The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

Although Bai Zhengyuan didn't make a fuss like his parents, his brows were deeply furrowed into a deep frown.

He sat there upright, his face cold and stern, clearly disapproving of his sister's risky suggestion.

Qiao Xinxin, however, remained completely calm.

She had long anticipated that for her parents, who had honestly farmed the land their whole lives in this era, the words "doing business" were undoubtedly a pipe dream.

"Dad, Mom, don't scare yourselves like that. Let me explain slowly!"

Qiao Xinxin softened her voice, yet her tone carried a seductive sense of reassurance: "The policies have changed a long time ago. The government encourages the development of individual businesses! Do you think doing business is still the old 'speculation and profiteering'? It's not anymore! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Many of those who dared to be the first to 'eat the crab' have already made a fortune! By the time everyone realizes what's happening in a few years and rushes to grab business, it'll be too late!"

Bai Zhengyuan keenly caught the foresight in his sister's words. He raised his head, his sharp, hawk-like gaze fixed on her, and asked in a deep voice, "Xin Xin, stop with the empty talk. What are you actually thinking? What are you planning to do? Tell me."

Seeing that her older brother was on the right track, Qiao Xinxin immediately perked up and revealed her pre-planned scheme:

"My idea is simple: we can't get fat overnight, so let Mom and Dad start with a small business! For example, we can rent a small stall near the family compound or outside the military base. In the morning, we can sell some steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk for breakfast."

"These things require little capital and have low risk. Even if we can't sell them all, we can just eat or use them ourselves; they definitely won't be stuck with us! As long as Mom and Dad are willing to work hard and are diligent, I guarantee we'll make money! Once we figure out the ropes and save up some capital, we can slowly expand the scale!"

After hearing these words, the living room fell into a brief silence.

Looking at his younger sister, whose eyes were shining and who was speaking eloquently, Bai Zhengyuan felt a surge of emotions.

He felt both unfamiliar and incredibly gratified.

His younger sister, far from being spoiled in the treacherous Qiao family, instead developed an extremely intelligent and courageous mind!

She has really grown up. She is no longer the little girl who would follow him around with snot running down her face and shout "Brother, hug me!" ten years ago.

"good!"

Bai Zhengyuan slapped his thigh, a smile of admiration appearing on his resolute face. "Since our Xinxin has the courage and vision, as her older brother, I have no objections and absolutely support her! Dad, Mom, what do you think?"

Bai's mother was still somewhat apprehensive, her palms sweating profusely. But seeing her daughter's confident and radiant demeanor, and then looking at her son's resolute eyes, the fierce determination that belonged to a farmer was also stirred up within her.

She gritted her teeth and nodded heavily: "Then... let's give it a try? Anyway, we've already handed over the land back home, and we can't go back to our hometown. We can't rely on Zheng Yuan's salary to support us in this city, just sitting around doing nothing!"

Mr. Bai took a deep drag on his pipe, exhaled a smoke ring, and said in a muffled, thunderous voice, "Fine! Let's give it a try! If we really lose money, this old man can just go to the city construction sites to carry bricks and heavy loads! I won't starve!"

"Yay! I definitely won't lose out!"

Qiao Xinxin clapped her hands excitedly, almost jumping up and down: "Dad, Mom, don't worry! With me here to give you advice, you definitely won't lose a single penny!"

She suddenly stopped talking at this point.

Qiao Xinxin looked around mysteriously, like a cunning little fox, and lowered her voice: "But...doing business requires capital. Wait for me a moment, I have something good to show you!"

As she spoke, she didn't even put her shoes on properly, but instead shuffled around in her cloth shoes and ran into her bedroom.

The moment she closed the door, Qiao Xinxin had a thought and immediately connected with the space.

She turned the Qiao family upside down and looted several thousand dollars in cash alone.

She precisely retrieved a thick stack of 10-yuan "Great Unity" notes from her spatial storage, a full two hundred notes, totaling two thousand yuan!

When Qiao Xinxin walked back to the living room with a beaming smile, carrying a huge stack of "big unity" bills that were as thick as bricks—

"hiss--!"

A collective gasp filled the living room!

The eyes of Bai's father, mother, and Bai Zhengyuan widened instantly, becoming larger than copper bells, their eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets!

Mrs. Bai was so frightened that her legs went weak and she collapsed onto the sofa. Pointing at the mountain of banknotes on the coffee table, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word for a long time: "This...this...this..."

Qiao Xinxin, however, remained nonchalant, tossing the money onto the worn-out coffee table with a dull thud, and announced casually, "Here, this is two thousand yuan!"

"Two thousand yuan?!"

Mr. Bai was so shocked he nearly jumped off the sofa, his face deathly pale. He stumbled backward, exclaiming, "Xin Xin! Where did you get so much money?! Didn't you say the Qiao family treated you badly, always beating and scolding you? How could they possibly give you so much money?! That must be their family's savings accumulated over many years!"

This was two thousand yuan in the 1980s! An ordinary worker might not be able to save up such a huge sum of money even after working himself to the bone for seven or eight years!

Bai Zhengyuan's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and the ruthless aura he had cultivated in the army over the years suddenly erupted.

He grabbed Qiao Xinxin's slender wrist, his brows furrowed tightly, his eyes terrifyingly stern: "Xinxin! Look me in the eye and tell me the truth! Where did this money come from?! Did the Qiao family give it to you? Or... what did you do when you left?!"

He feared that his sister might take a wrong turn and commit crimes in order to take revenge on the Qiao family!

Feeling the iron grip on her wrist and the slight trembling worry from her older brother, Qiao Xinxin felt a warmth in her heart, knowing that her family had misunderstood.

She quickly reached out her other hand and patted her brother's hand reassuringly, explaining with a charming smile, "Brother, Dad, Mom, don't be nervous! Put your minds at ease! This money wasn't stolen or robbed. Although I took it myself, it's definitely not something illegal like you're thinking!"

Her eyes darted around, and she instantly went through the prepared story in her mind, lying without even blinking:

"Didn't I tell you before? Those two heartless bastards in the Qiao family forced me to marry in place of Qiao Mingzhu. Back then, in order to get me to willingly jump into this fire pit, Qiao Mingzhu pretended to be a good person in front of her parents, saying that as long as I was willing to marry in her place, she would give me half of the dowry that the Qiao family had prepared for her as compensation!"

Qiao Xinxin sneered, raising her chin high: "This money is my dowry, including Qiao Mingzhu's half and the dowry they originally prepared for me."