I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 247 - 244: Frustrated Newlyweds

Jiang Mingyue figured it out.

Zhang Lanlan was targeting Gu Xiaoxiao. Given Gu Xiaoxiao’s relationship with her aunt, Jiang Mingyue said, "If you want it, I’ll give it to you." I’m not competing, see how nice I am.

However, fifteen minutes later...

As soon as Zhang Lanlan went out, she fell off the steps, and the watch box in her bag rolled out, just in time for a little beggar to pick it up amidst the chaos.

The little beggar found the sister who claimed to be a "junk collector" on the street corner.

"You, you really want to buy it?"

"Of course, I buy any junk that’s valuable."

"But this isn’t junk, it’s brand new, never worn. Let me see, a hundred and sixty bucks, it definitely took industrial coupons to get it."

Jiang Mingyue looked at him with a half-smile, "You don’t think I’ll buy it at full price, do you?"

The child looked at her, thinking she was the Huang Shiren the lame Uncle mentioned, but after thinking for a moment, he resigned himself to fate.

He was small, and even if the person in front of him robbed him, he couldn’t fight back. He hadn’t eaten for two days and was too weak.

Finally, the child gritted his teeth and spoke, "Then tell me how much you’re willing to give me."

Jiang Mingyue held up one finger.

"Ten bucks? You’re bullying me! At least sixty." The child puffed up like a blowfish. But he smartly kept an eye on the person leaning against the wall, as if afraid they would turn and leave.

"Okay!"

"Can it be exchanged for food?"

Jiang Mingyue, who was about to hand over the money, paused, "Kid, sixty bucks can buy a lot of food. Are you sure you can carry it all back?"

The child seemed puzzled, furrowing his brow, "Isn’t food really expensive?" He had seen the lame Uncle trade a Jade Gourd the size of half his fist for half a bag of sweet potatoes. The Jade Gourd must be worth more than sixty bucks, right?

In the end, Jiang Mingyue gave the child ten pounds of rice, fifty bucks, and some food tickets.

In the long alley, the little one struggled forward with the bag of rice.

Xiao Gui felt so weak!

With each step, stars danced before his eyes, as if he would fall the next moment, but he gritted his teeth and persisted. His lame Uncle was still waiting for him at home, and as long as he brought the rice back, they could survive.

Huff... huff...

Jiang Mingyue followed behind, her spiritual power had already extended fifty meters ahead, closely following the child.

Watching the child persist without giving up, she showed admiration. This child has a bright future!

Finally, Xiao Gui stopped in front of a dilapidated courtyard, reaching out to push the door lightly. The old wooden door seemed as if it would fall apart.

A middle-aged man with a limp opened the door, took the rice from the child’s hands, and led him inside.

Seeing the door close again, Jiang Mingyue moved forward, confirmed no one was around, and quickly retrieved a bag of cornmeal, a bag of sweet potatoes, a bag of potatoes from her space, and after thinking for a moment, she left a small set of children’s clothes and thirty eggs.

Hearing the knock on the door, Xiao Gui ran out excitedly, "It must be Aunt Qing."

"Huh?"

The same middle-aged man who followed also saw the pile of things at the door and understood—it was likely the comrade who just directed Xiao Gui to pick up "junk".

"Xiao Gui, we’ve met a good person! Next time we see that sister, we must thank her. We need to be grateful."

Xiao Gui seemed to understand, but he always listened to whatever the lame Uncle said.

"Mm."

...

Over at Jiang Jian Country’s side, the father-in-law and mother-in-law didn’t show him a good face, which he could understand, but he couldn’t comprehend why even his wife was kicked out.

The two of them had brought two chickens, two dried chickens and rabbits, two packs of sugar, and a jar of wine back to honor the elders, but they were mercilessly thrown out.

"Bang!"

A neighbor opened their door at the sound and saw the scattered items on the ground, and of course, pieces shattered everywhere.

An evening breeze blew through, carrying the scent of wine down the path. People in the building with open windows caught a whiff of this aroma.

They couldn’t help but take deep sniffs—where was this wine from? It smelled so good, they wanted to stop the Xia family’s daughter and ask.

Xia Xiaosi looked pale; this was the reason she didn’t want to come back.

She could endure her own grievances, but it pained her to see those around her suffering too. But what could she do? Her parents weighed heavily on her shoulders.

Jiang Jian Country was also flustered; he had never encountered such a situation before. But seeing his wife upset, all he felt was heartache, not knowing how to comfort her either.

He picked up the items and placed them by the door. Everything had been wrapped well beforehand, so it wasn’t a problem. Perhaps the in-laws just couldn’t accept it yet and would be fine once they calmed down.

But Xia Xiaosi was unwilling, taking the items with her when she left.

"Not interested? Then I won’t bring anything next time."

The family intended to give them good things, but since they were so dismissive, forget it.

Xia Xiaosi, being decisive, directly pulled Jiang Jian Country to leave.

"Wife, let me take you to a state-run restaurant for a meal?" He wanted to cheer her up, thinking a good meal might improve her mood.

Xia Xiaosi refused, "No, let’s go back and eat with the family. Restaurants are too expensive."

Jiang Jian Country opened his mouth, "..." Their family’s food was much more plentiful than what a state-run restaurant offered, but he said nothing in the end.

"Fine, I’ll listen to my wife."

The two then went to the department store to buy some daily necessities. By the time they returned home, it was already past meal time, but everyone was waiting for them.

"Did it go smoothly?" After dinner, Mrs. Jiang kindly asked her daughter-in-law.

Xia Xiaosi felt warm inside. After thinking for a moment, she explained the family’s situation. Given Yueyue’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t reveal anything, so she decided to do it. They were all family now; knowing what to expect could help everyone be prepared.

The Xia family originally had six members. Their father Xia Kangming was a barber, one of the Eight Laborers, and their mother Guan Cu Yun also had a job envied by others—a ticket seller, one of the Eight Laborers. The couple had three children. The eldest son, Xia Qingzhan, joined the military; the second daughter, Xia Qingrong, went to the countryside. The third was a set of twin daughters. The third daughter, Xia Qingyu, passed away after three months. The parents blamed Xia Xiaosi for the third daughter’s death, saying her fate was too tough, causing her sister’s death.

Because of this, Xia Xiaosi experienced neglect from her parents growing up, but fortunately her brothers and sisters always took care of her, allowing her to grow up safely.

At night, Mrs. Jiang lay in bed, unable to sleep for a long time.

She couldn’t understand how there could be such muddleheaded parents. Losing one’s own child is painful for any parent, and this she could understand.

But to take it out on another innocent daughter was irrational. To put it simply, these parents were escaping their own pain, transferring it and dragging another daughter into misery.

Too selfish!

Mrs. Jiang wasn’t scornful of Xia Xiaosi; she just felt sorry and vowed to treat Xiaosi as her own daughter in the future.

In the morning, after the distribution of food, every household celebrated as if welcoming a new year.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Jiang prepared supper while Xia Xiaosi went in to help.

Jiang Mingyue took the chance to deliver the prepared gift.

It wasn’t the watch from yesterday. Looking back at the inventory list, she realized there was another ladies’ watch, even better than those at the department store. It was once a gift from Pan Zhoucong, but she hadn’t worn it, normally wearing a Plum Blossom watch purchased by her older cousin.