Gu Hai pressed his lips together and raised his voice toward the children hiding outside.
"You two, hurry up and get to school! If either of you dares to be late today, don't expect dinner tonight!"
The moment those words left his mouth, Gu Jiang and Gu Meng bolted away as though they were being chased by dogs.
Only Gu Jun remained behind, left to fight alone.
Turning to Su Yun, Gu Hai explained, "Xiao Yun, this is Gu Jun, my youngest brother. He's eight years old this year. You can call him Junzi."
Before Su Yun could respond, Gu Jun hurriedly defended himself.
"Big Brother, I'm here to sell recyclables, not to look at your girlfriend. Don't chase me away!"
Su Yun burst into laughter. Rising from her seat, she said, "You're already selling recyclables at such a young age? Alright then, let me weigh them and see how much they're worth."
Gu Hai stood up as well and frowned.
"He can put them on the scale himself. He's not three years old anymore. He doesn't need your help."
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yun picked up Gu Jun's worn cloth sack.
Immediately, the system's mechanical voice echoed in her mind:
"Ding! Ming Dynasty silk fabric detected. Defective condition. Recycling value: 30 yuan. Sell?"
Su Yun froze.
She lowered her gaze to the shabby sack in her hands and examined it more closely.
Though the color had faded with age, the fabric felt remarkably smooth. Looking carefully, she could even make out intricate patterns woven into the cloth. The only problem was that it was badly torn.
After a brief pause, she opened the sack and rummaged through its contents.
"Ding! A pile of Tang Dynasty ceramic fragments detected. Severely damaged. Recycling value: 50 yuan. Sell?"
"Ding! Remnants of a bronze mask detected. Minor defects. Recycling value: 25 yuan. Sell?"
The sack wasn't large. It was obvious that the contents had been hastily thrown in to fill space, and there wasn't much inside.
After checking everything, Su Yun honestly told Gu Hai,
"Gu Hai, your brother's bag is actually worth quite a bit. It can sell for a hundred yuan."
"What?!"
Before Gu Hai could react, Gu Jun nearly jumped into the air.
Seeing his reaction, Gu Hai frowned.
"Xiao Yun, are you sure? How could such a small pile of junk be worth a hundred yuan? You're not taking a loss, are you?"
Su Yun nodded.
"It's worth that much. The real question is whether he wants cash or supplies."
"Cash! I want cash!"
Gu Jun bounced excitedly on the spot.
Gu Hai shot him a sideways glance.
Immediately, Gu Jun tried to comfort him.
"Big Brother, all your money went into buying the house. Now that you have a girlfriend, you must be short on money. Once I get paid, I'll save all of it for your wedding. Don't worry!"
Gu Hai nearly choked.
What a wonderful little brother.
Using money Su Yun gave him... to help Gu Hai marry Su Yun.
Covering her mouth to suppress a laugh, Su Yun teased,
"Gu Hai, your little brother is surprisingly thoughtful. He's even worried that you won't have enough money to get married. What is it? Have you and Sun Xiaoping already reached the marriage discussion stage?"
She deliberately seized the opportunity to needle him.
Gu Jun immediately raised his head.
"My big brother has nothing to do with Sun Xiaoping! She's always chasing after him, but he never pays attention to her. She's mean too. She keeps calling me a burden and wants to drive me away. I hate her!"
Those words seemed to give Gu Hai instant support.
Looking wronged, he turned to Su Yun.
"Xiao Yun, did you hear that? I told you I was innocent."
Su Yun snorted lightly.
"Fine. You pass."
Then she turned back to business.
"Junzi, your things really are worth a hundred yuan. However, my rule is payment after collection. I take the goods first and pay afterward. Do you have any objections?"
Gu Jun already knew her rules. After all, Gu Hai had traded with her many times before.
He nodded vigorously.
"No objections!"
"Good."
Su Yun smiled.
"Junzi, it looks like you just tossed these items into the sack. If you have more things like this at home, bring them over and let me take a look. You might be able to earn even more money."
"Really?"
His eyes lit up instantly.
Without even waiting for her answer, he spun around and dashed toward the door.
"Sister-in-law, wait for me! I'll go get them right now!"
Before he finished speaking, his tiny figure had already disappeared.
Su Yun stretched out her hand helplessly.
"Hey! Don't call me that..."
She and Gu Hai weren't even officially together yet. Being called "sister-in-law" was enough to make her blush.
Turning around, she caught Gu Hai secretly grinning.
Immediately, she put on a stern face.
"What are you laughing at? Get back to teaching!"
Half an hour later, Gu Jun returned.
This time, Gu Jiang and Gu Meng came with him. Both carried schoolbags, making it obvious they had skipped school.
Gu Hai's expression darkened as he prepared to scold them.
But Gu Meng spoke first.
"Big Brother, Junzi couldn't carry everything by himself. We just came to help. We'll head to school right afterward. It won't take long."
As she spoke, her eyes kept drifting toward Su Yun's face.
She even exchanged secret glances with Gu Jiang.
Pretending not to notice their obvious curiosity, Su Yun continued listening to the system's notifications while quickly calculating prices.
After finishing, she announced:
"The total comes to five hundred and eighty yuan. I'll have Gu Hai bring you the money tomorrow. Is that alright?"
The three Gu siblings froze in shock.
Gu Hai answered on their behalf.
"That's fine."
A short while later, the three siblings stumbled out of the recycling station as if walking in a dream.
Gu Meng suddenly pinched Gu Jiang hard.
"Second Brother, can Junzi's junk really sell for that much money?"
Gu Jiang still looked dazed.
"It probably can. Didn't Big Brother and Brother Gouzi trade a lot of valuable things with Comrade Benefactor before? That proves she isn't short on money. She must have powerful connections."
Gu Meng rolled her eyes.
"What Comrade Benefactor? That's Big Brother's girlfriend—our future sister-in-law!"
Then she puffed out her chest proudly.
"Big Brother is amazing. I never imagined he'd actually win over the benefactor herself! I looked carefully just now. Future Sister-in-law is much prettier than Sun Xiaoping, and she's generous too. Someone as open-handed as her definitely won't think of us as burdens."
Gu Jun, still floating on cloud nine, suddenly stiffened.
"Oh no! Big Brother having a girlfriend must stay secret too. We can't let Mom find out. What if Mom learns about it and comes to steal her away?"
Gu Jiang and Gu Meng immediately nodded solemnly.
"You're right."
"We have to keep it secret!"
The three siblings quickly reached an agreement.
After taking Gu Jun home, Gu Jiang and Gu Meng rushed off to school.
Unfortunately, there are no secrets that remain hidden forever.
News that Gu Hai had a girlfriend had already reached their mother, Liang Qiuju.
The problem was that the version she heard came from rumors spread by Director Sun's wife.
As a result, Liang Qiuju genuinely believed that Gu Hai had become the kept man of an older woman.