Chapter 11: Keep Him Bewitched to Death

The three of them went to the department store again to buy twenty catties of sugar. The next day, they moved on to a few different villages and repeated the same process. The harvest wasn't as good as the day before, but they still made a net profit of 105 yuan.

The three divided the money according to their old custom. The money in Li Manjun’s pocket finally rose to 212 yuan; after setting aside the 100 yuan that belonged to Wang Xiaojuan, she had 112 yuan left for herself.

Feeling the thick stack of small bills in her pocket, Li Manjun felt that the hard work of the past two days was worth it.

She had been so busy for two days that she was gone from dawn until dusk. When she returned home at night covered in sweat, she met Wang Xiaojuan’s fiery gaze and suddenly remembered the "major event" of her blind date that she had pushed to the back of her mind.

She was so addicted to making money that she had almost forgotten about it!

"I'm going to boil some water for a bath." Before her mother, Wang Xiaojuan, could speak, Li Manjun rushed into the kitchen and lit the stove to heat water, making herself look very busy.

Wang Xiaojuan stood in the courtyard, stunned for a long time. She had finally realized that Li Manjun seemed like a different person these past few days; she was actually acting out of line.

"What have you been doing these past two days? How come I heard people say they saw you and Liu Yan’s siblings wandering around the countryside, doing something like... picking up trash?"

Wang Xiaojuan walked to the kitchen door, suspicious and questioning. What was a perfectly good young woman doing picking up trash? It was absolutely shameful!

Since she had asked, Li Manjun didn't intend to hide it. She set the kettle on the stove, put her hands on her hips, and replied, "That's right, I went to pick up trash."

"Sis, you really went?" Li Lijun walked over carrying her rice bowl, her eyes full of disbelief.

Li Jianjun brought over the remaining meat and vegetables.

"The rice is keeping warm in the rice cooker, Sis, eat something first," Li Jianjun urged with concern.

Li Manjun smiled at her younger brother, took the bowl of vegetables, and started eating right away.

Li Lijun leaned in and asked in surprise, "Big Sister, are you really collecting scrap?"

Li Manjun nodded while shoveling rice into her mouth. Having been busy all day, her stomach was already flat with hunger. She finished a bowl in a few large bites and served herself another.

Li Lijun stared blankly at her wolf-like eating, swallowed the rice in her own mouth with difficulty, and hurried to pour her a glass of water.

After Li Manjun finished the water and another bowl of rice, she said to everyone, "I'm serious. Mom, I think picking up trash is actually quite good."

Wang Xiaojuan had recovered by now. Looking at Li Manjun’s disheveled face covered in sweat stains, she frowned and asked, "Where did you get the capital?"

"What about the hundred yuan I gave you?"

When Li Lijun heard this, she immediately protested, "Mom, why did you give my sister a hundred yuan?"

Wang Xiaojuan ignored her and only asked Li Manjun if she had bought the clothes.

Li Manjun said she hadn't. Wang Xiaojuan was instantly furious, but just before the slap could land, Li Manjun stuffed the blue bills into her arms.

"What are you going to wear to your blind date tomorrow? Don't tell me you plan to go in this!" Wang Xiaojuan was livid. Picking up trash—what kind of respectable job was that?

Li Lijun and Li Jianjun asked in surprise, "Big Sister is going on a blind date?"

How come they didn't know!

Li Manjun looked at Li Lijun, "Can I borrow your white dress for a day?"

Li Lijun agreed readily; of course her sister could wear it, but the point was, who was the brother-in-law-to-be?

Li Lijun and Li Jianjun crowded around Li Manjun, asking who she was going on a blind date with.

"Is he handsome? Is he as handsome as my Guai Guai Hu?" Li Lijun only cared about looks; she didn't want a short, dumpy brother-in-law.

Li Jianjun was worried. The young man wasn't mentally prepared for his sister to marry into someone else's family, so he took a jab at her every time Li Lijun asked a question, "Men who look good are never any good."

Li Manjun laughed, "Nothing is set in stone yet; I'll know once I see him."

Distracted by the siblings, Wang Xiaojuan temporarily forgot about her daughter picking up trash. She put the blue bills away and took out a twenty-yuan note for Li Manjun to use for travel expenses.

She urged her, "Dress up nicely tomorrow. Lijun, didn't you just buy a pair of rubber sandals? Let your sister wear them for the day."

Li Lijun was a bit reluctant. She had worn the dress a few times, so she didn't think much of it, but she hadn't even worn those Roman-style rubber sandals out yet.

However, a white dress needed the right shoes to look good. Sigh, "Fine, fine. Later, Sis, you have to buy me more snacks, and I want orange-flavored soda."

Li Manjun agreed with a smile, patted her younger siblings on the shoulders, and carried the hot water into the bedroom to bathe.

Wang Xiaojuan felt she had saved another sum of money, so she didn't lecture Li Manjun anymore.

However, this trash-collecting business was absolutely out of the question. What kind of money could you make from a few cents worth of scrap? It looked dirty and tiring; it wasn't a job for a girl.

At night, the couple lay in bed. Wang Xiaojuan pushed Li Dawei awake, "Your daughter says she wants to work collecting trash. You are not allowed to agree, you hear me?"

Li Dawei had spent the whole day in the countryside working on family planning, arguing with those mothers until he was exhausted. He was sleepy as death and replied perfunctorily, "Got it, I'll talk to her later."

Only then did Wang Xiaojuan turn off the light and go to sleep.

"Sis, just wear it like this, I guarantee you'll bewitch him!"

Early in the morning, Li Lijun’s triumphant voice came from the side bedroom.

Li Manjun looked at the pure beauty in the mirror with a graceful figure in a white dress. She tapped her feet in the slightly tight Roman rubber sandals and brushed her half-draped hair, feeling quite satisfied.

However, her lip color was a bit pale, making her look listless. It would be perfect if she had a bean-paste-colored lipstick.

Just as she thought this, Li Lijun mysteriously took something out from under her pillow and told Li Manjun to close her eyes.

"What are you doing?" In her memories, Li Lijun had pulled many pranks. Li Manjun’s suspicious question was almost subconscious.

Li Lijun pouted coquettishly, "Don't worry about it, just close your eyes~"

Li Manjun warned her not to mess with her, then squinted her eyes shut.

A coolness touched her lips, and something traced them lightly. After it was applied, they felt moisturized.

Li Manjun opened her eyes. Li Lijun stepped aside triumphantly, revealing the mirror, "Ta-da!"

"Pretty, right? I just bought it," Li Lijun whispered.

Li Manjun looked at the faint pink on her lips; it was a color-changing lip balm.

The person in the mirror curled her lips slightly, looking gentle and moving, her eyes clear and bright, containing a tenacity that was completely different from her soft appearance.

Li Lijun was dazed for a moment. She couldn't say what had changed, but she just felt that her sister had become a hundred times prettier than before.

It was Saturday, so there were no classes, and the whole family was there.

Auntie Wu knocked on the door and walked in, asking, "Is Manjun ready?"

Li Lijun led Li Manjun out. Seeing the stunned looks of everyone, she said smugly, "Isn't my sister pretty!"

Li Jianjun’s eyes lit up, "Big Sister, you look so good dressed like this. You should dress like this from now on; you're prettier than the female stars on the posters."

Even Auntie Wu was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she sincerely praised her as a beautiful young woman.

"Be careful with what you say. Although we girls should be reserved, you can't be so reserved that people can't guess your thoughts. Do you hear me?"

Wang Xiaojuan stood under the car window and urged her, feeling a bit worried. She was truly afraid that Zhao Yong, who had no parents, no family, and no unit, would take a fancy to such a good girl from her own family.

Auntie Wu laughed, "Don't worry, I'm here. I'll keep an eye on things for our girl."

Only then did Wang Xiaojuan feel a little more at ease.