Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It was only noon, and the two of them had some stale buns and drank a bit of water.

Feng Yanwen felt for the first time that making money could be such a joyful thing.

The mother and daughter still divided their tasks as before—one cutting the melons and hawking to customers, while the other handled cash, cleaned up, and managed supplies. Once they got busy, their minds were occupied solely with earning money and nothing else. The busier they got, the less they felt hunger or thirst. By the end of the day, they had sweated so much they didn’t even have time for bathroom breaks.

Business got even busier by noon, and by around three in the afternoon, all the watermelons were sold out.

But Xu Meng didn’t plan to get more melons.

First, it was the hottest time of the day, and the round trip would wipe them out. Second, she wanted to go back and find some tools—they couldn’t rely solely on carrying everything by hand and shoulder. Besides, they needed to tally their earnings to see exactly how much they had made that day.

They hurried back home, where Chang Xi happened to be. Seeing them return so soon, she happily ran out to greet them.

"Did you make any money?"

Xu Meng nodded cheerfully. "I’ll go inside first to crunch the numbers."

"Alright," Chang Xi said before returning to watch TV.

"Mengmeng, I lost count of what we made." At first, Feng Yanwen had tried to keep track in her head, but later, she was too busy to keep up. All she could focus on was the work. Hearing Xu Meng banter with customers made the time fly.

Xu Meng quickly packed up their things—they were wiped out from the day.

"Mom, let’s hold off on counting profits for now."

There were things they hadn’t considered earlier that needed sorting out in the evening.

Feng Yanwen was thrilled. She had never realized making money could be this easy.

Under normal circumstances, the entire summer was tourist season in Beijing. By late August, there would be another wave of parents sending their children to school, bringing even more people. During this time, she planned to sell melons near the train station.

The two of them hunched over a makeshift bed, counting the money—mostly small change—and finally managed to tally it up. The cost of eight melons was 33.6 yuan, but Zhang Guifen had knocked off the change, charging only 33. Yet, they had sold them for 61.3 yuan, making nearly 30 yuan pure profit.

What was 30 yuan worth back then?

An average factory worker earned barely 200 yuan a month. Teachers and civil servants had more stable incomes, with better benefits, and if their units had side income, they might make between 300 and 500 yuan.

But they had made almost 30 yuan in a single day from their little business!

That was a teacher’s entire daily wage!

Feng Yanwen had never imagined making money could be this easy—her heart pounded like a drum.

Xu Meng was bullish about their future. "Mom, now that we have money, we can stay for good, right? Wouldn’t it be better to rely on ourselves from now on?"

Feng Yanwen hesitated for a moment before nodding.

If not for today’s experience, she would never have dared to agree with her daughter.

After years of not earning her own money, this first taste of entrepreneurship made Feng Yanwen realize something—no wonder so many people were jumping into private business. Business really could bring in money!

Back when Li Xiuzhi had scorned her for not having a job, she had thought, *What could I do?* She was, after all, a college graduate, but jobs were state-assigned. If a unit leader disliked you and replaced you with their own relative, there was nothing you could do. Back then, losing your job meant you were screwed.

But now, she realized there were many ways to live. Why confine herself to such a narrow existence?

Feng Yanwen walked out, poured a glass of cold boiled water for her daughter, and watched the water swirl in the glass. Suddenly, her heart settled into calm.

When she returned to the room, Xu Meng had already fallen asleep.

She must have been exhausted, dozing off quickly. The room was sweltering, making her sleep restless as she tossed and turned like a fish in a pan.

Feng Yanwen took out a palm-leaf fan and began gently fanning Xu Meng while counting the money with her other hand, going over it again and again, a slight smile tugging at her lips.

Just as she was lost in thought, a woman’s voice came from outside: "Is Chang Xi home?"

————

Chang Xi went out to exchange a few words and returned with a plump middle-aged woman.

"Aunt Feng, this is Sister Liu from our local community office."

Chang Xi introduced the visitor, who then struck up a conversation with Feng Yanwen. Learning that Sister Liu was here to help them find a rental, Feng Yanwen listened attentively. It turned out Sister Liu was a staff member at the neighborhood office and had just returned from her parents' home. Hearing that two women at Chang Xi’s place were looking for a place to rent, she came to inquire—only to discover they were fellow townsfolk.

"So you’re also from Lao Liu Township!" Sister Liu laughed heartily. "Me too, me too! I moved to the city in [year] for work and married here. When did you come?"

Running into someone from home brought a wave of nostalgia, and Feng Yanwen opened up, sharing when she had moved to the city and why she had left her previous home. Finally, she added, "Given my situation, if there are men in the rental, I’m afraid of gossip, so..."

Sister Liu slapped her thigh for emphasis. "Perfect! The place I’m thinking of has only three children."

The family lived in this very alley, in a small courtyard similar to Chang Xi’s. The father had worked in the fire brigade but died in the line of duty last year. The mother, grief-stricken, fell ill, and eventually passed away. Normally, the grandparents or close relatives would have taken the children in.

"...Their uncle on their mother’s side wanted to take them back, but the eldest child is stubborn and refused to leave the city, insisting on keeping their Beijing household registration." The eldest was already seven or eight, old enough to understand the situation at his maternal home. Keeping the residency was just an excuse.

Though the fire brigade provided survivor benefits for the children and the neighborhood committee organized help with chores, it still wasn’t the same as having parents around.

Recently, the youngest child had fallen ill, and by the time adults noticed, the fever had already spiked dangerously.

Sister Liu sighed. "When I heard you were looking for a place, I thought of this. Renting it out could help cover expenses, and having an adult around means someone can notify us if anything happens. You can take a look first and see if it suits you."

Noticing Feng Yanwen’s hesitation, she added, "We’re not asking you to take care of the kids. They’re already quite independent, and the neighborhood has arrangements for regular cleaning. We just want an adult presence to deter troublemakers and help notify us if needed. No extra duties—just being there helps."

Feng Yanwen snapped out of her daze. "No, no, I wasn’t hesitating about that. The conditions sound great—I just needed a moment to process. Can we see the place now?"

"Of course."

"Great, shall we go?"

Xu Meng woke up just then and lit up at the idea of seeing the place. Chang Xi also eagerly joined, and they all set out toward the rental.

From Chang Xi’s home, it was only about 700 or 800 meters away—a small courtyard with its gate open. As the sun began to set, three children were playing inside. The two older ones crouched on the ground, while the youngest, around three years old, sprawled on the blazing-hot ground. Feng Yanwen hurried over to pick up the little one, who grinned up at her.

Sister Liu, lagging behind due to her size, fretted, "Oh dear, little one, don’t roll on the ground—it’s burning hot!" Kids were a handful.

The eldest noticed the visitors and stood up, calling out, "Auntie," before glancing at the second child.

The second child then rose awkwardly to greet them. The boy was bright-eyed and quick-witted, clearly intelligent.

The youngest, unfamiliar with Feng Yanwen, wriggled free and dashed back to his eldest brother.

The eldest scanned the strangers cautiously, confirming they weren’t relatives from back home, then looked questioningly at Sister Liu.

Sister Liu smiled. "Liu Jin, as I mentioned last time, I’d bring folks looking to rent for you to meet. This is Aunt Feng and her daughter, looking to rent a room. I brought them to see the place. Is that okay?"

The eldest boy studied Feng Yanwen and Xu Meng, hesitated briefly at seeing they were women, then nodded.

They had considered renting before, but most male tenants were sloppy and thoughtless—unable to mind the kids and trashing the place. When the neighborhood sent help to clean, were they helping the orphans or cleaning up after messy men?

So they had rented it out once before, but not long after, the local authorities stepped in and ended the lease.

Feng Yanwen nodded at the children, signaling for Xu Meng to look around the house first.

It was a traditional courtyard home—quite old but kept very clean. The rooms had probably been painted a few years back.

There were four south-facing rooms with no side rooms. Behind each of the two main rooms was an extra small room. These back rooms connected to the houses behind them and only had a small window, but the roofs had skylights, so the lighting wasn’t too bad. Right now, the three kids lived in one of the back rooms. The front room had a desk and some simple furniture. The next room over showed signs of being lived in before, but it was locked up now. Through the window, you could see that it was nearly empty.

Each room was about a dozen square meters, making two separate living spaces.

Three sides of the courtyard were enclosed by walls, and along one wall stood a smaller room—probably the kitchen.

The yard wasn’t big, but it was clean and well-maintained. Feng Yanwen liked it right away. She looked over at Xu Meng and saw a satisfied smile on her face.

She loved that the two spaces were separate. If they rented this place, she could sleep in the back with her mom and use the front as a study or living room.

Not wanting to overstay their welcome, they left after looking around.

“What do you think?” Sister Liu, the one in charge, waited for Feng Yanwen and her daughter’s response.

“It’s quite nice. You want both rooms?” Feng Yanwen worried about the cost, but the house really caught her eye. “Money’s tight for us right now, as you know.”

Actually, renting a whole courtyard like this would normally be at least a hundred, even two hundred yuan a month.

“Fifty a month, utilities included,” Sister Liu said plainly. “The electricity is covered by the community office—ten yuan a month for unlimited use, so we won’t charge extra. This is a steal. And if it weren’t because you two seem clean and dependable, you wouldn’t get it at this price.”

Renting at this rate also meant helping look out for the kids on behalf of the community office.

Feng Yanwen was really tempted, but fifty a month was more than she and Xu Meng could scrape together between them.

Xu Meng, though, was excited—she really loved the place.

She’d already pictured getting two twin beds and putting up a curtain between them. The room was big enough to split without feeling crowded. There was space up front for a desk. The walls were even painted—unlike her old room at the Xu family home. As for sharing the space with the kids, that didn’t bother her much. The rooms were separate, so everyone could live independently without getting in each other’s way. The only ask was to keep an eye out in case the kids got sick—just like looking after neighbors.

Xu Meng couldn’t help but glance at Feng Yanwen.

Feng Yanwen gritted her teeth. “We’re just short on cash right now. Could we pay every two weeks instead?”

Sister Liu clapped her hands. “Fine, biweekly payments it is. I’ll call Liu Jin over later. If he doesn’t mind, then we’re all set.”