Chapter 51: You Are a Little Devil

The money Ma Hongmei used to buy her red dress was earned by selling the fruit Li Jixiang had given her at a stall outside the popsicle factory.

“You’re amazing!”

She had always thought herself a master of business, but Ma Hongmei was even better—she could make deals without investing a single cent. Total respect! At the same time, three lines of sweat appeared on her forehead. Looking at Ma Hongmei again, she couldn’t help admiring her. What kind of nerves did it take to pull off such a thing?

Since Ma Hongmei wanted to dress up for someone she liked and worried about not having a new outfit for her walk with Chen Yu that evening, Li Jixiang decided to go all the way as a good person. She borrowed a tricycle cart from An Chen’s mother and let Ma Hongmei take some fruit to sell in the town center.

“We’ll split the money we earn. If you don’t have enough for the dress, you can use the money we make first. Pay me back whenever you’ve saved enough.”

“Really, Jixiang? You’re so wonderful, you’re like a little fairy—no, you’re the Queen Mother of the West, Guanyin herself! How can you have such a kind heart?”

Ma Hongmei pulled the cart toward the town center. Watching her petite figure laboring in front of the big cart, Li Jixiang suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She could have simply lent Ma Hongmei the money to buy a new dress.

Half an hour after Ma Hongmei left, Li Jixiang put on the new dress and shoes her grandmother had bought for her in the county town, got on her bicycle—which always turned heads—and pedaled lazily toward the town center, enjoying the warm afternoon breeze.

Her dress was a white and pastel blue checked frock with a doll collar edged in white lace. Her white socks were ringed with lace as well, peeking out from pale yellow Mary Jane shoes. As her ankles moved up and down with each turn of the pedals, the lace fluttered like little butterflies, drawing every eye.

“Jixiang, all dressed up—where are you off to?”

An Chen’s mother watched Li Jixiang pass by, so distracted that she forgot to pack tofu for her customer.

“Just out for a stroll.”

The outfit Li Jixiang’s grandmother had splurged on was the height of county-town fashion. Combined with her youthful charm, she was the most striking figure on Xingqiu Town’s streets.

Along the way, she collected quite a few popularity points—+1, +1. She hadn’t racked up points like this in ages; it was a decent consolation for not being able to gain points from the An family brothers.

By the time she saw Ma Hongmei outside the popsicle factory, her popularity score had risen by sixty-seven.

“Jixiang, you—what are you doing here?”

Seeing Li Jixiang looking refreshed and new, Ma Hongmei’s eyes sparked with envy. She had never seen such a beautiful dress and longed to try it on herself.

“Don’t even think about it. If you wore my dress, it’d drag on the ground.”

With a blink, Ma Hongmei’s intentions were clear to Li Jixiang.

“Hehe, I wasn’t thinking of wearing your dress. It must be expensive, right? How many melons would you have to sell to buy one?”

Though she denied it, Ma Hongmei couldn’t help but covet the dress. She pulled out her knitted bag and took out a few paper bills.

“There’s a dress in the mall that’s so pretty—it costs thirty-two yuan. I definitely can’t afford it today. It’s nearly three o’clock and I’ve only made seven yuan eighty so far.”

“Making that much in just half an hour isn’t bad at all.”

Li Jixiang didn’t take the money Ma Hongmei offered her. Ma Hongmei carefully smoothed out the bills, folded them neatly, and tucked them back into her colorful yarn bag.

Two hours later, the fruit stall had taken in twenty-four and a half yuan. If it had been yesterday, Ma Hongmei would have been over the moon. The bag of fruit Li Jixiang gave her then, she’d rushed to sell cheap for six yuan. The red cotton dress she wanted was only five yuan eighty, leaving her with twenty cents to spare.

But today, Ma Hongmei’s goal was too extravagant; her desires were out of step with reality, and she grew anxious and impatient. She kept counting her money, but no matter how many times she did, it was never enough to buy that pink, puffy little tulle dress.