Chapter 42
Going south from the pass, you will gradually see long rows of warehouses and small buildings between the mountains and the coast, and then high-rise buildings rising from the ground, as if you have suddenly been thrown into another world.
The railway track meandered forward, and the train rang its bell and stopped at a platform.
Chen Fengjun got out of the car and walked slowly uphill along the cement road.
She stopped in front of a pawn shop and touched the pearl necklace on her neck. It was round, smooth, and well-proportioned in size, and it still felt the same as when she first received the pearl necklace.
A few years or decades of time are too short for pearls, but for people, they are like huge changes.
Chen Fengjun silently took off the pearl necklace and went into the pawnshop.
"Boss, I'm here to return something."
"Here it comes, put it here."
The pawnshop clerk took back the pearl necklace, checked it, and after confirming that it was correct, he accepted the rent money given by Chen Fengjun and chatted with her for a while: "Ms. Chen, have you returned to the mainland to see your relatives?"
"Yes."
Chen Fengjun thought of her high-spirited second sister Chen Lanjun, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
"My second sister is so outstanding, even more outstanding than I thought. She even said she wants to open a factory."
"That's great," the pawnshop clerk said with a smile, "Sisters working together can accomplish anything. I think after a while, Miss Chen's pearl necklace can be bought back and returned to its original owner."
"Thank you for your good words."
Chen Fengjun smiled, but felt bitter in her heart. The pearl necklace was pawned at the beginning, how could it be so easy to get it back?
She went back to her residence and found a small side room with bunk beds, a bathroom that was inconvenient to turn around in, a small square table that served as a kitchen, dining table and desk, and a lot of miscellaneous items.
She took off her high-end fashion, folded it carefully, changed into her old clothes, and went out like Cinderella after midnight. When she passed by the laundry room, she hesitated for a moment. She should have dry-cleaned it and then returned it to the owner, but after looking at the laundry price sign at the door, Chen Fengjun still walked away.
There's nothing you can do about it. When you're poor, sometimes you can't be picky.
She walked towards the street market. She pushed open the door of a small tea restaurant, which was where she worked. After putting the bag of clothes back on the counter, she thanked the boss lady: "Thank you for your help, boss lady."
The lady boss was busy, so she told her, "Just put it down and go help. That customer wants thick noodles with fish balls."
"Okay, let's go."
Chen Fengjun rolled up his sleeves and immediately got busy.
After serving the last customer's order of the three golden treasures, fish meat steamed bun rice rolls and fish balls, Chen Fengjun could finally take a breath. After closing the stall and cleaning up, she looked at the clock hanging in the store. Oh no, it was too late.
She ran all the way.
"Sorry, Mom is late."
Inside the door, the little girl was playing with a puzzle. She looked up, and a little surprise danced in her exotic hazel eyes: "Mom——"
The kindergarten owner looked unhappy: "You are always the last one to arrive."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Chen Fengjun bent over, apologized skillfully, and then took her daughter's hand and went home.
The lights were off, she kept her eyes open, fanned her daughter with a palm-leaf fan, and sang tiredly to put her to sleep.
"The moonlight shines brightly on the ground, Xiao Xia, you better get off the bed obediently..."
"The harvest is plentiful and the granaries are full, and the old and young are all happy."
An ordinary day was about to pass. Humming the tune of moonlight, she thought about the things that happened in the past years, both good and bad, but she couldn't tell her second sister.
After passing the customs, she found a job in a tea restaurant with her diligence. Unexpectedly, she met her daughter Sissi's father, a young British man with beautiful eyes. He was also of some status, so she had a good life for two years. The pearl necklace was given to her by the British. He called her "Little Pearl". His beautiful eyes were full of her, as if he was looking at the most dazzling gem on the crown of the Queen of England.
But pearls can also become fish eyes. He said, sorry, but her status is too low to be her wife.
He only wanted to treat her as a mistress, or a "concubine". It's funny, she grew up under the red flag and only discovered after coming to Hong Kong that there were concubines here?
Naturally I disagree.
She held Sissi in her arms and resolutely left him. She returned to the market, working while raising her daughter. Sissi was not in good health when she was born, and she was very sick in the past two years. She saw Chinese and Western doctors and took medicine all day long. She was even more short of money, so she had to stop supporting her parents.
From then on, I dared not communicate with my family.
How dare I return home without fine clothes?
But it was her second sister's letter that finally shook her mind, so she went to meet her.
The idea of setting up a factory is a good one, but Chen Fengjun really can't come up with the money.
She looked at the moonlight in the cemetery and sighed softly.
*** ***
Chen Lanjun was also looking at the moon.
Ah Jing flicked the fuel lamp and said regretfully, "So your sister really doesn't want to cooperate?"
“It’s more about having good intentions but not being able to do so.”
Chen Lanjun suddenly raised her hand and slapped her calf quickly and accurately. The mosquito was turned into a bloody dot.
She had mosquito bites on her legs for a few days after coming here. God knows where so many mosquitoes big enough to be fried as vegetables come from!
Seeing this, Ah Jing hurried to put up the mosquito net: "Sister Lan, come into the mosquito net."
Chen Lanjun imprisoned herself in a mosquito net, with mosquitoes outside buzzing and refusing to leave. She truly understood what it meant to "imagine myself as a group of cranes dancing in the sky."
She shook her head, stopped thinking about the mosquito, and started thinking about how to convince Chen Fengjun.
In her previous life, she met Chen Fengjun two years later when she came here to work.
At that time, she was young and ignorant and had some resentment towards Chen Fengjun.
It is said that those who fled to Hong Kong are rich, and they worked hard for a year, but could not even afford to send money back home with six cents of postage stamps. However, Chen Fengjun did not send money home, so she dropped out of school because she had no money.
As for Chen Fengjun's experience, since it was not very glorious, she herself was unwilling to talk about it, and her parents were also reluctant to talk about it, so Chen Lanjun and Chen Fengjun did not have a close relationship.
It was not until Chen Lanjun fell ill and Chen Fengjun came to take care of her that the two sisters slowly let go of their grudges.
My sister is a person with a very strong self-esteem. After giving so many reasons this time, it all comes down to one word: "poor".
Of course, apart from being poor, another reason was probably that her sister didn’t quite believe in her abilities.
In Chen Fengjun's memory, she was still the little girl who only knew how to read. Suddenly, when they met, this little girl said that she wanted to open an electronics factory? Or she wanted to sell electronic watches or something she had never touched before. It sounded as unreliable as a neighbor's child suddenly running up to you and telling you that she wanted to build a rocket and quickly transfer money.
This is the real concern hidden behind those excuses.
Thinking of this, Chen Lanjun sighed: "She is in trouble."
Ah Jing thought about it and made a suggestion: "If she really doesn't want to, why don't we go and ask quietly? Maybe we can find someone from Hong Kong who is willing to cooperate?"
Of course it can be found.
If Chen Lanjun really wanted only a Hong Konger as a partner, she would have too many choices. No matter what era, there are always smart people who can see the direction of the wind.
But, that’s her sister, that’s her real sister!
People like my sister who are busy running around are actually quite slow to notice the so-called trends of the times.
Are you kidding? I get up earlier than a chicken and sleep later than a dog every day. How can I have time to read the news and study macroeconomic trends? Just living is tiring enough.
What's more, my sister has to raise a daughter alone. She has no time to care about changes in the outside world, let alone investing in the mainland.
In the eyes of most Hong Kong people, the mainland is now a hopeless and poor place. Investing? That money will definitely be wasted.
Not to mention ordinary people, even many large foreign companies are in a wait-and-see stage, fearing that the wind direction may change overnight.
In his previous life, because of these reasons, Chen Fengjun did not catch up with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pick up money everywhere.
She worked diligently for more than ten years and finally got a government housing unit. She was so happy that she was dancing like a dragon or a lion in her heart.
But my sister is so smart and brave, she may have a better life.
Chen Lanjun was unwilling to give up this possibility.
She wanted to help Chen Fengjun.
Chen Lanjun turned over and let out a long sigh.
No, she had to find a way to make Chen Fengjun "willingly" cooperate with her.
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