Chapter 70

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In the alley next to Victory Elementary School, a small convenience store stood deserted, with no customers. Only the big wall clock ticked away the time.

Mei Yuxuan sat behind the counter, bored. Her hair was permed, and she wore a blue dress, looking much cleaner and more fashionable than when she was at home, except for the acne on her face.

The school had not yet dismissed, and there was no business. She wanted to sleep but couldn't, so she picked up the well-worn story magazine on the counter, flipped through a few pages, and then put it back. She had already read it several times.

She didn't know that among the few jokes in the magazine, one was written by her younger brother, signed as "Deep Sea."

It wasn't her fault. She had been away for almost three years, and during that time, she had only written two letters home and made a few phone calls. She had no idea what was happening at home.

Initially, she thought the family was still in dire straits, with old debts unpaid and new ones accumulating for her brother's middle school education.

But after the New Year, when she visited her old factory in the suburbs and talked to the girls from her village, she learned that her parents had moved to the provincial capital last year and had apparently earned some money, paying off most of their debts.

She was stunned when she heard this. She never imagined her parents had such skills! At the same time, she felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders. The guilt and self-blame that occasionally surfaced in her mind at night finally disappeared.

Over the past two years, she hadn't been able to help her family, but they had been doing well. That was good.

When she worked at the garment factory, if she chose to work overtime, she could earn over a hundred yuan a month. If she saved carefully, she could contribute four to five hundred yuan a year to her family.

But she had too many things to buy. When she left home, her parents had lent her some money for her travel expenses and bought her a set of summer clothes and a pair of sandals in town. The rest, including her quilt, were patched.

The clothes she bought in town looked very rustic when she got to the city. So, when she received her first month's salary, she spent it all on new clothes after visiting several stores.

The next month, new styles came out, and she couldn't afford even one item. Besides, she needed to buy facial cleansers, various creams, and lipsticks. Month after month, she saved nothing.

Sometimes, when she bought clothes in the store, she thought about sending the money home, which would help her parents. But when she saw a girl wearing the same stylish clothes, she decided to wait until the next month to send money home.

After working at the garment factory for over a year, she had no savings, only a large box of clothes, some of which she no longer liked, and many bottles of cosmetics.

The factory had a long workday, and she felt she couldn't endure it anymore. One day, while on a break, she met a girl trying on clothes and gave her some advice.

It turned out the girl lived near the factory. They spent the day shopping and found they got along well. The girl's name was Zhou Yufang, and she also had a "玉" (yu) in her name.

A few days later, Zhou Yufang invited her to her home after work. Zhou Yufang's parents were divorced, and she had a younger sister and brother. Her brother lived with their father, while she and her mother lived in a newly built two-story house in their hometown.

When Feng Yuxuan first visited Zhou Yufang's home, she was amazed. No one in the village or town could compare to the Zhou family. Zhou's mother was very kind, and Feng Yuxuan, who had some social skills, quickly became a favorite. Eventually, she was recognized as a goddaughter and became god-sisters with Zhou Yufang.

After that, she often treated Zhou's home as her own and mostly forgot about her poor and dilapidated home in the countryside.

When she said she didn't want to work at the garment factory anymore, Zhou Yufang helped her find a job in the city, managing a store. The salary was similar, but the job was much easier and more flexible.

However, with more free time, Feng Yuxuan spent more money. Her new friends in the city made her more concerned about her appearance, so she continued to spend all her money each month.

Without money, she felt embarrassed to go home and see her parents, so the years passed.

As the school bell rang, the children from the neighboring elementary school rushed out in groups to buy snacks and drinks. The store, which had been empty, was suddenly crowded with children holding money, all trying to reach the counter.

After a short while, a girl with a short bob and a red T-shirt and jeans walked in. She looked neat and tidy. It was Zhou Yufang.

Seeing Feng Yuxuan struggling, Zhou Yufang walked behind the counter and helped her.

After about ten minutes, Feng Yuxuan pointed to the wall clock and reminded the waiting children. They hurried back to school, and the class bell rang.

Finally, they had managed to handle the rush! Both of them sighed in relief. Feng Yuxuan started recording the sales, and Zhou Yufang helped her count the change.

In that short time, they had sold nearly thirty yuan worth of goods.

Zhou Yufang said, "Not bad, right? If you do this every day, you can buy a lot. And don't underestimate these small sales; the profit is good! How about finding a good location and opening your own store?"

Feng Yuxuan put the ledger in the drawer and gave her a glare, "I know this better than you! Opening a store is easy to say, but where do I get the money? Can you lend it to me?"

Zhou Yufang laughed, "You know my situation. I can help with small amounts, but I can't provide the money to open a store. But, why not set it as a goal? You can't keep working for others forever."

Feng Yuxuan thought the same. Opening a store would require at least ten thousand yuan, a sum she had no way of getting. But now, there was a possibility.

In a few months, her parents would return home to harvest chestnuts. She decided to go home for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

...

In the morning, Mei Qiuping and Feng Yiping took a minibus and managed to get two seats. At around nine, they arrived in the county and waited at the station for an hour before boarding the 10:30 bus to the provincial capital. Before boarding, Mei Qiuping bought three steamed buns and two fried cakes for lunch and a pound of tangerines, which she planned to eat and use the peels for.

Mei Qiuping suffered from motion sickness, and even the medicine didn't help. She heard that smelling tangerine peels could alleviate the nausea, and it worked for her.

The 10:30 bus to the provincial capital was cheaper but was an old-style bus with wooden seats. Feng Yiping actually preferred this type of bus to those with soft seats, which were often broken and dirty, and had a strong smell.

Moreover, he wasn't used to sitting on soft seats and could endure the hard wooden seats.

Mei Qiuping peeled a tangerine, and they shared it. She pointed out the buildings and places they passed, but she didn't know that Feng Yiping was more familiar with them.

There was no highway to the provincial capital, and the bus traveled on the provincial road, which was bumpy. After a short while, Mei Qiuping felt uncomfortable. She opened the window wide, breathed in the fresh air, and held the tangerine peel to her nose. "I didn't expect that you wouldn't get motion sickness on your first trip."

Feng Yiping was fine. He told her not to lean against the back of the seat, which helped. She tried it and felt better.

"It does help. I don't feel as if I'm going to fall over," she said.

After leaving the county, the bus no longer stopped frequently, and Mei Qiuping felt better. She smiled and said, "When I was young, I used to run behind cars on the road with my uncles. I thought the smell of gasoline was nice, but now it makes me want to vomit."

Feng Yiping had a similar experience. When he graduated from technical school and went to work in the south, the school arranged a bus for him and ten other students. Nine of the ten students got sick, and the last one vomited at the gas station. The experienced driver even said he felt like vomiting.

After three hours, the bus passed through the city, and they shared the steamed buns. As for the fried cakes, she didn't touch them, saying the smell of oil made her feel sick. Feng Yiping knew she was making an excuse.

Mei Qiuping took a few bites of the steamed bun and a sip of cold water from a jar, looking out the window. "Your sister is here, in the city," she said.

After another hour, the Yangtze River, as yellow as the Yellow River, appeared on one side. Feng Yiping leaned against the window, excited to see the Yangtze River for the first time since his rebirth.

The Yangtze River was vast but very turbid, with a strong fishy smell. It wasn't particularly beautiful, but seeing it for the first time made him feel a deep sense of familiarity.

The bus followed the river for over two hours, and the scenery became more beautiful as they approached the mountains. Finally, they saw a Yangtze River Bridge, tall buildings on the other side, and the tall chimneys of a power plant by the river. The provincial capital had finally arrived!