Xu Yuetuan had been thinking a lot lately. Her son would get into trouble sooner or later if he continued like this, and the same would happen to her daughter. As for her husband, Hu Laosan, she had visited him in prison a while ago. After five years of prison life, Hu Laosan, who was already in poor health, was now as thin as a reed. He would cough every time the seasons changed, which meant he was practically useless. She couldn't rely on him at all after he got out.

She can't do without thinking about herself; she has no choice but to save more money.

She left her children to their own devices; she didn't have the ability to take care of them.

Hu Zhihong's eyes reddened, and she felt a pang of sadness. "My brother and I never said we wouldn't take care of you in your old age, so why are you acting like this?"

"How are we going to support you? Which of you can earn money? Your brother is even worse off than your father, and you're not much better off. Your exam scores are terrible. What kind of good job can you expect in the future? What can I rely on?"

Xu Yuetuan couldn't help but scold him, not even wanting to look at Hu Zhihong. She lowered her head and ate her noodles. After finishing, she still had to do handicrafts. The shoe factory had already closed down, so she now did some handicrafts at home, such as stringing beads, frying thread scraps, and packaging socks. She did whatever she could find, and she didn't have to worry about living expenses for the month.

Hu Zhihong bit her lip, feeling very unconvinced. Grades weren't the only measure of success. She was beautiful, had a great figure, and was bold. Many boys wrote her love letters. She had always heard people say that no matter how well a girl did, it wasn't as good as marrying a good husband. Humph, she would choose a husband who was even better than Ye Qingqing's fiancé and make everyone who looked down on her look at her with new eyes.

Including her mother, Xu Yuetuan.

“This is the right place.” A girl’s voice rang out from the doorway. Xu Yuetuan’s hand trembled, and her face turned pale. She recognized the girl who had paid an eighty yuan deposit earlier. How dare she come here again?

After finishing the noodles in a few bites, Xu Yuetuan wiped her mouth and waited for the other party to come to her door without going out.

Ye Qingqing could already see Xu Yuetuan sitting in the half-open door, but only her back. From behind, she could clearly see that the woman looked much older than before, her back was hunched, and she had aged very quickly.

Actually, Xu Yuetuan isn't that old, only forty-five or forty-six. If a woman takes good care of herself, she can look very young at this age, and even have a girlish feel. But Xu Yuetuan looks like an old woman.

“Xu Yuetuan, you took my classmate’s eighty yuan deposit before. Now my classmate doesn’t want to rent the room anymore. Please return the deposit to her.” Ye Qingqing said loudly from the doorway.

Xu Yuetuan, who had her back to her, trembled and frowned. How did she end up being classmates with this brat? This money was going to be hard to earn. In the whole alley, she was the only one who suffered a great loss at Ye Qingqing's hands, and her man was even thrown into jail. She was really afraid of this brat, but it really hurt her to take out eighty yuan.

"At most, I can only get half back. It's her fault for going back on her word. We clearly agreed on the rental agreement. I put a lot of effort into cleaning the house, so consider the forty yuan as my hard work fee."

Xu Yuetuan didn't want to argue with Ye Qingqing, so she decided to compromise and agreed to return half of the money.

A full refund was out of the question. She'd rather muster up the courage to make a scene, even if it meant throwing a tantrum and acting like a rogue. She refused to believe that Ye Qingqing, a soon-to-be bride, wouldn't find it unlucky.

As Xu Yuetuan spoke, she slowly turned around. When Ye Qingqing saw her appearance, she was startled. This woman looked much older than she had imagined, even older than Gu Nianci, who was old enough to be her mother.

She saw Xu Yuetuan a few times last year, and she didn't look this old. How could she have aged so quickly in just one year?

Ye Qingqing frowned, vaguely sensing something was wrong, and carefully observed Xu Yuetuan's expression.