Seeing that she was unwilling, Shen Junru did not try to persuade her any further. She took out her high school textbooks and explained it in detail.
The Shen family takes good care of their health, so their lunch is always a combination of meat and vegetables. Today, Xiaoli brought four dishes and a soup.
The table was filled with steamed sea bass, stir-fried vegetables, casserole pork, mixed vegetables and West Lake beef soup.
"I haven't eaten beef for a long time. Today we have beef soup. Wanzhen, eat more."
Huang Wanzhen nodded and said, "If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have noticed. I haven't eaten beef in a long time."
Shen Junru: "The state has introduced laws to protect oxen used for farming. If you kill an ox, not only will the beef be confiscated, you'll also be arrested and fined."
"This meat should have been bought from a foreign company."
Huang Wanzhen: "So that's how it is."
In this day and age, cows are more valuable than people.
After dinner, Huang Wanzhen asked Shen Junru for leave, "Is there a pawnshop nearby? I want to pawn some things."
Shen Junru: "There's one on the street. I'll take you there. It's a good opportunity to go for a walk."
The two of them sneaked out from the northeast corner door and walked towards the street with smiles on their faces.
"Aren't you afraid of being caught by your grandmother?" Huang Wanzhen asked.
Shen Junru: "The gatekeeper was arranged by my mother, it's okay."
Huang Wanzhen: "Then why do you stay at home all day? Aren't you uncomfortable?"
Shen Junru: "The granddaughter who stayed at home has to visit us every morning and evening. Tell me, what else can we do?"
Huang Wanzhen: "Grandson, don't you need it?"
Shen Junru: "Originally, my grandson also wanted it, but later my father and uncle strongly opposed it, saying that it would hinder the future of their children and grandchildren. My grandfather also agreed, so my grandmother did not ask her grandson to visit her every morning and evening."
Huang Wanzhen: "See, it's not that we can't not visit our parents every morning and evening, it's just that no one is fighting for us girls."
Shen Junru sighed, "My aunt's family is from the capital. She couldn't stand the rules in the mansion, so she took my cousin back to live with her family."
"We live in a three-story house on Sanyang Street. It's so beautiful. My cousin can still go to school. It's great."
Huang Wanzhen: "Then why don't you move out?"
Shen Junru: "There's no reason. We haven't separated yet. Father said that we should show filial piety to our elders."
Huang Wanzhen: "Then how can your aunt and cousin be together? Don't you think it's contradictory?"
Shen Junru: "Well, my father is different from my uncle. My uncle studied in Europe and has a more Westernized mindset. My father is more conservative."
"Without my father's support, my mother and I would not have been able to get out."
Huang Wanzhen: "The economic base determines the superstructure. As long as you can earn money to support yourself and don't rely on others for survival, you don't need to care too much about them."
Shen Junru was stunned and asked, "Is that so?"
Huang Wanzhen: "You can give it a try, right? You're not happy right now anyway, so why not find a job?"
"Although teaching me is also a job, what I can give you is too little to support your daily life."
"Do you have any skills?"
Shen Junru: "I like painting. I have studied both Chinese and Western painting."
Huang Wanzhen: "That's great. You can look for related jobs."
"However, since you are young, your salary may not be very high at the beginning, but as long as you like it, you can continue to improve yourself and get more rewards at the same time."
Shen Junru: "Hey! Can I really do this? My father won't agree, and my grandmother will definitely not agree. I'm afraid they will find a husband for me."
"Last year, I was admitted to university, and my grandmother insisted on finding me a husband. I could have found one, but she chose men who were either uneducated or overbearing and unreasonable. I really couldn't stand it."
"In the end, I had to compromise and give up on going to school."
Huang Wanzhen looked at her with pity, "Have you ever considered that your marriage is now entirely in the hands of your grandmother. Sooner or later, she will marry you off."
"The person she's looking for is the one she likes, not the one you like. When that happens, you'll feel even worse than you do now."
Shen Junru looked at Huang Wanzhen sadly, "I don't want that. Life is hard enough now."
Huang Wanzhen held her hand and said, "Go to work, work hard to make money, and work hard to support yourself."
The two chatted for a long time at the door of the pawnshop before Shen Junru's emotions stabilized and Huang Wanzhen breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll go in first."
The bluestone counter in the pawnshop was very high, with only a small door left open. A middle-aged man wearing a melon-shaped hat asked in a solemn voice, "What are you pawning?"
Huang Wanzhen handed over a golden hairpin and asked, "How much can you give for this pawn?"
The middle-aged man weighed the hairpin in his hand, then said, "If you pawn it, I'll give you thirteen dollars."
Huang Wanzhen raised her eyebrows. "This hairpin weighs three qian, plus there's the labor cost. How come you're giving me so little?"
Middle-aged man: "If you want to use the gold hairpin as money, you have to melt it down. You have to pay for the labor wherever you get it."
Huang Wanzhen stretched out her hand and said, "No."
The middle-aged man smiled and said calmly, "Fourteen dollars, the highest price."
Huang Wanzhen shook her head: "Even if you give me fifteen yuan, I won't take it. Give it back to me."
The man curled his lips and threw the hairpin out. "Who are you trying to bully? Why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror? I've seen a lot of people like you. In the end, there's only one place you'll end up! You'll have to beg me for mercy someday!"
Huang Wanzhen loosened her clenched hands, took a deep breath, squatted down and picked up the gold hairpin.
"What's wrong? Wanzhen, you look so bad?" Shen Junru asked with concern.
Huang Wanzhen shook her head. "It's okay, Teacher Shen, you go home first. I have something else to do, so I'll be back a little later."
Seeing that she looked unhappy, Shen Junru was too embarrassed to ask more questions. She just nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back first. Don't worry, take your time."
Huang Wanzhen watched Shen Junru walk away with an expressionless face. She lowered her head to find a few fist-sized stones, tightened the thin rope that came with her shoes, and strode back to the pawnshop.
"Clang—clang—crack—"
Huang Wanzhen used all her strength to throw three stones into the small door. Not even a second later, she turned around and ran towards the door.
"Bastard! Which bastard did this! Quick! Catch him!"
The middle-aged man's roar kept echoing in her ears. Huang Wanzhen didn't even look back and ran towards the back door of the Shen Mansion.
"What's wrong? What happened? Sit down and drink some water." Shen Junru said to Huang Wanzhen who was panting.
No one came to the door until five o'clock in the afternoon when Axiang came to pick her up in a rickshaw.
Huang Wanzhen's heart, which had been hanging in the air for a long time, finally calmed down.
After returning to the Huang Mansion, Huang Wanzhen went straight into the study in the front yard, spread out a piece of white paper and started writing a novel.
"Knock knock knock—" There was a knock on the door.
Huang Wanzhen didn't even raise her head and shouted, "Come in."
Xiulan came in with a letter.
"Miss, just as you left home this morning, the postman came to your door with a letter for you."
Huang Wanzhen's brain froze for a second, and she jumped up, "Give it to me!"
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