After the commotion the previous night, early the next morning, Su Baoguo went with his friends to ambush He Hua at the public toilet.
After suffering a loss before, He Hua was extremely cautious this time. Holding a broom, she carefully looked around to make sure no one was hiding nearby. Only after confirming it was safe did she quickly enter the toilet, planning to finish her business as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, Su Baoguo and his group were too clever. They had climbed onto the wall, and as soon as they saw He Hua go inside, they worked together to pour a bucket of urine over the wall—right onto He Hua's head.
"Ah!!! My new clothes!"
"Su Baoguo, it's you again! Stop right there—let's see how I deal with you little brats!"
Her scream startled the birds in the surrounding trees. In an instant, the flock scattered, creating quite a commotion.
Amid this chaos, Su Yun slung her satchel over her shoulder and went to work.
As soon as she arrived at the recycling station, someone came to sell scrap metal sheets. Su Yun rolled up her sleeves, helped weigh the metal, wrote out a receipt, and paid the person one yuan and fifty cents.
After finishing that transaction, another customer walked in.
Su Yun looked up and immediately smiled. "Uncle, it's you! Thank you for speaking up for me last time. You didn't get hurt, did you?"
The visitor was the old man who had helped her stand up to Captain Liu before.
Being called "uncle" clearly pleased him; he felt younger. He straightened up and said boldly, "That Liu fellow couldn't hurt me! I was just caught off guard when he pushed me."
"By the way, young comrade, I heard Liu was sentenced to twenty years. Did you know?"
Su Yun nodded. "Yes, I heard. Evil deeds bring their own punishment—it's very satisfying."
The old man agreed enthusiastically. "Exactly! He was always bullying others, and now he's finally paid the price. I heard his accomplices didn't fare any better—at least ten years each. It's a cause for celebration!"
Su Yun smiled. "Uncle, are you here to sell scrap again?"
"I've been idle at home, so I did some cleaning and found some old items that had gone moldy. It seemed a waste to throw them away, so I brought them here to sell."
As he spoke, he placed a bag of old items on the scale. "These were once decorative things, but they're worthless now. Just give me whatever you think is fair, so I don't have to carry them back."
The moment Su Yun heard "old items," her eyes lit up.
She opened the bag and reached inside—
"Ding! Detected: one copy of Tiangong Kaiwu from the mid-Ming Dynasty, heavily mold-damaged. Recycling price: 100 yuan. Sell?"
Su Yun froze for a moment, then pulled out the book, whose cover was barely legible, feeling shocked.
This book alone was worth 100 yuan?
Without thinking further, she reached in again and pulled out another book—
"Ding! Detected: one book on antique appraisal, dynasty unknown. Recycling price: 50 yuan. Sell?"
She set it aside and continued—
"Ding! Detected: one copy of Qimin Yaoshu from the early Song Dynasty, severely mold-damaged. Recycling price: 200 yuan. Sell?"
The remaining books in the bag added up to more than 200 yuan. Including the first three, the total was nearly 600 yuan.
After finishing, Su Yun couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
The old man, unaware, asked, "Young comrade, can these books be sold for money?"
Su Yun nodded firmly. "Yes, they can."
She felt it wouldn't be right to take advantage of him, especially since he had helped her before. So she said, "Uncle, selling these as scrap would be a big loss. I happen to have a friend who collects old items like these. If you sell them to him, you could earn more."
The old man hesitated. "But these books are moldy. You can barely read the text…"
"It's fine. My friend doesn't mind—he just likes collecting."
After a moment, Su Yun made an offer. "How about this—I'll buy them on behalf of my friend for… 100 yuan. What do you think?"
She had originally thought of offering more, but was afraid of startling him, so she settled on 100 yuan.
Even so, the old man was shocked. After a long pause, he said, "These books can sell for 100 yuan? Won't your friend be at a loss?"
Su Yun shook her head. "He won't. Uncle, do you want to sell them?"
The old man had come to sell them anyway, so he immediately nodded. "Alright, I'll sell! But if your friend regrets it, he can come find me anytime for a refund. I, Zhou Jinwen, never take advantage of others!"
"Uncle Zhou, you're very generous!"
The old man smiled. "Young comrade, I'm getting on in years. From now on, just call me Grandpa Zhou."
Su Yun readily agreed, "Alright, Grandpa Zhou."
They quickly completed the transaction. Su Yun paid him 100 yuan, and both sides were satisfied. She happily saw him off.
Then she immediately sold the books to the system. After checking her balance, she now had 12,823.4 yuan—she felt like she had struck it rich!
In her excitement, Su Yun even danced a little. Not long after, Gu Hai arrived with his books.
Su Yun was focused on solving math problems. She had only finished half the paper when Gu Hai poked her arm and said, "Comrade Su Yun, that woman outside seems to be looking for you. She's been standing at the door for quite a while."
She looked up toward the entrance and saw a girl in patched clothes, holding a basket. She stood hesitantly outside, unsure whether to come in.
Su Yun stared for a moment before finally recognizing her.
"Sister Xiu?"
That's right—the girl was Su Xiu.
In fact, Su Yun hadn't seen Su Xiu for more than ten years, especially not her younger self, which felt unfamiliar.
After Su Wenshan's accident in her previous life, Su Xiu—who was working elsewhere—had sent 1,000 yuan to Chen Xiue. She had later returned to visit him several times, and she and Su Yun had some contact.
However, the man Su Xiu married later was worthless. He stole all the money she had saved over the years and ran away with another woman and an illegitimate child.
By her thirties, Su Xiu's hair had already turned white. To pay for her daughter's medical treatment, she had to work multiple jobs and aged prematurely.
The last time Su Yun saw her was in the hospital, when Su Xiu mentioned she was going out of town to find her husband and divorce him.
After that, Su Yun never saw her again. At the time, she was struggling herself and couldn't help Su Xiu.
Thinking back on the past, Su Yun felt a wave of emotion.
Now, seeing the young and beautiful Su Xiu, Su Yun greeted her warmly. "Sister Xiu, you're here—why didn't you come in? At least call out to me. Don't just stand in the sun!"
She pulled Su Xiu into the recycling station.
Su Xiu looked very restrained, her movements cautious, her voice soft. "Xiaoyun, I came specifically to see you today. You know… my mother had some conflict with your family. I came to apologize on her behalf."
She held out the basket. "These eggs are very fresh—I saved them one by one. Please give them to Auntie for me and ask her not to be angry with my mother anymore."