Chapter 111: If Nobody Offends Me, I Offend Nobody

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: If Nobody Offends Me, I Offend NobodyCheng Su filled a basin with water, submerged the large watermelon in it, and hummed a tune as she brought out her small money chest to put away the money she had earned today.

The small money chest was a mahogany box, also part of her dowry, secured with a small lock. It was already brimming with neatly bundled banknotes of various colors, nearly full.

"Looks like, I’ll need to go to the credit union and open an account to save this money," she muttered to herself while feeling the banknotes.

In those days, people treated money like a precious lifeline. Even if they had money, they wouldn’t deposit it in a bank, but would keep it at home by their side to feel secure. Plus, the banking system wasn’t mature yet and hadn’t earned people’s trust.

But Cheng Su thought differently. Keeping money by one’s side may invite envy and theft if the household is not stable. Since banknotes are made of paper and don’t withstand the elements well, they could be ruined by dampness during a flood.

She had also seen in the news how some people’s money was forgotten and got eaten by insects. How regrettable was that?

Whereas storing it in a bank was safe, could earn interest, and was more stable than keeping it at home. Moreover, she believed the banking system would mature as society developed.

Having made up her mind, Cheng Su closed the wooden box. After thinking for a moment, she counted out twenty yuan to keep in her pocket.

Moving the fan out to the hall, Cheng Su looked around the small, pigeon-cage-like room, feeling more and more suffocated.

The accommodation was limited; the rooms were small and fully utilized to maximize space. The house was quite full of stuff, with her room being just a tad larger. Qi Taiguo’s room was exactly like a capsule room from past lives, fitting only a bivouac bed and a small table with no space left for anything else—extremely cramped.

Cheng Su silently contemplated that she needed to earn more money to then buy a big courtyard and a spacious house to live in comfortably, which justified being reborn once more.

"I’m back." Qi Taiguo entered through the door and saw Cheng Su, saying, "Did you have a quarrel with Platoon Leader Zhong’s wife when you got back?"

Cheng Su furrowed her brows and scoffed slightly, "What, did some gossipy women start babbling about me to you already?"

It was truly disgusting. Did women have their own battlefield where if they couldn’t argue their way out, they would run to a man to complain?

"It’s gotten to Platoon Leader Zhong, and he came to me to talk about it. Look at you, you can’t keep a low profile even with a bit of money, as if you’re afraid others won’t know you can make a few bucks," Qi Taiguo couldn’t help but scold.

"So she was allowed to mock me both openly and covertly, but I can’t retort a few words? Isn’t that like saying officials are allowed to start fires but the common people can’t even light a lamp?" Cheng Su countered. "Besides, if she just minded her own business, would I, with nothing better to do, go provoke her? If no one offends me, I don’t offend anyone, but if someone does, I return it a hundredfold!"

She stood firm in her position, making Qi Taiguo frown deeply.

"We all live in the same large courtyard..."

"Enough, stop!" Cheng Su cut him off, saying, "Tell me, if another country invaded our great China, what would you soldiers do? Endure it, and if slapped on one cheek, offer the other?"

"Rubbish! Those who offend our China, even if far away, shall be punished!" Qi Taiguo glared and roared angrily.

"Exactly, that’s the point. A great country has its principles, and so does a small household. In short, as long as she doesn’t provoke me, all is well. But if she does provoke me, hmph!" Cheng Su sneered and made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Look at you, look at you, how are you any different from bandits?" Qi Taiguo lost his temper, saying, "Anyway, since we have to face each other, try not to make things too ugly."

"Got it!" Cheng Su wasn’t bent on a confrontation and turned the topic back to the money she had made.