I Became Rich by Eating Melons in the Era of Literature (1970s)

　　Xu Manqiu didn't take the egg.

　　If it was a year ago, she would have been grateful for the small favors that Accountant Xu gave her from time to time, but now she is not like that. She has seen clearly that there is no place for her in this family.

　　She no longer needs it.

　　She is fifteen years old now. In two years, she will be able to get married. After getting married, she will be completely separated from the Xu family. She will never come back to this Xu family again.

　　"I don't want it, you keep it for yourself." Xu Manqiu said and left.

　　She didn't have much contact with her grandfather, Accountant Xu. He was a typical patriarch who had the final say at home, but at the same time, he didn't talk much. He rarely refuted anything that Old Lady Xu did or said.

　　The same is true for his granddaughter. If he really wanted to be good to her, did he ever say anything to stop her from being beaten or scolded? Did he ever say anything fair for her when she was hungry? When she went out to wash clothes in winter and got frostbite on her hands, did he, as the head of the family, ever give her some frostbite cream?

　　He turned a blind eye to her experiences, turned a deaf ear to her grievances, and pretended to be deaf and dumb to her suffering.

　　Living under the same roof for more than ten years, the two of them talked very little. Accountant Xu talked a lot with Xu Baozhu. Every time Xu Baozhu came back from school, he would ask about her academic performance.

　　Then let's continue this way. This cheap and cost-free good thing should be left to Xu Baozhu, she doesn't want it.

　　Accountant Xu watched Xu Manqiu's figure disappear into the mountains, and squatted on the side of the road with his head in his hands, looking depressed.

　　The appearance of Accountant Xu greatly dampened Xu Manqiu's good mood, but the closer she got to the educated youth site, the better her mood became.

　　She knew that she had a reputation as a jinx in the village, and that she, Jiang Youtao, and Gu Nianwei were being criticized, so she also walked through the back mountain and went around the back of the village to the back of the dormitory built by Jiang Youtao and her friends at the educated youth point.

　　This place was about two meters away from Jiang Youtao's house, and Xu Manqiu didn't want to shout and attract attention. She sat on the hillside and thought for a while, then found a very long rope and knocked on Gu Nianwei's window.

　　Gu Nianwei was lying on the bed reading a novel. When she heard some movement at the window, she put the book into the space, opened the curtains and looked outside. She saw Xu Manqiu holding a tree branch.

　　Xu Manqiu waved at her.

　　Gu Nianwei smiled immediately: "Wait a minute, we will be out soon."

　　Gu Nianwei turned over and got off the kang. Jiang Youtao heard what Gu Nianwei said and shouted in the room: "Weiwei, who are you talking to?"

　　"Manqiu is here." said Gu Nianwei.

　　Jiang Youtao's eyes lit up: "Really? Where is she?" Jiang Youtao ran to the window and looked outside. There was no sign of Xu Manqiu in the Youth League Courtyard.

　　"It's in the back."

　　Jiang Youtao grabbed the coat that was lying on the kang and put it on, then went to the private plot at the back with Gu Nianwei.

　　Xu Manqiu was still squatting on the ridge, with the basket and rake placed beside her.

　　Jiang Youtao quickly said to her, "Come down quickly."

　　Gu Nianwei said, "Hand me your frame and rake."

　　Neither of them showed any disdain for her. Xu Manqiu smiled and said, "No need. Just throw this thing down." She threw the frame and rake to a place where there was no one, supported herself on the edge of the hill, and jumped down.

　　Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei were startled and ran towards Xu Manqiu quickly. This girl's luck was not very good. She will absolutely fall down after jumping like that.

　　Xu Manqiu had no idea what Jiang Youtao and the others were thinking. She squatted down to slow down her momentum, then stood up and smiled at Jiang Youtao and the others.

　　They both breathed a sigh of relief.

　　Gu Nianwei picked up her basket and rake, and Jiang Youtao pulled her towards their dormitory: "Next time, come in directly through the door. It's so cold on the mountain. There's nothing to eat right now. What if you encounter wild animals? Don't jump like this next time. The step is so high. It will hurt so much if you fall down."

　　Zhangjia Village is not far from Liushugou. There are wolves in the mountains behind their village, and there may be wolves in the mountains behind Liushugou as well.

　　Xu Manqiu let Jiang Youtao hold her hand and stared to her. Jiang Youtao's hands were warm and soft, completely different from her rough hands from years of work. Xu Manqiu did not dare to struggle, for fear that her hands would hurt Jiang Youtao.

　　Her hands were icy cold. Jiang Youtao pulled her into her room and pressed her down on her kang: "Sit for a while. Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"

　　Jiang Youtao slept alone, and she was too lazy to make the bed and the kang every day. She used two quilts as mattresses and covered them with green checkered sheets. She also folded a six-pound quilt of the same pattern and placed it at the head of the kang, with a pillow of the same color on top of the quilt.

　　Although Jiang Youtao didn't have many requirements for food and accommodation, she still had her own private space and a bit of a bourgeois mood. She bought all these things from the system mall.

　　She bought two sets for 5 melon coins, and one set with large purple flowers. Although it's a bit tacky, the quality is good.

　　Xu Manqiu had never sat on such a soft kang before. It felt like sitting on cotton. Even Xu Baozhu's kang was not as soft. Moreover, the room was fragrant. It was the first time Xu Manqiu smelled that fragrance. She couldn't describe what it was.

　　Jiang Youtao put a cup of warm water in her hand, and her whole body warmed up.

　　Gu Nianwei came in with a bowl of heated rice: "I guess you're not full after eating. We still have a lot left over from lunch. Qiu'er, you're here just in time to help us eat some, otherwise we'll have to eat leftovers at night."

　　At noon, Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei ate dry-roasted potato shreds and dried eggplant with soy sauce. The dried eggplant was stuffed with green peppers and pork slices. It was greasy and went well with rice.

　　Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei have lived together for a long time, and there is something mysterious about them. Gu Nianwei has some guesses about Jiang Youtao's origins, but the two of them tacitly agreed not to break the window paper. However, Gu Nianwei's words and deeds have become more and more casual.

　　Xu Manqiu looked at the rice in the big bowl and the neatly arranged dishes on the side, and her saliva kept flowing down.

　　She didn't dare to reach out to take it. Gu Nianwei directly took the cup of water from her hand and stuffed the bowl into her arms. Xu Manqiu was afraid that such delicious food would spill on the ground, so she quickly hugged it.

　　"Eat, eat." Jiang Youtao said.

　　Xu Manqiu was afraid to move. She felt that Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei had given her too much and she couldn't afford it.

　　Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei looked at each other, and Gu Nianwei said, "How about this, Qiu'er, you eat this bowl of rice, and then take us up the mountain to collect some firewood, okay? You see, our house is so warm, we have to burn firewood, if we go on like this, it really won't be enough to last until winter..."

　　After Gu Nianwei finished speaking, Jiang Youtao immediately followed up: "Eat quickly, eat quickly. If you don't eat, you don't treat us as your sisters."

　　When Xu Manqiu heard what Gu Nianwei said, she was about to refute it, but after listening to what Jiang Youtao said, she immediately grabbed the spoon and scooped a spoonful of rice into her mouth.

　　What does rice mixed with the aroma of oil taste like? Xu Manqiu had never been to school and could not read, so she could not describe it. But Xu Manqiu thought that she would never forget the feeling of eating rice for the first time.

　　After taking one bite, there was no difference between the second and third bites, so she finished the bowl of rice carefully.

　　After she finished eating, she remembered why she came: "Sister Taotao, Sister Weiwei, did you reject Xu Baozhu?"

　　"Yes, what's wrong? Did she go home to complain?" Jiang Youtao didn't care. She just refused. Even if Xu Baozhu went home to complain, what could she do? Let Accountant Xu make things difficult for her? Not to mention that Accountant Xu didn't care about production. Even if he did, what could he do to them?

　　Xu Manqiu nodded: "Sister Taotao, Sister Weiwei, Xu Baozhu is a weird person. Anyone who refuses her will be in trouble."

　　Xu Manqiu's face was full of anxiety when she said this.

　　Not everyone in the Xu family was so kind to Xu Baozhu. After her third aunt married into the family and gave birth to her fourth brother, she became very arrogant and was particularly dissatisfied with the fact that the family favored Xu Baozhu so much. She found fault with them several times, but every time she found fault, she would get into trouble.

　　The most serious incident was when she pushed Xu Baozhu, and when she turned around, she fell to the ground, knocking out her front teeth. Now when she speaks, two cavities are exposed. To be honest, it's so ugly.

　　Later, she tried it many times. No matter whether it was her or an outsider, as long as they harbored ill will towards Xu Baozhu or treated her badly, they would suffer misfortune to varying degrees.

　　The reaction was particularly severe on her. The reason why she fell into the water when Jiang Youtao met her last time was mainly because she deliberately stepped on Xu Baozhu's red cotton jacket twice when she took the clothes out to wash.

　　She did it on purpose. They were twins from the same mother, so why did Xu Baozhu live so well?

　　Jiang Youtao laughed: "It's okay, we are not afraid." Who hasn't clicked the golden finger yet?

　　She is equipped with a melon-eating system. If she can be affected by the heroine of a small world that is about to collapse, the melon-eating system will be useless.

　　Besides, who isn't a heroine? Isn't Gu Nianwei one of them? Although she is out of the plot of the small world, she is still a heroine after all. She must have a bit of the aura of a heroine, right?

　　Xu Manqiu was about to say something when Gu Nianwei poured her a glass of water: "Come and have some water. Are you cold? Put on your slippers and sit on Sister Taotao's kang for a while."

　　Xu Manqiu couldn't refuse the concern of Gu Nianwei and Jiang Youtao. She tugged at her pants and socks. She loved cleanliness. Although her clothes were torn, she was grateful for washing them. She didn't smell. She hadn't gone to pick up manure in the morning, so she didn't smell.

　　At Jiang Youtao's urging, she took off her shoes and got on the kang. Jiang Youtao shook out the quilt and covered the three of them.

　　"Qiu'er, tell me what's going on with Xu Baozhu. Is she really that lucky?" Gu Nianwei had read several lucky-bag novels before traveling through time. She increasingly felt that Xu Baozhu was just like the heroines in those lucky-bag novels. How magical.

　　Xu Manqiu did not hide anything from them and told them everything about Xu Baozhu's great achievements from the beginning.

　　In addition to the birth incident that Jiang Youtao and the others knew about, there was also a time when she followed Xu Zhiqiang back to the county town when she was one year old. As soon as they entered the county town, they found a child being carried away. Xu Baozhu saw that the child was good-looking, so she asked Xu Zhiqiang to follow the child. It turned out that the child was the child of a county leader and was abducted. Xu Zhiqiang happened to save the child.

　　So Xu Manyu's mother became a temporary worker in the canteen of the Water Conservancy Bureau. After working there for so many years, she was already a regular employee.

　　In addition, Xu Baozhu went to play with the neighbor's little brother, but when she entered the house, she found the neighbor's grandfather lying on the ground. She hurried out to call for help and saved an old man who was helpful to their family.

　　There were countless such incidents. Of course, Xu Baozhu's luck was as good as Xu Manqiu's bad luck.

　　In those years, Xu Manqiu's luck was extremely bad. She could choke when swallowing saliva or eating peanuts. Later, when they grew up a little, Xu Baozhu's luck was not so good, and she was not so unlucky anymore.

　　On the warm little bed, Xu Manqiu slowly recounted the events of the past few years in a soft voice. The more she spoke, the more Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei felt sorry for her.

　　Xu Manqiu fell asleep while talking. Today was the first time that Xu Manqiu had a full meal, and it was also the first time that he realized that people would feel sleepy after eating.

　　Jiang Youtao saw that she fell asleep, and gave Gu Nianwei a look. The two of them tiptoed off the kang, gently straightened Xu Manqiu's body and covered her with a quilt.

　　The two of them closed the door and left Jiang Youtao's room. Gu Nianwei took a sip of water and whispered to Jiang Youtao, "Do you think Xu Baozhu's luck is too good? It's so good that it's a little abnormal!"

　　No matter how lucky a normal person is, it is impossible for so many lucky things to happen to them one after another within a year or two. And each of them is a big deal and a life-saving grace!

　　The abducted only son of the county leader, the factory director grandfather of the neighbor's little brother! Each of them is a heavyweight figure, and every person she rescued is a life-saving favor of the most important importance.

　　"It's really too good." Koi, after all, has some luck on her, but her good luck is accompanied by Xu Manqiu's bad luck, so this matter is somewhat suspicious.

　　"You think so too. I feel that Xu Baozhu is like the heroine in a novel. What do you think?" Gu Nianwei stared at Jiang Youtao while saying this.

　　Jiang Youtao knew that this was Gu Nianwei's test. She smiled at Gu Nianwei, showing her eight standard big white teeth: "I think you are right."

　　The two looked at each other, and finally Gu Nianwei pursed her lips, snorted, and walked away with the cup.

　　After returning to her room, she immediately slipped into the space and ran in it for a long time. She threw herself on a large Simmons bed and covered her eyes.

　　In this strange era, she is not alone. How great.

　　After Gu Nianwei left, Jiang Youtao returned to sit on the stool, smiled and crossed her feet to check the reason why Xu Manyu's little world collapsed.

　　Then she couldn't laugh anymore.

　　In the small world collapse report with red words on a white background, the ending of Xu Baozhu and Xu Manqiu was described in detail.

　　Because of Xu Baozhu's good luck, she had a particularly good relationship with the son of the county leader whom she had saved when she was a child and the only son of the neighbor's little brother. When they first fell in love, Xu Baozhu mediated between them. Before she could choose the initial winner, the college entrance examination was resumed, and she took the opportunity to take the college entrance examination.

　　Her academic performance is not good, but as the heroine of the Koi story, she can always turn danger into safety at the critical moment. During the exam, she was surrounded by academic masters, and none of them followed the exam rules, and the papers were always exposed to Xu Baozhu's sight.

　　The invigilator said nothing about her cheating and focused on reading his book at the podium.

　　Relying on plagiarism, Xu Baozhu was admitted to one of the top three universities in the country.

　　In school, she met several men with strong family backgrounds and great abilities. After a painful decision, she married a young officer in his twenties from a red family in the imperial capital. From then on, she was spoiled by her husband's family and her own family.

　　Became the happiest woman.

　　As for Xu Manqiu, when she was seventeen years old, she was sold to a family in the mountains by Old Lady Xu. The man was already in his forties and had never married. He hooked up with Old Lady Xu from somewhere and used up half his life savings to buy Xu Manqiu.

　　His family lived in the mountains, and it was not easy for the villagers to find a wife. Xu Manyu couldn't run away even if she wanted to. She struggled back and forth for four or five years, going through the motions of being beaten, getting pregnant, giving birth, and being beaten again.

　　Finally she learned her lesson. She seemed to have accepted her fate and took care of the children, served her husband, and worked in the fields, just like all the women in that village in the mountains. The man who bought her let down his guard towards her.

　　A few years later, she was able to go out on her own and she returned to Liushugou. By that time, she had been worn out by life and no longer looked young. The Xu family had become prosperous thanks to Xu Baozhu, and Accountant Xu, his wife, and others moved away with Xu Baozhu.

　　Only Xu Laosan's family was left because they had offended Xu Baozhu when they were young and were not taken away. Xu Manqiu did not go to see them. When she was leaving the village, she was caught up by Aunt Xu San.

　　Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu have always been in conflict because Xu Baozhu did not take them to the big city to enjoy a good life. Uncle Xu would bring up this matter to nag Aunt Xu whenever he had time, and would even beat her for it when he was drunk.

　　Aunt Xu hated Xu Baozhu's family.

　　She dreamed of telling Xu Manqiu everything, and it was also a coincidence that she saw Xu Manqiu when she came back from watering the fields that day. Although Xu Manqiu was different from when she was a child, she still recognized her at a glance.

　　Xu Manqiu knew that her life was so miserable because of a Taoist priest's words, and she couldn't even cry. She also knew that she was sold because Xu Baozhu came back and said that there were two people pursuing her with particularly good conditions. If she wanted to marry them, she would be laughed at if her dowry was too little.

　　So Mrs. Xu thought of selling her for a dowry. Everyone in the Xu family knew about this, but no one objected, whether it was Accountant Xu, Xu Zhiqiang or her mother Li Yinfeng. Only Xu Manqiu knew the grief and indignation in her heart.

　　She didn't understand. Xu Baozhu was lucky and could bring benefits to the family. It was normal for them to love her. Was it necessary to mistreat her like this?

　　Xu Manqiu ran away, begging all the way to the city where Xu Baozhu lived, and found Xu Baozhu's home according to the address given by Aunt Xu San. It was a coincidence that the Xu family was looking for a nanny, and no one from Accountant Xu to Xu Baozhu recognized her.

　　Xu Manqiu spent the little money she had left to get a fake certificate and become the nanny of Xu Baozhu's family. She waited and waited, and finally the time came for the Xu family to gather together. When Xu Manqiu was cooking, she put four bottles of sleeping pills that she had saved for a long time into the soup. She was afraid that no one would drink the soup, so she put them in while cooking.

　　She was a good cook, and the Xu family, including Xu Baozhu's husband who was a soldier, ate a lot of it. Dozens of people were poisoned that day. She set fire to Xu Baozhu's house and escaped. She hid for nearly five years before she was found by the police. On the day she was arrested, she confessed everything and committed suicide in the cell late at night.

　　She was less than 40 years old at that time. It was during her five years on the run that she truly lived like a human being.

　　In the transcript to the police, she said that she did not regret burning Xu Baozhu's family to death. If she was not afraid of Xu Baozhu's terrible luck that could turn danger into safety, she would definitely find a way to sell Xu Baozhu into the mountains and let her have a taste of what it feels like to be a breeding machine for others.

　　Jiang Youtao hated the Xu family so much that her teeth were itching.

　　Damn it, the Xu family is such a fucking inhumane bunch.

　　[ Tongzi, come out, I want to ask you something. There are three small worlds. Why, I ask you why, most of the male and female protagonists have flaws in their character? ]

　　Lin Jianzhong was like this, Xia Heyu and Su Zhengtang were like this, and now Xu Baozhu is like this too!

　　The melon-eating system argued: [ If the male and female protagonists are all true, kind, and beautiful, then how can the small world collapse? ]

　　Jiang Youtao was silent. The words were rough but the truth was there. What the melon-eating system said made damn sense.

　　Jiang Youtao felt that she needed to calm down, so she put the melon-eating system into the small dark room.

　　The melon-eating system hasn't been blocked by the host for a long time. It don't know why, but it was suddenly blocked again. It misses this feeling quite a bit.

　　·····

　　In the warm and fragrant quilt, Xu Manqiu had the only good sleep she had ever had in her life.

　　When she woke up, it was dark outside, as if it was going to rain. Gu Nianwei and Jiang Youtao were no longer in the room. Xu Manqiu felt a little embarrassed. She got up from the kang, folded the cup that Jiang Youtao had covered her with, and put it neatly back to its original place, then quickly smoothed out the slightly wrinkled bed sheet.

　　She opened the door and walked out. White smoke was coming out of the pot in the corridor. Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei were sitting at the dining table with pens and notebooks, calculating things. They would discuss something from time to time.

　　Xu Manqiu was extremely envious.

　　Jiang Youtao saw her first and waved her over: "Are you awake? Do you have a headache?"

　　It is already four o'clock in the afternoon, and Xu Manqiu has slept for more than three hours. After sleeping for such a long time at noon, she must have a headache when she wakes up.

　　Xu Manqiu shook her head: "It doesn't hurt, it's very comfortable." She walked to the third chair beside the table and sat down, looking at the beautiful handwriting of Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei on the notebook, her face full of curiosity and envy.

　　That longing look made Gu Nianwei almost curse.

　　She had inquired about it all. Xu Baozhu was not a good student at all and had never passed an exam at school. Xu Manqiu had never attended school for a single day and the Xu family even refused to let her attend literacy classes.

　　Jiang Youtao also saw it. When she thought of what Xu Manqiu had experienced in the Small World Report, she felt a surge of heartache.

　　She said to Xu Manqiu: "Qiu'er, do you want to learn to read and write? How about your sister Weiwei and I teach you?"

　　Xu Manqiu suddenly looked at Jiang Youtao, his eyes sparkling: "Can I do this? Can I really do this?"

　　Xu Manqiu dreamed of learning to read and going to school. When she was a child, she saw Xu Baozhu carrying a schoolbag to school, and she wanted to go too. She boldly proposed her idea to Accountant Xu and Old Lady Xu. Before Accountant Xu could say anything, Old Lady Xu grabbed a broom and beat her.

　　Later, the village opened a literacy class, and she went there secretly. As soon as she approached, she was discovered by Old Lady Xu, who caught her and beat her. The beating left her leg lame for half a month, and she never dared to mention going to school in front of Old Lady Xu again.

　　But privately, she would always ask Accountant Xu for help at the beginning of each semester.

　　She was fifteen years old and had been begging Accountant Xu for nine years, but Accountant Xu had never given in and had never even thought of teaching her to read.

　　The villagers praised him as the most educated person in Liushugou. Xu Manqiu had long given up hope of learning to read and write.

　　"Forget it. My grandma said that I have a dull mind and can't learn it. It will be embarrassing." Xu Manqiu lowered her head and twisted her two fingers together.

　　She was afraid that she was as stupid as Old Lady Xu said, and would embarrass herself in front of Jiang Youtao and the others. She was afraid that if she was stupid, Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei would stop playing with her.

　　Jiang Youtao held Xu Manqiu's hand and said, "How could that be? Our Qiu'er is very smart. How could she be so stupid? Your grandma must be talking nonsense. Come, I will teach you to recognize simple words."

　　Jiang Youtao's hands were warm and her voice was soft, so Xu Manqiu didn't have the slightest thought of refusing.

　　Gu Nianwei also said, "Yes, Qiu'er, you will definitely be able to learn it. Even if you can't learn it, it doesn't matter. If you can't learn it once, just learn it more times. Look, doesn't Xu Baozhu always fail the exams? She is not embarrassed, so why are you afraid?"

　　Gu Nianwei's encouragement gave Xu Manqiu a little confidence.

　　Xu Baozhu did often fail, but she never felt ashamed of her poor academic performance! She was not afraid, so why couldn't she?

　　Jiang Youtao opened a blank notebook and wrote Xu Manqiu's name stroke by stroke: "Hey, this is your name, this is Xu, this is Man, and this is Qiu."

　　Xu Manqiu stared at the three words, as if she wanted to engrave them into her mind.

　　Xu Manqiu knew what her name meant, but at this moment, she felt that her name looked beautiful when written.

　　Gu Nianwei went back to her room and got another pencil and a notebook: "Come, learn with your sister Taotao."

　　Xu Manqiu couldn't resist the temptation of learning to read, so he followed Jiang Youtao and began to write stroke by stroke.

　　There was a sound of rain outside, and the three of them were studying very enthusiastically in the house.

　　The rain lasted for two hours. When it stopped, Xu Manqiu reluctantly left. She first went outside the cave to collect some manure before returning.

　　As expected, she was scolded as soon as she entered the door. Xu Lianhui from her third uncle's family loved to imitate adults, and when he heard the old woman Xu scolding her as a jinx and a little bitch, he followed suit. Xu Manyu didn't care at all.

　　She had learned not to care.

　　She came back late, so she didn't have a share of dinner, but she wasn't hungry at all. Before she came back, Sister Weiwei gave her two steamed buns, and Sister Taotao gave her a cup with a lid. She ate and drank at the same time, and was already full. She didn't take the cup back, but left it in the cave.

　　That cave was filled with all her important belongings.

　　Xu Baozhu was very unhappy when she saw Xu Manqiu coming back. She ran to her and said, "Where have you been, Manqiu? I've been looking for you for a long time. Come in quickly. I bought a small set of clothes that are not easy to wear. Go and change into them."

　　…..

　　Not long after Xu Manqiu left, Jiang Youtao and Gu Nianwei started eating. Before they were full, Zhao Yonglan rushed in.

　　"Stop eating, stop eating. Hurry up, let's go to Xu's house. A fight has started. A fight has started."