"You guys don't just chat and browse websites like we do, do you?"
"Yes, right now we're mainly learning programming systematically. The teacher will assign some programming homework, such as making a simple graphical interface program using mFC."
Fang Yu smiled awkwardly, "I don't understand."
"That's what I studied, we don't understand your major either!"
At this moment, Fang Meili walked over with a coat and asked Fang Dongqiang, "Dongqiang, what do you think of this burgundy one? Your mother would definitely look good in it."
Fang Dongqiang walked over, looked at it carefully, and nodded, saying, "It's fine."
"Fang Yu, what do you think?" Fang Meili asked Fang Yu again.
"It looks good. It's Chinese New Year, so it's nice to wear something festive. Auntie will like it," Fang Yu said earnestly.
"Sister Jihong, we really like Fang Yu. She even calls my eldest sister 'Auntie' and Dongqiang's mother so politely. Such a wonderful girl, any family that marries Fang Yu will be so lucky." Fang Meili looked at Fang Yu with a smile.
Yu Jihong laughed along, "Children should be polite to their elders!"
Fang Meili paid the bill. "Dongqiang, do you want to stay here for a while or go back?"
"I'll go back with you. Goodbye, Fang Yu, Fang Yu's mom!" Fang Dongqiang said, carrying a bag of clothes.
"Okay, okay, goodbye!" Yu Jihong replied with a smile. Fang Yu waved from the side.
"I also need to watch the shop, so I'll be leaving now!" Fang Meili said as she led Fang Dongqiang out of the shop.
Yu Jihong turned to look at Fang Yu, whose eyes darted towards her. Fang Yu said in a coquettish tone, "Mom, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Let me see my daughter." Yu Jihong's eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Look! You can look at your own child all you want." Fang Yu shook her head and hung up the clothes she had just taken down. "Mom, Hua Hua doesn't have to go to work tomorrow, let's go out and play."
"Okay, you guys don't usually get to meet on your days off, so let's go have some fun together during the holidays."
“Mom, when I come to the shop, you can go out and have some fun. I have weekends, but you work all year round, working the shop every day.”
"Business is good in December, around the time of the Lunar New Year. How can I go out and not watch the shop? On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone else is closed and we take a break."
The air in the county town is already filled with the scent of the New Year.
The store had just opened when Fang Huahua came over. "Fang Yu's mom, I'm thinking of going back in a few days and picking out a dress for my mom too."
"Great, that's so thoughtful! Now, which one do you like?" Yu Jihong held up the clothes support pole.
"Fang Yu, which one do you think is better?" Fang Huahua asked Fang Yu for her opinion.
"It's almost Chinese New Year, so I'll buy something festive, but not too bright. Something that's easy to clean and can be worn casually too," Fang Yu said, her eyes scanning the samples hanging above.
"How about this one?" Yu Jihong picked up a rust-red coat.
"It's nice, but I wonder if my mom can wear it." Fang Huahua took the clothes over.
"This isn't too flashy. Your mom is about the same age as me, so don't dress too old-fashioned. If you dress well, you'll look younger."
“Okay, Fang Yu’s mom, this is the one. I’ll listen to you. You know how to sell clothes. I’ll pay first, and I’ll come back to pick it up after playing with Fang Yu.”
"Okay, I'll pack it up first, and I'll give you the cost price."
Fang Yu and Fang Huahua walked side by side into the park. Sunlight filtered through the bare branches, casting dazzling rays that made it hard to open their eyes. "We've been here for almost half a year, and this is the first time we've come out together during the day," Fang Huahua said.
"Yes, our days off don't coincide. We can only meet briefly in the evening when you're not working. Have you ever gone out during the day when you're not working?"
"I don't play much. The few of us who live together can't all take time off work at the same time. I don't have any other friends here. When I'm resting, I either sleep in my room or go home once or twice."
"Oh, how are your parents now? Is your mom able to cook for your dad at home?"
"Sure, she'll cook it for me when I get back."
"That's great!"
"Yes, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."
"What?" Fang Yu leaned forward.
"After my grandma passed away, my mom seemed to get better and better, more and more normal. She kept the house cleaner than before."
Fang Yu took Fang Huahua's hand and said, "Maybe your mom feels more comfortable at home now."
"Probably. She does housework at home and my dad doesn't scold her."
"That's good." As soon as Fang Yu said it, she realized she had said the wrong thing. "I said your mother is doing quite well right now."
"It's alright, as long as people are alive and their lives get better and better."
Fang Yu turned Fang Huahua's hand over and gently ran her thumb along it. It was a pair of hands that were extremely disproportionate to her 18 years old; her knuckles were somewhat large, her whole hand looked rough, and there were small cracks on the edges of her nails.
"Look, it's all because you wash dishes, pick vegetables, and do chores every day." Fang Huahua's voice carried a hint of self-deprecation. "Look at your hands, they're so tender you could squeeze water out of them."
Fang Yu held her hands tenderly, warming them with her own palms. She paused, then asked, "Do you think it's better to work in the factory or here?"
Fang Huahua paused for a moment, then shook her head. "I can't really explain it. When I was working in the countryside, I felt like I was always confined to this area, unable to see the outside world. Now that I'm out here, I see a richer world than before, but this world doesn't belong to me; it seems like it has nothing to do with me."
“Then let’s enjoy what’s ours, this sunshine, this air. We can sit in the park now, and it’s all free.” Fang Yu pointed to the park’s pavilions and bridges. “This and this aren’t ours, but we can all use them. We can sit in the pavilions and walk on the bridges.”
"Now that you've said that, the world seems like a better place!"
"Since we're already here to live, we should enjoy the beauty of this world as much as possible, so as not to waste it. Oh, there's a small hill over there, not very high, but there are steps leading up to it. Want to go?"
“Let’s go up and take a look! Fang Yu, it’s so nice to be friends with you. You’ve made me feel better.” Fang Huahua sighed again, her eyes darkening. “Someone like you, who is good-looking, has a job, and your mother takes such good care of you, must feel that life is really good. People like us, this is just our fate.”
The resignation in her voice was like a fine needle, pricking Fang Yu's heart with pain. She was silent for a while, "Huahua, to live a good life, you have to rely on yourself. I am doing this because my mother has always taken good care of me. You know my mother. In those days, she endured so much pressure and pretended to be crazy to give birth to me. Now she is living a better and better life."
"Yes, your mother is indeed a remarkable person. I really admire her."
Fang Yu smiled with a touch of pride, "I admire her too." After thinking for a moment, Fang Yu added, "Why don't you go for a correspondence college diploma? Improve your education level, and you'll have more job options in the future. Let's go together, I'll register next year when school starts."
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