"Son, do you want to accompany Mom on this business trip?"
Tao Man sorted out her thoughts and tried to help Tao Nianlun divert some of his emotions.
It's not that she was making it up.
I do have some projects on hand that require me to travel, and one of the cities is right on the coast.
It’s a shame to say that Yu You sent his children abroad, but Tao Nianlun has never even left Beijing.
As a result, Tao Man wanted to take Tao Nianlun out for a walk even more.
Just treat it as a trip.
Tao Nianlun pondered for a while, and seeing Tao Man's enthusiastic look, he nodded in agreement.
What was originally a simple business trip turned into a family trip.
Not only Tao Nianlun, Tao Man was determined to bring Ji Wanping along as well.
Although the journey was long, she used some connections to buy a soft sleeper ticket, so the round trip was not too difficult.
The train headed south.
We stopped many times along the way.
Tao Man concentrated on the visit, while Tao Nianlun took Ji Wanping to try local specialties and visit tourist attractions.
It's quite contented.
Until Zhuzhou.
It was the last stop of Tao Man’s visit.
Since the establishment of the special subsidy fund for single mothers, Tao Man has tried to apply to take over several times, but was rejected by Qin Zhiya.
She thought she had too much on her hands, and Qin Zhiya was afraid that she would be too busy, so she gave up.
Tao Man only officially took over the project after the project leader was fired for making a mistake.
The first thing she did was to visit the families who had received support several years ago.
Just like Tao Man's original desire to take over.
She is also a single mother and understands the hardships better than ordinary people.
But the more he watched, the more dissatisfied Tao Man became with the work of the former person in charge.
For example, in Zhuzhou, the per capita income is not low. Although it is hard for single mothers to work and take care of children, many people have escaped from poverty.
Many of them have already remarried.
But they still cling to the subsidies.
The foundation will release the first batch of names without any review.
After all, the funding pool is limited. If these people are not cleared out, what will happen to those who want to come in?
"Sister Tao, you've seen it too. Although my family is better off than before, we can only afford to eat enough."
"My son still needs to go to college, but my wife doesn't like the fact that he's not her biological son and refuses to pay for his education."
"We rely on the Foundation for our survival. You are all good people."
The woman walked Tao Man out the door, still nagging.
But Tao Man simply replied, "Send the materials to the address I left. I'll get back to you after you approve it."
"Why do I have to submit materials? I haven't submitted any in so many years."
The other party said angrily, and seeing that Tao Man's expression was not right, he quickly took out an envelope from his pocket.
"Just a little gift, please take it..."
"What are you doing?!" Tao Man waved him away, putting some distance between them.
Seeing the embarrassment in the woman's eyes and her helpless hands, Tao Man couldn't say anything harsh, so he could only say:
"You choose your life, so make the best of it."
She clutched the strap of her bag tightly and left without looking back.
The woman's name was Xie Yingfang. She was almost getting a college diploma, but she became pregnant during college.
What followed was the same story that Tao Man had seen countless times.
Refusing to have an abortion, forced to drop out of school, and the partner disappeared...
In short, this situation is caused by their wrong choices.
The Foundation gave them a helping hand.
Tao Man understood the impulsiveness of youth and was just like her.
But one cannot fall in the same place twice.
Although she knew that men were unreliable, Xie Yingfang kept moving among men in order to escape from difficulties, or because it was too hard to be alone.
In just a few years, he remarried and divorced.
Now I don’t know how many husbands he is.
The reason they did not divorce this time was because Xie Yingfang gave birth to another child, which allowed her to gain a firm foothold.
Tao Man was very disappointed with his friend.
Being able to get into college many years ago meant that you were not a fool.
A good hand of cards was played badly. When I entered the room, I saw Xie Yingfang doing housework with disheveled hair and a dirty face.
Her husband lay on the sofa, wishing he could be fed.
Xie Yingfang cannot blame others for her current predicament.
The Foundation has done its best.
Unlike the initial enthusiasm when he took over the project, Tao Man has gradually calmed down during his visits to each family.
One can even look upon them with near indifference.
Only in this way can we make the most rational and objective judgment.
She filled an entire book about revising the project materials and establishing the bottom line principles.
"mom."
Tao Nianlun knocked on the door.
In fact, the door was open all the time, and Tao Man was so busy with the work at hand that he forgot to close it.
When a child grows up, he avoids his mother.
Tao Nianlun was already a grown man. He just knocked on the door and did not walk into the small room.
Tao Man cleaned up the table briefly and asked in surprise, "Why are you here? Where did you take grandma today?"
"The wind was strong at the beach, so grandma didn't leave for long before coming back to rest."
Tao Nianlun originally wanted to pack some food for Tao Man, but he thought that the food from the seaside was more fresh.
After much thought, he decided to ask Tao Man to go out for a midnight snack.
There are often ships at the port, and you can hear long whistles even in the middle of the night.
Food stalls and night snack stalls came into being.
It’s different from the small nightclubs in Beijing.
People here like to drink porridge at night. They cook a bowl of white porridge until it is boiling hot, and then throw in some miscellaneous fish, offal or other seafood.
It has a unique flavor.
Tao Man looked at the porridge boiling in the pot, and saw Tao Nianlun's bony hands pouring the other ingredients in.
"Mom, do you want sesame oil?"
People in Beijing like this dish, but people living by the sea don’t eat it often.
Tao Man nodded and said, "Come on."
A bowl of mixed fish porridge and a bowl of fried clams.
Tao Man suddenly wanted to drink some wine.
Tao Nianlun put down his chopsticks, feeling a little at a loss.
"I, I can't—"
"How can a man not know this? Just learn slowly."
Tao Man was about to scream, but she felt unsafe because she was a girl and Tao Nianlun was young.
If you drink too much, it will end badly.
In the end, I gave up.
Tao Nianlun comforted her, "Mom, let's have a drink at home when we get back to Beijing."
He tried some when his college roommate dragged him out for skewers.
Bitter, burning stomach.
Tao Nianlun didn't like it.
The back and forth conversation between mother and son seemed to have opened a box of conversation, and the quiet night brought them closer together.
Late at night, Tao Nianlun took off his coat and put it on Tao Man.
"Mom isn't cold!"
Tao Man was about to take off her clothes, but Tao Nianlun held her hands tightly.
"I'm hot, please help me dress."
The mother and son smiled at each other, stood up and were about to leave, but Tao Nianlun froze in place.
Fu Duo?
How come he is here?
Tao Man also followed Tao Nianlun's gaze, but besides Fu Duo, she also saw the woman beside him.
The woman was pregnant and wearing thick fur.
Fu Duo carefully watched over her and was obviously dissatisfied with her coming out to look for food late at night.
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