For three consecutive days, Zhou Na did not see Zhou Dana and Wang Xiuhua come to the school to look for her again.
My heart, which had been hanging in suspense, gradually calmed down.
She was most afraid that Zhou Dana and Wang Xiuhua would pester her and say things that were bad for her. If that happened, her college life would not be as good as she had imagined, and her roommates would inevitably have different opinions about her.
Her life will repeat the same mistakes she made in high school.
Fortunately, it was a false alarm.
Those two must have already left Yanjing or gone to another city. In any case, I just hope they won't bother her anymore. She doesn't want her current life to be ruined by these two people.
Today, she plans to find a part-time tutoring job so that she can save up enough for her tuition and living expenses for four years of university as soon as possible, and hopefully even save some extra money.
Following the old method, she took her college entrance examination results and her student ID from Yanli University to the best primary school in Yanjing.
I heard that a senior student tutors students at the best primary school in the city and earns 30 to 50 yuan an hour, which is much more than she earns as a tutor in Fanjia County.
She doesn't aspire to reach the same level as her senior; she'll be content with just twenty yuan.
While Zhou Na was looking for a job
In a vegetable market in Fanjia County, Zhou Ling was carrying her daughter Zhao Xiaoya on her back, wandering around the market. When she saw a vegetable stall closing up, she quickly ran over and picked up some rotten vegetable leaves.
To avoid being recognized, Zhou Ling bought a mask and covered her face completely. She didn't want people to know that she had fallen to the point where she had to pick up rotten vegetable leaves to make a living.
Ever since Zhou Dana and Wang Xiuhua disappeared...
Zhou Ling already had little money, and her situation became increasingly dire. With no one to rely on, she faced the prospect of feeding two mouths every day. She wasn't afraid of going hungry; she could endure being hungry one day and full the next. But Zhao Xiaoya couldn't. She would cry whenever she was hungry, and if she wasn't given milk, she would cry even harder.
Her milk supply was already low, and with poor nutrition, it decreased even further, leaving Zhao Xiaoya often hungry.
Zhou Ling knew she had to find a way to support herself, so she decided to go out to work. However, she had to take her daughter with her to work because no one else could help her take care of her.
But employers who want to hire people wouldn't hire someone who brings their child to work. As a result, after asking around at almost every job posting place in Fanjia County, none of them would accept the job.
So, Zhou Ling, who was unemployed, could only think of picking up some vegetables that others didn't want at the market and taking them home to eat.
To be honest, the moment Zhou Ling bent down to pick up the vegetable leaves, she regretted it. She regretted arguing with Zhou Dana and Wang Xiuhua. If she hadn't made a scene, she could have gotten some money from them. Even if she didn't have any money, she could have asked them to take care of Zhao Xiaoya so she could go out and work to earn money.
"Hey girl, these are the leftovers from today. If you don't mind, take them home and eat them."
A woman selling vegetables saw Zhou Ling picking up vegetable scraps while carrying a child on her back and felt sorry for her, so she offered her a bag of wilted leftover vegetables.
"Thank you, you're such a kind person."
Upon seeing this, Zhou Ling's eyes lit up. She quickly thanked him and took the leftovers from the bag. In terms of appearance, they were all much better than the rotten vegetable leaves she had picked up from the ground.
"Sister, do you come here to sell vegetables every day?"
"yes."
"Then could you save the leftovers that you can't sell each day and that you want to throw away? I don't mind."
Zhou Ling said pitifully, her eyes pleading.
The vegetable vendor was kind-hearted to begin with, and after thinking for a moment, she replied, "Okay, I usually close up shop around four o'clock. Come before I close up shop."
"Thank you, sister. You are my benefactor. I will never forget you."
Zhou Ling expressed her gratitude repeatedly.
"What 'benefactor' or anything, it's just leftovers. If you don't want it, I'll basically throw it away anyway. By the way, girl, what's wrong with you...?"
The vegetable vendor hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.
Zhou Ling knew what the other woman meant; she wanted to know why she was living such a miserable life. If she told the truth, Zhou Ling estimated that the vegetable vendor would be lucky if she didn't scold her, let alone give her leftovers.
“My husband went to work on the coast, but he hasn’t earned any money yet.”
“My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s and has been bedridden for many years. My father-in-law has difficulty walking and cannot work. He takes medication all year round. My daughter is still young. No boss wants to hire me. I have no choice but to do this in order to support the whole family.”
Zhou Ling fabricated a tragic backstory for herself, which moved the vegetable vendor to tears. She exclaimed that Zhou Ling was too pitiful.
"Girl, you are a good daughter-in-law. In a family like this, most women would have run away long ago, but you have worked hard without complaint, supporting this family and taking care of your parents-in-law. You are truly admirable."
"Take this twenty yuan, don't think it's too little."
Zhou Ling never expected that her fabricated story would lead the vegetable vendor to give her money directly. Although it wasn't much, only twenty yuan, it was enough to give her a good meal and improve her diet.
She hasn't eaten meat for several days.
Zhou Ling pretended to refuse, but finally, under the strong insistence of the vegetable vendor, she reluctantly accepted it.
"The girl is so pitiful."
"Such a good person, why doesn't he have a good reward? His fate is so bad, sigh..."
The vegetable vendor watched Zhou Ling leave, shaking her head and sighing repeatedly.
As Zhou Ling walked home, a slight smile appeared on her lips beneath her mask. She sighed, marveling at how many fools there were in the world; the vegetable vendor had believed her without her even saying anything.
Get twenty yuan for free
Perhaps, in the future, she could try borrowing some money from the vegetable vendor; she doubts the vendor would refuse.
Most importantly, she no longer has to worry about vegetables; the vegetable vendor leaves her the unsold and spoiled leftovers.
This can save a lot of living expenses.
The vegetables were ready, but the staple food was a problem. Zhou Ling couldn't help but feel troubled again. If it only ate vegetables and didn't eat rice, it wouldn't be full.
After thinking for a while,
Zhou Ling decided to ask Zhou Na for help. Although she didn't want to ask Zhou Na, she had no one to rely on right now. Zhou Na was in college and working part-time as a tutor, so she would definitely earn more. Giving her some money to help her would not be a problem at all.
By the way, she also asked Zhou Dana and Wang Xiuhua if they had gone to Yanjing. If they had, she told Zhou Na not to pay any attention to the two of them.
She now understood that Zhou Dana and Wang Xiuhua were completely unreliable. They came back under the guise of compensation, but in reality, they were just there to leech off her. Now that they couldn't get any benefits from her, they saw her as a burden and ran away.
She will no longer consider them her biological parents; they don't deserve it!
Gathering her thoughts, Zhou Ling turned to her daughter behind her and said, "How about we call your aunt when we get home? Your aunt is amazing. She's a college graduate. After she graduates, she can get a job at a big company and earn lots and lots of money. When that happens, we can benefit even more. If your aunt starts her own company and becomes a boss, I can become a department head too..."
...
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