Chapter 67 You'll have to pay more for this kind of gameplay.
The autumn wind was already chilly, swirling fallen leaves along the asphalt road.
It was already getting dark when Zhao Qingda's bus pulled into the station.
This trip didn't go smoothly.
I had a flat tire on the way, which delayed me for two hours;
Near the finish line, we were stopped by traffic police who said the fire extinguisher was expired and fined us 20 yuan.
The worst part was that when collecting the fare, Wang Juan received a counterfeit fifty-yuan bill.
"How did you check the money?!" Zhao Qingda clutched the counterfeit bill, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. "You didn't touch, look at, or check it when you received the money, and now look what's happened, fifty yuan has gone down the drain!"
Wang Juan was bending down to collect the trash bags left by the passengers when she heard this. She straightened up and snatched the counterfeit money away: "Blame me?! Zhao Qingda, have you no shame? What did you do all this time besides driving? Collecting money, selling tickets, cleaning—I did it all! And you blame everything on me when something goes wrong?"
"You did this? If you're so capable, you'll be accepting counterfeit money!" Zhao Qingda's voice rose as well. "Do you remember who you got this fifty yuan from? Tomorrow I'll stake out the station and find that bastard!"
"Where are you going to find it? Hundreds of people get on and off the bus every day, who can remember them all?!" Wang Juan slammed the counterfeit bill onto the dashboard. "Besides, it's only fifty yuan, is it worth it to act like this? In previous years, you would lose two or three hundred yuan at a time gambling, why didn't you seem this distressed then?"
When old grievances were brought up, both of them became emotional.
"Stop bringing up the past!" Zhao Qingda roared. "We're talking about these fifty counterfeit bills!"
"Fifty yuan, fifty yuan! All you care about is money!" Wang Juan burst into tears. "Ever since Tie Tou died, have you ever cared about me even once? I can't sleep at night, have you ever bothered to ask me anything? I feel nauseous from drinking Chinese medicine, have you ever asked me even once?!"
"Why didn't I ask? I did ask, but you said it was nothing. What could I do?!" Zhao Qingda lit a cigarette in frustration. "Alright, alright, hurry up and finish packing and go home. I'm hungry."
Looking at his impatient face, Wang Juan suddenly felt like a stranger.
She remembered when she first met him, Zhao Qingda was handsome, talkative, and could even sing a few lines of pop songs. How did he become like this now?
"Zhao Qingda," she wiped away her tears, her voice turning cold, "look at yourself now. With such a huge scar on your face, you look like a monster, and you're always complaining. What, do you want a goddess?"
These words were like a knife, piercing straight into Zhao Qingda's heart. He turned his head abruptly, his eyes bloodshot: "What did you say?!"
"Look in the mirror!" Wang Juan snapped. "If it weren't for me, who would want to be with you? Your mother's dead, your son's gone, your house's worthless, you have no money, what do you have left?!"
"Fuck your mother!" Zhao Qingda raised his hand to strike.
Instead of backing down, Wang Juan pressed her face closer, saying, "Go ahead and hit me! If you've got the guts, then hit me! After we're done, we'll break up, and nobody's going to waste anyone else's time!"
His hand froze in mid-air.
Zhao Qingda stared intently at the woman in front of him.
Wang Juan glared at him, her face covered in tears and snot, but her eyes held a fierce look.
Finally, Zhao Qingda spat angrily, slammed the door, got out of the car, and left.
That night, another argument broke out at Wang Juan's parents' house.
The elderly couple were woken up by the noise and came out wearing their clothes to try and calm things down.
"What's wrong now?" Wang Juan's mother looked at her daughter's red and swollen eyes and sighed with heartache. "They argue all the time, how can we live together?"
"I can't live like this anymore!" Wang Juan cried out.
Zhao Qingda sat on a small stool, smoking without saying a word.
“Qingda, say something!” Wang Juan’s father frowned. “You two are still young, you have a long road ahead of you. Tie Tou’s situation… it’s fate, you have to accept it. But the living have to look forward, right? Drive your car well, save money, and when things are better, have another child…”
“Dad, please stop talking,” Zhao Qingda interrupted him, his voice hoarse. “I know what I’m doing.”
"You know what's going on, you know what's going on, yet you still argue with Juanzi all the time?" The old lady got angry too. "Let me tell you, Zhao Qingda, Juanzi has suffered so much with you. If you ever wrong her, I'll be the first to object!"
Zhao Qingda looked up at his mother-in-law's harsh face and suddenly smiled.
The smile was cold and mocking: "Who told your daughter to be so eager to be with me in the first place?"
The elderly couple were speechless with shock.
After that night, Zhao Qingda began staying out all night.
When Wang Juan asked him, he retorted, "Is it any of your business?"
Actually, he went to see a prostitute.
There are some small hotels near the station that secretly do this kind of business.
Zhao Qingda became a regular customer.
He was not bad-looking, and although he had a scar on his face, he was quite generous, and the women were willing to take his jobs.
However, Zhao Qingda has some peculiar habits. He likes to say unpleasant things, curse, and sometimes even resort to violence during the process.
At first, the women endured it, but later some of the more assertive ones would reach out their hands afterward and say, "Add more money."
"Why should I?" Zhao Qingda asked while fastening his belt.
"Is that something a normal person would do?" The woman lit a cigarette and glanced at him sideways. "Don't come back next time if you don't pay extra. I can't afford to serve you."
Zhao Qingda stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. He pulled two bills from his wallet and tossed them over: "Is this enough?"
The woman picked it up and flicked it: "That's more like it."
From then on, Zhao Qingda always gave him more money.
He enjoyed this "privilege" that he bought with money, and he enjoyed the expressions on the women's faces, which they disliked but had no choice but to obey.
This made him feel that he was still a capable man.
As for Wang Juan? Let her think what she wants.
Time flows silently like water.
Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Winter has gone and spring has come. The plane trees along the street have sprouted tender green buds again.
In a neighboring city, in an alley opposite Xiaoxiao's tailor shop, Zhao Fei leaned against the wall, watching that familiar figure busy in the shop.
It's been half a year.
He secretly watched like this for another six months.
Zhao Fei had thought countless times about how to appear in front of Wen Xiaoxiao.
Should we just go in?
Saying, "Xiaoxiao, I've been looking for you for so long?"
No, she'll definitely run away in fright.
Pretending to bump into each other?
At the farmers market?
But what if she realizes it was intentional?
He was extremely distressed.
I've never had such a difficult time doing business in my entire life.
No matter how big the trouble the pig farm encounters, he can always find a way to solve it, but when facing Wen Xiaoxiao, he is like a helpless young man.
He was distracted while eating over the weekend, and the old lady noticed.
"What are you thinking about now?" Zhou Lanying put a piece of spare rib on his plate. "You seem distracted."
Zhao Fei sighed and told him about his troubles.
After listening, Zhou Lanying put down her chopsticks, looked at him for a long while, and then said, "Zhao Fei, are you sick?"
Zhao Fei was taken aback.
"A woman's heart and her words are separate," the old woman said slowly. "She says she doesn't want to see you, but do you know what she's really thinking? She's raising three children alone, isn't it hard? Isn't she tired? Does she cry secretly at night? Have you thought about any of that?"
"I……"
“What’s the use of just thinking about it?” Zhou Lanying shook her head. “If you ask me, you should walk up to her honestly and show her your true heart. Tell her how you’ve been all these years, tell her how much you miss her and the children, how much it hurts you. Tell her you won’t pressure her, that you’ll wait for her, and that you’ll only go through that door when she’s ready.”
Zhao Fei listened intently.
"True feelings for true feelings." Zhou Lanying patted his hand. "Women, what you fear most is not a poor man, not a man who is incompetent, but a man who is not sincere. If you warm a stone with your sincerity, you can warm it up."
That night, Zhao Fei couldn't sleep.
He kept thinking about his mother-in-law's words, Wen Xiaoxiao's busy figure in the tailor shop, and the children's smiling faces.
Perhaps... my mother-in-law is right.
Inside the tailor shop, Wen Xiaoxiao was fretting over something.
Yizhen and Yibao are almost three years old and it's time for them to go to kindergarten.
She inquired and found that there were two kindergartens nearby: one was a public one that was inexpensive but had limited spots, and the other was a private one that was expensive but had a better environment.
After all the calculations, even if we go to the public school, the tuition fees for both children would still be a considerable expense.
Unfortunately, I still have to pay the rent for the next quarter this month.
Although Liu Shuhua's salary is not high, it is still a fixed expense.
I have enough savings, but after paying these, I won't have much working capital left.
In case the shop needs to get new fabric, or the child gets a headache or fever...
She sat in front of the sewing machine, pressing the calculator for a long time, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.
"Mom, look!" Yizhen ran over holding up a drawing that was covered in scribbles. "I drew a flower!"
Wen Xiaoxiao forced a smile: "It's really beautiful. Go show it to your sister."
Yizhen skipped and hopped away.
As Wen Xiaoxiao watched her daughter's retreating figure, her heart softened and ached.
The children are growing up and deserve a better education. She can't let her own difficulties hold them back.
But money...
"Xiaoxiao, come and see Xiaogai!" Liu Shuhua called from the inner room, her voice filled with helplessness.
Wen Xiaoxiao quickly got up and went inside. She saw that Wen Xiaogai had climbed onto the table at some point and was reaching for the sewing box on top of the cabinet.
The little guy was very agile; one leg was already kneeling on the edge of the table.
"Wen Xiaogai!" Wen Xiaoxiao was startled and rushed over to pick the child up. "How many times have I told you not to climb high?! What if you fall?!"
Wen Xiaogai squirmed in her arms, pointing at the sewing box: "I want it! I want it!"
"What do you mean, 'want'!" Wen Xiaoxiao slapped his butt. "Is that something you can play with? What if you prick your hand?"
The child burst into tears, tears and snot streaming down his face. Wen Xiaoxiao felt both heartache and frustration, and she held him and rocked him back and forth, saying, "Don't cry, don't cry, Mommy will get you another toy."
But Wen Xiaogai refused and cried even harder.
The two children, Yizhen and Yibao, were drawn over by the crying and surrounded their mother. One said, "Don't cry, little brother," and the other said, "Mom, don't be angry." Their chattering was driving Wen Xiaoxiao crazy.
Liu Shuhua sighed, "This child is getting more and more naughty. I'm exhausted after taking care of him all day. He goes wherever he's not allowed to go, and he insists on touching whatever he's not allowed to touch."
Wen Xiaoxiao shook her head with a wry smile.
Yes, after Wen Xiaogai turned a little over a year old, she became quite the little rascal.
They are very curious, energetic, and can't sit still for a moment.
She had to work during the day and rush to finish her work at night. Sometimes she was so tired that she could hardly maintain her image as a loving mother when she looked at her naughty son.
After finally managing to appease Wen Xiaogai, Wen Xiaoxiao was so exhausted that she sat in a chair, not wanting to move for a long time.
Liu Shuhua poured her a glass of water: "Xiaoxiao, don't overwork yourself. The child is mischievous, but she's smart and will definitely amount to something in the future."
Wen Xiaoxiao took the water glass and thanked her.
As she looked at the three children playing with building blocks on the ground, that feeling of sorrow welled up in her heart again.
Life goes on.
No matter how difficult it is, we have to get through it.
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