The man wearing glasses heard Shu Li call Shu Yan "little sister" and quickly greeted Shu Yan.
"Hello, hello, I'm a teacher from the elementary school next door. I'm here to buy some study materials." He smiled shyly.
"Hello." Shu Yan nodded politely, then carefully glanced at the man. He was handsome and had a good temperament. He was also a teacher at the elementary school next door. Shu Yan couldn't help but wonder if she had guessed wrong.
"Well... I'll leave the study materials I requested to Mr. Shu. When can you come and pick them up?" the teacher asked, gently adjusting his glasses.
"The goods will arrive the day after tomorrow. You can come and pick them up this afternoon." Shu Li politely saw the male teacher off and then pulled Shu Yan aside to explain, "He often comes to my place to order test papers and study materials, but I've hardly ever spoken a word to him."
"Isn't it normal for you to talk to him? Why are you explaining this to me?" Shu Yan asked, amused.
"I... I'm just afraid you'll misunderstand." Shu Li breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Shu Yan didn't say anything.
Shu Yan realized the problem: the male teacher was probably just an ordinary customer, which was why he acted so naturally. Shu Li probably didn't have any ulterior motives. The reason he was so embarrassed was probably because he was afraid of being misunderstood by her.
The divorce still brought many negative effects to Shuli, such as feelings of inferiority, as if being divorced was something shameful.
"Second sister, this is Nancheng, not our old home in the countryside. It's normal to get a divorce if things don't work out, and it's also normal to remarry when you meet the right person. You don't need to worry about so much. I myself got divorced and remarried, and now I'm pregnant. My situation is similar to yours, and I'm still living my life. Have you seen anyone look down on me or gossip about me? At worst, they can talk about me behind closed doors, and I can't hear them anyway, so why should I care what they say?"
"I just got divorced, and I'm worried about the negative impact." The main concern is the impact on the children.
This thought is exactly the same as Shu Yan's back then. She was afraid that it would affect the children. Adults could bear it, but what about the children?
"It's been more than half a year since the divorce, what impact does it have? Besides, who in Nancheng knows about your past? That's why I wanted to leave Xicheng with the child. And there are many divorces here, so people won't really think much of it. If you meet the right person, you can be together. I'm not pressuring you to get married, I just think it's normal to get divorced if you can't make it work, and it's okay to remarry if you meet the right person, but there's no need to get married just for the sake of getting married. You don't have to get married to live a good life. If you feel more comfortable on your own, then being alone is fine. You should be in charge of your own life, don't listen to anyone else. At this point, we can do whatever we want."
Shu Li stared blankly at Shu Yan, "You think it's okay not to get married?"
"Of course it's fine." Shu Yan looked at Shu Li strangely. "I think as long as you can handle it, it's okay not to get married. Who says you have to get married when you reach a certain age? Does getting married mean you have to have children? Does getting divorced mean you have to remarry? You're in Nancheng now, nobody knows you, and you don't have any idle relatives or friends around you, so of course you can live however you want."
If it weren't for meeting Fang Zeyu, Shu Yan wouldn't have considered remarrying so soon. Or rather, if she hadn't met the right person, she wouldn't have remarried. She has children and money, and she's living a carefree life. If she hadn't met someone she liked and who treated her well, why would she be so foolish as to get married? Why live such a comfortable life?
Hearing Shu Yan say this, Shu Li smiled broadly. She had been here for more than half a year and had met quite a few people. Those who knew her situation would feel some sympathy, while some would advise her to remarry while she was still young, and others would say things like, "Remarry for the sake of the child, the child must have a father."
Thinking back to her first marriage, having a father like that was worse than not having one at all. And that was her biological father; can a stepfather be better than a biological father? How many Fang Zeyus are there in this world? Besides, Shu Li herself suffered a lot in that marriage. Now she is in charge of her own household, no longer has a bossy and difficult mother-in-law, and no patriarchal man for her to serve. Her two children are well-behaved and obedient, and she has a considerable income every day. She has no desire to remarry and suffer again.
“Yan Yan, let me tell you the truth, I don’t want to get married. Given my current situation, finding someone with excellent conditions is impossible. And someone with average conditions? Their income might not even be what I earn in a few days. Then I’d have to support my parents, take care of my husband, and I’d definitely have to raise two kids myself. I might even have to subsidize their family. Why would I want to have two sets of parents to support? What’s the point of having more people to share the burden? I’d just end up carrying more weight,” Shu Li shook her head. “It’s pointless. It’s not like I can’t live without a man. Things are fine as they are now. When the kids grow up, I’ll save up and buy a plot of land in the suburbs, build a house, and like you, hire a nanny to take care of me…”
Shu Yan really didn't expect Shu Li to be so open-minded. She is also a woman whose potential was wasted by the Shu family. If she were given the opportunity to go to school, she would definitely be just as good.
"What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll make it for you." Shuli swept up the trash on the ground, glanced at the time, and asked.
"Anything is fine, I've had a good appetite lately," Shu Yan said with a smile.
"It's good that you can eat. Being able to eat is a blessing." Shu Li quickly washed the vegetables and cooked the meal. In no time, she had prepared three dishes and a soup, all authentic Xicheng cuisine, which made Shu Yan's mouth water.
"Second sister, I've been craving dishes from my hometown lately. I can't stand the smell of cooking oil, so I haven't made them. I'm so glad I got to eat them today." Shu Yan took a bite of the oily dish with her chopsticks. This is the taste! It's so delicious.
"If you like her, just come over. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Shuli glared at her. "Why are you being so polite with me?"
"No, I didn't think about it that much, just a little bit." Shu Yan ate another one. She didn't say that she was missing Xicheng cuisine, but rather the food her own mother cooked. Her second sister's cooking was very similar to her mother's, so when she smelled the aroma, Shu Yan felt so emotional.
As she ate, Shu Yan's eyes welled up with tears; she missed her mother.
"What's wrong?" Shuli was startled. How could she cry while eating a dish?
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about my childhood," Shu Yan casually made up an excuse.
Shuli didn't know, and really thought she was thinking about her childhood. She couldn't help but sigh, "We had such a hard childhood. We could only eat fried dough puffs during the New Year. And even then, it was reserved for the three brothers. Once, I saw you watching them and swallowing your saliva. I secretly hid two of them. When I gave them to you that night, you insisted that I eat one too. I still remember the taste of those fried dough puffs to this day."
Shu Yan flipped through her memories, and indeed, the most vivid one was the taste of the day. "I remember it too. Even though it was cold, the taste? I really thought it was the most delicious thing in the world back then."
"You can eat as much as you want now, eat more." Seeing that Shu Yan's eyes were red, Shu Li quickly changed the subject. "Next time, just tell me what you want to eat. You can come over, or I can come to your place, it's not far."
They were recalling completely different events, but this was something Shu Yan couldn't tell anyone, including Fang Zeyu. She smiled and nodded, no longer continuing the topic.
During the meal, Shuli hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What do you think about me buying a house?"
"Buy a house?" It's not that Shu Yan looks down on Shu Li, but with her current savings, buying a house is really not easy.
“I’m not talking about houses like yours, I’m talking about secondhand houses. I recently met someone whose house is around here. After buying a new house, he wanted to sell his old house here to ease the financial burden. I went to see it. The house is a bit old, but it’s well-maintained. The main thing is that the price is cheap. It’s 35 square meters and only costs 70,000 yuan. He still has some money left from what he got from his child’s father, plus what he’s earned in the past few months, so it’s about enough.”
“Buying a house is the right thing to do, after all, it’s a long-term consideration. But it’s so cheap, are you sure you’re not being lied to?” Buying a house is certainly a good thing, and once Shuli’s finances are better, Shuyan herself will persuade her to buy one.
“That person is a teacher at this school, he couldn’t possibly be lying to me.” Shuli still had great faith in the noble professional qualities of a people’s teacher.
"The problem is whether there's a property ownership certificate? He's most likely selling employee housing, and many welfare housing units like this can't be bought and sold." There are quite a few welfare housing units like this that are sold privately, but the problem is there's no property ownership certificate. Strictly speaking, these houses still belong to the work unit. You can buy them by writing a deed and live in them yourself, which is fine. The main problem is that this area will be demolished in the future, which is a big issue. If you encounter someone without integrity, and things escalate, as an employee of the work unit, the unit will definitely side with him and refund your money. Where can you go to seek justice then?
After listening to Shu Yan's words, Shu Li felt that they made sense. The most unpredictable thing in this world is people's hearts. Even a teacher can't afford such a large sum of money.
"Don't rush to make a decision. Let me find out what the situation is. If it's worth buying, you can buy it." High risk means high reward. Shu Yan remembered that these houses would be demolished in a few years, and the compensation would be three times the original price. A 35-square-meter house could be exchanged for a 105-square-meter suite, or for two suites, one large and one small. Many people even exchanged them for three small suites.
"Okay, then I'll wait a bit longer." Seventy or eighty thousand is a lot of money, so I can't make a decision too hastily.
When Shu Yan got back, she went to see Lao Hu. Lao Hu told her that it wasn't impossible to buy such a house, but she needed her employer's approval. Her employer would issue them a certificate, and with some connections, they could get the property certificate. Then, the seller wouldn't be able to back out.
Since that's the case, Shu Yan simply went to talk to Lao Hu. He was in this line of work, familiar with the business, and knew many people.
They should just look for Lao Hu. If they went to their own unit, they wouldn't know who to contact. Lao Hu found the person in charge in no time and said that as long as the seller agreed and signed, their unit could sign and stamp the document.
To avoid any unforeseen complications, Shuli signed an agreement and a termination of the contract with the homeowner that same day. Her workplace also issued a certificate. She planned to spend some money later to get Lao Hu to obtain a property ownership certificate, after which the house would be completely Shuli's.
Shu Yan hadn't seen the house yet, but she felt it was a good deal no matter what. Now that Shu Li had bought it, she would go and take a look.
I must say, this house is decorated very comfortably. It's 35 square meters, with 2 bedrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom, and a small balcony for drying clothes. The space is compact, but well-planned. One bedroom has a 1.2-meter bed, presumably for the adults. The other has bunk beds, perfect for the two children. The living room has a sofa, and behind it is a bookshelf neatly filled with books. The balcony has many flower pots, but very few actual flowers; most are scallions and chives. In the corner, there's a shelf with six pots of newly sprouted seedlings, which Shu Yan doesn't recognize.
"Aren't there baby bok choy growing here?" Shu Yan didn't recognize it, but Shu Li did. Seeing the seedlings, she thought the teacher was very resourceful; they wouldn't need to buy vegetables anymore, saving a lot of money.
"My wife prepared all of this. You can keep it if you like. These vegetables will be ready to eat in a few days. Just pick a little and cook some noodles; it's convenient and delicious." The man of the house came today, saying that the woman was tidying up her new home and couldn't come over.
"Your spouse is someone who really knows how to enjoy life." Shu Yan looked around and saw that the little nest was very well-managed; it was clearly a warm and cozy home.
"Thank you, she'll be very happy to hear that." It's clear that the couple has a very good relationship.
Only when a couple has such a good relationship can the warmth be seen in the arrangement of their home.
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