Chapter 7 One-Time Trouble and Persistent Trouble

Tang Mingli chose to come to her uncle's house today to tell them the news that her cousin could return to the city for a reason, which can be summed up in one word—laziness.

My uncle's family doesn't have a phone, so I have to go to their house in person to tell them the news.

Although the sun has been out these past two days and the weather has warmed up considerably, it's still cold. She dislikes traveling far in the dead of winter.

But she also knew that this matter could not be delayed any longer.

Firstly, the Fu family doesn't seem to be doing a good job; the matter has already been resolved, yet they're delaying in informing the parties involved.

Secondly, the uncle and aunt were so worried about their daughter that they were almost going crazy. If they weren't told the news soon, they might come to visit again.

She guessed correctly; Li Hong was indeed restless at home, debating whether or not to go to the Fu family again.

Ever since the Fu family returned last time, she hasn't had a good night's sleep, and she dreams about her daughter coming back every day.

Every time she woke up from the dream, she would cry. The thought of her daughter suffering in the countryside while Tang Mingli lived a life of luxury filled her with remorse.

How could they have let their daughter be so willful back then? She and her husband must have been possessed by evil spirits.

After crying, all she could do was helplessly pray that the Fu family could help.

She knew that only a few days had passed, and returning to the city was such a difficult matter; even with the Fu family's help, it would take some time to smooth things over. But she was still in a hurry. Last night, she discussed with her husband whether they should go to the Fu family again, but unexpectedly, Tang Mingli came over today.

When Li Hong opened the door and saw her, she was somewhat surprised. But then she realized that her sudden visit outside of holidays meant that the matter she had asked her to do must have come to fruition.

And it was a good result.

So after a moment of stunned silence, he grinned from ear to ear and greeted Tang Mingli into the house with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Tang Mingli was somewhat flattered. Even though her uncle and aunt no longer treated her as neglectfully as before after she married Fu Ci, she had never received such a sincere and warm welcome before.

After the person entered the house, Li Hong said again, "If I had known you were coming today, I would have gone to the grocery store this morning to buy some vegetables and cooked them for you."

Tang Mingli smiled and said, "I've already eaten."

It's already past 2 PM, how come you haven't had lunch yet?

If she hadn't come here, she would already be taking a nap in her warm bed at this hour.

Life is only comfortable when it's peaceful and uneventful.

"You child, since you're here today, you should have come earlier and eaten here."

Tang Mingli smiled and naturally handed over the gifts she had brought while chatting and laughing.

Li Hong took it and glanced at it casually.

Seeing that there was only so little, a hint of disdain flashed across her face. But it was only for a moment, so quick as to be as if it had never happened, and she still said affectionately, "Going back to your own parents' home, you're here, why bring anything?"

Tang Mingli then said, "That's why I just grabbed a few things."

Li Hong felt a lump in her throat; these words were truly like shooting herself in the foot. All she could say was, "Please sit down, I'll go make you a pot of tea."

After turning around, he couldn't help but purse his lips.

However, she still brought out some tea that she usually couldn't bear to drink at home to entertain Tang Mingli, but said, "We don't have any good tea at home, so this will have to do."

In the past, Li Hong would never have imagined that one day she would be trying so hard to please this niece she looked down upon.

Ultimately, it was the daughter's fault for being so immature. She gave up such a good marriage opportunity so easily and made a stupid decision to go to the countryside to suffer.

Okay, now we need to ask others to help us escape this misery.

Tang Mingli took the tea that Li Hong handed her, took a sip, and then put it down, smiling, "Auntie, you know I'm not picky."

Li Hong smiled to herself, thinking to herself, "I didn't have the right to be picky before, but after marrying into the Fu family, I've been living a good life. Who knows if I've become picky?"

She hid her inner thoughts, put on a smile, and asked the question that concerned her most.

"You came here today, is it because there's been some progress on your cousin's return to the city?"

Tang Mingli hummed in agreement and, without keeping them in suspense, succinctly stated the result: "Fu Ci said he should be back in a few days."

"So fast?" Li Hong was so excited that she stood up, her hands even trembling slightly with excitement.

She was unaware that the policy had changed and that it wasn't as difficult for educated youth to return to the city as before. She simply attributed it to the Fu family's capabilities, managing to resolve such a difficult matter so quickly.

We should have asked Tang Mingli sooner, so that our daughter could have suffered less.

Unable to tell whether she was happy or regretful, Li Hong couldn't help but cry.

She quickly turned away to wipe her tears and said to Tang Mingli, "Please thank Fu Ci for me. He really helped our family a lot this time. I don't know how to thank him enough."

Tang Mingli didn't take credit, but spoke the truth: "It's because the policy has been relaxed now, and the restrictions on returning to the city are not as strict as before."

Otherwise, even if you have connections, it will still be troublesome to get this done.

No, otherwise she wouldn't have asked Fu Ci for help.

Li Hongcai didn't believe it, but since Tang Mingli didn't take credit, she didn't force her, lest her family feel indebted to someone.

By all accounts, their two families are legitimate in-laws. After all, she and her husband had raised Tang Mingli for several years, so it was only right that they help them.

The more Li Hong thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. After stopping her tears, she chatted with her niece about her daughter who was still in the countryside.

Anyway, she'll be back soon, so I'm not afraid to speak my mind. Plus, I'm feeling quite emotional right now, so I just talked about how much my daughter has suffered in the countryside these past two years.

These are all things my daughter mentioned in her last letter. She'd mentioned being tired in her previous letters too, but not in such detail, probably because she didn't want them to worry.

What a silly girl.

"As you know, your uncle and I only have one child, Mingmei. She has never suffered so much. It's all because she gave up that marriage to you two years ago, otherwise she wouldn't have had to go through all this."

As the conversation progressed, it began to take a slightly different turn.

Tang Mingli no longer needed to hold back. With a smile, she helped her aunt regain her memory: "Back then, my cousin insisted on going to the countryside even at the cost of her life. I thought she was mentally prepared, but it turns out she was oversimplifying things. Well, after two years, she realized her mistake and wanted to come back. Maybe she won't be so willful in the future."

Li Hong smiled awkwardly, sensing the dissatisfaction in Tang Mingli's tone, and quickly changed the subject: "You've been married to Fu Ci for two years now, haven't his family thought about finding you a job?"

Tang Mingli frowned upon hearing this.

Are you kidding me? Being a corporate slave in my past life wasn't enough, I want to be one in this life too.

However, her aunt's question couldn't be as simple as just asking if she had a job.

She shook her head: "The Fu family doesn't need my salary."

“That’s true.” Li Hongxin was speechless again.

No one would dare say such a thing unless they have a very wealthy family.

Take her for example, if she had no other choice, who would want to just stay at home and be a cook?

If her mother hadn't sold her job to pay for her older brother's wedding when she was young, she would have been a proud worker too. Two years ago, her daughter might have been able to take over her job and wouldn't have had to go to the countryside.

Looking back on her past, Li Hong harbored some resentment towards her family, but she also realized the importance of a stable job.

She poured some tea into Tang Mingli's cup and said with a hint of ingratiation, "Look, your cousin will be back soon. She's so young and hasn't gotten married or had children yet; she can't just stay at home all the time. Since Fu Ci has managed to get her back to the city, could he help arrange a job for her?"

Li Hong looked at Tang Mingli with eager anticipation.

Tang Mingli found this blatant pushing of her luck annoying.

But it's not incomprehensible from another perspective. In this era where jobs are assigned and there are far more applicants than available positions, finding a job you like is really difficult without connections.

However, returning to the city and finding a job are two different things.

One is a one-time event, while the other could potentially lead to endless complications.

If Tang Mingmei doesn't do a good job in the future, it might implicate the person who introduced her to the job.

Call her cold-hearted or whatever, she doesn't like to do things that cause trouble for herself, so she simply declined, saying, "My cousin suffered in the countryside for two years. She should take good care of herself after coming back. Don't force her to work."

Li Hong could easily understand what those words meant, and she was unhappy, but she forced herself not to show it.

When my daughter comes back, I really can't do without the Fu family's help with work.

She told herself that her niece wasn't entirely wrong; her daughter had suffered so much in the countryside, so she didn't really need to rush into work.

Perhaps marriage is more important than work.

But without a good job, finding a good partner is easier said than done.

...

Tang Mingli chatted with Li Hong for about half an hour, then felt that was enough and hurriedly asked to leave.

"So soon? It's rare for you to come back, please stay a little longer," Li Hong politely urged.

"No, thank you." Tang Mingli explained with a faint smile, "My grandparents are getting old, and there's only one caregiver at home who can't take care of them."

This reason was reasonable, and Li Hong even felt somewhat pleased to hear it.

Marrying up isn't always a good thing; sometimes it's not much different from being a nanny. You have to swallow your pride and try to please others.

"Alright, since that's the case, I won't keep you any longer."

Li Hong stood up and personally escorted Tang Mingli downstairs.

Once outside the tenement building, Tang Mingli no longer had to suppress her yawns; one after another, they came out.

I'm used to taking a nap, so it's really uncomfortable if I don't sleep all day.

But now that she's out, she doesn't want to have come for nothing.

So the bus she boarded wasn't heading home, but rather to the city's only department store.

It's not that I'm missing anything, it's just that I'm craving to go shopping.

But since she was already there, she didn't intend to leave empty-handed.

After browsing around, she spotted a genuine leather handbag for women and bought it without hesitation, also buying one for her mother-in-law and one for her grandmother.

The three genuine leather handbags cost over four hundred yuan, which is equivalent to half a year's wages for an average worker.

The Fu family isn't exactly wealthy, but three generations have had stable salaries, and with all that savings over the years, their financial foundation is definitely better than most ordinary families. Moreover, Fu Ci never restricts her spending, which is why she dares to spend so freely.

Whether in later generations or now, shopping can bring joy.

I glanced at my watch; it was almost four o'clock.

Tang Mingli happily finished her day's activities and took the bus back to the compound.

She timed it perfectly, arriving at the family compound station before 5 a.m., perfectly avoiding the evening rush hour.

Although there weren't many cars at this time, almost every commuter had a bicycle. At the end of the workday, both sides of the road were lined with men and women riding bicycles.

In Tang Mingli's view, this was also a minor peak.

It takes a few minutes to walk from the bus stop to the compound. Tang Mingli walked slowly, observing the people riding bicycles past.

Everyone's face was radiant, completely unlike the lifeless demeanor of working people in later generations.

Are you envious?

I'm not envious.

In another ten years or so, how many of these people will be swept up in the tide of the times and become the price of progress?

Just as Tang Mingli was deeply moved and at peace, a voice suddenly called her name.

"Tang Mingli?"