Chapter 440: The store ownership dispute occupied my storefront, and...

Ji Xiyue had a good impression of Liu Hongwei, and there was no direct conflict of interest between her and Liu Hongwei, so there was no need for her to say bad things about Liu Hongwei behind his back.

Therefore, in her opinion, Liu Hongwei's occasional bad temper is normal and not bullying.

She explained, "How could that be? He's more like someone bullying him. Seniority is always a thing in government, and he's young, and he came from a rural commune. He was immediately treated with importance, outshining those city-bred people. Naturally, some people disliked him. He occasionally got a little aggressive to protect himself, but that's nothing."

That's true.

However, Yao Zhizhi clearly sensed Ji Xiyue's defense of Liu Hongwei. Perhaps she couldn't stand the city dwellers bullying the country folk? Or perhaps she couldn't stand the fact that some uneducated people, relying solely on their privileged background, would try to gain power by stepping over the more talented country folk.

In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, wouldn't this make it seem like Ji Xiyue and Liu Hongwei were having an affair? Spreading gossip is simply the wicked nature of human nature.

The best way to deal with this kind of thing is not to clarify anything. After all, it is a false accusation in the first place. Clarification will only make it seem like the truth is hidden.

The correct approach is to let the two parties keep their distance and know when to stop. Over time, those busybodies will not be able to find any solid evidence and will just go away in boredom.

During this period, you can also introduce Yao Mengmeng to Ji Xiyue.

Yao Zhizhi believed that an educated and well-educated intellectual like Ji Xiyue would not be willing to compete for social resources with women who were inferior to her.

Maybe Ji Xiyue is willing to help the other party, learn from each other, and establish a precious same-sex friendship.

By then, the rumors will naturally be self-defeating - look, Ji Xiyue defended Liu Hongwei only for Yao Mengmeng's sake, because they are sworn sisters.

Of course, this is just Yao Zhizhi's wishful thinking. Whether Ji Xiyue is willing or not is still unclear.

However, since Ji Xiyue was willing to take the initiative to interact with her, then she naturally had a way to let Ji Xiyue and Yao Mengmeng know each other.

Yao Zhizhi changed the subject and asked, "Do you like reading?"

Ji Xiyue smiled and said, "Yes, books are the ladder of human progress. But I haven't had much time to read in the past two years. There's no way, I'm too busy with work. But my habit of buying books has not changed. Dongqi likes to make fun of me, saying that I buy books like a mountain and read like a thread. He is different from me. He has to finish reading the books he buys before he buys the next one. No matter how much he wants to read the next one, he has to restrain the desire to buy a book. He said that this is called responsibility, responsible for the books in his hands. I scolded him for being crazy. It's not like the family has no money to buy books. It's convenient to buy them and put them away when you want to read them. Like him now, when he wants to read, he has to look for them everywhere. Maybe the book is sold out or has been removed from the shelves of the bookstore. He is really asking for trouble."

Yao Zhizhi really didn't know about Ji Dongqi's habit. There was nothing she could do. After four years of studying together, the two of them had probably exchanged less than ten sentences in total.

Now, hearing about this peculiar classmate's special hobby from another person, Yao Zhizhi was quite interested and said with a smile, "I didn't expect him to be so thoughtful. But he's right. Reading before buying to avoid wasting money is a sign of someone who knows how to control their desires. Very mature and good."

"Haha, he's mature? How could that be? He's so childish! Ever since he was little, he's loved collecting candy wrappers and storing them in a big box. Then, during the winter and summer holidays, he'd take them all out, fold them into butterflies, and string them together to make door curtains. He still hasn't broken this childish habit. Later, the house was filled with them and there was no more room, so he gave his curtains away to relatives, friends, and neighbors. He even cried when others refused to accept them. He's so childish!"

Yao Zhizhi couldn't help laughing: "Is he still crying now?"

Ji Xiyue said disdainfully, "He stopped crying a long time ago, especially after going to college. He always likes to have a stern face, as if someone owes him money and won't pay it back. He's not as cute as he was when he was little."

"Mature." Yao Zhizhi didn't know how to comment, so she had to praise him.

Ji Xiyue instinctively retorted, "No, that's not the case." But when the words reached her lips, she felt it was inappropriate, so she changed the subject: "By the way, I heard that your second sister is the director of a radio and television station. If you have the chance, please introduce me to her."

"Okay, I'll tell my sister when she gets home from get off work." It's the end of the year, and the TV station is extremely busy, not as free as Yao Zhizhi's side.

Ji Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the time, it was getting late, and stood up to say goodbye.

Yao Zhizhi walked her out, and as they walked down the alley, Yao Zhizhi mentioned, "If you like buying books, go to the Pioneer Bookstore at the entrance of Yicheng University. They have a lot of books from overseas sources there. I asked my third brother to get them from Hong Kong. Some of them are in traditional Chinese, though, and I'm not sure if you like them."

"Oh, Pioneer Bookstore. I heard about it from a friend. Unfortunately, I'm too busy and have never been there. I'll go check it out someday." Ji Xiyue had heard of this bookstore a long time ago. It opened this spring and indeed has many rare books. Her friend bought a limited edition of The Little Prince, which was published in Taiwan and is bilingual in Chinese and English, but the Chinese version uses traditional Chinese characters.

She really wanted to buy one, but by the time she found out, it was sold out.

Now that Yao Zhizhi mentioned this bookstore, she was really interested and suggested, "How about this, when you and your second sister are free, call me and we can go to the bookstore together."

"Okay, what's your number? I'll call you when the time comes." Yao Zhizhi has been carrying paper and pen with her for many years because she has to write articles, so that she can capture fleeting inspiration. As she spoke, she took out a palm-sized workbook from her pocket, wrote down her number, and handed it to Ji Xiyue.

Ji Xiyue lived in a government housing complex. She was single and couldn't afford a landline, so she left her office number and reminded him, "Call me when you're almost off work. It's not good to talk about personal matters during work. If your boss sees you, you'll be criticized."

"Okay, I'll remember it." Yao Zhizhi took the number, sent Ji Xiyue to the bus stop at the entrance of the alley, and then came back.

As soon as I arrived in the alley, I met Mao Ling, who looked tired.

People, if they live a good life for too long, will start to feel itchy. If Mao Ling was not so confused, she should be living a good life that everyone envies now - Peng Dajun has a good job, high salary, and cannot have children. In the future, his money will all go to Mao Ling's children. Mao Ling herself also has a decent job, a son and a daughter, and her mother is willing to devote everything to take care of her children.

Days like these are gone forever.

Now Mao Ling has no hope of remarrying and can only return to the alley to live with her old mother and take care of her children.

Of course, she still has to go to work, but unfortunately, without Peng Dajun's income support, she is no longer able to do it. In addition, as the children grow up, the expenses are getting higher and higher, so that Mao Ling is now in debt.

Seeing Yao Zhizhi, she couldn't hold her head high anymore. She smiled awkwardly and said hello, "You're back. Is that your friend?"

"Yeah." Yao Zhizhi didn't say much. She had done her best to treat Mao Ling and had a clear conscience.

As they passed each other, she noticed Mao Ling's slightly hunched back. After a moment's hesitation, she gave her a reminder: "If you're under a lot of pressure, try going to the South, especially the Special Administrative Region. There's a huge demand for workers there, and as long as you're diligent, raising a few children won't be a problem."

"I want to go, but unfortunately I'm short of money. I don't have enough money for the trip, and I don't even have the money for the first month's living expenses." After all, you don't get paid as soon as you arrive. Even if you do odd jobs, the contractor won't advance your salary. The contractor himself has to ask the person in charge of the construction site for the money.

Yao Zhizhi sighed, turned around and went straight to the Mao family.

It has only been half a year since we last met, and Aunt Mao's hair has turned completely white. She was sitting in the yard washing clothes. The washboard had been used for many years and had turned white. Although the well water was warm, it was freezing cold, and her hands would soon be frozen.

Aunt Mao's hands were covered with frostbite, which was really painful to look at.

When conditions were better, Aunt Mao could at least add a little boiling water to the washtub to make it less cold, but now...

Yao Zhizhi took a look and went back. When she came back, she had five hundred yuan in her hand and put it on Aunt Mao's shoulder.

Aunt Mao subconsciously pressed her hand, and was shocked to find that she had cash in her hand. She quickly pulled her hand back, wiped it on her clothes, stood up and said, "Xiao Yao, what are you doing?"

"Take it, Aunt Mao. It wasn't easy for my mother-in-law to take care of the children alone in the early years, and you helped a lot. Now you're having a hard time, and I can't bear it. Let Mao Ling go to the south to make a living, and you stay at home for another two or three years. When she gets better there, you can take the child over with you." Yao Zhizhi was kind-hearted after all, and her heart softened when she saw the white-haired Aunt Mao.

Aunt Mao's tears burst out. She held Yao Zhizhi's hand and rested her forehead on Yao Zhizhi's shoulder. Her thin and old shoulders twitched.

Yao Zhizhi hugged her and said, "Don't worry about paying me back. We'll talk about it when we have money. The children are growing up. Go buy some meat."

Aunt Mao burst into tears. Only after Yao Zhizhi left did she wipe away her tears and hurried to the vegetable market to check.

After dinner in the evening, Aunt Mao handed over a promissory note, and the borrower was written as Mao Ling.

The old lady had her own thoughts: "I'm old, and there's no tomorrow after today. If I write my name on the IOU, wouldn't that be cheating you? I'll write Mao Ling instead, so she knows I won't be with her forever, and I can't always clean up her mess. It's time for her to shoulder the burden of life herself."

"How is Maodan now?" Yao Zhizhi didn't want to mention Maoling anymore. She didn't like this woman.

Aunt Mao couldn't help but sigh: "He's completely erred, just like his father. A while ago, when we ran out of gas, I asked the fourth child to borrow some from him, but he kicked her out. The fourth child came back and cried to me, saying she would never recognize this brother again."

Yao Zhizhi also sighed: "That can't be helped. A grown-up son is no longer under his mother's control. Look at Aunt Mao more openly. Raise these three people in the family to become talents, and you can still have a good life."

"Yes." Aunt Mao cheered up and said some words of thanks. The next day she looked for people she knew to inquire about going south to find a job.

Yao Zhizhi didn't ask any more questions. As neighbors, she really did her best. The future depended on the Mao family's own luck.

Two days later, Yao Miaomiao was on vacation, so Yao Zhizhi called her and went to the Pioneer Bookstore together to wait for Ji Xiyue to come.

As soon as I arrived at the door of the bookstore, I saw a mean-looking woman who was arguing with Yao Mengmeng. When she couldn't win the argument, she even started to tear Yao Mengmeng's face.

Yao Zhizhi was furious. She quickly walked over, pulled the woman away, and demanded, "What are you doing? Can't you just talk nicely?"

The old woman, with her sharp chin and monkey cheeks, saw someone helping the bookstore's female manager and quickly complained, "You must be Director Tang's daughter-in-law, right? I know you. Please judge for yourself. This little bitch has taken over my storefront and won't pay. How can I expect you to speak properly?"