Tang Cuilan looked at her eldest daughter with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, Yiyi, your father and I don't get along, he..."
"Mom, you don't need to say so much. I understand. Dad is no good. He always hits you and he's hit us too. I don't like him."
Yingying and Chuchu chimed in, "I don't like Daddy either." "Me too, I hate him and Grandma."
The youngest, Tingting, was even more direct. As soon as she heard her grandmother's voice, she started crying and wailing, "No grandma, no grandma!"
Tang Cuilan felt a pang of pain in her heart and quickly picked up her youngest daughter: "Tingting, be good. There's no grandma here. Don't worry about her. It's just the few of us here."
After finally managing to appease her youngest daughter, while her third son took her out to play, Cuilan looked at her eldest and second daughters with unusual seriousness.
"You... really don't like Dad and Grandma? Are you willing to accept a home with only Mom?"
"Of course, they don't like us, so why should we like them? I'm very happy with things as they are now."
Yingying wasn't as eloquent as her older sister, but she knew which days and environments were beneficial to her.
"Mom, I like it here. It's cold, but I don't get beaten, and I can eat my fill. I can help you with chores, just like my sister."
As she spoke, she picked up a rag and began to help clean. When Cuilan saw this, how could she not understand?
She hugged her two daughters tightly, her voice choked with emotion, "I'm sorry, it's my fault for not being able to protect you."
It won't happen again. No one will bully you anymore. There are only a few of us in this family. Mom will work hard to become strong and protect you.
"We'll make sure you have enough to eat, enough to wear, and enough time to go to school."
Tang Yiyi, who was well past school age, looked at her mother with surprise and delight: "Really? We can go to school?"
Tang Cuilan suffered from not going to school, so how could she not know how important schooling is for girls?
"Yes, your aunt has already helped look for someone. As soon as school starts, you two can go together."
Tang Yiyi and Tang Yingying were overjoyed and worked even harder to help Cuilan.
In just three days, the mother and her daughters cleaned and tidied up their home, making it warm and cozy.
When Xiao Jiu visited again, she brought them eggs, meat, two small schoolbags, and stationery and books.
"Auntie, schoolbag? Can we go to school now?"
Xiao Jiu nodded and put the two small red backpacks on Yi Yi and Ying Ying's shoulders.
"Yes, I can go tomorrow. I'll go to the military hospital's affiliated school. I've already made arrangements and paid the fees."
Sister, you're taking the third and fourth kids to the daycare tomorrow, and I've found you a job looking after the toddlers.
Fifteen yuan a month, including lunch, from 7 am to 6 pm, and I can go home with the children. What do you think?
Tang Cuilan was pleasantly surprised, "You found it so quickly? That's great! I'll get to work, as long as I'm not idle at home."
Fifteen is fifteen. Even if it's only fifteen yuan, if they save money, it'll be enough for the mother and her children.
"Alright, then you and the children can go to the school to see Director Zhou tomorrow, and I'll tell you in detail later."
Oh, by the way, I've also paid for the tuition for the third and fourth kids, so you don't need to worry about it.
Tang Cuilan opened her mouth to speak, but Xiao Jiu stopped her with a raised hand.
"You didn't ask me to pay the rent, so I'll cover the children's tuition and food expenses. Consider it a donation to warm your house."
She originally wanted to give her sister half of her salary to make up the thirty yuan, but then she worried that it would cause trouble for her colleagues.
If my sister finds out, she'll lose face, so she'll have to give up.
"This job isn't easy. Just make do for now, and we'll switch to a better one when the time comes."
Tang Cuilan was already quite satisfied with having a house to live in and a job as soon as she arrived in Northeast China.
"Didn't I bring you a sewing machine the other day?"
Tang Cuilan nodded, "Actually, I don't need this, you don't need to waste it."
"No, Eighth Sister, I got you a sewing machine so you could make clothes."
I have many books on fashion design, as well as various fabrics.
All you have to do is use your free time to think about it and see if you can make the clothes.
Let's practice on our own kids first, have them wear the clothes you made as samples, and maybe business will come knocking.
As she spoke, Xiao Jiu handed her a few introductory books.
"You may not understand the written language, but the pictures are in color. You can study them first."
"This is a knitting book, suitable for crocheting sweaters. I have all the raw materials, what I lack now is the technique."
The reason Tang Cuilan was asked to study these things was because she had a talent for them; she did all the needlework at home.
Whether it works or not, time will tell. If it does work, it might become a way for her to make a living.
Of course, she couldn't say it too definitively. If she didn't push herself a little, she might not even know how capable she was.
Tang Cuilan is not good at talking and has a gentle nature, so this kind of handicraft work is more suitable for her since she is new to the area.
"Study these books first. Circle anything you don't understand, and I'll translate it for you when I come over."
Or you can translate it yourself using a dictionary. Here, I brought you an English-Chinese dictionary and a Chinese-Japanese dictionary.
Tang Cuilan was overjoyed. "Thank you, Xiao Jiu. I will study hard. And you guys, quickly thank your aunt."
The children expressed their gratitude to her in unison. Xiao Jiu patted their heads and then picked up Xiao Tingting.
"Good boy/girl, study hard so that your mothers can have a better life in the future."
Although this statement may sound somewhat like moral blackmail, it applies to the current education model.
It's 1980 now. As long as these four study hard, they can get a decent job in the future, which should be enough.
After Xiao Jiu left, Tang Cuilan looked at the basket of eggs and the ten-odd pounds of meat and sighed softly.
It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow!
The favors owed to Tang Cuilan and her five daughters for finding them housing, jobs, and schools were all repaid by Xiao Jiu.
This was a piece of cake for her; a bottle of good wine and a pack of good cigarettes were enough to make the person in charge consider her needs.
So no matter when, money always has the power to make things happen.
After settling Tang Cuilan in, Xiao Jiu was able to fully dedicate herself to her work.
Because the roads were bad due to the snow, she took her parents back to the hospital's family compound and brought Black Wing with her.
When Zhou Yue gets busy with work, he doesn't know when to stop, and Black Wing suffers when he follows him.
With the dog for company, my parents can find something to do every day.
Taking the dog for a walk every day, getting some fresh air and exercising, is an essential activity in winter.
Staying in a heated room all the time is not good for your health.
She prefers the residential building with radiators to the heated kang bed in the military compound.
After Blackwing and the others had taken turns walking around, Xiao Jiu would put them into her spatial storage whenever she was home.
At least outside the warehouse, there is enough space to move around, which is more comfortable than being confined indoors.
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