(seven)
Hearing her daughter's clear, bell-like laughter, Zhang Susu was even more puzzled. She touched the gold bracelet she had just put on her other hand with one hand, feeling reluctant to part with it, but said aloud, "I don't want these things unless you explain them clearly."
When her daughter actually knew to send her as part of her dowry, Zhang Susu, who had worked hard for eighteen years and was getting married for the second time, felt so moved that she wanted to burst into tears.
Ye Wenyu immediately stopped her and said to her, "Mom, that's right, you gave me money to travel abroad, but I joined a shopping tour and went abroad with a bunch of old men and women. Haha, those tour guides locked the old men and women in the mall and forced them to buy things. I just watched and didn't buy anything, so they couldn't do anything to me. That's why I only spent four thousand yuan on my trip abroad."
As she explained, she thought to herself that the reason her family was poor was related to her mother's extravagant spending habits. Zhang Susu was the kind of woman who would spend all the money she had in a month in a single day, leaving her to eat porridge for the remaining twenty-nine days. So after selling the house, she generously gave her daughter twenty thousand yuan, allowing her to celebrate her adulthood like other children her age—no, to be precise, like those rich and beautiful high school graduates—on a world tour. She never even considered her daughter's tuition and living expenses after she went to university.
Ye Wenyu thought to herself that in this life, if she wanted to manage her life well, she had to learn to make money, be thrifty, plan, and invest. In short, she couldn't live like her mother. Ye Wenyu silently remembered this in her heart.
Zhang Susu said, "There really are shopping tours? Oh, I want to join sometime." Ye Wenyu felt a pang of sadness. In the past eighteen years, her mother had never been able to travel because of money. When she had money, she would definitely take her mother to travel all over the world.
Ye Wenyu put all the gold and jewelry on Zhang Susu's head, pushed her shoulders to the mirror, and smiled at her, "Ah, my mother is as beautiful as a queen."
Zhang Susu looked at herself in the mirror. Indeed, wearing gold jewelry made her look much healthier. She, who never wore jewelry normally, finally understood why so many women liked to buy jewelry, especially gold jewelry.
But then she remembered her daughter's college tuition and immediately reached for the gold necklace around her neck. She said, "No, even if you don't spend the 20,000 yuan I gave you on travel, you still have to pay your college tuition. I don't have any money left. You should return it. I don't need these. Your Uncle Wang said he'll buy them for me when he has some money."
Ye Wenyu stopped her mother from taking off the necklace again. She really didn't know where the tuition fee of more than 10,000 yuan was, but it was a gift she had given to her mother, and she absolutely could not take it back. How many eighteen years does a woman have, and how many times can she get married? Looking at the wrinkles on her mother's face and the white hair on her head, she smiled slightly and told a lie. She said, "Mom, you don't have to worry about my tuition fee. I explained my family's situation to the school, and the school agreed to waive my tuition fee."
In reality, there's no such thing as a free lunch. She doesn't know for sure if tuition waivers even exist. Even if they do, people would probably fight tooth and nail over them. However, Ye Wenyu plans to get things done as soon as she gets to the school.
Zhang Susu believed it to be true, or rather, she desperately wanted to remarry in style, adorned with gold and jewels, to let him know that after eighteen years of hardship, she had finally achieved happiness and was living a good life. She also wanted to show her irresponsible ex-husband that she, Zhang Susu, was ultimately living a beautiful life. So, finally, with tears of satisfaction and emotion, she said, "Then I'm relieved. Yu, look how beautiful these jewels are! Mom loves them so much. My child, you're so sensible. Mom is truly happy today. These eighteen years, Mom hasn't raised you in vain, hasn't loved you for nothing. All the sacrifices have been worthwhile—"
Zhang Susu recalled her life over the past eighteen years and shed tears there.
Ye Wenyu hugged her mother tenderly, reached out and gently patted her back to comfort her.
Before they knew it, Uncle Wang was standing behind them. He coughed, and the two women looked up. Zhang Susu lifted her head from her daughter's arms and immediately walked quickly to Uncle Wang, proudly displaying her daughter's dowry like a peacock spreading its tail feathers: "Uncle Wang, look, this is the dowry my daughter gave me. See how well I raise a child? Such a filial and sensible girl! I was afraid she'd be angry, afraid she wouldn't agree, afraid she'd make a scene, so I agreed to marry you behind her back, and I even sold this house behind her back. Not only was she not angry, but she even used her savings to buy me jewelry! Uncle Wang, and let me tell you, she got into Q University—"
When Ye's mother said these words, her face was full of pride and joy.
Her words conveyed two meanings: one was that her adopted daughter was indeed outstanding and worthy of praise; the other was that she was essentially reassuring Old Wang that after their marriage, she would be a successful mother with a proven track record, and would definitely be a good stepmother, raising his two children to be successful, as filial and sensible as Ye Wenyu, and able to attend prestigious universities.
Sure enough, Old Wang smiled, looking at Zhang Susu with affection, his smile full of satisfaction.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Zhang Susu immediately panicked and said, "Oh dear, the buyer is here! Let's go!"
Ye Wenyu knew it was time to part ways. She picked up her two suitcases, walked up to Old Wang, and smiled at him, saying, "Uncle Wang, I'm entrusting my mother to you. Please make sure she's happy, and please make sure you're both happy too."
She smiled brightly, even clenching one fist as if blessing them.
Hearing her beloved daughter's words, Zhang Susu cried again, feeling moved and guilty.
Old Wang was also very moved. Although it was the first time he had met Ye Wenyu, he liked this sensible and filial stepdaughter very much. He looked at Zhang Susu and said to her, "Let's not rush to move today. Let's take Xiaoyu to school to register first."
Ye Wenyu knew that they had just started a family and were busy decorating their new home. Besides, since she was going to live independently, she would start from today. In addition, she had just met Lao Wang, and she would feel very uncomfortable if he took her to university.
Therefore, Ye Wenyu immediately said, "No need, Uncle Wang, I have made an appointment with my classmates. Kids these days don't like their parents to take them. If you go and take them, our classmates will laugh at us."
Old Wang remained silent for a while, then looked up and said, "Xiaoyu, you are a good child. You are welcome to come to my house to play during holidays and also to see your two good-for-nothing younger brothers."
Wenyu verbally agreed, but in her heart she knew she wouldn't go; she wouldn't disturb her mother's happiness.
At this moment, Zhang Susu opened the door to let the new landlord in. Ye Wenyu didn't want to be sad anymore, so she forced a smile, opened her arms and hugged her mother tightly, then bowed to Old Wang and quickly ran away with her suitcase.
Once she got downstairs, realizing her mother couldn't see her anymore, tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. But remembering her decision, she quickly wiped away her tears, faced the bright sun, and strode towards the bus station.
She's starting a new life and has enrolled in university.
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