Qiao Lu felt very upset.

Things don’t seem to be peaceful recently. The troubles at the Chen family haven’t ended yet, and Liu Xiaohong’s family is in trouble again. It’s really one thing after another…

"Mom, what does repeating mean?" Qiao An ran over, took Qiao Lu's hand and asked.

Qiao Lu covered his little mouth: "Don't talk yet."

Hmm——he blinked, and being infected by the tense atmosphere in front of him, Qiao An did not dare to speak.

"What? Is there such a thing?" Wu Guifang said in disbelief: "That's impossible. Your son gives you his salary every month. How can you get the money if you don't work?"

Zhang Yanhong also didn't believe it: "Yes, Youwei, tell me, if you don't go to work, where does the money come from?"

In addition to the salary that you bring home on time every month, there are also food expenses at school, book fees... these are all places where you spend money!

"Don't ask me anymore... I..."

"Tell me! Tell me! Where did you get that money, huh?"

Thirty! Thirty a month! From September to now, I have taken home three months' wages, which is only ninety yuan! I stay in school every day, where does this money come from?

Liu Xiaohong was extremely worried, fearing that her son had stolen the money from somewhere.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Grandma Feng, who had poor hearing, finally heard the noise and walked out of the room slowly with a cane.

Seeing his grandson, his eyebrows were filled with confusion: "Youwei, why are you here if you are not working?"

Fang Youwei grabbed his grandmother's arm like a savior: "Mom, grandma, let's go back and talk..."

Liu Xiaohong remained unmoved, and Fang Youwei carefully pulled her cotton shirt.

"Say it right here!" Liu Xiaohong was so angry that she didn't want to hear anything he said. She slapped his hand away and said, "Could it be that this money was obtained through illegal means?"

"No..." Fang Youwei's face turned red with anxiety. In the cold wind and the bleak moon, beads of sweat on his forehead rolled like water beans.

He looked at his neighbors' burning, anticipating eyes and felt that all his dignity was being torn apart bit by bit by his beloved mother in the cold wind.

Grandma Feng looked at her daughter-in-law and grandson in confusion: "What money? What are you talking about?"

Liu Xiaohong was furious. She had wanted to keep it a secret from the old lady, but when she saw Fang Youwei was taking so long to explain, she became so angry that she started to curse: "Your grandson! He's not at work! He's become a thief!"

"No, I didn't!" Fang Youwei secretly clenched his fists, his palms were full of sweat.

His chest rose and fell violently, he took a deep breath, and closed his eyes as if to give it his all: "I... I've found a date!"

Everyone in the courtyard was shocked, including his mother Liu Xiaohong.

At this time, several older sisters from the outer courtyard were attracted by Liu Xiaohong's voice. Fang Youwei raised his head when he heard the footsteps, but soon lowered it in embarrassment.

"You, you are really going to piss your mother off to death, Youwei!" Liu Xiaohong was almost fainting.

Fang Youwei couldn't bear to see his mother like this, so how could he not be sad?

"When did you start dating? How old are you and what do you do?" Zhang Yanhong asked on behalf of his mother.

Fang Youwei glanced at her and stammered, "Twenty... set up on the ground."

Fang Youwei's voice became lower and lower: "She gave me all the money. I will find a way to pay her back in the future..."

"What?" Liu Xiaohong, who was always gentle, turned pale and grabbed her clothes in pain the moment she heard this. "You are so stupid! Youwei, you are so stupid!"

Isn't this just living off of others?

"You asked her to support you while you were repeating your studies. Do you have no mother or no milk?! You want her to support you, why don't you let your mother support you? How can the person setting up the stall be a good person!" Liu Xiaohong hit him excitedly with her fist, and Grandma Feng quickly pulled her grandson back.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Let's talk it over!" He tapped the ground with his cane a few times, "Come on, go inside!"

The group hurriedly walked into the house, followed by Wu Guifang and Zhang Hongyan. Qiao Lu originally thought that it was better for outsiders not to get involved in such family affairs, but seeing Wu Guifang and the others followed, curiosity got the better of her...

There was a charcoal fire burning in the house, making the whole house warm, but when the group walked in, they shivered at the cold.

Liu Xiaohong was very angry with her son, so she sat on a chair to calm down. Wu Guifang patted her on the back to calm her down, and it took her a while to regain her senses.

His fist slammed on the table, startling everyone.

"That girl is only 20 years old, two years older than you. She is so young, she doesn't study or work, but runs a street stall? How can she be a decent person? Ask your sister Qiaolu, how many decent people like your brother Haizhou are there in the street stalls?"

His eyes fell on Qiao Lu's face for a moment, Fang Youwei clenched his hands, and tremblingly poured a cup of hot water for her mother: "Mom, I told you many times before that I wanted to repeat my studies, but you always refused. I really have no choice..."

In fact, as early as the day the results were announced, Fang Youwei had planned to repeat his studies, but Liu Xiaohong disagreed and asked him to find a job in a factory to solve the problem of burdening the family.

Fang Youwei has been a sensible and well-behaved child since he was young. He saw his mother's hard work and difficulties, and he could not bear to refuse her request.

Of course he wanted to earn money quickly so that his mother could live a comfortable life, but going to college had been his dream since he was a child.

He was unwilling to give up, nor was he willing to disobey his mother's orders. He wanted to grab with both hands... so he made up a white lie. But today his mother followed him and then...

"Where is the street stall? Maybe I've seen it before." Qiao Lu suddenly asked.

Fang Youwei glanced at her and bit his lower lip: "Baiyun Street."

Baiyun Street? What a coincidence? Maybe she really knows it.

"Sister Liu, anyone who can set up a stall on Baiyun Street can make money. The monthly rent there is not cheap either." Qiao Lu tried to persuade her.

The most important thing now is to calm Liu Xiaohong down. Anger will not only fail to solve the problem, but will make things worse!

"Yes, it can make money, but my son has arms and legs, and I'm not dead yet! Why should she support him?" Thinking of this, Liu Xiaohong got angry, her voice trembling slightly: "Tell me, a girl, doing business in public, can she be a decent person? Youwei just turned 18! How can she do that to him!"

Under normal circumstances, a smooth-talking person like Liu Xiaohong might have praised the lesbian for her courage and heroism. But now that she was furious and her precious son had just been "kidnapped", Liu Xiaohong didn't care about anything and just kept talking nonsense, not caring whether it was appropriate or not.

Moreover, Fang Youwei's birthday is in mid-October, which means that it is less than two months since he turned an adult, but the review started in September.

That is to say, he had been dating that lesbian when he was a minor!

"Oh, let's break up now! Since I'm going to repeat the year, I won't waste the money and will continue studying. I still have half a year. If I fail the exam after half a year, I'll break up with that woman right away!" Zhang Hongyan thought, what good can a 20-year-old woman who sells things on the street be?

"No, break up with her now! No matter how poor our family is, we can't let a 20-year-old girl support you. I can't afford to lose face like this!"

"Mom..."

Liu Xiaohong pushed him away: "Go break up with that woman now, or don't call me mom!"

Of course Fang Youwei couldn't break up now.

Logically, she had given him 90 yuan and some miscellaneous living expenses; emotionally, he really liked her, and there was no way he was going to break up with her just because of a few angry words from his mother...

Things became more complicated and Fang Youwei, who had always been obedient, had to disobey his mother for a rare occasion.

The discussion lasted until eleven or twelve o'clock, when the neighbors hurried home to make lunch, but the matter between Liu Xiaohong and her son still had no resolution.

…

After closing the stall in the afternoon, Xu Haizhou carried the goods home.

Qiao An kicked the ball right in front of him, and he ran over excitedly and hugged his thighs.

"dad!"

Xu Haizhou got off the bike, held the bicycle with one hand and pinched his son's tender face with the other.

"My dear son, are you playing with the ball again?"

The little guy nodded softly, raised his little head, and stared at him without blinking: "Yeah! The little ball my dad bought is fun! Just now, brother Kang Kang got out of school, and he took me to the square to shoot basketball! But the basket is too high, and I can't shoot it in at all."

Xu Haizhou laughed and pinched his nose: "Throw a small ball?"

"Well, the ball jumped up and then fell down with a crash, haha."

As he said this, he couldn't help laughing. His eyes narrowed into slits and his cheeks were puffy. He looked so cute.

"Dad will take you there next time."

Qiao Lu came over upon hearing the sound and helped him hold the bicycle so that he could unload the goods.

After unloading the goods, the man carried the sack in one hand and held his son in the other, and walked into the house with full of "fatherly love".

"I have the leather and cotton you asked for. They are in the sack."

After entering the house, Qiao Lu poured Xu Haizhou a cup of hot water.

"Okay, drink some water first, and I'll open it and take a look."

I found five kinds of materials according to the colors Qiao Lu wanted. There are slight color differences, but the quality is good.

I patted the leather with satisfaction and couldn't wait to take it to the sewing machine, ready to start making the bag when I have time!

But before that, she had to tell him what happened in the yard today.

"Haizhou, come on, let me tell you something."

"What's wrong?"

After taking a look at the empty courtyard, Qiao Lu walked forward and closed the door, then she lowered her voice and told him.

After hearing this, Xu Haizhou was only surprised for a moment, but soon returned to normal.

"Who are you dating?" This is where his focus is.

Qiao Lu shook her head: "Then only he knows."

"If it was in Baiyun Street, we might have seen it before." Xu Haizhou analyzed.

"Yeah, there are only a few female bosses in Baiyun Street, and they are all in their twenties..."

The couple looked at each other suddenly and said in unison: "Yu Fan?!"

I can't say it's 100% certain, but I'm at least 70 to 80 percent certain.

There are three stalls on Baiyun Street owned by female owners. One of them runs a husband-and-wife shop, and one runs it alone, but she has at least 35 or 36 employees. The remaining one must be Yu Fan!

"Come to think of it, I asked her last time, and she said she has a boyfriend who is in high school and will take the college entrance exam in the second half of the year."

"That's right, it must be her."

"Well, it shouldn't be wrong." Qiao Lu narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "I'll go there tomorrow and ask around."

The next day, Qiao Lu slept until nine o'clock. After getting up, she ate the breakfast prepared by Xu Haizhou, and then rode her bicycle to take her son to Baiyun Street.

Today is Friday, and it was only ten o'clock when I arrived. Business was slow.

Yu Fan was very surprised to see her.

"Hey, why is the boss lady here today?" With nothing to do, she just lay on the wobbly bench, leisurely.

Qiao Lu smiled, put one foot on the ground and leaned to the left. She waited until Qiao An successfully jumped down before getting out of the car.

"I'm free at home anyway, so I came to spend some time with my child's father."

"My mother and I will accompany my father." As she said that, Qiao An jumped into Xu Haizhou's arms.

Xu Haizhou caught him steadily, threw him up into the air, and stopped when he heard him giggle twice, for fear that if he threw him too much, the child would start crying and shouting again.

It was such a heartwarming scene that Yu Fan couldn’t help but feel secretly envious.

Qiao Lu didn't get straight to the point when she arrived. She first walked around her own store, looked here and touched there, and then casually adjusted some of the exhibits.

Finally, he came to Yu Fan casually, sat down, and chatted with him casually.

"By the way, Yu Fan, last time you mentioned your partner, will you two announce it after he finishes the college entrance examination?"

"That's about right. That's what I think anyway." She didn't realize that Qiao Lu was trying to tease her.

"After the announcement, you two can meet your parents, right? You have to get married, right?" Qiao Lu raised her eyebrows and leaned closer to her with her chin in her hand.

"Stop, stop. I haven't thought about getting married. I'm only twenty. Why are you in such a hurry?" Yu Fan glanced at her with amusement.

Qiao Lu laughed out loud: "If you don't fall in love with the goal of getting married, then..."

"Come on, come on, come on. What era is this? We advocate free love. If you like someone, then date them. If you don't like someone, then break up. Isn't this normal?" Yu Fan disagreed with her: "Can it be called hooliganism if it's something that we both agreed on?"

Yu Fan's thoughts are really different from those of ordinary people, and they are really avant-garde.

"Okay, does your boyfriend know about your thoughts?"

"Of course he knows. He has always known who I am." His tone was relaxed and his posture was leisurely. "When it comes to love, just do whatever makes you happy. Thinking about the future is just a waste of time. It only adds to your troubles. The future is too far away. I only want the present."

Yu Fan is a complete hedonist who enjoys instant hedonism.

"Hey, you said, there are actually very few sister-brother relationships nowadays. After all, most parents don't have a good impression of self-employed households. What if his parents don't agree with you two? What do you think you should do?"

"If you don't think it's good, then don't think it's good. I'll see what my boyfriend chooses. If he chooses me, I will fight him to the end! If he chooses his family, then I will turn around and leave without any regrets!"

Okay, sister.

…

We went out to eat at a restaurant again for lunch. The meal cost RMB 4.2 for three of us. We ate until we were full but couldn't finish it, so we packed it up in paper bags and took it home to eat in the evening.

In the afternoon, I went home with Xu Haizhou. In the big courtyard, Liu Xiaohong was washing vegetables with water from the well. In order to save coal briquettes, she usually washed with cold water. Even in the middle of winter, her hands were frozen to the point of ulcers, but she still washed without any problem.

Liu Xiaohong had a fierce quarrel with her son recently. When I saw her now, I could still vaguely see the undried tears on her face.

Are you arguing again?

"Sister Liu, are you cooking?" She greeted her and winked at her son.

Qiao An understood what she meant, and at her mother's instruction, she called out softly, "Auntie~"

"Hey, the little baby is back." Accustomed to hearing Qiao Lu call her, the uncles and aunts in the inner courtyard always call her the little baby.

"Auntie, are you washing clothes?" She squatted down and poked the bubbles in the washing basin, "Wow - it's cold~"

As she spoke, she shuddered sincerely. Liu Xiaohong burst into laughter and began to wash briskly: "You are young and can't stand it. Auntie is used to it and doesn't feel cold at all."

Qiao An wanted to say something, but her mother held her hand and helped her stand up.

"Sister Liu, you are washing clothes by yourself. Where is Youwei? Is he done with school?"

When talking about her son, Liu Xiaohong's face turned unhappy: "Don't mention him, he's a rebellious son."

"Sister Liu..." Qiao Lu said helplessly: "If you have anything to discuss, let's talk it over. I think he is usually quite sensible."

"Sensible? That's just an act to fool his mother!" Now when talking about Fang Youwei, Liu Xiaohong can't control her temper.

"Children of his age are the most rebellious. The more you go against him, the less likely he will obey you," said Qiao Lu.

Liu Xiaohong's anger got even more intense as she was rubbing the clothes: "Rebellious! What right does he have to rebel? I worked so hard to raise him, and he still wants to be disobedient and not support me? God bless you!"

Suddenly, the glass window across from them was opened. Fang Youwei, who was sitting by the window, retorted unconvincedly, "Mom! Can you please stop talking nonsense? How am I not filial to you and not providing for you in your old age? Can you please stop talking nonsense?"

"You just want a wife and not your mother, right? How did I say anything wrong?" She threw down her clothes and looked like she was going to fight him.

Qiao Lu quickly grabbed the person.

Liu Xiaohong, who has always been open-minded and gentle, loses all her rationality when it comes to her son's affairs, which makes things difficult for her.

After finally calming Liu Xiaohong down and just about to go into the kitchen to cook, I heard a quarrel from the Chen family next door.

Tsk, I haven’t had a peaceful life lately.

…

The abolition of cloth coupons heralded the true beginning of another era.

1984 was destined to be an extraordinary year.

In the coming period, private clothing factories will spring up like bamboo shoots after rain, and fierce competition will lead to a flourishing domestic market.

Of course, there are many problems, at least "piracy" is one of them.

However, Qiao Lu hopes that the competition will catch up quickly so that her man won't have to travel all the way to the Special Administrative Region to purchase goods. Not only is the trip tiring, but it also makes it easy for thieves to target him.

Chen's daughter-in-law has been back to her parents' home for a week and hasn't returned yet. It seems that this slap really broke her heart.

Things have not been going well at Liu Xiaohong's house lately, and you can hear the mother and son quarreling every day. Fang Youwei has also stopped going to school. I don't know if he has stopped going recently or will never go again.

Sometimes it would suddenly explode in the middle of the night, scaring Qiao An awake once.

If you keep arguing like this, you'll get a nervous breakdown.

Two days later, while Liu Xiaohong was not at home, Qiao Lu went to look for Fang Youwei.

Dongdong——

"Youwei, I'm Qiao Lu, is it convenient for you to come in?"

After a long while, his slightly hoarse voice was heard: "Come in, the door is not locked."

I opened the door and entered the house. There was no light on, only a small window letting in a dim light.

She walked in, leaving the door open a crack.

"Sister Qiao Lu." Looking at her, Fang Youwei's eyes flickered for a moment, and he stood up and hurriedly brought the bench under his buttocks to her: "Sit down."

Qiao Lu smiled and refused: "No, you sit down, I'll stand for a while and go back soon."

The children were taught to be very polite and would always call her Sister Qiao Lu affectionately when they saw her.

He is tall and thin, with big facial features and a narrow face. In an era when square faces are popular, a skinny guy like Fang Youwei is actually not that popular.

But Qiao Lu had a good impression of this thin boy, who looked clean and gentle.

"Sister Qiao Lu, what's the matter?" He clenched his pen, a little overwhelmed by her arrival.

He looked much more haggard after not seeing him for a few days. His eyes were swollen and a little red. He sat on a bench without an armrest, his back slightly hunched. His old sweater made his body look thin.

"Nothing, just came to see you." Looking around, although the house was small and crowded, it was neatly arranged and clean.

This is his and his grandmother's room, and the room outside is Liu Xiaohong's.

He walked forward and handed the book in his hand to her: "This is the review material my sister used. You can take a look at it when you have time."

"Thank you." After accepting the book, he didn't know what to say.

He was indeed reviewing, but he was not reading, he was drawing.

Qiao Lu picked up one at random, and Fang Youwei was a little shy and wanted to snatch it away.

"I drew it randomly. It's ugly."

Qiao Lu dodged it, held it in her palm and admired it repeatedly: "It's okay, I'll just take a look."

He looked at the painting for a long time without saying a word. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Seeing that she hadn't said anything, Fang Youwei felt guilty and swallowed his saliva, and the sound was really loud.

"I usually review. Sometimes I draw when I'm tired of reading... I really review." He was afraid that Qiao Lu would think that he was not reviewing and wasting time on drawing.

Qiao Lu suddenly laughed: "Well, did you draw this? It's great. It would be a waste of talent if you don't apply to art school."

"Ah? I..."

"Really." After flipping through a few of the pictures, he couldn't help but praise: "Really good, have you studied art?"

Fang Youwei was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "No, no..."

Nowadays, serious people who study art all value cultural subjects.

Studying art? That's a waste of time.

"I just drew them randomly. I never learned anything." Besides, the family didn't have the spare money to let him study art. It was a very expensive profession.

"That's even more amazing." Qiao Lu smiled sincerely while holding the graph paper. "Look, you actually drew this human body with perfect perspective. If you haven't studied art, few people can draw to such a standard... You are quite talented."

He turned over another one: "Is this a landscape painting? Was it painted with watercolor pens? There are not enough colors, but the effect is quite good, and the combination is also unique."

"This is a sketch, right? You said you haven't learned it. Look at the black, white and gray. Aren't the light and dark sides all reflected? The shape is also well-shaped, but..." After looking at it for a while, Qiao Lu pointed at the projection and said, "The shadow is not drawn right. It should be as hollow as possible, extending slowly from the bottom to the outside, becoming more hollow as it goes out, and the edges should not be pressed too hard..."

Fang Youwei looked at her in disbelief, his pupils horrified: "Sister Qiao Lu, you..."

She sounded so professional when she spoke...

"Do you paint often?" Qiao Lu smiled to herself without paying attention to his reaction.

"Well, I've been drawing on my own since elementary school."

He suddenly remembered something and ran away, rummaging through the drawers and found the notebooks from elementary school to high school.

Twenty in total!

Qiao Lu flipped through the books one by one, from the early paintings to the recent ones, and could see obvious progress, all of which he had figured out on his own!

"You drew all this from your imagination? Didn't your teacher teach you? If you taught yourself, you must be very talented."

I scratched my head in embarrassment: "I don't have any talent, I just like it. I have been drawing on notebooks since elementary school. My family was poor and couldn't afford to buy books, so I drew according to the illustrations in the textbooks. Later in high school, I started dating... my girlfriend, and she bought me a lot of books."

Object... She really wanted to ask whether his object was Yu Fan, but it would certainly be a bit presumptuous to ask, and now at this sensitive juncture... Forget it, just pretend that she doesn't know.

So Fang Youwei took out the art book that his girlfriend bought for him.

Qiao Lu took a look and found that they were all about art, such as "Outline of Gouache Painting Teaching Materials", "Art History and Theory Materials", "Basic Knowledge of Sketching", "Basic Techniques of Flower and Bird Painting", "Human Body Sketching"...

"The book is good, very rich...You have a good partner."

The boy's face turned red with embarrassment.

"By the way, wait a minute, I'm going to go back and get something." After saying that, Qiao Lu disappeared.

Two minutes later, he turned back.

"Look, I also draw sketches on a regular basis, but they are not for exams, but for clothing designs."

I took her manuscript, my fingertips trembling slightly. Suddenly I remembered something, flipped through the book, and found a clothing manual.

"Sister Qiao Lu, look, what's drawn in the book is almost the same as your picture!" Fang Youwei's heart was pounding, and the tone of his voice became much higher.

Looking at him with amusement, Qiao Lu said: "That's nothing, you can do it too."

Suddenly I felt embarrassed: “I can’t do it exactly the same.”

Qiao Lu patted his shoulder encouragingly: "Don't worry, you have achieved this level by self-study. If you have a professional teacher to guide you, you will definitely be able to do it."

"Do you really think so?" Fang Youwei felt warm inside and a little excited when he found out that Qiao Lu appreciated him.

But sometimes he thinks his painting is very good, and sometimes he thinks it looks like a piece of shit.

He wants to take the arts college entrance examination.

However, these days, how could ordinary families let their children learn this? This is something that only "improper" people learn.

Therefore, he could only appreciate his paintings by himself and he did not dare to tell anyone.

"Of course, the fact that you have achieved this level through self-study shows that you are actually a gifted child."

Fang Youwei felt as if there were grains of sand invading his eyes: "Besides her, you are the only one who compliments me."

"Who? Your date?"

The boy showed an embarrassed attitude: "Yeah."

He had been quarreling with his mother for the past few days, either big or small. He was already feeling depressed. Qiao Lu suddenly showed up and gave him a good scolding. He felt both sour and sweet at the same time. It was hard to describe the feeling...

"My mother would only say that I am not doing my job properly." With a bitter smile, he put away all the books and picture books: "So I never dare to show these things to her."

"Sister Qiao Lu, don't tell her." He reminded her again and again.

"Well, don't worry, I won't." After thinking for a while, Qiao Lu said, "It's actually quite normal. Your mother is that age after all, and she can't relate to you in many ways. And she's had a hard time over the years, and sometimes she's extreme. I can understand that."

"I know I will repay her, but not now. Now... I don't even know where my future is going." He lowered his eyelashes, his mood depressed again.

"I know." Qiao Lu curled her lips and smiled gently.

"What?" He didn't understand.

"I know where your future lies." In his confused eyes, Qiao Lu said firmly word by word: "If you believe me, go and take the art exam."

"What?"

The author has something to say: