Chapter 768 If I don't make a name for myself, I won't come back. Ma Hongxia blurted out: "A few days ago, I saw Jiang Wanwan. She was dressed very well, but she insisted that I had mistaken her for someone else."
Upon hearing her name, Liu Fang became agitated: "You bitch! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be in this state now."
After a long while, he caught his breath, raised his red eyes, looked at his brother and sister-in-law in front of him, and tears mixed with the dirt on his face streamed down, leaving two muddy ruts.
"Brother...Sister-in-law...I regret it so much...I'm so regretful..."
"If I had listened to you all back then, and hadn't been so blinded by greed and believed her, I wouldn't be... I wouldn't be in this state of being neither human nor ghost today..."
Unfortunately, it was all too late.
He knelt down with a thud: "Please, please take me in, for the sake of our blood ties."
“It’s not that I’m heartless, sister-in-law. Think about it honestly. How did you ever go against Qingyang back then? Because of Jiang Wanwan’s affair, you gave Qingyang a lot of attitude and tripped him up. Now, our family is able to live peacefully and stand firm in Xinweiju. Who did we rely on? It was Qingyang.”
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Liu Fang's tattered clothes and emaciated body, and sighed: "Qingyang is kind-hearted, but he's not without temper. If you run into him looking like this, he might not say anything to your face for the sake of me and your brother, but how could he not hold a grudge? This restaurant is his life's work, and it's our whole family's hope. I can't ruin this peaceful livelihood for your sake."
Liu Fang, kneeling on the ground, gradually dimmed the light in his eyes.
He knew his sister-in-law was right; he had indeed been a scoundrel in the past.
Seeing him like this, Ma Hongxia felt bad too, and softened her tone:
"Get up first, the ground is cold." She reached out to pull him up.
Liu Fang was half-pulled, half-draggled up by her, and looked at her blankly.
Ma Hongxia glanced at Liu Dong, signaling him to speak.
Liu Dong nodded: "There are many opportunities in Beijing now. As long as you are willing to work hard, you will definitely have enough to eat. Look at you, you have to let your family see your determination before we decide whether to help you or not."
Liu Dong's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Liu Fang's head, making him shiver.
He looked down at his tattered clothes, the black grime under his fingernails, and his feet that were frozen like rotten radishes.
Then, thinking of Jiang Wanwan, whom Ma Hongxia described as living a comfortable life, who was probably wearing the finest clothes and eating the most exquisite food right now, and perhaps even laughing at him, the wronged man from back then...
A surge of evil mixed with resentment suddenly rose to the back of his throat.
He can't let this go!
He, Liu Fang, cannot live his whole life as a joke, trampled underfoot by that woman!
“Brother, sister-in-law, you’re right. I, Liu Fang, used to be a scoundrel and blind! But now, I can’t continue to be this bad!”
He vigorously wiped his face with his filthy sleeve, only making the grime look even more smudged. "I have legs, I'm not useless. As long as I can eat, I can do any job. I'll start from the bottom, I'll earn clean money, I... I have to live a decent life!"
"I have to show my family that I, Liu Fang... am not finished yet!"
Ma Hongxia and Liu Dong exchanged a glance.
They could tell that Liu Fang was truly cornered and had been severely provoked by Jiang Wanwan's news.
This do-or-die spirit, though it came a little late, is still better than being hopelessly hopeless.
Liu Dong finally nodded, his expression softening. "With you saying that, I'll take you to the bathhouse tomorrow for a good scrub, change your clothes, shave your head, and you'll look more refreshed, making it easier to find work."
Ma Hongxia chimed in, "I'll ask around for you later and see which construction sites or factories need temporary workers. The wages might not be high at first, and it might be tiring, but at least you'll get a full meal."
After tidying up, Liu Fang seemed like a completely different person.
Although her complexion was still sallow, she looked much more energetic.
Liu Dong, being a true friend, did find him a place to stay, gave him some food and money to help him get through this difficult time.
For the first two days, he squatted outside a construction site near Chongwenmen, watching the workers pushing wheelbarrows and shouting orders to transport bricks and cement. He mustered up his courage and went up to the foreman to ask if he needed any workers.
The foreman, with a cigarette ring dangling from his lips, looked him up and down a few times, then waved his hand dismissively: "We've got enough men. Go somewhere else."
He then ran to the freight yard of Yongdingmen Station and saw workers unloading sacks from freight cars; the sacks looked incredibly heavy.
He leaned closer, but before he could speak, a man dressed in an old uniform yelled, "What are you doing? No strangers allowed! Is this a place for you to wander around?"
After a series of setbacks, the little spark that had just ignited in Liu Fang's heart began to waver again.
He squatted on the curb, watching the flow of bicycles, smelling the faint smell of coal smoke in the air, his stomach growling with hunger.
He squeezed the few crumpled bills in his pocket, but couldn't bring himself to buy food.
On the first day, he wandered into a factory area in the eastern suburbs.
Behind a building materials factory, he saw a pile of coal ash and lime blocks like a small mountain. Several odd-job workers were shoveling the mixed coal ash onto a cart, apparently to be sent somewhere to make cinder bricks or pave roads.
This job doesn't seem to require any skills; it's purely about physical labor.
Liu Fang took a deep breath and walked over.
The person in charge was an old man in his fifties with dark skin, who was squatting in a sheltered spot rolling a pipe.
"Uncle, do you... need anyone to do the work here?" Liu Fang tried his best to make his voice sound sincere and strong.
The old man raised his eyelids, glanced at him, and instead of answering directly, asked, "Have you ever done manual labor before? This work is quite heavy."
"I've done it before, so I have the strength!"
The old man didn't speak, lit the rolled cigarette, took a puff, and slowly said:
"One day's wages, one meal provided, just cornbread and pickled vegetables, work one day, pay the next, how can you do that?"
Although it's much less than what a regular employee earns, it's enough for him to eat for a day, with some left over.
Liu Fang nodded heavily without any hesitation: "Capable, I'm capable now."
When he finished work in the evening, he received a crumpled one dollar and a few grain coupons. Although he was tired, at least he had found a job.
After finishing work, he immediately told his brother and sister-in-law the good news, thus avoiding Lu Qingyang and his group.
Liu Dong nodded: "You can work for a while and save some money. You also know a few words. There are few educated people now. After the transition, you will definitely be able to find a good job."
Just as Liu Fang was about to agree, he heard a child's voice, and his eyes involuntarily turned towards it.
"This is……"
Liu Dong sighed: "Who else could it be? Isn't it your daughter who you left behind? Although she's not related to you by blood, we adopted her, and she's in the community kindergarten now."
"I left the child behind..."
He peeked over and found that the child was already five years old, with delicate and lovely features, and Ma Hongxia was holding her.
A sudden wave of disgust washed over Liu Fang: "Now that we've finished talking, I'll be going."
"Hey, why don't you stay for a meal before you leave?"
Liu Fang shook his head: "I won't come back until I've made a name for myself. I'll personally bring a thank-you gift and kowtow to Qingyang to express my gratitude!"
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