"Take it, buy a pair of sandals."
Chu Yuanzhi placed the money on the table in front of his daughter and sat down to have breakfast. His mood was a little strange. His daughter was so good-looking, so he really had to dress her up well so that she could find the right man.
Although he did not have the courage to resist He Jihong, he sincerely hoped that his daughter would marry a good man and live a good life. Within his ability, he still wanted to be a good father.
Chu Qiao's eyes were a little surprised. Her father's generosity was a little out of her expectations. At least he had some conscience. She accepted the money without hesitation. A pair of good sandals only cost seven or eight yuan. The rest of the money could be saved for emergencies.
There was also the prescription for medicinal cuisine. She remembered that it was in a corner of the house collecting dust. No one at home cared about that lousy book, and Chu Yuanzhi didn't take it to heart either. Later, she would dig it up and put it away. She couldn't let Xu Bilian get away with it.
Chu Yuanzhi went to work after breakfast. Chu Peng and Chu Qiao were left in the house. It was very quiet. Chu Qiao had nothing to say to his brother, and he didn't want to say anything either. After washing the dishes, she was ready to go look for the prescription for medicinal cuisine.
"Is it really a clothing factory?" Chu Peng suddenly asked.
Chu Qiao was shocked and looked at her brother in surprise. Was there something wrong with her ears? Did she detect a bit of concern in his cold voice just now?
However, when she saw Chu Peng's cold face, she immediately woke up. This guy didn't even kiss his own parents. How could he be related to her, the half-sister?
"Yes, I'll go to work in a week."
Chu Qiao answered casually. She went to Chu Yuanzhi's room to look for books. Chu Peng looked at her slender back, and his eyes became deep and inquisitive. Was she really going to the clothing factory?
Seeing Chu Qiao rummaging through her parents' room, Chu Peng's curiosity was piqued. He leaned against the door frame and hugged his sister tightly. He watched his stupid sister rummaging through the bookcase expressionlessly. The bookcase in the Chu family was just a decoration. Although there were many books, no one went to look through it. After rummaging through it, the room was filled with dust and looked like a mess.
"What are you looking for?" Chu Peng's curiosity was piqued again. His sister had changed quite a lot recently.
"I'm looking for books."
Chu Qiao didn't even raise his head. She took out a few more books. There were too many books, so she accidentally dropped them on the floor. Then... a few colorful banknotes floated out, lying on the floor in an elegant and beautiful manner.
The siblings' eyes widened, and they both lowered their heads. It was indeed banknotes.
It was still three big banknotes.
The siblings raised their heads and exchanged a knowing look. They both reached out their hands, but Chu Qiao was still faster. She caught the three banknotes in her hands and smiled smugly at the somewhat dejected Chu Peng.
"Split it in half, or I'll tell dad," Chu Peng said coldly.
"I'll give you ten dollars. I found it."
Chu Qiao's heart ached a little, but she was also afraid that Chu Peng would tell on her, and she wouldn't be able to get a single cent. She passed the ten dollars to Chu Peng, but Chu Peng didn't take it. He stared coldly at the two unity notes in her hands. He was quite short of money.
"Let's keep looking. There might be more."
Chu Qiao thought about it and decided to flip through it again. Chu Peng also came to help. He flipped through every book a few times, and his hard work paid off. Sure enough, he found twelve pieces of unity, and each book had two or three pieces, all of Chu Yuanzhi's belongings were here.
"I can't steal all of them. I have to leave some leftovers for Dad."
Chu Peng took out seven pieces and put them into two books. He gave Chu Qiao one of the remaining five pieces, and took four pieces himself. "Fifty-fifty."
Each piece was worth 40 yuan. It was fair and just.
Chu Qiao was a little unwilling, but she had no choice. She could only accept the result and said, "Dad can't find the money to be angry. You're responsible for extinguishing the fire."
"Dad won't be angry."
Chu Peng's eyes were meaningful. With his mother at home, where did his father get the gall to be angry? He would only think that the money was taken away by his mother and quietly swallow this bitter result.
Chu Qiao understood. She glanced at his younger brother and cursed in her heart. She didn't realize that his younger brother was so greedy and treacherous in the past. She even thought that he was unworldly.
As expected, he was going to be a big profiteer in the future.
They didn't realize it. After this share of the spoils, the estrangement between the siblings had lessened. Chu Peng helped her tidy up the bookshelves and flipped through all the books. Finally, she found the medicine cookbook with many bug eyes in the corner.
The book had a sheepskin cover. It was pitch-black, and the pages inside were yellowish and crispy. Chu Qiao carefully opened the book, and a musty smell filled his nose. It was indeed the medicine cookbook passed down from the Chu family.
"What is this?" Chu Peng was curious. The cover didn't look like an ordinary book.
"It's the medicine cookbook passed down from the Chu family. I'll give it to you when I'm done copying it."
Chu Qiao did not hide the fact that the Chu family actually had a rule that men would not pass down the rules to women, but that was before the liberation. Now that the Chu family had been torn apart, the branch of the direct descendants had gone overseas, and the only one who remained in the country was Chu Yuanzhi, the bastard son. The descendants of the direct branch were also doing well abroad. In the past, they also returned to invest in the country, but they looked down on Chu Yuanzhi and did not try to contact the family.
Chu Peng took the book and flipped through it. It was indeed a cookbook, and he immediately lost interest. He gave it to Chu Qiao and said, "You don't have to give it to me. Keep it."
He had no interest in cooking at all. It was better to give it to Chu Qiao.
"How did you know about this book?" Chu Peng was more curious about this.
"I heard dad mention it before. You were still young at that time."
Chu Qiao casually explained, and then said, "Don't tell your mom and Xu Bilian about this book. It belongs to our Chu family."
"Just don't say anything."
Chu Peng snorted and turned to go back to his room. The corners of his lips curled up slightly as he touched the four bills in his pocket. He was in an extremely good mood.
He could go buy a few more books that he had liked for a long time.
Chu Qiao returned the bookshelf to its original state and happily kept the seven bills. At this time, the purchasing power of seventy Yuan was still very strong. In a while, she would go to the department store to buy a few pieces of cloth to make new dresses. Xu Bilian's old clothes were still uncomfortable to wear.
The white dress she wore yesterday was washed. Seeing the old cotton underwear, Chu Qiao frowned. Later, she would have to buy two sets of underwear as well. The current her really couldn't stand these old and worn-out clothes, especially underwear. In her previous life, even if she was a rich lady who was sullen, she was still a rich lady. Her material life was quite fastidious.
After changing into the light green dress, Chu Qiao looked in the mirror. Her skin was fair and beautiful, and the green color did justice to her complexion. She was originally cold and white, and wearing the green dress complemented each other perfectly. She was definitely worthy of being called a lotus flower, she smiled at herself in the mirror and touched the seventy Yuan in her bag. Chu Qiao was in an extremely good mood.
Before going out, Chu Qiao knocked on Chu Peng's door. This kid closed the door even in broad daylight. Anyone who went in had to knock. Otherwise, he wouldn't be annoyed. Chu Qiao suspected that her little brother was alone in the room reading books that were not for children, acting like a thief.