Chapter 43

Chapter 43

At this moment, Xu Dawei, lying in the hospital, was flying into a rage.

Ever since Li Xiuzhi lost the 80,000 yuan (roughly $12,000) meant for buying a house, the Xu family had been quarreling nonstop, with misfortunes piling up one after another.

First, Li Xiuzhi became extremely on edge and was even reported for stealing money.

Ticket sellers secretly pocketing a bit of money was an unspoken rule—no one cared as long as it wasn’t excessive. But this time, Li Xiuzhi had gone too far. The money she took was meant to cover up Xu Dawei’s mess. Later, her workplace fired her. Originally, she could have retired as a worker in two years, but now she was treated like a rat scurrying across the street.

Then, Xu Dawei went out fooling around late at night and got hit in the groin by some jerk. Even though he was rushed to the hospital immediately, it was already ruined—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t perform. Over this, Old Xu and Xu Jiefang almost came to blows. Old Xu insisted it must have been Xu Jiefang’s doing, that it was a deliberate act of revenge.

Xu Jiefang, however, was ruthless. He sneered, "Got any proof? Why the hell would I bother with revenge? What did you do that’s worth my revenge?"

Because he took Xu Jiefang’s 50,000 yuan!

Old Xu couldn’t say that out loud. Officially, the money was Grandma’s savings, and he wasn’t supposed to know about it. There was no way he could pay it back. Instead of reporting it to the police, Xu Jiefang did—he exposed how the couple had taken his savings stored with the old lady and claimed Li Xiuzhi was either scammed or gave the cash to a lover, that she was keeping a lover.

Coincidentally, that day, Li Xiuzhi had been seen talking to that bespectacled man outside the credit union. Someone familiar with them had spotted it. The man’s refined appearance fit the image of a sugar baby, and the rumors spiraled out of control.

Now, except for Xu Jiefang’s household, everyone else in the Xu family was in chaos, living miserable lives.

Wang Meili specifically warned Xu Jia to keep a low profile recently—people resent those who have more and scorn those who have less, and she didn’t want to attract unwanted attention.

Xu Jia slipped back home.

As soon as she entered, Wang Meili quietly handed her a cup of warm milk and urged her to drink it. "The second mock exam’s coming up, right?"

She always had the pride of a mother with a star student, deeply concerned about her daughter’s studies.

Xu Jia’s heart sank at the mention of exams. Holding the warm milk cup, she had no appetite. "Yeah."

Wang Meili, however, was full of energy. "So, how do you think you’ll do? You’re set for college, right? Let me tell you, your brother’s finished—not just physically, but he’s given up on life too. Your grandma sighs all day at home, but serves her right. Wasn’t she so proud he was a college student? Now look at him. Not even a Ph.D. could save him now."

She nearly blurted out "little eunuch" but held back in front of her daughter.

Xu Jia took a sip of milk, a milk mustache lingering on her lips, her heart felt hollow inside.

Her mother still didn’t know the truth behind her high scores. But how long could this lie last? She was understanding less and less in class, unable to focus. Every time she sat in the classroom, her mind wandered, counting down the seconds until the bell rang. If this continued, the gap between her and Xu Meng would only grow wider.

Xu Jia muttered "Mm" and tentatively asked, "Mom, don’t we have money to buy a house?"

"What house?" Wang Meili dismissed the idea. "We’re moving out soon. Who knows who’ll snag this place? Your grandma’s still alive, and the family’s not divided. We’re not buying this house."

Xu Jia nodded. If they moved out, this house would definitely go to her uncle’s family—after all, since Uncle’s family is bigger.

If they stayed too long, the house wouldn’t have anything to do with them anymore.

Xu Jia felt exhausted. She finished the milk in one gulp, plunked the cup on the table, and left it for her mother to clean up.

Just as she reached the door, she glanced at the window.

There was a hole in it at some point, but Wang Meili couldn’t be bothered to replace it, so she just slapped a magazine over it.

Xu Jia’s gaze froze on the magazine cover.

Noticing her sudden stillness, Wang Meili asked curiously, "What’s wrong?"

Xu Jia: "I... am a bit tired."

She reached out and took the magazine in her hand.

Wang Meili quickly tried to snatch it back to block the window again, but Xu Jia dodged her. Muttering curses, Wang Meili found another book to plug the gap.

Xu Jia flipped through the pages noisily until she reached the cover.

"What are you doing?"

"Mom, I just want to take a look."

"You crazy kid, aren’t you going to sleep tonight?"

"I'll sleep right after, just one quick look."

Wang Meili didn’t insist, figuring it was already late. If Xu Jia hadn’t gone to bed by the time she finished washing up, she could always take the book back later.

Xu Jia took the book back to her room and, with trembling hands, opened the page.

It told the story of a girl whose college admission letter had been stolen.

By the time they found out, the thief had already been working for years. The two wound up in court, but since the value of the admission letter couldn’t be measured in monetary terms and there was no legal standard for sentencing, the court could only order the thief to pay a small compensation.

Xu Jia’s groggy mind snapped awake.

A plan flashed through her mind—admission letter, admission letter.

In those days, admission letters were mailed to the recipient’s home, delivered by mail to the right address.

But Xu Jia's excitement quickly faded. If they had still lived together, it would have been easy to take it. Now that they were separated, snatching the admission letter would be harder than reaching the moon.

Xu Jia closed the book and gazed vacantly at the ceiling with wide eyes.

Admission letter, admission letter.

Soon, Wang Meili noticed that her daughter was acting strangely too.

———

While the Xu family was dealing with their troubles, Feng Yanwen received some good news.

Jiang Haohao’s training deal with the railway bureau had fell through.

Feng Yanwen received a notice from the railway bureau, offering her a one-year contract. They'd doubled the weekly classes compared to before, and when she calculated the training fees, she almost couldn't believe it. She had to ask again, "Is this real? Really?"

Suddenly, the railway bureau not only renegotiated the contract with her but also doubled the course load.

Huang Mei personally visited—it had to be real.

The railway bureau had egg on their face. Previously printed newspapers and magazines were recalled, and even Deputy Director Liu had been reprimanded. The person involved, Yin Juan, got chewed out by the bosses during a meeting. Following the unit’s usual tradition, no names were mentioned—just "certain comrades"—but everyone knew who it was. Yin Juan was so ashamed she wanted to disappear.

As for the English teacher Yin Juan had brought in, someone called her out right then.

That day, Jiang Haohao had a hard time communicating with Smith. It happened to be after class, and some people who left late witnessed it. Jiang Haohao’s face had turned red with embarrassment, looking ready to pass out. If she couldn’t even explain things clearly herself, how could she teach others? Wasn’t that just ripping off students?

Even though they had initially agreed on Jiang Haohao, the railway bureau decided to back out.

They could be that petty!

The leadership now placed even greater emphasis on the learning and application of English, explicitly naming Feng Yanwen to teach.

Feng Yanwen was brought in by Huang Mei, who also earned major bragging rights from this.

Because of this incident, Huang Mei outshone Yin Juan for the first time, feeling like she’d finally one-upped her.

Yin Juan and Huang Mei were about the same age, having joined the railway bureau in the same batch of trainees. However, Yin Juan arrived three months earlier. Initially, they were assigned to the same dormitory, but before Huang Mei arrived, Yin Juan had been living alone for months and had grown accustomed to it.

So when Huang Mei moved in, Yin Juan didn’t look pleased.

To express her desire for a harmonious relationship, Huang Mei initially showed the utmost goodwill, splurged on a pound of brown sugar for Yin Juan and making small talk. When she learned Yin Juan was from Tangcheng, Huang Mei enthusiastically said, “I’m from Jincheng. It seems our hometowns are both close to the capital—we’re practically neighbors.”

Yin Juan rolled her eyes, acting like she was too good for everyone. “What kind of place is Jincheng? Never heard of it.”

Huang Mei was fuming.

Jincheng is so close to the capital and not far from Tangcheng either. If someone from the south hadn’t heard of it, that would be understandable, but how could someone from the surrounding area not know? It’s a major city! Clearly, Yin Juan just wanted to say, “I don’t like you, I don’t want to be friends, I can’t stand you, you’re disrupting my life—just get out of here!”

After that, they were constantly butting heads.

Huang Mei couldn’t understand Yin Juan’s attitude. The dormitory was meant for two people—just because she arrived earlier didn’t mean she could hog the whole place.

Later, she heard that Yin Juan had been sneaking her boyfriend in the dormitory for a while. For three months, no new employees were assigned, so Yin Juan acted like she owned the place, even planning to buy a bigger bed so her boyfriend could move in permanently. Then, right at that moment, Huang Mei was assigned to the dorm, forcing the couple to separate.

Huang Mei was livid.

The dormitory wasn’t meant for outsiders, yet Yin Juan had sneaked a man in and had the nerve to act like she was wronged?

Housing in the city was tight. Without a suitable place, Yin Juan’s marriage plans kept getting delayed. It wasn’t until the bureau allocated housing that Yin Juan finally moved out. But by then, the years of living together had built up enough bad blood between them.

There was never any need to be good friends in this lifetime!

“You’re saying the railway bureau will offer this many classes in the coming year?”

No wonder Feng Yanwen was thrilled—the bureau’s offer was incredibly attractive. For the next year, she wouldn’t have to worry about money or keeping her tutoring gig going.

On top of that, the training hours were a dream—all during work hours.

Teaching kids would require juggling after-school hours, but now her work hours would be completely free.

Earning this money wouldn’t interfere with raising her child at all!

Huang Mei smiled. “We can discuss the details later, but you’ll have to teach well. It’s not just about the classes—our leadership has proposed setting assessment standards for external positions, with English as a key criterion. You’ll need to come to the bureau to coordinate with us. Honestly, this money won’t be easy to earn. The next year might be tough for you.”

Who cares about hard work if the money’s good?

Before, she only had a handful of students here and there, with unstable income and no need for formalities. But now that Feng Yanwen would be training for the bureau, she had to get serious about her setup—no more winging it.

Feng Yanwen tightly grasped Huang Mei’s hand. “Thank you, Director Huang.”

Hearing “Director Huang” made Huang Mei’s day—she was now officially a director.

Before, people called her “Director Huang” as an honorary title, but this time she had been promoted to a full section chief, equivalent to an office director. The leadership even praised her for handling this matter well—Feng Yanwen had made her look good.

After chatting for a while, they set a time for their next meeting.

Feng Yanwen excitedly did a little happy dance around her house, almost wanting to shout out loud to express her joy.

According to Huang Mei, the railway bureau had plenty set aside for this. They’d see how the first year goes—if it went well, it could lead to long-term collaboration. Even though new hires nowadays had better book smarts, English remained where most folks fell short.

More and more foreigners are visiting Beijing these days, so we need to get ahead of this, as mastering a language isn't something that happens overnight.

Xu Meng returned from school and also heard the good news.

Mother and daughter held each other's hands, jumping up and down excitedly for ages.

Xu Meng was genuinely happy for Feng Yanwen. In her previous life, she had been a housewife her entire life.

Granny Xue's verbal abuse, the disdain from her sisters-in-law, the condescension from Xu Jiefang and the rest...

But in Xu Meng's eyes, her mother had always been such a capable person.

"Mom, you're amazing! See, I told you—not being a teacher is no big deal. Your income now beats several teachers' salaries combined."

Three little heads popped in from next door, looking at them with puzzled expressions.

"Auntie, what happened?" The youngest puffed out his chubby cheeks.

The middle child said with a mischievous grin, "Auntie and big sister must have struck gold!"

To him, finding money was the best thing ever.

The eldest reached out and rapped the middle child lightly on the head.

The middle child clutched his head, almost leapt out of his skin, howling and swinging back.

It had to be said—the eldest had age on his side. He effortlessly held the middle child's arm down.

Feng Yanwen smiled. "Auntie just scored a big order today. I'll make something delicious for you tomorrow."

She felt the three little ones brought her good luck—ever since they moved in, good news kept coming.

The three widened their eyes, instantly perked right up despite being half-asleep moments before.

Tomorrow was Sunday, and big sister only has a half-day at school.

Big sister was going to make something tasty!

All three fixed eager eyes on Xu Meng.

Xu Meng cleared her throat. "Let me think about it. I'll tell you tomorrow."

The middle child protested. "Tell us now! Then we can dream about it tonight!"

Even the usually composed eldest looked eager.

The youngest simply stared at Xu Meng, without blinking.

Xu Meng scratched her head. "How about... deep-fried pork cracklings?"

They'd never had it before, so the three couldn't quite imagine it.

Feng Yanwen was curious too. "What's crispy pork?"

Xu Meng thought for a moment. "It's basically meat coated in batter and deep-fried."

In her previous life, she'd loved tinkering with snack recipes. She'd eaten plenty of crispy pork but found homemade versions using quality ingredients the tastiest. The recipe was simple—just meat, sweet potato starch, flour, eggs - stuff that's easy to find.

Meat always tastes good no matter how you cook it.

The three kids watched intently.

Sundays kept Feng Yanwen busy.

"I'll go buy groceries in the morning, and you handle dinner. Tell me what we need—I’ll hit the market early."

"We’ll help carry the bags," the second child instantly turned diligent.

The youngest never woke up early, and dragging him along would be troublesome. After some thought, Feng Yanwen instructed the second child to tidy up the yard in the morning while the eldest accompanied her to the market. The eldest was strong and could carry heavy loads. Though the middle kid was smooth-talking and food-obsessed, he was capable—already skilled at many things despite his young age.

Being left out of the market trip, the second child pouted unhappily.

Feng Yanwen smiled and said, "I’ll bring you some buns."

The second child: "Really?"

After six months with these kids, they’d settled into a good rhythm.

So the next day, when Xu Meng woke up early, Feng Yanwen and the kids were already up too.

The oldest was yawning but ready to go.

The second child had been upset about not going to the market the day before and even reminded his brother to wake him up in the morning. Yet, by the time the eldest was dressed, the middle one was still dead asleep. In the end, the eldest turned off the light and let him sleep a little longer.

Feng Yanwen took the eldest to the market to buy groceries.

By the time they returned, the second child had finally woken up and was sweeping the yard, fully dressed.

Feng Yanwen thought her young landlords were great. Most folks expected kids to be a handful, but these ones weren’t.

Seeing Feng Yanwen enter, the second child immediately dropped the broom and ran over, dancing around her like a happy pup, his eyes sparkling.

Feng Yanwen handed him a steamed bun, and the boy beamed, eyes crinkling shut.

Lately, the kids had grown tired of running to their father’s workplace cafeteria. Each time they exchanged meal tickets for a load of mantou, they’d share some with Feng Yanwen.

The buns could last three or four days in this weather, making them perfect as a staple. The kids liked stir-frying a simple dish to go with them, making do without saving them the long hike for meals.

Feng Yanwen found it troublesome to cook rice or steam buns for every meal, so she was happy to share their food. She also bought buns for her three little neighbors, and they all got along exceptionally well.

After breakfast, a fire station worker came to deliver coal for the kids.

Five hundred ocoal briquettes had to last the whole winter—a challenge.

Spotting Feng Yanwen, the visitor struck up a conversation.

Feng Yanwen knew their concerns. With the kids orphaned and another adult living with them, the unit sent supplies monthly and checked in occasionally, but they still worried the children might be taken advantage of. Since Feng Yanwen was home, they felt compelled to check on things.

"We’ll keep the heat going too," Feng Yanwen said cheerfully. "I’ve discussed it with Liu Jin and the others—this year, we’ll heat the fire wall. I’ll chip in most for the coal costs. I plan to buy some too."

Since Feng Yanwen taught classes at home during the day, the fire wall had to stay lit.

It was expensive, but with so many people in the house, they decided not to skimp.

Fancy processed coal cost more, but the fire wall didn’t need high-quality fuel. Regular coal briquettes or loose coal would do, running about 20% cheaper.

The worker blinked in surprise when Feng Yanwen, a household of two, offered to shoulder most of the expense. After a pause, they gladly pointed her to the best coal dealers.

Feng Yanwen jotted it down, planning to head out soon to make the purchase. As she was thinking it through, someone else showed up.

For a second she figured it was someone from the unit returning, but when she looked again, it was Zhang Mingqing.

It had been a while since she last saw Zhang Mingqing—what was she doing here?