He Yong scratched his head. “Nothing else, just came to remind you when Uncle Fu gets back later, make sure he doesn’t forget to go work at the Gu house.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Huang Xiuxiang, furious, grabbed a broom from behind the door and swung it at He Yong. “You black-hearted thing! Can’t you see the state our family is in right now?”
“What state? Isn’t Uncle Fu doing fine?” He Yong dodged while replying.
Huang Xiuxiang almost fainted from anger at that remark and continued chasing him, swinging the broom. “You wretched little punk, I’ll break your legs today if I can!”
But at her age, she couldn’t keep up with He Yong.
He Yong teased her in a circle. “Grandma Huang, you’re getting old. Don’t get so worked up. If you get hurt in the excitement, Uncle Fu will really have no one to manage him. I just came to give a heads-up; whether he goes is up to you. You know Brother Gu Yu’s temper he’s best at turning one day’s work into two. Don’t delay him.”
With that, he quickly ran off.
Huang Xiuxiang became even angrier and tried to chase He Yong again. She ran until she was out of breath, but when she saw his figure disappear in a flash, she stopped, her old face twisted in rage.
After a while, the son and daughter-in-law returned.
The whole family sat in the main hall, heads down, feeling dejected.
He Cuihua was furious. “If I had known she would be such a disaster, I should have married her off immediately. It’s my fault for being soft-hearted and listening to your nonsense, keeping her here until now.”
Fu Weidong, though boiling inside, had nowhere to vent. He finally defended himself weakly. “Is it useful to talk about this now? At the time, we didn’t marry her off immediately because of that twenty yuan monthly allowance and the household work that no one else would do.”
He Cuihua yelled, “Isn’t that what you should have done? With you and Yunzhu like this, what hope could there have been? The burden would have fallen on Yufen anyway.”
Huang Xiuxiang, already in a bad mood, was further angered by He Cuihua venting all her anger on her son. “He Cuihua, you’re secondhand goods married into my family, and you still behave badly outside. Don’t think I don’t know about your ugly deeds.
“If it weren’t for Yufen’s diligence, our Fu family wouldn’t bother raising someone else’s daughter. And we definitely wouldn’t tolerate a lowly woman like you.”
“Mom, are your eyes failing you? Your son is sharp; he won’t raise someone else’s daughter. Yufen is your own granddaughter.”
Huang Xiuxiang’s eyes widened. She looked at Fu Weidong. “So, when Yunzhu was one, you were already secretly involved with He Cuihua?”
Fu Weidong frowned. “Mom, that’s all in the past. Why bring it up now? Jiang Youqing refused to give me a son, and with Yunzhu like this, what hope is there? Luckily, we have Yufen.”
Huang Xiuxiang, who had been angry, found his words reasonable but still couldn’t stand He Cuihua acting superior over her son. “But that woman of yours still needs to be kept in check she’s nearly riding on your head and pooping.”
He Cuihua immediately sneered at Fu Weidong. “You old man! Dare to say a word against me and I’ll take Yufen and leave.”
Fu Yufen was already famous in the surrounding towns and villages a golden phoenix. She ranked first in middle and high school exams, and the Fu family felt proud wherever they went.
“You dare?” Fu Weidong slapped He Cuihua’s face.
She was stunned for a moment, then reacted and grappled with him, screaming, “Can’t earn a few lousy bucks a day! Acting like you’re something special! If you can’t come up with fifteen yuan a month to support us, no one lives this life anymore!”
Huang Xiuxiang, seeing them wrestling, jumped up. “Stop! Stop fighting!”
He Cuihua was no match for Fu Weidong. After being pushed away, she sat on the doorstep crying.
At that moment, Fu Yufen returned. “Mom, Yunzhu ran away?”
“How did you get back?” He Cuihua panicked upon seeing her daughter.
“Such a big matter, and no one notified me at school. If Huang Hui hadn’t gone to the county, I wouldn’t have known,” Fu Yufen said. Then she noticed He Cuihua’s bruised face and messy hair, looked back at Fu Weidong, who was in the same state, and asked, “What happened to you two?”
Fu Yufen didn’t want her exam mood affected and quickly comforted them: “It’s nothing. She got hurt while being found. Let her run; it’ll prevent her from pestering Gu Yu. Focus on your exams mom and dad will handle everything else.
“And that twenty-yuan allowance did she give it to you?”
Fu Yufen took a deep breath. “No.”
She then went straight to Yunzhu’s room. After searching for a while, she couldn’t find the notebook and angrily knocked over her desk.
Yunzhu had a notebook where she recorded all her grievances. Because of Yufen’s comfort, it had become the only source of solace in her notebook.
The parents heard the noise and hurried in. They had never seen their daughter so furious. He Cuihua quickly comforted her: “Alright, I’ll figure out the allowance. Go to school, don’t delay your studies.”
Fu Yufen’s main concern wasn’t the twenty yuan but the notebook. With it, once she reached Kyoto, she could personally find Jiang Youqing.
Even if Yunzhu was there, Fu Yufen could persuade her, unlike the two clumsy men at home who had forced her away. Especially her father taught so long yet still shows aggression at the slightest provocation.
When Yunzhu had refused Jiang Youqing’s calls, Fu Yufen had chatted with her and knew that her mother now worked as a nanny in a high-ranking family. She understood that this nanny had a unique influence compared to ordinary people.
Fu Yufen realized this concept in her first year of high school.
When she first entered school, her impressive grades and good looks drew attention. The son of the county textile factory director and his gang often blocked her at the gate. The principal could do nothing. Fu Yufen complained to Jiang Youqing, who got very angry and said: “This is too much. You’re the future pillars of the country. Wait for me, I’ll speak to my employer and see if we can help.”
By the third day, the fat boy and his gang never appeared at the school gate again.
Even if she accidentally ran into them later, they would lower their heads and avoid her.
This was the first time she understood the power of influence.
Such good connections would be useless in Yunzhu and Jiang Youqing’s hands they would forever remain nannies, especially Yunzhu.
At this moment, Yunzhu was already on the train. Because of the long journey, she bought a sleeper ticket and lay down, her mind filled with Gu Yu’s angry expression when he saved her last night.
Thinking deeply, she took a breath and decided: fine, she would no longer hate him. From now on, they owed each other nothing and would live their own lives.
She would carefully build her future in this world a life no longer planned by anyone else.
Thinking of this, she felt unprecedented peace and anticipation.
Unconsciously, she fell asleep.
After a day and a night, she finally arrived at Kyoto train station.
Train stations in the 1980s had no announcements or electronic boards, but luckily the exits were simple. She followed the crowd out of the station, searching for the location her mother had described over the phone.
After several twists and turns, she finally found out.
Just as she arrived at her destination, someone excitedly called out, “Yunzhu, is that you?”