You’re my sister. If I had the money, of course I’d buy you one."

Zhou Gu’er said this lightly, as if Zhou Duo’er were being terribly unreasonable.

"Hah, that’s hilarious. Wait for you to earn money? You won’t earn a dime by the time I’m dead. Only a fool like Zhi’er would believe you."

Li Yu pursed her lips. She refused to believe Zhou Gu’er was capable of earning money.

"I believe Sister Gu’er."

Li Zhi pouted, annoyed. ’Honestly, my sister is always ruining the mood. Sister Gu’er means well, and that gives me something to look forward to. Why does my sister always have to say such unpleasant things?’

Li Ying watched Gu’er with a hint of confusion. She felt like she didn’t recognize Gu’er anymore. Gu’er was completely different from before. She had become more articulate and bold. She no longer cowered when looking at people and seemed full of confidence. ’How could she change so much? It’s only been about half a year since I last saw her, right?’

"You believe her? Careful she doesn’t sell you off!"

Li Yu, however, couldn’t resist arguing with her own sister.

"So what if she sells me? I don’t believe you anyway."

Li Zhi wasn’t the least bit afraid of her older sister and argued right back.

The girls continued to talk back and forth. Despite the discordant notes, at least a full-blown argument didn’t break out.

A little while later, Gu’er’s eldest aunt, Li Lan, arrived with her family.

Li Lan’s husband, Chen Erlin, was there, along with her son, Chen Chuang, and her youngest daughter, Chen Juan. Her eldest daughter was already married and didn’t come.

Although the things Li Lan brought weren’t particularly valuable, they were much better than what Li Hua had brought. Because of the earlier incident, Cui Mei didn’t grumble much.

Chen Juan joined the girls’ conversation, while Li Lan went to help with the cooking. Chen Erlin went over to the men’s side to have a drink and chat.

"Sister Yu’er, last time you said you’d bring me back something nice from your trip to the city. Did you get me anything?"

Chen Juan asked Li Yu as soon as she came over.

Gu’er glanced at her and understood. ’Li Yu must be getting married soon, so the family took her to the city to buy things for her dowry. Li Yu probably bragged about it to Chen Juan and promised to bring something back for her. But knowing Li Yu, she definitely wouldn’t have.’

In Gu’er’s memory, Chen Juan wasn’t a good person, but she wasn’t a bad one either. Just like her mother, she was a very typical person—she’d chat with you when she was happy and give you the cold shoulder when she wasn’t. She wasn’t a schemer, though.

Just as expected, Li Yu’s face fell. She had indeed gone to the city, taken by her fiancé. She had planned to buy lots of nice things, at least a few cuts of good fabric. But she hadn’t expected his family to be so stingy. They wouldn’t even give her enough cloth ration coupons. She had barely bought two pieces of fabric before the man refused to buy her anything else. She had been so angry she almost started a fight with him. Just thinking about it still made her fume. She hadn’t even gotten what she wanted for herself, so how could she possibly have bought something for Chen Juan? She hadn’t even bought anything for Li Zhi. ’Who does Chen Juan think she is?!’

"I wanted to buy you something, but I’d need money and coupons for that. I have nothing. Am I supposed to stick my neck out just to get slapped in the face? Even if I did, no one would give me anything. If you want nice things, go ask your mother."

Li Yu felt that Chen Juan was deliberately trying to embarrass her by asking this in front of so many people.

"If you didn’t buy it, you could’ve just said so. What’s with that tone, Sister Yu’er? You make it sound like I was begging you for something, when you were the one who offered to bring me something back."

Chen Juan felt wronged, and her good mood from when she arrived vanished.

"Alright, alright, Sister Juan’er, don’t be like that. We’re all sisters here. I’ll give you something nice next time I get something."

Li Zhi also felt her sister was in the wrong, so she quickly pulled Chen Juan aside to comfort her.

"That’s right, Juan’er. Today is supposed to be a happy day, let’s not talk about this. I think you’ve grown taller again. Come stand next to me, it looks like you’re almost as tall as I am."

Li Ying also stepped in, trying to keep the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.

Gu’er watched Li Zhi and Li Ying both come to Chen Juan’s defense and realized they must be quite close. ’It makes sense,’ she thought. ’In the past, I barely spoke to them or spent time with them, so of course, we weren’t close.’

She glanced at her own sisters. Zhou Feng’er was quiet. Zhou Duo’er could chat with the others, but she wasn’t as popular as Chen Juan.

’Why is Zhou Feng’er so unwilling to get close to the Li Family sisters? And why does she keep looking in the direction of our third aunt?’

Gu’er was puzzled. These were details she had never noticed in her past life.

’Could it be?’

Gu’er suddenly remembered something. In her past life, she seemed to recall hearing someone say that Zhou Feng’er had wanted to marry into a family in Liu Shu Village, but it never happened. The story was that the other family hadn’t approved of her.

’Did she ask our third aunt for help? But doesn’t Third Aunt dislike our adoptive mother the most? She doesn’t like anyone from the Zhou family, so why would she help Zhou Feng’er with an introduction to a family in Liu Shu Village? Even if it didn’t work out, she must have made the introduction, and it was just that the other family didn’t approve of Zhou Feng’er.’

’What exactly was going on?’