Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 59: Is 40 Cents a Day Too Much?

Sheng Shiwu was too concerned about his pride at first. After timidly selling a few packs of spicy gluten strips, however, he was no longer embarrassed.

After all, each pack sold for five cents. Money brought courage, and courage brought motivation.

By the end of the first class period, Sheng Shiwu had already sold over twenty packs of spicy gluten strips, earning a net profit of one dollar and twenty cents.

He had only brought fifty packs with him today, and they were all sold out before lunchtime.

’It’s a shame Jiaojiao only gave me a hundred packs. If she’d given me two hundred, I bet I could have sold them all!’

Sheng Shiwu deeply regretted not getting more from Jiaojiao. She had said she would be away for two days.

He wasn’t sure if she had left yet. Sheng Shiwu was tempted to skip class and go back to check, but he was afraid Jiaojiao would make fun of him.

’Maybe I should just bring the remaining fifty packs and sell them all when I go home for lunch.’

’But if I sell out today, what will I sell tomorrow?’

Besides, he hadn’t been home for lunch in two days. He decided he might as well just get an extra dish at the cafeteria.

Making two dollars and fifty cents on his first business venture made Sheng Shiwu ecstatic.

His grades weren’t great, and he attended an ordinary university in Qing City. The school certainly had its share of wealthy and well-connected students.

But most students were poor, and even the poorest were willing to buy the spicy gluten strips. Not only were they delicious, but they also went well with a bowl of plain rice.

Many of the students were "educated youth" who had returned to the city, some of whom had brought their entire families with them.

Some classmates said they were buying the strips for their children at home. Sheng Shiwu had expected his peers to look down on him for selling them, but that wasn’t the case at all.

In fact, when some of the female students bought from him, their faces would flush and their lips would tremble, making it hard for them to speak clearly.

Sheng Shiwu, who had been a little nervous at first, wasn’t nervous at all anymore. He even began to feel a little smug.

’No wonder Gu Jingtai loves selling steamed buns and liangpi. So this is how easy it is to make money.’

’And it’s a real ego boost, too!’ An idea struck Sheng Shiwu. He would go to the Su family tonight and ask if they could sell him some of their steamed buns.

’Even making just one cent per bun would be great!’

Life was good, so good!

While Sheng Shiwu was on cloud nine, Sheng Yueyue was feeling anything but. She hadn’t seen Song Zijin at all during lunchtime.

Not in the mood to treat her followers to a meal, she begrudgingly headed home to eat.

She hadn’t been home for a meal in two days, so Mr. and Mrs. Sheng assumed she wasn’t coming back and had already finished eating.

Sheng Shiwen had just finished eating. When he saw his little sister come back, he didn’t even lift his gaze.

"Dad, Mom, Second Brother, you’ve finished eating? Where’s Third Brother?"

"Yueyue, what brings you home for lunch today? We didn’t save you a plate. Mom will go make you a bowl of noodles."

"Thanks, Mom. Where’s my third brother?"

Sheng Yueyue strongly suspected that Sheng Shiwu had run off to join Gu Jiaojiao’s side, so she asked again insistently.

"Old Three hasn’t been back for lunch these past two days. He said he’s going to eat at the school cafeteria from now on."

Mr. Sheng said in a gentle voice. ’Even I’m tempted to just eat at my work unit,’ he thought.

"Dad, how much money do you give Third Brother every day?"

"Your mother handles that. I believe it’s forty cents a day." Mr. Sheng knew his daughter received fifty cents a day.

"What? You give him that much? Forty cents?" Sheng Yueyue’s voice was shrill.

Hearing this, Sheng Shiwen frowned. "Is that a lot? At the university cafeteria, soup is five cents, a vegetable dish is ten cents, and one with tofu is fifteen cents."

A meat dish is twenty cents, a small stir-fry is twenty-five cents, and rice is eight cents. Most people get a four-liang serving of rice or a steamed bun.

The cheapest possible meal is soup (five cents) plus a four-liang serving of rice (eight cents), which comes to thirteen cents.

A small stir-fry (twenty-five cents) plus a four-liang serving of rice (eight cents) is thirty-three cents.

"So is forty cents from Mom too much for Xiao Wu? I give you fifty cents a day for pocket money, and Mom gives you fifty cents a day."

Sheng Yueyue was speechless.

She was just afraid that third fool would give the money to that bitch, Gu Jiaojiao, so she had shrieked out of habit. She hadn’t actually done the math.

’Since being reborn into the Sheng Family, she had never been short on cash. She had even tricked Gu Jiaojiao into giving her her entire life savings—eight hundred dollars.’

’In my past life, even when I was trying to be frugal, I spent way more freely than this. The Sheng Family is obviously loaded, yet they’re always so stingy.’

"SOB... SOB... It’s all because I’m from the countryside! I had no idea food in the city was so expensive... SOB..."

Sheng Yueyue once again played the victim, bringing up her humble origins to try and sway her father and second brother.

Sheng Shiwen’s expression quickly dimmed, and a bitter feeling rose in his chest.

"Yueyue, please, I’m begging you, stop crying. If you didn’t know prices in the city were so high, then how did you manage to spend all eight hundred dollars?"

"SOB... Second Brother, how could you say something so hurtful? Jiaojiao insisted on giving me that money. I thought when it was gone, there’d be more... SOB..."

"Yueyue, the noodles are ready. Hurry and eat or you’ll be late for class."

’I was only gone long enough to make a bowl of noodles,’ Mrs. Sheng thought. ’How is she crying again?’

"Mom! Second Brother is blaming me for spending the eight hundred dollars! SOB... SOB..."

"It’s spent, so it’s spent. What’s the big deal? Xiao Wen, is that any way to speak to your sister?"

"Mom, I’m sorry. Yueyue, Second Brother apologizes. I’ll give you ten dollars when I get my salary. I’m heading to work now."

With that, Sheng Shiwen shot up from his seat and left as if a dog were nipping at his heels.

Sheng Yueyue was speechless.

’Hmph! Trying to pick a fight with me? That second fool has really grown a spine.’

’For the sake of those ten dollars, I’ll let it slide... for now.’

So, Sheng Yueyue happily started eating her noodles. "Ugh! What is this? It’s disgusting!"

Mrs. Sheng was mortified. She hadn’t cooked a meal in over ten years. Ever since the family hired a domestic helper, she hadn’t stepped foot in the kitchen.

"Yueyue, is it that bad?"

"Duh... It’s way too salty, Mom! Even the egg is so salty it’s bitter!"

’She had been about to say "Duh, of course," but her mom was the only one in the family who still doted on her. She couldn’t afford to offend her.’

’Lately, she’d had to put up with so much crap from them at home. Those two fools were being so unreasonable. Before, they used to obey her every whim.’

’But these past few days, they’ve been nothing but sarcastic and critical. What’s wrong with them?!’

’Sigh... what on earth is Zijin up to, anyway?’

’They’d already done what married couples do. If she could just marry into the Song Family sooner, then those two fools would have to come crawling back to suck up to her!’

The very person Sheng Yueyue was obsessing over, Song Zijin, was currently standing in front of the Su family’s liangpi stall, waiting dazedly for Gu Jiaojiao to appear.

When he saw her yesterday, he realized the once gentle and fragile Gu Jiaojiao was now fiery and spirited.

The more he thought about it, the more he compared Gu Jiaojiao to Sheng Xinglian. And the more he compared them, the more unsightly Sheng Xinglian seemed.

Song Zijin didn’t even know she had changed her name to Sheng Yueyue yet. He was in no mood to see her today.

He just didn’t want to live with any regrets, so he wanted to see Gu Jiaojiao again to determine if she was truly as outstanding as he now remembered.

He was hoping to see an unflattering side of Gu Jiaojiao, something to convince himself that choosing Sheng Xinglian had been the right decision.

But he waited until the Su family was packing up their stall and still hadn’t seen Gu Jiaojiao. Disappointed, he could only head to the university for his classes.

Meanwhile, Gu Jiaojiao and the others were riding in a car. Although there were no highways, the roads were nearly empty, so there was no traffic to speak of.

"Sir," Gu Jiaojiao asked the driver, "should we pull over for a break? We could grab a bite to eat before we continue."

Gu Jiaojiao asked the driver. ’Actually, I want to drive,’ she thought. ’But I’ll bring it up after we eat.’