Chapter 354: You Keep It, I’ll Give It to Chenchen Later

Chapter 354: Keep it for yourself—I'll give it to Chenchen when I get back.

It was Bai Hua, the one who had exchanged the Rubik's Cube with Fu Yuanhang last time.

The three squeezed outside together, left their things with Mo Gong to keep an eye on, and then moved aside to chat.

The excitement of running into an acquaintance in a different place—You know how it is. Uncle Mu nearly jumped out of his skin: "Bai Hua, what are you doing here?"

Bai Hua said, "After listening to your advice last time, I went back and looked into the factory you mentioned. I think it's—"

He gave a thumbs-up. "I even found out the factory’s location and went to see it. Such a huge factory—I’d never seen anything like it before. I made up my mind right then that I’d never go to the countryside. I’m going to work hard to get hired at that factory!"

Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu exchanged glances, surprised that he had actually taken their advice.

"So what are you doing here today?" Uncle Mu asked.

"Here to make money. If I don’t earn enough for tuition and living expenses, I’ll have to go to the countryside by next September," Bai Hua replied.

Uncle Mu thought for a moment. "Buddy, there’s something I’m not sure I should ask."

Bai Hua waved his hand. "Then don’t ask."

Uncle Mu: "..."

"Actually, I’ll ask anyway. Since you live in the County Party Committee housing complex, logically speaking, your stepmother or anyone shouldn’t dare to mistreat you, right? Don’t they care about their reputation?"

Bai Hua sighed. "When I was young and naive, I did some stupid things, and that woman seized the chance to frame me for everything. She went around badmouthing me, ruining my reputation.

Even my own father doesn’t believe me—how could anyone else? It’s her who mistreats me, but thanks to that snake, the whole compound thinks I’m the one mistreating her."

Speaking of his stepmother, Bai Hua had a bellyful of complaints with nowhere to vent:

"Do you know what? She’s the one who hits and pinches the kids, but she goes around saying it was me.

She even says things like, 'It’s hard being a stepmother,' and 'It’s my fault for not raising him right.' She hopes that after I finish junior high, I’ll respond to the nation’s call and go to the countryside to be re-educated by the poor and lower-middle peasants, so I can become a good person in the future."

Every family has its problems, and faced with such a situation, Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu didn’t know what to say.

After some thought, Fu Yuanhang said, "I mentioned your situation to my sister-in-law. Her opinion is that we’ll have to seriously talk about work once you turn sixteen."

"She’s here today. I’ll ask her later if it’s possible for you to do work-study at the factory on weekends. If you go every week, you should be able to earn enough for tuition and living expenses.

The only thing is, the factory is quite far, so you’d have to find your own way there."

Bai Hua looked stunned at Fu Yuanhang. "Your sister-in-law?"

Uncle Mu said, "She’s the factory director you were talking about."

Bai Hua’s mouth fell open. "So you guys really have connections."

Uncle Mu waved his hand. "Not at all. We don’t have any special privileges. The food factory’s hiring process is very fair—the requirements are clear, and if you don’t meet them, no amount of connections will help.

But for students who need help with work-study, we can definitely put in a good word. We go to the factory for work-study ourselves when we have time."

Bai Hua nodded. "I see. That works for me, then. My mom left me a bicycle, and I usually ride it around whenever I’m free."

Leaning in, Bai Hua lowered his voice. "Actually, my mom and grandma left me quite a few things, but they’re all in my good-for-nothing father’s hands.

He says he’s keeping them 'safe' for me and won’t give them back until I turn eighteen. Pfft. The way they’re rushing to send me to the countryside, they’re probably planning to keep my things for themselves."

Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu exchanged another glance.

Fu Yuanhang said, "They wouldn’t dare. Did your mom and grandma leave any will or inventory? Or any witnesses?"

Bai Hua nodded, "Yes, but only if I’m alive. The other day, when you mentioned you came from the countryside, I realized the countryside isn’t the land of opportunity I imagined. So I went out to gather more information."

"Turns out, everyone who went regrets it and tries everything to come back. I almost fell for it too—I thought being out of sight meant out of mind, getting out of that mess. But it’s not like that at all."

Fu Yuanhang said, "All the educated youth in our village want to return to the city. Life in the countryside is too hard, with nothing to look forward to. You wouldn’t make it."

He fell silent for a moment, recalling that if Aunt Taozi hadn’t married his brother, she probably wouldn’t have endured it either.

"Right, I’m not stupid. Now that I know the truth, of course I won’t go. I also found out your sister-in-law’s factory has dormitories."

"I saw them—newly built dormitories, really nice. I’ll work hard to get in."

Uncle Mu warned him, "Then you better not do anything illegal. No black market deals, no skirting socialist policies. Aunt Taozi is very strict with hiring."

"Start with the work-study program. If you perform well, you might get a full-time position once you’re old enough."

Bai Hua gave them a troubled look.

If he didn’t take some things from home to sell for money, he felt uneasy.

Those were all treasured belongings left by his mother and grandmother—how could he let that vicious stepmother benefit?

Uncle Mu said, "Honestly, if you’re willing to make a stink, your dad wouldn’t dare do anything, let alone ship you off to the countryside right after junior high."

"You could go to his workplace and raise hell, tell his superiors you want to attend high school. Sending a 15-year-old to the countryside isn’t ‘re-education’—it’s dumping on the villagers."

"As long as your dad cares about his reputation, he won’t dare mess with you. If that doesn’t work, go to your stepmom’s workplace. I think it’ll work one way or another."

Fu Yuanhang gave Uncle Mu a complicated look.

Admittedly, the method was pretty harsh, but it would probably work.

Bai Hua had considered it before—he didn’t care about his reputation, but he had his pride, so he’d never gone through with it.

He gritted his teeth. "Fine. If they push me to the edge, I’ll go nuclear."

"By the way, how do I contact you about the work-study program?"

Fu Yuanhang said, "Usually, I’m at the People’s Square at 8:30 a.m. on Sundays. If you need me, wait there."

Thanks to his stepmother, Bai Hua had a bad reputation at school, and few classmates wanted to associate with him.

Though their friendship was new, he genuinely regarded Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu as friends.

"Alright. Let me know if there’s any news, or you can come find me directly at the county government housing."

After saying this, Bai Hua pressed something into Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu’s hands and ran off. "I’ll head out first. See you later!"

Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu looked down at what he’d given them—it was a remarkably detailed little tiger toy.

It had some weight, probably made of metal, and the colors were beautifully painted. It was really well-made.

"Is next year the Year of the Tiger?" Uncle Mu asked.

Fu Yuanhang nodded. "Yep."

Uncle Mu tsk-tsked twice, "These two little trinkets of his could probably fetch some money at the black market, and he just gave them to us?"

Fu Yuanhang stared at the little tiger and smiled, "It's fine. Chenchen would probably love this little toy. We'll figure out how to pay him back later."

Uncle Mu stroked the little tiger, reluctant to let go, "I really like it too. It wouldn't be fair to give it to Chubby but not Dongdong, right, Ah Hang?"

Fu Yuanhang replied, "Fine, you can hang onto it. I'll get another one for Chenchen later."

Uncle Mu beamed with joy, "I’ll go stash it for now!"