Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Xu Meng didn’t go to Han Lingling’s place today and instead went to find Chang Xi to be her study buddy.

Liu Jin and the others were playing at the entrance of the alley. When they saw her, they called out happily, “Mengmeng’s back?”

Xu Meng was also happy to see them. “Have you eaten? What brings you here to play?”

“We did,” the middle kid said, pointing inside. “Auntie’s making food at home and told us to check if you were back.”

No wonder Liu Jin had sprinted toward her like a wild pony the moment he spotted her—she had wondered where that frantic energy, like Japanese troops raiding a village, came from.

When Xu Meng got home, Feng Yanwen had just finished cooking scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Feng Yanwen sighed. “Where have you been?”

Xu Meng explained that Han Lingling was sick, so she had changed where she studied for the day. She added excitedly, “I can study at Han Lingling’s in the evenings now! The big lamp at their house is insanely bright—I’ll read there at night. Her mom is really nice too. I don’t think I’m bothering them.”

Since the two houses weren’t far apart, Feng Yanwen quietly agreed.

Dinner was tomato and egg noodles. Tomatoes were in season now and tasted the best—way better than greenhouse stuff later on. Xu Meng loved this dish so much she was already thinking about the next serving. She said to Feng Yanwen, “Mom, buy more tomatoes. I could eat tomato and egg noodles every single day.”

“You nut, once you like something, you want it every day. Don’t you get tired of it?”

“I won’t,” Xu Meng declared confidently. “If I do, we’ll cross that bridge later.”

Feng Yanwen thought tomatoes would soon be out of season anyway, so getting tired of them wasn’t likely. She agreed to make it again tomorrow.

“Wait, tomatoes are going out of season?” Xu Meng’s mind was half in the present and half in the dream world she remembered.

In that dream, tomatoes were so common that they never seemed to go out of season—you could eat them whenever you wanted. But thinking carefully, the northern weather turned cold fast. By late September, tomatoes would be gone. In winter, when veggies were scarce, they’d be a real treat.

She jumped up.

“Mom, where are the canning jars?”

“Why do you need those?”

“Do we have any at home?”

“Liu Jin’s got them.” That kid was a pack rat.

Suddenly, Xu Meng remembered—Liu Jin had some jars in his room. She was planning to whip up something special.

The next morning, she woke up to find a row of upside-down canning jars drying in the yard. Feng Yanwen had boiled them clean first thing that day.

In the morning, Feng Yanwen went to the produce market and came back with a basket full of tomatoes. By the time Xu Meng got up, Feng Yanwen was washing them, getting them ready to preserve.

After hearing Xu Meng talk about canning tomatoes the night before, Feng Yanwen had quickly gathered the jars. Winters in the north dragged on with no fresh produce. Even she was sick of eating cabbage nonstop by then.

“Mom, aren’t you going to the station today?” Xu Meng checked the time—it was already nine.

Feng Yanwen kept washing without looking up. The kids squatted nearby, watching. Every few tomatoes, she handed one to a child and told them to put it in the shade to dry. “There are too many people selling maps these days. Sales are down, so I’m taking the day off to get some real work done.”

No wonder she hadn’t left yet.

Xu Meng had known from the start that business was tough. Even though there weren’t many watermelon sellers this year, next year they’d be everywhere. Both mother and daughter figured that if money was hard to earn, they’d need to figure out a new hustle.

But for now, Feng Yanwen kept selling maps, just cutting back on inventory.

Xu Meng finally realized how much worse things had gotten—business was terrible these days. Even neighbors from the big locust tree area had taken to selling maps at the train station. On a good day, they barely scraped together ten yuan.

Feng Yanwen’s nerves were frayed too, terrified that one day she wouldn’t sell a single map.

"Don’t worry. When business gets too bad, some people won’t be able to stick it out, and the crowd will thin out naturally." In her past life, Xu Meng had run many businesses and seen dog-eat-dog competition. She remained calm in the face of such things.

But Feng Yanwen wasn’t like that. She’d just gotten a taste of earning money and originally thought selling maps could bring in a solid ten or twenty yuan a day. She never expected business to drop so sharply. These past few days, she'd been thinking hard.

Feng Yanwen: "So I kept thinking, and something came to me. My old school still gives me a monthly living allowance of fifty yuan. I never saw a dime—your grandma snatched it up every time. Let's go sort this out today. Fifty yuan a month isn't much, but it'll cover the rent."

"There's still this money?"

"School starts soon, and the finance office started processing early. I want to get it back fast. It's paid quarterly—I don’t want someone else taking it. Otherwise, we’d be left high and dry."

Go argue with them? Demand it back?

Xu Meng knew better than to expect decency from those people. Hadn’t Feng Yanwen earned money? During her years at the school, she was the highest earner in the family.

Even after they suspended her, the school still gave her a fifty-yuan monthly stipend.

Yet the Xu family still called her a useless moocher who contributed nothing. What kind of people were they? The more Xu Meng thought about it, the angrier she got, nearly squeezing the tomato to pulp in her hand.

Before, the money went to the old lady, who clutched it like a dragon hoarding treasure, making sure not a penny reached Feng Yanwen. She always sicced Xu Jiefang on it.

Xu Jiefang, the filial son, bitched like a miser over handing Feng Yanwen spare change, yet never hesitated when giving money to his mother. Feng Yanwen didn’t expect any better from her in-laws—after the divorce, she stopped collecting the money.

Feng Yanwen was impatient. The second it crossed her mind, she couldn’t sit still. She flicked water from her hands and stood up.

"I’m going to the school."

"Wait, I’ll come with you." Breakfast could wait.

"Hurry up."

The school where Feng Yanwen used to teach wasn’t far from the train station—a brisk three-, four-kilometer walk. The weather was cool, so walking would be good exercise.

Just as they stepped out, they ran into Sister Liu. Seeing Feng Yanwen in a rush, Sister Liu lent her bicycle.

Feng Yanwen hated borrowing favors, but since she was in a hurry, she didn’t refuse. However, she regretted it after just a short distance—she hadn’t ridden a bike in years. Xu Meng was grown now, and even the smallest movement from her in the back seat sent Feng Yanwen into a panic, white-knuckling the handlebars just to stay upright.

She cursed her clumsy, backwater self. If it weren’t for the bike being borrowed, she would’ve ditched it on the spot.

Xu Meng simply jumped off and jogged alongside the bike. Tiring, sure, but at least she wasn’t terrified.

Feng Yanwen: "Meng, why are you running?"

Xu Meng: "It’s fine, I’m exercising."

Feng Yanwen slowed down a bit. As they moved, both suddenly sensed something was off—someone was following them!

A quick glance revealed a motorcycle behind them, creeping along, tailing them just a little too close.

Xu Meng’s attention was entirely on her mother, nearly scared to death.

There were still two-bit troublemakers around—could this be some lowlife looking for trouble?

Then she spotted Han Jiming, gawking like he’d seen a ghost.

Han Jiming seemed amused by the expression on her face and drove up next to her: "What are you doing, exercising?"

In the 1980s, there was a famous speedwalking champion who tied himself to a motorcycle to walk. At first, he instinctively thought Xu Meng was exercising, so he followed and observed for a while before realizing that wasn’t the case.

Xu Meng was in decent shape, and keeping up at a jog wasn’t hard.

But with one person riding a bicycle ahead and another on a motorcycle beside her, she felt a huge sense of unfairness—it was downright frustrating.

Xu Meng: "My mom was giving me a ride, but she’s wobbly." She’d rather run on her own.

Feng Yanwen rarely rode bikes and wasn’t skilled to begin with. Now that Xu Meng was older, Feng Yanwen couldn’t balance her weight, making it easy to lose control.

Han Jiming didn’t expect that answer and burst out laughing: "Then ride with me. Or your mom can come too."

Talking while running was exhausting. Xu Meng stopped, bracing her legs to catch her breath. Han Jiming stopped too, waiting until she steadied before handing her a canteen. Xu Meng took it and gulped down a big mouthful. Seeing Feng Yanwen had also dismounted up ahead and was looking back at her, she waved for Xu Meng to go ahead first.

Feng Yanwen would never abandon the bike to ride a motorcycle—she was afraid of losing it.

As the motorcycle drew closer, Feng Yanwen saw it was a handsome young man, and her guard went up: "We shouldn’t bother him."

Xu Meng said, "Him? He’s Han Lingling’s uncle."

Feng Yanwen looked at Han Jiming again. He did seem familiar, but the guy was just too good-looking.

She gave a silent okay for Xu Meng to ride with him, but since the bike was borrowed, she refused to leave it behind.

This time, Han Jiming picked up speed a little, leaving Feng Yanwen to follow behind on her bike. Watching her wobble unsteadily, Han Jiming winced—no wonder Xu Meng hadn’t wanted to ride with her earlier.

Though Feng Yanwen had no memory of Han Jiming, he remembered her.

When he was little, Feng Yanwen often went to Shi Family Alley to pick up Xu Meng. When Xu Meng was even younger, she’d hold her mother’s hand. The sight of the tiny girl clinging to her mom made him jealous—such warm mother-daughter moments were rare in his own home.

At the school gate, Feng Yanwen stopped first.

Han Jiming asked, "Should I wait for you?"

Xu Meng thought to herself how polite he was and shook her head: "You can go."

Meaning there was no need to wait.

Feng Yanwen greeted the security guard, who still recognized her.

The two found the finance office and explained their purpose.

The portion Feng Yanwen could claim now came from the school’s own funds—profits from the cafeteria and rented convenience stores, handed out every three months. Summer break had just ended, and the finance office had only recently resumed work. No one had yet claimed the third-quarter payment.

The accountant hesitated: "We’re just the finance office. If your family really comes to claim it, we can’t refuse them. What if they accuse us of trying to keep the money?"

Feng Yanwen was about to argue when Xu Meng suddenly stepped forward.

Out of nowhere, she pulled an envelope from her front pocket. Glancing around to ensure no one was watching, she swiftly slipped it into the accountant’s hand: "Auntie, that money is supposed to be my mom’s living allowance from the school. But given the circumstances—my parents are divorced now—his family shouldn’t have any right to it."

She was bribing her!

Feng Yanwen watched this slick move unfold as Xu Meng winked at her.

The accountant felt the thickness inside, promptly tossed the envelope into a drawer, and instantly smiled brightly. She stood up, walked to the file cabinet behind her, grabbed a thick record book, and returned to her seat.

"So you’re really divorced?" The accountant looked at her with a sympathetic but nosy look.

"Hmm," Feng Yanwen didn't intend to elaborate on the matter, but to others, she now appeared both pitiable and down-and-out.

The cashier gave her a sympathetic look, changed the recipient's name to Feng Yanwen and filled out a new form.

"Take this to the security guard to invalidate your ex-husband’s access pass. After this, he won’t be able to enter the school. But let me be clear—I won’t get involved in any disputes between you two. The money is meant for you personally. In principle, you can designate someone else to collect it for you. But since you’ve requested that only you can claim it from now on, even if it’s raining cats and dogs, you’ll have to come yourself."

"Thank you." This time, her gratitude was sincere.

Nowadays, employers couldn’t just fire people willy-nilly. Back then, the school had wanted Feng Yanwen to take a leave of absence without pay, which would have meant she wouldn’t even get this portion of the money.

Feng Yanwen refused to accept it and kicked up a stink. The school, not wanting to push things too far, eventually reached a compromise—they granted her medical retirement, freeing up her position while the school’s finances provided her with a small monthly subsidy. Both sides settled, and the school gained an additional position to fill.

The cashier naturally knew about all this and felt even more sympathy for her. Coming from the countryside, getting into university had already been a struggle, only to have her position taken by someone with connections. And now she was divorced—why did all the bad luck seem to land on her?

Having just received a bribe, still fresh in her pocket, the cashier pulled out another slip. "You’re in luck—the next quarter’s payment can be collected today."

The school’s subsidy was distributed quarterly, 150 yuan at a time.

But this time, it was 165 yuan: "Starting next quarter, everyone’s getting an across-the-board increase—55 yuan per quarter. Sign here after you take it, Teacher Feng. You came at just the right time. If you’d come yesterday, this notice wouldn’t have been issued yet, and you’d have had to make another trip."

An extra five jin of rice was still something—Feng Yanwen perked up right away.

Seventeen bills in total, brand-new and crisp, freshly withdrawn from the bank.

Feng Yanwen clutched the money uncertainly, feeling almost unreal.

After all these years, it was the first time she’d received her own wages.

Before, it had always been Xu Jiefang who collected the money from the workplace. She hadn’t failed to bring it up with the school, but the finance department had always been difficult to deal with.

Positions like these at the school were reserved for those with connections. Feng Yanwen was powerless against it.

But Xu Meng had solved the problem with just a small brown paper envelope.

They had walked quite a distance before Feng Yanwen finally thought to ask, "How much did you give her just now?"

Xu Meng held up a number: "Ten yuan."

A monthly salary was only fifty yuan—how much could she afford to give? She’d exchanged the ten yuan into one-yuan bills, layering them in the envelope to make it look like more.

Feng Yanwen smiled faintly. "You clever little thing. If she saw it was only ten yuan, would she be upset?" That thick stack had startled her earlier.

Xu Meng rolled her eyes. "She should count herself lucky to get ten yuan. Even if she’s disappointed after seeing it, she can’t hold back your payment. Even if she’s unhappy, she can’t just hand it over to someone else."

In any case, the matter was settled. How the person handling it felt wasn’t her concern.

Meanwhile, the cashier opened the envelope and rolled her eyes at the stack of one-yuan bills inside. But then she thought about Feng Yanwen’s hardships—divorced at her age, probably without a proper job, supporting two people on fifty yuan a month. Giving ten yuan as a bribe was decent of her.

The cashier took the money out, stuffed it into her pocket, and shoved the envelope into another pocket—best to throw it far away later.

Of course, all this was just incidental.

As Feng Yanwen and her daughter reached the school gate, they ran into a familiar face—one Xu Meng had seen just the day before.

—It was Sun Miao’s friend.