The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

”Sweet Girl, what if we want to read the comic books too?”

They wanted to read the comic books, too. The stories inside were fascinating, unlike anything they had ever seen before.

In those days, few parents could afford to send their children to school, and even fewer could buy them comic books.

When there was a book, everyone would crowd around, eager to read it together.

One of the children who also wanted to read, but hadn’t brought Sweet Girl a message, spoke up and asked.

Instantly, all eyes turned to Sweet Girl.

This was precisely the effect Sweet Girl wanted.

She cleared her throat and spoke slowly. ”It’s not impossible for you to read the comic books. Here’s the deal: I’ll give you a task. If you complete it, you’ll not only get to read the comics, but you’ll also get candy.”

Not just comic books, but candy too?

A joy like that was second only to eating dumplings on New Year’s Day.

”Really? Sweet Girl, you’re not tricking us, are you?”

One of them was skeptical.

Sweet Girl puffed out her chest. ”If I lie to you, you can come find me at my house! We have two teachers in our family. If they found out I tricked someone, I’d definitely get a beating.”

”So don’t you worry!”

”Then what’s the task? Tell us, quick!” In those days, teachers held immense authority in the eyes of students. The mere thought of being able to tattle on her to a teacher convinced them that Sweet Girl wouldn’t lie.

They immediately started pressing her for the details.

Sweet Girl didn’t waste any time. She took out a notebook, sat down on a rock on the hillside, and the wind from the summit blew past her braids, lifting them in a graceful arc.

She looked at her little companions and calmly issued the mission. ”Today, a lot of people have been bad-mouthing my family. All you have to do is remember who they are, what time it was, where it happened, who they were talking to, and what they said. Write all of that down. For every person you identify, you’ll get one piece of candy, and you’ll get to read my comic books.”

To convince them she was telling the truth, Sweet Girl took out two large handfuls of candy from her cloth pouch and put them into the schoolbag she had brought with her.

Then, she had one of them help conceal it.

”Da Mei, you were the first one to run over and tell me something. Can you remember what time it was, where it was, who was bad-mouthing my family, and what they said?”

Da Mei’s eyes fixed on the candy and she gulped. In those days, not every family had candy, and they almost never got to eat any.

Staring at the candy and hearing Sweet Girl’s question, the little girl known as Da Mei thought for a moment before tentatively speaking.

”I’m not sure of the exact time, but it was shortly after work started. It was in the field by the road at the foot of South Mountain. The people talking were Li Zhiqing, Aunt Leng, and... and they said...”

Da Mei recounted everything she could remember.

Sweet Girl listened. ’Wow, that’s quite a few people! Five or six of them.’

She didn’t hesitate, immediately taking out seven or eight pieces of candy from her bag and handing them to Da Mei.

Da Mei was stunned and didn’t dare to take them at first. ”This many for me?”

Sweet Girl nodded. ”One piece of candy for each name. It’s what you earned. It’s the same for everyone else—you get as many pieces of candy as people you identify. But there’s one rule: if someone else has already reported a name, it doesn’t count if you report it again.”

Hearing this, the children immediately scattered in all directions.

They were off to find the gossipers.

The children who could read and write knew to bring a pen and paper. Those who couldn’t, and had no writing materials, could only rely on their memory.

In a matter like this, it was every child for themselves.

Sweet Girl sat on the hillside, smiling as she unwrapped a piece of candy. She gave one to Xiao Yang and ate one herself.

Xiao Yang looked at the candy with a pained expression.

”Sis, you’re giving away too much candy.”

That was seven or eight pieces gone just like that. There weren’t that many pieces in a pound of candy to begin with, and you still needed sugar coupons for it.

And sugar coupons were extremely rare.

Seeing Xiao Yang so worried, Sweet Girl couldn’t help but laugh.

”Don’t worry, I didn’t use the candy our sister bought. This is the candy Big Brother brought back.”

Hearing that, Xiao Yang was instantly relieved. ”Oh, good.”

’He didn’t need to feel bad about using Big Brother’s things. It wasn’t easy for their sister to earn money, and since she was a girl, she should be the one eating more candy. Big Brother didn’t need any.’