Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"Just like that, you agreed to Smith's offer?" Feng Yanwen said with some distress. "Three hundred a day—I feel guilty taking that much."

Xu Meng replied, "Why not? I actually think he seemed thrilled with the deal. I don’t know much about prices in the UK, but I do know a bit about incomes in Hong Kong. White-collar workers there earn over ten thousand yuan a month. Your three hundred a day, calculated over workdays, doesn’t even add up to ten thousand yuan a month. English tour guides should earn even more—they’re specialized professionals. So Smith’s definitely getting a good deal."

Feng Yanwen hesitated. "But if he asks around, he’ll find out what the income levels are like in our country."

Xu Meng sighed. "You’re too much of a straight shooter. Actually, prices and services at international hotels aren’t cheap at all. You think someone coming from Shanghai wouldn’t know local wages? He offered you that much because, one, he genuinely thinks you’re worth it, and two, he’s grateful we helped him find his daughter. If he hired someone else, he definitely wouldn’t offer such a high rate."

Feng Yanwen sighed. "Then aren’t we taking advantage of him?"

Xu Meng clasped her hands together. "It’s a win-win—how’s that taking advantage? Don’t worry, three hundred a day is absolutely fair for him. Just think about it—sales staff at foreign boutiques in Wangfujing pull in five or six thousand a month. The price he offered you is completely reasonable."

Feng Yanwen’s worries melted away.

Smith booked Feng Yanwen for a seven-day tour, though the exact timing wasn’t set yet—they’d have to wait until both were free. Meanwhile, since he planned to stay in China for a long time, he also wanted to find an English tutor for his daughter, Emma. Naturally, he approached Feng Yanwen for that as well.

The pay was naturally high, given that teaching Emma would be much more challenging than regular tutoring.

All told, her income was about to skyrocket.

Feng Yanwen was dizzy with the possibilities—she couldn’t believe her luck. Maybe Zhang Mingqing was right—she was getting much closer to her goal of buying a house.

If Zhang Mingqing had given her an opportunity, Smith was her golden ticket.

When she got home, Tuan Tuan had already been waiting for a while.

Lately, the girl had been dragging her feet about everything, perhaps due to family matters.

Seeing Feng Yanwen, Tuan Tuan’s gloomy expression lit up a little as she called out, "Teacher Feng."

Tuan Tuan was Feng Yanwen’s first-ever student, and she had always been fond of the sweet little girl.

By the time they entered the house, Tuan Tuan had already been waiting for a while, sitting at the desk doing homework. Feng Yanwen praised her—Tuan Tuan’s attitude had improved tremendously compared to when she first started studying here. Back then, she’d just zone out instead of lifting a pencil.

"Teacher Feng, I got an 82 on my English test this time," Tuan Tuan chirped, waving her test paper with shining eyes, clearly seeking praise.

Feng Yanwen took the paper and skimmed it. Most points were docked in listening, while the rest had fewer mistakes. Overall, it was a good score.

"Tuan Tuan, you’ve improved a lot. Next, we’ll start focusing on listening."

"My teacher also said I’ve made big progress!" Tuan Tuan beamed even brighter. "My mom will be so happy when she finds out."

That woman who had once talked about getting an abortion had instead given her father a son.

Word was her dad was strutting around, bragging to everyone about his college-bound son as if he were a first-time father.

Her mom had quit the drama too, focusing instead on milking her in-laws dry. Recently, she’d wrangled three hundred grand from her father’s company to buy a storefront registered under Tuan Tuan’s name, telling her, "Even if you don’t get into college, you’ll have rent money to live on."

Zhang Mingqing had a sudden change of heart, no longer dwelling on these things.

Young, gorgeous, and loaded—why sweat the small stuff?

Whether her daughter studied or not didn’t matter, as long as she didn’t squander the family fortune. That’s why she invested in storefronts—a day’s rent equaled a month’s wages for most.

As for men—she could live perfectly well without one.

Money talks.

Tuan Tuan couldn't understand why her mom seemed less angry despite her dad's outrageous behavior.

After finishing the problems with Tuan Tuan and running a listening exercise, Feng Yanwen finished the session just as Zhang Mingqing arrived to pick up her daughter. Xu Meng was chatting with Tuan Tuan, who clearly adored this older sister.

Zhang Mingqing was dressed fashionably, decked out in designer labels, even carrying a handbag with a label most ordinary people wouldn’t recognize. Xu Meng spotted her from afar, brightened up and ushered her in.

"Mengmeng, is senior year tough?" Zhang Mingqing studied Xu Meng’s face.

Like all elders, Zhang Mingqing always thought Xu Meng looked thinner whenever she saw her.

Xu Meng instinctively touched her cheek and replied, "A little. High school coursework is heavy, and senior year is especially crucial."

Zhang Mingqing didn’t pursue the topic, patting Xu Meng’s shoulder instead. "What do you plan to study in the future?"

Xu Meng thought for a moment. "Probably foreign languages."

She wanted to run a tutoring center with Feng Yanwen.

Zhang Mingqing let out a laugh. "So you want to be a teacher like your mom?"

Xu Meng: "What’s wrong with that?" she said.

Zhang Mingqing gave her a long look. The girl’s eyes were clear, her pretty face full of determination—even prettier than Zhang Mingqing had been at that age. She felt a pang of bitterness. If she had been a college graduate, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

She knew the man had a second family outside, yet she couldn't bring herself to leave.

Her in-laws, image-conscious, also saw divorce as shameful. As long as Zhang Mingqing didn’t make a scene, they were willing to pay a higher price—just business. But why should she step aside just because the man had become successful?

She told herself, what’s so great about a college degree? Even college graduates ended up as mistresses now. If the man spent a single dollar on his other woman, she’d make him pay tenfold. After being married over ten years and raising a child, she refused to be outdone by some upstart.

She approached her family like a business and eventually found her in-laws respecting her more than ever.

They used to guard against her, but now they were willing to let money come her way.

"Nothing’s wrong with it. You’re beautiful, but relying on looks won’t last a lifetime."

Originally, Zhang Mingqing had come today intending to discuss with Feng Yanwen about shifting focus from English to general homework supervision for Tuan Tuan. She didn’t want to invest too much effort in her child’s studies—just spend some money for peace of mind. But suddenly, she changed her mind.

Walking in, she saw Feng Yanwen and Tuan Tuan talking under the light. Tuan Tuan was beaming, leaning so close to Feng Yanwen at one point that they were nearly touching.

When had they grown so close?

The moment Tuan Tuan saw her mother, her eyes lit up. "Mom, I got 82 on my English test!"

That's improvement!

Zhang Mingqing put on an excited act. "That’s amazing, Tuan Tuan! Finished your homework?"

Tuan Tuan’s enthusiasm dimmed at her mother’s lukewarm praise. She visibly deflated. "Yeah, done."

Zhang Mingqing thanked Feng Yanwen and mentioned she had quit her job. Her previous work required frequent travel, and there was no hope for a transfer to an office position, so she simply resigned. After all, her rental income alone was plenty now.

On her way out, Zhang Mingqing took Feng Yanwen aside for a chat that lasted an hour.

Feng Yanwen let out a quiet sigh.

Xu Meng asked, "Mom, what’s wrong?"

Zhang Mingqing led her daughter to the intersection and got into their Santana.

The car was recently purchased for over 200,000 yuan, making getting around much easier now.

Some time ago, Tuan Tuan got bumped into out of nowhere on the street. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. Afterward, Zhang Mingqing thought about it and thought the woman was shady, but without evidence. That woman is now afraid Zhang Mingqing might drag out the divorce, yet doesn’t dare push the man, so she’s turned her schemes toward her instead.

Tuan Tuan opened the back door, tossed her backpack inside, and curled up on the rear seat. Zhang Mingqing started the car, and it slowly moved forward on the road.

"Mom, don’t you like me studying hard?"

"What nonsense. Mom just doesn’t want you to be too tired."

Tuan Tuan lay down on the back seat, slumped like a wet noodle: "That’s good then. I just told you my grades improved, but you didn’t react at all. You used to be different."

Before, her mom cared deeply about her grades, and for any improvement, she would’ve been over the moon.

There were many pedestrians on the roadside. Zhang Mingqing drove into the fast lane, focusing on waiting for the people ahead to pass.

She used to want to rely on herself and couldn’t bear to quit that low-paying job, but in the end, her husband still saw her as a parasite. Later, she decided—if she was going to be a parasite anyway, she might as well lean all the way into being a gold-digger.

Now, she’s not fighting the other woman for the man—she’s fighting for money.

The man thought she had given up and accepted her fate, so he felt inclined to compensate her.

Zhang Mingqing knew this might be the prelude to divorce, but even so, she wanted to force him to be the one to end it.

Then she’d lay on the guilt trip, making him feel she couldn’t survive without him. She knew men like him best—once they gained a psychological advantage, they’d compensate materially. Feelings change, but cash never betrays you.

And she needed to use this time to grow stronger.

"Mom isn’t unhappy about your good grades, she just doesn’t care as much as before." Zhang Mingqing leaned over to fasten her daughter’s seatbelt, then said, "Mom just thinks there are more important things than grades."

Like whether my daughter is happy.

＿＿＿＿＿

"Huang-jie." Xiao Yang from the office came in, smiling as she pulled out a newspaper from behind her back. "Today’s paper is out. I’ll leave it on your desk."

Her smile said it all.

Huang Mei, suspicious, reached for the stack of newspapers. On top was *Wencui Bao*, and below it was a special in-house railroad newsletter.

These kinds of papers might not even have an official ISSN, circulating only internally, mostly for propaganda—speeches from leaders, directives from higher-ups, a snooze-fest. Huang Mei usually just skimmed them to avoid missing major internal updates or the gist of leadership speeches.

But as soon as she opened this one, she saw red.

The front page, of course, was reserved for high-ranking leaders. But beneath a leader’s speech was a photo and a small article recounting a heartwarming story. As she read, Huang Mei’s smile gradually faded.

The protagonist who helped the foreigner in the story was none other than Yin Juan, while Jiang Haohao also muscled into the spotlight, credited as the translator who played a major role in the incident. The article praised how impactful the event was and how grateful the foreigner was, blah blah blah.

Huang Mei was livid. God knows why, with so many witnesses that day, how could Yin Juan have the gall to claim credit for herself?

Like the cops who were there don’t exist?

She tossed the newspaper aside, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Just then, she heard Yin Juan’s loud voice outside. Always waving around her ties to Deputy Director Liu as her backing, she was becoming more and more dismissive of others.

Huang Mei slammed the newspaper down in rage and stormed out.

Yin Juan was holding court about the events of that day. When she saw Huang Mei, she couldn’t even be bothered to look and kept talking.

You could cut the tension with a knife. One person said, "Boss Yin, I have some fires to put out in my office. Catch you later. Next time I’m back in Langfang, I’ll ask my relatives for some home-milled flour and bring some for you to try"—anything to escape this showdown.

Yin Juan smiled and said courteously, "No need, that would be too much trouble for you."

"My pleasure."

Yin Juan glanced at Huang Mei and sauntered into the opposite office. Huang Mei followed her in. They'd butted heads before—longtime colleagues knew the two didn’t get along. A female coworker from the same office made an excuse to take documents to the bosses.

Huang Mei closed the door. "You’ve seen today’s newspaper, haven’t you?"

Yin Juan sat back in her chair, pulled a cigarette from the drawer, and placed it between her lips. She then took out a matchbox, struck a match, and lit the cigarette. The cramped space quickly filled with smoke. Huang Mei, who had weak lungs, broke into a fit of coughing.

*That bitch Yin Juan, she’s doing this on purpose.*

Huang Mei marched over and pushed open the window beside Yin Juan. A gust of wind rushed in.

Yin Juan suffered from migraines and couldn’t tolerate drafts.

The wind instantly cleared the smoke, but it also blew directly onto Yin Juan’s head. She jerked violently, nearly dropping her cigarette. Shaking, she snapped, "Huang Mei, what's wrong with you?!"

"Tch."

Yin Juan slammed the window shut.

Huang Mei spoke abruptly, "You've got some nerve, huh? What does helping that foreigner find his kid have to do with you? How dare you take credit for it?"

She was still holding the internal office newspaper.

With no urgent tasks at hand, Yin Juan had her crochet work on the desk. She picked it up, continuing her pattern without looking up. "Don’t blame me for this. The office decided to report it this way. Besides, that bearded foreigner did ask me for directions, so it’s not like I had nothing to do with it."

*Bullshit!*

It was Teacher Feng and her daughter who had acted as translators—how did Jiang Haohao end up taking the credit? That woman couldn’t even understand a word and had embarrassed herself royally!

Yet the new report painted her as some kind of hero, brazenly taking credit.

Several higher-ups had even asked around, praising Jiang Haohao in their remarks.

Yin Juan rolled her eyes. "Why do you care? This has nothing to do with you either."

Huang Mei retorted, "You twisted the facts to get the office to publish this. I can speak up—I’ll report this to the publicity department. The article is wrong, and the office newspaper needs a reprint."

At this, Yin Juan sprang from her chair. "Huang Mei, you’re deliberately picking a fight with me, aren’t you? You weren’t involved in this at all—it’s none of your business. Besides, linking it to me brings honor to our railway bureau. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—Deputy Director Liu is personally overseeing this. No one can change it. If you stir up trouble, no one will come out looking good, and the bureau won’t owe you any favors."

She was determined to clash with Huang Mei.

The two were like sworn enemies. In terms of cunning, Huang Mei was no match for Yin Juan, who had a knack for currying favor with the higher-ups and knew how to work the system.

But Huang Mei wasn't about to back down this time. Just thinking about Yin Juan’s despicable behavior made her fuming. This wasn’t just about her—it was about standing up for Teacher Feng, who had been unfairly treated and humiliated for no reason.