Chapter 63 Gentle Return Home: Tao Xiaoxiao Enters the Yao Family
On the fifth day after ice was used in Yao Xiaoyu's room, Wenrou, who was able to walk normally but still couldn't go far, was protected by Tao Xiaoxiao and quietly took a rickshaw back to Yao's house at night.
The driver initially thought he could raise the fare halfway through the journey since there were only two women in the car, but after being punched in the eye and given a black eye, he became docile and delivered them to their destination as quickly as possible, even giving them a 30% discount.
"Little Fish, about my job..."
After Wenrou tidied up her things, she asked with some concern, "The days of just eating and not doing anything, reading books and newspapers, were as wonderful as a dream. But after a while, she started to feel anxious, unable to eat or sleep."
After Yao Xiaoyu learned about this, she asked Tao Erniu to assign some handicrafts to Wenrou. Every day, after she finished her work, Tao Xiaoxiao would send it away, and she would receive cash the next day. However, in order to avoid affecting the recovery, she set working hours, which indirectly limited the amount of work. Even so, Wenrou still earned a few silver dollars, but she took them all with her when the Yao family came to help with household expenses.
Going home is certainly comfortable, but Tao Xiaoxiao is gone. Will she still be able to earn money?
Even if you can earn money, the manual labor outside is sporadic and often involves nitpicking, and getting paid is always delayed. It's nothing like the comfortable job at the hospital.
"Xiaoxiao will be over in a couple of days, and I'll discuss it with her."
Yao Xiaoyu didn't make any definitive statements, nor did she intend to really cut off Wenrou's way of making money. After successfully completing her paper-craft business, Tao Erniu had already made a name for herself and wasn't short of work. Wenrou wasn't one to cheat or shirk her duties, so it didn't matter who she worked for. Besides, Wenrou was busy making money, so she probably wouldn't have time to keep an eye on her.
"That's good."
Wenrou sensed a deeper meaning in those words, but she also breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what Xiaoyu wanted to do, it was enough that she could continue to earn this money.
"Little Fish, you..."
Zhou Chunhua found these words strange, but she didn't understand what they meant. Two days later, Yao Xiaoyu brought a strange girl into the Yao family's courtyard and casually dropped two bombs.
"Today is my last day at work. The pharmacy will be returned to its rightful owner from now on."
"This is Tao Xiaoxiao, a distant relative of the Yao family. Take a look at where she lives."
Yao family: ...
Both pieces of news were quite shocking, leaving Zhou Chunhua unsure whether to ask why her job was gone so quickly or to inquire about Tao Xiaoxiao's situation. Fortunately, it wasn't too hot today, and Yao Xiaoyu was patient enough to say a few more words.
There's not much to say about the job itself. It was only temporarily filled in because someone else couldn't come to work. The original plan was for the job to be returned in the spring, so being able to work until the summer is already a good deal.
Tao Xiaoxiao's situation was a bit complicated. Yao Xiaoyu didn't intend to reopen the girl's wounds, but simply explained the benefits of Tao Xiaoxiao moving into the house.
“Mom, Xiaoxiao, come and live here. You can earn as much as you can do in handicrafts. Grandma and Dad can do some too.”
Yao Xiaoyu used to always plan to find some jobs for the Yao family that were both easy to do and had opportunities for advancement. But now... she has connections with Tao Erniu, so they don't delay, don't owe her anything, and don't nitpick. They get paid for each job they do, which is great.
Wenrou's expression changed, and the words of refusal stuck in her throat. After hesitating for a while, she finally lowered her head and made a gesture of consent.
“Grandma, Xiaoxiao doesn’t need us to take care of anything, she doesn’t eat with us, and the relatives don’t stay for free; she pays a thank-you fee of three yuan every month.”
Three yuan a month, thirty-six yuan a year. This income was enough to rent a small room in the concession, but all Tao Xiaoxiao wanted was an empty room on the first floor.
Zhou Chunhua understood Yao Xiaoyu's meaning, and her expression softened considerably, but she still had a concern—was this Xiaoxiao really trustworthy?
“Big brother, Dad, I can’t stay at home forever now that I’ve lost my job. Xiaoxiao can go out with me. She’s very strong, so I’m not worried about getting into trouble when I go out.”
Yao Xiaoyu explained why she wanted people to stay, but the grandfather, grandson, and Yao Ping'an all changed their expressions. They thought of the completely useless meeting they had held before and felt that Yao Xiaoyu was no longer satisfied with hints but was making a blatant showdown—if there was no suitable job to keep her tied down, she could leave any day now, and she had even found bodyguards!
"Little Fish, I've tried, but it's really hard to find a job similar to Maria Hospital."
Completely off-topic, Yao Tianrui tried to play the victim. Yao Xiaoyu didn't understand what he meant, but that didn't stop her from answering casually.
"It's okay, there's no rush. It's so hot in the summer that I don't even want to go out. I plan to go back to work when the weather cools down. Let's talk about Xiaoxiao's matter first."
Yao Xiaoyu's statement was merely a literal remark, but the three interpreted it completely differently: "If Tao Xiaoxiao stays, I'll give you a few more months. If you still don't have a job when the weather cools down, don't blame me for never coming back."
With Tao Xiaoxiao's decision to stay finalized, the others stopped struggling. Remembering Yao Xiaoyu's repeated emphasis on relatives, Yao Ping'an took the initiative to speak:
"I remember a distant relative of my mother sent me a letter saying that the child's name was this?"
Zhou Chunhua immediately understood Yao Ping'an's meaning. After thinking for a while, she pretended to suddenly realize something.
"Yes, my distant cousin from my maternal family married someone from the mountains..."
Zhou Chunhua stopped halfway through her story – people in the mountains are all focused on making money, they wouldn't want to go out and wander around all day.
The Yao family had obviously also noticed this flaw, and they started piecing together the image one after another. Tao Xiaoxiao stood next to Yao Xiaoyu, dumbfounded as she listened to the woman she had never met become the daughter of a distant relative of the Zhou family in Suzhou, who had come to Shanghai to broaden her horizons. If Tao Xiaoxiao hadn't remembered what her own family looked like, she would have believed that what the Yao family said was the truth.
"The rooms on the second floor are all full. Take a look and see which room on the first floor you like..."
Yao Xiaoyu watched Zhou Chunhua carrying a kerosene lamp to show Tao Xiaoxiao the room, yawned sleepily, and turned to go upstairs—she still had to buy things tomorrow, so she couldn't afford not to get a good rest.
Tao Xiaoxiao's move into the Yao family was a last-minute decision by Yao Xiaoyu and Tao Erniu. Yao Xiaoyu told Wenrou that they would talk about it in a couple of days, but actually it was to give Wenrou some time to adjust to her family. Wenrou's role had been absent from the family for so long that the family had already completed its various roles and needed time to readjust.
But as the old saying goes, plans can never keep up with changes.
The gentle caregivers are Li Taohua and Tao Xiaoxiao, who take turns working. Li Taohua handles the daily chores, leaving Tao Xiaoxiao with tasks that require physical strength, such as holding Wenrou to relieve her physiological needs and changing her clothes.
The two worked well together, but after Wenrou was able to get out of bed, she insisted on doing these things herself, which made Tao Xiaoxiao semi-unemployed. If it weren't for the daily handicraft work she was doing, she would have been even more idle.
Tao Xiaoxiao was easygoing; she did what she could when she had something to do and slept when she didn't. After all, Tao Erniu had already booked her a job because of her strength. But after Tao Xiaoxiao sent Wenrou home and started working for Tao Erniu, the two of them realized something was wrong.
Tao Xiaoxiao would fall asleep anytime, anywhere after being busy for a while!
Previously in the hospital, this symptom went unnoticed by anyone during her leisurely work. Everyone assumed that Tao Xiaoxiao was just sleeping out of boredom, but now it seems clearly abnormal!
Having money in hand, Tao Erniu took Tao Xiaoxiao directly to the clinic. The old man, whose beard was longer than Tao Xiaoxiao's hair, took her pulse for a long time and said that Tao Xiaoxiao was fine, she just hadn't been sleeping enough before, and she would be normal once she caught up on her sleep.
“It’s pretty good. As long as you eat more good food and keep sleeping like this, your damaged foundation and vitality can be slowly restored. Others would want it but can’t.”[1]
The old doctor's envy almost overflowed from his eyes. He hadn't had a good life when he was young. Later, he followed his master and went to great lengths to make up for most of the damage he had suffered in his childhood. But he had also suffered a lot. Unlike Tao Xiaoxiao, who could just eat and sleep.
Tao Xiaoxiao: ……
Tao Erniu: ...
Tao Xiaoxiao didn't want to be treated specially in Tao Erniu's group, and Tao Erniu didn't want Tao Xiaoxiao to go back to that damn home. After a moment's thought, she thought of Yao Xiaoyu.
Since Tao Erniu completed her initial capital accumulation, the two or three copper coins she escorted were practically nothing. She continued to pick up and drop off Yao Xiaoyu partly because it was on her way, and partly because she genuinely considered her a friend. However, both she and Yao Xiaoyu knew that this escorting wouldn't last forever.
Tao Xiaoxiao appeared at just the right time. She was strong and had a good appetite. Although she slept more than she was awake and needed to eat meat to exert all her strength, she had one great advantage: she was a woman that Yao Xiaoyu knew and that Tao Erniu could vouch for!
There are plenty of guards and bodyguards now, but they are all men, and their quality varies greatly. If you randomly pick one and find out the true nature of the Yao family's seemingly weak but actually weak state, you'll be inviting a wolf into the house.
But Tao Xiaoxiao is different. She is a woman, which naturally eliminates the possibility of certain piston-like movements. Tao Erniu's guarantee is another layer of protection. Although she eats a lot and does little work on the surface, Yao Xiaoyu's daily activity is just foraging for food, and the dangers she encounters are just local thugs. Although Tao Xiaoxiao has not received formal training, her brute strength is enough to deal with them.
As for food... one silver dollar can buy eight catties of pork. Not counting her royalties from other sources, she also has her own royalties. Thirty-odd silver dollars a month is not enough to support two people.
So when Tao Erniu brought the little girl to her door and hesitantly explained her purpose, Yao Xiaoyu immediately agreed—she had been thinking for a long time about where to find a safe travel companion after Tao Erniu said goodbye to her, and Tao Xiaoxiao's arrival was like a godsend.
Not to mention, this girl was very considerate and offered to stay at the Yao family's house. Now Yao Xiaoyu wasn't even afraid to buy late-night snacks!
It's just a bit expensive.
The next morning, Yao Xiaoyu took Tao Xiaoxiao to buy tables, chairs, cabinets, a wooden bed, bedding, toothpaste, lamps, and a series of other daily necessities. They also ordered several sets of clothes to change into. After eating their way through the food stalls, they returned home with half a basket of beef on their backs, sighing as they looked at their empty wallets.
But this isn't Tao Xiaoxiao's problem, it's hers. If she earned more money, she wouldn't feel like she spent too much today!
Moreover, after this shopping spree, the image of Yao's Suzhou relatives as extravagant spenders has been firmly established in people's minds. In the future, if Yao Xiaoyu wants to eat or buy something, she will no longer need to hide it from people like a thief—after all, they are relatives, so what does it have to do with Yao's family how much money they spend?
Yao Xiaoyu took a deep breath and began writing furiously in the damp night air, where the ice was melting.
I'm feeling anxious because I'm broke, so I'll write a story to earn some extra money.
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Author's note: [1] I made up this physique.
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A small detail: The description of the old doctor who took Tao Xiaoxiao's pulse as having hair longer than his beard is a realistic depiction. This is because Tao Xiaoxiao's hair would be cut off and sold by her family when it grew long. It was only a couple of years ago, when Tao Xiaoxiao went crazy killing chickens and pigs, that no one bothered with her hair anymore. However, a person's hair grows at most 20 centimeters a year, and 40 centimeters in two years. But the old doctor's beard had been growing for decades, so it was longer than Tao Xiaoxiao's hair.
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There are many places that cost three yuan to rent, but most of them are used to buy the names of relatives to prevent people from Taojia Village from recognizing Xiaoxiao and taking her back.
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