"Qin Qin, are you home?"
At the door, a woman in her sixties, carrying a basket, walked into the house and asked Qin Qin with a smile.
Qin Qin put down her chopsticks, elegantly wiped her mouth, and stood up to look at the visitor. Through her memory, she knew the woman before her was Grandma Xu, her neighbor, a very kind and amiable person.
"Grandma Xu, what brings you here?"
Grandma Xu took a large napa cabbage out of her basket and handed it to Qin Qin, "I picked this cabbage this morning, it's very fresh, take it."
Grandma Xu had always been kind to Qin Qin and her father, and would always share some vegetables from her home with them.
Looking at the large napa cabbage offered in front of her, Qin Qin declined, "Grandma Xu, I can't accept this. Please take it back."
"Hey, why be so formal with Grandma Xu, girl? It's not worth much; just take it quickly. Grandma Xu's vegetable patch is bountiful this year, I can't even eat it all," Grandma Xu insisted, thrusting the cabbage into Qin Qin's hands before turning to leave.
Qin Qin looked at the cabbage thrust into her hands with a mix of laughter and tears. The Qin Qin of the past had held jewels of inestimable value, but now she held a napa cabbage worth just a few dollars. Although the difference was significant, it somehow felt alright. The jewels, no matter how many she had in her hands, felt too cold, whereas this cabbage seemed quite warm.
Looking up at Grandma Xu's retreating figure, Qin Qin suddenly furrowed her brows and swiftly stepped forward to call out to Grandma Xu.
Grandma Xu turned around, looking puzzled at Qin Qin, "Qin Qin, what's the matter?"
Qin Qin stared at the faint black aura emanating from Grandma Xu, scrutinizing it with her eyes. The next moment, an image appeared before Qin Qin: it showed Grandma Xu washing freshly picked vegetables alone by a ditch. But as she stood up after crouching for too long, she felt dizzy and fell into the ditch. With no one around, Grandma Xu struggled for a long time. Although she ultimately was not seriously harmed, the fall in the water caused a severe illness, which weakened her considerably, and she passed away a few years later.
Qin Qin was not one to meddle in other people's affairs. The Qin Qin of the past had seen life and death and had grown cold-hearted and indifferent, choosing not to concern herself with matters that did not involve her. However, now that she had been given a second chance at life, Qin Qin found she could not stand by and watch indifferently. Grandma Xu was a good person, and if her death came as a result of Qin Qin's inaction, she knew she would feel guilty.
Qin Qin walked up to Grandma Xu and said, "Grandma Xu, don't go wash vegetables by the ditch today."
Grandma Xu was taken aback. How did Qin Qin know she would go to wash vegetables by the ditch later on?
"Qin Qin, how did you know Grandma Xu was going to wash vegetables by the ditch?"
"Grandma Xu, never mind that. Just listen to me and remember not to go wash vegetables by the ditch," Qin Qin insisted.
After speaking, Qin Qin turned and walked into her own home.
Grandma Xu chuckled and shook her head, "This girl has become somewhat strange since she came back."
Grandma Xu carried her basket back home and glanced at the green vegetables still covered in soil piled up in the corner. She went over to pick them up, intending to wash them at the ditch not far from her house, but then she remembered Qin Qin's words and stopped in her tracks.
"Forget it, I'll just wash the vegetables at home today, hehe, when did I actually start listening to that little girl's words?!"
Grandma Xu turned around with the vegetables in her arms and walked into the house, not noticing that not far away Qin Qin was watching her. Only when Grandma Xu entered the house did Qin Qin relax and go inside.
Qin Qin cleaned the dishes at home and tidied up the modest house along the way. The Qin Qin from her memories seemed to seldom do these tasks, so she was a bit awkward and slow at it.
After finishing all this, Qin Qin walked into her room and opened the drawer of the desk. Inside the drawer was a small iron box. Opening the iron box, she found it contained several small-denomination coins, which were the loose change that the former Qin Qin had saved. Counting them, there were forty-three yuan.
She then walked out of the house, making sure the front door was locked.
Just as Qin Qin had left the house and not gone far, she saw her Big Aunt approaching from the opposite side, looking at her with disdain.
"Qin Qin, where is your dad? When are you planning to repay the money?" Lee Shuhua asked abruptly without any courtesy, "I'm telling you, don't even think about defaulting on the debt. How could your father even think of letting you stay in the hospital for so long without any money? Wasting so much money, it's just outrageous. Also, your grades aren't that great either, I think you might as well stop wasting money on schooling. You're making your disabled dad work so hard every day and his efforts aren't even enough for your tuition. Now, you've sold the pig at home and still owe my family money. I have no idea if we owed you something in our past lives."
Qin Qin gave Lee Shuhua a cold look, making her involuntarily take a step back. When had this girl's gaze become so sharp? Something had seemed off since yesterday, and now she dared to talk back to her?
Standing tall at one hundred and sixty-five centimeters, Qin Qin looked down at Lee Shuhua, who was only one hundred and fifty-eight centimeters tall, feeling an odd chill.
"Hehe, Big Aunt, did you not brush your teeth this morning?"
Lee Shuhua covered her mouth. How did this girl know she hadn't brushed her teeth? "What are you babbling about? What do I brush or not brush my teeth have to do with you?"
Qin Qin nearly laughed at the woman's foolish gesture, "Big Aunt, I just felt that your breath was particularly bad today, so I had to ask if you brushed your teeth. It really has nothing to do with me whether you brushed or not. But you insisted on talking to me and made me smell it, so I had to ask. Don't think I'm being nosy. I'm just kindly reminding you, so you don't go around stinking up other people."
Even though Lee Shuhua was not the sharpest tool in the shed, she could infer the hidden meaning in Qin Qin's words, and in a flash, she was raging mad, "Qin Qin, you damn brat, are you asking for a beating, daring to insult me like this?"
Seeing that Lee Shuhua was about to hit her, Qin Qin narrowed her eyes coldly, "Big Aunt, my dad has never laid a hand on me, what gives you the right to discipline me? Oh, right, I heard that your husband didn't come home all of last night. He didn't storm out because of something you did, did he, and decided not to come back?"
Lee Shuhua was taken aback. How did this girl know? Did some blabbermouth spill the beans?
"What are you talking about? My relationship with your uncle is very good!"
"Whether that's nonsense or not, you'd know best, Big Aunt. I'm quite busy, so I won't keep you company any longer. If you have time to gossip here, you might as well go back and sweet-talk your husband, lest he not forgive you!"
Qin Qin chuckled softly as she walked past Lee Shuhua without caring about the latter's furious expression.
"Qin Qin, you damn girl!"