Chapter 94 Investing and dealing with people shouldn't be too biased.
“No contact,” said Li’s mother. “I think she’s too ashamed to contact him. How could she elope with someone and write such a letter? She’s completely disgraced her family.”
The Li family couldn't say that Guo Peng hadn't done well. Li Hui couldn't have children, so Guo Peng didn't divorce her. Li Hui found another man, but Guo Peng didn't divorce her until after Li Hui eloped with another man.
Guo Peng's conditions are considered good; he works in the city, not in the countryside or a county town. Nancheng is considered a good place; many people want to go there.
Li Hui ruined her marriage just like that, it's so heartbreaking.
"Don't you plan to bring Furong back?" Stone Mother asked.
“No,” said Li’s mother. “We agreed that the child was given to them for adoption, and that means it is theirs. Even if we bring her back now, she won’t be close to us. She’s just a girl; why go through all that trouble to bring her back? Do you think we have too much money?”
“That child is your granddaughter after all. Aren’t you afraid that the Guo family will treat her badly?” Shi’s mother asked.
“What goes around comes around,” said Li’s mother. “If the Guo family dares to treat that child badly, then that’s their problem.”
"Didn't they send the child back?" Shi's mother asked again.
“No,” Li’s mother said. “Why send it back from so far away? When Guo Peng called, I told him that the child is his daughter, not our child anymore. He has to take responsibility for that child and raise her. If he doesn’t raise the child, we’ll make a scene. He didn’t manage his own wife well, letting her run off with someone else. It’s no use coming to us.”
Li's mother thought that Li Hui was indeed her daughter, but Li Hui had already married, so it should be Guo Peng who was responsible for Li Hui and that child.
"..." Shi's mother was speechless. The Li family didn't want the child anymore. These people were really something. When Guo Peng saw the child, all he could think about was that the child's aunt had eloped with another man. He didn't know how the Guo family would treat the child. That child was really pitiful.
“If you want to raise her, you can go and bring her back,” said Li’s mother.
"No, no, no, I won't raise it." Shi's mother has her own children and grandchildren; how could she possibly raise someone else's child? Her husband would never agree, and neither would her son. Shi's mother just happened to be passing by, so she asked Li's mother.
“Look, you don’t even raise her,” said Li’s mother. “Another child means another mouth to feed, and where will we get so much food? Her future isn’t bright since she’s come to this small county town. Since she’s already gone to the city, she should stay in the south and not come back. The south is so nice; it won’t be as good if she comes back. She needs money for school, and money for food, drink, and everything else.”
Li's mother wasn't genuinely concerned for the child; she was just worried about spending more money on her own family.
After having a meal at Li's house, Shi's mother called Shi Guilan again after leaving Li's house.
"How is the child?" Shi's mother asked. "Do you know anyone who knows him?"
Shi's mother was making a phone call in a public phone booth. She looked around, not wanting the Li family to see her.
“Mom, I haven’t been there for a long time. It’s not appropriate to call and ask now,” Shi Guilan said. “If my aunt and uncle don’t go to pick up the child, our family can’t go either. What if they send the child to me if we ask too many questions?”
Shi Guilan was afraid that the child would become attached to her. "Mom, you don't know my current situation. I have two stepdaughters. How will we live if that child comes over?"
“That’s true, don’t call and ask,” said Shi’s mother. “That child isn’t yours, you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Yes, that’s what I think too,” Shi Guilan said. “If we ask fewer questions, we can just pretend the child belongs to the Guo family. If we ask more questions, people won’t think we care about the child; they’ll just think we’re disgusting.”
"Alright, alright, I'm not talking to you anymore, I have to go back," said Mother Stone.
None of these people cared about Li Hui's whereabouts or her niece. They were all worried that the child would be sent to them, and none of them wanted to take responsibility for the child.
Fan Yani had already made arrangements with Guo Peng and the others; the child would stay at her home and call her aunt. Fan Yani thought that the original owner of this body had lived in the Guo family before, and the Guo family hadn't made things difficult for her, allowing her to grow up. Now, it wouldn't be a problem for Fan Yani to take care of Guo Furong; she didn't consider Guo Furong anyone's child bride, nor would she allow Guo Furong to be one.
When Sister-in-law Guo saw Guo Furong, she didn't turn cold. She knew that she and Guo Peng didn't need to raise the child, which was why she didn't say much. If the child needed her and Guo Peng to raise it, she would definitely have spoken up.
Guo Furong was a bit timid and cowardly, appearing very well-behaved and never daring to be too naughty. Children are very perceptive of adults' emotions, and adults ultimately treat their own children differently; they wouldn't treat a child who isn't their own badly. But Fan Yani was relatively good to Guo Furong; she would give the child pastries, and if there weren't any, she would give them to her own child.
"Eat up." Fan Yani looked at Guo Furong. "This cake tastes good. If you get hungry, just tell your aunt."
Guo Furong nodded and slowly ate the cake.
It wasn't easy for Guo's mother to take care of several children on her own, so she didn't dare let them go out together. If the children were all let out, they would run around everywhere, and Guo's mother wouldn't be able to keep up with them all at once. When Guo's mother went out, she usually took one or two children with her, letting them take turns going out.
Qin's mother pretended to be sick, and Qin Yizhou went home after reading it.
In the evening, Song Fenglan returned home and saw Qin Yizhou sitting on the sofa. She specifically asked, "How is your mother?"
“She’s faking illness,” Qin Yizhou said. His mother’s actions couldn’t be hidden from him.
“She really is faking illness,” Song Fenglan said.
“She wanted me to bring Zihang to see her,” Qin Yizhou said. “I told her directly, our son is not Qin Li’an’s slave.”
“We should have a serious talk with her,” Song Fenglan said. “Is your mother deaf? We’ve made it so obvious before, but she still insists on faking illness and trying to force us to compromise.”
“She’s probably used to it. If she puts on a little act, people will compromise with her,” Qin Yizhou said. “Mom’s views are rather old-fashioned. She’s a mother, a mother-in-law, a grandmother, and she likes to use her seniority to pressure people.”
“You really know her,” Song Fenglan said, though she hadn’t said it herself.
“That’s just how she is, that’s the truth,” Qin Yizhou said. “If she keeps pretending like this, she’ll know how painful it will be when something really happens and people don’t believe her. The fact that my brother can’t get promoted and Li’an is being isolated at school is not our problem.”
What does Brother Qin and Qin Li'an's matter have to do with Qin Yizhou? Just because Qin Yizhou is Brother Qin doesn't mean they should keep meddling in this matter.
"He doesn't seem like he's being isolated; it's more like he's isolating others." Song Fenglan had met Qin Li'an a few times, and Qin Li'an always acted arrogantly, as if everyone else was inferior. Song Fenglan disliked Qin Li'an, and Qin Li'an didn't know how to restrain himself at all.
Perhaps Qin Li'an had restrained himself for a while
However, he quickly reverted to his deadpan state. Qin's mother and the others doted on Qin Li'an, and they only blamed others instead of thinking that there was something wrong with Qin Li'an, which is why Qin Li'an did not change.
“Him? Indeed,” Qin Yizhou said. “Mom feels sorry for him. I see that my eldest brother doesn’t care much about his eldest son. Now that he has another son, he’s only thinking about his younger son. His younger son’s biological mother’s family is innocent, so this child is completely innocent, and it just so happens that he’s a boy. If it were a girl, my eldest brother would spoil Li’an even more.”
To put it bluntly, even Brother Qin himself felt his eldest son was useless, so he didn't put much effort into him. But Mother Qin doted on her eldest grandson so much; she insisted everyone revolve around her precious grandson, which was impossible.
“Mom used to being the head of the household,” Qin Yizhou said. “In the past… Tian Keshu gave her face in front of Mom, and now this sister-in-law is also quite tolerant of her. If you, the younger daughter-in-law, don’t tolerate her, she will definitely hold a grudge against you.”
"Am I not good enough?" Song Fenglan raised an eyebrow.
"No, no, no, you're not bad at all, you're excellent," Qin Yizhou said. "Who dares to say you're bad?"
“Your mother can talk,” Song Fenglan said.
Just as Song Fenglan had expected, Qin's mother spoke ill of Song Fenglan in front of Qin's father again.
"She really knows how to pick her time to come back." Qin's mother said from the sofa in the living room, "Song Fenglan, she might as well let Qin Zihang take the surname Song, why does he still have the surname Qin? I can't even see my grandson, they even sent me to the police station."
"Didn't I tell you? Don't go looking for them." Qin's father was reading the newspaper. He didn't want to get involved in those things at all, and he wouldn't go near Qin Yizhou and Song Fenglan anyway.
Mr. Qin has a pension, and he has already agreed with his eldest son that his son will support him in his old age. So now he can just live a quiet life; everything is taken care of, and he doesn't need to worry about anything else. Mr. Qin doesn't fuss over Mrs. Qin every day, nor does he want to waste his time on her.
“That’s my son and grandson, why can’t I go see him?” Mother Qin said. “As soon as your son came over, he said I was faking illness and spoke ill of Li’an. He doesn’t treat Li’an as his own nephew at all. He acts like his son will be very powerful in the future, and that his son won’t need to rely on our Qin family, only on the Song family. His heart is with the Song family. Does he think of him as a son-in-law who has married into the family?”
"Don't you know whether he's a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family or not?" Qin's father asked.
The house the Qin family gave Qin Yizhou wasn't very good, but the house the Song family gave him was much better, which is why Qin Yizhou lived in the house that Song Fenglan gave him as part of her dowry.
You Yun, sitting nearby, overheard Qin's parents' conversation. She wanted to get up immediately; she shouldn't have been sitting there. But leaving now would be too conspicuous, and Qin's mother would scold her again. So You Yun remained seated, comforting the child in her arms.
Brother Qin pretended he hadn't heard anything; after all, his mother wasn't talking about him.
“He’s not close to us, and neither is his son,” Qin’s mother said. “With him like this… we shouldn’t have had this son.”
"..." Qin's father glanced coldly at Qin's mother. He felt that Qin Yizhou's status was good, and Song Fenglan was also good. The main problem was that they hadn't handled things properly back then, which led to the Qin family treating them this way.
Qin's mother kept nagging, insisting that Qin's father agree with her. The more she talked, the more annoyed Qin's father became.
"Didn't I tell you to stop talking? Stop talking! If you go and humiliate yourself, who will you blame?" Qin's father said. "Stop causing trouble. This family has already split up. If it hadn't, things would be fine. But things are like this now, and you still keep making trouble. Do you want them to cut ties with you?"
“You and your sister are really something… They didn’t even mention severing ties, but you two are the ones doing it,” Qin’s mother said.
“They don’t say anything because they still consider us their parents,” Qin’s father said. “You’ve made enough of a scene. Stop it. Don’t go on and cause trouble. You’re going to ruin your son…”
"The eldest son is still here, so how could you have ruined your son?" Qin's mother said. "They were all my children, so why were the second son and Yizhou so bad?"
Qin's mother always complains about Qin Erjie and Qin Yizhou, never considering how biased she is. She only cares about the well-being of Qin's eldest son's family, never thinking about the well-being of the other two children. Qin's mother tries to take all the good things from the other two children and give them to her eldest son, but unfortunately, her eldest son is a good-for-nothing.
On the weekend, Song Fenglan went out and returned home. She saw a familiar person at her doorstep.
Xing Baozhu looked weary. She had spent many years as an educated youth in the countryside. Her household registration hadn't been transferred back to the capital, but she had managed to register her child's registration there, letting the child live with her brother. Her brother clearly didn't want the child living with them, as it would add another mouth to feed and cost more money.
"Fenglan." Xing Baozhu looked at Song Fenglan cautiously, "Do...do you still recognize me?"
“Baozhu?” Song Fenglan thought of Xing Baozhu’s name.
“It’s me,” Xing Baozhu nodded.
"Let's go inside." Song Fenglan led Xing Baozhu into the living room.
Xing Baozhu looked at Song Fenglan's house. Song Fenglan had once suffered hardship, but now she was doing so well. Xing Baozhu envied Song Fenglan. Song Fenglan didn't have to go to the countryside as an educated youth and could stay in the city. She also envied Song Fenglan for getting into university. As for Xing Baozhu herself, she wanted to go to university but failed, so she could only continue to stay in the countryside.
Xing Baozhu's husband barely earns any money in the countryside, and hardly any is saved. Fearing future policy changes, Xing Baozhu is eager to register her child's residency in the capital. She thinks the capital is a good place with many schools, and she wants her child to attend school there.
"Juice or milk?" Song Fenglan asked.
"Either is fine," Xing Baozhu said.
Song Fenglan noticed the calluses on Xing Baozhu's hands; she hadn't expected to see Xing Baozhu again.
Once, Xing Baozhu was a sunny and cheerful girl, but now she resembles a weathered country woman—a stark contrast. Xing Baozhu is no longer as radiant; her skin has deteriorated, and she has become much more cautious and reserved.
“It’s been many years since we last met,” Song Fenglan said to Sun Mei. “Two glasses of milk, please.”
“Okay.” Sun Mei nodded.
Song Fenglan looked at Xing Baozhu again. Baozhu, Baozhu, this name also carries a bit of doting, much better than names like Zhaodi or Laidi.
"I..." Xing Baozhu opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
“Go ahead,” Song Fenglan said.
"I..." Xing Baozhu's eyes were slightly red; she really didn't know how to open her mouth.
"If you have something to say, just say it," Song Fenglan said. "It's alright, just say it."
“I want to…I want to borrow one hundred yuan from you,” Xing Baozhu said. “I’ve transferred my son’s household registration to the capital.”
"And then?" Song Fenglan asked, "Are you going to come back to the capital?"
“No, it’s not that easy to transfer our household registration back,” Xing Baozhu said. “I want my child to study in the capital. He’s currently living with his maternal uncle, who is my brother’s place. I don’t have enough money. I want to leave some money for my child and some for his uncle so he can stay there. I have to go back; I can’t stay here for long.”
The main problem was that Xing Baozhu's family didn't have a room for her, so she slept in the living room, and her family looked down on her. Xing Baozhu thought of everyone she could think of, but couldn't find anyone. Finally, she thought of Song Fenglan. Song Fenglan's family was well-off, and Xing Baozhu knew she shouldn't ask Song Fenglan, but she really had no one else to turn to.
"I will definitely pay you back," Xing Baozhu said anxiously.
Song Fenglan took out a hundred yuan from her wallet and handed it to Xing Baozhu, saying, "You must be in trouble to come to me."
"You..." Xing Baozhu clutched the hundred yuan tightly. She had only tried it out, but she didn't expect Song Fenglan to actually lend her a hundred yuan. "Thank you."
"It's good that you still remember your old classmate," Song Fenglan said. "When are you going back?"
“Tomorrow or the day after,” Xing Baozhu said, “we’ll settle the child in and let him stay here. I’m a little worried about him, but there’s nothing we can do. We toil in the fields in the countryside, and we don’t earn much money all year. I don’t want my child to end up like us. Life in the countryside is too hard. We have to work in the wind and rain, it’s very tough.”
Xing Baozhu lives in the countryside herself, and she really can't stand it anymore. It's not that she doesn't want to come back, but she can't. She can only try to get her child back. Xing Baozhu is worried that her child won't be able to transfer their household registration later, so the sooner the better. It's just that her child is about to start high school, so the child needs to come over as soon as possible.
Xing Baozhu had children early; she was sixteen when she was sent to the countryside as an educated youth. Unable to endure the hardship, she quickly married a local villager. At least someone would help with the work, making things a little easier for Xing Baozhu.
Many female educated youth were like Xing Baozhu; they had no choice. Firstly, they couldn't endure it, and secondly, there were many single young men in the countryside, who were also eyeing them. Some were targeted by thugs and local bullies, which was truly tragic.
Some female educated youths couldn't bear it and committed suicide.
“He’s studying in the capital. If he can go to university in the future, he won’t have to work as hard as we do,” Xing Baozhu said.
Xing Baozhu's eyes used to shine, but now they're completely devoid of light, all because of the oppression of life.
Xing Baozhu didn't suggest that her child stay with Song Fenglan, as she had no blood relation to Song Fenglan; that would be asking the impossible. She hadn't seen Song Fenglan for years, and Song Fenglan was still willing to give her 100 yuan—that was already very kind of her. How could Xing Baozhu possibly ask for more? One should know when to stop and not go too far.
“Since you’ve already decided to let him stay, then you don’t need to worry about those issues,” Song Fenglan said. “There will be a way forward.”
In the future, when the city develops better, you will be able to make money even without a diploma.
"I hope so," Xing Baozhu said. "Am I bothering you by telling you so much..."
"It's nothing," Song Fenglan chuckled. "I also want to know how my old classmates are doing now."
“I’m considered lucky,” Xing Baozhu said. “I had a female classmate who was sent to the countryside as an educated youth, and she died in less than a year.”
"Gone?" Song Fenglan was shocked.
"Yes." Xing Baozhu nodded. "She was forced into it, unable to defend herself, and had to prove her innocence with her death."
“That’s terrifying,” Song Fenglan said.
“Everyone says the villagers in the countryside are simple and honest, but you only know if they really are after you’ve been there,” Xing Baozhu said. “It’s true that they’re quite united, but they’re also very xenophobic. We educated youth all had to find ways to integrate with them. If we didn’t integrate, and we became a separate faction, they would make things difficult for us. If we didn’t do something even slightly wrong, they would say we were city people, and so on…”
Xing Baozhu couldn't continue speaking; those people's words were incredibly rude. Xing Baozhu could only endure it. She was fortunate enough to have married someone of slightly better character, so she wouldn't suffer too much afterward. The worst thing would be not finding a good partner, then all sorts of trouble, being beaten and verbally abused.
“If we can’t come back, we can only stay there.” Xing Baozhu sneered. “I once thought about going back to the city, but we can’t come back, we really can’t come back.”
"You've had a tough time," Song Fenglan said.
“You must have had a tough time too. Back then, your family… it must have been hard for you to stay in the city,” Xing Baozhu said.
“That’s all in the past,” Song Fenglan said. “Let’s eat here later.”
"No, thank you for the money. I don't know when I'll be able to pay it back. My child is still in school, and it's difficult for him to come over."
"Hmm." Song Fenglan understood that there would be transportation costs for the round trip, and if possible, Xing Baozhu would definitely want to save some money. "Is one hundred yuan enough?"
"That's enough, that's enough," Xing Baozhu said quickly. "You've helped me a lot. I was thinking of borrowing from others, but... everyone knows I can't pay you back, and they're all worried I won't..."
Xing Baozhu had no other choice but to seek help from Song Fenglan.
“It’s alright, there’s no rush to pay me back, you can keep it for now,” Song Fenglan said.
"Okay, thank you." Xing Baozhu stood up and bowed to Song Fenglan. "I should go back now."
Xing Baozhu felt embarrassed to bother Song Fenglan any longer. "I still need to go see the child. Before I go back, I need to spend more time with him and talk to him. Staying at his uncle's house is not like staying at my own home, so I have to be careful and pay more attention."
"Go ahead." Song Fenglan got up and saw Xing Baozhu to the living room door.
Xing Baozhu felt a little more at ease; with this hundred yuan, she could solve some of the problem. Xing Baozhu hadn't expected Song Fenglan to actually lend her the money. Song Fenglan was very kind, and Xing Baozhu was extremely grateful to her.
Upon reaching the door, Xing Baozhu glanced back at Song Fenglan. Song Fenglan certainly deserved to be wealthy. She was kind-hearted and willing to help her old classmate. Having not seen her for so many years, Song Fenglan could easily pretend she didn't know her.
Xing Baozhu's husband didn't come to the capital, so having another person come would increase the travel expenses. If Xing Baozhu didn't have some things to arrange, she wouldn't have wanted to come either.
Sister-in-law Xing didn't really want her husband to keep their nephew, a little boy who was only half a child. How much would that boy eat? The family's food rations were rationed, and if they didn't have enough, they would have to go out and buy more.
"Sister-in-law." Xing Baozhu exchanged a hundred-yuan bill for smaller bills, gave sixty yuan to her sister-in-law, and then gave twenty yuan to her mother.
After receiving the money, Sister Xing's expression softened considerably.
"The child is with you, please take care of him/her," Xing Baozhu said.
"Where did you get the money?" Sister-in-law Xing asked.
Yesterday, Xing Baozhu was still saying she had no money, and Sister-in-law Xing heard her say it. Since Xing Baozhu brought the child over, Sister-in-law Xing couldn't very well refuse to let the child stay. If the child has no place to live, then let the child sleep in the living room, the kitchen hallway, or anywhere flat that can be used to lie down and provides shelter from the wind and rain.
“I borrowed it from an old classmate,” Xing Baozhu said. “I borrowed a hundred yuan. She said she wasn’t in a hurry to pay it back.”
“There’s no rush to pay it back, but it will have to be paid back eventually. Your old classmate won’t come to our house to collect the debt, will he?” Suddenly, Sister-in-law Xing felt that the money in her hand was burning hot, fearing that someone would come to her door to collect the debt.
“She wouldn’t,” Xing Baozhu shook her head. “I haven’t seen her for years, but as soon as I asked, she lent me the money.”
"Your old classmate is not bad," said Sister-in-law Xing.
"Yes, it's very good," Xing Baozhu said. "I'll go back tomorrow, and the child will have to be left in your care."
"Go back." Sister-in-law Xing didn't want Xing Baozhu to stay here. If the child wanted to stay, it was because there was really no other way.
Xing Baozhu couldn't say anything bad about Xing Dasao, at least Xing Dasao didn't drive the child away.
When Qin Yizhou returned home, he learned that Song Fenglan had lent money to someone, but he didn't say no.
“You didn’t see how haggard she looked, she looked much older than me,” Song Fenglan said. “I saw her hands, so many calluses, dark skin, and white dead skin. It was shocking to see them. Being an educated youth in the countryside is really tough. My sister-in-law and the others’ hands are a little better. It’s all thanks to my uncle, the skin cream he gave them is really effective.”
The uncle Song Fenglan mentioned was Dr. Lin, Qin Yizhou's uncle. If it weren't for Dr. Lin giving them the ointment and those medicines, the Song family would never have had such an easy life on the farm.
"Don't think about it, it's all in the past," Qin Yizhou said. "Mom and Dad are already back, they don't need to go to the farm anymore."
“Yes,” Song Fenglan said. “Baozhu had no choice but to swallow her pride for the sake of the child. If I were her, I would do the same. This is the capital, not some other place. It’s much better for the child to have a Beijing residency permit than to stay anywhere else.”
Song Fenglan's family moved their household registration to the south of the city, and then moved it back to the capital. The process was very smooth; someone even helped them with the process, so Song Fenglan didn't have to worry about it too much.
It will be much more difficult for Xing Baozhu to register her child's household registration in the capital. Xing Baozhu's parents...
It's good that the brother is willing to let the child register the household registration. Xing Baozhu will definitely be inferior in front of those people, because Xing Baozhu's child still needs to rely on those people.
"For Zihang's sake, you'll go to research institutes and university," Qin Yizhou said.
“It’s just the two of us, my husband and I, without children, we can manage however we want,” Song Fenglan said. “If we had a child, we would have to think more about the child.”
If Song Fenglan didn't have children, she might have really given up and given up entirely. If she were in a bad mood, she'd think about how her family was being bullied, and wonder why she should serve her country.
It's important to understand that during those special times, many people thought the same way. After being exonerated, many went abroad, fearing that staying in China would lead to further unfair treatment.
"How can a husband and wife live like this?" Qin Yizhou said. "Can't they live a little better?"
“It doesn’t matter to an adult like me.” Song Fenglan shrugged. “When I went to find my uncle, I did consider it. If I didn’t have a child, I might have delayed, but with a child, I couldn’t. When I first went to Nancheng, people were saying unpleasant things there, and I was afraid that Zihang would be implicated and suffer. I brought my child from the capital to Nancheng to accompany the army so that Zihang wouldn’t be talked about. I can’t just change my environment and still be talked about. Sometimes, I really hate some people and some things.”
Those people are either criminals or have foul mouths. People will say, "Stop arguing, take a step back and the world will be a better place."
What does "vast horizons" even mean? It just means letting others know you're a pushover so they can bully you.
“It’s a bit better here,” Song Fenglan said. “Those people are less likely to say unpleasant things. In my aunt’s neighborhood, there are a lot of people who say unpleasant things. They say whatever comes to mind, whether it’s true or not.”
“You’re not living there now,” Qin Yizhou said. “You didn’t tell me when you were living there.”
“What’s the use of telling you? You’re not in the capital, so you can’t do anything about it. There are many things you have to bear yourself,” Song Fenglan said. “You can’t rely on others.”
Song Fenglan understood perfectly that constantly complaining to men would only annoy them.
"It's my fault for not caring enough about you," Qin Yizhou sighed. He had only thought about completing more missions and trying to help Song Fenglan and her parents-in-law. In the end, it was because of Song Fenglan that his parents-in-law were exonerated sooner, not because of him.
“You…” Song Fenglan looked at Qin Yizhou, “You have gray hair.”
"Where?" Qin Yizhou asked.
"There are a few," Song Fenglan said. "It's okay, no need to pull them out. Eat more nutritious food and make sure they turn black again."
"Whether I'm dark-skinned or not doesn't matter, just don't mind it." Qin Yizhou even wanted to take a look in the mirror to see if he looked very old.
“Some people have a lot of gray hair in their youth, it’s hereditary,” Song Fenglan said. “Fortunately, you didn’t have gray hair so early, and our Zihang won’t have gray hair early either.”
"Is Zihang at his maternal grandparents' house again?" Qin Yizhou asked.
“Yes, over there. We’re not at home. After he finishes his homework, he goes to his grandparents’ house. His uncle can tutor him there,” Song Fenglan said. “At home, there’s no one to play with, so he likes to stay put.”
“When we were in Nancheng, he really liked staying at home,” Qin Yizhou said.
“That’s because it’s in the south of the city. Other places aren’t as interesting,” Song Fenglan said. “Also, Zhang Xiaohu used to come to his house to play with him, and they would watch TV together. But now that he’s here, Zhang Xiaohu isn’t here.”
Most households in the neighborhood have televisions, so there's no need to go to someone else's house to watch TV.
Qin Zihang went to play with his older brother and sister, and his aunt and uncle welcomed him over, so he went along.
When Qin Zihang was in Nancheng, he didn't have many relatives around, so he couldn't go around having fun.
"Zhang Xiaohu played a significant role," Qin Yizhou remarked.
“That’s right,” Song Fenglan said. “No wonder Zihang was thinking of giving Xiaohu those things earlier; he was thinking of Xiaohu.”
Zhang Xiaohu played with Qin Zihang, keeping him company and preventing him from feeling lonely. With Zhang Xiaohu's help, Qin Zihang was able to quickly integrate into life in Nancheng.
For Qin Zihang, life in Nancheng was a fond memory.
Now, Qin Zihang is having a much better time in the capital, with many relatives and friends. The fact that Qin Zihang hasn't forgotten Zhang Xiaohu and still remembers him speaks volumes about Zhang Xiaohu's importance.
In the countryside, Li Hui is not yet pregnant, which displeases her current mother-in-law.
"Why aren't you pregnant yet?" the woman asked.
“I…I can’t get pregnant,” Li Hui said.
"Don't lie to us, there's no such thing as a woman who can't get pregnant," the woman said.
“I…I had a check-up at the hospital before, and the doctor said it would be difficult for me to get pregnant,” Li Hui said.
"Do you think we'll believe you and let you go just because you say that? Dream on!" The woman snatched the bowl from Li Hui's hand, preventing her from eating.
Li Hui explained to the woman many times, but it was to no avail. These people had paid a high price to buy a woman; how could they possibly let Li Hui go? Nor would they take her for a checkup. At most, they might have a barefoot doctor examine her, but barefoot doctors weren't that skilled.
Those people thought that their fate hadn't arrived yet, and that Li Hui couldn't get pregnant until later. They thought that perhaps Li Hui would get pregnant after a while.
The woman thought Li Hui wanted to leave, and that Li Hui had deliberately lied to them, so of course they had to punish Li Hui.
Li Hui squatted in the corner of the room, tears streaming down her face. She missed her old life and didn't want to stay here, but no matter what she said or did, it was no use.
“Let me go back. I’ll give you whatever price you paid for me. You can use that money to buy your son a fertile child,” Li Hui couldn’t help but say.
“If you go back, you can call the police,” the woman said. “Bring people over to arrest them.”
Releasing her is impossible. Li Hui's generation is destined to stay here; she can't go anywhere else.
Feeling utterly helpless, Li Hui thought back to her life with Guo Peng. He would give her most of his salary and listen to her wishes, sending less money to his parents. They had adopted Li Hui's own niece, and they could leave the child with Guo's mother to raise, so they wouldn't have to raise her themselves.
Li Hui's tears fell one by one, large tears landing on the ground and wetting it.
Jiang's wife, Jiang Ersao, heard from people in the neighborhood about an investment opportunity with a very high return. It involved everyone pooling their money to build a factory, and if the factory was profitable, everyone would share the profits.
“Let’s invest too,” Jiang Ersao said to her husband.
“We don’t have much money,” said Brother Jiang.
“Even with little money, we can still invest. I’ve already asked them,” said Jiang Ersao. “How much money do you have? Invest a little, and we’ll be shareholders. Look at the Song family; they’ve made so much money running their companies. That shows that running a factory can be profitable.”
"It's possible to make money, but..."
“No buts,” said Jiang Ersao. “Take out whatever money you have, and we’ll invest it all. Then we’ll become shareholders in the factory, which will give us face in front of your cousins and allow us to stand tall in front of your elder brother. Keeping that money in our hands won’t generate more money, and it’ll all be spent before we know it.”
Jiang Erge thought his wife's words made sense, so he kept the money for the purchase of goods and gave the rest of the money to Jiang Ersao.
The next day, Jiang Ersao took the money and invested it. She didn't tell Aunt Yu before investing, believing that since everyone had separated their households, she had the right to decide how to spend her family's money.
Aunt Yu didn't know, and the Song family knew even less.
A few days later, Aunt Yu heard about it from someone else, and she felt that this matter was not very reliable. Although those people were from the neighborhood committee, they themselves didn't have any real ability; they were just good at talking, and many people were fooled into investing. Aunt Yu didn't think it was a good idea. She thought that if these people invested, they should stop once they received a certain amount of money, but those people didn't stop collecting money and were still looking for investors.
Investing involves failures; it's impossible for everything to be successful.
Aunt Yu was afraid that the money would be lost, so she went to talk to Brother Jiang and asked him to get it back. Sister-in-law Jiang overheard this and was very unhappy.
"Mom, are you jealous of our success?" Jiang Ersao said. "You don't help us find jobs, all you do is make us learn cooking and sell stinky tofu. Now that we've found a way to make money, you won't let us invest. I even saw my eldest sister-in-law watching over there the other day."
Sister-in-law Jiang only took a look; she didn't invest. Having lived here for a long time, she knew what those people were capable of. If it were really that profitable, why would anyone share the profits? Only a fool would share the benefits they'd already received. Sister-in-law Jiang thought that since the Song family hadn't asked the Jiang family to invest in their company, if the Song family could make money, then the company should naturally belong to them.
Jiang Ersao didn't care whether Jiang Dasao had gone to invest or not; she only wanted Jiang Dasao to go and take a look.
"If my elder brother and sister-in-law can invest, why can't we?" Jiang Ersao said. "We can't be too biased."
“They didn’t invest; I’ve already asked them,” Aunt Yu said.
"If you ask them, will they tell you the truth?" Jiang Ersao said. "We're spending our own money, not yours. Don't be envious when we make money in the future."
Aunt Yu was heartbroken. She had talked to her second daughter-in-law so much, but her daughter-in-law just didn't understand. "Do you even know what kind of people they are? Why did you invest?"
“They grew up on this street, and you know them very well,” said Jiang Ersao. “Unless they never come back to live here again, they would never lie to us.”
“Investing will result in losses,” Aunt Yu said. “Do you even know where they have factories and what they sell?”
"They're going to make refrigerators, high-end refrigerators, you understand?" Jiang Ersao said. "Refrigerators are good stuff, they can make money. Land is expensive in the capital, so of course they won't open a factory in the capital, they'll open one in a nearby city. If they open a factory, maybe we can go work there and won't have to work so hard selling stinky tofu!"
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