Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

Liu Bei clearly saw Zhao Chunyan take two steps, then stop and look back.

However, he pretended not to see it and instead waved to Lin Wanqiu first.

"Late Autumn, come here for a moment."

"what?"

"Come here, I'm not going to eat you."

Lin Wanqiu walked up to him, and Liu Bei took out a pair of plain silver bracelets from his cloth bag.

"For you."

Lin Wanqiu was stunned.

Her gaze lingered on the silver bracelet for two seconds, then she looked up at Liu Bei's face, as if to confirm whether he was serious about what he said.

"Really...for me?"

"If I don't give it to you, who will? Just reach out."

Lin Wanqiu was skeptical and didn't reach out, but Liu Bei directly grabbed her left wrist and pushed the silver bracelets up one by one.

Lin Wanqiu's hands were more delicate than Zhao Da'e's, and the bracelet slid in smoothly. The silver sheen against her skin made her wrist appear even whiter and thinner.

"It's...it's really for me..."

Looking at the silver bracelet on her wrist, Lin Wanqiu's eyes reddened.

She and Liu Bei have been married for seven years.

Except when he was pregnant with Panpan, Liu Bei was a relatively normal person. He bought her a two-cent hair tie, but he never did that again.

Among the wives of the same generation in the village, Tian Cuihua has a pair of brass earrings, which her husband brought back from the county town.

Zhao Xiaoqin has a silver hairpin, which was a gift from her parents-in-law.

Even Fan Xiaoman, who married into a neighboring village, wore a delicate silver bracelet on her wrist.

No one can compare to her.

All Liu Bei brought her was countless drunken stups, beatings, and repeated disappointments.

Unexpectedly, today he personally put a pair of silver bracelets on her wrist.

I just don't know if they're faking it to gain my trust?

Or is there another purpose?

Regardless of whether it is true or not, it is true that the silver bracelet is now on my wrist.

"Why are you crying for no reason?"

Liu Bei reached out and wiped her face.

Lin Wanqiu turned her head away from his hand, sniffed, and said, "I didn't cry. I'm happy. I'm happy."

After saying that, he turned around and went into the kitchen.

Through the half-open door of the kitchen, Liu Bei saw Lin Wanqiu leaning against the stove, her left hand raised in front of her, her wrist turning and turning, her smile brighter than the fire in the stove.

Liu Bei smiled and looked away.

He knew he had made the right move.

"Squeak—"

The door to Su Yuehe's room opened.

She leaned out from behind the door frame, her ankles still wrapped in cloth, and walked with a limp.

She had only heard the noise and wanted to come out to see what was going on, but as soon as she stepped outside, she witnessed Liu Bei putting the silver bracelet on Lin Wanqiu's wrist.

She stood at the door without moving, her gaze fixed on the pair of silver bracelets on Lin Wanqiu's wrist.

Then he slowly lowered his head.

Lin Wanqiu gave birth to a daughter, and so did she.

Both of them were divorced but didn't leave, and both stayed in this house working day and night. Why did Lin Wanqiu have it while she didn't?

A surge of grievance welled up from the bottom of her heart.

"Are you getting impatient?"

Just then, Liu Bei took out a pair of identical silver bracelets and presented them to Su Yuehe.

"You have one too."

Su Yuehe's eyes widened suddenly.

"Me...do I have it too?"

"Of course!"

Liu Bei lowered his head, grasped her wrist, and pushed the bracelets up one by one.

Su Yuehe's wrist was even thinner than Lin Wanqiu's, and the silver bracelet slipped on her wrist a little loosely, spinning slightly.

Su Yuehe looked down at the silver bracelet on her wrist, her lips curving upwards little by little until her whole face broke into a smile.

From the day she married into the Liu family, she never received a single hair tie.

In the past, Liu Bei treated her like air. When he was happy, he would ignore her; when he was unhappy, he would yell at her. Occasionally, when he was drunk, he would even hit her. She thought that this would be how her life would be.

But now, the man in front of her not only rescues her from the thugs, but also kneels down to apply medicine to her feet, buys her brown sugar, and even buys her a silver bracelet.

This man has really changed.

I just don't know if it lasts?

Will she treat me well before I had my daughter, but change after I had her? Will she only be nice to me for a few days?

Su Yuehe felt uncertain. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she desperately held them back, simply turning the silver bracelet over and over, saying, "It's so beautiful."

"If it looks good, wear it; don't take it off."

"Um!"

Nodding, Su Yuehe lowered her head and shrank back into the room, closing the door behind her. A very soft laugh escaped from the crack in the door.

"What about mine?"

Zhao Chunyan's voice boomed from behind.

Liu Bei turned around and saw Zhao Chunyan with her hands on her hips, her eyes fixed on the last red cloth bag in his arms.

"Lin Wanqiu has one, Su Yuehe has one, but I don't? Liu Bei, what do you mean? Lin Wanqiu gave birth to a girl, Su Yuehe gave birth to a girl, but I gave birth to a son for your Liu family! Don't you understand that a mother's status depends on her son? I should be the first to get one! You—"

"What's the rush?" Liu Bei turned around, smiled, and said, "I bought it for you too."

He untied the last red cloth bundle.

The silver bracelet gleamed softly in the afternoon sunlight.

Zhao Chunyan's words caught in her throat.

She stared at the bracelets for two seconds, then snatched them without a word and slipped them onto her wrist in a few quick movements.

He raised his left hand to look at it.

He raised his right hand and looked at it.

He put his hands together and looked at them again.

"Does it look good?" Liu Bei asked.

"It's too plain," Zhao Chunyan pouted. "There's not even a pattern. It's ugly."

"You think it's ugly? Then take it off and give it back to me. I'll return it." Liu Bei said, holding out his hand.

Zhao Chunyan jumped back as if her tail had been stepped on, covering her wrists with her hands behind her back. "You wish!"

After saying that, he turned and ran, all the way into his house.

"Bang!"

The door closed.

Liu Bei turned his head and peeked through the hole in Zhao Chunyan's window.

Zhao Chunyan lay on the bed with her wrists raised in front of her, and kissed the silver bracelet with her lips, then kissed it again.

Her fierce face was beaming with a smile like a cat that had stolen honey.

Liu Bei shook his head.

This woman has a sharp tongue but a kind heart; she's just like her mother, Zhao Da'e.

"dad."

Liu Bei looked down and saw three children standing in a neat row in front of him, looking up at him.

Niannian stood at the very front, her two little hands behind her back, tilting her head and smiling sweetly.

Panpan stood in the middle, her eyes filled with anticipation, but she kept her mouth shut and didn't say a word.

Liu Bao stood at the back, twisting the hem of his clothes with his fingers, his head lowered, only his eyes peeking upwards.

"What's wrong? Is there mud on my face?"

Niannian was the first to reach out her hand, "Daddy, where's mine?"

Panpan then stretched out her hand, "Daddy, there's mine too."

Liu Bao hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out her hand, her voice small and soft: "Dad... what did you buy for me?"

Liu Bei smiled as he looked at the three little hands standing in front of him.

He bent down and gently scratched Niannian's nose, then Panpan's, and finally reached out and ruffled Liu Bao's hair.

"Everyone got it. Nobody was left out."

He first took out a pair of red plastic sandals from the bag, with a small pressed flower on the surface of the sandals.

Panpan's eyes lit up immediately.

"Dad, is this for me?"

"Yes. Try them on."

Liu Bei squatted down and personally put the shoes on Panpan's feet.

Panpan stood up and took two steps, her shoes making a soft sound as they touched the ground.

She looked down at the brand-new red sandals on her feet, then looked up and gave a big smile.

"Thank you, Dad!"

Niannian was jumping up and down anxiously beside him, tugging at Liu Bei's trouser leg and shaking it, "What about me? What about me? What about me?"

Liu Bei then pulled out a smaller pair of sandals, which were pink.

Niannian snatched it away and hugged it to her arms. She squatted down and put the shoes on her feet herself, putting the right shoe on the left foot, whimpering in her haste.

"It's reversed, it's reversed." Liu Bei laughed and helped her switch it back.

After putting on her shoes, Niannian stood up, jumped three times on the spot, and ran around the yard giggling, "I have pretty shoes too! I have them too!"

Finally, it was Liu Bao's turn to stand still, his fingers still twisting the hem of his clothes, looking up at Liu Bei, his mouth opening and closing again.

Liu Bei took a toy gun out of the bag.

The gun was painted black, and pulling the trigger made a "click" sound.

Liu Bao's eyes widened immediately.

Among the boys of the same age in the village, Zhao Tiedan had a slingshot, Fan Xiaoshi had a spinning top, and even Wang Ermao next door had a knife made from bamboo.

Every year during Chinese New Year, other children have candy in their pockets and toys in their hands, but he has nothing.

Every time they met, he would be mocked, which made him very unhappy and envious.

"Here you go." Liu Bei handed the gun to him.

Liu Bao stretched out both hands and carefully took it.

He examined it over and over several times, running his fingers over the paint on the gun before finally pulling the trigger.

"Snapped!"

"Thank you... Dad."

The word "Dad" was uttered very softly, but Liu Bei heard it clearly.

He reached out and ruffled Liu Bao's hair again. "Go play!"

"Okay!" Liu Bao nodded and ran off.

Zhao Da'e stood at the entrance of the main room, watching her three grandchildren running, jumping, and touching guns in the yard. Panpan, wearing new shoes, led Niannian in circles, while Liu Bao held up his wooden gun, aimed for a long time, and fired two shots with a "bang, bang."

She stared at it for a long time, her lips curling up in a smile that she couldn't suppress.

Now this should feel like a home.

She lowered her gaze, stroking the silver bracelet on her wrist, and whispered something, which was drowned out by the laughter of the children in the yard.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard, followed by three loud thuds as someone knocked on the gate.