“Mom, what are you doing here?” Li Xue was also surprised. At this time of day, shouldn’t she be at home? Why would she be at the tutoring center? But looking at Lin Yanan standing in front of her, Li Xue suddenly felt she wasn’t so alone after all.
“Old lady, did you not hear what I said? If she doesn’t apologize, she’s fired. Get out of here right now.” Although Xing Hui was startled for a moment, she quickly regained her composure. She held the upper hand in this situation; there was no need to panic. It was just an old woman—what was there to be afraid of?
“I heard you just fine. You’re just taking advantage of the fact that she works here so you can bully her however you please, aren’t you? We’re quitting. We don’t want to see your ugly faces ever again.”
After speaking, Lin Yanan turned to the boss. She’d had her eye on him for a while—sleazy and slimy, always trying to send people out on business dinners. Who knew what dirty schemes he was hatching?
Now he was blurring the lines between work and personal matters. It was infuriating: “And you’re the boss, right? Then why, as a grown man, are you just standing by and letting a young girl take the fall for someone else? We’re all employees here. My daughter has to work herself to the bone and still gets no credit, while she gets to strut around, berating this one and snubbing that one—is she the only one who matters? Is she your wife? Is that why you’re spoiling her so much?”
“Ma’am, watch your language. We’re all colleagues here. I’m a married man—don’t ruin that young girl’s reputation.” The boss’s face darkened as he turned to Li Xue. “You tell me—can you still do this job? If you stay, you have to apologize. If you don’t want to work here, pack your things and leave right now!”
“I quit!” She’d been planning to quit anyway; this was just bringing it forward. Besides, both the environment and the people here had grown utterly tiresome to her.
Hearing Li Xue’s reply, the boss’s expression darkened even further. He quickly composed himself, then personally apologized to Yu Hao’s mother. He then dismissed most of the people present and hurried back to his office. If he stayed any longer, he feared he might have a heart attack.
“Get the hell out of here!” Holding Li Xue’s resignation letter—which she’d printed out long ago—Xing Hui finally realized that Li Xue had never wanted to work here in the first place. This was a malicious plot!
Li Xue and Lin Yanan couldn’t be bothered with her. They’d just let the nasty words go in one ear and out the other; after all, they’d never see her again. Li Xue had already packed up some of her belongings earlier; there wasn’t much left, not even enough to fill a small suitcase.
“Oh, and don’t forget to process my paycheck. Otherwise, I’ll file for labor arbitration. If that doesn’t work, I’ll keep coming back here to tell everyone how you exploit your employees. Let everyone hear about it—what kind of heartless tutoring agency is this? A tutoring center that doesn’t treat its own employees like human beings—how can it possibly take good care of other people’s children?” Even though she was quitting, she still had to get her pay; she wasn’t going to work for nothing.
“You still want money? Dream on!” Xing Hui gritted her teeth in fury. This old woman really had some nerve!
“It’s fine. I’m very patient. If you don’t clock in, I’ll come here every day to block your way. Let’s see who can outlast whom! Anyway, I don’t care if I lose face or not!” Lin Yanan was fearless; she wouldn’t let this bunch get away with it.
Although Li Xue was worried about their future, she was still feeling the exhilaration of finally breaking free from her prison. After Lin Yanan and she had unpacked their things at home, the two of them went to the farmers’ market together—a rare treat—and stocked up on groceries, picking up Xiao Tianguo on the way. Lin Yanan took a moment to text Qin Feng about getting Li Xue to quit her job, so he’d be in the know.
That evening, the whole family pitched in for dinner. Not only did Qin Feng come home from work on time, but even Xiao Tianguo was there, holding a small plastic basin and earnestly washing tomatoes.
At the dinner table, no one brought up what had happened that day. They simply ate, drank, and chatted, laughing and joking around in a relaxed atmosphere. Before they knew it, Li Xue had had a bit too much to drink. By the end of the meal, she was feeling a bit tipsy, so Qin Feng carried her into the bedroom, where she slept soundly through the night.
Still half-asleep, Li Xue grabbed her phone and saw it was almost 10 o’clock. She instinctively thought she was going to be late for work, so she hurriedly got up and dressed, intending to head to the office. But once she was dressed, it suddenly dawned on her that she had resigned.
Li Xue sat on the bed, feeling a bit dazed. Now that she wasn’t going to work, she really didn’t know what to do with herself. Just then, her phone buzzed. She picked it up to see a WeChat message from Qin Feng: “Honey, are you up yet? There’s porridge and buns in the pot. My mom went to the market, and I dropped Xiao Tianguo off at school. Don’t worry.”
“Oh, and I borrowed 20,000 yuan from a few friends. Neither set of parents has any major expenses right now, and Xiao Huan’s tuition and living expenses were transferred a while ago. This money should be enough to get us through for a while. Don’t worry—just take some time to rest.”
Reading the message, Li Xue suddenly felt like crying. There was no blame, no resentment—only understanding and compassion.
“Mom, did you buy all this?” After dinner, Li Xue was led to the garage by Lin Yanan, who had just returned, and they tidied up the place together.
“Yes. I’m planning to set up a simple space here. I’ve already cleaned it up, so we can just get started decorating.” Lin Yanan had bought sewing supplies, fabric scraps, fabric, and some hooks, hangers, and stickers from the market. This garage would soon become her little studio.
Ever since Luo Jiajia had asked her to mend some clothes last time and spread the word about her skill, people in the neighborhood had been coming to her one after another. Lin Yanan felt awkward about charging them, but they would either give her ten or twenty yuan or bring over some fruit. Luo Jiajia had also suggested she consider making this a full-time business—even if she couldn’t make a fortune, a steady, long-term income would be quite nice.
The original owner had been making clothes for others for over twenty years—she had the skills and experience, but she was inconsistent and never put her mind to it properly. However, the basics and tools were still there, and after practicing these past few days, Lin Yanan felt she had gotten the hang of it.
Moreover, she hadn’t just honed her skills; she’d also created a group chat filled with people who’d had their clothes mended here or were interested in the service. In addition, she’d joined the homeowners’ group for her own neighborhood and the one for the neighboring complex, allowing her to promote her services every now and then—but not too frequently, so as not to annoy anyone.
When Qin Feng bought the house, garage spaces were still relatively cheap, so he bought two. Otherwise, they really wouldn’t have had anywhere to put everything now.
It took Li Xue and Lin Yanan three days to clear out the garage. While they were at it, they set up a custom sign displaying the tailor shop’s name and prices—all slightly cheaper than elsewhere, focusing on a strategy of low margins and high volume.
Building on the earlier publicity and the fact that people genuinely needed such a service, Lin Yanan’s small workshop gradually gained more recognition. She didn’t have to put in much effort, yet she could earn some pocket money without drawing criticism—Lin Yanan was very satisfied with this arrangement.
Ten days later, one evening, Lin Yanan opened the metal box she’d brought back from her hometown right in front of Qin Feng and Li Xue. When they saw what was inside, they were both utterly astonished!