Chapter 98: No Matter How Big, They’ll Sag Eventually

New Year’s Day.

In Jiangzhou, there’s a tradition.

Every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, people place a stick of “Peace and Harmony” incense at their doorstep.

Only after it finishes burning can anyone in the family step outside.

The meaning behind it is a wish for a peaceful, harmonious, and fulfilling year ahead.

Everyone knows it’s just a symbolic gesture, but for the sake of peace of mind, every household is used to burning incense at their doorstep before going out on New Year’s morning.

Early morning.

Jiang Ning was woken up by her mom.

She glanced at the pile of brand-new clothes laid out neatly beside her bed—from underwear to outerwear.

She sighed and picked up the pink lace bra on top.

Hm?

A front clasp?

She checked the size…

32C…

What’s that supposed to mean?

Jiang Ning didn’t really understand bra sizes and just slipped it on.

Perfect fit.

Heh.

In the end, no one knows your body better than your own mom.

Just then, her mom walked in and saw Jiang Ning finishing putting it on.

She stared for a moment.

“Ningning, you can’t grow any more.”

“If you do, they’ll start sagging.”

That comment made Jiang Ning freeze mid-motion, her face going dark.

“…Mom, out.”

“Oh? All grown up now? Know how to be shy?” Tian Cuilan teased while pulling a red envelope out of her pocket.

She walked over to the bed and placed it on the headboard.

“Here—Happy New Year!”

“Mom wishes you good health, happiness every day, better grades, and to grow even more beauti—oh wait, you’re already good-looking enough.”

Out of respect for the red envelope, Jiang Ning ignored the teasing.

She reached out, took the envelope, gave a little hum, and opened a corner.

And then—

A flash of blue and white caught her eye. A “Grandpa Mao” bill peeked out.

She pulled it out.

A full 100 yuan!

Jiang Ning looked at her mom in disbelief.

“Mom, did you put the wrong amount in?”

“Don’t want it?” Tian Cuilan reached out to grab it back, but a certain money-grubber was quicker.

She stuffed the bill right into her bra.

“Hehe, I want it!”

“Then hurry up and get dressed! We’ve got a bus to catch to go back to the village and pay respects!”

With that, she walked out.

Only then did Jiang Ning pull the money back out from her bra, flattened it out, and happily kissed it.

Mmm.

Why does it smell like milk?

Jiang Ning wrinkled her nose, but didn’t think too much of it.

As for why she was so thrilled over a single 100-yuan bill, even though she had hundreds of thousands in her bank account—

That’s the difference between “dark money” and “open money.”

Dark money—secret savings—has to be spent with utmost care, lest her mom finds out.

So even though she had money, she didn’t dare buy anything expensive for herself.

She didn’t even dare get a new computer.

But open money?

That’s different.

She could buy whatever she wanted.

Unfortunately, her open money only amounted to a few hundred yuan.

Half an hour later.

Jiang Ning, naturally beautiful, only dabbed on a bit of Dabao cream before heading out with her fully made-up mom.

Today she was wearing an outfit her mom bought her.

On top, a pure white short down jacket.

On the bottom, tight-fitting jeans.

The jeans hugged her waist and hips in a way that accentuated her curves.

Very eye-catching.

Not that Jiang Ning noticed.

When she got dressed, she never looked herself over head-to-toe like a “real” girl would.

So she had no idea what she looked like from the back.

Soon, the mother and daughter strolled through their neighborhood.

Along the way, neighbors kept complimenting Jiang Ning’s looks so much her face almost froze from smiling.

Two aunties even started talking about how “fertile” she looked and offered to introduce her to some men.

What the hell.

Jiang the Hooligan almost lost it on the spot.

After a while, when they finally left the neighborhood, they saw her aunt waving at them from across the street.

Next to her aunt, a black Santana car was parked.

Through the window—

Jiang Ning saw a goofy face she knew all too well…

Two minutes later.

The black Santana started up.

“Cousin? This car…”

“Rented. 100 yuan a day. So expensive…” said Tian Wenhao from the driver’s seat.

Jiang Ning looked surprised.

“You have a driver’s license?”

“Yeah, just got it recently.” He pointed at the center compartment.

Jiang Ning opened it up and found a shiny new license.

She picked it up and opened it.

There was Tian Wenhao’s ID photo, a string of numbers, and the issue date—

January 18.

Just a few days ago.

Seeing that, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but worry about her cousin’s driving skills.

Sure, the ride seemed smooth now, but they were still in the city.

Flat, straight roads.

Once they hit the countryside…

Potholes aside, there were all sorts of random animals—dogs, cows, sheep—suddenly dashing into the road.

Enough to give a rookie like him a real headache.

Plus, the car was a manual.

Sure enough—

About an hour later, after they got off the highway, a sudden chicken dash made the car stall.

Then the second time—

Another chicken.

Third time—yep, still chicken.

Jiang Ning couldn’t help but ask,

“Mom, when did the village get so many chickens?”

“I think there’s a new chicken farm just outside the village. They’ve been busy corralling them lately.”

Oh.

That explains it.

Wait—

A chicken farm?

In that instant, Tian Wenhao suddenly glanced at Jiang Ning.

Their eyes met.

They both saw something in the other’s expression.

And then…

The car stalled again.

Finally—

After two more stalls, they arrived at their destination.

Jiang Ning’s hometown.

A village with no mountains, no rivers—just fields as far as the eye could see.

Very ordinary, very unremarkable.

But Jiang Ning didn’t mind it at all—in fact, she quite liked it here.

In her previous life, whenever she had a school break, she loved running back to her hometown.

Chasing wild chickens, digging for river snails, catching frogs, fishing for crawfish…

Thinking back on those days, life had actually been pretty joyful.

But those were just memories from her past life.

In this life, she didn’t seem to like her hometown quite as much.

Because in her memories, there were quite a few embarrassing moments.

Chased by chickens, bitten by geese, headbutted by goats, swarmed by mosquitoes…

Even just using the dry toilet—seeing those wriggling maggots—had nearly made her throw up.

So…

This was how girls saw their hometown?

Jiang Ning chuckled wryly to herself.

Getting out of the car, she was immediately greeted by the sight of her uncle in a leather jacket, munching on sunflower seeds while waiting by the well.

After some polite greetings between relatives,

Jiang Ning and the others headed into her uncle’s house.

The place was relatively tidy—

But the smell of tobacco from a few elderly neighbors hanging around was pretty strong.

Like the kind where you grow your own leaves and roll your own cigarettes.

Jiang Ning greeted everyone shyly, then pulled Tian Wenhao to sit with her in front of the TV. While watching, they cracked sunflower seeds and chatted about post-holiday plans for the shop.

Just as Jiang Ning was talking about the next step—opening a new location downtown—

A dust-covered figure suddenly burst through the door.

She strode straight to the TV cabinet, picked up a thermos, and tilted her head back, gulping it down.

After taking a big swig, she finally turned around, eyes sweeping over the people sitting on the couch.

Her gaze landed on the girl, eyes wide with shock.

“Jiang… Ning?”

Her voice was a bit rough, her tone filled with disbelief.

Upon hearing it, the girl smiled, her eyes curving sweetly as she called out:

“Sis Ting~”

Hearing that nickname,

Tian Ting instantly grinned from ear to ear. She stepped forward, about to give the girl a hug—then suddenly remembered something.

She halted in her tracks.

“Hold on, I need to change first.”

“The smell of chicken poop on me is way too strong.”

(End of Chapter)