Chapter 207 Mom, I'll take care of you from now on.
"With so many people living on one floor after another, how come it didn't collapse from all the trampling?"
Shen Cuifen looked in that direction and saw several five-story buildings standing side by side.
Red tile roof, white walls, colorful clothes hanging on the balcony, and several potted plants on the windowsill.
This is a common type of employee dormitory in the city.
But Song Wenhua's face immediately fell.
That was Zhang Kesheng's home.
On the second floor of the third building, in the window on the right, hung a wrinkled pair of blue trousers.
Those were his usual work pants.
It was also Song Xiaomei's former husband's family.
That place that once filled her with longing.
The laughter and joy of the past have been replaced by indifference.
They had a good life; the family of three lived in a house allocated by their work unit, simple yet warm.
It was a good job; I was an accountant in a factory, with regular working hours and some benefits during holidays.
But Zhang Kesheng messed everything up.
He had an affair with a new female technician at the factory.
The fight caused chaos at home; dishes were smashed, wedding photos were torn up, and the argument in the middle of the night disturbed the entire building.
Even the neighbors point and whisper, and when they meet on the street, they lower their heads and walk quickly, muttering to themselves.
"That Zhang family's daughter-in-law is really unlucky..."
If Song Lei hadn't held onto Song Wenhua so tightly that day...
He could really rush up and beat Zhang Kesheng to the ground!
Zhang Kesheng's smug expression made it seem as if he had their entire family figured out.
His sister worked hard from dawn till dusk selling vegetables, braving wind and rain, just to make a living.
As a result, his report caused chaos and the stall was almost shut down!
How dare you bully his sister?
They even reported Zheng Mingyue for doing business?
Has this person lost all conscience?!
Song Wenhua clenched his fists, veins bulging.
He struggled, trying to break free from Song Lei's grasp.
But the man held his shoulders tightly and pleaded in a low voice.
"Don't go, you'll be the one who suffers!"
"Mom, when I'm rich in the future, I'll build you a building this tall, okay?"
Shen Zhongshun looked up at the newly built three-story buildings outside the village.
Cars were parked in front of the building, and flowers and plants were planted in the yard, with brand-new clothes hanging out to dry.
That's a sum that most families couldn't accumulate in over a decade.
Shen Zhongshun stared at those buildings.
Shen Cuifen didn't say anything, but gently tapped his forehead.
She looked at her son's innocent yet earnest face, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
"Okay, but you have to study hard first! The most important thing right now is to study."
She knew that many children in the village dropped out of school early to do odd jobs, carry bricks, or deliver packages in the city.
Do the hardest work and earn the least money.
She didn't want her son to go down that path.
She would rather suffer more herself than not be able to finish her studies.
A diploma means a bright future.
Shen Zhongshun scratched his head, not quite understanding.
He blinked, his brow furrowed slightly, as if trying to understand his mother's words.
All he knew was that his neighbor's second uncle's son had dropped out of junior high school and started working as a laborer on a construction site, and now he was able to send money home every month.
He carries his schoolbag to school every day and has to pay tuition, but his family sees no return on their investment.
This made him waver somewhat.
"Mom, can studying really make you a lot of money? But Teacher Wang, he..."
He paused, his tone slightly unconvinced.
"Teacher Wang's house isn't even as spacious as ours. How come he's still so poor after teaching for so many years?"
He remembered that when he went to school last week to pick up his report card, he made a special detour to Teacher Wang's house.
It was a low, tiled house with mottled walls.
Shen Cuifen smiled and looked into the distance.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the fields, and the golden rice ears swayed gently in the wind.
"Teacher Wang is an exception. Guess why he doesn't have any money?"
She needs to make her son understand.
Life is not just about how much money you make or how comfortable you live.
Shen Zhongshun shook his head.
He pursed his lips, his face full of confusion.
In his view, teachers are cultured people who receive a government salary but do not farm or work odd jobs.
How could someone be poorer than a farmer?
Is teaching really worthless?
"He used all his salary to help pay tuition and buy books for several children from single-parent families."
Shen Cuifen's voice lowered.
“Two children had divorced parents and lived with their grandmother. They couldn’t even afford textbooks. Without saying a word, Teacher Wang gave them the money.”
“There was another girl who went to school in winter wearing only a thin shirt, and her feet were cracked and bleeding. Teacher Wang secretly went to town to buy her cotton shoes and a cotton-padded coat, and to make sure she wasn’t embarrassed, he said it was ‘given by the school.’”
"He was poor, but he was respected. From now on, you have to listen carefully in class. Not to get first place, but to be a good person."
A person's life shouldn't be judged solely by how much money they have.
To judge a person's character, one must observe whether their heart is upright and whether they are on the right path.
Shen Zhongshun frowned.
"But if he helps others like this, isn't he losing out himself? Isn't the point of making money to live a good life?"
He still couldn't understand it.
In his eyes, working hard to earn money is about improving one's life.
Teacher Wang is clearly wealthy, yet he doesn't repair his house or buy new clothes.
In his opinion, this was simply foolish.
Shen Cuifen gently patted his head.
"He's not stupid, he's just grateful. His grandmother raised him when he was little. His parents passed away early, and his family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat. His grandmother raised him single-handedly. He was able to go to vocational school because the uncles and aunts in the village would give him rice here and flour there, feeding him bite by bite."
“One winter, he had a high fever. It was Aunt Li who carried him on her back for ten miles along the mountain road to the town to get an injection. Grandpa Zhao boiled the eggs he had saved up for a year and stuffed them into his schoolbag. Others handed him cotton-padded coats and brought him hot meals when he was coldest.”
Shen Cuifen's gaze softened.
"Now that he has the ability, he wants to help others. He doesn't want anything in return; he wants to pass on that warmth."
She paused, her voice trembling slightly.
"There are some things in this world that are more important than money."
Shen Zhongshun was stunned.
He stood there, motionless, staring blankly at his mother.
This was the first time he had heard Teacher Wang's story.
No longer the serious and rigid teacher standing on the podium.
He is an ordinary person who was once supported and raised by the whole village, and is now repaying their kindness in his own way.
The slight resentment in my heart suddenly melted away as if it had been soaked in warm water.
"Mom...I understand."
He spoke softly, his voice slightly hoarse.
"You raise me, and when I grow up, I'll take care of you too."
Shen Cuifen didn't speak, but smiled, her eyes shining.
She didn't say anything more, but simply reached out and hugged her son, gently patting his back.
"Good boy."
Song Wenhua, who was driving, listened to the mother and son talking quietly in the back seat.
My previously tense shoulders gradually relaxed.
Shen Cuifen tilted her head slightly, her gaze inadvertently falling on his hands holding the steering wheel.
Those hands rested quietly on the black leather steering wheel.
After watching for a while, she suddenly asked, "Wenhua, where do you usually go on your long-distance trips?"
Song Wenhua kept his eyes on the road ahead, gently turned the steering wheel, and the car smoothly rounded a bend.
He answered calmly.
"Most of them head south, and the most frequent destination is Nanzhou, where there are plenty of goods and it's easy to find work."
The moment the words "Nanzhou" were uttered, Shen Cuifen's heart skipped a beat.
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