"Let’s just go back and stay there! Staying in the city for one night costs quite a bit of money." Not knowing how many days they would need to wait, and with no income from work, plus the expense of accommodations, Shen Jianhua couldn’t bear it.
The entire family depended on him for support.
"Exactly, everything in the city costs money, even the buns are more expensive than at home. Let’s head back tonight, and I’ll fry a couple more pancakes to bring tomorrow." At lunchtime, she was so hungry that she went to buy buns only to find that they were twice as expensive as back home. She bought one and split it with her husband, and now her stomach was growling with hunger, sticking to her back.
"Auntie, Uncle, don’t be too hard on yourselves, you still need to eat," Zhou Siyu said, showing great sympathy for the couple, "My sister really is something, taking so much money for herself without sparing a thought for the family."
"If she had any conscience, she wouldn’t have hidden that much money away without taking it out," Zhou Lanfang said angrily at the mention of the matter. All that money was hidden in the house, and she had no idea.
Why hadn’t she thought to dig up the earth beneath the bed before? Google seaʀᴄh 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝘯𝘦𝘵
"Siyu, you should hurry back to school! We’re going to head back now," Shen Jianhua said, also hungry and now just wanting to go back, eat something, and get some early rest so he could come back early the next day.
"Right, Siyu, you better hurry back to school! Don’t come out if there’s nothing urgent. There are lots of bad people in the city." While she was talking, Zhou Lanfang took advantage of Shen Jianhua’s distraction to slip some money into Zhou Siyu’s hand.
She gave Zhou Siyu a look, signaling her to keep quiet.
That twenty yuan was given in secret; although her husband was fond of Siyu, knowing that Siyu needed to spend so much money every month would definitely pain him.
In a few years, Siyu would have made something of herself; they couldn’t let her suffer.
"Uncle, Auntie, be safe on your way," Zhou Siyu said, her mood lifting upon receiving the money.
Whether Shen Mianmian was found or not, she had secured that twenty yuan for herself. She bounced back to her dorm, the smile never leaving her face.
"Siyu, why did you take so long just going to the toilet?" Zhao Xinlan asked curiously.
"I happened to run into my family when I was in the toilet; they came to see me and gave me some living expenses," Zhou Siyu said proudly.
Zhao Xinlan pursed her lips, "How much did they give you to make you this happy?"
"Not much." Zhou Siyu pulled out the money from her pocket and counted it in front of the girls, "Just twenty yuan."
All the girls in the dormitory gasped in surprise, even Tian Caiyan, who didn’t have twenty yuan for the whole week.
"My mom said I’ve gotten thinner recently, so she gave me a little extra for me to eat better and regain my strength," Zhou Siyu said, acting as if the money was no big deal.
Zhao Xinlan watched with a face full of envy; Zhou Siyu’s aunt and uncle really treated Zhou Siyu well.
She had earned only one yuan this week from being a bridesmaid and was thrilled about it, yet Zhou Siyu did nothing and got twenty just like that — it was infuriating to see people seemingly better off.
The red envelope with one yuan in her pocket suddenly seemed a lot less appealing, but thinking of Wan Dongcheng made her mood brighten instantly; she didn’t know why, but just the thought of him made her heart feel as sweet and joyful as if she had eaten honey.
"It’s just twenty yuan, what’s there to be so excited about?" Tian Caiyan snorted disdainfully, "My parents give me at least ten yuan every week, and my monthly living expenses are always over fifty yuan."
She was the richest in the entire dormitory. To Zhou Siyu, merely a country bumpkin come to the city, getting excited over suddenly having twenty was just ridiculous.
A flicker of resentment passed through Zhou Siyu’s eyes, and her surge of happiness was gone in an instant.