After showering and towel-drying her hair, Tian Tian sat on the edge of the bed, turned on the radio, and started tuning to a station to listen. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Tian Tian didn’t need to ask who it was. She walked over and opened it directly. “Sister Zhen, is something wrong this late?”
Qian Lizhen felt a bit embarrassed seeing Tian Tian be so direct.
Tian Tian didn’t really want to deal with her. Although she felt some sympathy, if the woman couldn’t stand up for herself, it really wasn’t worth investing too much attention. Besides, work was tiring every day, and Tian Tian really didn’t want to spend energy on other people.
But what Qian Lizhen said next made Tian Tian invite her into the room.
“Sit down! You really quit your job?”
Yes, Qian Lizhen had just revealed that she’d already resigned. To others this might not be a big deal. But for Qian Lizhen, the obedient daughter who listened to her mother, it was earth-shattering.
Seeing Tian Tian’s disbelief, Qian Lizhen smiled bitterly. “This time it’s real. But I haven’t told my mom yet.”
“Then what were you two just arguing about?” Surely it wasn’t just about bikinis?
Hearing this, Qian Lizhen’s eyes lit up. “Brother Ye came to see me today. My mom got upset when she saw him and wouldn’t let me associate with him. I didn’t agree, and that’s how the fight started.”
Tian Tian’s mouth twitched. This mother was really something, and this daughter too—both utterly exasperating.
“So what’s your plan?”
Earlier, when Qian Lizhen first made money selling clothes, she’d said she wanted to quit. But after back-and-forth wavering, she ended up back at the factory. Selling clothes became just a side job.
After that, Tian Tian hadn’t paid her much attention. After all, the woman kept going back and forth, too indecisive. Tian Tian couldn’t stand such repeated flip-flopping.
Qian Lizhen saw Tian Tian’s meaning and said embarrassedly, “I’m planning to sell clothes full-time. I’ve already picked out a stall—in that new market not far from the village entrance.”
The new market not far from the village entrance had been built recently. The plot He Cheng had eyed was also here. After He Cheng’s downfall, Zhou Haoting suggested building a market here for the surrounding villagers’ convenience.
It just so happened that the plot near the village entrance belonged to the village, so the matter was settled quickly. The market was built, and stalls were rented out. Tian Tian hadn’t expected Qian Lizhen to move so fast—she’d already rented a stall.
Tian Tian rarely gave her a thumbs-up.
Qian Lizhen smiled embarrassedly. “Actually, it’s all thanks to you.”
Tian Tian said, “No, no, no. This is your own effort.”
Qian Lizhen said, “Seriously, I watched you succeed step by step. Before, I could never fully make up my mind. I kept giving in to my mom. But I realized that after obeying her, my life hadn’t changed at all—it was just a stagnant pool.”
Tian Tian understood. But she didn’t speak. She just quietly listened to Qian Lizhen’s reflections. “Anyway, from now on I’ll listen to my mom’s words selectively.”
“Will you keep associating with Ye Lifeng then?” Tian Tian suddenly teased.
Qian Lizhen blushed.
Tian Tian knew there was hope. She thought Boss Ye had finally seen the clouds part to reveal the moon. But she didn’t point it out. Instead, she changed the subject to sourcing goods.
“I came this time to tell you that my stall’s goods will all be taken from your shop from now on. Can you give me a discount on the price?”
Tian Tian said, “I thought you’d want to go with our shop to the factories and get goods directly?”
After all, without her as the middleman taking a cut, Qian Lizhen could make more money.
But she shook her head. “I know myself. If I really had to go to Yangcheng alone to get goods, I couldn’t do it. Better to take goods from your shop. Earn a bit less, but more stable.”
Seeing her know her limits so well, Tian Tian smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. If you take goods from us, I’ll definitely give you the best price.”
Qian Lizhen smiled. This was the first time in all the time Tian Tian had known her that she’d seen her smile so easily.
So she added one more thing. “You should still deal with your mom quickly. Otherwise, with your stall right at the village entrance, it’ll be even worse if she comes to cause trouble.”
Hearing this, Qian Lizhen turned serious. “I know. My mom actually wasn’t always like this. I don’t think I ever told you—my dad is actually still alive. The reason my mom came to me is because she couldn’t stand my dad!”
Tian Tian had assumed her father was dead. After all, they’d known each other for almost a year and she’d never heard the mother and daughter mention a father.
“My dad is a scumbag. He found a woman outside, and when that woman got pregnant, he brought her home and made my mom take care of her. That woman had the baby and even made my mom help her through the postpartum confinement. That’s what my mom couldn’t stand, so she came to me.”
Tian Tian: …
Such things weren’t rare, actually. But Tian Tian was very curious how Liu Chunfen could endure caring for the other woman. She even cared for her until the woman gave birth, and only after being made to help with the confinement did she finally leave.
Why didn’t she leave at the very beginning?
But Tian Tian didn’t comment. Don’t jabber about others’ suffering without going through it yourself.
Qian Lizhen understood Tian Tian’s thoughts and smiled bitterly. “Right? You think it’s absurd too, don’t you? What’s even more absurd is that every time I called home, my mom said everything was fine. If she hadn’t later come to find me, I never would have known my dad did such disgusting things. And…”
At this point, Qian Lizhen’s expression turned very ugly. “The money my dad used to find that woman was money I’d worked hard to earn and sent home.”
Tian Tian found it so melodramatic.
“I started working at eighteen. All the money I earned went to support the family. But I didn’t feel it was anything. After all, my parents raised me. And they never abused me. They let me finish high school too. Not getting into university was my own failure—I can’t blame them. So working to earn money for the family, I could accept. But I never expected my dad to do something like this. Taking my hard-earned money to keep a woman.”
Tian Tian suddenly spoke. “You’re an only child?”
Qian Lizhen nodded.
Tian Tian understood instantly.
“That woman gave birth to a son, didn’t she?”
Qian Lizhen nodded again.
Tian Tian let out a scoff. Just as she thought. She didn’t even need to hear the rest—she could guess Qian Lizhen’s story pretty well.
In her past life, when Qian Lizhen was sold to a Hong Kong nightclub, her family probably wouldn’t have come looking for her either.
Ah, this was really… The look she gave Qian Lizhen was almost tinged with pity.
“I’m an only child too. My dad wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Your dad doesn’t want a son?”
Tian Tian shook her head. With her dad being the type who hated trouble, if her mom hadn’t insisted, she wouldn’t even have been born. But she wouldn’t say too much about her dad. Otherwise, Qian Lizhen might think she was showing off.
“Anyway, since both you and your mom have left, don’t think about the hometown anymore. Talk things through clearly with your mom. Don’t bring trouble for the future.”
With that, Tian Tian patted Qian Lizhen’s shoulder. It meant: time to go.
Qian Lizhen didn’t linger either. She got up and said goodbye.
Tian Tian closed the door and lay down, thinking about Liu Chunfen. She really didn’t know how to evaluate this person. But she still hoped the mother and daughter next door would have better and better days.
She didn’t know if last night’s talk had any effect.
Anyway, the next day at noon when Tian Tian came back, she heard Liu Chunfen in the ground-floor living room, pulling Granny Cui into her complaints. Crying about how hard her life was, how she’d struggled to raise her daughter and give her a stable life, only for her daughter to not appreciate it and even turn around and accuse her.
Seeing Tian Tian come in, she even wanted to pull her in to complain together, to get her on her side.
But Tian Tian slipped into the kitchen in a flash and cooked herself a bowl of noodles. She didn’t go to the living room either—she turned and went back to her room to eat. Passing by next door, the room door was closed with no sound.
Probably Qian Lizhen had left after confronting her mother.
This girl had some tiger courage in her.
When Tian Tian came back out in the evening, she saw Qian Lizhen had returned.
She was wearing new clothes—very bright, very fashionable. And Liu Chunfen was nagging beside her, but Qian Lizhen turned a deaf ear.
Another day later, Qian Lizhen had permed her hair into big waves, wore big metal earrings, and put on nice lipstick and nail polish. She’d completely transformed from a dusty factory girl into a fashionable young woman.
This transformation was really eye-catching.
Tian Tian gave her a thumbs-up. She got a brilliant smile in return.
This girl had finally come to her senses.
Although her mother, Liu Chunfen, was still nagging and pouring cold water beside her.
Then two more days later, Qian Lizhen had fixed up her stall, taken some goods from her shop, and the stall was about to open.
“This speed…”
After receiving Qian Lizhen’s opening invitation, Tian Tian shared it with Zhou Haoting in some shock.
At this moment, the two were sitting in the small park newly built at the village entrance market. Besides them, quite a few villagers were strolling here after dinner.
Because the market was right next door, they could see many people shopping there. Some stalls had already opened.
“She’s finally made it through.” Zhou Haoting looked at Qian Lizhen not far away. She was tidying up the clothes at her stall. And the one helping beside her was none other than Ye Lifeng.
“Indeed.” Watching Qian Lizhen and Ye Lifeng chatting and laughing, Tian Tian sighed. Had this woman finally ushered in spring for both her career and love?
Zhou Haoting suddenly spoke. “So am I officially promoted now?”
Tian Tian was briefly stunned. Then she reached behind and twisted his solid arm. “Did you even submit a promotion application?”
Hearing this, Zhou Haoting broke into a brilliant smile.
“Smiling like that is a bit silly…” Tian Tian burst out laughing. The thing was, Zhou Haoting usually wore a cool expression. He rarely smiled wide enough to show his teeth. Smiling like this now gave people a silly impression.
“Silly is fine. If I can get promoted, I’ll be the luckiest person in the world.”
As he spoke, he reached out and took both of Tian Tian’s hands. He stood up as if about to kneel. It scared Tian Tian so much she nearly jumped. “What are you doing, what are you doing! There are so many people here!”
The villagers in the small park had already noticed their movement and were looking over with bright eyes.
Zhou Haoting smiled. “Alright, then let’s find a place with no one around and do it again.”
Tian Tian shot him a reproachful look, but followed his pull to stand up. The two ran out against the wind, their laughter carried far by the breeze. It made quite a few villagers curious about what exactly they were laughing at.
And by now, Tian Tian had already followed Zhou Haoting to his house.
Under the setting sun, the Zhou house glowed orange, looking especially warm.
“Come, come in.”
Zhou Haoting led her directly into his room.
Leave a Reply