Gu Qingyao frowned as she looked at the 109 yuan she had obtained.

She had looked forward to these circ.u.mstances because it meant that everyone's lives were improving and there had been a bountiful harvest.

But to her, this was bad news!

She could no longer exchange food for much money, but she had far less cash than what she required.

She had so many goods in her inters.p.a.ce and they were at their most valuable now. If she kept them for later, they would not be worth as much.

Gu Qingyao bowed her head, thinking of how she could exchange more food and goods.

On the way home, Gu Qingyao was startled to see Gu Yunshuang!

“Yao Yao!”

Gu Yunshuang had been sitting by the roadside, waiting anxiously. When she saw Gu Qingyao return, she quickly stood up.

“Younger Aunt, let's go home!”

Gu Yunshuang glanced behind her. There was no one!

Then she examined her. She was unharmed!

Gu Qingyao smiled. “Younger Aunt, don't worry. I didn't do much. It's all right. Let's go home!”

Gu Yunshuang did not know what to say. She thought that she would tell Fourth Brother about it when she got home.

So she nodded and said, “All right, let's go home!”

After they reached home, Gu Yunshuang recounted the incident to Gu Yunshen. Strangely enough, Gu Yunshen did not seem surprised at all, as if he already knew all about it. He did not mention the problem that Gu Qingyao presented.

Also, he did not seek out Gu Qingyao to have a chat with her after the incident. Gu Yunshuang did not know what to say.

She carefully examined Gu Qingyao's features, and thought about Gu Yunshen's looks.

It was true that Gu Ruoqing did not look at all like Gu Yunshen. But she did look like Zhang Xiaohui.

Gu Qingyao did not look like Zhang Xiaohui at all, although she bore some resemblance to Gu Yunshen…

She was not ostracizing Gu Qingyao. After all, they had doted on her since she was young. No matter what, this had nothing to do with her.

But Gu Yunshen's att.i.tude had aroused her curiosity. Now that she had carefully examined their features, Gu Yunshuang looked away and did not mention the matter again.

Meanwhile, in town, Zhou Hong and w.a.n.g Guozhu negotiated for several days before Zhou Hong agreed to the divorce. However, she wanted w.a.n.g Guozhu to give Zhou Xiaoyu twenty yuan every month as part of her dowry.

Twenty yuan was approximately half of w.a.n.g Guozhu's salary.

w.a.n.g Guozhu refused.

In the end, the two settled on fifteen yuan a month until Zhou Xiaoyu got married.

It was now the end of February.

It would soon be Zhou Xiaoyu's birthday. Zhou Hong requested that they celebrate Zhou Xiaoyu's birthday together before filing for divorce. Although w.a.n.g Guozhu did not wish to delay even a day longer, he agreed because it was just over ten days away.

When the agreement was settled, he immediately gave Zhang Xiaohui a definite date.

Although Zhang Xiaohui knew she could marry and move to the city the following month, her joy was greatly reduced.

Because her pregnancy was showing!

Meanwhile, in the Gu family, Eldest Aunt Fang Ling had returned from her parents' home with her two children. Her job was not as important as that of her husband and eldest son, so she had applied for a longer period of leave. But Eldest Uncle, Gu Yunjing, and Eldest Cousin, Gu Jinye, had returned to their workplace.

Fang Ling could not bear to be parted with her children, so she lingered at her parents' home with them.

Now that she had brought the children back to the Gu family, she had to leave. Her husband had written to her, asking her to hurry back as soon as possible. She knew that she was running out of time.

They were prepared so that even if they were demoted, they could remain together. But if she did not return now, then their future would be uncertain.